Fifth Vital [EN]: Chapter 90

Fifth Vital Sign – Episode 90 (90/502)

90. Thug VS Gangster

Upon hearing Tae-kyung’s orders, Nurse Lim Jeong-suk, along with her colleagues, began moving people away from the scene.

“Patients and guardians, please remain silent and enter the emergency room one by one, slowly and calmly,” she instructed.

A nurse inside the emergency room tore a page from the calendar and held up the message written on the back for people to see.

Nurse Lim Jeong-suk let people in one by one, assisted by Team Leader Choi.

It might seem like an overreaction for just one person with a knife, but it wasn’t.

Medical staff knew from experience that knife fights in the emergency room could quickly escalate into major incidents.

“Please move quietly and do not speak.”

People followed the medical staff’s instructions slowly and without protest.

Fortunately, none of the people waiting were drunk.

If someone had been intoxicated, the situation could have become much worse.

A person under the influence of alcohol tends to be more talkative and feel more courageous than usual. Therefore, mistakes often happen, and these mistakes often lead to accidents.

“Phew! Everyone’s inside, right?”

Everyone had safely entered the emergency room.

“Yes, Dr. Su. All the patients and guardians are inside.”

“Did you contact the ward?”

“Yes, I also contacted the police.”

“Good job. I’ll go out, so lock the door here.”

“What!? Dr. Su, it’s dangerous. Just stay here.”

“We can’t leave that person alone. What if something happens?”

“That’s true, but what if…”

“Okay. Nurse Lim, stay here. I’m a Marine, so I’ll go out.”

“Go out with the team leader. It seems like you can just stand right in front of the door.”

“Nurse Lim, don’t be too nervous and just trust me.”

With that, the two went out again, and the emergency room door, which had been open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, was firmly closed.

* * *

“Where, still feeling so tough now?”

Koo Hyun-wook took something out of his pocket and laughed nastily.

“You see this?”

What Koo Hyun-wook took out was a knife.

“Hey, Hyun-wook, I think this old man’s scared.”

“Yeah, did he swallow his tongue? Why is he so quiet?”

“Hey, old man? You know what’s funny? No matter how big you are or how brave you think you are, as soon as I take out this knife, you just shut your mouth.”

When Jang Deuk-chil remained silent, Koo Hyun-wook and his gang sneered and tried to provoke him.

“Why? Are you scared of getting a hole in your gut? Huh? Scared, old man?”

“Koo Hyun-wook, was it?”

In fact, Jang Deuk-chil was deliberately keeping quiet, conserving his energy.

He had seen Nurse Lim Jeong-suk moving people, so he was trying to buy time and help.

He was afraid that speaking would provoke the thugs and make them use their knives.

“You must have watched a lot of movies. It’s dangerous to carry a butterfly knife [a folding pocket knife with two handles that rotate around the blade] around carelessly. And carrying a knife without a permit is technically illegal.”

Jang Deuk-chil blurted out something he had heard somewhere before.

It was a bit hypocritical, considering his own background; he wasn’t exactly someone who could lecture anyone, but at least he didn’t wield weapons for no reason like they did.

“Oh! The old man’s face scar wasn’t just for show. He even knows what a balisong [another name for a butterfly knife] is.”

“So, is he someone who used to be a big deal?”

The thug gang poked and prodded Jang Deuk-chil, constantly trying to provoke him.

The balisong in Koo Hyun-wook’s hand was a folding pocket knife, also known as a butterfly knife, characterized by its flashy opening and closing.

Swish- Swish-

“Hey, are you scared?”

“Hey, Hyun-wook, the old man’s really scared. Hehe!”

“We’ve shown off enough, so put the knife down quickly. Let’s all go home peacefully.”

“Put the knife down? You idiot. Are you kidding me? I’m in a bad mood right now.”

Jang Deuk-chil could no longer tolerate the dangerous behavior of the thug gang, who seemed to think the whole world revolved around them.

“Team Leader, why aren’t the police here yet? I’m worried something might really happen.”

“Nurse Lim, it hasn’t been long since we reported it. They’ll be here soon.”

