Chapter 106
The cameraman, who covered his camera with a disinfected germ-free sheet, also followed.
Though Suhyuk covered his face with a surgery cap and mask, he still could be identified.
For Kim was taking a shot of him.
Was it possible for his face to have been shot?
Perhaps not. Suhyuk changed his mask with his back to Kim.
Zeeeeing….
The automatic door opened and Suhyuk went in along with three cameramen.
Fortunately they did not get close to the operating bed. Perhaps they were instructed not to.
They just took a shot of various stuff in the room.
Kim, who was taking a shot of Suhyuk, walked to the side, and filmed the doctor looking squarely into the patient’s eyes. He was standing there as still as a stone statue.
“What are you doing?”
“I’m keeping an eye on this patient who is under anesthesia, as he might fall from the bed if we aren’t careful.”
‘Is he an intern?’
An icy voice came into Kim’s ear, who had been thinking like that.
“Don’t move carelessly.”
It was Suhyuk’s voice.
Kim took wavering steps back before he knew it.
Though only one day pa.s.sed since he started to follow Lee, it was the first time Kim saw such an icy look.
‘Is it because of this?’
He heard that doctors tended to be very sensitive when they went into the operating room.
Kim Woojin took a little more distance from the operating table to take a shot of Suhyuk.
So, the three cameramen were intensively taking a shot of the doctors a.s.signed to them.
And as they installed a camera on the ceiling, they did not have to move to take a speedy shot from a different angle.
The filmed material would be edited and then processed in black and white for broadcast purposes.
The medical staff, busy preparing the surgery, now went back to their place, and the patient closed his eyes under the influence of the anesthesia.
“Bobby.”
At Han’s words, the surgery began.
The patient’s belly was opened with the smell of burning flesh.
“Pull it!”
The two interns pulled the patient’s abdominal wall on both sides using a retractor, and the heart stained with blood was seen pounding. And a reddish blood was coming out of the liver next to the heart.
“Irrigation!”
At the professor’s order, the surgical nurse handed the saline solution to him.
On such occasions, the organs surfaced as they were.
“Unexpectedly, the damage is not that severe. So, we can finish the surgery quickly. Suction!”
The intern, who was monitoring the anesthetized patient, inserted a suction device inside the belly. It sucked in the blood mixed with saline solution.
At that moment, the suction device made a fluttering noise as it it was pulling away something strange.
“Hey!”
Han shouted at him.
Stunned, the intern pulled out the suction device as if he was burnt by something.
Not knowing what he did wrong, he opened his mouth, “Sorry, sir.”
Gus.h.i.+ng blood spattered over Han’s loupe suddenly.
The suction device directly touched the liver, which caused more bleeding to come from it.
Han stepped back without saying anything. The nurse wiped the blood off his loupe right away.
Suhyuk on the opposite side opened his mouth,
“Irrigation.”
When Suhyuk held out his hand, the a.s.sistant gave him wash fluid.
He poured it into the belly, and held out his hand to Park Sungjae to signal that Park should hand over the suction device to him.
“I’m sorry, sir.”
“Watch carefully.”
As an experienced hand, Suhyuk sucked in the blood, saying to him,
“Next time, try to think you’re alone with the patient in the room.”
Suhyuk did not say anything after that.
Park was at a loss on how to understand what he said.
But Han was smiling as if he said that as the answer himself.
Instead of scolding and punis.h.i.+ng him, that kind of talk was the best advice.
Of course, it would take some time for Park to fully understand it.
In no time the damaged organ began to reveal itself after Suhyuk repeatedly sucked in blood.
The liver was not crushed like a tofu, but ruptured, which meant it did not need any partial removal.
Suhyuk opened his mouth, “Let me do it, sir.”
Han nodded his head. At his approval, the medical staff remained silent.
For they clearly knew his capabilities that they had witnessed several times.
Nothing new or strange to them, because it was Lee Suhyuk.
In sewing the ruptured liver as soft as a tofu with his blood-stained hands, Suhyuk did not show any hesitation.
Han, nodding his head, watched him quietly.
Then a cameraman spoke to him,
“Looks like the doctor has performed surgery many times before.”
The professor said, shaking his head,
“Maybe five times?”
The cameraman was surprised a bit.
“Is this an easy surgery?”
“Not at all.”
“How come he…”
“Well, he is a doctor who thinks the world of his patients, and that’s why he is so capable.”
The cameraman who has been taking a shot of Han gestured toward Kim.
That was a signal to him that he should take a good shot of Suhyuk.
***
After surgery the patient could open his eyes in the recovery room.
As the surgery did go well, just as planned, the medical staff laughed.
But the patient developed a dizzy symptom.
