Fifth Vital [EN]: Chapter 308

Five Vital Signs – Episode 309 (308/502)

309. Timing

Click-

“Lee Chan-hee! Come with me!”

Suddenly, Tae-kyung came out of the examination room, strode up to Lee Chan-hee, grabbed him by the scruff of the neck, and dragged him into the room.

Click-

“…….”

Lee Chan-hee unconsciously avoided the gaze that was fixed on him.

It wasn’t a lie; Tae-kyung’s eyes were so intense, it felt like they could bore a hole through his face.

“Chan-hee, do you know why I called you back?”

“…….”

“Don’t you know?”

Tae-kyung, who had been briefly distracted by focusing on the patient Ko Myung-hwan, had something to say to Lee Chan-hee, which was why he had called him back.

“Yes. I know.”

“Right, you should know. Why do you think I called you?”

“When I was removing the ascites [fluid buildup in the abdomen] from the patient Ko Myung-hwan, I should have stopped when it didn’t come out, but I kept going several times out of greed.”

“Yes, that’s right. You know it well.”

“…….”

Lee Chan-hee knew he was going to get an earful from Tae-kyung, so he had nothing to say, even if he had ten mouths.

Frankly, his head was already a mess, and he felt like it would be a relief to get a good scolding.

“This patient, Ko Myung-hwan, was really lucky. If it had been another patient, their organs would have been punctured, and they would be in surgery right now. Of course, I don’t think you did it on purpose. You’ve never had this happen before with ascites aspiration, so you thought you could do it one more time, and you kept trying because you thought you could. Isn’t that right?”

“Yes… that’s right. I didn’t think about it deeply enough.”

“That can happen. But Chan-hee, even patients with the same diagnosis can have different characteristics, so you always have to be careful. And no matter how skilled you are at a procedure or surgery, you should never let your guard down when dealing with a patient. Especially when you’re doing a procedure that you’ve never made a mistake on before, like you, you become confident without realizing it, so you have to be even more careful and do it well.”

Everything Tae-kyung said was correct.

“And the same goes for basic tests. From the patient’s perspective, they just want the pain to be resolved quickly. Why? Because they’re in pain. Especially someone like Ko Myung-hwan, who has been to many hospitals and received many treatments, those tests can be even more annoying. But you have to persuade them several times; you can’t just not do it because the patient is stubborn and strongly refuses.”

Tae-kyung knew that Lee Chan-hee already knew what he was saying, but he emphasized it again.

When there are mistakes, it’s not enough to emphasize the content, even if it’s already known.

“I’m sorry! I’ll come to my senses.”

Lee Chan-hee bowed deeply.

He wasn’t just trying to get through this moment; he was truly sorry. But then he sensed something strange in Tae-kyung’s words.

“Honestly, you’re not really listening to what I’m saying, are you?”

Tae-kyung’s style was to correct his juniors immediately when they made mistakes, give them a stern scolding, and then not hold a grudge. But today was different.

“Yes!? No, sir.”

“What do you mean, no? You already know everything I just said, so you’re probably thinking, ‘Why is he emphasizing and nagging about this again?'”

“Really, no. I was angry at myself for being stubborn during the procedure, and I was thinking about reflecting and not forgetting, and coming to my senses.”

“No, I don’t think you’re going to come to your senses…”

“No, I’m just a little distracted these days, but I’ll come to my senses. I’ll definitely come to my senses.”

“That’s what I’m saying. What’s wrong with you these days? Sometimes you space out, or you act like you’re missing something. You were doing so well, why are you like this lately?”

“…….”

“Lee Chan-hee!”

“Yes, sir.”

“Is something wrong?”

“No. Nothing’s wrong.”

“I knew it. What do you mean, nothing? It’s because of Choi Mona, isn’t it?”

“……!”

In fact, this was what Tae-kyung really wanted to say.

Of course, he wanted to talk about the Ko Myung-hwan case from today, but the real core was the story about their relationship.