Nurse Lim Jeong-suk and Team Leader Choi whispered quietly, hoping the police would arrive quickly, but the police, who were just as busy on Fridays as the emergency room, couldn’t come immediately.

“Give me the knife.”

“I don’t want to. Hey, old man, try to take it from me if you have the guts.”

“You’re really going to get hurt.”

“Go to hell.”

The moment Koo Hyun-wook pointed the knife at Jang Deuk-chil, approached him little by little, and swung his arm,

Thwack-

“Ah!”

In the blink of an eye, a kick sent the knife, which had been waving around haphazardly, to the floor.

“Ah, damn it. That really hurt. I’m going to kill you.”

Koo Hyun-wook, whose thumb was swollen from the kick, turned his gaze to where the knife had fallen, filled with pain and anger.

But Jang Deuk-chil had already quickly picked up the fallen knife and was staring straight at the thug gang.

“Hey, give me back my knife.”

“You told me to take it. Weren’t you going to do something like this?”

Swish- Flick-

And then, he flawlessly performed the balisong hand techniques that Koo Hyun-wook had clumsily shown off earlier.

Whoosh-

The rhythmically unfolding technique, like a snake slithering over a wall, was flashy, precise, and full of practiced skill.

“……!”

The thugs were speechless at the unexpected and dazzling technique, and the eyes of Nurse Lim Jeong-suk and Team Leader Choi behind them widened.

“Should I show you more? As you can see, I’m not doing this as a joke.”

“Hey! Old man, give me back my knife!”

Koo Hyun-wook, who hadn’t grasped the situation, charged with his eyes blazing, and with a ‘thud,’ he was slammed into the hospital corridor.

He had been subdued in one move with a judo ippon technique [a decisive, full-point throw in judo].

“Ah, my back!”

“Hyun-wook! Are you okay? Is this guy for real?”

Two more people, who still hadn’t grasped the situation, charged at the same time.

Grasping the necks of those who had charged with dog-like loyalty, Jang Deuk-chil slammed their foreheads together.

Bang-

“Ah!”

“Ah. My head really hurts.”

“Hey, you guys. Sit down in a row over here before you get beaten up even worse. Quickly!”

The thugs, who were strong against the weak and weak against the strong, no longer acted up.

“Kneel down and sit. No, not like that, you bastard. Get your hand away.”

In the meantime, Koo Hyun-wook, who saw the knife on the floor, tried to grab it slyly, but Jang Deuk-chil kicked the knife away. And the knife, which flew towards the reception desk, was accurately stopped by Tae-kyung, who was arriving on the scene, with his foot.

Thwack-

“Balisong knife?”

“Director?”

Team Leader Choi, feeling relieved at Tae-kyung’s arrival, quickly approached him.

“Is this the knife that caused the problem?”

“Yes, that’s the knife.”

“Is anyone hurt?”

“Thankfully, no one is. And it’s all thanks to Mr. Jang Deuk-chil over there who neatly resolved the situation.”

Jang Deuk-chil had already risen in Team Leader Choi’s estimation, who had previously only thought of Kim Geon-hoon as a potential security guard.

“Thank you for your help. Good work.”

“Yes? Ah, it’s nothing.”

“These people are hopeless.”

Tae-kyung glanced at Jang Deuk-chil and spoke to the thugs.

“Wielding weapons in a hospital. Are you out of your minds? Don’t young people have any common sense these days? If people get hurt, are you going to take responsibility!”

“…….”

“Don’t you answer when the doctor speaks?”

“We, we’re sorry.”

“We were wrong.”

When Jang Deuk-chil glared fiercely, the three apologized.

“Did you contact the police?”

“Of course, Director.”

“Did you also mention that they caused a disturbance with a knife?”

“Of course.”

“I’ll check on the emergency room patients first. Jang Deuk-chil, was it?”

“Yes. Yes?”

Jang Deuk-chil, who had just subdued the thugs with a fierce look, reacted with considerable surprise at Tae-kyung’s call.

“Let me ask you a favor.”

“A favor?”

“I was wondering if you could watch these people for a moment.”

“Ah, yes. Of course.”

“I’ll ask you to. But I don’t see Kim Geon-hoon.”

