Chapter 99 – Proving the process with results (2)

Judging by the volume of the shout, a very important and urgent problem had occurred.

Dowook quickly tried to think about what it could be.

Ko Yoon-ah’s case was solved without a problem before the Lunar New Year. He was also done fighting with the internal medicine doctors and they were performing outpatient treatments well.

Maybe it was because he’d insisted on going for training at a famous place but suddenly changed his mind.

‘That’s not it. I haven’t even mentioned it yet.’

Dowook greeted Ha Sang Joong half worriedly.

“How was your holiday, sir?”

“How could I! My back’s about to break from all the New Year’s money I had to give out to all my nephews!”

“That’s why you’re so upset. Then let’s do our best today. Happy New Year, chief.”

Ha Sang Joong shouted at Dowook as he was about to enter the office.

“Where are you escaping to! I can’t rest at ease for a single day because of you! What happened?”

Ha Sang Joong pushed a file in front of Dowook. Looking at the color of the file, it was an important one sent by the Director General.

Dowook quickly went through the documents and read a portion out loud just in case he had misunderstood something.

“Uh, Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Request for cooperation with professional medical personnel.

Hoping for the continuous development of Myeong Sae Hospital.

Our department intends to draft Park Dowook, a neurosurgeon from your hospital, as an attending physician for Minister Kim Jin-hoo’s overseas appointment…”
Dowook looked up as he was reading.

“What’s this?”

“It’s asking for you so why are you asking me?”

This was an official letter of cooperation asking him to be the minister’s doctor during the G20 meeting in Shanghai next weekend and was stamped by the Minister of Foreign Affairs. He understood why Chief Ha was so excited this morning.

“It’s for three days and 2 nights. I can’t take that much time out of my schedule. I’ll send a reply rejecting…….”

“What! This kid is saying crazy things again. What do you think would happen if you rejected a request to be appointed as the Minister of Health and Welfare’s doctor? Do you want the whole hospital to die with you?”

“That’s true.”

Behind the official letter, information related to Minister Kim Jin-hoo’s neurological illness was attached.

Ha Sang Joong sighed and placed his hand on Dowook’s shoulder.

“There’s no other way. I’ll stand in for you next week so be sure to read up and prepare well for the trip. Don’t cause any trouble when you get there.”

“There haven’t been any recent seizures. I’m going just in case. What could happen?”

Ha Sang Joong became serious at Dowook’s careless attitude.

“Do you know how rare a chance to participate in a mission like this is to a medical professional? It’s at the same level as going overseas to become a visiting professor for 3-4 years. Pull yourself together and do it. Got it?”

“Yep.”

Dowook fixed his posture and nodded. Then, he slowly added.

“No matter how close Shanghai is, it’s still a trip abroad. If you could also stand in for me in the surgery the day before so I could pack…”

“This bastard!”

A week later.

Dowook came out with his luggage and paused when he saw a black sedan waiting in front of the sharehouse. It was not a vehicle commonly seen in a small alley in Sinchon.

Sure enough, the driver wearing a suit came out and asked Dowook.

“Are you Dr. Park Dowook?”

“Huh? Yes.”

“We will take you to the airport.”

Dowook was bewildered by the man’s behavior as he suddenly took his bag and put it in the car’s trunk. In the meantime, the car’s backseat window opened and the person inside turned to Dowook.

A slight wrinkle on a sharp jawline. It was difficult to guess her age with makeup but she was a woman who looked to be in her 40s.

“Get in. I’m Seo Jung-Hee, the Director of the Asia-Pacific Bureau of Foreign Affairs. I will be going to Shanghai with you today.”

She showed him the pass from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on her neck, so Dowook asked after bowing in greeting.

“I’m not very clear on how things are but does the director come to visit everyone who is appointed as the minister’s doctor?”

Seo Jung-Hee smiled slightly and pointed inside instead of answering.

“Shall we talk on the way?”

Dowook got in and saw the documents piled up on the car’s simple table.

“Please don’t mind the mess. There’s some things I have to take care of before leaving the country.”

“It’s alright.”