Even as the director in charge of a hospital, no matter how nosy he was, he didn’t interfere in his employees’ personal lives.

Besides, it wasn’t just any matter; it was a matter between a man and a woman, so it was even less appropriate to get involved.

However, despite all this, Tae-kyung brought up his junior’s complicated concerns because Lee Chan-hee was a doctor.

Moreover, he was a doctor who dealt with lives.

Of course, it would be best if he could distinguish between his personal and professional life on his own, and there would be no need to say this so openly.

But it wasn’t that easy.

Doctors are also human. Moreover, they work together in the same workplace, encountering each other constantly except for sleeping hours and days off, so it was more difficult than expected to draw a line between personal and professional matters.

Especially given Lee Chan-hee’s personality, which was cautious and kind-hearted, it was even more difficult.

Above all, his feelings for Choi Mona were so obvious, and it was frustrating to see him constantly worrying and agonizing.

In fact, if someone in a big university hospital liked someone, rumors would spread quickly, so it would be strange if Tae-kyung didn’t know what was happening in their hospital.

So, he thought that if he continued in this state, he wouldn’t be able to concentrate on his work, so he called him in to talk properly just once.

“Chan-hee, you like Choi Mona, but you’re worried about the blind date, aren’t you?”

“H, how did you know that, sir…?”

“How? It’s written all over your face! You’ve been avoiding Choi Mona on purpose because of that, haven’t you?”

“Haa!”

Instead of answering, Lee Chan-hee let out a long sigh mixed with affirmation.

“I’m sorry.”

“What are you sorry for? Is liking someone something to be sorry for? It’s not.”

“It’s not that, it’s just that I feel like I haven’t been able to control my emotions well, and it’s been affecting my work.”

“You know it well. And you’re still doing this?”

“…….”

“Chan-hee?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Choi Mona has probably left the hospital by now, right?”

“Yes?”

“She asked me for permission to go out for about 30 minutes for work.”

“Ah, yes…”

The moment Lee Chan-hee heard Tae-kyung’s words, he was convinced that Choi Mona had gone out to meet the younger brother of the patient in the photo from yesterday.

“Are you just going to keep thinking about it like that? Why do you think I bothered to tell you that Choi Mona was going out?”

“……!”

“Chan-hee. There’s something called timing in life. People who seize that timing well, whether it’s in work or in relationships, are the ones who succeed. I’ll give you exactly 20 minutes from now. I don’t care if you take a break in the medical office or go outside during those 20 minutes. But if you don’t come to your senses after that and make another mistake like this, you better be prepared.”

“Sir, thank…”

“One minute has passed.”

“I’ll be right back.”

As Tae-kyung checked the time on his phone and urged him, Lee Chan-hee, who was about to express his gratitude, ran out of the examination room, his gown fluttering.

“Seriously! I’m so concerned about my juniors… There’s no one like me.”

“That’s true, but it’s a little less cool when you say it yourself, isn’t it?”

Ui-jin, who had arrived unnoticed, said, standing in front of the examination room door.

“That’s true too. When did you get here?”

“Just now. Dr. Lee was running like crazy; is it about Ms. Choi?”

“Yes. He’s been out of it lately, so I told him to sort it out.”

“You did well.”

“But what’s the occasion?”

“I thought you might be seeing the emergency room alone, so I came to help.”

“Did you know I was going to send Chan-hee out?”

“When Ms. Choi said she was going out, I thought you might tell Dr. Lee.”

“Is this some kind of telepathy between us?”

“I think so?”

Ui-jin puffed up with pride, matching Tae-kyung’s words.

“Whoever’s girlfriend she is, she’s really cool.”

“By the way, do you think Dr. Lee will really go find Ms. Choi?”

In fact, Tae-kyung was also curious about Choi Mona’s outing.

“Are you curious?”

“Of course, I’m curious.”

“Well, that’s…”

“What! Really?”

