Chapter 12 : System Administrator (2)
Chapter 12 - System Administrator (2)
[Subjective Objective Resident Assistant (SORA)]
As Sihyeon clicked the notification window, an additional message popped up.
[System : Currently in a deactivated state.]
He couldn't immediately meet the person he saw in Kang Seong-jin’s consultation room.
‘She said we'd see each other again in the near future.’
But how?
There was no explanation other than the message saying a new feature had been added.
Sihyeon was lost in thought for a long time.
The person who wishes...
According to Kang Seong-jin, the reason he restarted his first year was because someone had earnestly wished for it.
‘Exactly who?’
People around him? Patients?
Perhaps it could even be Sihyeon himself.
Because he had lived his teens and twenties diligently just to become a psychiatrist, only to lose his life in an accident the day before the exam.
In terms of being wronged, he was second to none.
‘This time, I’m going to live doing everything I want to do.’
Kang Seong-jin had said the same.
Since doing the first year twice is also unfair, he told him to just live like that for now.
He also said that the answer would be in there somewhere.
‘Earn a lot of money. Flexing...’
It was then.
Ding-dong!
Along with the familiar notification sound, the system window popped up once again.
[System : A new quest has arrived.]
-----
[Daily Quest]
1. Reading Papers - A resident's knowledge must not be limited to textbooks. Thoroughly read and review three papers every day.
2. Physical Training - Stamina is essential for resident training. Challenge yourself to a 3km run every day.
3. Ward Dominance - A resident's concern must not be limited to their own patients. Check the progress notes of all inpatients in the ward.
Success Reward: +500P / day
Failure: -1,000P / day
-----
‘Did he bring me back just to torment me?’
Looking at the quest details, even Choi Ji-hoon seemed like an angel.
‘Something was fishy from the moment he told me to study hard and listen to the professors...’
The Administrator's words about living while doing everything I wanted to do must have been a blatant lie.
……
“There are no particular unusual matters today. The patients' conditions are stable as well.”
Having finished the rounds, Department Chair Lee Gwang-seop said with a satisfied smile.
“Chief and Dr. Choi Ji-hoon, make sure to pay special attention to the first-years.”
“Yes, Chair.”
Kim Min-hong and Choi Ji-hoon answered simultaneously.
Lee Gwang-seop immediately left the ward to see outpatients.
“Since the rounds ended early, shall we have a cup of coffee before the outpatient clinic starts?”
Kim Min-hong said, looking around at the residents.
“Mr. Intern, drinks for everyone, please.”
The intern took the card handed over by Kim Min-hong and hurried out of the ward.
‘What’s going on today?’
There were generally two reasons why Kim Min-hong bought coffee after rounds. One was when his stocks skyrocketed, and the other was when he was about to bring up an extremely serious topic.
Looking at his expression, it seemed today was a day his stocks hit the jackpot.
“Chief, what happened to that thing you bought last week? Did it go up a lot?”
Second-year Kwon Jin-eun asked.
She was a medical school classmate of fourth-year Kim Min-hong, but she had quit internal medicine at another hospital before coming to Sama University's psychiatry department.
Even though they were friends, she used formal language like that in public.
“Yeah. It’s a stock I’ve been eyeing for a while, and I think it went up because of this rumor.”
Seeing how the corners of his mouth were turned up so high, it was clear it had hit the upper limit price.
“If it went up, just sell it at the right time. Don't be like last time, holding on while talking about the heart of a beast or whatever, then losing money and crying and asking to go drink...”
It was quite a casual tone for a second-year speaking to a fourth-year.
It might be because the two were originally friends, but Kim Min-hong was far from being authoritative and was the type to always speak comfortably with the residents in private.
Sihyeon had zero interest in stock investing, but he used to always listen with interest to the stock stories Kim Min-hong told after morning rounds.
“The company I got into this time is called Samgu Mulsan, and a subsidiary here recently invested in...”