“Ah! If you’re talking about the person who said he would take care of them with a family-like heart, he ran away, Director.”

Team Leader Choi replied with a displeased expression.

“Ran away?”

“Yes. He turned tail as soon as we asked for help.”

“He was so proactive earlier, but it was all fake. Let me know when the police arrive, and I’ll go see the patients first.”

Tae-kyung headed to the emergency room with Nurse Lim Jeong-suk, thinking it was fortunate that a major accident hadn’t occurred.

“It was resolved well thanks to that person.”

“Indeed.”

* * *

An hour later-

Tae-kyung, who had just finished seeing emergency patients, was examining Koo Hyun-wook, who had undergone basic tests and X-rays, at the reception desk.

He decided to treat him separately from the other patients in case he caused another disturbance.

“Ah, ah! It hurts.”

A groan escaped as Tae-kyung examined the swollen thumb.

“Is the person who was causing a ruckus with a knife also biting his nails like a child?”

“Oh, how did you know? It’s been a habit since I was young.”

“Is carrying a knife a habit too?”

“…….”

“Answer! You have to answer the doctor right away. Answer politely from now on.”

When Koo Hyun-wook didn’t say anything, Jang Deuk-chil, who was holding the other two thugs nearby, threatened him.

“Koo Hyun-wook? How long has your thumb been like this?”

“Well, at some point, my thumb started to swell, and it hurt when I pressed it.”

“Ah! Ah.”

When Tae-kyung pressed his thumb again, Koo Hyun-wook was in a lot of pain.

It seemed that bacteria had entered through his mouth while biting his nails.

“Doctor, why is this happening?”

“It’s paronychia [an infection of the tissue around the fingernail].”

Paronychia is an inflammation caused by a bacterial infection in the tissue around the fingernails and toenails.

“In simple terms, bacteria have entered your thumb, and now you have an abscess. In this case, it can potentially cause problems with the bone, so we need to drain the pus quickly.”

“Bone? Then please drain it quickly.”

“Prepare lidocaine [a local anesthetic] for anesthesia.”

“Yes, Doctor.”

“Wait, wait a minute! Just a minute!”

Koo Hyun-wook, whose pupils had dilated as Tae-kyung held the syringe, raised his voice.

“Hey! Don’t yell at the doctor!”

“I’m not yelling. My voice is naturally loud. Doctor, you said you were going to drain that pus or whatever just now.”

“Yes.”

“But why are you using anesthesia? I don’t want anesthesia.”

Koo Hyun-wook, who had been causing trouble with a knife just a moment ago, was afraid of getting an anesthetic injection. The thought of being stabbed with a syringe, even if it only grazed him, made his skin crawl.

“Just drain the pus.”

“Are you perhaps afraid of getting a shot?”

“……Yes. I don’t want to get a shot.”

“But either way, draining the pus also requires a syringe.”

“Then can’t you just use a syringe to drain it without anesthesia?”

“It’ll be too painful to bear without anesthesia.”

“Yes? Is it that bad?”

“Because we need to keep it open so that pus doesn’t re-form due to the bacterial infection, and we might need to open the flesh or even remove the thumbnail to allow the pus to continue to drain.”

“How do you remove a thumbnail? I don’t want to. No. That’s complete torture.”

Koo Hyun-wook was horrified and disgusted at the thought of removing his thumbnail.

Of course, just because bacteria have infected the hand and pus has formed doesn’t necessarily mean that the thumbnail has to be removed. However, Koo Hyun-wook’s condition was severe enough that Tae-kyung felt he had to prepare him for the possibility.

“I saw on the internet that it’s incredibly painful to treat a thumbnail, so it’ll be even more painful if you remove the thumbnail.”

That damn internet is the problem in situations like this.

These days, patients often search online before coming to the hospital.

Of course, it’s true that it hurts. And I understand that frustrating feeling well. But after searching, patients often get scared in advance, which makes treatment difficult, as is the case now.

“I’m not removing my thumbnail.”

“Koo Hyun-wook, are you refusing treatment?”

“I have to get it, but I’m scared. Ah, I don’t want to remove my thumbnail…….”

“If you leave it like this, you might have to get your finger amputated.”

“Yes!? Me, amputated?”