Taesu, who had been reading the shifting atmosphere, paused.
‘Could it be?’
This, too, was Caprene’s memory.
It was about James having developed something, but it was not clear.
At the time, Caprene must not have listened properly because of his surgery schedule.
Still, he could roughly recall it.
Swish.
Taesu put his hand into the blood.
It was a little—no, quite warm.
Only then was Taesu able to clearly grasp the role of this machine.
“A warmer?”
“You’re rather quick on the uptake.”
“Hmm.”
When Taesu only let out a low murmur, James instead looked puzzled.
“I thought you’d be more curious. No?”
“I can ask after the surgery is over.”
“As you should.”
At the same time as he said that—
Swish.
James took the excised spleen out of the tray.
Then, still soaked in blood, he placed it on the temporary operating table.
The bone that had pierced the spleen, as well as the necrotic tissue and blood clots around it, came clearly into view.
Snap.
“Lumiere.”
“Yeah.”
Catherine and Nurse Lumiere quickly fixed the spleen in place so it would not move.
Then?
What Taesu had to do now became all too clear.
‘Then I’ll……’
Clack, clack.
Holding a Mixter and a hook respectively, Taesu immediately grasped the bone.
“I’m pulling it out.”
“Pull it.”
“Yes.”
Taesu boldly pulled out the bone fragment that had pierced the spleen.
If autotransplantation had an advantage, it was that there was little bleeding. Since the blood vessels were not connected, bleeding could not occur.
Sssrk.
All that flowed out was the blood contained inside.
Meanwhile, James’s hands were already moving.
Swish.
His scalpel flashed silver as it danced.
The countless movements of the scalpel were, in a word, art.
Not excessive, not lacking.
He had not looked at a single X-ray reading.
And yet James, relying on sensation alone, aimed precisely at his target.
“Ah…”
“Doctor Choi.”
“Ah.”
Tap, swish.
Coming to his senses at that single word, Taesu quickly spread the spleen left and right.
Unlike the beautiful movements of the scalpel, the inside of the spleen was utterly hideous.
Even Taesu’s brow narrowed slightly.
But it was part of the patient.
There was no way he would turn his head away simply because it was unpleasant to look at.
Rather, his determination burned even hotter.
‘Back to its original state.’
One hundred percent would be impossible, but he had to restore it as close to that as he could.
He did not even know the patient’s name, but that did not matter.
If he had touched them even once with his hands?
They were his patient.
The very person who had said those words was now operating.
Without even a similar resolve, serving as an assistant would be impossible.
Fortunately, Taesu had steeled himself.
His mindset changed his hands first.
“Doctor James, this side.”
“I saw it. Hold that tighter. Allis.”
“I have it.”
Following Taesu, Nurse Lumiere handed over a surgical instrument.
“Here, Allis forceps.”
A type of tissue forceps, its thick tip made it suitable for firmly grasping something.
James used it to hold tissue.
Normally, Babcock forceps would have been used, but in James’s hands, the Allis forceps felt more natural.
Taesu’s eyes followed every single movement of James’s hands.
But watching and doing were different matters.
“Ugh, damn it…… This is, hmm.”
“This side.”
“Yes.”
“How long are you going to make me wait?”
James pressed Taesu mercilessly.
There was clearly a difference in skill between the two of them.
But James did not take that into account.
Taesu was the same.
It was because the two of them shared the same perspective.
The patient would not wait.
Being inexperienced was the worst excuse for medical staff.
Before surgery, perhaps. But after the surgery had begun, no excuse or justification could be tolerated.
That was why the harsh urging and scolding could not help but fly back and forth.
However.
No matter how hard Taesu strained, he could not match the rhythm of James’s decades of experience.
‘Damn it. Goddamn it.’
He was angry at himself.
Surgery with James.
This very moment when the two of them were saving a patient together.
It was something Taesu had wished and wished for all this time. And yet all he was forced to face was the fact that the wall of reality was far too high and thick.
It was an opportunity he had finally, with difficulty, encountered after so long.
A moment when he could taste the joy of successfully operating on a patient together.
He resented his hands for failing to keep up.
Through his experiences in the field, he had increased his speed. But compared to James’s movements, devoid of anything superfluous, he was nowhere near enough.
Grit.
His teeth ground together behind his mask.
He was angry at no one but himself.
Then James’s hands slowed slightly.
It felt as if they had fallen one beat behind.
Seeing James’s hands matching his own speed, Taesu’s gaze turned fierce.
“I’ll keep up.”
“Don’t talk nonsense.”
“……”
“Surgery isn’t something you do alone.”
James barked sharply at Taesu.
Behind his mask, Taesu bit down hard on his lip this time.
How could he not know?
He knew it all too well.
Surgery was an orchestra accomplished by everyone together.
Even so, he hated it enough to die that the surgery was being delayed because of him.
To Taesu, the idea that he was not helping the patient but getting in the way was an insult he absolutely could not endure.
His chest felt stifled, and only irritation surged up.
He knew himself that he should not operate in this state of mind.
He was lacking.
