Fifth Vital [EN]: Chapter 153

153. Who Are You?

“……!”

Someone placed a hand on Choi Mona’s shoulder, stopping her in her tracks.

“Teacher?”

“I’ll take care of this patient. Choi, you see the other patients.”

The person who put their hand on her shoulder was none other than Tae-kyung.

Tae-kyung, who had arrived at the hospital a little earlier, was changing in the examination room when he saw the shouting man as he came to the emergency room.

“Yes, I understand.”

After Choi Mona went to the nurse’s station, Tae-kyung headed towards the man in question. Jang Deuk-chil followed behind him.

Tae-kyung had called Jang Deuk-chil in preparation for anything that might happen.

“Hello, patient.”

Tae-kyung approached the man and greeted him. At first glance, he didn’t smell of Fifth Vital [likely referring to alcohol or a specific drug].

“…….”

He stood still, scanned Tae-kyung up and down, then bowed his head slightly in greeting.

“Hello.”

“What’s wrong? Why did you come?”

“I am a tanker and a mage. It is an honor to meet a nationally certified healer.”

“Excuse me? What? A healer?”

Tae-kyung looked bewildered at the unfamiliar word ‘healer,’ and Jang Deuk-chil quietly approached and whispered in his ear.

“It’s a gaming term.”

“Gaming?”

Tae-kyung covered his mouth slightly and asked in a small voice.

“A tanker is someone who blocks enemies from the front, and a healer is a mage who heals.”

Unlike Tae-kyung, who was completely ignorant of games, Jang Deuk-chil was a skilled gamer who enjoyed and excelled at them.

“Ah! So that’s why he called me a healer. I understand.”

Tae-kyung was quite taken aback by the man’s sudden choice of words. It was the first time he had seen someone use such expressions.

Although there were many people in Korea who liked games, it wasn’t an expression one would use in the emergency room.

Come to think of it, the patient was strange. His initial appearance wasn’t ordinary either, and upon closer inspection, he was definitely different from other patients.

From a distance, he seemed a bit bulky and neat. But up close, there was a lot of fine dust on his clothes.

Moreover, his fingernails were quite dirty, so he probably hadn’t washed. However, his face and hair were very clean.

‘That is……?’

And the most surprising thing was that there was blood on the end of the sleeve of the man’s top.

It wasn’t yet certain whether the blood was the man’s or someone else’s, but one thing was certain.

‘I shouldn’t let this patient go easily.’

He had a feeling that he shouldn’t just let this seemingly normal man go.

“Agent Jang?”

Tae-kyung turned his head towards Jang Deuk-chil, covered his mouth, and whispered in a small voice.

“Yes, Director.”

“Even if that patient uses incomprehensible language, you must not provoke or act aggressively unless he directly engages in violent behavior towards medical staff or patients. Understood?”

“Of course. I understand very well.”

It wasn’t certain yet, but Tae-kyung had something in mind based on the man’s seemingly fleeting words and actions.

It was best to be cautious until things became clear, so he was giving Jang Deuk-chil instructions.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, patient, or should I say, tanker. What brings you here?”

“But are you really a healer? And a doctor too?”

“Of course. You can trust me. I am a licensed physician authorized by the state.”

Tae-kyung decided to play along without provoking the man.

“I see. I came because I needed treatment, and my colleague next to me told me to check. I can’t disobey this friend’s words.”

He still didn’t understand what this man was saying. But Tae-kyung thought of something plausible to keep this man here.

“What is our tanker’s name?”

“Yes, my name is Lee Hyun-woong.”

“Hyun-woong, would it be okay if I did some tests?”

“Of course.”

Unlike when he was causing a commotion in the restaurant earlier, the man seemed to be in a good mood and behaved docilely.

“Let’s sit over here for a moment.”

“Yes, good.”

Cha-reuk-

Tae-kyung took Lee Hyun-woong to the nearest bed and sat him down.

“Before the test, I’d like to take a look at Hyun-woong’s arm. Would that be okay?”

“Of course.”