“That’s what I’m saying.”

“This is quite interesting. Anyway, we’ll find out what the outcome will be when they both come back later.”

Tae-kyung, with a very pleased expression, headed to the emergency room, not knowing what Ui-jin had said.

* * *

“Welcome.”

“Excuse me, has a woman wearing a gown similar to mine come in here?”

“Yes?”

“Ah! Never mind. Sorry.”

Lee Chan-hee, who had been running hard from the hospital, entered the nearest coffee shop, looked around, and then left.

“Welcome.”

Then he went straight to a nearby cafe, came out again, and went into a cafe nearby, but Choi Mona was nowhere to be seen.

“It’s late, and it’s their first meeting, so they probably didn’t go to a restaurant…”

Since he didn’t have much time and had to return to work at the hospital, Lee Chan-hee thought Choi Mona would be at a coffee shop and searched for nearby coffee shops again.

“Wow! There are so many?”

He knew there were many coffee shops in Korea, but he didn’t realize there were so many near the hospital.

Lee Chan-hee went in and out of all the coffee shops, from franchise coffee shops to individual coffee shops, looking for Choi Mona.

He was searching every coffee shop near the hospital, his gown fluttering, and there were only two left.

“She’s not here.”

He entered the first coffee shop, but unlike his hopes, Choi Mona was not visible.

‘What if she’s not here either? No. Be there. Please be there. She’ll be there.’

Lee Chan-hee prayed earnestly in his heart as he entered the last coffee shop.

“Haa…”

Standing at the entrance and looking inside the store, Lee Chan-hee let out a frustrated sigh. Contrary to his expectations, Choi Mona was not in sight.

‘I knew it.’

As he was about to leave the coffee shop in an almost resigned state, Lee Chan-hee headed to the second floor, just in case.

“……!”

Then, the pupils of his eyes, which had been looking around the second floor, dilated greatly and widened.

Choi Mona, whom he had been looking for so desperately, was inside the store on the second floor.

“Ch…”

The moment Lee Chan-hee, who was overwhelmed with joy, was about to say Choi Mona’s name, he closed his mouth. And he hurried down the stairs like someone being chased.

Because there was definitely a man sitting across from Choi Mona.

Moreover, it was a man dressed neatly in a suit. He had only seen the man’s back, but he could tell that the man’s physique was quite good.

The well-dressed woman and man looked like they were on a blind date to anyone.

Lee Chan-hee, who had come down to the first floor, hesitated. He wondered if it was right to go to Choi Mona, who was already on a blind date.

‘Am I interfering for no reason? Isn’t it rude to that man?’

He had been searching so desperately until just now, but when Choi Mona was right in front of him, his heart wavered.

To be honest, he didn’t have the courage. Lee Chan-hee, who had never experienced anything like this in his life, felt like his mind had gone blank.

‘You’re going to lose Mona to someone else if you keep doing that.’

‘People who seize that timing well, whether it’s in work or in relationships, are the ones who succeed.’

At that moment, his friend Kim Il-sang’s words and Tae-kyung’s words came to mind one after another.

‘That’s right! Life is about timing.’

The embers of his dying courage were ignited, and Lee Chan-hee began to feel courage surging.

He didn’t want to go back to the hospital like a fool without saying anything after coming all this way.

He felt sorry for the blind date man, but since the choice was up to Choi Mona anyway, he thought it was right to convey his feelings and leave.

“Let’s go.”

Lee Chan-hee, who had made up his mind, went up the stairs confidently. And he headed towards her with confidence.

“Choi Mona!”

“D, Dr. Lee, how did you get here?”

Choi Mona, who saw Lee Chan-hee, was surprised and jumped up from her seat.

“I’m really sorry for coming here so suddenly, but I felt like I had to do it now.”

He could feel the gaze of the man sitting behind him, but Lee Chan-hee didn’t have time to worry about that.

“I came here because I have something urgent to say.”

“What do you mean, something to say?”