Taeho watched with wide eyes.
But there was still no change in the machine.
Dr. Gim, the radiologist, spoke.
"Output fixed at 0.6 megapascals. Initiating scan."
Inside the MRI machine, I Junho's body began to move slowly. That was when—
Beep! Beep!
A sharp alarm blared from the MRgFUS integrated control monitor installed on one wall of the MRI room. The top of the screen changed to an orange warning banner as an automatic popup appeared.
[WARNING: Localized Temperature Exceeds Safe Threshold]
The air in the room froze. Dr. Gim, the operator, stopped his hands, and the radiographer urgently raised his voice.
"Temperature exceedance warning! Target site has risen more than 3 degrees above baseline!"
If the temperature kept rising, the surrounding neural tissue could be damaged. If this continued, it was clear it would leave fatal damage in I Junho's brain.
Dr. Chen stepped up to the monitor and said.
"Stop! Let's stop and analyze the cause first. Heat dissipation isn't working properly."
"The output is normal, but I can't understand why it's surging this much."
Dr. Gim also frowned and shook his head.
Everyone sighed.
They were deadlocked.
Taeho broke the silence in the MRI room.
"The temperature rise in this section may not be simply due to the output, but rather the patient's unique heat dissipation structure."
Everyone's gazes fixed on Taeho.
"There is a solution. If we maintain the output but shift the treatment position slightly back, and divide the focal duration into short, repeated bursts, we can control the temperature while maintaining the effect. A similar method has been applied in brain tumor treatment before."
"We've never adjusted it like that. It's not in the official protocol."
Dr. Gim was the first to object, shaking his head.
Dr. Chen also reacted as if there was nothing to be done.
"The risk is too great. We can't take that kind of danger."
"We don't have time."
Taeho's voice was firm.
A hologram floated before his eyes. A superheated red core, and the flow of heat spreading outward.
If he tilted the focal angle by 9.6 degrees, heat dissipation would occur while avoiding interference with the language center.
If he left Junho like this...
He dies.
Taeho looked at the shadow of heat spreading inside the brain and clenched his jaw.
Rema was showing the control sequence in real time within Taeho's field of vision.
- Move to procedure output menu.
- Lower left of field of vision: Depth Adjustment.
- Second panel, move the 'Angle Control' slider bar 3 degrees to the right.
Taeho let out a groan.
"Damn it."
In that moment, Taeho shoved Dr. Gim's shoulder aside. The startled Dr. Gim stumbled back a step, and through that gap, Taeho pushed his way into the MRI machine control room.
"Dr. Gang! You can't go in there!"
Click! Taeho pressed the automatic lock switch and locked the door from the inside.
From outside, Dr. Gim urgently pounded on the door.
"Open it right now! You're violating hospital regulations!"
But Taeho didn't answer. He was already standing in front of the control panel. Rema was displaying real-time commands in his field of vision.
- Output menu access complete.
- Slider: fixed at 0.6MPa.
- Angle setting: 9.6-degree tilt recommended.
- Focal timer: switch to intermittent output at 4-second intervals.
Taeho steadied his breath and moved his fingers. It was a panel he was touching for the first time, but his hands moved exactly as Rema showed him through augmented reality.
"What do you think you're doing!"
Dr. Chen ran over and shook the door handle.
I Junbeom's face turned pale as he saw Taeho standing in front of the machine with his hands on the controls.
Dr. Johnson shouted.
"That action of yours will get the entire hospital sent to the ethics committee! You don't even have a medical license in this country!"
"Dr. Gang! If you don't stop now..."
Dr. Chen's angry voice could be heard from beyond the door. But Taeho could no longer hear the outside noise. He focused on operating the machine exactly according to the hologram, without a fraction of error.
Beep-beep-beep!
The angle adjustment slider on the panel moved, and the ultrasound focal pathway began to be readjusted.
At the same time, a graph showing the thermal curve stabilizing appeared on the device.
Rema announced.
- Entering viable survival zone.
Dr. Gim glanced at the monitor and shouted in surprise.
"Temperature is stabilizing! Central pressure is dropping!"
Dr. Gim kept his gaze fixed on the monitor, muttering as if in a daze.
"Intracranial pressure is falling."
Dr. Chen trembled and gasped sharply.
Dr. Gim shouted again.
"No damage near the language center. The response is intact. The blood-brain barrier has been successfully opened!"
"Now it's time to administer the interferon."
Dr. Chen barely snapped out of his shock and spoke.
An intrathecal injection couldn't be performed here. But there was too little time to transfer him to an operating room.
Dr. Chen pondered for a moment before making a decision.
"Now that the blood-brain barrier is open, an intravenous injection should be sufficient. MRgFUS has increased cerebral vascular permeability twentyfold. We'll attempt an IV."
Dr. Chen personally picked up the interferon vial and prepared the syringe.
"Nurse, please prepare 100mL of normal saline and an injection port."
The nurse quickly prepared the items.
"IV line secured."
"Beginning administration."
Dr. Chen began slowly injecting the interferon himself.
The brainwave graph on the monitor began to fluctuate slightly. The signals of neural transmission were recovering once more.
"Dopamine response recovering."
"Autonomic reflexes are returning too."
