Chapter 205: Recruiting Talent and Welcoming the New

Bunkyo Ward, Tokyo, Japan; Tokyo Medical and Dental University Hospital, Director's Office.

Director Ukai was fretting over the hospital being deeply embroiled in a medical lawsuit.

Professor Zaizen of the First Surgery Department was being sued by a patient, Sasaki Yohei, for a misdiagnosis that led to the patient's death after surgery.

As mentioned previously, Professor Zaizen of the First Surgery Department was a member of Director Ukai's faction. He was an exceptionally brilliant surgeon who came from a poor rural background, fought his way into the First Surgery Department through his own efforts, and was taken in as an Adopted Son-in-law by Zaizen Mataichi, Vice President of the Japan Medical Association, to inherit the Zaizen family name.

Initially, Professor Zaizen was a student of Professor Higashi of the First Surgery Department and was slated to take over the position of Professor of the First Surgery Department in the future. However, because Professor Higashi wanted to continue pulling strings from behind the scenes after retirement, and because Zaizen himself possessed superb skills but was overly sharp and abrasive, the conflict between the master and apprentice deepened. Eventually, they broke ties. Professor Zaizen defected to Director Ukai's faction, and in the subsequent election for the Professor of the First Surgery Department, he narrowly defeated Professor Kikukawa of Kanazawa University, who had been endorsed by Professor Higashi, to assume the post. Professor Higashi, meanwhile, left in dejection for a local hospital in Nagoya after his mandatory retirement.

At first, Director Ukai thought this was a very simple case, because clinical diagnosis by a doctor could never be one hundred percent accurate; misdiagnoses and missed diagnoses were inherently very normal occurrences. As long as they argued along those lines, the entire Japan Medical Association would stand on the hospital's side, not to mention that Zaizen's father-in-law and adoptive father, Zaizen Mataichi, was the Vice President of the Japan Medical Association.

In fact, this was indeed the case; the patient's family could not even find a law firm willing to take the case. Later, after finally finding a freelance lawyer, they still lost the first trial.

However, two things happened that Director Ukai had not anticipated.

The first thing was that Associate Professor Satomi of the Internal Medicine Department actually defected, presenting diagnostic evidence highly unfavorable to Professor Zaizen, proving that he had judged it might be a misdiagnosis beforehand but still stubbornly stuck to his own opinion.

The second thing was the autopsy results from Professor Okochi of the Forensic Pathology Department and his apprentice, Uesugi Muneyuki. During the dissection process, they explicitly stated that the deceased had already developed metastatic lesions before the surgery, and it was not a post-surgical complication.

These were all pieces of evidence highly unfavorable to the trial. If the Medical Association hadn't smoothed things over with the third-party appraisal, and considering that Professor Zaizen was an honorary member of the International Society of Surgery and international influence had to be taken into account, the hospital side would not have won.

Even having won, this victory was extremely precarious, and the opposing lawyer explicitly stated they would continue to appeal.

The first thing Director Ukai did after winning the lawsuit was to banish Associate Professor Satomi to the Western Japan region.

The hospital had no need for people who did not think of the hospital's interests.

However, Associate Professor Satomi had a strong character; he refused this exile and resigned in anger.

This was exactly what Director Ukai wanted. According to the rules of the Japan Medical Association, a doctor who dared to act against the hospital where they were employed could not find work at any other large hospital in the Kanto metropolitan area.

Yet, Professor Okochi stepped forward at this moment and introduced Associate Professor Satomi to the Chiba University Hospital.

Professor Okochi was a titan in the industry, a recipient of the Emperor's Award who could be seated in the Seiryo Palace; even the Medical Association members were his juniors and dared not defy him.

This led to the second problem: having failed to thoroughly deal with Associate Professor Satomi, Director Ukai found that he seemed powerless to resolve the root of the other trouble, namely Professor Okochi and Uesugi Muneyuki.

The big shot of the medical world, Professor Okochi, could be ignored; he would retire completely in another two or three years.

But what if Uesugi Muneyuki were willing to testify in court?

In the medical world, Uesugi Muneyuki was just a small fry who could be easily manipulated, but in the police world, Uesugi Muneyuki was the father of the National Police Agency and the Metropolitan Police Department!

