Fifth Vital [EN]: Chapter 440

441. The Guardian’s Heart

While Lee Jun-yeok was at a critical point in the operating room, and Tae-kyung and his team were focused on finishing up, Kim Han-sol remained on the first floor.

She was too scared and anxious to go up to the second floor where the operating room was located.

She could occasionally hear the voices of patients visiting the hospital, but Kim Han-sol sat motionless on a chair.

All she could do was clasp her hands together and pray for her husband, who was battling for his life.

‘Jun-yeok, please hang in there. I and our children can’t live without you.’

Just as Kim Han-sol was Lee Jun-yeok’s first love, Lee Jun-yeok was also Kim Han-sol’s first love.

The two, who met in high school, were each other’s one and only love.

Even after they married and had children, Lee Jun-yeok still made Kim Han-sol’s heart flutter.

Life on the island wasn’t difficult; it was happy because she had a husband who still loved her deeply.

But now, her husband was in a critical situation and might become a vegetable [a person in a persistent vegetative state], and she felt lost in the dark.

The person who had been her constant companion was now in danger, and she didn’t know how to cope with this sudden crisis.

‘Jun-yeok, you can’t leave like this. Please help me. Please… help him have a successful surgery.’

As she bowed her head, praying desperately, she noticed a pair of white sandals approaching and stopping in front of her feet.

“Excuse me…?”

Looking up, she saw Head Nurse Oh Sim-bo, the owner of the sandals, holding a document and addressing her.

“Are you the guardian of the patient Lee Jun-yeok?”

“Yes, I’m his wife.”

“It’s regarding the surgery consent form you filled out earlier.”

Oh Sim-bo handed the surgery consent form to Kim Han-sol, whose eyes were brimming with tears.

“You signed the bottom part incorrectly, so you need to sign it again.”

“Oh, really?”

Checking the consent form, Kim Han-sol saw the incorrect signature.

She must have made the mistake because she was even more distraught than usual.

“I’m sorry. I’ll do it again right away. Here, I’ve done it again.”

“Yes, that’s correct now.”

“Excuse me, Nurse…?”

Just as Oh Sim-bo, having received the corrected surgery consent form, was about to turn away, Kim Han-sol called out to her.

“Yes?”

“I’m sorry, but could you tell me when my husband’s surgery will be over?”

“Well, I don’t really know about that…”

Unlike Kim Han-sol’s anxious expression, Oh Sim-bo replied with her usual indifferent tone.

“Pardon?”

“It’s not a surgery performed by our hospital’s doctors, but by an outsider, so I don’t know what’s going on in the operating room right now.”

“Ah. Yes… Then, will he continue treatment here after the surgery? Or will he be transferred to another facility?”

Kim Han-sol asked about her husband’s condition and the plan after the surgery, things she was naturally curious about.

These questions were neither unusual nor strange. As the wife and guardian of a patient undergoing surgery, it was natural to ask. But the answer she received was unexpected.

“You shouldn’t ask me that.”

“…Excuse me?!”

Kim Han-sol was taken aback by Oh Sim-bo’s response.

“You’re a nurse here.”

“I am a nurse at this hospital. As you know, those three aren’t our hospital’s doctors. According to regulations, they shouldn’t even be performing surgery here, but I don’t know what happened. I only lent them the operating room after receiving a call from the director. So, it’s only natural that I don’t know whether the patient will be transferred after the surgery or what will happen.”

“…”

“If it were me, I would have safely transferred him to the mainland instead of having surgery here. The surgical equipment won’t be perfect either, so what kind of guts do they have to operate? I heard they’ve been on TV and stuff… Is that why? Their confidence is amazing.”

Oh Sim-bo walked back to the nurse’s station, muttering to herself as she turned away.

“…”

Kim Han-sol, quietly watching Oh Sim-bo, was so dumbfounded she couldn’t say a word.

For a moment, she questioned if this was truly a hospital and if that woman was indeed a nurse.

Otherwise, she couldn’t fathom how someone could speak that way to a guardian waiting for a patient undergoing life-or-death surgery.

Kim Han-sol felt resentment rising from her heart, threatening to burst out.

She felt wronged that she had to endure such dismissive treatment simply for seeking information about her husband’s condition as his guardian.

Even if they weren’t close, island life meant everyone was connected through someone. She ran a restaurant, and more than anything, she wanted to remain composed for the sake of her in-laws, but she couldn’t.

Kim Han-sol, still in her 30s, was younger than Oh Sim-bo, who was in her 50s, but she felt compelled to speak up, even if it was considered rude.

“Excuse me?”

Kim Han-sol, walking towards the station, called out to Oh Sim-bo, who was working at the computer.

“Rumor has it that I’m a rude and ill-mannered young woman, and I feel like I have to say something today.”

“Yes?”

