Trauma Center : Golden Hour - Chapter 79

“I’m sorry, but a patient… has arrived.”

“What the hell are you talking about? A patient? That was me, Jaewon!”

“They said it’s urgent.”

“Professor? Is something wrong with your ears?”

Kang-hyuk ignored Jaewon’s banter and calmly put down his phone.

The reporters sighed in disappointment after overhearing the call, but most of their faces already showed resignation.

Wasn’t this the man who just said he became a trauma surgeon out of destiny—to save patients?

For someone like that to keep doing an interview after hearing that a patient had arrived?

Unthinkable.

“Then if you’ll excuse me. I’m sorry.”

And so, Kang-hyuk exited the auditorium with urgent steps—so urgent that no one dared stop him.

Not even Director Choi Jo-eun or Chief Strategy Officer Hong Jae-hoon, who had been shooting him looks of disapproval the entire time.

They only spoke after he left.

“That damn bastard’s pulling a media stunt?”

The first to speak, as expected, was Director Choi.

He was, in any case, sharper than Professor Hong.

As they say, the position makes the man.

Having seen all kinds of things from his seat, Choi could tell immediately what game Kang-hyuk was playing.

“Media… stunt?”

Meanwhile, Professor Hong just looked clueless.

Director Choi wondered how someone like this ever managed to specialize in infectious diseases and get this far.

“Just look at that.”

He gestured toward the mass of reporters still in the auditorium.

Some looked bored, but many seemed genuinely moved.

These were reporters—people who had seen the worst in people—and they were wearing that kind of expression?

It was proof of how impactful Kang-hyuk’s short speech had been.

“You think that’s a normal reaction? This is all orchestrated. Staged.”

“But it did sound like a real emergency. The voice on the phone was really worked up.”

Professor Hong, who had been closer, hadn’t heard what was said, but he could tell the speaker was panicked.

He probably thought it was something like, “The patient is crashing right now!”

If he ever found out that even that frantic tone had been arranged in advance, he might just faint.

“That may be, but seriously—at this timing? A patient?”

“And several of these stations were live-streaming… Looks like he’s about to get even more famous.”

Professor Hong pointed to a few media outlets still broadcasting.

What were the viewers saying?

Didn’t need to check to know—they were going wild.

<Goddamn, that was badass.>

<Chills. That’s a real doctor.>

<We actually have a doctor like this in Korea… I respect him.>

Comments like that were flooding the front page of Korea’s top portal site, Naver.

Even as Kang-hyuk hurried down the hall, his eyes remained calm as he checked those comments.

‘Perfect. With this much attention, the hospital won’t be able to kick us out.’

At least not while the public remained interested.

For now, it would be fine.

Even if they ran a deficit—so long as there were no accidents while treating patients.

With that thought, Kang-hyuk marched into the Severe Trauma Center like a conquering hero.

“Professor, are you okay? You didn’t hit your head or anything, right?”

Jaewon was the first to greet him.

“Here, try drinking this first.”

He turned to see Jang-mi offering him a paper cup.

On closer inspection, it wasn’t a paper cup—it was a specimen cup used for urine collection.

Still, as long as it hadn’t been used, it should’ve been fine to drink from.

People often did.

But that didn’t make it any less gross.

“What is this? What’s wrong with you two?”

“What was that phone call earlier? What was all that about?”

“Ah, well… Hey, I was just—mmph.”

“Just drink it.”

The moment Kang-hyuk opened his mouth to speak, Jang-mi poured the contents of the cup into his mouth.

The taste was… bizarre.

Kind of unsettling.

It had a weirdly sweet aftertaste, which somehow made it even worse.

“Mm-mmph!”

“Yup, just swallow it. If it goes down the wrong pipe, you’ll choke to death.”

“Mm!”

But with Jang-mi pinching his nose, he had no choice but to gulp it all down.

Kang-hyuk was left feeling utterly bewildered.

Th𝒾𝗌 𝐜hȺp𝐭𝘦r 𝙞ṡ p𝐨ṡţ𝕖𝕕 bʏ 𝘒𝘪𝑡ᥱ𝐧ɵ𝖛ℯ𝗅

‘Did she just overpower me? Is she actually a gangster?’

Even if she were a real gangster, that shouldn’t have been easy.

He was starting to wonder what kind of person Jang-mi really was.

Looking down at the stunned professor, Jang-mi asked,

“Well? Feeling more sober now?”

“Sober from what? What the hell did you give me?”

“Didn’t you taste it? It’s the fastest hangover cure. After nursing department parties, everyone drinks it the next day.”

“What?”

“Saline, glucose, multivitamins, and amino acids. It’s a hangover cocktail.”

She looked extremely proud of it.

Apparently, the nursing department really did drink it after every night out.

Theoretically, it wasn’t totally without merit.

It helped with dehydration and sugar loss due to alcohol.

Though the vitamins and amino acids were probably just for show.

‘Okay, so it might work… Wait, no!’

Kang-hyuk, who had started nodding reflexively, suddenly flinched.

