Chapter Text
Minho hadn’t always pictured himself working in the Emergency Department. When he was in nursing school, critical care had always made him feel a little nauseated from the rush of adrenaline. He had done clinical rotations in labor and delivery, pediatrics, the behavioral unit, a nursing home, a public school, and an assortment of random medical surgical hospital floors. He figured, out of any critical departments, that he would maybe be interested in an Intensive Care Unit or a Telemetry Unit. The ED was a mix of the best and worst parts of the hospital. Too much for Minho.
However, people had always told him that he was good at staying level-headed. That was a key factor when it came to working in the ED. You saw a little bit of everything, so you needed to remain cool, calm, and collected. Patients and their families were usually panicked, and you couldn’t just rage or ignore them. You have to be unshakeable.
He got to experience it firsthand, in the gap between graduation and sitting for his board exam. Minho was doing research and reaching out to human resources at different hospitals in the area, but he couldn’t apply for openings until he had his license number. He wasn’t sure what he wanted to specialize in, but he knew he’d nail his exam, so he had to figure it out soon. When it happened, he was making a late night convenience store run.
It wasn’t so late that the streets were empty, and it was a weekend evening. People were heading home from restaurants or going to the bar, so the sidewalks were packed. He had his mind on treating himself to a slice of congealed pizza and maybe a day old doughnut from 7-Eleven, so he didn’t see the accident happen. He heard it though. The screech of tires and crunch of metal.
When he looked over, he found the situation obvious. A food delivery person on a moped had collided with a taxi at the intersection. The deliveryman had a leg pinned under the toppled over bike and his helmet must not have been fastened, because it was several feet away in the middle of the street. Minho didn’t react for a long moment. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to get involved in the situation, and a glance around showed that someone was already on the phone with emergency services.
The taxi driver made him change his mind. He had climbed out of his vehicle to go check on the man, and had started poking and prodding him. It was when he gave the downed rider a shake that Minho felt the need to step in.
“Don’t shake him like that!” He pulled the man back with a hand on his shoulder, moving to kneel beside the victim. “He could have a potential cervical spine injury from the crash.”
Minho pulled his phone from his pocket and opened the notes app. He looked down at the man in front of him and gave him a quick assessment. He appeared conscious, but looked like he had been knocked for a loop. He was breathing okay despite the weight of the moped, so Minho didn’t worry about verifying his airway. The man had bad road rash visible on both of his arms, oozing blood. His leg beneath the bike was probably destroyed, but Minho couldn’t quite see it to verify.
“My name is Lee Minho, I’m a student nurse. Can I help you?” The man below him opened his eyes and seemed to focus on his face. Minho took his slow blinking as a yes. “Can you tell me your name?”
There was a moment where the man just blinked at him before mumbling, “Baek Yongsun.”
“Okay, Yongsun-ssi. Do you know what happened?” He used the flashlight on his phone to shine in the man’s eyes and recorded his findings in his note.
“Fell,” was the response, followed by what appeared to be an attempt to sit up.
Minho pressed down on his shoulder to encourage him to stay in place. “Don’t get up, Yongsun-ssi. Rest for a moment. Do you remember how you fell?”
Another long, slow blink. “Fell. My leg…”
“Your leg is under your bike. We’re gonna leave it there until the ambulance gets here. Does anything else hurt?”
“Head.” Minho leaned in to shine the light around his head, but the dark color of his hair made it difficult to see if there was any bleeding. “Hurts.”
The whine of a siren penetrated the air, though still a short distance away. Minho checked the man’s pulse and recorded the remainder of his findings in his note before setting his phone aside. The victim started to move around a bit more, so Minho changed position so that he could hold the man’s head still. He did his best to reassure the man and keep him calm while they awaited the ambulance’s arrival.
Once it had arrived and the EMTs jumped out, Minho felt his body relax. He was not meant for fieldwork. They were in the middle of the street, surrounded by spectators who were simply rubbernecking, and he had no equipment to get an adequate baseline. At least he could now pass off the care. The first technician who approached was on the older side, obviously a seasoned first responder. The second followed him tentatively and was younger, watching with wide eyes and a lip worried between his teeth.
“Patient is awake, not oriented, responses sluggish. Pupils are equal, round, reactive to light. Respirations, 20, shallow and labored. Radial pulse was 115, regular rhythm, quick capillary refill. Reports pain in leg and head.”
The EMT looked taken-aback for a moment before listening closely to Minho’s words. He nodded and turned away to say something to the young EMT, who scurried off. Once he turned back, he asked, “What’s your name?”
“Lee Minho. I’m a student nurse.”
“Nam Hyunshik. You’ve done a good job.” The EMT briefly assessed the man, as well, confirming Minho’s findings. “No changes. Shall we see about this leg?”
He assumed that Hyunshik was talking to his young coworker who had returned with a cervical collar, so Minho stayed in his place at Yongsun’s head. He briefly moved his hands to allow the neck brace to be notched into place and then settled in to monitor the victim’s mental status. Since he was so sluggish, Minho was worried that he would soon lose consciousness. Luckily, as soon as Hyunshik lifted the moped and wheeled it aside, Yongsun moaned in pain and his eyes seemed to focus a bit more. The younger EMT was kneeling beside the leg and blocking Minho’s view, but he could imagine that he was assessing for damage and stabilizing it for transfer to the gurney and then into the ambulance.
The police had arrived to the scene at some point, as well, now interviewing the taxi driver. Minho was pulled aside to speak with an officer, though his gaze kept straying to the man lying in the street. His testimony wasn’t great because he hadn’t seen much, but he gave his contact information in case they needed him again. Hyunshik and the other EMT had moved Yongsun onto the stretcher and were wheeling him towards the open ambulance doors. Minho moved to the moped and grabbed the little sling bag of Yongsun’s belongings. He got permission from the cop to give it to the paramedics to take to the hospital and hurried over to hand it off before they left.
“Here are his belongings. His wallet and phone are in there.” Minho extended the bag in his hand, but the EMTs didn’t take it.
“Aren’t you coming with?” Hyunshik asked, cocking a brow. “It’ll help to have someone from the scene to report to the ED when we arrive.”
Minho wasn’t expecting to end up in the hospital when he left the house that night, but honestly who did? He simply climbed in and tried to stay out of the way while they did their paramedic stuff. Once they arrived to the hospital, he helped report the particulars and handed over Yongsun’s belongings so they could confirm his details and reach out to his emergency contact. In the end, he stayed until Yongsun’s wife arrived and then waited with her until the trauma team had him stabilized.
He watched the nurses closely from his seat in the waiting room. The Emergency Department was chaos, as he imagined it usually was on Friday nights. There were doctors, technicians, EMTs, transport personnel, environmental services workers - you name it, they were there. But Minho watched the nurses. And over the course of the few hours he was there, something clicked in Minho’s head.
This was where he was meant to be.