Fifth Vital [EN]: Chapter 164

Fifth Vitality – Episode 164 (164/502)

164. A Jewel-like Existence

Clang-

The moment he entered the examination room,

“Teacher!”

Someone who had been waiting inside approached Tae-kyung with a bright voice and hugged him.

“I’ve been waiting.”

The person who came and hugged Tae-kyung was none other than Se-young.

“Did you wait long?”

“No.”

Today was the day Se-young, who had been hospitalized after undergoing surgery due to abuse, was being discharged. Originally, she was scheduled to be discharged earlier, but her hospitalization was extended due to symptoms of enteritis [inflammation of the small intestine].

“Did you know that Se-young is being discharged today?”

A warm smile unconsciously spread across Tae-kyung’s face.

“Yes, I know. That’s why I changed my clothes.”

Se-young, who had always been wearing a patient gown, was wearing comfortable pants and a cute T-shirt today.

Se-young had changed beyond recognition during her hospitalization.

The pitiful figure who had been wearing a fancy dress in the waiting room, seeking help with anxious eyes to avoid Do Han-yeon’s gaze, was no more.

She was bright and cheerful like other children her age, and her face was full of smiles.

“You have no idea how much Se-young regretted leaving,” said Go Young-cheol, who was sitting across from him. He, too, had suffered considerable mental anguish from what had happened to his daughter, but now he smiled more often than before.

“Why? Are you sad, Se-young?”

“Yes. Because I can’t see the teachers anymore.”

“No, you can. You can come visit anytime you want to see the teachers.”

“Really? But the teachers are busy.”

“Even if I’m busy, I’ll make time to see you when you come. Is that okay?”

“Yes.”

“Do you know where you’re going now, Se-young?”

“Yes, the Sunflower Center.”

After being discharged, Se-young will enter the center with Go Young-cheol to continue her psychological treatment. [Sunflower Centers are support centers for victims of violence in South Korea.]

“There will be many good teachers there to help you too. You can get along well like you do now, right?”

“Yes, I can get along well because I’m with my dad.”

“Se-young, you should give the teacher a present.”

“Ah! That’s right.”

Go Young-cheol took out a frame from a large bag and handed it to Tae-kyung.

“This is a gift for you, Teacher.”

“Se-young put so much effort into preparing this.”

Inside the frame was a drawing of the hospital staff.

Tae-kyung, along with Eui-jin, Lee Chan-hee, Choi Mona, and Nurse Lim Jeong-sook, were all there, along with everyone Se-young had met during her hospitalization.

“Wow! Did Se-young draw all of this?”

“Yes, I did it all myself.”

“You’re really good at drawing. This is the best gift I’ve ever received.”

Tae-kyung took down the calendar hanging in the center of the examination room and hung the frame in its place.

“I’ll think of you every time I look at this. Thank you.”

After that, Se-young went around the hospital and said goodbye to the medical staff who had taken care of her, and finally said goodbye to Tae-kyung.

“Thank you for treating me, Teacher. I’ll come visit with my dad. Goodbye.”

The sunlight reflected in Se-young’s eyes as she stood at the main gate, sparkling like jewels.

“Goodbye, Se-young.”

Se-young left the hospital looking completely different from when she first came.

Scars from the abuse still remained on her body. But in the future, Se-young’s dreams and happiness will cover those scars.

“Oh my! I’m such a sentimental fool. Seeing Se-young being discharged with such a bright face makes me cry.”

Nurse Lim Jeong-sook, who was waving goodbye, sniffled slightly.

“I feel choked up too.”

“I hope this kind of thing never happens again.”

“I agree. Adults need to pay more attention and do better.”

Every child in this land is a jewel-like existence. A real jewel that sparkles just by looking at it.

Tae-kyung earnestly hoped that those jewels would no longer be scarred or damaged by adults who are not like people, and that they would continue to shine.

* * *

Old apartment in Seoul-

While Lee Soo-jung was out working, the children were eating dinner by themselves at home.

Since her husband’s accident, Lee Soo-jung had rarely been home for dinner.

In the morning, she had to hand out flyers and visit him. In the afternoon, she would see the children coming home from school for a while before going to work.

As a result, they often ate dinner by themselves.

Tak-

“Why? Are you not hungry, Hyun-woong?”

Lee Soo-jung’s second daughter, Hyun-mi, asked the youngest, who was putting his spoon down on the table.

“It’s not that. It’s just that it’s curry again…….”

The youngest, glancing around, complained timidly as he looked at the side dishes on the table.

Curry rice with a fried egg, braised beef, stir-fried anchovies, and kimchi [fermented cabbage]. Of course, they were all delicious side dishes.

The problem was that no matter how delicious the side dishes were, they would get tiring if you kept eating them.

Lee Soo-jung, who could no longer make a variety of side dishes as often as before, made side dishes for the children to eat every few days in advance.

The oldest and second child, who were high school and middle school students, didn’t complain about the side dishes, but the youngest, who was still a young elementary school student, was tired of the repeated side dishes.

“You don’t want to eat curry?”

“We’ve been eating only curry yesterday and today. Can’t we order chicken, Sis?”

“Chicken? Hyun-woong, I don’t think we can have chicken…….”

“Ah~ why. I want to eat chicken.”

“Hey! That’s enough.”

The eldest son, Hyun-joon, who came out of his room to eat, moved his rice bowl away and sat at the table, watching the youngest complain about the food.

“If you’re going to complain about the side dishes, don’t eat. I’ll eat it.”

“Ah, I didn’t say I wouldn’t eat it.”

The youngest said in a small voice, as if afraid of his high school older brother.