In fact, rather than the stories, Kim Min-hong’s expressions, which were revealed without filtering whenever stocks went up or down, were quite a sight to behold; they were truly rich and empathetic.
The names of companies Kim Min-hong had mentioned while buying coffee in the past flashed through his mind.
Since he had always invested heavily in highly volatile soaring stocks, his investment results were always dramatic, whether for better or worse.
And at the end of that drama, coffee or soju was always waiting.
‘What happened during this time?’
Sihyeon’s expression froze as he absentmindedly looked at the calendar.
“Doctor, if you'll excuse me, I don't think you should keep holding Samgu Mulsan. It seems best to realize your profits and sell today.”
Sshhh.
In an instant, the atmosphere froze as if everyone had done the Ice Bucket Challenge.
Kim Seok-yong coughed dryly repeatedly. It seemed the coffee he was drinking had gotten stuck in his throat.
Although they would become close friends only years later, they were currently essentially strangers.
No matter how non-authoritative Kim Min-hong was, it wasn't easy for a first-year to tell a fourth-year what to do or not to do.
‘It might be rude, but I can't just stand by and watch.’
If things continued like this, Kim Min-hong would stop by the bank on the first floor of the main building after tea time ended.
It was certain that he would even open a negative margin account with the money meant for his newlywed home's deposit to buy more Samgu Mulsan.
How did he know?
The night of April 1st before the regression.
Kim Min-hong had come to the residents' dormitory drunk with liquor, cursing Samgu Mulsan and shouting at the top of his lungs.
— Argh! My money! My rental home!
‘It wasn't even an April Fool's joke.’
Within a few weeks, Kim Min-hong's account had been slashed to a fraction of its original value.
Sihyeon and Kim Seok-yong, who were on duty that day, had quite a hard time comforting Kim Min-hong as he wailed with his head in his hands.
He couldn't stand by and let Kim Min-hong be ruined this time.
Because he owed him a lot throughout his first year.
“Dr. Cheon Si-hyeon, do you happen to know this stock? The rumors say the procurement contracts this time are massive...”
Kim Min-hong asked, puzzled.
“There are also words that it's information intentionally leaked right before bankruptcy. To offload the volume.”
Sihyeon's answer was full of confidence.
“And I took a quick look at the chart... and it feels like someone has been changing hands and selling little by little for a while now. It's suspicious. It would be best to be careful.”
He hadn't seen any chart.
But Kim Min-hong wasn't the type to buy and sell stocks through technical analysis, and since he was gullible, he was weak to this kind of persuasion.
Sihyeon realized for the first time that he was quite gifted at lying.
‘Your wife and Woohyeon will thank me later.’
Of course, Woohyeon hadn't even been born yet.
Somehow, the time that should have been spent on patient discussions was filled only with Kim Min-hong's investment stories.
“Oh, a call from the outpatient clinic. I'll go first. I'll give some thought to what Dr. Cheon said!”
Kim Min-hong hurriedly left after receiving the call from the clinic.
A brief, awkward silence flowed,
“Our department is a pretty good one, isn't it? Is there an emergency surgery because a patient's vitals are unstable?”
Once again, Kim Min-hong’s colleague, Choi Ji-hoon, spoke up.
“Even a first-year has time to study stocks separately. Don't they? Are you going to quit psychiatry and become a full-time investor at this rate?”
He was laughing as if it were funny, but it was clearly a sarcastic tone.
In the past, he would have bowed his head as much as possible and mumbled in a small, embarrassed voice, but now he was determined to live without regrets.
‘I need to be a bit more assertive.’
Especially toward that Dr. Choi Ji-hoon, he didn't want to lose even an inch.
“Well, there’s no reason I couldn't. Should I recommend some stocks to you as well, if you need them?”
Sihyeon answered with a sly smile.
“Ah, no, it's not that...”
Was it because he was flustered by a type of junior resident he had never seen before?
