Fifth Vital [EN]: Chapter 144

Chapter 144: Lee Chan-hee’s Day Off

The caller ID on the phone screen showed Go Gye-deuk, the director of Shinhwa University Hospital.

Click-

“Hello.”

Tae-kyung answered the phone in a calm voice.

-Kim, it’s Director Go.

For some reason, Go Gye-deuk’s tone was unusually friendly, a complete departure from his previous demeanor when he seemed eager to tear Tae-kyung apart.

While judging people isn’t ideal, this sudden shift in Go Gye-deuk’s attitude felt quite out of character.

‘Why is he calling me all of a sudden?’

Especially since they weren’t close enough to exchange pleasantries, Go Gye-deuk’s sudden call was quite puzzling to Tae-kyung.

“Yes, I know. How have you been?”

-I’m doing well, thanks to you. Is our Dr. Kim doing well too?

“I’m doing well too. But why are you calling me, Director…?”

-It’s nothing much, but Dr. Kim, you’re attending the upcoming conference, right?

“I am.”

Go Gye-deuk inquired about Tae-kyung’s conference schedule, as if he already knew.

-The conference is at the Shelton Hotel, right?

“Yes, that’s correct.”

-Actually, I have a meeting with other hospital directors at that hotel on the same day. So, I was wondering if I could meet with Dr. Kim that day; that’s why I’m calling.

“Do you have something to tell me?”

-Dr. Kim, you have a great sense. How did you know I had something to say…? Haha!

“You can tell me now, if you’d like.”

Despite the uncharacteristic tone and awkward laughter, Tae-kyung didn’t react in any way.

-It’s not something I can discuss over the phone. It’s an important matter that needs to be discussed in person.

Tae-kyung wondered if it was about the professorship offer he had previously declined, but he concluded that it wasn’t.

Go Gye-deuk was a man of strong pride, more than anyone else.

He must have already felt hurt and angry enough from the rejection, so he wouldn’t bring it up again. Even if the topic did come up again, Tae-kyung’s answer and choice would remain the same.

-Dr. Kim, I won’t take up too much of your time, so please see me for a bit that day.

Go Gye-deuk couldn’t bear the brief moment of waiting for a response and emphasized it once more. His tone seemed relaxed, but it didn’t seem to reflect his true feelings.

“Alright. I’ll see you then.”

-Okay. Thank you, Dr. Kim.

After hanging up, Tae-kyung didn’t dwell on the reason for Go Gye-deuk’s call and headed to the emergency room.

* * *

Doctors’ Lounge-

After being relieved by Tae-kyung, Lee Chan-hee and Choi Mona were resting in the doctors’ lounge.

“Are you ready?”

However, the two people resting had unusual glints in their eyes.

“I’m ready.”

It wasn’t the familiar scene of doing homework, looking at papers, watching game videos, or replenishing sugar with jelly.

The expressions of the two people sitting side by side even seemed to carry a strange tension.

“Hey, Choi Mona. Spot me.”

“Says you.”

“One, two, three.”

As the stopwatch on their phones started, the hands of the two people holding the thread moved busily.

If you glanced at them from a distance, you might think they were playing cat’s cradle, but they were practicing tying surgical knots with suture thread.

The two had been making small bets related to surgical ties whenever they had the chance these days.

After hearing from Tae-kyung to practice tying knots, Lee Chan-hee and Choi Mona had been practicing quite diligently since then. They had practiced on their own before, but not to this extent.

In fact, surgical ties were an inseparable part of a surgeon’s life, and their importance couldn’t be emphasized enough.

As long as they were going to live as surgeons for the rest of their lives, practicing ties would definitely be helpful. Knowing this, the two decided to follow Tae-kyung’s words without complaint.

And there was another reason why the two were so focused on ties.

“Done!”

Before the stopwatch finished, Choi Mona completed the knot with the tie before Lee Chan-hee by a narrow margin.

“I won this time.”

“Then we’ve each won once, so it’s a tie.”

“Want to do it again?”

“Whatever. Aren’t you going home?”

“Oho! Is Choi Mona scared?”

“Shut up and hurry up.”

Clang-

“Lee Chan-hee, aren’t you going home yet?”

Just as they were about to have one more match, Tae-kyung came in with perfect timing.

“What is it? Were you two practicing tying knots?”

“Yes?”

“No, we weren’t.”

