Fifth Vital [EN]: Chapter 117

Episode 117. A 15-Hour LT [Liver Transplant]

The next day.

Tae-kyung was making his usual morning rounds.

The hospital building was permeated with the “fifth vital sign” [a metaphorical or literal scent indicating a patient’s condition] everywhere he went.

While the smell wasn’t as intense during outpatient visits, it varied greatly in the emergency room and wards.

The higher the stage of illness, the worse the patient’s condition, and the more foul the smell became.

Some might wrinkle their noses and block them upon smelling it, but Tae-kyung had never found these smells uncomfortable or unpleasant.

Of course, he was taken aback at first, but he got used to it. Rather, it was quite a helpful ability in identifying a patient’s condition.

“Thank you, doctor.”

“You’re welcome. I’ll see you again later.”

Tae-kyung, who had already finished with the second-floor rooms, re-entered room 207 to check on a patient before coming out.

“Patient Yoo Ji-cheon in 207. Please call if there are any issues.”

“Yes, Director.”

After relaying the information to the second-floor station nurse, he paused on the stairs leading to the third floor and took out his phone from his gown.

-Patient Yoo Ji-cheon in 207.

Accompanied by stage 4 extreme formalin and sulfur smell. (The intensity of the smell has increased slightly since yesterday.)

Tae-kyung left a memo on his phone about the patients in the ward whose fifth vital sign had changed compared to the previous day.

He used to write in a small notebook he always carried, but he switched to his phone for fear of losing it.

“Ha!”

His eyes, meeting the name ‘Yoo Ji-cheon’ written on the phone screen, were filled with worry, pity, and frustration.

“Director?”

“Detective Kim.”

Kim Kyung-sa, who was coming down after meeting Se-young, called out to Tae-kyung as he stared intently at his phone.

“You’re here early.”

“Yes, I came early today to share the news with my father before work.”

“Detective, is Do Han-yeon still being investigated by the prosecution?”

Tae-kyung asked about Do Han-yeon, a question he hadn’t had a chance to ask yesterday.

“The prosecutor in charge has obtained a warrant from the court and plans to indict him under detention.”

“It will take time until a definite verdict is reached, right?”

“It will take quite a while since there has to be a trial. However, since it’s a case that has garnered a lot of public attention, the result will come out a bit faster than other cases.”

“As far as I know, child abuse carries a sentence of 5 years to a maximum of life imprisonment, is that correct?”

“There’s nothing Director doesn’t know. That’s right. The government designated it as a serious crime a few years ago and enacted it as a special law.”

“Then will Do Han-yeon receive a life sentence?”

Tae-kyung, who had directly discovered and treated Se-young’s pain, wanted Do Han-yeon to receive severe punishment more than anyone else.

“I feel the same way, but that part is under the jurisdiction of the court, so I’ll have to wait and see. Still, I think it will turn out well because the prosecutor in charge is passionate about child abuse cases.”

“That’s a relief. But why that from the morning…….”

Tae-kyung’s gaze turned to the doll that Kim Kyung-sa had been holding tightly since earlier.

“This? It’s cute, right?”

Kim Kyung-sa, who had been serious until now, stroked the bizarre-looking earthworm doll and genuinely seemed to like it.

“…….”

“Director, what’s the meaning of that expression? Se-young gave this as a gift.”

“Ah, I see. I almost misunderstood.”

“Anyway, I’ll head to work now.”

“Yes, have a good day at work.”

Tae-kyung said goodbye to Kim Kyung-sa and headed to the third-floor ward.

As always, he carefully examined the patients, going from room to room in order, and headed to the VVIP ward.

“Doctor?”

Turning around, he saw Se-young holding her dad’s hand tightly, greeting him with a bright face and a clear voice.

“Hello, Doctor.”

“Hello, Se-young.”

As her inflammation levels continued to drop, the intensity of the smell coming from Se-young was also decreasing. Tae-kyung was grateful that the child was recovering well.

