Fifth Vital [EN]: Chapter 177

Fifth Vital Sign – Episode 177 (177/502)

177. Good Doctor

“A favor?”

Hyun-woo and Sol, who had been chattering like sparrows, nodded simultaneously, wearing serious expressions.

“What kind of favor makes you both look so serious all of a sudden?”

“We really hope you’ll grant it, Teacher.”

“You’re emphasizing it with such serious faces; it’s scary to even hear what it is.”

“Oh, come on, Teacher. It’s nothing like that.”

“Then tell me quickly. Why are you stalling when you need to go home? You have school tomorrow.”

“Well, we were wondering if we could get something of yours.”

“Something?”

“Yes. You know how people say that if you have something belonging to someone who’s good at studying, you’ll get good luck and do well on exams?”

“Oh, that. That’s just a silly rumor.”

“We know, but there’s just something about the feeling. Hyun-woo and I both look up to you as our role model. So we came to get even just a pen.”

“We feel like if we take the exam with a pen you gave us, something amazing will happen.”

“You guys are supposed to be good at studying, why do you believe in such things? Alright, it’s not a difficult thing to do.”

Tae-kyung scolded them for saying meaningless things, but he picked up the pencil holder on his desk and sat back down.

“Here! Take any pen or pencil from here.”

“Don’t you usually use the things in here often?”

“Not really often, but I do use them sometimes while seeing patients.”

“That won’t do. We need to receive something you use often to get the good luck.”

“Just take anything, why are you being so picky? Here! Is this okay?”

Tae-kyung took out two pens from the pocket of his gown and held them out.

“These are the pens I use the most while working. Is this good enough?”

“Yes, that’s perfect.”

“Thank you, Teacher.”

“Seriously, is it that great?”

Tae-kyung asked, watching the kids smile brightly after receiving the pens.

“Of course, it’s great.”

“It’s late. Go on now.”

“My mom said she’s coming to pick me up. And please accept this.”

“What’s this?”

“Sol and I prepared a small gift because we’re thankful to you.”

Opening the box the kids gave him, there was a classic navy blue pen inside.

“What student has money to buy something like this? You didn’t have to get anything.”

“We get a lot of allowance, so it’s okay. And our parents told us never to go empty-handed.”

“Do you like it?”

“It’s very nice. I don’t know if it’s too much to exchange for two used pens.”

“No, it’s not. And please share these with the other teachers.”

Besides the pen they gave Tae-kyung, Sol and Hyun-woo also prepared cookies for the staff to eat.

“Okay, thank you. I’ll share these with the teachers.”

“We’ll be going now.”

Tae-kyung went with the kids to the back door where the parking lot was.

“Teacher, by the way. You haven’t forgotten that you promised to buy us beef if we get into medical school, right?”

“Of course not. I’ll buy you Two Plus Hanwoo [premium Korean beef] until you’re full, so just get in.”

“Teacher, can Hyun-woo and I train under you later?”

“Under me? Unless something special happens, I think I’ll keep working here. And you should train at a big hospital, why would you train here?”

“Is the hospital important? It’s more important which teacher you train under.”

“We really like our hospital too. So you’ll allow us, right?”

“I don’t know. I’ll have to think about it when the time comes.”

Tae-kyung somehow kept seeing Lee Chan-hee and Choi Mona’s 모습 [image/figure] overlapping with Hyun-woo and Sol.

He had a hard time training the unruly Turtle No. 1 and No. 2, so he had to be careful. If he agreed rashly now, he would have to keep his promise, so he couldn’t just say anything.

‘Tsk!’

For a moment, Tae-kyung, who had been seriously considering it, let out a hollow laugh. He felt like he was taking it too seriously with high school students who hadn’t even entered medical school yet.

“Oh! That’s my mom’s car.”

Sol, who had been waiting for Tae-kyung’s answer, said, seeing a car with its hazard lights on at the entrance of the parking lot.

“Your mom’s waiting. Go on now.”

“You haven’t answered yet?”

“First, get into medical school, and if you two are still together by then, I’ll think about it. Okay?”

“You have to think about it positively.”

“We’re going to get married, so we won’t break up.”

“Okay. I got it. Don’t change your mind and study hard. Go in carefully and goodbye!”

“Goodbye, Teacher.”

The kids waved the pens they received from Tae-kyung and left the hospital in the car.

“Oh! Did Sol and Hyun-woo leave?”

Just as Tae-kyung was about to go back in through the back door, Ui-jin came out.

“They just left.”

“They were waiting for you earlier and came to my office too. I wanted to say hello, but I missed the timing.”

“Those guys asked if they could train at our hospital later if they don’t break up, so I said I’d think about it.”

“Aren’t they really cute? Oh! You got a pen as a gift too, right?”

“This?”

Tae-kyung said, taking out the pen he had in his gown pocket.

“I got one too. Oh! Yours even has an engraving.”

“Engraving?”

Looking closely at the pen after hearing Ui-jin’s words, there was a phrase ‘Good Doctor’ engraved in English cursive.

“They said you’re a good doctor.”

“I guess so. This feels pretty good, doesn’t it?”

“Of course, it feels good. But I don’t know if you received too expensive a gift.”

“Why? Is this pen expensive?”

“It’s Montblanc, a well-known company in this field.”

“I don’t know much about that. How much is it?”

“As far as I know, it’s over this much.”

Ui-jin showed all the fingers on one hand.

