At the same time, Park Il, an emergency medicine specialist at the Catholic Hospital.
He went out to a gathering of doctors for the first time in a while.
Doctors, proud of their status as social elites, met up at a luxurious bar in Cheongdam-dong, Gangnam for the first time in ages.
“Hey—it’s been a while, Park Il. How have you been? Why is it so hard to see your face? We last met three months ago, right?”
Jegal Junsik, a plastic surgeon whose father was a member of the National Assembly, greeted him.
Jegal Junsik wasn’t from SKY, but he was working as a specialist at G University Hospital. Back in school, he wasn’t particularly good at studying. Still, with his father’s connections, he stood out among young doctors. His usual belief was that there was nothing in this world that money couldn’t solve.
As the de facto leader of the group, Jegal Junsik acted chummy, and Park Il, the Catholic Hospital emergency medicine specialist, replied awkwardly.
“…Yeah. I’ve been well. It’s good to see your face after so long. How have you been?”
“I’ve been just fine. I actually saw you on TV. Last time, during the subway flooding accident, the reporters came to Catholic Hospital and interviewed you. You looked good on camera, huh? These days, Catholic University Hospital seems to be doing well. Thanks to Military Doctor Kim Cheolsu’s emergency C-section on the trauma patient, the hospital got famous. So, how is Kim Cheolsu? Is he a good doctor? I want to recruit him into our group.”
“Well, he certainly has skills. But would he really join our group? Our style is pretty different…”
“Different how? If he joins us, we’d treat him to meals and drinks. What’s the problem?”
“That’s…”
Park Il recalled the day when the C-section mother was rushed from the subway to the emergency room.
A patient whose arm had been completely severed. With so much blood loss, she seemed moments away from death.
She was a high-risk patient, likely to bring a medical lawsuit later.
That’s why Park Il opposed the surgery, but after being hit by Kim Cheolsu, he had no choice but to back down.
As the unpleasant and humiliating memory surfaced, Park Il bit his lip. He had kept silent because the media was hyping up Kim Cheolsu, but he could never forget the humiliation of that day.
It was the first time he had ever been treated like that by someone.
“Honestly, that guy has a terrible personality. I tried to stop the surgery, and he slapped me. And it was a real hard slap.”
“What? There are still doctors like that these days? Does he think he’s a gangster or something? A military man hitting a civilian doctor? That’s over the line—no matter what, you don’t hit elite doctors like us.”
The other doctors sitting on the luxurious red sofa, drinking expensive liquor, scowled.
Doctors in Korea prided themselves on being the nation’s top elite group.
Even lawyers and lawmakers often cursed doctors.
It was often impossible to have a proper conversation with doctors.
Especially the ones gathered here—so-called “rich kids.” All of them came from good families and had no interest in the sense of mission that doctors should have. They chose to be doctors simply because it was a high-paying job—utter scoundrels.
The name of their group was [Young Doctors for a Brighter World].
Contrary to its name, it was actually an organization created so wealthy, powerful doctors could throw their weight around. Mainly, it was a group for using money to hush up patients who sued, or to represent doctors’ interests.
-That Kim Cheolsu bastard can’t be left alone!
-Exactly. Young doctors need to teach him a lesson. Who does he think he is, beating people up? Doesn’t he know that we doctors are an untouchable privileged class?
-Let’s kill him!!! That Kim Cheolsu punk!!!! Just because he can do a few surgeries, he thinks the world is beneath him?!
A year ago, during the medical reform protests, [Young Doctors for a Brighter World] incited doctors across the country to swarm out and threaten the government and the public with a strike.
In the end, they made the government promise to gradually reduce the number of doctors.
They had threatened President Kim Daecheon, who was implementing pharmaceutical reform to reduce drug abuse—a reform that would have truly benefited the people. It was an utterly despicable act, threatening a president trying to make positive change for the public.
Of course, not all doctors were like that, but in 2001, the ones who cared about nothing but money controlled the power in the medical community.
The young specialists gathered here were among those types.
Selfish, malicious men, wielding their medical licenses to threaten the Kim Daecheon government and the people.
It was no wonder they were furious that Kim Cheolsu had struck another doctor.
To these privileged few who dreamed of a “world where only doctors live well,” a conscientious doctor like Kim Cheolsu was an eyesore.
Jegal Junsik, the leader of this group, sat down, deep in thought, pondering what to say to Park Il.
After slowly pouring himself some expensive whiskey and gathering his thoughts, he spoke.
“Park Il. You must have felt bad, huh? That Kim Cheolsu bastard! We can’t just leave him alone. Should I do something about it?”
“We need to show him that the medical world isn’t an easy place. Especially to a nobody like him.”
“But if we all gang up to criticize him, the mood might turn sour. The dumb public is idolizing Kim Cheolsu right now.”
Jegal Junsik looked troubled for a moment, but suddenly smiled as if he had a good idea.
“Ha ha! I’ve got a great idea. I think we can stir things up in the media… I’ll get some reporters I know to create a little scene.”
“Exactly how?”
“So… we’ll run a bunch of sympathetic stories about desperate patients, create a public outcry that surgery must be done… then, in the end, force a hopeless surgery onto Kim Cheolsu. What do you think?”
“That’s a great idea! Using the media to push him into doing a tough surgery. You’re a genius. No less than Zhuge Liang himself. Since he’s addicted to being a media star, he can’t refuse surgery under all that media pressure. Amazing!”
