Fifth Vital [EN]: Chapter 5

5. Car Accident

Tae-kyung knew those thugs were never genuinely kind.

“How have you been, Mr. Kim Tae-kyung?”

The two men knocking at the door were loan sharks who had lent money to Tae-hoon.

“I don’t think we’re on terms to be exchanging pleasantries, are we?”

“Has it been so long? Our Doctor Kim looks worn out. Is the hospital work getting to you?”

Tae-kyung briefly wondered if they had come for the money, but that wasn’t it.

The principal and interest were being automatically withdrawn at the end of each month. Last month’s payment had definitely gone through, and this month’s date hadn’t arrived yet.

There was no reason for them to come, and they weren’t the type to visit without a purpose.

“You must be very curious as to why we suddenly came to see you. Right, Mr. Kim?”

“Why did you come?”

Tae-kyung asked again why they had come.

“Come on, Mr. Kim? Why are you so prickly? But you really do look pale…”

“Stop with the pointless talk and just tell me why you’re here.”

“We have something important to say, but you’re impossible to reach by phone, so what choice do we have? We had to come in person.”

Tae-kyung, being terminally ill, was extremely sensitive. Annoyance surged within him, and he glared sharply at Jang Deuk-chil.

“I’ll tell you, so stop glaring. Have you been in touch with your brother lately?”

Jang Deuk-chil continued to speak.

“Why do you think I suddenly came to see Doctor Kim? Huh?”

“Don’t tell me…”

“Bingo! That’s right. Kim Tae-hoon borrowed money. When you think about it, he’s not a brother but an enemy, right?”

Tae-kyung’s expression instantly hardened.

Tae-hoon borrowing money meant he had returned to gambling.

‘That can’t be…’

He thought something was wrong. He hadn’t been near a gambling den for a while, and he was diligently working his new delivery job.

He thought his brother had finally come to his senses.

But to go back to gambling again, it couldn’t be.

“Are you sure? Are you mistaken?”

“Mr. Kim, let me tell you one thing. Do you know why people addicted to gambling are so scary? Eventually, they’ll gamble away their house deeds and even their children’s college funds.”

“That’s right. There was even a crazy bastard who put his wife up as collateral.”

“That’s how scary gambling is.”

Listening to Jang Deuk-chil’s words, Tae-kyung suddenly remembered the message Tae-hoon had sent him last night.

-Tae-kyung, I’m sorry. It’s all my fault. I’ll be a good brother from now on, and I’ll make it up to you. I’m sorry, little brother.

He had thought the vague apology was just about the argument they had at home a week ago.

In the end, Tae-hoon’s message was an apology for borrowing money.

“While I was away on a business trip, Kim Tae-hoon came and borrowed money from a new guy.”

“How much?”

“He didn’t borrow much. Fifty thousand [50 million won].”

Fifty million won was ‘not much’? These guys were the worst kind of thugs.

“Like him or not, he’s still your brother. You can’t kill him, so what else can you do? Right?”

“……”

“Let’s have our Doctor Kim suffer a little more.”

“Kill me.”

“What…!”

At the unexpected words, Jang Deuk-chil and his subordinate were speechless.

“Kill me.”

“Mr. Kim, did you eat something wrong today? Why are you acting like this?”

“Jang Deuk-chil, didn’t you always say that if someone doesn’t pay back the money, you’ll kill them and sell their organs to get it back?”

Tae-kyung was serious.

It was the same whether he died now or later. But he was worried about his remaining mother.

Those bad guys would surely go to the funeral and pressure his mother to pay off Tae-hoon’s debt. He didn’t want to make his mother, who had lived a hard life, suffer even more.

“Are you telling me to sell your organs now?”

“Yes. How much will you give me for my organs? How much are you going to give?”

When Tae-kyung spoke seriously with a desperate tone, Jang Deuk-chil opened his mouth with an annoyed look.

“That’s right. I have the mindset that I’ll get the money back even if I have to sell the organs of those who can’t pay. But why would I sell your organs if it’s not profitable?”

“What?”

“To put it bluntly, organs can only be sold once, but Mr. Kim, you keep paying back the money every month. Can’t you already see the calculation?”

That’s right. Jang Deuk-chil, who had met all sorts of people while running his money business, knew the income of a doctor well. That’s why he had no intention of touching Tae-kyung, who was good at paying back the money.

“Ha!”

In despair, Tae-kyung, drained of strength, slumped down.

“Let’s have our Mr. Kim suffer a little more. The principal and interest will go up starting next month.”

Jang Deuk-chil patted Tae-kyung, who was sitting down, on the shoulder, left those last words, and went down from the rooftop with his group.

