It was then.
Beep-beep-beep.
When the sound of the ECG showed a subtle change, Taesu jerked his chin.
“Hurry.”
“I’m going, I’m going… How did he even think of something like that?”
Tap-tap-tap.
Even as Jo Uncheol moved away, he let his curiosity spill out.
Taesu did not go out of his way to answer.
There was still too much to do.
Then, feeling someone staring intently at him, Taesu looked at Jeong Minsu.
A glance.
“What?”
“Nothing. Hurry and make one more. We need to buy time for the subclavian vein that way too, for now.”
“Right. That comes first.”
Taesu answered at once and turned away.
But he had clearly read the envy in Jeong Minsu’s gaze.
Now was not the time to argue over that.
A short while later.
Taesu connected the bridge he had made to the severed subclavian vein in the same way.
The result?
Kim Hyeokgwon personally placed his hand on Shanmeheum’s right arm and gave his impression.
“Oh, oh. It’s getting warm.”
“The bluish color that was spreading to the fingertips is fading too.”
Nurse Lee Chorong looked at Bread Kim and provided additional information.
Lastly, Nurse Hwang Jisu reported the vitals.
“Current pulse is…”
The numbers they heard were still unstable.
But it was not the sort of instability that made it feel as though the patient would stop breathing any second.
Compared to that moment, it was immensely better.
They had truly bought time.
After making that calculation, Taesu’s hardened face slowly softened.
He had made full use of the urgent time that had risen right up under his chin.
Thanks to that, they had bought a little more time.
But there was no way he would be satisfied with that.
Until the surgery was over, he had no intention of stopping in the slightest.
“Bread, the graft?”
“One minute until the first graft harvest is complete.”
Bread Kim gave a weighty confirmation.
It was the result of proceeding without faltering despite the continuous commotion.
The one minute he mentioned was time that had to be used well.
Taesu and Jeong Minsu quickly put their heads together.
First, they had to determine the exact site for the CABG.
“From here…”
“This part, and here…”
Jeong Minsu joined in immediately.
Perhaps because he had experienced CABG once before, his field of view had broadened a little.
The promised one minute passed in an instant.
Bread Kim lifted a blood vessel of suitable length and spoke loudly.
“Graft secured.”
“Pass it over.”
“Here.”
Tap, swish.
Their hands as they exchanged the vessel were nimble.
Receiving the graft like that, Taesu was slightly surprised.
‘It’s incredibly clean.’
It was a difference in proficiency.
Perhaps because grafts were used in various surgeries, Bread Kim seemed to have a great deal of experience.
The surprise lasted only a moment.
He began thoroughly checking to see if there were any tears in the blood vessel.
It did not take long.
True to Bread Kim’s meticulous nature, there was not a single gap where water—no, blood—could leak.
Now it was time to proceed with the CABG.
But there was a problem.
This time, they could not use medication to raise the heartbeat.
As if he had been waiting for that, Jo Uncheol said,
“Dr. Choi, we can’t use that drug this time.”
“You mean the medication that raises the pulse?”
“Yeah. If you use that, cardiac arrest is one hundred percent guaranteed.”
Jo Uncheol gave a heavy warning.
Taesu had anticipated that as well.
Thump, thump, thump.
The heart was beating without rest.
Proceeding with CABG surgery in this state was difficult even for Taesu.
He had done it with Ohamed, but right now he lacked the stamina for it.
Stamina was concentration.
Right now, Taesu was not confident he could maintain the same level of concentration as he had then.
That was a decision he had made after accurately assessing himself.
Then they needed a doctor to anastomose the graft.
Taesu already had someone in mind.
Tap.
Taesu brought the graft toward the heart.
Then he simply held the end of the blood vessel against the agreed-upon spot.
“…”
Swish.
He lifted his head and looked heavily at Jeong Minsu, who stood opposite him.
At that gaze, Jeong Minsu flinched and called out.
“Tae… Taesu.”
“Aren’t you going to proceed with the precision suturing?”
“…What?”
“When you were practicing, you told me you’d become the god of suturing.”
Taesu provoked him boldly.
But Jeong Minsu still had not abandoned the timidity that made him hesitate at decisive moments.
“That’s…”
“Hoo. Then give me just one reason this kid has to die by your hand.”
“What?”
Jeong Minsu wavered greatly.
Taesu paid no mind and provoked him further.
“I said give me one reason. I’ll let you do whatever you want.”
“There isn’t one.”
“What?”
“That’s the problem, you bastard. There isn’t one.”
Jeong Minsu snapped roughly, his eyes twisted in anger.
A cornered mouse would bite a cat.
That was exactly what Jeong Minsu looked like now.
It was also the look Taesu had been hoping for.
“What are you doing? If you don’t have the skill, attack it with sheer stubbornness.”
“Ah, damn it. Needle holder, international forceps.”
Clack.
As soon as Jeong Minsu grasped the surgical instruments, he reached straight toward the coronary artery.
His face flushed red.
But his eyes were cold.
Above all, the key was whether he could suture.
That concern proved needless.
Jeong Minsu’s two hands were moving with unbelievable speed.
Sasasak.
The venom filling both his eyes seemed to sharpen his concentration.
His hands threading the fine coronary artery were almost daring.
He was even matching the timing of the heart’s violent beating.
And the anastomosis was tight and even.
It gave off an air far more practiced than Taesu’s CABG.
It was the result of devoting himself to suture practice in Makut.
He had even practiced suturing while moving in the truck.
He had pushed himself with the single-minded determination to suture under any environment.
That practice was shining now.
“Hoh.”