He grabbed Suhyuk’s hair and made much ado of nothing, but the medical staff calmed him down quickly. After he took a good rest alone in the recovery room, the patient was transferred to the intensive care unit.
Confirming the patient was asleep, Suhyuk came out of the room, and he made a bitter smile, stroking his hair.
Fortunately he had thick hair.
“You must be stressed when you see a patient like him.”
Suhyuk shook his head when the cameraman asked that question.
“It’s just dizzy symptom. As he had sudden surgery, he must have been very surprised and scared.”
Kim took a close-up shot of his eyes. That glittering eyes of his.
“Don’t you feel stuffy if you wear a mask?”
“I’m alright. Let’s go.”
Suhyuk’s gown was fluttering.
While he was taking a shot of Suhyuk’s appearance from behind, Kim thought of what the director said a moment ago, “Don’t fail to take a shot of Dr. Lee Suhyuk’s face.”
“Looks like he wouldn’t take it off, giving the excuse that he has a cold.”
“You’ve got be ready to remove it if needed.”
—–
Three days pa.s.sed since they started shooting.
Kim Woojin felt he was going nuts because he could not see this masked doctor taking a break at all. Patient, patient, patient. Whenever he arrived at the hospital, he would make the rounds of patients. Did he sleep for only four hours a day?
Due to Suhyuk’s short sleep, Kim had to reduce his sleeping time.
Of course he could understand that, because doctors were normally busy, but of all doctors, only Suhyuk seemed so busy in his eyes.
That’s not the point, of course.
However he tried, Kim could not take a shot of his face.
Even when he had a meal, he put seaweed rolls into his mouth, with milk.
So Kim spent several days trying to shoot him in vain.
“Huuuuuuh….”
Kim, sweeping up his hair, headed for the conference room.
He was not going there for a break, but he had a call from the director.
“Is everybody here?”
All the staff of the camera team gathered in the conference room.
Kim Woojin was one of them.
“Mansuk, did you finish the interviews with the nurses?”
“Yes, sir!”
The director called each one of the staff to double check if there was anything missing.
“Ok, nice job! Now we have one more day to go, so let’s cheer up! Don’t make any mistakes. Dismissed!”
The camera staff began to go out one by one, and so did Kim.
Then the director approached him and said, “Did you get a shot of his face?”
“Well…”
The director suddenly made a frown.
“Whenever he eats or drinks, he never removes his mask.”
“Did I ask you to report about it? Did you take the shot or not?”
“No, sir…”
He came up close to Kim with big strides, demanding,
“Shoot it. Today is the last shooting day.”
“Looks like he doesn’t want to be seen on TV… what if he takes an issue of portraits right?”
“Didn’t you see the doctors sign the contract before we began the shooting? It’s all included there. So, just take a shot of him. And did you ever see anyone who didn’t want to appear on TV?”
The current doc.u.mentary is to be aired as ‘Dr. Han Myungjin’s story.’
Such a famous doctor has extolled another doctor by the name of Lee Suhyuk.
Even in the operating room, Han quietly watched him performing the surgery with a proud look.
A doctor recognized by the famous doctor, Dr. Han Myungjin.
The figure of Lee Suhyuk was a very important character in the current doc.u.mentary.
“I’ll get you if I don’t find Dr. Lee’s face in your shots.”
“…….”
“Answer me!”
“Yes, sir. Got it!”
***
Tick. Tick.
The second hand pointed to 4am.
Exhausted with fatigue, Kim was sitting on the lobby bench.
At that moment Suhyuk came out of the patient’s room.
“You look very tired, so please go home and take a rest.”
“Were you done with checking the patients for the day?”
“I’ve got one more patient.”
Nodding his head slowly, Kim asked to shake hands with him.
“Ok, let me go home then. Thanks a lot for your work for the past seven days.”
Suhyuk held his hands.
“You, too, had lots of hard times, Mr. Kim.”
Suhyuk really felt relieved now. He would not do it never again.
“Though I feel it regrettable that I can’t see your face, there might be chance for me to see you on TV, or next time.”
At his words, Suhyuk nodded his head gently.
“Take care, then!”
Parting with him, Kim got on the elevator to go down, and Suhyuk was able to confirm it.
Only then could Suhyuk breathe a sigh of relief.
Still he did not remove his mask. Though he felt very stuffy because of the mask he was wearing for one week, he just put up with it with perseverance.
So, he saw the last patient of the day, and headed home.
***
An emergency staircase right beside the lodging that Suhyuk went into…
A door closed tightly opened slightly. And a guy came out from there quietly.
He checked the time on his cell phone.
4:20am.
When 30 minutes more pa.s.sed, he turned off the power of his cell phone.
He grabbed the door latch cautiously, and turned it.
Jolt!
The door opened.