Dr. Chen wiped his forehead with the back of his hand. I Junbeom clenched his fist and stared only at the monitor. He wanted to call his son's name, but his lips trembled, and he couldn't say a word.
Once the procedure ended successfully, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
Taeho quietly opened the MRI control room door and stepped out. Dr. Johnson's eyes, waiting for him outside, blazed with fury.
"Dr. Gang."
Dr. Johnson approached slowly. A razor-sharp voice.
"Do you know what you just did?"
Taeho kept his mouth shut and simply nodded his head. At that, Dr. Johnson took another step closer, shoving his face right up to Taeho's.
"You are a person without a medical license in this country. Manipulating the machine during the procedure is clearly an illegal medical act. Your actions will be referred to the hospital ethics committee."
"Understood."
Taeho was composed, as if he had prepared himself for everything. Aside from the fact that he had saved I Junho's life, nothing else mattered to him now.
That composure only made Dr. Johnson angrier.
"You will definitely pay the price."
At that moment, I Junho's little finger twitched on the internal MRI screen.
I Junbeom took a step closer and covered his mouth.
"Junho moved."
Dr. Johnson stepped back with a stiff face.
***
The garden of Mount Sinai Hospital.
It was a morning where the sunlight sparkled pleasantly.
Taeho had come outside the hospital and was taking a moment to catch his breath. It was the first taste of leisure after escaping a state of tension that had lasted over twenty-four hours.
Soon, the ethics committee would convene, but he wanted to rest for just this moment.
The wind gently brushed across his cheek. The sound of water falling from the garden fountain could be heard in a steady rhythm. A few pigeons were wandering around the fountain.
Taeho closed his eyes and tilted his head back. Warm sunlight seeped through his eyelids. His heart was complicated, but strangely, he felt at peace.
A familiar figure caught his eye on a bench near the fountain. An elderly woman in her seventies wearing an elegant gray suit. It was the distinguished old lady he had met in the hallway last night.
"Oh my, we meet again!"
The old lady recognized Taeho and waved her hand gladly. Taeho smiled and approached.
"How did your health screening results come out?"
"Fortunately, all my tests are normal. I'm scheduled to be discharged now. I'm Catherine."
"I'm Gang Taeho."
"So you're Dr. Gang."
Catherine said with a smile, remembering that Taeho had said he was a doctor the other time.
Taeho somehow felt that whenever he talked to this person, his heart grew at ease.
"That child over there is my granddaughter, Emily. She's seven this year, and she's really grown so much."
Catherine pointed to a little girl hopping about. She was taller than her peers with a slender frame, and her emerald eyes sparkled.
"She's grown four inches in just six months. I've had to keep buying her new clothes."
Catherine said with a smile. Emily approached Taeho with curious eyes and waved her hand.
"Hello?"
Taeho smiled comfortably for the first time in a while and said.
"Hello?"
As Emily waved at Taeho, she let out a light cough.
In that moment, Taeho felt a strange unease.
What is it?
He couldn't pinpoint the exact reason, but it was clear his intuition had triggered.
"The child is coughing."
"It's probably the dust. She's been running around since morning."
Catherine said dismissively.
In the meantime, Emily ran over to the bench on the other side.
"Be careful, Emily! Don't run so fast!"
Catherine shouted worriedly.
But Emily paid no heed and ran after the pigeons with her arms outstretched. The pigeons fluttered up, and Emily clapped her hands and giggled.
An elderly Black man sitting on that bench in a hospital gown also watched the child with a pleased smile.
Taeho said with a smile.
"She's a really lively child."
"Too lively for her own good. She's been running around since morning."
Catherine watched her granddaughter with a pleased yet worried expression.
Emily ran around the fountain playing tag with the pigeons.
Emily coughed again.
"But that cough sounds a bit strange."
Taeho muttered.
Rema immediately began scanning.
- Respiration rate: 25/min (upper limit of normal)
- Respiratory pattern: shallow and irregular
- Skin color: pale, slight cyanosis around lips
Emily's coughing became more frequent. And her face began to turn pale little by little.
Taeho observed Emily more closely. The child was still chasing the pigeons, but her movements seemed slower than before.
"Emily, come here and rest for a bit."
Catherine called her granddaughter.
Taeho's brow furrowed as he watched Emily walking toward the bench.
Taeho asked gently.
"Emily, is anything hurting?"
"No! I'm fine!"
Emily answered brightly. But then she suddenly stopped.
"Huh? Something feels weird. It felt like a balloon popping."
"Where?"
Taeho asked.
Emily pointed to her left chest. The child's face had become noticeably pale.
"What feels weird? Where does it hurt?"
Taeho knelt down to meet Emily at eye level.
"Emily, can you take a deep breath for me?"
"It stings here."
Emily tried to inhale, but soon scrunched up her face with an "Ow!"
"Does it hurt when you breathe?"
"Yes. It hurts here."
Emily pointed to her left chest again.
Catherine asked anxiously.
"What is it? It's not serious, is it?"
Taeho examined Emily's neck. The jugular veins appeared slightly more distended than usual.
Then Emily suddenly clutched her chest harder.
"Agh!"
Emily's breathing began to rapidly accelerate. The area around her lips turned blue, and her shoulders gradually hunched inward.
"Haa... Ha, I can't... breathe..."
Taeho caught Emily as she crumpled forward.
"Emily!"
Catherine screamed.