Fifth Vital [EN]: Chapter 54

54. Strange Newlyweds

“Excuse me!”

Tae-kyung called out to the woman, who turned around at the sound of his urgent voice.

“Ms. Phuong!”

“……!”

The person who had made him sprint was Phuong, a Vietnamese woman. Phuong had visited the hospital with her husband a while ago, complaining of abdominal pain due to constipation.

The fifth vital sign [an unusual reading indicating a potential underlying issue] had been detected in her husband, who accompanied her as her guardian. At the time, despite repeated questions, the husband had boasted about his health, saying he didn’t have any pain.

After that, Tae-kyung occasionally thought about Phuong’s husband and wondered if he was okay.

“Don’t you remember me? I treated you when you had a stomach ache…….”

“Ah!”

Before Tae-kyung could finish, Phuong’s expression brightened, and she spoke in somewhat broken Korean.

“Remember. Teacher who treated me.”

“That’s right. What brings you to the hospital? More importantly, is your husband doing well? Does he have any pain?”

“Do you know Phuong?”

Phuong’s friend, who was standing next to her, asked, surprised by the rapid-fire questions.

“Yes, she came to our hospital, and I treated her. It looked like you were leaving the hospital. Is she sick?”

“No. It’s nothing like that.”

The friend, also Vietnamese, was fluent in Korean.

“A mart is opening at that intersection, and she urgently needed to use the restroom, so we stopped by.”

“Ms. Phuong, is your husband doing well? Does he have any pain?”

“No problem. Okay.”

Phuong answered after her friend translated into Vietnamese.

“Every day after work, agogo [a Korean slang term meaning ‘full of energy’]. But my husband is very strong.”

“She says he’s healthy every day except for some muscle pain. So he went to work at a large construction site in the countryside this time. Thank you for worrying. Phuong says her husband sometimes talked about you.”

“About me?”

“Yes, he said you were the first doctor to worry about him so much and was grateful.”

“It’s nothing. I’m glad he’s doing well.”

“Doctor?”

While the friend was busy translating into Vietnamese, Phuong called out to Tae-kyung.

“Me and my husband, Dad, Mom, become. Me, pregnant.”

“Ah! Really? Congratulations! And take this.”

Tae-kyung wrote down the hospital’s and his phone number in the fifth vital notebook he always carried and handed it over.

“Contact me if you need any help.”

“Thank you. When my husband comes up, we’ll come together.”

“Okay. Take care of yourself.”

Still hearing that her husband was healthy, Tae-kyung wondered if he was being too sensitive. At the same time, he hoped that Phuong and her husband, who were now becoming parents, would be healthy without any problems.

* * *

“Hyun-woo?”

A young woman coming out of the restroom called out to the man leaning against the hallway wall, and he turned his head.

“Oh, you’re out?”

“How do I look? Am I okay?”

“Yeah. You’re okay.”

“Which looks more mature, the clothes I wore earlier or these clothes?”

“The clothes you’re wearing now look more… fitting, I guess.”

Both the woman asking the question and the man answering seemed somewhat awkward. Also, the atmosphere between the two people who looked like lovers was heavy and strained.

“Right, you memorized the address and date of birth, even my ID, right?”

“I memorized everything. Sol-ah, I’m sorry.”

“What for?”

“Just… that this situation happened…….”

“It’s a problem for both of us. I don’t think it’s either of our faults.”

“But, is this even possible?”

“What if it’s not possible? Do you have any other plans?”

“No.”

“This is the way for you and me to live.”

“But what if the doctor finds out?”

“That’s why we prepared so thoroughly. The emergency room is a place where emergency patients are prioritized, so they don’t pay much attention to other people. And I saw the doctor at the hospital yesterday, and he’s a male doctor who looks kind of clueless. He probably won’t notice.”

“Okay, I got it.”

“Don’t act awkward, and do well.”

The woman and man strengthened their resolve with determined expressions and left the shopping center building, heading toward the hospital.

* * *

“Isn’t that woman the Vietnamese woman who came to our hospital?”

Nurse Im Jeong-suk asked as she approached.

“That’s right. You have a good memory.”

“I have a pretty good memory when it comes to our patients and the hospital. But why were you running so urgently?”

“Ah, that’s…….”

In an instant, Tae-kyung couldn’t think of a suitable excuse. Who would believe him if he said he smelled people who were sick and ran to check?

“I had something to ask about Vietnamese… culture.”

“Yes!?”

A truly absurd answer popped out.

“Vietnamese?”

“Yes. I’m getting into Vietnamese songs these days. Oh, Dr. Jung?”

Tae-kyung called out to Dr. Eui-jin, who was passing by, trying to deflect the awkward situation.

“Aren’t you tired?”

“Tired? Why? Do I look tired?”

“No, you were on duty.”

Eui-jin was covering the duty shift due to Lee Chan-hee and Choi Mona’s absence.

“It’s not like it’s the first time. By the way, what happened with that bet?”

“What do you mean?”

“Dr. Lee, Dr. Choi. Did they eat at Woosimjeong [a very expensive restaurant]?”

“That’s right! I was going to ask that too. Dr. Jung and I bet on it.”

“You two bet?”

“Yes, I bet they didn’t buy it, and Nurse Im bet the opposite, so we bet on coffee.”

“Then Dr. Jung lost.”

“Did they eat? At Woosimjeong?”

Im Jeong-suk, who bet ‘they ate,’ also looked surprised and continued after Eui-jin.

“It didn’t come out to that much, did it?”

“No way. It’s super expensive there. Didn’t they eat meat?”

“I think so. I saw a text earlier, 50,000 won…… Oh! What is this!”

