Fifth Vital [EN]: Chapter 420

Fifth Vital – Episode 421 (420/502)

Episode 421. It Was Over in 30 Minutes

That evening-

“Did you hear? That sly fox finally got what was coming to her from the real wife and daughter and ran away with her tail between her legs.”

“She was discharged, right?”

“Of course, she had to be. It’s not like she was actually sick and needed surgery; how could she possibly show her face after being so humiliated?”

“When that daughter slapped her across the face, it was so satisfying.”

The story of Lee Yerim and Gu Donggon was still the talk of the ward.

Lee Yerim was discharged less than an hour after Kim Malja left the hospital.

Originally, she was supposed to get an IV drip after the endoscopy and be discharged with Gu Donggon the next morning, but she couldn’t bear to stay in the hospital any longer.

Of course, if there had been something seriously wrong with her health, they would have strongly advised against her discharge despite the commotion, but her health checkup, including the endoscopy, showed nothing abnormal, so there was no medical reason to keep her.

Lee Yerim, who had been proclaiming true love and emphasizing sincerity, argued with Gu Donggon, paid all the hospital bills, and fled the hospital as if she were running from a crime scene.

“Did you wait long?”

“No.”

After Lee Yerim, the instigator of the drama, was discharged, Taekyung finished surgery on a child who had been injured in a car accident in the apartment complex and entered the waiting room.

“Is my child okay?”

“Yes, the surgery went well.”

“Thank you. My wife and I were so worried, but I’m relieved.”

“As I mentioned earlier, we fixed the broken arm with pins, and after the bone heals, we will schedule removal. Until then, the guardian should be careful to limit excessive movement.”

“Yes, thank you.”

“You worked hard.”

Nurse Im Jeongsook came out of the waiting room and followed Taekyung.

“The guardians seemed very shaken.”

“I heard they left the child with a neighbor because of work and rushed up from the countryside after hearing about the accident. It seems they were even more shocked because the child had been sick a few years ago.”

“Then they must be incredibly worried.”

“Director, the guardian asked if they could move to a private room, so I told them there were no rooms available now, but we could move them tomorrow morning.”

“These days, many patients prefer private rooms.”

“Yes, I guess it’s because they can be more comfortable during their hospital stay.”

“Director?”

As the two left the waiting room and headed to the examination room, they heard someone calling Taekyung from behind.

“Didn’t you hear someone calling just now?”

“Yes, I definitely heard it.”

“Director?”

Gu Donggon, who was sitting on a nearby chair, appeared before the two, who were looking around, puzzled.

“It’s me.”

He was wearing casual clothes instead of a patient gown and was holding the small bag he had brought when he was admitted.

“Patient, what are you doing here?”

“I’m going to be discharged.”

Gu Donggon, who was scheduled to be discharged tomorrow, announced his intention to leave.

“Please discharge me.”

“Let’s talk in my office first.”

Taekyung led him into the examination room.

“Sit here. Are you sure you want to be discharged at this hour?”

“Yes, I’m going to be discharged.”

The two’s gazes turned to the clock on the desk. The clock hands were past 10:38 PM.

Regardless of Gu Donggon’s reasons, it was definitely late to be discharged.

“It’s too late, shouldn’t you wait until tomorrow?”

“…….”

“Patient?”

“My wife…….”

Gu Donggon, who had been hesitant, stopped talking and closed his mouth again. Then, he lowered his head powerlessly and continued the words he had started.

“My wife isn’t answering the phone.”

It was obvious.

After witnessing such a scene with her own eyes, there was no way she would answer the phone.

“I’ve called dozens of times, but no matter what I do, she doesn’t answer.”

Taekyung didn’t have anything to say to the obvious situation.

If it was counseling about physical pain, he could confidently answer, but he had nothing to say about personal matters between husband and wife.

“I asked the nurse earlier, and she said my wife went downstairs with you, Director. Can you tell me what that person said?”

“I’m sorry, but I can’t tell you that.”

Gu Donggon’s expression was earnest, but Taekyung remained firm.

