Fifth Vital [EN]: Chapter 322

323. Candy Stars

Her eyes gradually reddened, and soon tears began to flow. Kim Sun-min turned her back to Seung-woo, shifting her position so he couldn’t see.

‘Grandma, you know what? I…’

She began to speak to herself inwardly.

‘I can’t… I don’t think I can take it anymore. It’s too hard…’

Kim Sun-min’s delicate shoulders, turned away from Seung-woo, trembled increasingly.

‘Grandma, I want to give up everything. I really can’t do it anymore. It’s too hard. I don’t have the confidence to do as well as Grandma, and I can’t do it well.’

As if lamenting to her deceased grandmother in heaven, she continued to whisper the innermost thoughts she had kept to herself until now.

‘I don’t know what I should do or how. People’s eyes are too much, and it’s too hard for me to handle alone. I just… I just want to give up everything. Grandma… I want to stop. I want to end it all.’

Kim Sun-min, who was talking to herself with her head down, sobbing quietly, slowly raised her head. And her trembling gaze turned towards the top of the refrigerator.

There were two white medicine bottles there.

One was labeled Zolpi-something [likely Zolpidem, a sleep aid], and the other was Stil-something [likely Stilnox, another brand of Zolpidem or a similar sedative].

Kim Sun-min glanced at Seung-woo for a moment, then shifted her gaze back to the medicine, saying to herself.

‘Wouldn’t everything be easier with those?’

The next month’s rent and living expenses, the costs for Seung-woo, the interest to be paid again, and the various problems to bear.

It really felt like she was getting more and more suffocated by an invisible snare.

She just hated everything and wanted to end it all.

Various complex thoughts constantly surfaced in her exhausted mind, eventually reaching the worst possible idea.

‘If I’m not here, there’s no one to take care of Seung-woo. Because he’s different from others, people will turn away… Yes. It would be better for Seung-woo if we went together. It would be…’

Creak-

Just as Kim Sun-min, having sorted out her extreme thoughts, got up from the chair and reached for the medicine bottle on top of the refrigerator, a voice suddenly rang out, making her hand pause.

“Sadness!”

Kim Sun-min, still in that position, turned her head to see Seung-woo standing in front of the emotion cards attached to one side of the living room.

The emotion cards were made by Kim Sun-min herself to help Seung-woo, who was poor at expressing emotions, communicate well with others.

Inside the card, a character with Seung-woo’s face was making accurate expressions.

Underneath the expressions, a total of 50 emotions were written in Korean and English within five major categories: joy, fear, displeasure, sadness, and anger.

“It’s sadness.”

Seung-woo, swaying his body slightly back and forth, carefully looked at the sadness card and began to speak, reaching out and detaching the card attached with Velcro.

“Sad.”

The first card he picked was a card with tears flowing down.

“Distressed.”

The second was a card with a distressed expression.

“Upset.”

And he picked the last card.

With the three cards in his hand, Seung-woo headed to his sister, who was still reaching for the refrigerator with only her head turned. He took out a candy star smaller than a fingernail from his pocket and handed it to Kim Sun-min along with the three cards.

“Sad, distressed, and upset. But I still like you, Noona [older sister in Korean]. Cheer up.”

“……!”

“Grandma said so. When you’re sad and tearful, eat a candy star.”

Seung-woo’s expression wasn’t the realistic one people make when comforting others, but the words he conveyed were comforting.

“If you eat a candy star, the sweetness will overcome the distress.”

“Sniff!”

Kim Sun-min, who had been listening to her brother, lowered her hand that was about to grab the medicine bottle and quickly hugged her brother.

“Sniff!”

“Noona. Don’t cry. You mustn’t cry.”

“Okay. I won’t cry. Seung-woo. I’m sorry. I’m really sorry that your sister is so inadequate.”

Seung-woo raised both hands in the air and moved awkwardly, but he didn’t try to escape his sister’s embrace as he used to, and remained still.

“Okay, I won’t cry.”

After composing herself to some extent, Kim Sun-min once again shifted her gaze to the top of the refrigerator, then looked at Seung-woo, seeming to have made a big decision.

