Trauma Center : Golden Hour - Chapter 108

“Official document? What the hell are you talking about!”

There was a critically ill patient right now, and they wanted an official document?

What kind of nonsense was this.

In his urgency, his voice grew loud and his speech short.

But the other party showed no change.

It was as if they’d been expecting this all along.

“Professor Baek, didn’t you know? According to the records, you used the helicopter like it was your own. That’s government property. You can’t just use it however you want.”

“Like it was mine? Did you actually check the records?”

“Roughly. There’s even a record of you piloting it yourself… Do you even have a helicopter pilot’s license?”

“You son of a…”

“Anyway, we can’t cooperate over the phone like this. Either write up an official document and get approval from the chief, or contact your local rescue team again.”

“What did you say, you bastard? Hey! Hey!”

Baek Kang-hyuk kept yelling into the phone for a while after that.

But there was no reply.

The call had already been cut off.

“Professor, are they saying they won’t send it?”

Jaewon, who had grasped the situation from listening nearby, asked.

His face was full of worry.

He already knew from the earlier call how urgent the situation was.

“They said they won’t.”

Baek Kang-hyuk clenched his teeth so hard it was audible.

The phone in his grip looked like it might shatter.

That was how much force he was putting into it.

“Why, why not?”

“Team Leader Ahn… got transferred.”

“Team Leader Ahn? You mean Ahn Jung-heon?”

“Yeah.”

Baek Kang-hyuk’s growling tone made Jaewon look away for a moment.

Not only him, but the other patients, guardians, and staff felt the same way.

Th𝙞𝐬 𝗰hⱯp𝗍ᥱr 𝘪𝖘 p𝟬𝘴𝘵𝖾𝑑 b𝖞 Ḱ𝖎𝕥ℯṅ𝑜𝓋℮ḷ

It felt less like an emergency room and more like a fighting arena.

“Wait. Didn’t Team Leader Ahn get assigned just last year?”

At that moment, Jang-mi, who had been helping another nurse, ran over to ask.

Baek Kang-hyuk’s voice had been so loud that anyone in the ER could hear the entire conversation.

“Yeah. But he’s been sent somewhere else.”

“Do they usually reassign people every year…? That’s weird.”

Jang-mi frowned, looking unconvinced.

Even though she was facing the raging Baek Kang-hyuk, she didn’t seem afraid at all.

Baek Kang-hyuk also had no intention of scaring Jang-mi or anyone else here.

“No, that’s not it.”

“Then what?”

“They must have pulled some strings…”

Baek Kang-hyuk stared up at the ceiling with a devastated look.

What he really saw was the director, the chief administrator, and the executive board.

‘Just for money… They’d go this far?’

He wanted to run straight to the director’s office and flip everything over.

But that was impossible.

He only had suspicions, no proof.

In every way, they’d played a clever game.

“Those bastards.”

“How could they…”

Having been swept up in Baek Kang-hyuk’s unusual sense of duty, both Jang-mi and Jaewon cursed out loud.

Instead of joining them, Baek Kang-hyuk waved his hand.

“Right now, Bukhansan is urgent. Call the rescue team again. You have the number, right?”

“Ah, yes.”

Jaewon quickly pulled himself together and grabbed the receiver.

He called the rescue team who had just contacted them.

It took a moment for someone to answer.

“Yes, yes!”

As expected, the agent picked up, panting.

From the sound of the wind, he was probably descending the cliff.

“This is Yang Jaewon from Trauma Surgery, who took your call earlier!”

“Yes! Are you coming? I’m going down too, and the blood pressure is 80 over 50! The patient is unconscious and one pupil reflex is lost!”

Nothing but bad news.

Jaewon shook his head, his face growing even darker.

Even though the rescuer couldn’t see him, he couldn’t help it.

He felt bad for the person desperately trying to save a stranger.

“Uh… The Central Rescue Team says they need an official document for the helicopter, so immediate dispatch isn’t possible.”

“What? An official document? Those only get approved in the mornings! Even in an emergency? It’s not allowed?”

“They’re being really strict…”

“Then… Then you can’t come?”

There was a soft thud on the other end.

The agent must have just reached the patient.

Normally he would have had to move fast.

But not now.

He just stood there, holding the phone with a stunned face.

“Then can’t you come by car?”

“By car… Is that even possible?”

“It should be… if the local police cooperate and hikers are kept clear.”

The agent spoke, looking up at the cliff with a distant gaze.

Even from a distance, there were a lot of people going up and down.

And it was still freezing in February.

“Okay… We’ll call you when we head out.”

“Yes. Thank you. Please come as quickly as possible. The patient’s condition is critical.”

“Yes.”

Jaewon hung up.

Baek Kang-hyuk looked at him, incredulous.

“Hey, why’d you just say we’d go? Do you even have a car?”

“Ah.”

“Ah? What do you mean, ah!”

“I do. We have a car.”

Just as Baek Kang-hyuk was about to start venting, Jang-mi spoke in a calm voice.