Before Tae-kyung could finish speaking, Lee Hyun-woong rolled up his sleeve and held out his arm.

‘Lacerations.’

There were lacerations, skin torn wounds, on both of Lee Hyun-woong’s arms.

Fortunately, the injuries weren’t serious. One side could be treated with simple disinfection and medication, and the other side, although not large, required about three stitches.

“Um…….”

Just as Tae-kyung was about to talk about treating the wounds,

“I said no!”

Suddenly, Lee Hyun-woong raised his voice with a frustrated look.

‘Get out! I have to get out of here. Get out. This person is also in on it.’

“Hey! Sh*t. I said I’ll do it myself. You stay still.”

As he became agitated, mixing in swear words as if fighting with someone, Jang Deuk-chil kept an eye on Lee Hyun-woong in preparation for any possible situation.

“Hyun-woong, are you okay?”

“Yes, doctor. I’m sorry. The guy next to me kept telling me to leave, so I yelled a bit. Sorry.”

“Are you okay now?”

“It’ll be quiet for a while now. How are my wounds?”

“You need to get treatment for the wounds on your arm. Especially the left one, which currently needs stitches.”

“If it’s stitches, will you use anesthesia?”

“Yes, I will use anesthesia. I’ll just inject a little into the skin.”

“Yes, I’ll do it.”

Contrary to Tae-kyung’s worries about how to persuade him if he refused, Lee Hyun-woong willingly agreed to the treatment.

After that, Lee Hyun-woong’s treatment and stitches were quickly completed, and his examination proceeded.

“Please proceed with the examination here.”

“Yes, doctor. I understand.”

Even while the nurse was conducting Lee Hyun-woong’s examination, Jang Deuk-chil stayed close to Lee Hyun-woong.

“Director! Director? About that patient.”

Team Leader Choi, who had heard about the unusual patient and had been watching the whole situation from earlier, came close to Tae-kyung at the nurse’s station.

“That patient doesn’t seem normal at all.”

Team Leader Choi glanced at the patient and continued.

“Shouldn’t we just send him away?”

“We can’t just send a patient away.”

“Of course, that’s what you’d say, but the blood on that man’s sleeve and the unfocused look in his eyes make me uneasy. Besides…….”

“What else makes you uneasy?”

Nurse Lim Jeong-sook, who had come after treating another patient, disagreed with Team Leader Choi’s opinion.

“If they seem strange, we shouldn’t just send them away. What if something really happens after we send them away?”

“Oh, Lim. I’m just worried that they might cause a disturbance in the emergency room where there are patients and something might happen.”

“Oh, don’t say things that haven’t happened yet. By the way, doctor, that patient seems to have a mental health problem, right?”

“It’s hard to know for sure until an accurate diagnosis is made by the relevant department, but it’s likely to be schizophrenia.”

Tae-kyung thought that Lee Hyun-woong was more and more likely to have schizophrenia as he saw him and treated him for the first time.

“I thought that might be the case, and you thought so too.”

“What is schizophrenia?”

Team Leader Choi, who didn’t understand the medical term, asked with a very curious expression.

“It’s commonly known as split personality [though this is a simplification and not entirely accurate].”

“Ah…….”

Team Leader Choi nodded as if he had expected it at Tae-kyung’s words.

Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by auditory and visual hallucinations, delusions, impulsive behavior, and disorganized speech. It is a relatively common disease that affects 1 in 100 people, and many people live normal lives through treatment and medication. The cause is not yet clearly understood.

Tae-kyung had operated on a patient with schizophrenia before, and Lee Hyun-woong showed similar aspects to what that patient had shown at the time.

“Just in case, contact the police first. And contact the guardian quickly.”

“Yes, doctor. I understand.”

Since there was blood on his sleeve, it was necessary to contact the police. It was hard to see the bloodstains as only coming from Lee Hyun-woong’s lacerations.

“Team Leader, let me know when the police arrive.”

“Yes, Director.”

“Doctor, the test results for bed 19 are out.”

“I’ll check right away.”