Just then, Director Ukai received a call from the Metropolitan Police Department.

"What? The Metropolitan Police Department wants the Forensic Medicine Department to hire another person, and then have them seconded to Sakuradamon to serve as an assistant to Uesugi-kun?" Director Ukai stood up directly from his seat.

"Ah, that's right," Superintendent General Watanabe Eiji said calmly over the phone. "There's no help for it. Currently, all the autopsy work for the 23 wards, 26 cities, 5 towns, and 8 villages of Tokyo is being carried by Forensic Examiner Uesugi alone. It is truly too much to handle, so please have your hospital cooperate with our agency's work. As for the budget, our agency will remit payment in the form of a partnership."

"Yes, but..." Director Ukai became extremely annoyed as soon as he thought of the events that had occurred in recent years.

He had thought that with Zaizen in the First Surgery Department and Uesugi in the Forensic Medicine Department, these two people would make the hospital great again.

As it turned out, Zaizen was now mired in a lawsuit, and Uesugi Muneyuki was obsessed with autopsies and was also involved in the Zaizen case. He had a stubborn temper and was unwilling to compromise, explicitly telling the hospital that he would not change the autopsy report.

If these two pillars were to collapse together, wouldn't the hospital be completely finished???

Under these circumstances, how could he agree to the hospital specially hiring an extra forensic pathologist who wouldn't do any work but would still occupy our hospital's payroll?

Are you kidding me? What do you think our dignified Tokyo Medical and Dental University Hospital is? Although we don't compare to the University of Tokyo Hospital, when it comes to dentistry and difficult cancer cases, we are also top-tier in the country!

Retreating again and again, how much further must our Tokyo Medical and Dental University retreat?!

Sure enough, Director Ukai's silence was transmitted to Superintendent General Watanabe Eiji at the other end of the line. Watanabe Eiji's attitude changed immediately: "What? Is Director Ukai unwilling?"

"No, no, of course there's no problem!"

With the pressure mounting, Director Ukai immediately said with a forced smile, "Our hospital will do as requested. We will issue the recruitment notice. I look forward to your guidance, Superintendent General Watanabe."

"Oh, so Director Ukai is willing. I thought you were unwilling. I was originally going to say that since the Tokyo Medical and Dental University is unwilling, our agency would have to find another hospital to affiliate with," Watanabe Eiji said nonchalantly. "After all, our agency doesn't want to force anyone!"

"That's not the case! Please, Superintendent General Watanabe, don't say that!" Director Ukai said hurriedly. "If there is anything, just give the order! Our hospital will certainly comply!"

"That's good." Watanabe Eiji hung up the phone and sneered inwardly: "I'll trouble you then."

In Tokyo, besides the University of Tokyo Hospital, which the Metropolitan Police Department might fear slightly, what qualifications do other hospitals have to refuse our Metropolitan Police Department? You bird-brained professor, don't refuse to acknowledge a favor; wanting to reject Sakuradamon—you really don't know the immensity of heaven and earth.

If the Director doesn't want to be the Director, he doesn't have to; there are plenty of people who want to be!

If you don't want my precious Adopted Son-in-law, you don't have to; our University of Tokyo still wants him!

Even if we don't give you a budget, you can only hold it in, not to mention that we are giving you a budget!

Hanging up the phone, Director Ukai stomped his feet fiercely and threw the documents on the table onto the floor.

Damn it!

Director Ukai clenched his fists, gritting his teeth.

So angry, yet he still had to keep smiling!

He hadn't gotten rid of Associate Professor Satomi, couldn't move Professor Okochi, and now he couldn't even do anything about Uesugi Muneyuki, this tiny Specialized Physician. How could this make him command respect, and how could he suppress the other factions within the hospital?

However, compromising with the Metropolitan Police Department might ruin his future plans to run for University President, but if he angered the Metropolitan Police Department and angered the Superintendent General who had the best political achievements, highest prestige, and greatest power in forty years, he would be finished right now!

……………………

Just like that, the news that the Forensic Pathology Department of the Tokyo Medical and Dental University needed to recruit a Forensic Assistant to assist Forensic Examiner Uesugi of the Special Mission Unit of the Criminal Investigation Division 1 of the Metropolitan Police Department immediately spread throughout the entire Kanto metropolitan area.

