Fifth Vital [EN]: Chapter 229

Fifth Vital – Episode 229 (229/502)

Episode 229: A Strange Wound?

Seeing his expression, Choi Mona asked, but when he remained still, Lee Uijin followed up.

“What’s wrong? Is something the matter?”

“No, it’s not that, but what’s that?” Taekyung asked, pointing with his index finger.

“Was that there before?”

Lee Uijin and Choi Mona quickly looked where he was pointing.

It was in the direction of Kim Seonghoon. Or, more precisely, at Kim Seonghoon’s upper body.

“What are you talking about…?” Neither of them understood. Besides, it was the first time they’d seen Taekyung act like this after the surgery, so they were bewildered.

“This! This!” Frustrated, Taekyung moved closer to the bed and pointed at Kim Seonghoon’s chest.

“Look closely here. This area looks a bit strange. Was it always like this?”

Specifically, the area around his nipples looked pinched, with what appeared to be a slightly sunken wound.

“Well, I just noticed it now. Did you know, Choi-ssaem [Korean term for ‘teacher,’ often used to address nurses]?”

“No, I just noticed it too.”

Taekyung and the other medical staff had been so focused on the surgery that they hadn’t noticed the wound. And it was hard to see unless you looked closely.

Taekyung had just finished the surgery and was about to say goodbye, mentally cheering Kim Seonghoon on when he noticed the wound.

“But, what about it?”

“Doesn’t it look a bit strange?”

“Well, I don’t know.”

“I’m the same as Choi-ssaem. I don’t know either.”

In fact, this wound was from Go Cheolsoo and Park Byeongdeok bullying Kim Seonghoon.

As usual, they’d created a ridiculous game, using Kim Seonghoon as a human dartboard.

They threw a ballpoint pen at his nipples, humiliating him.

‘Kim Seonghoon, you bastard, if you block it with your hand or dodge it, you’ll be punished.’

‘That’s right. Dodging is a foul.’

During this ridiculous game, the tip of the pen grazed his nipples, slightly piercing the skin and causing the wound.

“Isn’t it just that this patient has sensitive skin around his nipples?”

“Is that so?”

Taekyung tilted his head, wondering if he was overreacting because the patient was a soldier.

He had no idea that Kim Seonghoon was living in such a hellish situation.

“To be honest, I don’t know about that, but come to think of it, Kim Seonghoon did say something strange,” Lee Uijin said, as if remembering something.

“Something strange?”

“He said something to me before the anesthesia.”

“What did he say?”

“He asked if he might not wake up during the surgery. I told him not to worry, that the medical staff was watching him closely, and he should rest assured… Then, in a small voice, he said he hoped he wouldn’t wake up.”

Before the surgery, Kim Seonghoon, losing consciousness, had said this with difficulty before the anesthesia took full effect.

Lee Uijin wasn’t sure if he’d heard the low voice correctly, but if he had, he was sure that was the gist of it.

“But this is just my opinion; I think it’s because the patient was losing consciousness and in pain.”

“Okay, I understand. Please take good care of the patient… Ah! Choi Mona?”

Taekyung, about to leave the operating room, stopped and called his junior.

“Yes, Doctor?”

“The officer who came with him. The captain?”

“Yes.”

“He’s your boyfriend, right? The one who came last time?”

“That’s right! I was so distracted I forgot. He deliberately came to the hospital where his girlfriend is; he’s so romantic. Choi-ssaem, when did you start dating?”

“Excuse me? I don’t know what you’re talking about… You’re mistaken. Captain Choi Taeshik is my older brother.”

“Choi Taeshik, Choi Mona…”

“Ah! That’s right. You two have the same last name?”

Taekyung and Lee Uijin, who thought they were lovers, burst into laughter.

“I can’t believe we mistook siblings for lovers.”

“Anyway, it’s a relief that he’s your brother.”

“Excuse me? What do you mean by that?”

“It seems like someone is disappointed.”

“Who?”

“Never mind. I’ll go meet the guardian. Good job, everyone.”

“Good job.”

Taekyung, avoiding Choi Mona’s question, left the operating room and headed to the guardian waiting room.

* * *

Guardian Waiting Room-

“Out of the blue, what’s going on?”

Kim Seonghoon’s family, who had arrived at the hospital a little while ago, was talking with Captain Choi Taeshik in the guardian waiting room.

“Seonghoon! Our Seonghoon, why… why! Is he having surgery? Why!”

“Mom, calm down, Mom.”

“I’m really sorry.”

“I asked what happened.”

The daughter stopped Lee Aesook, who burst into tears again as she looked at her son’s name on the monitor.

Kim Ohoon, watching the scene, approached Choi Taeshik apologetically and asked, “Well, Private Kim Seonghoon has been complaining of abdominal pain for two weeks and went to the infirmary. It seems his appendicitis worsened in the meantime.”

“Hey, Captain? Are you telling us this now?”

Kim Ohoon raised his voice. “As someone discharged from the military, I know the military is inferior to society in every way. But how can you not know that a child with appendicitis has been in pain for almost two weeks? Does that make sense? Huh?”

“I’m really sorry. I don’t know what’s going on yet because this happened suddenly today.”

Choi Taeshik, a soldier himself, understood the feelings of parents who sent their children to the military better than anyone else.

He didn’t want to make excuses when problems arose, but for now, he could only say these words. He felt pathetic as a captain.

“Excuse me?” The eldest daughter, who had been calming Lee Aesook, approached with a sharp expression.

“I’m Seonghoon’s eldest sister. Were there any other problems?”

“Excuse me? What kind of other problems are you referring to?”