He didn’t think a third party should interfere in a private matter between a couple, especially when it didn’t involve other patients.

“I heard that you were the one who cured her cancer.”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“My wife must have had a hard time when she was fighting cancer, but I made excuses that I was busy and couldn’t give her a warm word of encouragement. I’ve always felt sorry about that. To be honest, I hurt my wife a lot back then.”

“One day, when Kim Malja started chemotherapy and came to see me as an outpatient, she said this to me. She said she couldn’t die leaving her children and husband behind, so she would grit her teeth and fight the disease. She said her dream was to see her children get married and travel with her husband when they were old, holding hands, and she would overcome it because of that dream. She really worked hard to get treatment.”

“I don’t know where it went wrong. I’m just… a really bad guy.”

Gu Donggon cursed himself and lamented his situation.

“So, Director. I have to see my wife now.”

“Why don’t you get discharged tomorrow morning?”

“No. I have to go home now. Please discharge me. I’m begging you.”

Despite Taekyung’s continued persuasion, Gu Donggon did not change his mind.

Like Lee Yerim, Gu Donggon didn’t have any serious diseases or require surgery, and his treated back wasn’t in a critical condition, so it wasn’t medically unreasonable to be discharged.

However, it was late, so he was advised to wait until morning, but he wouldn’t listen.

In the end, after signing the discharge consent form, he completed all the procedures and left the hospital that night.

“I’m sorry for making a fuss. Goodbye.”

He left the hospital in a hurry after a short farewell.

“Nurse Im?”

Taekyung, who had visited the ward after Gu Donggon was discharged, entered the emergency room and called Nurse Im Jeongsook.

“As soon as the private room is ready, move the child in room 207.”

“Yes, I’ll let the guardian know.”

“Doctor? Doctor?”

As Taekyung informed Nurse Im Jeongsook of a few things and headed to the station, Lee Chanhee, who had just seen a patient, sat next to him.

“Did you redress the patient with a high fever in room 301?”

“Of course. I did everything. Doctor, Gu Dong…….”

“What about the CT scan for patient Lee Suyeon?”

“It’ll take about 20 minutes to come up. Doctor, I have a question.”

“Who. Patient Gu Donggon?”

“How did you know?”

“It’s written all over your face that you’re dying to know.”

“So, about that.”

“I was about to say the same thing, but don’t ask me questions, I’m going to the pathology department.”

“Yes? Doctor? Don’t go.”

Lee Chanhee, who was curious about why Gu Donggon suddenly left the hospital, couldn’t satisfy his curiosity in the end.

* * *

The next day-

Gu Donggon, who had insisted on being discharged, saying he had to go to his wife, was now emerging from a 24-hour sauna, looking rather pathetic.

The day before, as soon as he left the hospital, he came to the front of his house and hesitated in front of the gate for an hour, but in the end, he couldn’t bring himself to ring the bell.

It was because he didn’t have the confidence to face his wife. So, he went to a nearby sauna to calmly sort out his thoughts.

He couldn’t sleep a wink and thought so hard that his head was about to explode, and he headed home as soon as the sun rose.

“Thank you.”

Gu Donggon, who got out of the taxi and hesitated in front of the gate like yesterday, finally made up his mind and rang the doorbell.

Ding-dong-

As there was no response, he was about to press it again when he heard the sound of the gate opening.

Beep-

Gu Donggon slowly went up the stairs and very carefully opened the front door and went inside.

“Honey? Jihoon’s mom?”

“Are you here?”

Kim Malja answered from the bathroom on the opposite side as he called out to the quiet living room.

“Ah! You surprised me!”

“Why are you so surprised? Anyone would think you saw a ghost.”

“…….”

“Don’t just stand there, come and sit down.”

Kim Malja gestured to Gu Donggon, who was standing blankly, while pulling out a dining table chair.

“Is your back okay?”

“Yeah. I’m okay. There was nothing seriously wrong with me in the first place. I just went to get treatment because I was uncomfortable.”

“That’s a relief.”

“Hey, honey?”

Creak-

“You like morning coffee, right? I boiled water, so wait a minute. You’re going to drink it, right?”