“What do you mean, no?”

The two, who were clearly practicing tying, vehemently denied it.

“That’s good. Have you been practicing what I told you to do these days? Let me see you do it once. I’ll see how well you’re doing.”

Another reason why Lee Chan-hee and Choi Mona were so focused on practicing ties was this.

Tae-kyung would occasionally order them to tie knots randomly like this, and the problem was that the loser had to practice tying 100 knots with thread and bring them in the next day.

Of course, it was helpful for improving their skills, even if it was forced. But honestly, it wasn’t easy to push through the desire to rest after work and practice tying knots.

“Dr. Tae-kyung, what should I do? I really want to show you the ties I’ve been practicing these days, but…”

“Don’t say anything that doesn’t make sense, like ‘It’s past quitting time, so I have to go.’ Just sit down quickly.”

Tae-kyung said, seeing through Lee Chan-hee’s words, and Lee Chan-hee frowned and shook his head.

“Well, who told you to stay after work and practice tying knots? You should have left on time.”

“In that sense, I’ll leave right now.”

“Great! Lee Chan-hee, you’re up.”

“Ah, Dr. Tae-kyung, you’re really too much.”

“Are you dissatisfied? Choi Mona? Are you dissatisfied too?”

“No. I’m not dissatisfied at all.”

“Hey! Dr. Choi?”

Despite Lee Chan-hee’s vehement cry, Tae-kyung was still trying to evaluate the two’s tying skills.

“Grab the thread quickly. Ready. Start!”

Before long, the two completed the knots at a rapid speed, and Tae-kyung carefully examined them.

“Dr. Choi, how about the person who wins this round gets to win the bet too?”

“I’m in.”

“Since Dr. Tae-kyung isn’t saying anything, I guess it’s another tie.”

“Choi Mona wins.”

As soon as Lee Chan-hee finished speaking, Tae-kyung chose Choi Mona’s knot.

“Yes? Why?”

“Look at this middle part here. The knot isn’t consistent, and it’s coming undone.”

It was true. Upon closer inspection, the middle part of the thread was about to come loose.

“If you do this, the surgical site won’t stick together properly, and a major disaster will occur, right? Plus, there could be bleeding. Am I right?”

“Yes…”

“Give me a thread.”

Tae-kyung completed the tie in an instant and placed it next to the two’s ties.

“Compare it to mine.”

“The difference is clear.”

It was true. When the three ties were placed side by side, it was easy to compare them.

“Choi Mona needs to pay more attention, but it’s still a little better than Lee Chan-hee’s.”

“I’ll make up for it.”

“Then our Dr. Lee, rest well and bring 100 practiced knots when you come to work.”

“Respected Dr. Tae-kyung. I’m sorry, but could you reduce it to 50? As you know, I’m off today.”

“So?”

“I might be meeting a friend for a drink… And I have homework to do too… Ha! I’ll do it properly.”

In the end, Lee Chan-hee stopped saying things that wouldn’t get him anywhere and accepted the result.

“Have a good day off, Dr. Lee.”

“Yes, practice tying knots in your spare time.”

“Yes, I’ll do my best.”

“That’s right. A very constructive attitude as a surgeon.”

“I’ll go first.”

Lee Chan-hee said goodbye to the hospital staff and headed home.

* * *

After arriving home and getting all the sleep he wanted, Lee Chan-hee did his homework and headed to the subway station to meet his friend.

“How long has it been since I went out on my day off? The outside air is so refreshing.”

The reason why Lee Chan-hee was so excited was because he was meeting a friend he hadn’t seen in a while.

It was a sudden meeting that was arranged a few days ago during a check-up call.

-Chan-hee, you said you’re off next week, right?

‘Yeah.’

-Hey, why don’t we hang out that day?

‘What are you talking about? Didn’t you say you were working, Dong-gyun?’

-I am working.

‘But aren’t you an intern? How do you have time to call so leisurely? You ditched [skipped work], didn’t you.’

-Chan-hee, I’m not an intern anymore.

‘What? Did you quit?’

-Yeah. I quit.

‘You crazy bastard. Why?’

-Just because. So come visit me at my workplace. I work in OO [redacted for privacy]. It’s not far.

‘OO [redacted for privacy] is completely the opposite of my neighborhood? I don’t have a car either.’