“I’m asking if Seonghoon got along well with the people in his unit. Frankly, shouldn’t you, as a captain and an officer, know more about what’s going on with your soldiers than their own family?”

“I’m sorry.”

Choi Taeshik had nothing to say because she was right.

The eldest daughter, who had been thinking all sorts of things while coming to the hospital with her parents, asked the question out of concern.

“I’m asking because I’m worried, since my brother is a very introverted person.”

“I will also look into that and give you an answer.”

“Take responsibility!”

Lee Aesook, who had suddenly been crying, raised her voice at Choi Taeshik.

“Honey, calm down!”

“How can I calm down in this situation?”

Kim Ohoon tried to stop his wife, but it didn’t seem easy.

“Do you find this situation understandable enough to stay calm? Huh? I don’t! And you’re an officer, a captain, right?”

It might have seemed a bit rude or harsh, but Choi Taeshik, the person involved, didn’t feel that way at all about Lee Aesook’s attitude.

He could only imagine how the parents, who had been looking forward to their son’s first leave in just a few hours, must feel.

“You send him to the army, and they kill him and send him back? Huh?”

“I’m really sorry.”

“Are you the guardian of patient Kim Seonghoon?”

Amid the heavy atmosphere, Taekyung, who had just come out of the operating room, looked for the guardian’s waiting area.

“Yes, yes, that’s me. It’s me.”

Lee Aesook, who had been crying and raising her voice, jumped up from her seat and ran to Taekyung.

“I… I’m Seonghoon’s mother. Is my son okay?”

“You must have been very worried, right? First of all, the surgery went well, and we’ve passed one hurdle.”

“Oh! Ah! Oh my god!”

As soon as she heard Taekyung’s words, Lee Aesook let out a long sigh and clasped her hands together.

“Thank you, doctor. Thank you so much.”

Lee Aesook thanked Taekyung several times as if she had met someone who had saved her life.

“It’s nothing. Our patient endured it well.”

After that, Taekyung told the family and Captain Choi Taeshik the remaining details and headed to the guardian’s office.

Then, Nurse Lim Jeongsook came in and told them about the visiting hours.

“I’m sure you heard the explanation from the director earlier, but I’ll tell you again. Currently, patient Kim Seonghoon is unconscious. I’m telling you this so you won’t be surprised when you visit him.”

Kim Seonghoon was still unconscious after the surgery because the inflammation was so severe.

His consciousness would return once his blood pressure normalized and his inflammation levels decreased.

“Yes. I heard it from the director earlier.”

“Visiting hours in the intensive care unit are fixed, and only one family member can visit at a time. You can visit for a short time now after the surgery, so who would like to go?”

“You should go.”

“That’s right. Mom, you go.”

All the family members wanted to see Kim Seonghoon as much as possible, but they knew that Lee Aesook would want to see him the most.

“Would you like to go, ma’am?”

“Yes, I’ll go.”

“Then I’ll guide you.”

Lee Aesook was guided by Nurse Lim Jeongsook to the intensive care unit.

“Mother, are you okay?”

“Actually, I don’t really know.”

“The surgery went well, so don’t worry too much. Your son is in that bed over there.”

“Yes, thank you.”

Lee Aesook slowly walked to the bed where Kim Seonghoon was lying.

“Oh my! Oh my god…….”

As soon as she saw her son’s face, lying there with various devices attached to him, tears streamed down her face uncontrollably.

‘Mom? I’m okay.’

‘Don’t worry.’

‘I’m doing well. I think I’m suited for the military. Everyone is treating me well. The senior soldiers are all nice.’

‘I don’t have any pain, so please stay healthy, Mom, Dad, and my sisters. I’ll become a strong and brave son while I’m in the military and come back. I miss you.’

The words her son had said flashed through her mind like a slideshow, and she felt pathetic for believing them so readily.

Unlike his words that he had no pain, her son’s face, which had become noticeably gaunt, was telling her that he was not okay.

It felt like her heart was tearing apart, and blood was rushing backward.

“Seonghoon…….”

Her son, who was already small and thin, had become even thinner in the meantime.

Other mothers had said that he would gain weight when he went to the military.

Because of those words, she had secretly hoped that her son would come out looking physically better when he came out for his first leave.

But it wasn’t like that.

Instead of getting better, he was lying on the sickbed, having survived a near-death experience, looking even more pitiful.

“Sob! My son!”

Lee Aesook covered her mouth and quietly sobbed. Even though her son was right in front of her, she couldn’t touch him or hug him as much as she wanted.

Occasionally, news articles about how some children from wealthy families didn’t go to the military or how some celebrities avoided the military would become a hot topic in the world.

Every time, Lee Aesook would say to herself,

‘If only I could.’

If she could, she wouldn’t have sent her precious son to the military. But because he was born as a man in Korea, because he received the call of the country, she trusted the country and sent her only son to the military.

Even at the training center, they said,

‘Thank you for trusting the country and sending your son to the military. Don’t worry.’

But she never knew that the result of trusting the country would come back in this way.

How much did he have to endure and endure again that he didn’t know until pus filled his body?

She felt like her insides were rotting.

‘My poor baby…….’

In fact, just before receiving anesthesia in the operating room, Kim Seonghoon had sincerely wished that he would rather die during the surgery.

Unconscious now, Kim Seonghoon might have thought he was dead.

Lee Aesook, unaware of this fact, cried as she looked at her son’s face until the end of the visit.

* * *

Meanwhile, at that time when Kim Seonghoon was lying on the sickbed, at Baekseok Unit-

The long darkness of dawn was receding, and the two villains in the living quarters were welcoming the morning, completely unaware of what had happened the night before.