Fifth Vital [EN]: Chapter 485

Fifth Vitality – Episode 486 (485/502)

486. Barefoot

“Hello? Oppa?”

Lee Jungmi called Lee Jungbon once more, wondering if she had misheard the unfamiliar man’s voice.

“Oppa, why aren’t you answering!”

-Ah, I’m not your oppa.

“…….”

Lee Jungmi was silent as she heard Im Ma-jun’s voice from Lee Jungbon’s phone in the ambulance.

-Hello? Are you the delivery driver’s sibling?

“Who are you calling from my brother’s phone?”

Someone other than her brother was answering his phone. This had never happened before.

Even if he was late or delayed in contacting her, he always made sure to let her know. The thought that something had definitely happened kept swirling in her head.

Lee Jungmi, who had been silent, barely calmed her trembling heart and continued speaking.

“The delivery person is my brother. Where is my brother?”

-Ah, yes. I’m the person who had the accident with the driver.

“Acc, accident? Are you saying my brother was in a car accident? Is that right?”

-Yes, that’s right. I was driving my car, and the driver suddenly jumped out, and we collided. I lost consciousness and just woke up…….

“Where’s my brother?”

Im Ma-jun, thoroughly coached by Kim Mi-hye, spoke in a way that implied he wasn’t at fault, even in this situation. However, his attempt to explain in detail was drowned out by Lee Jungmi’s cry of concern for her brother.

Lee Jungmi couldn’t hear anything except that her brother was hurt. Her brother’s well-being was the top priority.

“How is my brother? Is he badly hurt?”

-Yes. Well……. It seems like the driver is quite injured.

Upon hearing that, Lee Jungmi’s legs gave way, and she collapsed to the floor. At the same time, her heart sank.

“Where? How much? How is he hurt? Where is he now?”

-He’s bleeding a lot in his lower body and is in a lot of pain. I called 119 [Korean emergency services number] a little while ago, and the ambulance arrived. We’re on our way to the hospital together.

“Which hospital? Which hospital are you going to? Tell me, I’ll go there.”

-We’re going to Woori Hospital in Yeoul-dong. You must be very surprised…….

Click-

Lee Jungmi, out of her mind, hung up the phone before Im Ma-jun could finish speaking.

There was no time to waste.

“Oppa, Oppa, please……. Please, save my brother. Please!”

Lee Jungmi, who had been sitting on the floor, grabbed her wallet from the side of the desk and ran out of the house.

‘Mom, Dad. Oppa is hurt. Please let Oppa be okay. Dad and Mom, please help him. Please help him.’

Lee Jungmi ran to the road where she could catch a taxi, praying to her deceased parents over and over again.

‘What should I do? What if something bad happens to my brother…….’

A terrifying thought kept creeping into her mind, wondering what she should do if something bad happened to her brother.

‘Bleeding a lot in his lower body…….’

Im Ma-jun’s words from the phone call seemed to echo in her ears.

She hadn’t even repaid half of the love she had received from her brother yet, and she couldn’t lose him like this without doing anything for him.

‘Please! Help me.’

As Lee Jungmi repeated the same words and ran, she saw the road in the distance.

Just as she was wondering what to do if she couldn’t catch a taxi at this late hour, a taxi with its blinker on caught her eye at the end of the road.

“Thank goodness.”

She was so grateful that there was a taxi.

“Excuse me? Driver!”

Lee Jungmi urgently called the taxi driver, who was standing in front of the car, drinking a canned coffee.

“Woori Hospital, please. Please take me to Woori Hospital.”

“Ah!”

The driver, who was drinking coffee, took the canned coffee away from his mouth as he looked at Lee Jungmi, who was speaking with a desperate and bewildered expression.

“It’s in Yeoul-dong. I’ll give you the exact address on the way.”

“No, miss, it’s not that, this taxi is reserved. I’m sorry, it seems like you have a situation.”

The taxi driver spoke with a very apologetic expression.

It was clear at a glance that she had something urgent, but he couldn’t cancel a reservation he had already received.

“Please, driver.”

“The customer will be here soon. If I cancel the reservation, I’ll get penalty points, which will affect my ability to receive calls.”

That was true.

These days, customers leave reviews and ratings when they call a taxi and get out, and even if you drive kindly, some people occasionally give low ratings and make up things that didn’t happen.

But if you openly cancel a reservation, a complaint can be immediately filed with the customer center, which is not good.

And more than anything, he had something to do during the day and came out to drive from the evening, but he hadn’t made much money yet.

In other words, he hadn’t been able to drive a long distance. He mainly got short trips, so it wasn’t profitable.

In the meantime, a long-distance customer had just made a call reservation, and the taxi driver was secretly cheering.

Honestly, Yeoul-dong was not a profitable area, so from the driver’s point of view, who was busy trying to make a living, there was no reason to go there.

“Driver, I’m really sorry, but I really need to go to the hospital. My brother…….”

“Are you driver number 4726?”

Just as Lee Jungmi was about to plead her case, the person who had reserved the taxi approached.

“Yes, that’s right. Are you the one who said you were going to Icheon, Gyeonggi-do?”

“Yes, that’s right. Can we get in now?”

