Fifth Vital [EN]: Chapter 270

270. Safety First, Second, and Third! Always Safety!

A woman confidently led the way, followed by a man with an embarrassed smile.

The two were stuntman Gu Min-woo and his wife, Lee So-ri.

“What brings you in today?”

“It’s because of him.”

“Please, both of you, have a seat.”

Lee So-ri sat down, looking at her husband, Gu Min-woo, who was standing right behind her.

“What is it? Is Min-woo not feeling well?”

“No, Doctor.”

“Then, did he get hurt while working?”

“That’s not it either.”

Taekyung asked them questions meticulously, but his expression remained nonchalant.

Frankly, Taekyung didn’t show the serious and sensitive side that instinctively came out when he treated other patients.

The thing was, Gu Min-woo, who had come to the hospital last week as well, was in perfect health.

Accordingly, his Fifth Vital [overall health and energy level] was also at Stage 1.

Usually, even healthy patients who came for outpatient treatment would have a faint Stage 2, but he was at Stage 1, a weak Stage 1 at that, which showed how healthy he was.

“So! Why did our Min-woo come here today?”

“Doctor, I think he’s acting a bit strange.”

“What’s strange about me? I’m perfectly healthy. Look at this!”

“Please, just sit down without doing anything unnecessary.”

When Gu Min-woo raised his arms and struck a playful pose, Lee So-ri poked him in the side.

“Ah! That hurts.”

Then, the tall man, who was 187cm [approximately 6’2″], stroked his side and complained of pain with an exaggerated expression.

“Doctor, did you see that? She just hit me. This is how I live.”

“Don’t exaggerate. The doctor will misunderstand.”

Listening to their bickering, one might think they were on bad terms, but it was quite the opposite.

The two were a famously loving couple, known to everyone at our hospital.

Gu Min-woo, who worked as a stuntman, and Lee So-ri, who worked as a tutor, had met in high school and, after dating for over 10 years, became a couple last year.

They were the same age and playful, but their love for each other was greater than anyone else’s.

“So-ri, where do you think Min-woo is acting strange?”

“He came back from filming three days ago, and it’s here, here, and here.”

Lee So-ri pointed to the parts of Gu Min-woo’s body that she felt were strange.

“It’s always like this after filming… Ah! Ah! Honey, stop it!”

Strangely enough, Gu Min-woo let out a cry every time his wife poked him.

“Then, let me take a look.”

Leaving the worried Lee So-ri behind, Taekyung examined Gu Min-woo’s body.

“There’s a bruise on his arm.”

“I knew it. No wonder he didn’t take off his clothes in front of me.”

“Honey, this isn’t even a scratch. I just fell wrong.”

“That’s nothing to be proud of. You should be more careful when you fall.”

Lee So-ri’s grumbling reached Gu Min-woo’s ears as she saw the light scratch on his arm.

“His waist looks fine at first glance… Min-woo, does your waist hurt a lot?”

“No, Doctor. This isn’t even painful.”

“Be quiet! Doctor, can we get an X-ray? He never tells me when he’s in pain because he’s worried about me.”

“Yes, since he filmed in between, it’s good to take an X-ray and check.”

“Thank you.”

“Gu Min-woo, please come this way.”

The two followed Nurse Im Jeong-suk to the X-ray room.

The reason why the young couple became regulars at the hospital was Lee So-ri’s health anxiety.

It wasn’t anxiety about herself, but anxiety about Gu Min-woo.

She wasn’t like that from the beginning.

Her health anxiety started when Gu Min-woo quit his well-paying job and started working as a stuntman.

At first, she vehemently opposed it, saying it was absolutely not allowed.

It wasn’t because of the low income, but because of the risk of injury.

However, Lee So-ri couldn’t crush her husband’s dream, which he had wanted so much since he was young, and gave him her support.

Instead, she set a condition that he shouldn’t get hurt.

‘If you get seriously injured while working, you have to quit unconditionally. Got it?’

‘Of course, honey. I’ll work hard without getting hurt for you.’

Gu Min-woo reassured his wife, but it was not easy to avoid injuries due to the nature of his job.

Torn skin was basic, and he always had muscle pain.

‘What? You got hurt again?’

‘I didn’t get hurt. This is nothing. I don’t hurt at all. Don’t worry.’

Gu Min-woo’s work increased as he was good-natured, had a good sense, and even had a good appearance, but Lee So-ri’s worries also increased in proportion.

Jumping into exploding cars, falling off cliffs, falling into the water, and colliding with oncoming cars—that was Gu Min-woo’s job and life.

Lee So-ri couldn’t relax until her husband returned safely from work.

She couldn’t completely shake off her anxiety because there were colleagues who had died while working with him.