“Let’s go, Mr. Yoon.”

The driver started the car. Seo Jung-Hee continued speaking to Dowook who was surprised by the smoothness of the luxury sedan’s engine.

“I wanted to meet you in person, so I took the liberty of coming to fetch you.”

“Me?”

Seo Jung-Hee added at Dowook’s questioning glance.

“You received an unrivaled evaluation among the list of candidates for this position. You’ve had a tremendous influence in the medical community recently.”

“I wouldn’t say that it’s a tremendous influence. I was just treating my patients.”

“When I read the articles about you, I was amazed. It also made me curious. What kind of doctor could receive so much attention from the media and the public?”

Although she was complimenting Dowook, he felt awkward since he was unsure how to interact with Director Seo. He ended up asking straightforwardly.

“Is there anything you wish to ask me concerning the trip?”

Seo Jung-Hee smiled lightly.

“Not at all. Please take good care of the minister’s health.”

It was strange. Usually, in cases like this, he received some kind of solicitation.

After that, the car remained silent until they left Seoul.

Then, just as they were entering the Incheon International Airport Expressway.

The car slowed down significantly due to the sudden appearance of a bus at the joined interchange.

Because of this, the pile of documents fell.

“Oh my. I apologize, Director General.”

Seo Jung-Hee’s eyes turned to the back mirror at the driver’s quick apology.

“There’s still quite a bit of time before departure, so please slow down a little.”

“Yes, Director General.”

Dowook picked up the documents that fell in front of his feet and felt a sense digging into his fingers. He couldn’t figure out what it was so he spaced out for a moment when Seo Jung-Hee spoke.

“It’s been separated by type so just pile it up on the desk.”

“Oh, ok.”

Dowook quickly organized the documents that fell onto the table and turned to look forward.

Seo Jung-Hee picked up the pile of papers and started to organize them.

“You’ve …sorted them?”

“Huh?”

Dowook turned at Seo Jung-Hee’s question. Seo Jung-Hee pointed at the 4 piles of papers.

“German, French, Italian, English. This is the national protocol manual belonging to the 4 regional groups from G20. Dr. Park, do you know those 4 languages?”

“Uh…”

He’d merely done as his hands had wanted so he didn’t realize that he even sorted them.

Seeing how he could intuitively understand the German written on the document, the sense he could feel being transmitted from Seo Jung-Hee seemed to be closely related to linguistics..

‘Wow. Does the special sense work on something like this, too?’

Hiding his surprise, Dowook replied swiftly.

“I only speak a little English. I looked at medical papers often so I guess I sorted them like that without realizing it.”

“Hmm. Dr. Park is very humble. It’s not a character trait often seen in young people.”

Dowook stayed silent since he couldn’t say that he was afraid to act arrogantly because of his special sense since it could disappear one day. It wasn’t being humble.

Seo Jung-Hee gave Dowook a meaningful look and then returned to her work.

About 30 minutes later, the car stopped near the departure area of Incheon International Airport Terminal 2.

Seo Jung-Hee turned to Dowook.

“You need to get a temporary Diplomat certificate from the MInistry of Foreign Affairs and Trade inside to simplify the entry process. Otherwise, you’ll need a visa.”

“I got a message about that.”

“I have to go now since there’s a protocol discussion before the flight.”

Seo Jung-Hee’s car dropped Dowook off and then disappeared down a road forbidding public entry.

‘Hmm. What is this strange feeling?’

Dowook thought it was probably because it was his first time meeting a high-ranking official as he dragged his luggage into the airport.

The departure area of Terminal 2 was quiet.

Dowook looked at the map and walked toward the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

‘How long has it been since I’ve flown on a plane? Has it been 10 years?’

When he was a medical student, he squeezed in 3 trips abroad in his vacation but all of them were group medical volunteer trips. He didn’t go to any world-famous tourist destination but some of the world’s poorest areas, Mongolia once and Africa twice.

Technically, this trip was also for work, so Dowook didn’t look as excited as the people around him.

Entering the government’s comprehensive administrative center on the 2nd floor, he could see the neatly divided departments.