The passengers who had reserved the taxi were three women in their 30s.

They had reserved the taxi to go home after having dinner and drinks at a friend’s housewarming party.

The three women were heavily made up and looked like the epitome of so-called strong women [independent, assertive women].

“Hey! Where are we going for the third round?”

“Soon-deok, get a grip. We’re going home in a taxi now.”

“She drank soju [Korean rice wine] and beer and now she’s blacked out again.”

The women, who were using folksy language, were all a bit drunk.

One of them was completely drunk and didn’t even know what she was saying, while the other two were relatively slightly tipsy.

“Girls, how about spicy chicken feet and fries for the third round? And a cold draft beer?”

“Okay. Just let’s shut Soon-deok up.”

“Please, driver.”

“No, it’s difficult because these people have a reservation. It would be faster for you to call another taxi…….”

“Excuse me, are you the ones who reserved the taxi?”

As the taxi driver was feeling embarrassed, Lee Jungmi turned to the women and spoke to them.

“Yes, we are?”

“I’m really sorry to bother you, but would you mind giving up the taxi?”

“Lamb skewers! Lamb skewers are good. Beer is perfect with lamb skewers. Hehehe!”

“Ugh! Shut up. Hey, put a lollipop in Soon-deok’s mouth.”

The friend who was heavily drunk didn’t understand and was talking nonsense.

Then, the woman with the most intimidating look, with long eyeliner, said to her friend.

As her friend put a lollipop in her mouth, the drunk woman, who had been very excited, became quiet.

“I’m sorry, but it’s a bit difficult. We came from a friend’s housewarming party in Icheon and barely caught a taxi by calling, so I’m sorry.”

“Driver, let’s go now?”

“Yes, please get in.”

“Hey! Soon-deok, get in quickly.”

“My brother is badly hurt!”

Just as the women were about to get into the taxi, Lee Jungmi, who had become desperate, raised her voice as loud as she could.

“I live with my brother, and he was injured in a car accident and taken to the hospital. He’s bleeding a lot from his lower body……. Haa! I, I need to go there quickly. I’m really sorry, but please give up the taxi.”

“……!”

Lee Jungmi poured out her situation like a machine gun. The women and the driver who heard the story couldn’t say anything for a moment.

The woman who looked the most intimidating scanned Lee Jungmi up and down.

A bare face with no makeup and her hair roughly tied up with a rubber band. A stretched-out T-shirt and sweatpants with slightly worn knees.

The woman was convinced as she looked at Lee Jungmi’s appearance. That what she was saying was true.

If women all over the country saw Lee Jungmi’s appearance, they would immediately know that she had been comfortably at home and had come out in a hurry after receiving an urgent call.

And what surprised the woman the most was that Lee Jungmi was currently barefoot.

Lee Jungmi, who had run out of the house like crazy after hearing the news about her brother, hadn’t even thought about putting on shoes.

She didn’t even realize that she wasn’t wearing shoes, even when she was running barefoot through the alley and even now.

Lee Jungmi was so out of her mind.

“Is it your real brother who got hurt?”

“Yes, he said he was coming home from his delivery job and had a car accident and is being taken to the hospital in an ambulance now.”

“Mi-rae, let’s get Soon-deok out.”

The intimidating-looking woman and her friend pulled out the friend who was lying in the taxi with a lollipop in her mouth.

“What!! Are we already here?”

“Soon-deok, be quiet.”

“Young-ah, let’s give up the taxi. Her family member is hurt, so she needs to go quickly.”

“Yeah. I was going to do that anyway.”

“Driver, we’re going to give up the taxi to this friend, is that okay?”

“Let’s do that.”

The taxi driver, who had been listening to the conversation, readily agreed.

The driver also realized how urgent the situation was now, as he had just confirmed that Lee Jungmi was barefoot.

He felt very sorry for not trying to listen properly when she had pleaded earlier.

“Where did you say the hospital was?”

“Yeoul-dong. She said it was Woori Hospital in Yeoul-dong.”

“I know where that is.”

As Lee Jungmi replied to the intimidating-looking woman’s words, the driver nodded that he knew.

“Driver, is Yeoul-dong far from here?”

“No. It’s not that far from here.”

“Then we’ll wait here, so can you drop this friend off and come back? We’ll be at the convenience store over there.”

“Then I’d be grateful. Are you sure it’s okay?”

The driver, who thought they would call another taxi, was very grateful for those words.

“It’s okay, so please take this friend to the hospital quickly. Hey, your brother will be okay. Don’t worry too much.”

“……Yes. Thank you. Thank you so much. Thank you.”

Lee Jungmi bowed deeply to the women who had given up the taxi.

“Hey, driver!”

As the taxi was about to leave, the intimidating-looking woman hurriedly knocked on the car window.

“This?”

“What is this?”

The woman quickly took out 20,000 won [approximately $15 USD] from her wallet and placed the bill on the passenger seat with her long arm.

“Please use this to pay for the taxi fare to the hospital. It’s close, so this should be enough, right?”

“Of course.”

“No, don’t do that.”

As Lee Jungmi was startled and refused, the woman told the driver to leave quickly.

“Driver, please leave quickly. Please take care of my friend.”

“Yes, don’t worry.”