“Did you sleep well?”

“Yes, I slept well.”

Se-young’s expression with her dad was even more vibrant than yesterday.

The same was true for Go Young-cheol. His face, which had been stained with self-blame and guilt, looked much more relaxed.

“Guardian, were you uncomfortable?”

“Uncomfortable? I slept very comfortably. I don’t think I properly thanked you yesterday. Thank you so much for giving us such a good room and taking care of our Se-young.”

“You’re welcome. I was just doing my job as a doctor.”

Contrary to saying he didn’t thank him properly, Go Young-cheol kept thanking Tae-kyung whenever he saw him.

He didn’t forget to express his gratitude every time he met him, whether it was when he heard about his daughter’s condition after reuniting with Se-young yesterday or when he ran into him again in the ward at dawn.

It wasn’t an unconscious greeting. It was a greeting because he felt that no matter how many times he thanked Tae-kyung for treating his daughter well, it wouldn’t be enough.

“Doctor? I have something to show you. Come this way.”

While Tae-kyung and her dad were greeting each other, Se-young gently pulled on the hem of his gown and led him into the room.

“Doctor, look at this.”

“What is all this?”

“I received gifts.”

Some of the 택배 [Taekbae – Korean delivery service] items sent to Se-young were in the room.

Earlier, Team Leader Choi had taken Se-young and Go Young-cheol to his office to show them the 택배 that had piled up overnight.

‘Wow! Is this all for me?’

‘Of course.’

‘Dad, can I have this?’

‘Of course. You can have everything since it was sent by people who are cheering for Se-young.’

So Se-young chose the items she liked, and Go Young-cheol and Team Leader Choi moved them to the room.

“Se-young must be happy to receive gifts.”

“There are many more downstairs. But I decided to give them to my friends because I have too many to have alone.”

“Friends?”

“Ah, Se-young said she only needs this, so she wanted to share the rest with her friends. After consulting with the Sunflower Center teacher, we decided to donate them to the orphanage.”

Se-young, who had always only looked at Seri’s belongings, Do Han-yeon’s biological daughter, knew better than anyone else how much she wanted them. So, she was happy when she saw the many items in the office, but she decided not to be greedy and have them all.

“Our Se-young, how can you be so wonderful? Se-young is the best.”

“Doctor, this.”

“Oh! Are you giving it to the doctor too?”

Se-young picked out the largest of the green earthworm dolls lined up in a row on one wall and held it out.

“Yes, Greenie is the biggest here. Because the doctor is the boss here too.”

“The doctor will cherish this. Thank you.”

“Wow! Cool.”

It was then, as Tae-kyung was expressing his gratitude, that everyone’s attention turned to the door at the sudden loud voice.

“The earthworm is so big.”

Woo-jin, who had appeared unnoticed, was peeking through the open doorway.

“Hello, I’m Lee Woo-jin.”

When he made eye contact with Se-young, Woo-jin bravely revealed his name.

“Hello. I’m Go Se-young. Do you want to play together? Come in.”

“Really? Thank you. But is this all yours?”

“Yes. Do you want one too?”

“No. You have it. I’m okay.”

They say kids become friends quickly, and Woo-jin and Se-young became friends in no time.

“Pick one you like. I’ll give it to you as a gift.”

“Thank you, then I…….”

His bright eyes wandered left and right before settling on the doll Tae-kyung was holding.

Woo-jin looked back and forth between the green earthworm doll and Tae-kyung.

“Boss Doctor?”

“W, Woo-jin, this? This is the doctor’s.”

Tae-kyung made a funny face, imitating the earthworm doll as if he was in trouble, and the laughter of Se-young and Woo-jin filled the room.

“Haha! Doctor’s expression is funny.”

“It looks like the earthworm’s expression.”

In the end, Tae-kyung gave Greenie to Woo-jin and left the room with a hot pink earthworm doll instead.

* * *

“Choi, what’s that?”

“…….”