“Really? If a pen costs over fifty thousand won [approximately $40 USD], it is expensive.”

“No. It’s not fifty thousand won, you have to add another zero.”

“What? Five hundred thousand won [approximately $400 USD]! No, how can a pen cost that much? I think I should return this?”

“How can you return a gift that the kids gave you?”

“Still, it’s too expensive… Ui-jin, should I return this?”

“How are you going to return it? Just use it and feel good.”

Tae-kyung couldn’t hide his surprise, looking at the pen as he walked into the hospital with Ui-jin.

* * *

At a hospital emergency room –

“Go Sun-sook? Please go to bed number 3.”

“Yes.”

A woman was pacing back and forth in the chaotic emergency room hallway like a clock pendulum, watching other people’s turns.

The woman bit her thumb with flashy cubic fingernails, checked the time on her phone, and approached the nurse with a very weary expression.

“Excuse me.”

“Yes, patient.”

“I think it’s been over an hour since I checked in and waited. When can I see a doctor?”

“Ah, well, the emergency room doctor is currently in emergency surgery, so there’s only one doctor available. You’ll have to wait a bit.”

“I’m not feeling well, can’t you do something to speed it up?”

“I’m sorry, patient. It’s a bit difficult because we’re treating emergency patients first. Everyone else is waiting too.”

“I’m in a hurry too?”

“I understand you want to be seen quickly, but there are patients who are more critical than you right now.”

“Ha! I understand.”

The woman, who said she understood the nurse’s words, went straight out of the emergency room to the parking lot and got into her car.

-Emergency room

And searched for emergency rooms nearby from her current location.

“Tsk! This is too far…”

The woman seemed quite anxious, fiddling with her hair with the hand holding her phone and repeatedly tapping the steering wheel.

“Our hospital. Yeoul-dong? I should go here.”

After deciding on a destination, the woman entered the address into the navigation system and started the car without delay.

* * *

Jang Deuk-chil, who had been dealing with a drunk in the emergency room, was patrolling around the hospital.

“Seriously, why do they throw cigarette butts on the hospital wall?”

Jang Deuk-chil grumbled, picking up the cigarette butts thrown on the wall.

“It must be those drunks who threw them away again.”

He grumbled and picked up cigarette butts, heading towards the back door where the parking lot was.

“Would it hurt to throw them in the trash can? Seriously, they lack character.”

He came in through the back door and was heading to the trash can in the corner when he suddenly turned his head at the sound of a car coming in.

Boom-

“Oh my. They’re driving a nice car. How much does that cost?”

A white foreign car, which looked quite expensive at a glance, entered the parking lot.

“Oh! Oh! What’s wrong?”

But something was wrong with the car.

“Hey, slow down!”

The car, which was coming in without slowing down as if there was an urgent patient inside, crashed into the wall with a ‘thud’, hitting the front bumper.

Jang Deuk-chil shouted before the bumper hit, but it was no use.

“They need to back up… Is that person drunk too?”

Squeak-

A young woman in her 30s got out of the driver’s seat of the car, which was still stopped against the wall.

The woman was neatly dressed in a beige shirt and black slacks suit, with loafers and a Chanel bag with gold decorations.

“Excuse me?”

Jang Deuk-chil approached the woman, who was looking at the car bumper that had crashed into the wall as if it was nothing, wearing sunglasses.

“Are you here for the hospital?”

“Yes, I came to see a doctor.”

The woman, who turned her head at Jang Deuk-chil’s words, was wearing sunglasses.

“Ah, I see. Well, you need to back up the car a bit.”

“The car? Ah… The car.”

“If it’s difficult, shall I back it up for you?”

“Would you?”

“Yes. I’ll back it up.”

Jang Deuk-chil kindly decided to back up the car, thinking that the woman must not be feeling well.

Tak-

Jang Deuk-chil got into the car and carefully reversed, moving the car that was against the wall backwards.

“Is it because it’s an expensive car? The ride is good.”

Jang Deuk-chil, who was admiring the inside of the car, turned off the engine and moved his foot on the driver’s seat to get out of the car.

“……!”

But there was a clear feeling of something touching the end of his shoe that he hadn’t felt when he got into the car earlier.

“What is it?”

When he tapped the end of his shoe, he heard a small sound like glass bottles colliding continuously between the brake and the accelerator.

‘It seems like there’s more than one or two… Is it trash?’

Jang Deuk-chil, who was usually very neat, thought it was trash without much thought and was about to reach out to clean it up.

Tak- Tak-

“What are you doing in someone else’s car?”

The woman outside knocked on the driver’s seat window.

“Ah, it’s not that, I thought there was trash under the driver’s seat. I was going to clean it up for you.”

“Oh, really? That’s very kind of you. It’s okay, just leave it.”

“It could be dangerous while driving, I’ll clean it up for you.”

“No. It’s really okay. Would you please get out of my car now?”

The woman responded quite politely but firmly.

“Yes, I understand.”

Jang Deuk-chil didn’t insist anymore at the woman’s persistent refusal and got out of the car.

“Do I have to go back to the main gate to enter the hospital?”

“No. Do you see over there? If you go through that back door, you’ll see the reception desk right away.”

“Yes, thank you.”

The woman, who received the car smart key, took a few steps and then stopped. Then she walked back towards the back door.

“I didn’t smell any alcohol at all…”

Jang Deuk-chil, watching the woman who was acting like she was slightly drunk, thought that she must not be feeling well.