After passing through the Korean Customs Service, Military Manpower Administration, and the quarantine offices, Dowook stood in front of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ civil service center.

‘Huh?’

Unlike outside, this area was filled with people. He could tell everyone here were not ordinary travelers due to their clothes.

A request to dress appropriately so as to not lose national prestige.

Because everyone was dressed in accordance with the notice, Dowook thought that most of them were probably also members of the delegation.

Dowook approached the reception desk.

“My name is Park Dowook. I’m one of the professional medical practitioners.”

“May I see your passport, please?”

When he handed over the passport, he was given a number and told to wait.

Dowook sat down with no. 37 in his hand. He looked around slowly at the people who would be going with him on this trip.

Employees from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Health and Welfare were not here. It seemed that they had already completed the procedure and were preparing for departure somewhere else.

Listening to the people around him, Dowook realized they were scientists, interpreters and general managers attending the summit.

“Are you Dr. Park Dowook?”

Dowook looked up at the voice. It was a middle-aged man in his 40s.

“I’m Prof. Lee Il-soo from the Central Medical Center. A doctor of internal medicine.”

“Oh. Hello.”

Dowook greeted him brightly since he was his only medical colleague in this mission.

“I’ve heard a lot about you from Senior Yoon Do-cheon.”

When he heard the name of one of the 5 great seniors, Dowook was surprised. Prof. Lee smiled at his reaction.

“I know. He’s quite talkative. You’ve experienced it as well, haven’t you, Dr. Park?”

“Once in a while.”

“I’m pretty quiet so don’t worry. Please take care of me in the next 3 days.”

“Please take care of me, professor.”

While talking about Minister Kim Jin-hoo’s chronic disease, central temple sclerosis, the reception desk called Dowook’s number.

He went to the desk and returned with his passport which included a diplomatic mission certificate. Since they’d met, he decided to wait for the professor before going inside.

“Professor, you said this is your 3rd time at an event like this. What do you usually do when you go?”

“You stay at the designated hospital and eat the meals they give you. If we can communicate, then we can talk to doctors from other countries. One or two health checks will be the main thing.”

“That’s not a lot.”

“From a doctor’s point of view, not doing much is the biggest help to the mission. It’s good to be bored.”

As expected, there wasn’t a big problem. He could think of it as a small vacation.

-No. 52, please come to the reception desk.

Since it was Prof. Lee’s number, Dowook stood up as well.

He watched Prof. Lee walk to the desk and almost fall down due to a man with short hair who suddenly appeared.

-I’m the interpreter, Jin Dae Young.

-There’s a lot of attendants related to interpreting so they are being handled all at once. Which group are you in?

-The Chinese group.

-Please hand me your passport. After it’s been processed, you’ll be called over with your group.

Jin Dae Young stepped back but didn’t join the other interpreters and stood at the back.

Dowook tsked internally and thought that person was obviously someone with an impatient personality. Then, his eyes went wide at the sense piercing his fingers.

Since it was coming from the front, it could only be from the Chinese interpreter. It should obviously be related to language.

‘Should I try it out?’

Earlier, he felt somehow pressured by Director Seo so he couldn’t check it out properly.

He took out his phone and searched for a site translated into Chinese.

If it was really possible to understand a language through the interpreter’s sense, it could be quite useful. A huge bonus was that he wouldn’t have to read the English papers.

‘Let’s see.’

With anticipation, Dowook looked at the Chinese characters. He hoped he could understand the words but it didn’t feel like it did when he looked at the German earlier.

‘Huh? It’s still just Chinese.’

“Dr. Park.”

As he was focused on the words to see if he was mistaken.

Prof. Lee returned with his passport and patted Dowook on the shoulder.

“What are you looking at? Let’s go in…”

Dowook, who hadn’t expected the contact, reacted instinctively.

He swung his upper body and grabbed Prof. Lee’s arm and bent it to the side.

“……Argh!”

“Huh? I’m so sorry!”

Dowook, who’d just disarmed someone in 0.1 second, flinched and let go.

‘Wh-what’s this……?’