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nA white space with an unknowable end.

nIt was all that he could see. No, in the distance, he seemed to see a certain object that he could not quite discern.

nHe slowly moved to that place.

nHow far did he walk?

nGradually the identity of that object came into his vision.

nA man wearing a green gown and a mask.

nIt was surely a doctor in a surgical suit.

nThe man’s identity was all the more clear because everything else was all white.

nThere was another man in front of him, lying flat on a wire rack that could be used in the kitchen of a restaurant.

nA doctor, who had been immersed in thinking over something, was looking down on that man, when his head turned to one side.

nAt that moment, the gazes of the student and the doctor watching that man’s condition were entangled in the air.

nUnlike the student who stepped back flinchingly, the doctor’s eyes were filled with wrinkles. He was smiling. He lifted his hand slowly, making some gestures as if he were beckoning the student, and whenever he did so, there was something shining in his hand.

nIt was none other than a scalpel used to incise a patient’s abdomen.

nThat man lying on the cold wire rack.

nHis stomach, bulging like a balloon, beating as if it were like a heart.

n“An aortic aneurysm.”

nAs always, the man wearing a mask spoke.

nThe aorta plays a role in distributing blood pumped by the heart into all parts of the body. The aorta originates from the left ventricle of the heart, 2 or 3 cm in diameter, and ends at both sides of the buttocks. Simple and uncomplicated, it is called the human highway.

nThe masked man stared at the student, touching the man’s swollen abdomen with a scalpel’s edge.

n“What the hell is wrong here?” muttered the student who had been pondering over something.

n“Abdominal aortic aneurysm.”

nThe masked man’s eyes looked satisfactorily, asking, “Why did it swell up like this?”

n“I can figure out the details if I incise the abdomen, but I think the aorta seems to have been enlarged between the thoracic diaphragm and the pelvic diaphragm,” said the student.

nThe smile reflected in the masked man’s eyes became more noticeable, but a hard voice came out of his mouth, “So, is he going to live or die?”

n“It’s an emergency situation. I have to open up his abdomen, remove the enlarged parts, and connect the artificial blood vessels,” said the student.

n“Why?” asked the masked man.

n“Otherwise the aorta may burst and he may die shortly after. Medication treatment is impossible,” the student replied.

n“Why don’t you quickly open it up?” questioned the masked man.

nNodding his head, the student held out his hand in the air.

n“Scalpel.”

nNo sooner did he say that than a nurse appeared instantly, handing a scalpel to the student’s hand. It was always like this.

nRight before the surgery, the assistants were already at the operating room without a sound. Just like ghosts. It was exactly the 27th surgery today

n“I will open it up,” said the student.

nThe assistants moved briskly in step with the student’ hands, and the masked man watched quietly with his arms folded.

nSince then, the student performed numerous surgeries. Actually, too many for him to count.

nAnd today, he could hear some strange words from the masked man.

n“This time, it is your turn.”

n‘What did he mean by that?’

nThe assistants who appeared like ghosts grabbed the student firmly, and they forcibly laid him down on a wire rack. He struggled to get out of it but could not.

nShackles that could be used for mental patients were placed on his ankles and arms, restraining his movement.

n“He has to go back now.”

nHearing the masked man’s words, the student moved his head to one side.

nWeeeeing… The sharp cog in the masked man’s hand turned fiercely. He was clearly intending to open the student’s brain. The moment the student, with his eyes opened in strain, was about to open his mouth, the masked man snapped his fingers.

nSnap!

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