Fifth Vital [EN]: Chapter 101

101. A Good Smell?!

‘Again.’

The unique fifth vital [a life force or energy signature] I had sensed a few days ago was detected again.

A strong, strange combination of amusement park candy house and bubblegum-mixed fecal odor was rushing in.

‘It’s certain.’

And Tae-kyung was certain. The source of this smell was currently inside the hospital.

‘This time, I absolutely won’t let them go.’

Tae-kyung was determined, thinking back to the Lee Go-cheol incident.

“Doctor, what’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell?”

“No, my leg just went numb for a moment.”

“It’s because you’re constantly standing to see patients. Oh, there’s good news. Guess what? Our Turtle No. 2 is….”

Nurse Lim Jeong-sook started talking about Choi Mona with an excited expression, but Tae-kyung didn’t hear her.

One step, two steps.

Careful footsteps crossed the emergency room entrance and onto the hospital corridor.

At that moment, the smell overflowed like a tidal wave, even without taking a deep breath.

‘It’s not far.’

Tae-kyung focused, with every nerve on edge.

“Ms. Lee Yeo-jeong, is this your first time at our hospital?”

“No, I’ve been here before.”

=I was wrong. Dad, I won’t do it again. Please… please don’t hit me.

“That son of a bitch. People who abuse children should have their clothes ripped off and be stoned at Gwanghwamun intersection [a major public square in Seoul, historically used for public punishments].”

“Is that enough? They should be torn limb from limb. How dare they hit children. There are so many who are worse than beasts.”

“Elders, it’s just a drama.”

“Drama, my foot. Reality is worse, that’s why I’m angry.”

People in the waiting room raised their voices while watching a scene from a popular drama.

The loud noises coming from the first-floor lobby traveled along the corridor and reached my ears along with the smell.

Soon, Tae-kyung, having passed through the straight corridor, arrived at the lobby.

‘……!’

As if a giant balloon filled with flour exploded before my eyes, the smell burst like fireworks in an instant.

‘Here! The patient is in the lobby.’

The fecal odor that would make anyone wrinkle their nose and the refreshing, sweet smell seemed to be colliding madly with each other.

Until now, no patient had ever had this style of smell.

“Excuse me, could you take a picture for me?”

“Me too.”

“Oh dear, I’m so sorry, but Seri is sick today, so we came to see a doctor. So, I don’t think I can take pictures. I hope you understand.”

“Oh, it’s okay. I didn’t know she was here because she was sick. Is she very sick?”

“Her stomach hurts a bit.”

Following the smell coming from one direction, I turned my head and saw several people gathered. Tae-kyung could tell that the fifth vital and the foreign smell were originating from there.

“There she is. A YouTube star.”

“A YouTube star?”

“Yes, the people gathered where the doctor is looking now? It’s because of the YouTube star.”

Nurse Lim Jeong-sook explained the reason to Tae-kyung, who was staring intently at the gathered people.

“The main characters of the hottest kids’ channel in Korea have come to the hospital. Do you see the young mother holding hands with the child there and the smaller child sitting on the chair in front? Those two sisters are the most popular YouTube stars these days.”

Tae-kyung moved his gaze, narrowing the distance.

The sharp gaze moved from Do Han-yeon to the child next to her, and then to the small child sitting on the chair.

‘That child!’

And I immediately knew that the source of the foreign smell filling the hospital lobby was the small child.

‘No, what’s wrong with the child!’

But something was strange.

The child’s eyes and expression were strange. It was so dry that it was hard to believe it was the normal expression of a child of the same age. No, the expression ‘withered’ was more appropriate.

I wondered what kind of life she had lived that could make a child’s expression like that.

“Nurse Lim? Doesn’t that little child look unwell?”

“That friend’s name is Sera. Her nickname is Ice Princess because of her expression.”

“Ice Princess?”

“Yes, that expression isn’t intentional. I heard earlier that it’s because of ASD [Autism Spectrum Disorder].”

‘Because of ASD?’

ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorders) was not Tae-kyung’s specialty.

A long time ago, so long ago that the memory was hazy, he had seen an ASD adolescent patient who had been brought in due to an accident. It was so long ago that it wasn’t accurate, but something didn’t seem right.

‘Is it because she’s sick?’