They were envious of Kim Cheolsu’s national fame, which was incomparable to their own.
So they schemed to drag him down.
“Well, since he’s a media-made star, he won’t be able to ignore media pressure, right?”
The young, wealthy doctors, hatching their dirty and disgusting plot, laughed as they sipped expensive whiskey—bought with money from the National Health Insurance Corporation, which was practically taxpayer money.
At least, none of those gathered here knew anything of honor as a doctor.
They simply thought, “Just live a good life, that’s all that matters,” with their duplicitous and selfish attitudes.
They grinned slyly at the thought of attacking Kim Cheolsu, a pure and righteous doctor so different from themselves.
Especially Park Il, the Catholic Hospital emergency specialist who had triggered this situation, felt particularly pleased.
“Drinks taste amazing tonight! Hey—bring out the most expensive whiskey! Hehehe!”
After finishing drinks with his friends, Jegal Junsik made a call somewhere.
-Ring ring!
-Ring ring!
“What is it?”
A cold and dignified voice answered from the other end.
It was Jegal Woon, a current opposition lawmaker and a prominent figure considered a likely presidential candidate.
He was notorious for tormenting the current president, and he backed corrupt chaebols and other evildoers.
“Father. I’m calling because I have something to discuss.”
“Go ahead. What’s on your mind?”
“Yes. About that military doctor Kim Cheolsu who’s been all over the media lately. We can’t just let him be. He could end up threatening our interests as doctors. From what I heard from a friend, he even assaulted a member of our group. Supposedly, because he tried to stop a dangerous surgery that might lead to a lawsuit…”
Jegal Woon was silent for a moment. There was a reason he legally supported doctors.
He coveted the doctors’ votes and donations. Doctors, who siphoned off taxpayer money from the National Health Insurance Corporation, were loaded. They gave huge political donations to the opposition.
That was why Jegal Woon replied in a calm voice.
“If there’s a troublemaker in the medical field, take care of it. I’ll spare no support—get rid of him.”
“Ah—this is nice! That makgeolli was so delicious. Hehe…”
After finishing his clinic duties, Kim Cheolsu enjoyed a feast and drinks at the village head’s house.
Having sweated a lot working in the fields, the alcohol went down easily.
After drinking until 11 p.m., Kim Cheolsu saw that the village head had gone to bed and headed back to his own place, known as the ‘Haunted House.’
-Step
-Step
-Step…
Kim Cheolsu, who had sprawled out under the shabby but elegant tile roof, found it hard to move his body thanks to the alcohol.
He’d really had a lot to drink in a long time. He felt good, but his body was exhausted.
“Mm… I’m tired.”
He lost consciousness right then and slipped into a dream.
*****
“Where am I? Wait, this is my house?”
Awakening in the morning sunlight, Kim Cheolsu was momentarily flustered.
No wonder—he had definitely fallen asleep on the wooden floor, but now he woke up under a blanket in the room.
Kim Cheolsu looked around, thinking.
Did the pocket watch pull some strange trick again? As he pondered, he heard sounds from the kitchen.
-Tak! Tak! Tak! Tak!
The steady rhythm made Kim Cheolsu tense up.
Why were there sounds in a house where he lived alone?
-Gulp
He swallowed nervously and walked toward the kitchen.
Then, seeing the back of a pretty woman, he was startled and spoke.
“Who… who are you?”
“Oh my, you’re awake? It’s me, Ha Saebyeok.”
“Saebyeok-ssi is at my house… I mean, how did you come to Hampyeong? I don’t quite understand.”
To the bewildered Kim Cheolsu, the top star smiled brightly.
“You’re about to operate on Chairman Chung Mongheon, aren’t you? So as his child, of course I had to come.”
But why at my house…? he wanted to ask, but held back. In her eyes—the eyes of S.E.A’s top idol—he saw a flicker of deep sadness.
It was the same look she wore when he first met her in the Hampyeong Hospital’s private room.
Seeing the sorrow held in her expression, Kim Cheolsu’s heart ached.
He hadn’t known much about idols before, but during August, he’d watched her singing on TV.
He worried she hadn’t fully recovered, and he liked watching her dance and sing with that pretty face.
He was usually uninterested in singers, so he felt awkward about these supportive feelings… but that was the truth.
And now, she was cooking in his house. Startled, Kim Cheolsu changed the subject and asked Ha Saebyeok,
“So, what are you cooking right now?”
“Oh! This? You drank a lot yesterday, so I made jaecheopguk for you. I also made fresh rice, and I’ll make rolled omelet too. Just sit down for now.”
“Okay…”
Kim Cheolsu, about to eat a breakfast prepared by a top star, went outside to wait.
Soon, she brought out dishes with delicious aromas one by one and set the table.
When she placed the last rolled omelet on the table, she smiled sweetly and said,
“Eat up—there’s not much, but. There wasn’t much in the fridge, so I just made a simple breakfast. Do you not cook much at home?”
“…Yeah… well…”
Feeling a bit sheepish, Kim Cheolsu mumbled. In truth, he often ate at the village head’s house and didn’t cook much himself.
But being treated to a proper meal like this today, he suddenly felt happy.
For the first time, a woman was at his house, and feeling a bit excited, he asked,
“Thank you for the meal. Mm! The jaecheopguk is very clear. Did you season it with salt?”
-Buzzz…!
Just then, the pocket watch in his bosom rang out.
Startled, Kim Cheolsu quickly grabbed and pressed down on the thing.
Why is this happening all of a sudden?