“Seung-woo, I’m sorry.”

“Noona isn’t sorry. There’s nothing Noona is sorry about to Seung-woo.”

“No, I think something to be sorry about will happen, so Noona is apologizing in advance.”

“Apologizing in advance……?”

Seung-woo tilted his head as if he couldn’t understand his sister’s words, and Kim Sun-min opened her mouth with a determined expression as if she had made up her mind.

“Seung-woo?”

“Yeah.”

“What’s Seung-woo’s favorite ice cream?”

“Alien. Mom is an alien [referencing a popular ice cream flavor].”

“That’s right. But you won’t be able to eat alien ice cream anymore.”

“Why?”

“Because people eat it so much, there’s none left at the ice cream factory. So, Noona is going to go to the ice cream factory to get some for Seung-woo. Is that okay?”

“Yeah. It’s okay.”

“If Noona goes to get ice cream, Seung-woo will have to be alone. Is that okay too?”

“Seung-woo is brave. I can do it alone.”

“That’s right. Our Seung-woo is smart. You’ll be able to do it well. What’s Seung-woo’s favorite place?”

“My favorite place is…….

“That’s right. Seung-woo is going there tomorrow. Good?”

“Good. Seung-woo likes it. ……likes it.”

“Seung-woo, can you look here for a moment? Do you know who this person is? This person is cool and wonderful.”

Kim Sun-min searched for something on her phone and explained it to her brother.

“Cool and wonderful person.”

“That’s right.”

The explanation was repeated continuously, and only after a long explanation did Seung-woo go to bed.

The next day, early in the morning while Seung-woo was still asleep, Kim Sun-min was on the phone with his homeroom teacher.

-You’ve decided to go on a field trip with Seung-woo?

“I’m sorry for contacting you so suddenly. I’m preparing for a job change, and I wanted to take Seung-woo out for some fresh air in the meantime.”

-I see. That sounds good for both Seung-woo and you. How long will you be gone?

“I think about a week would be enough.”

-That’s great. But first, you need to fill out and send the relevant documents…….

“Then I’ll stop by for a bit later. Yes, thank you.”

Kim Sun-min, who hung up the phone, stroked Seung-woo’s cheek and whispered something incomprehensible after giving him a light kiss on the forehead.

“Seung-woo, I’m sorry. I hope the day will come when you can understand my actions now. Don’t hate Noona.”

* * *

Our Hospital-

“Director!”

Someone called out to Tae-kyung in a hurried voice as he was leaving the intensive care unit in a good mood.

“Our director seems to be in a good mood.”

“Of course. The cancer patient I was worried about had no metastasis when I opened him up in the operating room, and the critical patient in the intensive care unit overcame the crisis, so what could be better for a doctor than this?”

“That’s right, that’s right. Of course. So, about that, there’s something I want to say to the director……”

“No. Don’t say it.”

As Tae-kyung cut him off, the other person was momentarily taken aback, then chased after him again, calling out.

“Di, Director?”

Usually, if the staff called him in the hospital, he would respond immediately because it might be an emergency, but this time it was different.

“Director?”

The main character raising his voice was Lee Dong-hoon.

“Hey, Director? Junior? Tae-kyung?”

He, who had always treated Tae-kyung with courtesy in the hospital, was so impatient that the titles he called him in private came out in stages.

“Hey! Kim Tae-kyung, are you really going to do this? I’m really upset.”

“I can’t help it if you’re upset.”

Tae-kyung, who finally stopped walking, said to Lee Dong-hoon, who had chased after him.

“No, Director. No matter what, this isn’t right. I’m really upset. Please reconsider just once. Huh?”

“Even if I think about it not once, but twice, three times, or even more, my decision is the same.”

“That’s too much.”

“I can’t help it even if you say that.”

The reason Lee Dong-hoon was acting like a baby asking for candy was because of the surgery.

“I want to prepare for a proper surgery too.”

Lee Dong-hoon, who had been receiving steady chemotherapy, had been officially coming to our hospital for several days.

