Dr. Shin Seonhan: The Doctor Who Sees The Future [EN]: Chapter 221

#Extra Story 3: The Reason Yeonseo Smiles (3)

“Why did you come?”

“Why do you think I came?”

“You must be busy at the hospital. Why did you bother coming all the way here in the middle of the night? Didn’t you say you were on duty today? Just go back now.”

Yeonseo’s mother, having finished the stitches, was immediately admitted. Further examination revealed two cracked ribs, and she needed to be hospitalized for two to three days to monitor her condition.

Yeonseo looked at her mother lying in the emergency room with worried eyes.

Fortunately, the ribs weren’t a major concern, and there seemed to be no other injuries besides the knee.

However, due to the unexpected accident, her expression was weak, and her complexion was still pale.

“How did you fall?”

“It was because of my glasses.”

“Glasses?”

“My eyesight got worse, so I switched to multifocal lenses. The optician told me to be careful when going up and down the stairs… Ugh, I should have been more careful.”

Yeonseo’s mother waved her hand as if it were nothing.

People who wear multifocal lenses for the first time need an adjustment period.

The focal point changes depending on the area of the lens.

Especially when going down stairs, you need to lower your head and look at the stairs with the upper part of the lens.

Otherwise, the optician explained, you might feel like the ground is suddenly rushing towards you and lose your footing.

“Is your eyesight bad?”

“When you get old, things start to break down here and there. Don’t worry about it.”

“…….”

Yeonseo pressed her lips tightly.

She felt upset.

Although she reassured her younger brother, she was also worried about her mother.

It wasn’t just minor ailments; she had been hospitalized frequently.

Last year, she had a thyroidectomy [surgical removal of the thyroid gland] due to hyperthyroidism and was taking medication prescribed during outpatient visits.

It wasn’t a life-threatening disease, but Yeonseo couldn’t help but worry.

“Oh my, you were almost in serious trouble, but it’s a relief it turned out this well!”

The emergency room doctor standing next to them chimed in.

“The stitched area will be looked at by a plastic surgeon, and the cracked ribs shouldn’t be a big problem, but just in case, we’ll keep her hospitalized for about two days.”

Hearing that, Yeonseo asked,

“So, besides the stitched area on her leg, there are no internal problems?”

“Yes? Ah, yes. That’s right.”

“And the chest examination showed no problems other than the crack? The reason for hospitalization is to watch out for delayed hemothorax [blood accumulating in the space between the lung and chest wall] or pneumothorax [air leaking into the space between the lung and chest wall]?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

The doctor nodded and cautiously asked,

“Are you, by any chance, working in the medical field?”

“Yes, I’m still an intern, though.”

“Ah, I knew it! You have remarkable medical knowledge. Excuse me, but which hospital are you at?”

“Yeonguk University Hospital.”

“Ah, what a coincidence! I know a professor there very well. Do you know Professor Park Jun-seong? Or I have an intern junior there too…!”

The doctor tried to start a conversation with Yeonseo, listing his connections.

Meanwhile, Yeonseo’s mother and younger brother exchanged glances with expressions that said, ‘Here we go again.’

“Anyway, don’t worry! If this is fate, I’ll make sure your mother recovers well!”

“Yes, please take good care of her.”

Yeonseo bowed her head.

The way she swept her long hair to one side as she greeted him looked like slow motion.

The young male doctor grinned and returned to the emergency room station.

As soon as he disappeared, Juan glared at his back with cold eyes.

“I don’t like that doctor.”

“Why?”

“He was very unfriendly to me earlier. But as soon as my sister came, his expression suddenly changed, and he became so kind.”

“You must be mistaken.”

“No, I’m not! You should have seen how his tone changed when my sister arrived.”

As Juan grumbled, his mother chuckled.

“Son, everyone is the same. I read in a book… what was it? Most people’s personalities change depending on the situation.”

“How can that be? People should be consistent.”

“It’s true. It was in a book. They did some experiment in America…”

Her mother had been reading a lot of books lately.

Until last year, she worked as an assistant, but after her health deteriorated, she started managing a book cafe.

Her income decreased, but she could read many books she usually enjoyed.

Yeonseo liked that.

As much as she contributed to the living expenses, her mother could reclaim her life that she had put on hold.

It was just that her eyesight became uncomfortable when reading, and this whole thing happened while changing her glasses.

Yeonseo listened to her mother and cautiously said,

“Mom, you don’t have to go to work now.”

“Huh?”

“If it’s hard, you can just rest at home…”

“Oh, come on. People need the reward of working. I’ll be bored if I’m just at home.”

“Still.”

As Yeonseo was about to say something more, her mother took her hand.

“Daughter, I’m sorry. For making you worry. I won’t be sick anymore. So, don’t worry about me.”

“…….”

“Are you having a hard time at work?”

“No.”

“If it’s hard, don’t suffer alone, don’t try too hard.”

“I don’t.”

Yeonseo smiled deliberately, tightening her cheeks. Her mother was smiling with the same expression.

They had to smile.

Because they shouldn’t worry each other.

Still, her mother and Yeonseo were pitying each other.

* * *

Yeonseo’s house is an old villa.

The alley designated as a redevelopment zone is covered with various banners.

, …

Walking through the messy alley and climbing the steep stairs, Yeonseo thought she wanted time to pass faster.

She had always wanted to escape this neighborhood since before she came to her senses, and it was the same now.