Choi Mona didn’t answer when asked about the palm-sized doll attached to her phone.

“Choi Mona, Doctor?”

“Choi Mona? Who’s that? My name is Gae Mona [Gae can mean ‘dog’ or be used as a self-deprecating prefix].”

“……!”

Lee Chan-hee flinched and nudged Choi Mona’s shoulder at the sound.

“Hey, I’m just kidding. You’re not sulking, are you?”

“Am I a kid? To sulk.”

“Yeah, there’s no way Choi would sulk over something like that. So what’s that weird doll?”

“I’m not Choi, I’m Gae, so I don’t know what you’re talking about. Gae Mona is going to see Patient Lehman.”

Choi Mona headed to Peter Lehman’s room to see the patient with an indifferent expression.

“She’s sulking. But Choi Mona sulks too. Oh! Doctor?”

Lee Chan-hee, who was strangely thinking about Choi Mona’s reaction, headed to Tae-kyung, who was entering the emergency room.

“Doctor, what’s that earthworm?”

“I received it as a gift.”

“No, Choi also had a similar doll……. Did Se-young give it to you?”

“That’s right.”

“Oh? Why didn’t she give me one? I’m close to Se-young.”

“That must be just in Doctor Lee’s head.”

“I’m really close to Se-young.”

“Okay, but why are you still here, Doctor Lee? Aren’t you leaving?”

Tae-kyung looked past Lee Chan-hee’s face and looked around the emergency room. Come to think of it, Lee Chan-hee was there, and Choi Mona was also seen treating a patient in the bed.

“What are you doing, Doctor Choi and Doctor Lee? Aren’t you both off work?”

Tae-kyung, who was practically one with the hospital, always took care of the employees’ 퇴근 [Toegeun – leaving work] regardless of his own.

“You’re not either, Doctor. Why don’t you ever 퇴근 [Toegeun – leaving work]?”

One of the three mysteries among our hospital staff was ‘Why doesn’t Doctor Kim Tae-kyung 퇴근 [Toegeun – leaving work]?’.

Every employee had asked him once, but Tae-kyung simply answered like that every time.

There was no need to tell Kim Cheol-gi and his own long story, and it wasn’t a joke, but he really felt comfortable and good being in the hospital because he could see even one more patient.

“No matter what, the hospital can’t be comfortable……. Doctor, do you not have a house?”

“Hey! I have a house too. It’s not self-owned, though.”

“Doctor, owning a home in Seoul these days means you’re rich.”

“Geez. Stop talking nonsense. But why do you keep asking about my 퇴근 [Toegeun – leaving work], Doctor Lee?”

Come to think of it, Lee Chan-hee occasionally asked about 퇴근 [Toegeun – leaving work].

“Well, should I say it’s the warm heart of a junior who cares about the health of the director of our hospital?”

“Doesn’t seem warm at all. You didn’t do your homework, did you?”

Lee Chan-hee always had a tearful face when he thought about doing his homework near 퇴근 [Toegeun – leaving work]. But now that he had the hang of it, he could do it in his spare time while working unless it was difficult homework.

“You haven’t checked your email, have you, Doctor?”

“I haven’t had time to check it yet because I’ve been out of it. And I asked about 퇴근 [Toegeun – leaving work], but why do you keep changing the subject?”

“Choi is on duty, and I stayed to do my own duty today. So please go and get some rest, Doctor.”

“Why suddenly do your own duty?”

“No. Please think of it as the admirable heart of a junior who always wants to emulate the doctor.”

“Lee Chan-hee?”

“Yes, Doctor.”

“Among the surgeries I’ve performed, there was a 15-hour LT (Liver transplantation, 간이식 수술) [Gan-isik Su-sul – Korean term for Liver Transplant].”

“F, fifteen-hour LT?”

As soon as he heard that, Lee Chan-hee stuttered slightly without realizing it.

‘What? Why do I have a feeling that I’m screwed?’

For a moment, he felt a chill and felt like sweat would flow down his spine.