“You gave me saline? To drink? To a human being? No wonder it tasted off…”

“Still works great, doesn’t it? Feel better now? The hangover?”

“I wasn’t drunk!”

“You weren’t? Then what was that all about?”

“Here, just look at this. It’s already up.”

Kang-hyuk, not bothering to explain, held out his phone.

On the screen was one of the hottest channels these days: Doctor Friends.

“They’re my friends. Good guys. Already edited and uploaded it.”

“Doctor… Friends? What’s that? Oh—wait, is that you, Professor?”

It was the #1 medical entertainment channel in Korea—Doctor Friends.

They were known for their speed in turning current medical and social issues into video content.

True to their reputation, a video about Kang-hyuk had already gone live.

“Becoming a trauma surgeon… was fate.”

That cringeworthy line had been edited right into the highlight reel.

Naturally, Jaewon and Jang-mi both stared in disbelief.

“What the… What is this?”

“What did you even do while you were gone?”

“Attracted attention. Just look at the comments.”

“Comments… Whoa. Over two thousand? And it’s not even been an hour…”

That’s what you’d expect from a channel with over 300,000 subscribers.

It had more views and comments than any video released by the major news outlets.

And all the comments were overwhelmingly positive.

It even had 2,000 likes and just one dislike.

“Was that you?”

“What? No! I didn’t even know this channel existed…”

“You don’t know this channel? You really… You don’t want to be healthy, huh?”

“Huh?”

“How do you think I stay healthy doing this kind of work at my age? It’s all thanks to DocFriends. Subscribe for your health. Didn’t you know?”

“I mean… still. Wow… I didn’t know you were capable of saying something like that, Professor…”

Jaewon thought back to the way Kang-hyuk always called him “Slave.”

That overbearing attitude wasn’t just reserved for him.

The person standing beside him was literally nicknamed “Gangster.”

‘And even other departments…’

Especially the Anesthesiology Department—his verbal abuse toward them was truly unspeakable.

If anyone had secretly recorded that, his pristine image would be shattered in an instant.

And yet here he was, spewing sentimental lines with ease?

“Oh? He’s answering the phone now?”

Even as Jaewon spiraled into a mental breakdown, the video played on.

It was near the end now, and the scene showed Kang-hyuk answering the very call from Jaewon.

Jang-mi, having completely forgotten about that call, asked casually.

Kang-hyuk simply smiled.

“Watch closely.”

In the video, Kang-hyuk yelled something about a patient and stormed out of the auditorium.

In short, he’d left behind a touching speech and disappeared like a hero.

Viewers who didn’t know the full story were raving.

<He’s a real hero…>

<A true doctor. Just for today, I’m not a DocFriends fan—I’m a Baek Kang-hyuk fan.>

<And he’s good-looking too.>

For Jaewon and Jang-mi, who did know everything, it was starting to feel unbearable.

“P-Professor… What is all this for? What do you gain from… ugh!”

Kang-hyuk smacked the back of Jaewon’s head.

It really hurt.

“Ow… Why’d you hit me?”

While Jaewon was rubbing the back of his head in pain, Kang-hyuk had already turned away—his eyes now on Jang-mi.

“Gangster. You’re a little sharper than him. You don’t get it either?”

“Uh… Ah!”

“Thought so. Say it.”

“Professor… are you just a massive attention seeker?”

“You little—”

Kang-hyuk instinctively clenched his fist, then relaxed it.

If he hit someone with full force, that person might not remain a person.

Of course, since Kang-hyuk was standing right there, he’d be able to save them… but still.

“You two… Seriously… Without me, you’d both starve to death.”

He spoke with a heavy sigh.

In truth, it was because of Kang-hyuk that they’d both ended up in this dead-end department with zero future.

But for some reason, they found it hard to argue with him right now.

Kang-hyuk was just that serious.

His expression practically demanded a bolded font.

“Look. What’s our department’s status in this hospital?”

“Pariah,” Jaewon replied.

“Hey, that’s a bit harsh… Well, fine. Fair enough.”

Kang-hyuk nodded, albeit reluctantly.

Judged strictly by economic logic, even “pariah” was a generous term.

“Anyway. Then how do we survive?”

“By… making money,” Jang-mi answered, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

Looking at her face made Kang-hyuk feel a strange despair.

Like a broke father revealing the harsh truth to his innocent daughter.

“Ugh… How are we supposed to make money in this department? We’re a black hole of deficits.”

“Then we won’t survive…?”

“Don’t jinx it! God, you two… Do your brains even function?”

Kang-hyuk openly insulted them before continuing.

“If we get good media coverage and favorable public opinion, the hospital can’t touch us. This isn’t a private hospital—it’s a national one.”

“Ah…”

“Wow… Professor, that’s actually smart?”

“Hearing that from you makes it feel less like a compliment…”

As Kang-hyuk trailed off, his phone buzzed again.

Brrrr.

The screen displayed the number for the 119 emergency response center.

This time, it was a call about an actual patient.