Tae-kyung, who had taken out his phone to check the text again at the two people’s words, was shocked.

“Wait! What is this?”

Then he squinted, closed and opened his eyes, and leaned close to the phone screen.

“Why?”

“Is something wrong with this?”

“What’s wrong?”

“I think my card got stolen.”

“Stolen?”

“Then report it lost right away.”

“No, is it a new type of voice phishing [a phone scam]?”

“Sunbae [a respectful Korean term for a senior colleague], what are you talking about?”

“How can this make sense if it’s not that? The payment amount isn’t 50,000 won, it’s 5… 500,000 won [approximately $400 USD].”

Tae-kyung, who had glanced at the text quickly because he was busy seeing patients, had mistaken 500,000 won for 50,000 won.

“500,000 won?”

“No way.”

“It’s not ‘no way’.”

Tae-kyung showed the phone screen to the two people who couldn’t believe it.

“Oh my gosh. It’s real.”

“What to do. Isn’t something wrong? How can two adults eat 500,000 won worth of meat unless they’re on a competitive eating team?”

“Yeah. That must be it. The calculation must be wrong.”

“Dr. Soo, your patient is here.”

“Okay.”

While the three people were reeling from the 500,000 won charge, the emergency room nurse announced that a patient had arrived.

“Doctor, erase the 500,000 won from your mind for now and go see the patient quickly.”

“Okay. The patient is important.”

Tae-kyung, who was quite shocked, quickly moved to the emergency room.

* * *

“Hello.”

Tae-kyung said hello as he opened the curtain of bed 11.

A woman in a slacks suit with her long hair tied up and a man in jeans and a t-shirt were sitting together.

‘What is it? I don’t smell anything at all.’

Tae-kyung couldn’t smell anything from the two people. Usually, people who come to the emergency room are sick, so it was rare not to smell anything.

Usually, even if it’s not a case where foreign substances enter children’s bodies or, like early this morning, someone has already died, it was normal to smell at least the first stage, a sour smell.

“Hello.”

“Hello.”

The young man and woman sitting on the bed greeted at the same time as Tae-kyung appeared and sat back down.

“Are you here for treatment, Ms. Jo Sae-i?”

“Yes, that’s me.”

The woman raised her hand and looked at Tae-kyung.

“Where does it hurt?”

“I came to get a prescription for the morning-after pill.”

“The morning-after pill?”

Tae-kyung asked again, surprised by the unexpected request.

“Yes.”

“Excuse me, what is your relationship to the man?”

“He’s my husband.”

“Ah, are you married?”

“Yes, we’re married.”

Before Tae-kyung could finish, the woman emphasized again that they were married.

“Is there a special reason why you’re trying to get a prescription for the morning-after pill?”

“Do I need a special reason to get a prescription?”

“No.”

Of course, that wasn’t the case. Married women can also want the morning-after pill. However, in Tae-kyung’s experience, there had never been a case where a young married couple came to the emergency room, not an OB/GYN [Obstetrics and Gynecology specialist], to get the morning-after pill. Also, the two people, who said they were newlyweds, acted extremely cautiously.

“We’re newlyweds who haven’t been married for long, and we don’t want children yet.”

The woman, who had been silent, couldn’t stand the short silence and opened her mouth, looking at Tae-kyung.

“My wife is right. We both work in a university lab, and the conditions aren’t right to have children yet.”

“Excuse me, how old is your husband?”

“I was born in ’94, 28 years old.”

It was a strange answer. It wasn’t ‘why are you asking my age,’ but the answer came out right away as if prepared. Moreover, he even said his year of birth in detail, which he wasn’t asked.

“I’m 27 years old.”

The woman revealed her age, which she wasn’t asked, to Tae-kyung, who already knew the patient’s information that had been received at the station.

“Ms. Jo Sae-i, are you aware of the effects of the morning-after pill? It puts a strain on your body…….”

“Doctor?”

Just as Tae-kyung was about to explain in detail about the medicine she was about to be prescribed, the woman cut him off.

“I know enough. We’re a little busy right now. I just hope you can prescribe it quickly.”

“Is that so? Okay. Then wait a moment.”

“Yes.”

Tae-kyung closed the curtain and made eye contact with Nurse Im Jeong-suk before heading to the station together.

“See! I was right, wasn’t I?”

The woman, who had been watching through the curtains, said with a much more relaxed face as the two moved away from the bed.

“I know. I’m so glad. Sol-ah, you don’t know how scared I was inside.”

“It’s not just you, Hyun-woo. I was nervous too.”

“But that doctor really doesn’t know.”

“I told you. He’s a little clueless. He doesn’t even suspect it.”

“Then all we have to do is get the prescription and buy it at the pharmacy, right?”

“Yeah. All we have to do is take it. I want to get out of here quickly.”

“Me too.”

* * *

“Oh my gosh. What should we do.”

Nurse Im Jeong-suk gulped down the cold water in her tumbler as if frustrated.

“Doctor, what should we do with those people, no, those friends?”

“What do you mean? We have to catch them right away.”

“Catch them right away?”

“Yes, we can’t just let them go. Please guide the two to the examination room under the pretext of needing to confirm the prescription.”

“Yes, Doctor.”

As soon as Tae-kyung’s words were finished, Nurse Im Jeong-suk headed to the bed where the two were.

“Did you wait long?”

“No. It’s okay. What about the prescription?”

“The doctor needs to see you in the examination room to finalize the prescription.”

“Move your seat because of the prescription?”

“Yes. The doctor who did the interview earlier is prescribing it, but he does it in the examination room, using the computer there.”

“Ah, yes. I understand.”

As Nurse Im Jeong-suk made a plausible excuse, the two quietly followed.

“Follow me.”