While the titles of these last two episodes indubitably pertain to the latest addition to Doldam Hospital, the infamous Dr. Kang, we see traces of “addiction” in the other characters.

Let’s start with Master Kim.

1. Master Kim’s past addiction to success

Master Kim was candid about how he measured success early in his career.

Jang: Why did you become a doctor, Master Kim?
Master Kim: Well, there was no particular reason.
Jang: Really? I thought you would’ve had some grand, marvelous reason.
Master Kim: I vaguely wanted to know what success was and chose to be a surgeon since I only had my brain and hands.
Jang: So there’s another thing we have in common. I also happened to become a doctor because I got good grades.
Master Kim: Pfft. (beginning to reminisce) I used to make a lot of money at one point, and I would get cocky and consider myself successful because everyone around me would call me a doctor.

He laughed and shook his head in chagrin. He must be feeling foolish for once considering money, prestige and honor a sign of success.

2. Dr. Cha EunJae’s addiction to success

Her addiction to success is really rather simple but it’ll take me long to explain. Bear with me now.

Cha: I’d like to correct what happened in the OR just now.
Kang: Correct what?
Cha: You crossed the line.
Kang: (scoffing)
Cha: General surgery and CT surgery are clearly different departments.

To my ears, there was a subtle putdown there, too. She’s reminding him that cardiothoracic surgery is a specialized field while he’s just in “general” surgery.

Kang: Who doesn’t know that?
Cha: We should cooperate with each other as we are equals before the operating table. I do not take orders from you.

See that? She’s pointing out that they’re equals. She’s the only cardiothoracic surgeon in Doldam hospital, other than Master Kim himself, who can be called on to perform surgical procedures involving the heart, lungs, and other organs in the chest. She’s conveniently ignoring fact that a) he’s her “senior” in terms of rank, experience, and length of medical service, and b) he’s her “senior” in terms of age, too.

However, she’s correct to point out that they must cooperate to do what’s best for the patient, and that their senior/junior relationship is less significant in their medical profession than it would have been in their social circles.

Kang: You were late to the operation, and I did what I had to in order to control the situation.

Ahhhh… but he’s forgetting that he could have asked for back-up for the surgeries, but he insisted to Dr. Doil AND Dr. Seo that he could do it on his own.

See? Dr. Seo twice attempted to make him reconsider: “Are you really going in alone?” and “It’s not too late for me to in as your first surgical assistant.” Then, after the surgery, Dr. Seo again confronted him again, “May I ask why you acted so rashly?”

It’s noteworthy that Dr. Kang didn’t deny that he acted rashly doing the surgery on his own.

Cha: I told you many times that the patient with an embolism was in a dangerous state.
Kang: Nevertheless, I clearly told you not to treat non-traumatic patients.

I’m not a physician. In my layman’s perspective though, Dr. Kang is misguided with his dogmatic delineation of traumatic and non-traumatic patients given that there weren’t enough CT surgeons in Doldam hospitals to deal with CT patients, whether they’re traumatic and non-traumatic. The rational compromise here – had Dr. Kang been a bit more flexible and less despotic – would have been to “triage” Dr. Cha’s service in life-and-death situations until another CT surgeon is available. But Dr. Kang is being a royal ass here.

Cha: Wasn’t the Trauma Center built to save people?

She has a valid point here but Dr. Kang evades her question and sticks to his guns that she shouldn’t have deserted her station at the Trauma Center.

Kang: However, while you were away to see another patient, a critical patient died in the Trauma Center.

Nope. That death is on him. He made the decision to go it alone. That said, it’s a jerk move to shift the blame on Dr. Cha! Had there been somebody recording this argument, he just exposed Dr. Cha to a lawsuit.

Kang: (continuing) Just because you can run, does that mean you can do both a marathon and a 100 m race? No, right? You’d probably die. That’s the difference between a Trauma Center and an ER.

Nope. Wrong analogy. He should stop seeing the relationship between the ER and the Trauma Center as a RACE because in truth, it shouldn’t be a competition. It’s a symbiosis; there’s mutual benefit and service.

But why is Dr. Kang so fixated on the running metaphor, anyway? He used this earlier with the baepsae and stork comparison, and now with the marathon and a 100m dash? Methinks, his perspective on how the Trauma Center should be managed is CLOUDED by his envy for Master Kim, and his rivalry with his former mentor.

Dr. Kang is worse than Prof. Cha!

Kang: They may look similar, but they run on completely different systems. If you don’t change your mindset, I assure you that you will not be able to stay at the Trauma Center I lead.

Oh, wow. Nice ultimatum there, boss! “It’s my way or the highway!”

Seriously, what is this with the Trauma Center? So far, the two people who were offered its leadership, i.e., Prof Cha and Dr. Kang, have allowed their greed and ego to impair their judgment.

Cha: What happens if I can’t stay? I’m the only CT surgeon in the Trauma Center right now. What will you do without me?

She believes that she’s indispensable, and she’s using this as a leverage to be given a bit of leeway but Dr. Kang pulls the rug from under her and announces the addition of new staff.

Kang: You don’t need to worry about that. Soon, we’ll have a CT surgeon, a neurosurgeon, and an interventional radiologist. These are the teams I set up while studying trauma in the US.

Everybody’s surprised to hear that. Lol. I hope these potential new hires are actually onboard the idea of working with Dr. Kang, unlike those candidates Prof Cha presented to Director Park. History can’t repeat itself, or can it?

Kang: So I hope you will be clear on your stance. If you still can’t tell the difference between emergency and trauma, you can go back to Doldam Hospital. If you want to stay at the Trauma Center, follow my instructions.
Cha: Are you kicking me out?
Kang: Would you like me to?

