At a glance, the short, stocky stature and deft hands belonged to Team Leader Mario. He suddenly glared at Taesu and rebuked him coldly.
“Dr. Choi, what do you think you’re doing right now?”
“I’m sorry.”
“You don’t even check the surgery schedule? Do you only know if someone reports it to you?”
Team Leader Mario’s scolding rang through the operating room.
Taesu had every reason to feel wronged.
And yet he could not make excuses.
Any excuse he made now would require mentioning someone else.
He did not want that.
Whatever the case, it remained his responsibility.
He chose clean acknowledgment over excuses.
“No, sir.”
“I suppose the way you acted however you pleased as a patient was just your usual behavior.”
“That is absolutely not the case.”
“You’re still standing there leisurely observing the surgery, and you’re saying it’s not?”
The moment Team Leader Mario snapped harshly,
Nurse Navis, who had been gauging the situation, hurried over while unfolding a surgical gown.
“Hurry and put it on. Hurry.”
“Thank you.”
“Do you look like you have time to thank me right now? Did you really not get the message?”
“Well… Let’s talk about that later.”
Taesu deliberately avoided the awkward conversation.
Swish, swish.
In the meantime, the surgical gown was quickly fastened.
Then he felt a hand lightly pushing his back from behind.
Taesu headed to the operating table in one stride.
As the second assistant, he stood beside the assistant.
When he glanced at the assistant, this time a rebuke came from him.
“Goodness, I never got around to introducing myself to Dr. Choi. What a grave discourtesy.”
“Not at all. I’m Dr. Choi. I look forward to working with you.”
“I’m Dr. Bex.”
“Ah, Dr. Bex.”
He was a skilled surgeon belonging to Surgical Team One.
Even when Taesu had been hospitalized, he had rarely seen him, so frequently was he involved in operations.
The greeting was extremely brief.
But Team Leader Mario’s angry rebuke immediately followed.
“Dr. Choi, if you’re going to chatter, wouldn’t the break room suit you better?”
“I’m sorry.”
“Or perhaps you’re confident you have enough skill to afford idle chatter.”
“That’s not it.”
Taesu denied it, but Team Leader Mario paid no attention and asked at once.
“Do you know what SLE is?”
“It stands for systemic lupus erythematosus.”
“If it’s an internal medicine disease, yet surgery is required, what is the reason?”
“It can invade the organs and cause inflammatory diseases such as pleurisy and pericarditis.”
Taesu’s answer sprang out reflexively.
Team Leader Mario, who had kept his ears open while operating, paused.
It was commonly called lupus.
Among rare and intractable diseases, it was still relatively common.
Even so, answering without being flustered by a sudden question had to earn points.
‘He has good fundamentals.’
Team Leader Mario’s thoughts went only that far.
It was not enough yet to relieve the stress he had built up listening to the nurses’ complaints.
Glance.
Lifting only his eyes, he asked next.
“Is that all?”
“No. It can have fatal adverse effects on all organs and vascular activity, such as causing myocardial infarction through atherosclerosis.”
“You seem to like memorizing things. Or perhaps you’ve experienced enough to memorize it.”
“I have not yet experienced severe lupus.”
Taesu’s answer came immediately.
Even so, Team Leader Mario did not withdraw his heavy gaze.
“Since you have no experience, do you have no idea what the current situation is?”
“Pardon? Ah, um…”
Swish, swish.
Taesu quickly examined the patient.
As expected, there was a reason he had asked about lupus.
Red spots were visible here and there on the skin.
Scars left after inflammation had subsided were also easy to confirm.
After finishing the overall check, he then fixed his eyes on the affected area.
‘Gastrointestinal bleeding.’
That was the symptom visible at the moment.
But if it was lupus, he had to broaden the possibilities further.
He furrowed his brow and continued thinking.
Similar problems came to mind.
He had also already grasped that Team Leader Mario was impatient.
Without waiting to be urged, Taesu opened his mouth.
“I’m not certain, but there is a possibility of serositis, or perhaps peritonitis.”
“Can’t you see we’re dealing with gastrointestinal bleeding right now?”
“Given the characteristics of lupus, if it affected the stomach, colon, or small intestine, those two symptoms can be suspected first.”
Taesu answered according to his conviction.
Toward him, Team Leader Mario showed a faint smile with his eyes.
“Not bad for an inference made without any information on the patient.”
“Am I correct?”
“No. It’s a case where acute pancreatitis has progressed to a severe stage and caused gastrointestinal bleeding.”
“Ah… I’m sorry. I spoke out of turn.”
Taesu apologized, but unexpectedly, Team Leader Mario’s voice softened considerably.
“If you could see through everything at a glance, then you and I would have to switch positions.”
“Well…”
“Always keep in mind that lupus is not a disease that shows everything all at once.”
“Yes.”
Feeling as though he was being taught, Taesu answered with weight.
But had it been his imagination?
Team Leader Mario’s voice turned fierce again.
“Are you finished just because you figured it out? Do you not know what a second assistant does?”
A rebuke came at once.
Taesu immediately extended his hand to the side and called for surgical instruments.
“Senn retractor, straight forceps.”
“Here.”
Tap.
No sooner had the order ended than an answer and a solid sensation arrived at the same time.
It was Nurse Navis.
Operating with her for the first time, Taesu wore a strange expression at her astonishing reaction speed.
Nurse Casey did not even compare.
He felt as though he had dimly glimpsed what level one had to reach to become a nurse on Surgical Team One.
