Trauma Center : Golden Hour - Chapter 107

Just as Director Choi Jo-eun and Chief Administrator Hong Jae-hoon said, the treatment for Fire Chief Oh Hyung-seok proceeded without a hitch.

One reason was Professor Jin Tae-rim of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine’s exceptional pain management skills.

Of course, that wasn’t the only reason.

“This… They said it’d take at least twenty sessions of [extracorporeal shockwave therapy] to get better…”
( T/N: “[extracorporeal shockwave therapy]” is a non-invasive treatment using shock waves. )

Fire Chief Oh Hyung-seok rotated his shoulder as he spoke, satisfaction written all over his face.

Jin Tae-rim pressed on his shoulder and nodded.

“[Extracorporeal shockwave therapy] is a good treatment, but breaking up and removing the calcification with a needle is the most effective.”

“I know, but I never thought something so painful would heal so quickly.”

Oh Hyung-seok kept moving his shoulder, looking like he still couldn’t believe it.

No wonder—his medical record clearly stated he’d already been treated for his shoulder for three months.

He’d come to the university hospital, wondering if something else was wrong because it just wouldn’t heal.

He hadn’t expected it to get better so quickly.

“I don’t mean to brag, but not just anyone can do this procedure.”

“I can see that. They say it can be dangerous, right?”

“Of course. It uses a needle as thick as a knife.”

Professor Jin Tae-rim recalled the thick needle she’d inserted into Oh Hyung-seok’s shoulder three days ago.

It was a procedure she rarely performed herself.

It was risky and difficult.

It didn’t even pay well.

Even though it was much harder and more effective than [extracorporeal shockwave therapy], the reimbursement was set absurdly low.

‘When you look at things like this, you can understand Baek Kang-hyuk……’

To think that the skills you worked so hard to master actually cost you money if you use them.

If you think about it, it really is an absurd reality.

‘No, no, what am I even thinking?’

But she soon returned to her usual self.

As the head of anesthesiology, she had a duty to protect the department’s staff from Baek Kang-hyuk’s constant calls.

Beyond that, she needed to leverage her connections with the current hospital leadership to secure a bigger budget.

While she was at it, she also hoped to become part of the next executive board.

So she forcefully put all thoughts about reimbursement out of her mind and brought up the matter requested by the director and chief administrator.

“You can be discharged now. There’s no need for any more injections.”

“Really? That’s great. I was already feeling awkward being away from my post as a public official.”

Oh Hyung-seok smiled brightly, clearly meaning it.

For someone supposedly so busy, he hadn’t received a single phone call during his entire hospital stay.

Jin Tae-rim, once she decided to accommodate someone, did so thoroughly.

Like most doctors, she had learned this thoroughly during residency.

“I can’t keep someone who works for public safety in the hospital forever, can I?”

“Haha. I don’t know what to say, having a university hospital professor say that to me.”

“Anyway, I’ll process your discharge today. I’ll make sure you don’t have to rush out, so you can take your time.”

“Thank you for looking after me until the end. I suppose I’ll finally have to stop by the office this afternoon.”

The place Chief Oh needed to visit was, of course, the Fire Department headquarters.

Jin Tae-rim, remembering that tomorrow was the regular personnel announcement date, continued.

“Yes. You can move around right away. Just don’t overdo it.”

“Thank you again. Haha. I don’t know how I’ll ever repay you…”

Even though the chief had already received several requests from Director Choi Jo-eun and Chief Administrator Hong Jae-hoon, he said this anyway.

He was simply making sure to remind them again by expressing his gratitude repeatedly.

Jin Tae-rim had already seen right through this but decided to play along for now.

“Yes, yes. Well… if you could just help those two people I mentioned before, that would be enough.”

“Ah, don’t worry about that. I’ll make sure to pay special attention during tomorrow’s personnel appointments.”

The chief was just as sharp as Jin Tae-rim.

He clearly understood the true meaning behind her request for things to “work out well.”

‘All I have to do is send them somewhere far from the Central Rescue Team.’

For the fire chief, this wasn’t hard.

There was nothing to feel guilty about.

This wasn’t a demotion, but a promotion.

They’d even be promoted ahead of schedule.

‘Making a connection at Hanguk University Hospital like this is a great deal.’

Normally, to receive VIP treatment at a major hospital, you had to be a member of the National Assembly or a minister, or someone of even higher status.

Large hospitals actually reserved some VIP rooms separately for such people and would admit them right away if a request came from someone of that rank.

People might complain about favoritism, but everyone just kept quiet.

It was an open secret.

‘If I do the director a favor, even that notoriously difficult outpatient appointment should be easy to get.’

No need to think too far ahead.

Even this time, an outpatient appointment that had been scheduled for two months later was moved up, and it even changed from a general doctor to a department head.

All it took was a single call from the chief administrator.

Now, thinking he’d be able to get that kind of treatment for the rest of his life, he couldn’t help but smile.

“Yes, yes. Don’t worry. I’ll take care of it.”

With that, Oh Hyung-seok smiled and went to his room to pack, then headed straight to the Fire Department.

There were quite a few documents piled up on his desk.