However, contrary to expectations, after the news was sent out, absolutely no one came to apply.

The reason was simple: there were too few people in Japan who could get into medical school but chose to study forensic medicine, and even fewer who continued to work in forensic medicine after studying it. After starting a forensic job, those willing to jump ship and leave their current position to apply were even fewer!

The main reason lay in the recruitment requirements. The job posting explicitly stated that sufficient experience was required and that there would be a large amount of fieldwork, and it required frequent contact with criminal cases, which discouraged a large number of people.

The salary looked decent, totaling 22*13 from the Tokyo Medical and Dental University plus a subsidy of 5*17 from the Metropolitan Police Department's Special Mission Unit, for an annual salary of about 3.7 million yen (about 3 million after tax). In addition, one could enjoy various subsidies and benefits from the Metropolitan Police Department, so the total annual salary was about 4.2 million (about 3.4 million after tax).

This income was considered okay in Tokyo, but for medical students, it was considered low.

And what was even more fatal was that the Special Mission Unit was an "illegal, non-permanent department." No one knew how long this job would last. Of course, there was still a position at the hospital, but without the Metropolitan Police Department's subsidies and allowances, who would do the work for only the hospital's salary of no more than 2.8 million yen a year?

Therefore, no one came to apply.

Early August, in the sweltering summer night, Fuchu City, Tokyo, nine o'clock in the evening.

"Hurry, hurry, hurry, hurry!"

Two women wearing clinic uniforms got off the bus by the side of the road, one about thirty-seven or thirty-eight, the other about thirty. The two of them rushed off the bus in a panic, then ran toward the supermarket, gasping for breath.

"Late, late, God bless!"

"Foraging, foraging, foraging!"

Two women wearing white lab coats rushed into the supermarket, grabbed a basket each, and headed straight for the bento section.

Foraging!

They were still too late; there wasn't a hair left of the half-price bentos in the supermarket's foraging zone, the sushi section had been wiped clean, and only some fried chicken and Tempura remained.

"Oh dear, we're late!" The two women looked dejected.

After eight o'clock in the evening, Japanese supermarkets begin discounting the day's food and some fresh produce; this is a fixed spawn point for many wage workers, students, and penny-pinching elderly women. Some housewives even stand next to these fresh bentos and light meals, waiting for the supermarket clerks to stick on the discount labels before snatching them up.

But today, it was already nine o'clock, and there was nothing left.

The two women had no choice but to buy a 50% off serving of Shrimp Tempura and a 40% off serving of cold squid udon, calculated their daily expenses, checked out, and sat on a bench next to the supermarket to eat their late dinner.

"Mikoto, you're getting really good at finding half-price bentos!" Sitting on the bench, the older woman said, "Are you really not considering going to another singles mixer with me? You're so young and pretty, you'd definitely be popular!"

"Life in Tokyo is very expensive; I learned to eat half-price bentos a long time ago."

The other woman, her fox-like eyes hidden within messy hair, was full of fatigue and indifference. She simply opened the box and put the now-cold Shrimp Tempura into her mouth: "Ah~ just thinking about having to go back to work overtime later, I really don't want to live like this anymore!"

"So, are you really not considering coming to our singles mixer?" The older woman was wearing a simple short-sleeved shirt, long pants, sneakers, and a white lab coat.

"I said, I don't want to get married!"

"I didn't say get married, it's just a gathering of strangers, men and women, eating and socializing." The older woman was still trying: "Come with me!"

"No." The woman said sullenly: "Besides, wouldn't our profession make men shy away?"

"That's true, but you're so pretty and young, are you really not considering remarrying? I know some decent men! With an annual income of about 5 million, don't be picky! After all, you are divorced..."

"Not considering it~ I've already despaired of marriage, otherwise, how could a dignified graduate of the Osaka University School of Medicine like me end up like this? Wow, small clinic, wow, overtime, wow, 7K industry!"

"Is that because you spend too much on clothes?"

"I want to, so what?"

The woman around thirty finished the Tempura and udon in a few bites, preparing to go back and continue working overtime.