“You don’t like curry? And we can’t order chicken. We ate it last weekend. Didn’t I tell you? Mom is having a hard time now because of Dad’s accident, so we have to listen to her and help her. But you keep complaining about the side dishes like this every day? Is that okay?”

“…….”

“I told you that if you complain about the side dishes one more time, you’ll be in trouble, right? Cha Hyun-woong, aren’t you going to answer?”

“I, I didn’t complain about the side dishes.”

“Oh my! Stop it, Oppa [older brother]. He’s going to cry again.”

The second child intervened as the youngest, feeling sad and scared, was about to cry.

“He’s acting up more because you keep accepting it.”

“He’s still a kid. Hyun-woong, don’t cry.”

“Cha Hyun-woong, are you crying?”

“No, I’m not. I’m not crying.”

“You’re going to eat, right?”

“I’ll eat. I’m sorry for complaining about the side dishes, Hyung [older brother].”

The youngest wiped away his tears and picked up his spoon again.

“If you know, that’s enough. Eat slowly and chew thoroughly.”

“Okay.”

The eldest knew that there was a lot of money going out of the house, including his father’s hospital bills. That’s why he wanted to reduce any unnecessary expenses as much as possible.

The snacks that he used to eat without thinking when his father had an accident were no longer possible.

The cost of 20,000 to 30,000 won [approximately $15-$23 USD] each time he ordered was a bigger expense than he thought.

He felt sorry for his youngest brother, but he couldn’t help it.

Ding-dong- Ding-dong-

The doorbell rang as they were eating after the youngest’s complaint about the side dishes was settled.

“Who is it?”

The eldest, who was eating, got up and checked the intercom.

-Delivery.

Because it was an old corridor-style apartment, there was no common entrance password. So sometimes delivery drivers rang the bell like today.

“I think you have the wrong house. I didn’t order anything.”

-Isn’t this the home of Cha Dae-han?

The eldest, who thought it was the wrong delivery, was about to turn around when the delivery driver said his father’s name.

“Oppa. Didn’t Mom order it? Mom delivered it to us once before so we could eat.”

“I think what my sister said is right. Hyung, open the door quickly.”

Clang-

When the door opened, the delivery driver came into the entrance and put down the delivery food. But something was strange.

“Sir. Did all of this come to our house?”

Chicken, pizza, tteokbokki [spicy rice cakes]. And even dessert, there was too much food. It didn’t look like Mom had ordered it at first glance.

“Yes, it all came to this house.”

“Do you know who ordered it?”

“Your parents’ names are Cha Dae-han and Lee Soo-jung, right?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“I’m a quick service driver, and someone who knows your parents well asked me to deliver the food and this together.”

The quick service driver handed over a small, well-packaged box.

“What is this?”

“I don’t know. They told me to deliver it to your mother.”

The quick service driver left the house, leaving only ambiguous words.

“Hyung, can we eat this?”

The eldest, who didn’t answer the youngest’s question, immediately called Lee Soo-jung, but she didn’t answer.

“Oppa, did you call Mom?”

“Yeah. She’s not answering.”

“She’s usually busy at this time and can’t answer the phone.”

“Hyung? Sis? Can’t we eat this?”

The youngest, staring intently at the delivered food with a delicious smell, grabbed the eldest’s hand and asked.

“Yes, Oppa. He said it was someone who knows Mom and Dad well.”

“Hyung. Hyun-woong really wants to eat it.”

“……Okay. I understand.”

Since it was food that had already been received and because of the youngest’s earnest eyes, the eldest decided to eat it first. And the small box that came to Mom was not opened and was put in the master bedroom.

A few hours later-

“So you’re saying that the food and this box were delivered by quick service?”

“Yes.”

Lee Soo-jung, who had finished her work at the mart and returned home, was dumbfounded after hearing the children’s explanation. She had never sent food, and there was no one around her who would do that.

“I called Mom, but she didn’t answer, so my siblings and I ate it first.”

“If something like this happens again next time, don’t accept it and send it back. Got it?”

“Yes.”

“Okay.”

Lee Soo-jung, after warning the children and entering the room, was startled to open the box while thinking about who in the world had sent this.

“……!”

There was money in the small box. To be exact, it was a wad of money.

‘Who is this……?’

While she was momentarily flustered by this absurd situation, the cell phone she had placed on the dressing table rang.

Rrrrrrrrr

“Hello?”

-Lee Soo-jung, is that your cell phone?

When she answered the phone with an unfamiliar number, she heard a strange man’s voice over the phone.

“Yes, this is she. Who is this?”

-I sent a delivery, did you receive it?

“Are you the one who sent the food and the box, no, the money to our house?”

-Yes, that’s right. I wanted to help Cha Dae-han and his family, so I sent it.

“Help? Who are you?”

-I’m Go Gye-deuk, the director of Shinhwa University Hospital.

“You’re the director?”

Come to think of it, the man she saw when she went to visit her husband today and the name Go Gye-deuk on his gown flashed through her mind.

-That’s right. Actually, I have something I’d like to talk to you about regarding Cha Dae-han.

“About my husband?”

-Yes, I’m near your house right now, could you spare some time?

“Now? What kind of story is it?”

-As I just said, it’s about Cha Dae-han. It’s a little difficult to talk about over the phone.

Lee Soo-jung was quite suspicious of the hospital director’s call, but because he kept emphasizing that it was about her husband, she decided to meet him. And she decided to go out because she had to return the money that had been sent to her house.

“Where should I go? Yes, I know that place.”

Lee Soo-jung took the money out of the box and headed to the place where Go Gye-deuk was.