Trauma Center : Golden Hour - Chapter 102

“Ah… the heart…”

Jang-mi thought, ‘Why did I ask…’ and glanced at the new nurse.

Sure enough, the newbie had turned away completely.

Jang-mi didn’t have a very long career as a nurse yet.

But she knew exactly what that expression meant.

‘She’ll probably say she’s quitting soon…’

It wasn’t like she felt no resentment at all.

She’d never once engaged in hazing or made life hard for juniors, unlike other departments.

It was just that this place was tough.

No, honestly, it was really tough.

That was all.

‘Yeah, that’s what matters, I guess…’

Jang-mi looked at the now rather clean-looking operating table.

It wasn’t exactly clean—blood mixed with Betadine solution was still running off the patient.

But it was better than yesterday.

Yesterday, a patient had died here.

It wasn’t like Kang-hyuk or Jaewon had done anything wrong.

The patient’s condition was just hopeless, no matter what they did.

‘She’s been here since yesterday…’

From the new nurse’s perspective, how ridiculous must this all seem?

Everyone around her must already be telling her not to do this.

Everyone knew what the Severe Trauma Center was nicknamed among nurses.

‘Kind Hell, they call it…’

The mood was actually pretty good.

Kang-hyuk, the team leader and head, had a nasty temper, but—

He usually directed his anger at outsiders, not his own team.

Even Jang-mi could barely remember if Kang-hyuk had ever yelled at her directly.

Considering how nerve-racking every day was, it was almost a miracle.

But what did it matter?

It was hell.

On your first day, a patient died without anyone able to help.

The next day, a patient came in with a burst heart.

“Hey, Gangster. What are you thinking about?”

“Huh?”

“You’re painting my arm now, too. Are you buying me a new gown?”

“Gosh.”

By the time she snapped out of it, Kang-hyuk’s gown had turned brown.

It was already so soaked in blood that you couldn’t tell if it was brown or black.

“S-sorry.”

“It’s fine. Just keep your head straight. Are you nervous?”

“Huh, what?”

Thɩ𝙨 𝘤h𝑎p𝑡𝑒r 𝘪ѕ p𝗼𝑠𝕥ҽ𝗱 bƴ 𝒌ɩ𝓉𝕖𝗇𝗼𝐯𝘦|

“It’s not like yesterday.”

Kang-hyuk spoke, looking down at the operating table instead of the patient.

It was obvious he was thinking of the person who died yesterday, not today’s patient.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t look so somber.

“I couldn’t be there yesterday.”

“But… that was because you were in another surgery.”

Kang-hyuk almost never turned down requests from the Central Rescue Team.

He believed it was the right thing for the patient and the team.

But there were always variables—yesterday was one of those days.

“If I’d trained Slave into a proper doctor already… I could’ve left him the surgery and gone.”

“Come on, Jaewon’s only been here for less than half a year.”

“Anyway, today I was here. We treated everything on time, so this one will live. So keep your head straight. You’ve been like this since yesterday. The newbie’s watching you.”

“Yeah, I get it. When did I ever lose it?”

“Would someone who’s not losing it paint disinfectant on my gown?”

“That’s…”

It was Jaewon who rescued the flustered Jang-mi.

He came in just then, having finished scrubbing.

“Oh, you’re here. Let’s get ready.”

“Please, hurry.”

“Yes.”

Freed from Kang-hyuk’s clutches, Jang-mi handed Jaewon a disposable paper towel.

Jaewon wiped the moisture off his hands and arms with practiced ease.

He seemed indifferent, but he was following protocol exactly.

You could upload this to YouTube as a textbook example.

“Gown, please.”

“Here.”

Jang-mi barely had to help.

Jaewon slipped it on as smoothly as running water.

“Hurry up. My hand’s getting numb.”

But no praise came from Kang-hyuk.

Not because he was stingy with praise.

It just wasn’t the right moment.

“Hey, is your hand going to be okay? The needle’s going to go right past it.”

“Needle, whatever, just hurry. I’ve been like this for 15 minutes… My hand’s numb.”

Kang-hyuk gestured at his right hand with his chin.

It was shaking, unlike usual.

He wasn’t saying it, but he’d clearly pushed himself.

‘Yeah, he’s blocking that… thing with his palm while squeezing the heart…’

Jaewon could completely understand.

He’d seen the burst heart with Kang-hyuk in the helicopter.

Honestly, he’d thought the patient would die instantly.

‘Just getting them here alive is a miracle.’

Any other doctor would call it a lie.

As always.

‘My nickname lately is “Liar,” right?’

They said he lied every time he opened his mouth—so, “Liar.”

Jaewon stifled his disbelief and got to work.

“Hmm.”

He inserted the input line of the already-prepared [cardiopulmonary bypass machine] into the patient’s [pulmonary artery].

He let out only a small sigh, a sign of his skill.

He had to be—nowadays, even if you added up all the bypass cases done by the cardiothoracic department, Kang-hyuk and Jaewon had done more.

Strictly speaking, that was a big reason for the trauma surgery department’s financial losses.

Still, it was good for the patient.

“Don’t just pose! Connect to the [aorta], too!”