Just like the families of firefighters, homicide detectives, or police officers lived with anxiety, so did Lee So-ri.

Taekyung understood her feelings well, so he understood Lee So-ri’s health anxiety about her husband and didn’t think it was excessive.

So, even when she frequently came to the hospital for minor injuries like today, he always smiled and carefully attended to her.

“The X-ray looks fine.”

After a while, the results of Gu Min-woo’s X-ray came out.

“Is it really okay?”

“Yes, it’s fine. His spine is very straight, and there’s nothing wrong at all. It seems like his muscles are just tight because he uses his body a lot. It’s nothing to worry about.”

“See? I told you. I’m good at avoiding injuries because I have the knack.”

“Min-woo is right about that. Get your wound treated, and do you have a shoot today? If you have time now, get some physical therapy.”

“Okay, let’s get physical therapy.”

“Yes, Doctor, we will. And can you check her too?”

“Why me?”

Lee So-ri’s eyes widened as Gu Min-woo suddenly brought up the story of the examination.

“Why? You’ve been feeling sick and have no appetite.”

“I’ve just been eating a lot of flour lately, so I’m just bloated. I always get bloated.”

“Still, get a checkup while you’re here. You said we’d see him together if I saw him.”

“Okay.”

“Would you like to sit over here?”

Taekyung, who had finished treating Lee Min-woo’s wound, now examined Lee So-ri.

“Have you felt chilly or anything recently?”

“Oh! That’s right? I did. I felt like I had a light cold, and I felt sleepy while working.”

“Just a moment. Yes, it’s me. Are you busy now?”

After examining Lee So-ri and asking her various questions, Taekyung called Euijin.

“I need you to come over for a patient’s examination. Can you come for a moment? Thank you.”

“Doctor, is something wrong with me?”

Lee So-ri and Gu Min-woo were nervous at Taekyung’s behavior, which was different from when they had come to the hospital before.

“No, it’s not that. It’s not that…”

Clang-

“Hello. Oh! It’s So-ri.”

Euijin came into the office while Taekyung was talking.

“Gyneco…” [Gynecologist]

“… !”

Knowing that Euijin also practiced gynecology, the two were speechless as soon as they saw her.

Gu Min-woo stared intently at his wife, and Lee So-ri looked back and forth between her husband and Euijin, strongly denying it.

“Oh my! Doctor, it’s not that. Honey, it’s not that.”

“I know. So-ri, just get a checkup. Would you like to go with me for a moment?”

“It’s really not that. Don’t get your hopes up. It’s really not that.”

“Okay. Go quickly.”

“So-ri, when was your last period?”

“I’m usually irregular. I have it saved on my app…”

Clang-

Lee So-ri left the office for a moment to see a gynecologist with Euijin.

“Doctor, is So-ri pregnant?”

“Well, there are some symptoms similar to early pregnancy, but you’ll need to see the doctor in charge to know for sure.”

“Yes, I see.”

“I heard that Min-woo is in a popular drama these days, so I watched it.”

“You did, Doctor?”

“I didn’t watch it on TV. The staff told me about it, so I looked it up on YouTube. You were cool.”

“I’m embarrassed to hear that from someone so famous. Doctor, I actually have something to tell you.”

“What is it?”

“This is a secret, so only my wife knows. I’m actually under contract with an American film company to make a movie. With M company.”

“Really? That’s really famous, isn’t it? Min-woo, that’s great. Congratulations.”

“Thank you.”

“I feel so good.”

Taekyung, who had heard from Lee So-ri how difficult and hard the job of a stuntman was, was as happy as if it were his own business.

“I’m going to film a movie today too.”

“Then, you shouldn’t be here. Go up and get physical therapy quickly.”

“I’ll prescribe you some medicine for muscle pain, so pick it up while you’re paying, and I’ll tell So-ri to guide you to the physical therapy room when she’s done with her examination.”

“Thank you.”

“Be careful and have a good shoot.”

“Yes, Doctor. I’ll see you again.”

Gu Min-woo, who greeted Taekyung with a good feeling, received physical therapy and headed home with Lee So-ri.

“Did you get physical therapy? Do you feel better?”

“I definitely feel more comfortable after getting it.”

“See? I’m glad I came to the hospital, right?”

“I admit it. You did a good job. And I told the doctor that I was filming a movie.”

“Are you crazy! Why did you say that! Did you forget the confidentiality clause?”

“It’s okay. Doctor Kim Taekyung is trustworthy.”

“I know, but you still have to be careful.”

Lee So-ri was more careful than her husband because it was such a demanding company.

“Okay. Oh, right! So-ri, wait a minute!”

“Why?”

Gu Min-woo, who was holding his wife’s hand, suddenly stopped walking.

“What happened to the gynecological examination earlier?”