Under the night lights, the woman's face was exquisite and soft, her slender eyes and willow brows exuding a fox-like, carefree temperament. Beneath her high, delicate nose was a pair of pink, tender lips, with the upper lip slightly thicker, full and soft.

She was wearing a formal, slim-fitting office lady skirt suit. Because of the intense running earlier, the white lab coat draped over her was completely disheveled, revealing a beige lace-trimmed shirt underneath. Her breasts were tightly wrapped by the lace-trimmed shirt; although not large in scale, they were particularly well-proportioned. Further down was a matching beige hip-hugging skirt, and beneath the skirt were a pair of exquisite, beautiful legs in flesh-colored silk stockings. The legs were not only slender but also looked incredibly sexy wrapped in the flesh-colored silk.

Due to the intense running earlier, the two patent leather High-heeled Shoes on the woman's small feet were askew. Her two small, exquisite silk-clad feet were exposed to the air, flicking the tips of the shoes. Through the translucent, skin-toned silk stockings, her feet stood neatly side-by-side, and her toes, painted with pink nail polish, pressed against the transparent tips of the stockings, occasionally twitching restlessly—cute and seductive—swaying back and forth along with the shoes.

The woman was not tall, probably under 1.6 meters, but her figure was particularly well-proportioned with a defined waistline. Her brown, shoulder-length hair was loose, soft and beautiful without losing its fox-like temperament.

"Speaking of which, Mikoto, you graduated in forensic medicine, right? Sigh~ the director is really excessive, handing all kinds of Autopsy and Dissection work to you, even though we're just a small clinic."

"By the way, it seems the Medical and Dental University has released news that they want to specially hire for a forensic position? Mikoto, why don't you give it a try?" Just then, the older woman suddenly said: "Aren't you a graduate of forensic medicine?"

The beautiful physician's eyes widened upon hearing this suggestion: "Really?"

"Of course it's true. Although the compensation isn't that great, it's still better than staying in a small clinic, doing forensic work while earning a temp's salary!"

"Moreover, it's said that this time, those who go there will be seconded to the Metropolitan Police Department to serve as an assistant to the legendary rookie forensic doctor, the Special Mission Unit Forensic Examiner Uesugi Muneyuki! He's the one who cracked the Fuji TV Case, the Chiba Case, and the Todai Case! You can't possibly not know him, right? He's of Peerage descent, a descendant of Lord Kenshin!"

When this topic came up, the beautiful physician's expression became much more silent.

The older woman didn't notice; she was very excited talking about this, but soon became frustrated again: "However, they say the recruitment requires someone capable of extensive fieldwork, and since it might involve frequent Dissection work at crime scenes, us women probably don't stand a chance."

"That's how the industry is now. Except for nurses and childcare workers, all departments are unwilling to recruit women. Even if they do, it's as temporary staff. For a small clinic like ours, I guess Forensic Examiner Uesugi wouldn't look twice and would pass us immediately."

"How is that possible?" As soon as the beautiful physician heard this, she calmly closed the lunch box: "If I go, I will definitely be selected, easily selected! I said it! How could he... I mean, I am a graduate of Osaka University, my professional ability is absolutely up to standard!"

"Eh? Really? I don't believe it." The older woman looked skeptical: "Seeing a woman come to apply, surely you'd be weeded out in the first round, right?"

This sentence instead caused the beautiful physician to show a thoughtful expression.

She had been in Tokyo for several years now, changing jobs one after another. The common thread was that because she had interrupted her medical career and was a single woman without children, large hospitals were all afraid she would come in to get pregnant or slack off, so they were unwilling to recruit her. She could only rotate around small clinics. After several years, not only had there been no improvement, but because she was a graduate of the Osaka University School of Medicine, she ended up doing most of the work in the clinics.

The tasks were borne by the temporary staff, while the credit was taken by the Regular Employees.

Endless overtime, miserable pay; she was truly tired of staying in this place.

But where else could a forensic doctor find employment?

The Tokyo Metropolitan Medical Examiner's Office took her resume and stated directly that the forensic industry was too demanding and they did not consider women.

Drifting like this wasn't a solution either!

She believed in herself; as long as she applied, she would definitely be able to get this position.

It was just that this meant rekindling the past.

Should she, what should she do?

(End of chapter)