Chapter 10 : All Charts in the World (3)
Chapter 10 - All Charts in the World (3)
‘A blind date?’
Definitely a development that didn't exist before.
[Will you accept the quest? Accept / Decline ]
It’s the ‘100-day on-call’ period.
Unless one is incredibly daring.
Even so, seeing him bring this up made me realize I had become close with Hwang Jin-ho in the last few days.
But it was also true that dating immediately after starting residency was burdensome.
“Jin-ho, but we’re only in March of our first year. It’s likely going to be hard right now...”
Sihyeon’s fingertip moved toward ‘Decline.’
‘I absolutely, definitely cannot tolerate unpredictable variables cutting in.’
Setting aside being busy, a new human relationship that didn't exist in the past was a clear risk.
“I guess it’s a bit early since it’s only March, right? She’s the prettiest among my girlfriend’s friends, so I really wanted to introduce her to you...”
“…….”
“She’s not just pretty; she has a great personality too. I’ve met her a few times, and she’s a real angel. Well, I also wonder if a first-year should be dating. Now that I’ve said it, I think it might not be a good idea either.”
“…….”
Sihyeon quickly pressed the accept button for fear the quest window would disappear.
“Since it's likely to be hard right now... April would be better than March, right? May is good too.”
“Really? Then I’ll let her know to meet in May once the on-call duty is over.”
“Yeah. Since I have to adapt to the department first.”
Ding-dong!
[System : Quest begins.]
[Time Limit : 8 weeks 6 days 23 hours 59 minutes]
At Hwang Jin-ho’s words, the notification sound rang out again.
Success conditions, success rewards, and even the time limit.
It was a fairly well-structured quest.
‘What’s the big deal about a variable like this?’
Would getting to know one more person affect the overall flow?
He felt like as long as March passed, he could overcome any changes that didn't exist in the past.
Sihyeon clenched his fist.
Groundless confidence began to surge within his chest.
……
“Wow, I’m full. What should we do now?”
“Let’s move for now.”
The two instinctively began to walk away from the hospital.
Because if word got out that two first-years were wandering outside the hospital, it would put Kim Seok-yong in a difficult position.
After walking for a long time, a familiar alley came into view.
"Let's go here."
It was a craft beer pub that Sihyeon used to like.
It is scheduled to close in two years after being tied into a redevelopment zone.
‘This isn't bad either, as long as I don't have to do my first year twice.’
The shop in his memories looked exactly as it used to.
It was a shabby shop with only a few tables, but the beer was truly delicious.
Moreover, the owner was an audio enthusiast, so it was also a space where one could listen to masterpieces through good speakers.
“It’s really been a long time since I’ve been here.”
“A long time? Didn't we come here a few weeks ago with the other interns?”
Hwang Jin-ho questioned the words he had spoken carelessly.
“Ah, that’s right. It feels like it’s been a really long time to me.”
To Sihyeon, it was no different from being four years.
“You know what? In other departments, there are already people saying they’re going to run away.”
As he talked with Hwang Jin-ho about this and that, they naturally started talking about their colleagues.
“Who is it?”
“You know the first-year in Thoracic Surgery, Han Jun-sik. CPR broadcasts popping off back-to-back in the ward and ER, emergency surgeries breaking out...”
‘That did happen.’
Sihyeon chuckled as he thought of the past.
His colleague, Han Jun-sik, had been famous since his internship for bringing in patients.
Specifically, there was a period in early March when the sheer volume of patients became so explosive that people talked about whether he would quit the hospital or not.
Eventually, he endured and survived that difficult time to reach his fourth year safely, though.
“And you know the Internal Medicine first-year, Yeon Jeong-seo? She’s rotating through Cardiology this time, and the third-year in charge is Nam Hye-mi. How is she supposed to survive under that Malignant... I met her briefly yesterday...”
Malignant.
It was short for Malignant, meaning a person who mistreats junior residents more than necessary.
And who was Nam Hye-mi?
She was someone whom no one would disagree with being the top Malignant in the current Internal Medicine department.
“Jeong-seo must be suffering a lot too.”
He hadn't realized it while only staying in the hospital, but talking with Hwang Jin-ho here made him truly feel that he had returned to being a first-year.
‘I should come back here next month.’
With his blind date, who was supposed to be the prettiest among Hwang Jin-ho’s girlfriend's friends and possessed an angelic personality.
He could see a young man and woman talking amicably at the table opposite them.
At that sight, Sihyeon was already running his happiness circuit.
‘Huh? What was that just now?’
But something was strange.
While the woman went to the bathroom for a moment, the man took something out of his inner pocket and quickly dropped it into the beer glass the woman was drinking from.
It happened in such a flash that Sihyeon wouldn't have noticed if he hadn't been watching the whole time.
And a few minutes later.
The woman soon returned from the bathroom and sat back down, and the two began talking and laughing again.
The moment the woman tried to drink the beer in the glass, Sihyeon threw himself forward.
“Wait a minute. You shouldn't drink that!”
While the woman hesitated in surprise, Sihyeon snatched the glass.
“What do you think you’re doing right now?”
The man seemed flustered but immediately began shouting and glaring at Sihyeon.
He looked ready to pounce at any moment.
‘That’s what I should be saying.’
He felt like giving the guy a piece of his mind, but the physical evidence was right in front of him.
Just stalling for time by talking was advantageous for Sihyeon.
“I saw you put something in that lady's glass just now, didn't I?”
“I put something in? You, can you take responsibility for those words?”
It was a case of the thief calling the policeman a thief.
Sihyeon's hand, clutching the glass, trembled.
It felt as if he could hear the sound of his racing heart in his ears.
Ding-dong!
[System : The user's sympathetic nervous system has become extremely hyperactive. The scope of information access is temporarily expanded.]