“Juan, you’re not just playing games at home because it’s vacation, are you? Unless you’re going to be a pro gamer, you have to set a time limit and do it appropriately.”

After entering the living room, Yeonseo nagged and packed her mother’s hospital bag.

“I know. I’m not a kid.”

Juan went into his room, lay down, and turned on his phone.

Yeonseo glanced at her younger brother’s back.

He had grown taller in a year.

His pretty face was now starting to show a masculine air.

His voice was slowly changing, and he was getting bigger, but Yeonseo still felt like he was a baby in her arms.

Especially today. Seeing him sobbing in his sister’s arms earlier, she thought he was still a child.

Yeonseo wanted to do anything for her younger brother.

“Oh, your birthday is coming up soon, right? Do you need anything? Come to think of it, it looks like you’re about to run out of lotion…”

“My girlfriend bought it for me.”

“?!”

You have a girlfriend?

No, my little brother who’s like a child?!

Yeonseo was a bit shocked but didn’t show it and asked,

“You said you wanted a gaming keyboard last time, right? Should I buy it for you?”

“My ex-girlfriend bought it for me.”

“What about basketball shoes?”

“My ex-ex-girlfriend bought those.”

“…Do you just date at school?”

Yeonseo was flustered.

No, him?

He’s still in middle school, but he’s getting so many expensive gifts?

“What can I do if girls just give them to me? I can’t refuse.”

Yeonseo felt dizzy at Juan’s words.

‘My… my small and cute youngest brother… what is he going to become when he grows up?’

Suddenly, Yeonseo recalled a classical story she learned in a university liberal arts class.

In ancient China, there lived a writer named Pan Yue.

He was a historical beauty, and he had to be fully prepared when going out to the market street.

Why?

Because the women threw so many gifts at him.

It is said that once he went out and returned, Pan Yue’s cart was full of fruit. The idiom derived from this is cheokgwayeonggeo (擲果盈車) [literally ‘throwing fruit filling the cart,’ meaning to be very popular and receive many gifts].

Even though he’s her younger brother, she’s sometimes worried that he’s too handsome and might go astray.

“Ah, anyway, if you need anything, your sister will buy it for you! Don’t get too many gifts from girls. What do you want the most?”

Yeonseo asked, feeling a strange sense of crisis.

Now that she’s getting paid, she had the confidence to buy him expensive gifts.

Then Juan turned his back and answered in the same lying position.

“A house without stairs.”

“…….”

“Mom’s knees aren’t good either, so it takes her 10 minutes to climb up to the house these days. It’s been bad since she worked at the hospital.”

No, still, a house is a bit…

Well, he’s my brother, but his scale is too big.

“Just bear with it this year. They say the relocation support money will come out next year, so if we combine that with my salary, we can move to a better place…”

“But we still can’t buy a house, right?”

“Of course not.”

No matter how high-income a doctor is compared to the average office worker, a new member of society can’t just buy a house.

“I wish my sister wouldn’t get married and live alone, but if you’re going to get married, I hope you marry a real estate tycoon.”

“What?”

“Just kidding.”

Juan said that and chuckled.

But it didn’t sound like a simple joke.

Come to think of it, these days, young students are ranked by the apartment brand they live in…

Maybe Juan doesn’t show it, but he doesn’t like his environment.

Beep—

At that moment, the phone vibrated.

Yeonseo checked the message through the cracked screen.

[Jina] Is your mother okay?

[Yeonseo] Yes, she wasn’t hurt much. She got a few stitches for a shallow laceration on her leg, and about two ribs are cracked.

[Jina] Oh, that’s a relief.

[Yeonseo] Is everything okay at the hospital?

[Jina] Yeah, a few minor calls came in earlier, but I took care of them quickly.

[Yeonseo] Oh, were there many calls?

[Jina] No, they were all simple things.

[Yeonseo] Thank you so much, sis ㅠㅠㅠ

Yeonseo’s message was a sea of tears with ‘ㅠ’ [Korean emoticon for crying].

It wasn’t just words; she was really grateful.

Having a colleague who can help when things are tough was a great strength.

[Jina] Oh, and by the way.

[Yeonseo] Yes?

[Jina] That Lee Eok-jun, it seems like he’s serious about you?

[Yeonseo] …….

[Jina] He’s drinking with the residents right now and crying that he was serious ㅋㅋㅋ

[Yeonseo] Oh ㅠ

[Jina] Just saying. Think about it~

—Their family is super rich, you know? His grandfather is the chairman of a construction company. There’s a rumor that he owns over a hundred properties in Seoul?

Suddenly, she remembered what Jina had told her earlier.

“That would be nice, a real estate tycoon.”

Yeonseo muttered that and packed her mother’s belongings in a market eco-bag and left the front door.

[Jina] But Yeonseo, honestly, do you have someone else in your heart?

Pause.

Yeonseo stopped walking.

Beyond the cracked screen, a line of questioning was asking Yeonseo’s heart.

She doesn’t usually reveal her inner thoughts easily, but…

Why?

Today, she felt an urge to confide in someone.

“…….”

Tap tap.

Yeonseo sent a message.

Whoosh.

She inhaled the night air, where the cold hadn’t subsided, and exhaled slowly.

She felt refreshed.

Before heading to the hospital, Yeonseo looked up at the sky from the stairs.

It was a night where a clear, white moon shone over the crooked residential area.