At the nurse’s words, Tae-kyung checked Lee Hyun-woong’s test results on the station monitor. Fortunately, the LAB results were normal. He headed straight to the bed where Lee Hyun-woong was.

“Lee Hyun-woong, are you feeling uncomfortable anywhere?”

“No. Not at all.”

Although the test results were normal, he couldn’t tell Lee Hyun-woong that fact yet. He had to send him after contacting the police or guardian.

He had to buy time in case Lee Hyun-woong said he was going if he told him in advance.

“But how did our tanker Lee Hyun-woong hurt his arm?”

Tae-kyung used words that Lee Hyun-woong would be interested in and naturally turned the topic to the story of the injury.

“I asked people for help, but they treated me like a weirdo.”

“Help?”

“Yes, there are people who keep chasing me, and I’m running away from them now.”

In an instant, Lee Hyun-woong’s expression changed, and he answered with a very serious expression.

“Why?”

“That’s…….”

Suddenly, he carefully looked around outside the curtain and gave an ambiguous answer.

“I don’t know the reason either. I’m so frustrated that I’m going crazy.”

The more he talked, the more Tae-kyung felt like he was being swept away by a strange feeling.

“Doctor, just a moment. Please check this.”

Nurse Lim Jeong-sook came slightly into the curtain and showed the tablet screen she was holding.

-The police station I contacted earlier just called and said that Lee Hyun-woong is a schizophrenia patient. He suddenly went into the restaurant and caused a disturbance. His family was desperately looking for him. I’m sorry, but they asked me to hold him. His family is coming to the hospital now. The police are coming too.

“Okay. I’ll proceed that way.”

As soon as Tae-kyung checked all the contents written on the screen, Nurse Lim Jeong-sook took the tablet and went out of the curtain.

“Doctor, I have to go. Is the treatment all done?”

As soon as he received the message asking him to hold the patient, Lee Hyun-woong asked about the treatment.

“No. The treatment is not over yet. I need to apply more medicine to your arm.”

“I don’t hurt?”

“Even if it doesn’t hurt, the wound can get worse, so it’s good to apply medicine.”

“Well, I understand.”

It was just an excuse to keep Lee Hyun-woong, and the wound treatment was already sufficient.

After that, Tae-kyung continued the conversation until the guardian and police arrived.

* * *

A middle-aged couple parked their car in the hospital parking lot and got out in a hurry.

Tuk-

“Honey, I think this is the right place.”

The woman who got out of the car said to her husband, who was getting out of the driver’s seat, with a worried expression.

“This is the place. Let’s go in quickly before he goes somewhere else. That’s right! Did you bring all the documents?”

“Of course. I brought everything.”

“And you have to be strong.”

“I’m much stronger now. Let’s go in.”

The two hurried into the hospital and headed to the reception desk.

“Where is the emergency room?”

“Are you here for treatment?”

“No. I got a call that my child is here.”

“Go inside that way.”

“Thank you.”

The couple who entered the emergency room headed to Nurse Lim Jeong-sook, who was at the nurse’s station.

“Excuse me. Is Lee Hyun-woong here now?”

“What is your relationship to him? Are you his guardians?”

“Yes, we are his parents. We came urgently after receiving a call from the police.”

“Come this way. I’ll guide you.”

The couple followed Nurse Lim Jeong-sook to the bed where Lee Hyun-woong was.

“Doctor? The guardians have arrived.”

Cha-reuk-

“Hello.”

“Yes, hello.”

As Tae-kyung opened the curtain and greeted the guardians, the couple turned their eyes to their son with a short greeting.

“Hyun-woong, are you okay?”

“Doctor, is our Hyun-woong okay?”

“There were lacerations on both arms, and one side was stitched with about three stitches. The wound is not large, so it will heal well.”

“Thank you.”

“Hyun-woong, where have you been?”

“Do you know how much your mom and dad have been looking for you?”

The couple still held Lee Hyun-woong’s hand tightly with surprised faces.

“……!”

However, Lee Hyun-woong, who was staring intently at the couple’s faces, shook off his hand and threw an ambiguous question at them.

“Who are you people?”