Kim Hyeokgwon knew about it too, but his reaction showed he found this result intriguing.
Taesu was a little different.
The corners of his mouth under the mask rose slightly.
The god of suturing?
‘He really was different from the sprout.’
It had not simply been Jeong Minsu’s boastful goal.
From the beginning, Taesu had taken Jeong Minsu’s improved suturing skills into his calculations.
His own body had temporarily sagged because he had too much on his mind.
Alone, it would have been impossible.
Because Jeong Minsu was here, he could plan such a demanding and complex vascular anastomosis in such a short time.
It was no exaggeration to say that the success or failure of this emergency surgery depended on Jeong Minsu.
That was how terrible the conditions were under which the CABG had to proceed.
Jeong Minsu was calmly accomplishing it.
And he would accomplish it to the very end.
Taesu believed that absolutely.
Not long after the CABG surgery began.
Bread Kim lifted another blood vessel and shouted.
“Second graft harvest complete.”
“Mr. Hyeokgwon.”
When Taesu called for him, Kim Hyeokgwon, who had been quietly assisting, transformed at once.
“If there’s something to receive, I’ve got to receive it. Bread, hand it over.”
Kim Hyeokgwon thrust out a clean tray.
At his shameless appearance, Bread Kim flinched and said a word.
“I’m not paying back a debt right now.”
“I came to collect one. Hurry up and hand it over.”
“Fine. Just take it.”
“Thank you. If we need more later, I’ll be asking.”
Kim Hyeokgwon’s expression changed to one of satisfaction after getting what he wanted.
Bread Kim gave a bitter smile.
It was because of the strange feeling that his nose had been cut off with his eyes wide open.
Then Taesu bestowed a new mission upon the bitter-faced Bread Kim.
“Move straight into the liver surgery.”
“Mm. Won’t that be a little dangerous?”
“We need to reduce the time even a little.”
“Still, the bleeding will be considerable.”
When Bread Kim showed deep concern, Taesu turned his gaze to Jo Uncheol.
His face already looked exhausted, but to Taesu, he seemed dependable.
“We have an anesthesiologist standing right there, don’t we?”
“He looks like he’s about to collapse any second.”
“I want to finish the surgery quickly and collapse together.”
“I agree with that. Then give me a sign before the lung surgery. Dr. Yun, let’s begin.”
Bread Kim spoke simply and called for Yun Juseong.
Yun Juseong, who had only just stepped away, bristled at the urging voice.
“Right away?”
“There’s no time to rest.”
“This is one hell of a forced march. No, that’s how it has to be. Hoo.”
Yun Juseong also pulled himself back together from where he had been loosening and raised his tension.
Soon, Bread Kim announced aloud.
“Continuing liver rupture surgery.”
“I’ll remove the gauze. Saline.”
Tap, tap.
Bread Kim and Yun Juseong immediately continued the surgery.
Kim Hyeokgwon and Nurse Chu Gangik grew even busier, assisting alternately on the left and right.
The same was true for Nurse Lee Chorong and Nurse Hwang Jisu.
“I’ll add another transfusion pack.”
“I’ll replenish what’s lacking.”
Sasasak.
The nurses moved perceptively.
The atmosphere of the surgery could be said to have reached a certain momentum.
But one person alone was in despair.
“Bleeding again? Uaaah.”
Jo Uncheol shook his head.
At that moment, his expression said he did not want to believe he was the anesthesiologist.
But there was no one else.
Having no choice but to resign himself, Jo Uncheol moved again.
The reason Taesu could look around at everyone was that the CABG surgery was continuing.
However, Jeong Minsu’s hands were faster than expected.
About forty minutes had passed.
They were already entering the final stage.
When it came to suturing, the traces of his effort were truly obvious.
No, it had to be said that his innate quality was different.
Jeong Minsu, who had been angry to the top of his head before starting, became docile again as the end approached.
“Good. I think we’ll wrap up within three minutes.”
“Let’s cut it down to two.”
“You’re really…”
“We’ll do it together. Hurry.”
Tap, tap.
Taesu’s hands, which had been assisting until now, changed.
It was because, while Jeong Minsu had been focused on suturing, Taesu had also recharged his stamina.
He intended to pour the stamina he had filled to the brim into the rest of the surgery.
He was already showing that resolve.
In Taesu’s hand was a needle holder, though no one knew when he had picked it up.
Swish.
That needle holder caught the suture needle Jeong Minsu had threaded.
Taesu moved that suture needle, threaded it in the same way, and returned it to Jeong Minsu.
“Take it.”
“Oh, yeah… Again, here.”
With a dazed face, Jeong Minsu placed one stitch and pushed it back to Taesu.
In that way, they alternately threaded a single suture needle from left and right.
It was a method they were trying for the first time.
Yet, unexpectedly, the suturing speed rose a little more.
Thud, thud.
They could also respond more flexibly to the beating of the heart.
Bread Kim glanced over and looked dumbfounded.
“They really use every method under the sun.”
But there was also a slight trace of envy in his gaze.
It was obvious at a glance.
It was a method impossible without trust.
Naturally, among those present, only Taesu and Jeong Minsu could do it.
The result could soon be confirmed.
Taesu and Jeong Minsu raised their hands at the same time and spoke.
“CABG complete.”
“It’s done.”
Whoosh.
At the same time, they looked at Jo Uncheol.
A thread of hope emerged in the voice of Jo Uncheol, whose face had grown haggard from the continued defense of the vitals.
“Yeah. It’s okay. At this level, we’re in the safe zone.”
The end of his voice trembled.
It was a voice filled with the joy that they could finally catch their breath.