“Huh? Really?”

“Yes, over there.”

She pointed to the ambulance at the ER entrance.

It was a top-of-the-line ambulance purchased when the hospital received funding for the Severe Trauma Center.

Of course, Baek Kang-hyuk, as team leader, had no idea.

No one had told him.

“That… How long has that been there?”

“I called it over as soon as I heard the helicopter was a no-go. That car just sits around the hospital all day.”

It wasn’t just ambulances.

That’s how it usually went with anything bought with government money.

Once the budget was spent, nobody cared after.

Ambulances weren’t an exception—they just stayed parked.

Jang-mi had brought it out.

“Then what are we waiting for! Hurry! Let’s go!”

Having quickly assessed the situation, Baek Kang-hyuk grabbed Jaewon by the collar and took off running.

He was so strong, Jaewon could only be dragged along.

Even then, Baek Kang-hyuk shouted to Jang-mi.

“Just in case, bring something to make a hole! That car has an electric outlet, right?”

“Yes! I think it goes up to 450V!”

“This hospital has some amazing equipment. Got it!”

Most medical devices won’t run on just 220V.

That’s why you need a transformer, but almost no ambulances in Korea have one.

So they’re just for transport—you can’t actually treat patients inside.

But this ambulance wasn’t like that.

That alone was a huge relief.

If only it could fly, too, that would be perfect.

But considering they’d just been left without a car at all, this was a blessing.

“Hey, go in and check what’s inside.”

Baek Kang-hyuk yanked open the back door and shoved Jaewon in.

He was so rough, it felt like being arrested.

Jaewon, rubbing his shin after bumping into the stretcher, asked,

“Professor, what about you?”

“Me? What about me.”

“Wouldn’t you be more comfortable in the back? You could check the tools…”

Jaewon looked around the ambulance as he spoke.

All the basics were there, plus some surgical equipment.

There was even a transformer, as Jang-mi had said.

‘What’s the point of me checking all this?’

If it were an emergency surgery, maybe.

But Baek Kang-hyuk was here.

He’d be the one operating, no matter what.

“What are you talking about, I should be in front.”

“In front…?”

Jaewon made his way around the ambulance and then cried out at the sight of Baek Kang-hyuk settling into the driver’s seat.

“You’re not going to drive, are you?”

“Why are you so surprised? I’m a good driver.”

“Good driver? You’ve almost killed— I mean, nearly killed us several times!”

“You brat. Didn’t you hear the pilot say I was better than him?”

“Ah… No way.”

At that point, Jaewon just stopped listening.

By the time he was buckling his seatbelt as tight as it would go in the back, Jang-mi showed up, arms full of surgical tools.

“Open the door and get in!”

Baek Kang-hyuk shouted, holding the passenger door open.

Jang-mi wondered why she had to sit there, but she got in anyway—there was no time to argue.

“Yes, yes!”

“What did you bring?”

He shut the door and asked.

She set down the pile of tools and answered without even thinking it strange.

“A drill and tips. I thought you might need to drill the skull, so I packed them.”

“Good work.”

“Well, have a safe trip… huh?”

She widened her eyes mid-farewell—actually, she frowned.

She’d just banged into the dashboard from the sudden acceleration.

“Wh-what are you doing! That hurts!”

“What do you mean, why aren’t you wearing your seatbelt?”

Baek Kang-hyuk actually got annoyed, even though it was his fault.

But, as always, he was so confident it made you second-guess yourself.

‘Wait, I didn’t do anything wrong, did I?’

But even after thinking it over, she hadn’t done anything wrong.

“What’s with you! I’m supposed to stay at the hospital!”

“Nope. If you’re not there, we’re short-staffed.”

“What is this, a board game? Why do you need the numbers?”

“Hey, gangster. You keep calling yourself that and you really are turning into an idiot.”

“I-idiot…”

Jang-mi was silenced by the old insult, which she hadn’t heard in ages.

Baek Kang-hyuk continued, forcibly shutting her up.

He didn’t really need to say anything else.

Soon, both Jaewon and Jang-mi were curled up and squeezing their eyes shut.

Vroooom.

They say a craftsman never blames his tools.

Apparently, the same went for racers.

The ambulance, with Baek Kang-hyuk at the wheel, was flying down the road.

“Hey, you maniac!”

For the first time ever, an ambulance was getting cursed at by other drivers.

Meanwhile, Baek Kang-hyuk announced over the roar.

“I’ll drive on the way there.”

“Ugh…”

“But who’s driving on the way back? Earlier, wow, we almost died.”

He muttered, having just passed another car by a hair’s breadth.

Jaewon and Jang-mi wanted to resist this reckless driving, but couldn’t find the words.

Anyone else in their position would feel the same.

“Where were we… Right, we’re in a hurry. On the way back, I’ll be operating. You or Slave will drive. And assist. That’s why I brought… what are you doing? Not getting in?”

“Shut up and watch the road!”