When people are sick, whether they are children or adults, their expressions are different from ordinary people.

Since the smell was pointing directly at that child, Tae-kyung thought it might be because she was sick.

Grumble-

My stomach clock was unusually loud today, but food wasn’t important.

Not eating one meal won’t kill me. Now was the time to focus on that child.

It was much more important to find out what was wrong with that little child.

‘Let’s find out if that expression is because of ASD or because she’s sick, and what the cause of the smell is.’

Tae-kyung approached the little child who needed help.

“Excuse me. Please move your seats for a moment for the examination.”

As Nurse Lim Jeong-sook asked for understanding, the gathered people moved back to their places.

“Hello.”

At the gentle greeting, Sera stared blankly at Tae-kyung.

* * *

“Dr. Choi, Dr. Choi?”

The ward station nurse called Choi Mona, who came out of the hospital room.

“Did you call me?”

“I heard Seri Sera came to the hospital, is that true?”

“Seri Sera?”

“Don’t you know?”

“Is it some kind of cartoon character?”

“No, it’s not that, but I heard that a popular YouTuber came to our hospital? Haven’t you seen them? Two girls. I heard they’re in the lobby now….”

Choi Mona, who only watches dessert channels occasionally, had no way of knowing such things.

“I don’t know.”

“Well, it would be more surprising if Dr. Choi knew.”

“Doctor….”

Just as she was about to ask what Seri Sera meant, a child’s voice was heard closely behind her.

Without even turning around, Choi Mona could tell. The voice calling her from behind was Woo-jin.

“Dr. Choi?”

“Yes?”

Choi Mona slowly turned around and bent down.

“Doctor?”

“Oh, yes. What’s wrong, Woo-jin?”

“Doctor, Woo-jin has a question, are you busy?”

“A question? What is it?”

“Yes, why don’t you come to the rounds [doctor’s scheduled visit to patients]?”

“Huh?”

I wondered if it was a question about the rounds, but it was really about the rounds.

Choi Mona had heard from the ward nurses she had met today that Woo-jin was waiting.

And in fact, she had been making rounds continuously.

However, the time was flexible depending on the patient’s condition, so she just hadn’t run into Woo-jin.

Every time she made rounds, she thought, ‘It would be a little annoying’ if she ran into Woo-jin, but she didn’t deliberately avoid him.

“Are you not coming because of me?”

Woo-jin thought that Choi Mona was not coming to the rounds because of him.

“Woo-jin, I’ve been making rounds.”

“Huh? That’s strange. I didn’t see the doctor?”

“That’s because our pretty Woo-jin was sleeping soundly when the doctor came to the rounds.”

The station nurse, who was listening to the cute conversation next to her, answered instead.

“Really?”

“Oh! That’s right.”

“That’s a relief. Doctor, here you go.”

Woo-jin, whose face had been gloomy, quickly brightened up and held out what he was holding in his hand.

“What is this?”

“It’s a gift from Woo-jin to the doctor.”

“A gift?”

“Yes, Gae-mona-en Lemona!”

As Woo-jin, with a pure and innocent expression, uttered an inappropriate sentence, the nurse burst into laughter and Choi Mona was speechless.

“Pfft!”

“Doctor, there’s also a letter here.”

“Okay, thank you, Woo-jin. But my name is….”

“Woo-jin? Mom’s video call is here.”

“Yes, Grandma, I’ll go. Gae-mona Doctor, see you again.”

Just as Choi Mona was about to tell him her name correctly, Woo-jin said goodbye and returned to his caregiver grandmother.

“Gae-mona-en Lemona, I’m going crazy. Really! Oh, I’m sorry, Doctor. Why does he know the name like that?”

“Maybe he was deliberately told that way.”

“Deliberately? By whom?”

“Who else would it be? There’s only one person in our hospital who would teach such childish rhymes to a child.”

“You don’t mean Dr. Lee?”

“Yes, that’s right. Dr. Lee! Chan! Hee!”

“But, isn’t Woo-jin so cute? That pure and bright smiling face is exactly what children should be like.”

‘Pure and bright?’

Was it because of the nurse’s words?

Choi Mona recalled the face of the girl with a sad expression she had seen in the lobby earlier.