“Ah, yes. But…”

“But what.”

“Can I connect while the heart’s still beating?”

Even if Jaewon was a bypass expert—

He couldn’t just jab it into a beating heart.

He wasn’t Kang-hyuk.

In other words, he wasn’t a monster.

“Sheesh…”

Kang-hyuk sighed at Jaewon.

Looking at him like he was the most pathetic bug in the world.

Jaewon realized he’d messed up, but didn’t know how.

“Why… why are you looking at me like that…”

“The heart… idiot. It’s already stopped…”

Kang-hyuk gestured at his trembling hand.

He was still forcibly squeezing the heart.

Only thanks to Kang-hyuk’s hand could the patient’s heart barely send blood through the body.

Without him, the patient would have died long ago.

“Oh.”

“Moron. If the heart were beating on its own, would I keep squeezing until my hand goes numb?”

“Ah…”

“Don’t just say ‘ah’! Did you have a stroke?”

“N-no, that’s not it…”

“If you get it, just connect it already! I’ll handle the pumping.”

“Yessir!”

What could be more reassuring than Kang-hyuk saying he’d handle it himself?

If only he spoke a little more gently, it’d be perfect.

Anyone who knew his skills would agree.

It was greedy to expect more.

He was just that good.

Slice.

With Kang-hyuk’s support, Jaewon made an incision in the [aorta].

Normally, he’d hesitate even a little.

But not now.

Kang-hyuk would handle it.

Plop.

As expected, only a tiny bit of blood leaked from the incision.

Thanks to that, Jaewon could immediately insert the output line.

“Suture quickly!”

“Yes!”

He followed Kang-hyuk’s instructions and tightly connected the line.

“Don’t turn on the machine yet.”

“Yes.”

Kang-hyuk squeezed the heart a few more times to make sure no blood leaked, then nodded.

“Turn it on now.”

“Yes.”

“You set it up right? The patient’s 78kg.”

“Of course. What do you take me for?”

“For someone who asks if a stopped heart should be stopped.”

“Come on. I did it right. Look.”

Jaewon pointed at the monitor he’d adjusted earlier.

It showed the flow rate per minute, the amount of oxygen in the blood, and so on.

Kang-hyuk looked at it for about five seconds, then shrugged.

“Well… not total nonsense. Clamp the vessels and start it.”

“If you’d just say good job, would it kill you…”

“What?”

“Nothing, sir.”

Jaewon grumbled, but immediately clamped the [pulmonary artery] and [aorta] with sturdy forceps.

Not literal toothed forceps, of course.

These were the two most important blood vessels in the body—you couldn’t just handle them carelessly.

Just imagine he was holding them firmly in place.

“Hmm.”

Kang-hyuk squeezed the heart again.

No blood went into the [pulmonary artery] or [aorta].

“Good. You’re actually pretty decent now.”

“Sorry, what? I can’t hear you.”

Jaewon clung for praise like a ghost starved for it.

But Kang-hyuk wasn’t interested in fulfilling anyone’s wishes.

“Turn on the machine.”

“Wasn’t that what you just said…”

“You wanna die?”

“Who’d say such unlucky stuff in the OR… Ugh. Turning it on.”

In the end, Jaewon got kicked in the shin by Kang-hyuk.

But it didn’t stop him from turning on the machine.

Whirrrrr.

Blood in need of oxygen surged into the machine through the input line.

At the same time, the blood pressure fluctuated.

But today’s anesthesiologist was Gyeongwon.

He was already monitoring the screen, even without being told.

Click.

Instead of additional measures, he simply reduced the [anesthetic gas] to overcome the low blood pressure.

Whirrrrr.

The blood in the machine got forcibly oxygenated and pumped into the [aorta] through the output line.

Thanks to Jaewon’s pre-set flow rate, the blood pressure stabilized around 90 over 60.

It wasn’t perfectly exact, since blood pressure isn’t only about the heart.

“Phew.”

Kang-hyuk could finally pull his right hand out, once he confirmed everything was working.

That revealed the ripped heart he’d been holding shut.

At least it wasn’t the [left ventricle].

“So… how do we suture this?”

But the [right ventricle] was completely torn.

It wasn’t like the [left ventricle], which at least had space.

If he tried to force it closed, there wouldn’t be enough room, and the patient would spend the rest of their life out of breath.

‘That wouldn’t be living at all.’

Jaewon recalled a patient with [heart failure] he’d seen once.

They’d been gasping for breath all the time, looking miserable.

“Wait. Just rinse it out for now. How am I supposed to operate like this?”

Kang-hyuk pointed at his right arm.

His glove and gown, stained with blood and everything else, drooped heavily.

“Oh, right. I’ll clean first, then.”

“Yeah. The [bypass] is running anyway. We’ve got, what, eight hours? Take your time. Clean it as thoroughly as possible.”

“Okay.”

“Oh.”

Kang-hyuk started to step outside, then suddenly turned around.

Jaewon looked up, holding a syringe of saline.

“Yes?”

“Just in case, don’t just clean. Wipe down the patient’s thigh and everywhere else, too.”

“Um… why…?”

“If we can’t suture by pulling it closed, we’ll need to graft something on.”