“Ah! And don’t even think about going into hiding. Your mother’s house is in Yangpyeong, right? Mr. Kim, I look forward to your continued cooperation.”

* * *

Shuffle, shuffle-

Tae-kyung dragged his slippers and headed to the neighborhood convenience store with slow steps. It was to buy soju [Korean distilled spirit].

“Welcome.”

“Please give me three bottles of soju.”

“It’s in the refrigerator in the back.”

Due to his father’s influence as an alcoholic, Tae-kyung hated alcohol. But now, with his sick body, he couldn’t bear to be sober.

He wanted to get drunk and forget this reality even for a moment.

“Do you have something bad going on? Buying alcohol from the afternoon.”

“How much is it?”

The owner woman chattered, but Tae-kyung didn’t respond.

“It’s 4,200 won. But aren’t you going to buy something to eat with it?”

“No, thank you.”

“Drinking soju straight will ruin your stomach. This is good until today, so take it with you.”

“Thank you.”

Tae-kyung came out with a bag containing the small kimchi [fermented Korean side dish] and soju that the owner woman had given him.

‘I need to provide for living expenses.’

Tae-kyung’s eyes, which had been alive until just a few days ago, were now lifeless like a dead fish.

Even if the sky falls, there’s a hole to escape, they say. But he couldn’t see even a needle hole for an ant to crawl out of.

‘I should ask Teacher Lee for some money…!’

Just as he was looking at the ground with such drooping eyes and thinking about this and that, it was then.

“…Excuse me.”

Along with the feeling of something caught on the end of his slippers, he heard someone’s voice from somewhere.

“Excuse me?”

Tae-kyung, seeing the scattered shopping basket on the ground, raised his head. An expectant mother was sitting on the ground a short distance away, gesturing.

“Pregnant woman!”

Tae-kyung threw the soju bag he was holding on the ground and instinctively headed for the pregnant woman.

“Are you okay?”

It was the appearance of a doctor in contrast to the appearance of giving up with dead fish eyes until just a moment ago.

“I’m sorry, but could you help me?”

“I’ll help you. What’s wrong?”

“I was on my way home when I suddenly felt dizzy and became too dizzy.”

“Are you okay now?”

“Yes, I’m a little better now.”

“Can you get up? I’ll help you up, so try to get up slowly.”

“Please.”

The pregnant woman, who was sweating coldly on her forehead and struggling, got up from her seat with support.

Tae-kyung supported the pregnant woman and sat her on a small bench near the street.

“Don’t overdo it and walk slowly.”

“Oh, thank you. I often get dizzy, but I was okay today, so I came out to buy fruit.”

“If that’s been the case, you may have pregnancy anemia, so be sure to get an obstetrics and gynecology examination.”

“That’s right. I have pregnancy anemia. Oh, that’s right! Look at my mind.”

The pregnant woman showed a sorry expression as if she suddenly remembered something and continued to speak.

“I’m really sorry, but can I ask you for a favor? I’m a mother of consecutive births, so could you please take my first child?”

At the end of Tae-kyung’s gaze following the pregnant woman’s fingertips, he saw an old stroller.

“I think I’ll get dizzy again if I move now. I’m sorry.”

“Sit down. I’ll help you.”

It seemed that the stroller had rolled down due to the sloping road when the pregnant woman sat down due to anemia.

“Thank you.”

Tae-kyung handed the disheveled shopping basket to the pregnant woman and went down to get the stroller.

In the old stroller, a young child was sleeping soundly. Tae-kyung’s heart was relieved to face the lovely child’s face.

“You’re sleeping well in this situation. I’ll take you to your mom.”

Tae-kyung grabbed the stroller handle and gave it strength. But the stroller didn’t move.

“Why is this happening?”

No matter how many times he gave it strength, it didn’t budge, so he bent down to check the wheel part.

“This is the problem.”

Looking closely, a small piece of metal protruding from the broken road was piercing the stroller wheel and holding it in place.

“The stroller is old, so the wheels are stiff and won’t roll well. Are you okay?”

“Yes. The wheel is stuck between the roads. Should I move the baby first?”

“I’m really sorry, but my child has severe atopy [eczema]. Please move it by stroller.”

The skin rash on the baby’s face spoke for the pregnant woman’s words.

“Why doesn’t it come out?”

Tae-kyung grabbed the protruding piece of metal on the wheel with his hands. It looked like it would come out easily, but the stroller was still unmoving.

“Anyway, this neighborhood. They should fix the road.”

Just as he was kneeling on the ground, pulling the piece of metal with his hands and kicking it with his feet, it was then.