Th𝒾𝘴 𝐜hɒp𝖙єr 𝙞𝑠 pՕ𝑠𝗍єɗ b𝙮 𝘒𝙞†𝕖𝓃0𝖛𝙚𝑙

But he wasn’t worried.

All the documents had Post-its attached, with rough notes summarizing each one.

How could a decision-maker read through all these one by one?

Processing things this way was customary.

“Here are the documents for tomorrow’s personnel changes.”

The secretary pointed to a stack of files on one side of the desk.

It was a lot.

He didn’t feel like reading them carefully.

There was no need.

So he only looked at the important parts.

“Is there anything about the Central Rescue Team? I mean, Team Leader Ahn Jung-heon.”

“The Central Rescue Team… He was assigned there last year, so there’s no transfer order at the moment. He hasn’t requested one, either. Some of the team are dissatisfied, but Team Leader Ahn himself is very happy there.”

Only then did the chief remember that he himself had assigned Team Leader Ahn last year.

‘He was a passionate guy.’

Despite his age, he kept volunteering for field work.

It wasn’t because anyone forced him; he just wanted to do it.

He felt a bit guilty about moving someone after only a year.

But that kind of guilt was easy to bear.

Especially for someone as seasoned as the chief.

So he snapped at the secretary instead.

“Why does it have to be two or three years? Is there a law against moving someone after only a year?”

He was basically yelling at someone else for a mess he’d made.

But what could the secretary do?

If the chief said so, that was that.

“Ah… No, there isn’t. I have his personnel file. Should I bring it?”

“Yeah, bring it over. He’s always working in the field. Even if he’s fine with it, people talk. There’s gossip.”

“Yes, understood.”

The secretary thought, ‘What nonsense is this?’ but soon found herself bringing over Team Leader Ahn’s file.

The chief read the file carefully, then decided to transfer him to an office job.

‘No discussion about the Central Rescue Team chief or team leader personnel moves.’

The secretary made sure everyone attending the meeting knew the chief had personally handled those decisions.

So, at the meeting, there were no objections to those two personnel transfers.

And so, both the Central Rescue Team chief and Team Leader Ahn Jung-heon were reassigned.

It didn’t take long for this news to reach Baek Kang-hyuk.

No, things started going wrong as soon as the next dispatch came up.

Rrring.

As usual, the phone at the Hanguk University Hospital Emergency Medicine Station rang.

There was no rule about who had to answer it.

Even if there were, nobody would follow it.

“When will the blood test results be out?”

“Did you call general surgery? It’s [appendicitis]!”

The ER was chaos as always—just a few moments there and your mind would start to go numb.

Even though Baek Kang-hyuk’s Severe Trauma Center team was handling most of the major cases, it was the same.

“Yes, this is Yang Jaewon, Trauma Surgery at Hanguk University Hospital.”

So, Jaewon, who was hanging around the station, answered the phone.

A desperate voice burst through the receiver.

“Ah! Trauma Surgery! This is Bukhansan Mountain Rescue!”

“Bukhansan…”

Jaewon couldn’t help but feel a bit drained.

His first deployment with Baek Kang-hyuk had been to Bukhansan.

Try as he might, those nightmarish memories began to surface.

“Yes! The person requesting rescue fell from a cliff and suffered a serious head injury! A field agent went down to check their condition, but… we need you to come out and treat them!”

Once, that would have been unimaginable.

Medical staff at the hospital, rescue teams outside.

That was considered an unbreakable rule.

But Baek Kang-hyuk’s Severe Trauma Team was different, and that was starting to become known.

Jaewon took a deep breath and called out.

“Professor! You should take this call! There’s an emergency at Bukhansan!”

“Bukhansan? Let me have it.”

Baek Kang-hyuk was tending to minor cases in the ER since there were no critical patients at the moment.

It was like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut.

But he listened well.

His skills weren’t just for the most serious patients.

He finished suturing a scalp laceration patient and took the call.

“Head injury? Got it. We’ll be there soon.”

His answer, of course, was an immediate okay.

As always, Baek Kang-hyuk called the Central Rescue Team.

“Yes, Central Rescue Team here.”

But the voice was different.

It wasn’t Ahn Jung-heon.

‘Is he off shift?’

He’s human, after all, he needs a break.

Baek Kang-hyuk thought and spoke calmly.

“This is Baek Kang-hyuk from Hanguk University Hospital. There’s a rescue request at Bukhansan, and the patient has a serious head injury. Please send a helicopter.”

“Helicopter?”

“Yes, a helicopter.”

“Please hold.”

“Hold…?”

Baek Kang-hyuk looked at the receiver in surprise.

Was this a wrong number?

Why would the Central Rescue Team hesitate when a patient needed help?

But, contrary to his expectations, it was more than five minutes before the rescue team answered again.

This time, the voice was older and more experienced.

“Ah, Professor Baek. I heard about you from the previous team leader.”

“Previous…?”

“Yes, Ahn Jung-heon.”

“Oh.”

Only then did Baek Kang-hyuk realize that Ahn Jung-heon had been reassigned.

‘This isn’t good.’

Baek Kang-hyuk frowned as he held the receiver.

The other person continued.

“I hear you used to dispatch helicopters just with a phone call for convenience.”

“Convenience?”

“From now on, you must submit an official document. Without the director’s approval, we can’t dispatch the rescue helicopter.”