“That’s… nothing.”

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

“It’s not that.”

“Lee So-ri! Tell me quickly. What is it?”

“Um! Don’t be surprised.”

“…”

Gu Min-woo, feeling that the atmosphere was unusual, swallowed hard without realizing it.

“Honey, I’m pregnant.”

“What! Really?”

“Yeah. Really.”

“Wow!”

“Mommy! What are you doing?”

As soon as he heard that she was pregnant, Gu Min-woo picked up his wife and shouted.

“Our So-ri is pregnant! I’m going to be a dad!”

“What are you doing! You idiot, people are staring.”

“Congratulations.”

“Thank you. I’m going to be a dad.”

A person who was watching the scene on the way to work made eye contact with Gu Min-woo and greeted him with a smiling face.

“Thank you.”

“Honey, let me down.”

“Okay, okay. Sorry, sorry. Be careful. So-ri, thank you. I love you! I really love you.”

Gu Min-woo kissed Lee So-ri with a look of overwhelming joy, as if he had the whole world.

“Are you that happy?”

“Of course. I feel like I’m flying in the sky.”

The two had not planned to have children separately. They just thought that if they had one, they would raise it with gratitude and did not rush.

But now that such an unexpected and precious gift had come, they couldn’t help but be happy.

“Why didn’t you tell me such good news?”

“I was going to tell you when you came home tonight because I knew you had an important shoot today.”

Lee So-ri knew how important today’s shoot was, so she was going to tell her husband tonight because she thought he would be worried.

“This is separate from that.”

“The doctor said that the blood test numbers show that I’m pregnant, but it’s still too early, so she said to test again later. I just thought I was going to have my period. I didn’t know I was pregnant. I’m really clueless, right?”

“Why are you clueless? You’re irregular and have PMS [premenstrual syndrome], so you might not know.”

“The doctor said the same thing. And since it’s very early in the pregnancy, she said to live as usual, but be careful.”

“Of course. Be careful, be careful, and be careful unconditionally. Let’s have a congratulatory party tonight. I’ll buy your favorite cake.”

“But Min-woo, I have one more thing to say.”

“What is it? Tell me anything. I can pretend to die for Lee So-ri. No, I can die.”

“Take back that dying sound. I told you I don’t like that sound, right?”

“Cancelled. Sorry. I was so happy that it just came out.”

Lee So-ri didn’t like her husband, who was a stuntman, even jokingly saying ‘die’.

“Honey? Min-woo?”

“Why are you suddenly calling me Min-woo?”

“I’m not kidding right now. Listen carefully to what I’m saying from now on.”

Lee So-ri was more serious than when she confessed that she was pregnant a little while ago.

“Now that we have a baby, we have to be more careful. I won’t tell you to quit because it’s what you like to do. Instead, please don’t do any more dangerous shoots in the future.”

In her heart, the words ‘quit’ were repeated dozens of times a day, but Lee So-ri couldn’t bring herself to say them.

It was because it was what her husband, whom she loved most in the world, wanted and was happy about.

So, instead of stopping him, she became his fan and supported and cheered him on. But now she wanted to stop her husband, who was always living in danger.

Because they had a child.

She didn’t want to live with anxiety with her child.

“I promise I won’t do any more dangerous shoots after this movie is over.”

Gu Min-woo knew well what kind of heart his wife had when she said those words.

Now it was his turn to give in for his wife, who had been supporting and enduring all this time.

“And I’ll never get hurt and do it safely, thinking of you and the baby. Trust me.”

“Of course I trust you. I’m Gu Min-woo’s fool. But honey? What should we name our baby?”

“Well… Strong? Healthy? Blessing? Love? What should we do?”

“Luck! We came to us like luck, so how about Luck?”

“That’s good? Hello, Luck. I’m your dad.”

“What’s with that cheesy tone?”

“I’m letting you hear my honey voice. Ahh! Can you hear me, our Luck?”

“No, Dad.”

The two, who had found out about their child, returned home enjoying their happy daily life.

An hour later-

“So-ri, I’m off.”

Gu Min-woo was saying goodbye to Lee So-ri to leave for the movie shooting location.

“You know, first?”

“Safety!”

“Second?”

“Safety! Third is safety!~! Okay? Don’t worry.”

“Okay. Be careful and do well.”

“If there’s anything you want to eat, text me. I’ll buy it all.”

Kiss-

Gu Min-woo hugged his wife tightly once and kissed her before heading to the set.

His hug was warmer and his kiss was more earnest that day.

“Honey! Fighting!” [Go get ’em!/You can do it!]

Not only did they say goodbye at the door, but Lee So-ri waved from the window as she saw him off.

‘Luck, please pray that Dad can finish filming well today.’