Honk- Honk-

“Hey!!”

Honk-

“Get out of there!”

With a tremendous honking sound, a cargo truck was rushing down towards Tae-kyung and the stroller.

“The car brakes aren’t working! Get out of the way!”

“Oh my!! Baby!”

“Get out of the way quickly!”

“Mister, please save our baby!”

The truck driver opened the car window, shouting that the vehicle’s brakes were strange, and the pregnant woman, aghast, stood up and shouted again, collapsing from dizziness.

“Please save our child!”

“Waaaaah!”

“Ha! Damn it.”

The child, who woke up from the sudden loud noise, began to cry, and Tae-kyung felt dizzy for a moment.

Soon regaining his senses, he grabbed the piece of metal with both hands and began to exert all the remaining energy in his body.

“Please! Please come out.”

Blood began to flow from the hands holding the piece of metal. Tae-kyung, desperate, began to pray to himself.

“At least the baby…”

It was a life already facing death, but he was scared to face the oncoming vehicle. Still, he couldn’t leave the baby to die.

“Please! Please save at least the baby.”

At that moment, the piece of metal he was pulling with all his might came out, and Tae-kyung got up at the speed of light and pushed the stroller to the side of the road.

And as soon as the stroller left the road, Tae-kyung collided head-on with the cargo truck.

Bang-

With a loud noise, his body soared into the air and plummeted to the ground.

The truck that hit Tae-kyung collided with an empty store on the side of the road and barely managed to stop the car.

“I…I hit someone….”

Getting out of the car, he was shocked to see Tae-kyung’s miserable appearance and sat down on the floor, and the residents who heard the accident sound came out one by one.

“What’s that sound?”

“There’s an accident here! It looks like a truck hit that person.”

“People will die like that. Call 119 first [emergency services number in Korea].”

“Oh! What should I do with that person.”

The people gathered around Tae-kyung felt sorry and called 119.

“This is 119, right? Someone was hit by a car here. People are dying. Please come quickly.”

“Baby!”

The image of the pregnant woman hugging the baby came into Tae-kyung’s eyes. More than anything, he thought it was fortunate that he saved the baby.

‘The baby is alive. Ugh!’

Beyond imagination, pain and suffering surged through the broken bones and cells. Soon, the red blood flowing from his head began to obscure his vision.

‘It’s over. Is it really over like this…… Our Ms. Lee will be very surprised.’

Tae-kyung knew instinctively. That he was about to die.

“Cough. Cough!”

Blood gushed out of his mouth, and the focus gradually blurred.

“Hey! Don’t lose consciousness.”

“You have to come to your senses.”

“119 will be here soon.”

People shouted loudly, but Tae-kyung couldn’t hear it.

‘……I haven’t even fully realized my dream as a doctor yet.’

For the first time, he felt wronged.

‘I wanted to become a doctor who really saves people…….’

When I think about it, I don’t know why I was so obsessed with the position of ‘professor’.

‘Is this how I die.’

Between the dripping blood and the blurring focus, a familiar object reached Tae-kyung’s gaze.

‘That…that’s.’

The gaze that touched the floor barely reached the house key ring. It was what had spilled out of his pocket after colliding with the truck a little while ago.

The faded cross carving hanging on the key ring fixed Tae-kyung’s gaze. It was a carving that Ms. Lee had made herself when he entered medical school, telling him to become a doctor who truly cares for patients.

‘Our Ms. Lee went out to pray in the early morning because of me…….’

“Cough!”

Blood poured out of his mouth in succession, and his eyelids gradually lowered, but Tae-kyung’s gaze was directed at the cross.

‘The one above…I don’t know if you really exist…but could you please save me?’

He didn’t want to die. Even in this moment of dying, he didn’t want to die. Rather, he wanted to live like crazy.

‘Professor, what is that…….’

Looking back from the threshold of death, his start as a doctor was pure. He didn’t care when people whispered why a poor guy like him didn’t choose plastic surgery or dermatology. Because he wanted to become a surgeon who saves people.

He had no personal time and was plagued by endless emergency calls, but still, people’s lives were more important than money.

‘Please save me… Please. If you save me… If you save me with a healthy body…….’

Tae-kyung begged and begged again. If he could live again with a healthy body, he would not be greedy for anything.

‘I will live for the patients.’

All the medical knowledge I have will be used solely for those who are sick. So please save me. He begged desperately as he died.

‘I promise… I’ll do it. So please…….’

Tae-kyung, who was determined to become a real doctor who saves people, not a professor or anything else, if there was such a thing as the next life, slowly closed his eyes.