Although he worked fewer hours than other medical staff due to treatment, Lee Dong-hoon was deeply moved just by the fact that he had returned as a doctor.

But that joy was only temporary.

The surgery schedule set by Tae-kyung was too much. The majority were hemorrhoid surgeries, and he occasionally participated in appendicitis surgeries.

“I didn’t come back to work to do these kinds of surgeries.”

“These kinds of surgeries? Doctor, are you ignoring the hemorrhoid patients and appendicitis patients across the country right now?”

“I don’t mean to ignore them.”

“You know how important spinal anesthesia is.”

“I know better. I know, but……”

Of course, he knew Tae-kyung’s warm heart, telling him to start with relatively simple surgeries because he was worried he would be tired, but still, this wasn’t it.

“I want to participate in a proper surgery too.”

“You did an appendectomy.”

“That was a simple 40-minute one. Tae-kyung. I’ve been replenishing my strength and studying a lot while resting during chemotherapy. I’m also exercising hard within reasonable limits.”

“You’re doing well. I think you should just keep doing that in the future.”

“So, let me participate in a real surgery now. How great would it be if I was in charge of anesthesia and Dr. Jung could see obstetrics and gynecology patients comfortably. Huh?”

“Dr. Jung is comfortable even now.”

“Are you really going to do this?”

“Yes, I will.”

“Hey! Kim Tae-kyung!”

Lee Dong-hoon, unable to bear it any longer, raised his voice to Tae-kyung’s ear.

“I want to go into a proper surgery too.”

“Okay. I’ll think about it within reasonable limits for the doctor.”

“Director, you promised. And think about that in a positive way.”

“Of course. Go home now.”

“Okay. Then I’m 100 percent sure that the director will adjust the schedule well and feel good……”

“Doctor!”

Just as Lee Dong-hoon was about to confirm again, nurse Lim Jung-sook ran down the hallway with a hurried voice.

“Doctor, something happened.”

“What’s wrong?”

“Patients, no, patients have come to the hospital, and it seems like it’s going to be a problem.”

Whatever it was, Lim Jung-sook, a veteran nurse who wouldn’t be flustered under normal circumstances, seemed flustered.

“Ms. Lim, what are you talking about? It’s good if a lot of patients come.”

Lee Dong-hoon, who was listening with him, asked as if he couldn’t understand.

“That’s right. But it’s kind of out of that range……. We can’t be like this. There’s no time. Follow me quickly.”

Lim Jung-sook gestured urgently and headed to the emergency room with the two of them.

“……”

Tae-kyung, who hurriedly entered the emergency room, was momentarily speechless at the scene unfolding before his eyes.

“Doctor, please see me.”

“Over here!”

“Oh! My stomach hurts. I think I’m going to throw up again. Can I go to the bathroom with the IV drip?”

“When will you see me?”

“Mom! Let’s get out of here quickly.”

“Try to catch me.”

“Please be careful not to let the children run.”

With sounds coming from here and there simultaneously, the emergency room was full of adults and elementary school-aged children.

Choi Mona, Lee Chan-hee, and Eui-jin, as well as other medical staff who came to work today, were running around frantically.

“The situation is similar at the reception desk.”

Tae-kyung, who heard nurse Lim Jung-sook’s words, walked towards the emergency room entrance to check, and the situation was similar there as well.

“Kim Bo-ryun?”

“Yes, that’s me. That’s me.”

“If you haven’t registered, you must write your name and date of birth on the waiting list here to register.”

“Lee Mu-hoon?”

“Yes!”

“Come this way.”

Most of them were adult patients, and the elementary school children were in the hospital with their sick parents, filling the emergency room and reception desk, all shouting to be seen first.

The scene resembled a bustling marketplace.

“From the time the doctor went into the operating room, one or two people came, and it quickly became like this. And the same……”

“The patients have the same symptoms.”

Tae-kyung said with certainty before nurse Lim Jung-sook could finish explaining.

“Yes, Doctor. That’s right.”

“Everyone has ente……..”