As a result of this confrontation, she agrees to participate in a boycott of Dr. Kang. She believes – and rightly so – that Dr. Kang is being unreasonable, high-handed, and dictatorial. She expects Master Kim to support her but when he tells her to stop wasting her time with the boycott and to return to her post at the Trauma Center, she feels that:

a) her efforts to save two people are unappreciated by Master Kim and
b) Master Kim is picking sides and favoring Dr. Kang, and not listening to her grievances.

She doesn’t get that Master Kim only disapproves of her method of lodging a complaint against Dr. Kang.

Her boyfriend Dr Seo actually tried to tell her the same thing.

In Dr. Seo’s words: Even if you’re 100% right, and Dr. Kang is 100% wrong, you became the person in the wrong the moment you chose this method (meaning, the boycott).

In Dr. Kang’s words: Eunjae. No matter how just the reason is, if the process of achieving it isn’t right, then it isn’t right.

And that’s Dr. Cha’s “addiction” to success. She soooo wants to prove that Dr. Kang is wrong and that she’s right, that she loses sight of what’s important: the care of patients. The end does not justify the means.

It takes the catastrophic fire at the end of the episode to make her see reason again.

3. Dr. Kang’s addictions to success

Where shall I start? From the beginning, I guess.

a. He’s addicted to exhibitionism. He thinks he’s successful if he’s blowing away people’s minds with a breathtaking performance at the operating table.

Seo: Are you really going in alone?
Kang: What are you worried about?
Seo: If you’re risking a patient’s life for bravado –
Kang: You have to have skills to have bravado.
Seo: It’s not too late for me to in as your first surgical assistant.
Kang: Just don’t get too impressed by my surgery.

Huh? Even Prof Cha loathed putting on a show of his surgical skills. Only under Director Park’s behest did he perform a surgery to impress the other surgeons at the Trauma Center. But here, Dr. Kang was talking about displaying his skills.

Seo: I don’t get impressed easily.
Kang: And if I do manage to impress you, will you work for me?

Weird. Did he really think he’d win over people with his skills? Didn’t he know that forming a connection or rapport with people is better than impressing them?

I say Dr. Kang has some deep-seated insecurity to be top dog. He’s neither a team-player nor a team-leader so he’s not a good fit for the Trauma Center until he reforms.

b. He’s addicted to authority. He believes he’s successful if he has full control over the direction of the Center, can dictate the tasks of his colleagues, and order them to stay or leave the Center. He’s a petty tyrant, as I said.

That’s why I’m glad that Dr. Cha told him a few home truths.

Cha: This isn’t just your Trauma Center. I can no longer accept your dogmatism and self-righteousness. Please withdraw the orders that you gave unilaterally over the past few days. Until you do so, the Trauma Center staff will take group action.
Kang: I want you to be clear. So are you saying you’re leaving this Center?
Cha: No, the Trauma Center is my dream, and I put in a lot of time and effort to get here. Why should I give that dream up because of you?

Brava! He should be reminded that the Trauma Center is a result of teamwork, and she was part of that team. There’s no room for bosses like Dr. Kang who not only obstructs cooperation and discussion, but also displays negativity and intolerance.

Kang: Return to your station if you’re not leaving. I can’t tolerate group action that uses patients as hostages.
Cha: You’re not going to treat any patients anyway. You’re going to send them all to Doldam ER. If you want to stop this from happening, you should change how you do things. We’ll return as soon as you do.

If you’ve been following my comments on Cha EunJae all along, then you know that I can’t stand her needy, princess complex. But I’m with her in this instance when she told Dr. Kang that the Trauma Center is NOT “his” to rule over like it’s his personal kingdom.

c. Last, but not the least, he’s addicted to competition. He believes he’s successful if he beats his previous mentor.

I’ve discussed this in the previous thread, but I’ll post it again as a reminder of Dr. Kang’s flaw. 😂 Fangirls, take note!

Seo: It seems like you’re causing problems and conflicts between people on purpose.
Kang: We don’t have the time.
Seo: What time?
Kang: Time for friendly conversations and persuasions. I’d rather go head-to-head to see who’ll make it and who won’t, who’ll go together and who’ll give up. It’s better to quickly determine who stays and who goes. That way it’ll be less tiring and time won’t be wasted.

There. What kind of leader would deliberately instigate problems and conflicts merely to weed out people he disliked? The ends do NOT justify the means, as Master Kim preached.

Seo: Is that how you sort people?
Kang: If it’s necessary.
Seo: Master Kim trusts you.
Kang: I know.
Seo: However, you do things very differently compared to Master Kim.
Kang: The goal may be the same, but we have different ways to achieve it.
Seo: Master Kim thinks the process is more important.
Kang: (scoffing) He had many irregular methods of achieving his desired results.
Seo: Yet he’s never violated his beliefs and principles.
Kang: There can be different interpretations. Anyway, how did it feel watching my operation?
Seo: May I ask why you acted so rashly?
Kang: That’s because Master Kim is my opponent. I should go against him properly even if I have to be rash about it.
Seo: It sounds like you’re trying to beat Master Kim.
Kang: (scoffing again) I t seems like you understand. You’re right. That’s why I came back. I wanted to see if I can beat Master Kim.

And that’s why I say that ultimately, Dr. Kang is the character referred to in the title.

There’s absolutely no need for him to compete against Master Kim. It’s a waste of his time and energy, just like it’s waste of time and energy to climb the moon. But for him, beating Master Kim is an addiction and obsession that’s hard to break.

Over and out.