Choi Ji-hoon was momentarily speechless.
But he soon regained his composure and began to sneer again.
“Anyway, I assume you're as confident in psychiatric work as you are in stock investing? I'll be keeping a close eye on you from now on.”
“I will also work hard to watch and learn. If there’s anything I absolutely don't understand, like that clozapine prescription last time, may I ask you again?”
At Sihyeon’s answer, the trace of a smile vanished from Choi Ji-hoon’s face.
He didn't back down even a single word against a fourth-year.
This time, third-year Kwon Won-ju began to cough dryly.
It seemed the cinnamon powder had gotten stuck in her throat while she was drinking a cappuccino.
Neither Kim Seok-yong nor Hwang Jin-ho could close their mouths in surprise.
It felt like the half-swallowed coffee might just spill out.
“Well... I guess I should have high expectations for this year's first-years. The second-year doctors better keep a good eye on the first-years. Hmm?”
Choi Ji-hoon said, looking alternately at second-years Kim Seok-yong and Kwon Jin-eun.
It was evident he was struggling to steady his trembling voice.
“But won't it be quite embarrassing if that stock rises further? A first-year talking like that to a fourth-year... you can take responsibility, right?”
“That won't happen. Since the lower limit price is scheduled to be hit twice soon.”
The atmosphere became increasingly grim.
“I have general outpatients, so I'll head down first. Won-ju, you come along too.”
“Huh? Oh, okay.”
Ha Do-yeong hurriedly left his seat.
Kwon Won-ju also went out with him, wearing an expression of thanks for the rescue.
“Second-years, let's talk privately later.”
Choi Ji-hoon left the conference room, barely suppressing his anger. Now, only the first and second-years remained in the conference room.
“Sihyeon, is something going on with Dr. Choi Ji-hoon? Did he pull you aside yesterday to make you do chores?”
Kim Seok-yong asked worriedly.
‘No. Not yesterday. Four years ago. He made me do them all year long.’
Sihyeon wanted to say this but held it back.
“He's a man who really loves handing down work, so that might be the case, but isn't your attitude a bit too much? He might stay as a fellow next year, so how are you going to deal with the aftermath?”
Kwon Jin-eun also chipped in.
[System : Resident Kwon Eun-jin’s trust in the user decreases.]
‘It was always like this.’
— Hey! Is doing your own work everything? Why aren't you teaching the first-years properly? Do you want me to refuse to review your papers later?
Whenever there was something wrong, he would always call the upper-year residents and scold them.
Was that all?
— You seem to be doing well, but what should we do with your colleague being like that? You should study together while on duty. Shouldn't you?
When giving penalties, even his colleague Hwang Jin-ho was disadvantaged under the guise of collective responsibility.
He was the one who made the atmosphere of the department strange with his divisive tactics and picking sides.
Even so, one could not rebel against him.
The reason hospital discipline is much stronger than in the military.
The reason senior years are scary.
It was because they knew more.
Knowledge and experience create power.
In the past, Sihyeon was also afraid that if he got on the bad side of the fourth-year in charge, he would not be able to learn the knowledge necessary for treatment.
He was worried that he might become a burden to the patients due to his lack of skill.
Though now he was in a situation where he didn't have to walk on eggshells like that at all.
“I spoke too harshly. I'm sorry for putting you two in a difficult position.”
Sihyeon bowed his head toward the two second-years.
“It’s fine. We just have to go and listen to him nag, and that's it. But hearing it, it actually felt kind of refreshing.”
Surprisingly, Kim Seok-yong’s reaction was calm.
“Hey, what do you mean it's fine! Once he starts nagging, thirty minutes is the minimum.”
Kwon Jin-eun grumbled.
“I’m sorry. I will make sure this kind of thing doesn't happen again.”
Of course I should make sure this doesn't happen again.
So that he can never pick a fight with juniors like that again.
After downing the rest of his coffee, Sihyeon slightly raised the corners of his mouth.