A hopelessly inadequate doctor.
He was not denying that.
But this time, this surgery alone, he felt greedy.
‘Damn it, come on.’
In his frustration, he berated himself.
It was then.
Ssrk.
A small change occurred in Taesu’s hands.
The way he gripped the surgical instruments changed.
Most surgical instruments, such as clamps and forceps, were shaped similarly to scissors.
If held with the thumb and index finger, the whole hand had to be used.
But in the changed form, he held them with his index and middle fingers as if pinching them.
Taesu surprised even himself.
“This? Then……”
Sasak.
Taesu immediately twisted his wrist the way he had thought.
Then the space through which James’s surgical instrument could move instantly widened.
“Oh, ohh.”
Taesu marveled at himself and quickly continued assisting.
Until now, the reason Taesu had fallen behind was to avoid overlapping with James’s hands.
Interfering with the lead surgeon’s operation was out of the question.
He had experienced it once during surgery with Doctor Schmidt.
At that time, he had managed to get through it by improvising.
After that, while taking part in surgeries in various positions at Makut, he had learned versatility.
That much was certain.
But James’s surgery was different in the very method of operation.
The surgical site and space were far too limited.
Large movements were impossible.
That had become a restriction for Taesu and limited his movements.
But now it was different.
Simply by changing the way he held the surgical instrument, the anger in his chest drained away.
“Doctor James, like this here.”
“Mm.”
“I’ll place my left hand like this.”
“Good. That’s a sound judgment.”
The edge in James’s voice had also settled down before they knew it.
More than that, as he watched Taesu’s hands, a faint glimmer appeared in James’s eyes.
A doctor who changed and improved in the middle of surgery.
They did exist.
But they were exceedingly rare.
The corner of James’s mouth under his mask rose slightly.
‘That’s how it should be.’
Thanks to Taesu’s change, the surgery progressed a little faster.
Sak, sasak.
“I’ve got it like this.”
“Here.”
Taesu awakened every nerve in his body as he assisted.
That much made it easier to find and secure necrotic tissue or blood clots that would block blood flow.
But unfortunately, that was as far as it went.
“Doctor Choi, you missed the lower side.”
“Huh, I’m sorry.”
“And move your left hand a little to the side.”
“Mm. I’ll be careful.”
Sasak.
He answered promptly and corrected his position quickly.
Even so, he could not suddenly catch up to decades of experience.
He was not used to the way he was gripping the surgical instruments either.
As he repeatedly opened and closed them between his index and middle fingers, fatigue rapidly pushed in.
“Hss.”
“Feeling stiff?”
“No, sir. Hmm.”
No matter how hard he strained, he could not help gradually slowing down.
At that moment, James jerked his chin toward the air and spoke.
“Are you still not done?”
At the same time as those words—
Sasak.
The hands of Brad Kim and Jeong Minsu approached.
“We’re late.”
“We’re sorry.”
However, they still lacked flexibility of thought.
Tick, tick-tick.
The surgical instruments immediately collided.
Seeing that, Taesu quickly showed them.
“Like this.”
“Huh? Ah.”
“Got it.”
Sasak.
Brad Kim and Jeong Minsu quickly followed suit.
Though the surgical space was narrow, once they changed the method, the collisions were certainly reduced.
And with more people, problems were discovered here and there as well.
“Blood clot found on this side.”
“This is necrosis.”
“There’s tissue deformation here, but I’m not certain.”
The three of them raised their voices one after another.
Then James’s two hands appeared silently.
Swish, swish.
“This side is done.”
“This spot is close.”
“Good. That way…… Make sure you distinguish the pulp and cortex clearly.”
James solved the problems in order while also offering advice.
To him, it might have been a casual remark.
But to those listening, it was a teaching as precious as a thousand pieces of gold.
As the four doctors put their heads together, there were results.
The spleen, which had been a mess, was gradually returning to its proper state.
But it was in an excised state.
The longer it was exposed outside, the more they had to worry about other problems.
Bacterial invasion was a major issue, and the tissue could dry out and lose function.
So, at intervals, they had to immerse the spleen in the tray where the blood rippled.
Since it was maintaining the same temperature as the human body, it could prevent the tissue from being destroyed.
Nurse Catherine mentioned one more useful point.
“It contains a special disinfectant, so it also serves an antibacterial role.”
It meant the concern for infection was reduced.
It also meant they could operate with that much less worry.
That surgical process repeated several times.
It could be said that more than eighty percent of the spleen’s problems had been dealt with.
That much of the uneven, problematic areas had disappeared.
The exposed interior of the spleen had also become quite clean.
In its current state, it looked almost similar to the spleen of a patient whose splenitis had worsened.
Swish, swish.
James was observing carefully, moving with a hook.
Everyone carefully followed his gaze.
After moving a few more times, James checked the operating time.
“Mm.”
“……”
Taesu, Brad Kim, and Jeong Minsu were all looking only at James.
If it was a difference in experience, then that was what it was.
None of them had relaxed enough from their tension to afford the leisure of checking the operating time.