Even as he thought that, Taesu’s surgical instruments found their positions.
Set, tap.
Thanks to Taesu’s instruments, the field of view became even clearer.
Praise?
There was none.
Team Leader Mario called for Dr. Bex, the assistant.
“How is he? Usable?”
“Not bad.”
“Good. Let’s continue from where we left off.”
“I’ll take position first.”
Dr. Bex’s two hands moved swiftly.
Gurgle, gurgle.
He cleared away the bleeding with suction, then immediately switched to the Bovie.
Sizzle.
He stopped the bleeding point with electric stimulation.
Needless to say, it was fast and precise.
On top of that, it was delicate.
The movements were not traveling in centimeters, but in millimeters.
Taesu observed those hands closely.
‘He’s definitely different.’
At Taesu’s current level, it was a highly difficult touch he could not even dream of matching.
Once Dr. Bex took position, Team Leader Mario’s surgical instruments moved next.
For a moment, Taesu doubted his own eyes.
‘Why is it so smooth?’
Judging by his personality, he had assumed Mario would be the type to push through roughly.
His expectation shattered completely; the touch was entirely different.
It did not match his appearance at all.
He was exactly like a durian.
A fruit full of a foul smell, but once in the mouth, incomparably smooth and sweet.
That expression fit perfectly.
Slide, slide. Slice.
The harmony between Team Leader Mario and Dr. Bex was remarkable.
It was the first time since observing James’s surgery that Taesu had been this absorbed.
However, Taesu had not stood here to observe.
From the very first button, he had fastened it wrong.
To set it right, acting with tact was the best option.
‘The flow…’
With his eyes, he grasped the direction in which their hands moved.
And once he had some sense of it, he immediately assisted actively.
Slide. Tap.
“…”
Swish, slice.
“…”
There were no words, and no instrument changes.
But without interfering with the flow of the surgeon and the assistant, he continually opened their field of view.
Taesu’s hands made their movements easier.
If one was concentrating on the operating table, it was impossible not to notice where that change had begun.
For an instant, Team Leader Mario’s and Dr. Bex’s gazes met.
Their eyes held interest.
But then Team Leader Mario’s eyes turned mischievous.
‘Not bad, but I can’t let him off already.’
As if noticing that gaze, Dr. Bex gave a faint nod.
At that same moment,
Slice.
The movements of the two men’s hands changed abruptly.
While maintaining their smoothness, they added irregular, linear motions in between.
Was it to test Taesu?
That was part of the reason, but not all of it.
They had switched to a better surgical method for the patient currently undergoing surgery.
Taesu was momentarily flustered.
‘They could at least say something.’
As the flow suddenly changed, his securing of the field of view became delayed.
At that instant, Team Leader Mario’s rebuke came immediately.
“Focus, focus!”
“Yes.”
“Don’t expect kindness. Among those who have any skill, there isn’t a doctor who isn’t self-centered.”
“Understood.”
“You can curse me in your head. Just don’t make a mess.”
Team Leader Mario openly declared that he would operate unpredictably.
Breaking the mold.
It was a phrase Taesu very much liked.
But even that was only possible when both sides were somewhat in sync.
The surgeon and assistant might be fine, but for Taesu, this was the first time.
Not knowing their habits, it was difficult to respond immediately to their irregular movements.
“Ah!”
“Shit. What are you doing?”
“I’ll fix it right— Ah.”
“It’s this side. This side!”
Team Leader Mario’s hands were truly impossible to predict.
What was amazing was that those movements were the foundation for operating on the affected area.
‘This is driving me crazy.’
His eyes were following them, but his hands would not move as he wished, so Taesu alone was on the verge of losing his mind.
He had no mental space to think of anything.
He had to undergo a harsh initiation in a relentless, stinging operation that drove him to his limits.
Toward evening.
The operating room that had closed in the morning finally opened.
Rumble.
“Thank you for your hard work!”
Along with Taesu’s shout, he was seen bowing deeply.
Team Leader Mario and Dr. Bex passed by Taesu and answered.
“Whew. You worked hard. But I think I rushed too much.”
“After training yourself a bit more in surgery with other doctors, challenge yourself to enter Headquarters again.”
Each of them gave a cold evaluation and went outside.
Thud.
When the door closed, Taesu lifted his head and soon let his shoulders drop.
“I told you, I didn’t even know I was supposed to come in.”
“You really didn’t know?”
Nurse Navis asked in surprise, not caring about her own exhausted face.
“Izakson says he forgot.”
“Oh my. I didn’t even know… I’m sorry I got angry.”
“An apology after ten hours isn’t bad either. Let’s tidy up the patient and move them to the ICU.”
Set. Set.
Taesu moved his hands again.
The surgery had ended, but the role of the second assistant remained a little longer.
Meanwhile, Team Leader Mario was on the phone in his office.
“Yes. Doctor, the surgery ended a little while ago.”
James’s gentle voice came through the receiver.
“I see. Do you feel satisfied now?”
“I’ll tell you about satisfaction later. What on earth is that guy?”
“What do you mean?”
James’s voice, asking back, was filled with puzzlement.
Team Leader Mario answered with a surprised expression.
“When we approached the affected area by the book, he responded as if it were only natural.”
“Did he?”
“When we moved irregularly, he did get lost. Even though we changed direction from moment to moment, he still reacted at times.”
Even as Team Leader Mario said it himself, disbelief was evident in his eyes.