“Y, yeah.”

Watching his wife make him morning coffee as usual, Gu Donggon was relieved.

At the same time, he had a faint hope that Kim Malja’s hurt feelings would be resolved quickly.

“I put only a little sugar in it. You have to reduce sweets when you get older. Eating too much sugar is bad for your health.”

“Okay, I got it.”

Creak-

“Honey, I was wrong. I really committed a sin worthy of death. It’s hard to believe, but we weren’t really that close. I was going to break up with her anyway. Really.”

As soon as Kim Malja put the coffee on the table and sat down, Gu Donggon knelt on the floor and began to beg for forgiveness.

“I have nothing to say to you, but please, just forgive me this once. I’ll really live well for the rest of my life.”

“Hmm! The coffee tastes good today.”

Unlike Gu Donggon, who was as serious as a person crossing a single-log bridge [a precarious situation], Kim Malja’s expression was calm.

“Why are you doing that?”

“…….”

“Get up and sit down.”

“Huh?”

“I said get up and sit down. It’s not good for someone with a bad back to be on the floor like that.”

“I was really wrong.”

“I know, so sit down first.”

“Okay, I’ll sit down.”

“Jihoon’s dad? Listen to me carefully from now on. We’ve been married and lived as a couple for quite a long time. Right?”

“Th, that’s right.”

“Our lovely Jihoon, Jiyoung, and Jiyeon have lived well in their own way, with ups and downs over the years. I liked you, who were bright even though you were sometimes immature, and I was able to gain strength because we were together. But not anymore.”

“Malja. I was really wrong.”

“Listen to me without interrupting. And I know. I know best how sorry you are to me now. But Jihoon’s dad? I don’t have any feelings anymore.”

“…….”

“I’m not upset or angry with you now. That means there’s no place for Gu Donggon in me anymore.”

It is said that hatred is only possible if there is affection.

Kim Malja, who had already cleared her mind, was indifferent as she spoke.

She had no intention of living with him as a husband or family anymore.

“When I was fighting cancer, you met another woman back then, and you were caught, and you went over it without saying anything, so you thought I had forgiven you, but no. I was too tired, so I pretended not to know to survive.”

“……!”

Gu Donggon flinched at his wife’s inner thoughts, which he was hearing for the first time.

“People say that they change a bit when they get seriously ill. I think I’m like that too. You’ve already broken the trust between husband and wife twice. I don’t want to live with someone like that anymore. I want to live the rest of my life comfortably without any worries.”

Creak-

Kim Malja, who was talking with a calm expression and tone, got up from her seat and moved Gu Donggon’s luggage, which she had prepared in advance, to the living room.

“You can keep working at the restaurant if you want. But you’ll have to work with the employees and get paid the same salary. It’s true that you worked hard together while running the restaurant, so I’ll settle your share and give it to you. I asked a lawyer, and they said it’s good to acknowledge the work you did and divide it fairly.”

It wasn’t money given out of pity.

It was also true that he worked hard at the restaurant, and Kim Malja wanted to settle things neatly without leaving any loose ends.

“Divorce by agreement is the easiest, but you can sue if you feel wronged. Then I’ll find a lawyer and prepare too.”

“Malja… can’t I stop you?”

“Jihoon’s dad, don’t hold me back, let me go. Let’s live our own lives. You and I will live as strangers now. I really want to live comfortably.”

Gu Donggon, who had been constantly bowing his head, was convinced the moment he saw Kim Malja’s face.

That his wife’s heart had completely turned away. He felt it in his bones that there was no longer a place for him in her life. There was nothing more he could do.

“I’m really sorry then and now.”

The two people, who met in their young and fresh days without a single wrinkle and spent a long time together until white snowflakes fell on their heads and wrinkles appeared on the back of their hands, had their married life ended in just 30 minutes.

“Goodbye, Gu Donggon.”

Gu Donggon left the house with a large carrier, shedding tears and looking shabby.

His wife and children were not by his side, after he had expected a comfortable old age. Instead, only loneliness and solitude remained.