The moment the notification sound rang, a new scene unfolded before Sihyeon's eyes.
Text began to float above the head of the man who was shouting at the top of his lungs.
[Lee Seong-uk M/32]
‘Information on someone who isn't even an inpatient?’
[System : In temporary mode, '▼View More' is not supported.]
He reflexively touched the text, but no additional information could be obtained.
‘So it’s just the name...’
Still, he knew the other person's name for certain.
“I saw it clearly. Mr. 'Lee Seong-uk' putting something in the lady's glass.”
“How do you... me...”
Bewilderment was evident on the man's face.
‘Where have I seen this person before?’
It clearly seemed like he was someone who knew me.
No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn't remember where he had seen Sihyeon.
“You must have misseen. There seems to be some misunderstanding...”
The man’s attitude suddenly became very polite.
He didn't know the reason, but at any rate, he couldn't just scream at someone who knew his name.
“I’m currently holding the physical evidence. Or shall we search your inner jacket pocket?”
When Sihyeon smiled while lightly swirling the half-full beer glass, the man lost his will to fight right then and there.
Just then, flashing warning lights began to appear outside the shop.
“We’ve responded to a report. Where is the person who made the call?”
And two police officers burst into the shop.
“Over here. It’s me.”
Hwang Jin-ho waved his hand toward the police officers.
From the moment the man put something in the glass, Hwang Jin-ho had been asked to call the police in advance.
The man’s face instantly became stained with horror.
“I’d like you two to come with us to the station as well and cooperate with the investigation.”
A police investigation on their first day off.
Sihyeon and Hwang Jin-ho looked at each other and laughed, as if the situation were absurd.
……
The two finished the simple police investigation and headed toward the resident dormitories.
“What do you think that man was trying to put in the glass?”
Hwang Jin-ho asked curiously.
“Maybe it was ‘Mul-ppong’? Or it could have been Zolpidem.”
“Mul-ppong? What’s that?”
Mul-ppong.
The official name is Gamma-hydroxybutyric acid (GHB), a type of drug, and it is called ‘Mul-ppong’ because it is ‘Philopon (methamphetamine) like water.’
It is colorless and odorless, and if consumed, consciousness becomes clouded and one enters a state of not remembering for several hours.
It is a problematic drug used in date rape, but since it is not a drug used therapeutically in hospitals, it could be somewhat unfamiliar to medical professionals.
“It’s a drug that acts as a kind of sedative and causes memory loss. Specifically, anterograde amnesia.”
“Whoa. You even know that?”
Hwang Jin-ho said in admiration.
‘In a little while, it will become a famous drug that everyone knows.’
This drug is scheduled to gain nationwide fame in a few years due to a scandalous incident at a certain club.
“The problem is that this drug stays in the body for a very short time. It becomes difficult to detect even a short time after the crime.”
“Ah, then you might not even know you've been drugged even after it happens!”
But this case was different.
Because it was stopped before being absorbed into the body, the diluted Mul-ppong component was surely left in the glass.
“So because the half-life is short, it disappears quickly from the body, but since it was before drinking, it's still in the glass?”
“Right. Unless something unusual happens, it will definitely be detected.”
Hwang Jin-ho nodded repeatedly at Sihyeon’s explanation.
Ding-dong!
The notification sound rang again.
[System : Achievement rewards are being issued.]
[A Knight on a White Horse Steps Forth - Saved a fellow medical staff member from a thug. (Very hard difficulty, +1,000P)]
[Day and Night - Points acquired during off-duty hours; an additional 100% bonus points will be issued. (Very hard difficulty, +1,000P)]
‘Fellow medical staff? Who is it?’
The woman who almost drank the beer with the sedative was probably a hospital employee.
‘It’s a face I’ve never seen at the hospital...’
He thought for a long while, but no one came to mind.
……
They arrived at the resident dormitory in no time as they walked and talked.
“Doctor, we’re back.”
“You’re back already? You should have stayed out and played a bit longer.”
Kim Seok-yong was diligently writing charts, just like any other time he was on duty.
“Doctor, you won't believe what happened to us today...”
Hwang Jin-ho excitedly began to recount what had happened at the pub.
“Whoa, I send you out for some time off and you come back after saving a person.”
Kim Seok-yong had a pleased expression.
“That’s right! We pulled it off! Hahaha.”
Perhaps because of the beer he’d had for the first time in a while, Hwang Jin-ho also seemed a bit excited.
‘Has there ever been a day like this?’
Getting unexpected time off, hanging out with Hwang Jin-ho, and returning to the dormitory to end the day on a good note...
Before the regression, he hadn't even had a similar experience.
Even though they were colleagues who worked together for all four years, Hwang Jin-ho was someone he hadn't actually been very close with.
They didn't even have many opportunities to talk about each other's patients.
Because they were each simply too busy surviving.
When there wasn't even enough time to sleep, how could one notice their colleague?
“I had fun thanks to you.”
Hwang Jin-ho grinned at Sihyeon.
Ding-dong!
[System : Resident Hwang Jin-ho shows significant trust in you. (Hard difficulty, +500P)]
“Well, isn't this all because you met a good senior? I anticipated all these scenarios and...”
Kim Seok-yong also chattered away, unlike his usual self.
Ding-dong!
[System : Resident Kim Seok-yong shows significant trust in you. (Hard difficulty, +500P)]
A colleague and a mentor.
They were people who spent the most time together, yet were not easy to get along with because they were entangled in hospital work.
‘Hard difficulty. Honestly, I’ll admit that.’
Ding-dong!
While Sihyeon was feeling proud, a third notification sound was heard.
‘What is it?’
[System : Total points acquired has surpassed 5,000P.]
[System : Item Shop is now active.]
Sihyeon reached toward the system window, calming his racing heart.