-Hey. There’s a subway. The subway in our country is connected everywhere, what are you talking about? You and I were the only ones who couldn’t make it when the others gathered.

‘Ah, damn it. I have a lot to do…’

-I’ll buy you something delicious if you come.

‘Friend. I can buy it myself.’

-Okay. Then I’ll set you up on a blind date later.

‘Deal. I’ll be right there. Send me the address.’

While talking to his friend, Lee Chan-hee decided to go out for the first time in a while at his friend’s sudden request.

To be exact, he decided to go see his friend without hesitation at the mention of a blind date.

After taking the subway for over 40 minutes, he took a taxi from the station and arrived at the place where his friend worked.

“Chan-hee? How long has it been?”

Goo Dong-gyun waved his hand at Lee Chan-hee, who was getting out of the taxi, and greeted him happily.

“It’s been a while. I heard you quit being an intern, and your face looks brighter.”

“I’ll admit that. My face was really rotten when I was an intern.”

Goo Dong-gyun, who used to work at a pharmaceutical company, quit his job without hesitation with the determination to become a doctor.

After preparing for a year, he entered medical school, studied hard, and obtained a medical license. However, the life of a late-blooming intern was much more difficult than he thought, and he eventually quit and was working at a nursing hospital.

“Wow, the hospital is nice. Is it newly built?”

“Nursing hospitals are all like that.”

“By the way, why did you quit being an intern?”

“I was just losing my pride, and it was too damn hard to do with just an intern certificate.”

“That intern certificate is originally that tough. It’s a job that deals with people’s lives; it can’t be easy.”

“Ah, I don’t know.”

“Interns are too old to do it, so it’s hard.”

“I know. If I had gone to medical school right away like you, I would have endured it without knowing anything because I was young, but doing it after I got older, I felt humiliated and upset every moment.”

“I can see that. Intern life is so hard. There are even some who run away. So what are you going to do in the future?”

“I’m just going to work like this and save some money, then learn beauty treatments and go that way.”

“You were making a fuss about doing a vital department [a department directly related to life, such as internal medicine, surgery, or pediatrics] until a few months ago, but you’ve already changed your mind.”

“What can I do? I’m already old, and I have to make money, so I found my own way.”

“You talk so well.”

“Let’s go up instead of staying here.”

Lee Chan-hee entered the hospital with Goo Dong-gyun.

“Hello, Director.”

“Yes, hello.”

Lee Chan-hee was surprised when a worker who was passing by greeted Goo Dong-gyun.

“Director?”

“Yeah. That’s what they call me here. They just give me a title out of respect.”

“Seriously, what kind of intern who ran away is a director?”

“I know, right? I’m surprised every time I hear it.”

The two headed to the on-call room and had a long-awaited conversation.

“How’s work? Is it manageable?”

“Honestly, it’s okay so far. When the director and other doctors leave, I go to work and only do on-call, so there’s nothing particularly difficult. It was hard to have my days and nights switched, but the pay is good, so I adapted naturally.”

“You bastard. Are you making money for nothing?”

“That’s not true. If patients call at night, I have to go and check and listen to their stories. I have a lot to do.”

“I know. I’m just kidding.”

“Do you want to eat something? I had a light dinner because I wanted to eat with you.”

“Should we have a simple beer?”

“You crazy bastard. This is a hospital.”

“I’m kidding too. I know the hospital’s alcohol ban better than anyone else. And I’m taking the last train.”

“Ah, why? Take the first train.”

“Why? I have to go to work. I’m going to work tomorrow afternoon.”

“That’s right. How about you? Isn’t it hard?”

“It is hard. But it’s fun. Just looking at our doctor’s skills makes adrenaline rush inside me.”

“You’re full of it. What adrenaline…”

“Our hospital director has three board certifications. A triple board.”

“Cough! Seriously, is that possible?”

Goo Dong-gyun, who was drinking coffee, choked on the unbelievable story.

“Is he old? It’s amazing even if he’s old.”

“No. He’s younger than I thought. Our doctor is someone who was called a genius.”

“Someone ran away from being an intern, but someone else got three board certifications that they would never do again even if they were killed. That’s really amazing.”

“It is amazing. That’s why I’m learning a lot. He’s someone I respect.”

“Does that doctor do something special when he operates…?”

Rrrrrrrrrr

As they were having a fun conversation, Goo Dong-gyun’s phone on the desk vibrated violently, interrupting them.