“Isn’t Oh Sim-bo a medical professional? Aren’t you a nurse?”

“Pardon?!”

Oh Sim-bo had no idea what Kim Han-sol was talking about.

“It’s a simple question; didn’t you understand me? I’m asking if you’re a nurse.”

“Yes, I am. A nurse.”

“I know. I know very well that Oh is a nurse and head nurse at this hospital. But if you’re a nurse, shouldn’t you understand the feelings of patients and their families better than anyone else? How can you say things like that?”

“What are you talking about right now…?”

“This is the only hospital on the island, so people have no choice but to come here when they’re sick. But do you know what? There are quite a few islanders who are reluctant to come to this hospital. Do you know why? It’s because of Oh Sim-bo.”

“…!”

“Do you know that you’re only kind to a few close friends and cold to everyone else? You’re so cold and blunt that patients paying for treatment are made to feel self-conscious.”

Kim Han-sol began to voice everything she had wanted to say.

In fact, when she heard about her husband’s accident from Lee Jae-hyun, one thought crossed her mind as she drove to the hospital.

‘Our island only has OO Medical Center; will it be okay? Will the doctors there treat me well?’

She was worried because the hospital staff was often perceived as blunt and prickly.

If there had been another hospital, Kim Han-sol would have transferred her husband without hesitation.

That’s how poor OO Medical Center’s service was perceived. And Oh Sim-bo was always at the center of it.

“You can’t put your soul into your eyes [you can’t force genuine emotion], but you can offer a kind word, right? You know me, right?”

“Well, I don’t really know…”

Oh Sim-bo tried to recall if she had seen her before, but she couldn’t remember.

“You know the Sea Pearl Restaurant down there, right? My husband and I, the ones being operated on on the second floor, are the owners.”

“Ah…”

Hearing the name, Oh Sim-bo recognized the restaurant.

“I’m the same way. I get tired of dealing with customers all day long, and if a troublemaker comes, I get annoyed and angry. But I’ve never frowned or been blunt. If you show that kind of expression to a customer who came to enjoy a meal, they won’t enjoy it. And you said earlier that you would have transferred me to the mainland for treatment. No. You’re lying. You have a son who goes to college in Seoul, right?”

“How did you…?”

In early last year, Oh Sim-bo visited Kim Han-sol’s restaurant with her family.

During that visit, her youngest son choked while eating, and Oh Sim-bo panicked.

Her son was choking so severely that Oh Sim-bo raised her voice, insisting on going to a large hospital on the mainland.

She shouted so loudly that the other customers thought there was a major incident in the restaurant.

Eventually, her youngest son calmed down, and Oh Sim-bo finished her meal with her family.

Kim Han-sol initially thought it was a bit excessive.

But having a child of her own, she understood that she might react the same way in a similar situation.

“Do you remember that time?”

“…!”

Oh Sim-bo vividly remembered the incident when she heard Kim Han-sol’s story.

“At that time, I asked for hot water and brought you hot water, and I asked for a warm towel and brought you a towel, and I even found digestive medicine because I thought my son was constipated.”

“Ah, yes… That’s right.”

Oh Sim-bo suddenly remembered Kim Han-sol, who had readily fulfilled all her requests at that time.

Since he was young, her youngest son had been frail, so she was overly concerned even with minor ailments, even after he grew up.

He had simply choked on food.

But seeing her son’s persistent coughing and pained expression, she was suddenly gripped by the terrifying thought that something might go wrong.

From that moment on, she made unreasonable demands, and the restaurant owners treated her kindly without showing any resentment.

“At that time, your son was just choking, right? My husband might die. How can someone who was so panicked by a simple choking incident say those things to the guardian of a patient who might die? If your son were in this situation, would you have waited for transportation that might not arrive and gone to the mainland? No! From what I see, you would have begged even more than I did to save your son.”

“…”

Oh Sim-bo, who had been so vocal, fell silent as if her mouth had been zipped shut.

“You know how anxious and scared patients and their families are when they come to the hospital. Is it that difficult to offer a kind word? People who come to the hospital cry, laugh, and get angry based on the words of medical staff. We are responsible for the health of the residents of Heorak Island.”

Kim Han-sol, who had been ranting, suddenly quoted the slogan on the poster hanging on the station wall.

“I think that slogan is completely wrong. Don’t take my words badly, but reflect on them.”

Kim Han-sol, having said everything she wanted to say, bowed and returned to her seat.

“…”

Oh Sim-bo’s face burned with embarrassment and shame, and she stood there blankly, speechless.

Shortly after, the on-duty internal medicine doctor appeared.

He had overheard the conversation and stood there with an equally embarrassed expression.

“Isn’t it over yet?”

Kim Han-sol, back in her seat, checked her phone and the time her husband entered the operating room.

“Should I wait on the second floor?”

She pressed the elevator button to go to the second floor.

“Oh!”