‘Come to think of it, what was the black spot on that child’s palm?’

* * *

“Hello.”

At the gentle greeting, Sera stared blankly at Tae-kyung.

“Oh my, Seri, the doctor has come. You have to say hello.”

Then, Do Han-yeon slowly moved in front of Sera, as if intentionally trying to block her, and continued.

“Hello, Doctor.”

“Yes, hello. Madam, what’s wrong with this child?”

Tae-kyung asked, keeping his gaze fixed on Sera, who was slightly visible behind Do Han-yeon.

“Oh my, she’s healthy. She’s just naturally quiet and calm, but she doesn’t have any illnesses. Right, Sera?”

“Then. Did you come because your first daughter is sick?”

Tae-kyung’s gaze moved to Seri, who was taller than Sera, whom Do Han-yeon was holding hands with tightly.

“Yes, that’s right. She keeps saying her stomach hurts and she keeps having diarrhea, so I was worried because she was so weak. But the child behind me is the first, and she’s the second.”

“The first is shorter. How old are the children respectively?”

“Our Sera is nine years old… I think, and our Seri is eight years old.”

‘Nine years old, I think?’

Does a mother answer like that about her child’s age?

Tae-kyung felt something strange in Do Han-yeon’s tone. It was just a minor tone, but there was definitely a subtle difference when expressing her two daughters.

The word ‘suspicion’ wriggled in my head.

In fact, Tae-kyung suspected it because of Do Han-yeon’s pretty words and attire as a mother.

Most guardians who come to the hospital or emergency room are never well-dressed or have overly bright expressions.

It was natural that they didn’t have time to choose good clothes or have bright expressions like watching an entertainment program because a precious person was sick.

On the other hand, Do Han-yeon’s attire, as well as her overly visible smile and polite behavior at the end of every word, were strange.

‘There’s something about this woman.’

In this case, you have to be suspicious.

Tae-kyung had often seen wives suffering from domestic violence coming to the hospital in the past.

In that case, the husbands usually dressed like handsome gentlemen, were polite, and were extremely calm.

I don’t know the exact reason, but maybe they were trying to hide their ugly appearance with a nice outfit, packaged speech, and a smile.

It was exactly like that now.

Even the quite cautious tone and polite behavior, and even the smile on her lips but not in her eyes. It looked like a curtain covering something.

Even if I conceded a hundred times that she could come well-dressed, that expression, smile, and tone were definitely strange.

‘I need to talk to Sera more…….’

Just as Tae-kyung was thinking about how to separate Do Han-yeon.

“Mom! I need to poop again.”

The second daughter, Seri’s stomach, was causing trouble again. It was really perfect timing.

“I’m in a hurry, Mom, quickly! My stomach hurts.”

“Oh my, my puppy, I understand. Let’s go to the bathroom with Mom. Just hold on a little bit. Where is the bathroom here?”

“Over there…….”

At that moment, Nurse Lim Jeong-sook, sensing the signal Tae-kyung was sending with his eyes, volunteered to guide her herself.

“I’ll guide you. Follow me.”

“Thank you. Let’s go to the bathroom, Seri. Just hold on a little bit.”

Do Han-yeon grabbed her second daughter’s hand and followed Lim Jeong-sook with a helpless expression. She didn’t even say the common word to Sera to wait.

She was so distracted by her second daughter’s words that she just left her alone on the waiting room chair. Tae-kyung, who saw this scene in front of his eyes, was even more convinced.

That this child named ‘Sera’ was being neglected.

Tae-kyung bent one knee and matched his eye level with the child to talk to her.

“Doctor?”

But Sera, who had been tightly shut her mouth until now, called Tae-kyung first.

“Yes. Is our friend’s name Sera, right?”

“It’s not Sera, it’s Se-young.”

It was the first time Sera had said her real name herself.

“My name is Go Se-young.”

“Se-young is your name. I’ll call you Se-young from now on.”

“Doctor?”

“Yes. What is it? Tell me. The doctor will listen to everything Se-young has to say.”

The emptiness and drooping pupils that had always been there gained strength. Se-young, who kept calling Tae-kyung, opened her eyes wide and said something a little out of the blue.

“A good smell.”

“Huh?”

“I think I smell a good smell from the doctor.”