Fifth Vital [EN]: Chapter 157

Five Vital Signs – Episode 157 (157/502)

157. Blood Alcohol Content 0.03%

Thud.

Just as Tae-kyung and his wife were starting to believe Lee Gwi-nam’s determination was genuine, something fell to the floor in the hallway with a thud.

“……!”

It was, unbelievably, a cigarette that had fallen.

“…….”

For a moment, the eyes of the three people widened, and silence descended as they stared at the cigarette on the floor for three seconds.

“Oh!”

Just then, Do Seung-won and Lee Seung-hee, the couple who had both undergone leg amputation surgery, were passing by.

“Honey, just a moment.”

Lee Seung-hee, picking up the taped cigarette that had fallen in front of the three frozen people, handed it to Lee Gwi-nam with a bright smile.

“Excuse me, sir? You dropped this.”

“Me?”

“Yes.”

“Oh……. I think you’re mistaken. Didn’t the man next to me drop it?”

“No? My boyfriend doesn’t smoke. I saw it falling from inside your patient gown, sir.”

“……!”

“But if you’re hospitalized, you should quit smoking for your health.”

“Seung-hee?”

Unlike Lee Seung-hee, who was cheerfully delivering uncomfortable truths, Do Seung-won, sensing the tense atmosphere, called her anxiously.

“Haha! Seung-hee, let’s go back to the ward quickly. Doctor, thank you for your hard work.”

“Why? Smoking is so bad for you. My dad always told me never to even meet a man who smokes.”

“Okay, I understand. But let’s be quiet, Seung-hee.”

“But it looks like that man was caught hiding a cigarette.”

“Shh! Seung-hee, stop it!”

Do Seung-won quickly steered Lee Seung-hee back toward their ward.

“Hey! Lee Gwi-nam, what is this?”

“I, I’ll explain everything.”

Lee Gwi-nam, flinching at his wife’s sudden change in expression, was at a complete loss for words.

“Ha! Patient, I explained this to you so thoroughly, and yet this happens.”

Adding to that was Tae-kyung’s disappointed expression, making him feel incredibly uneasy.

“Honey! Doctor! It’s not what it looks like.”

Lee Gwi-nam, in a hurry, rattled off excuses like a rapper spitting rhymes.

“Let me be honest with you. Actually, I hid another cigarette in my side besides my thigh, and I was going to tell you. But you know how it is? Because we were having such a serious conversation, I missed the right moment. It’s like when a crow flies, a pear falls [a Korean proverb meaning things happen by coincidence]. Honey? Doctor? Please believe me.”

“What? Believe you? You should have said something right away! Are you lying again!”

“No, honey! Honey!”

His wife, furious, started pulling on Lee Gwi-nam’s ear.

“How can a person be like this?”

“I’m sorry! I’m really sorry. But I was really going to take it out when I got back to the ward. Really!”

“Shut up.”

“Ugh! It hurts.”

Although they were similar in build and height, Lee Gwi-nam couldn’t easily shake off his wife’s grip.

“Oh my! Please calm down, ma’am.”

“Yes, honey, I’m a cancer patient. I still need to stay calm.”

“And that’s why you were going to smoke? Follow me quietly.”

“Ma’am? First, let go of this…….”

“No. Doctor. Let her be.”

When the nurse at the station approached his wife, Tae-kyung stopped her.

“Yes? But he’s a patient, will he be okay?”

“Lee Gwi-nam needs to come to his senses. Otherwise, he might not be able to quit smoking.”

“That’s true, but are you really just going to watch?”

“Doctor! Please help me.”

Lee Gwi-nam shouted as he was forcibly dragged to the ward by his wife’s affectionate, yet firm, hand.

“The guardian’s words are harsh, but nothing serious will happen. If it gets too loud, call Officer Jang.”

“Yes, Director. I understand.”

It might be that Lee Gwi-nam really missed the right moment, but Tae-kyung thought it would be better for him to get a good scolding and hopefully learn his lesson.

“This damn cigarette is the problem.”

Tae-kyung threw the cigarette that Lee Gwi-nam had dropped in the hallway into the trash can as he continued his rounds.

* * *

Lee Chan-hee was on his way out after having a late dinner following the emergency room’s storm-like cycle.

“Dr. Lee, are you having dinner now?”

The receptionist asked Lee Chan-hee as he passed through the waiting room.

“I saw the emergency room was a mess earlier. Dr. Choi also had a late dinner.”

“Yes. There were quite a few car-to-car [a direct translation of a Korean phrase for multi-car collisions] patients today, so it was a bit hectic.”

“Everyone worked hard.”

“Well, it was okay because no one was seriously injured. Ah! Here, you two can have these.”

Lee Chan-hee took out candies from his bulging gown pocket and placed them on the reception desk.

“Oh my! Eyeball candies?”

“Right? There used to be a lot of these at my grandma’s house, brings back memories.”

“I know. The colors are so pretty too.”

“A patient who received treatment gave them to me.”

“See, our Dr. Lee is secretly kind.”

“That’s right.”

“I’m the sweet guy of our hospital. Oh, right! What was the ending with the Lee Gwi-nam patient?”

The news of the commotion with Lee Gwi-nam quickly spread among the hospital staff.

“The guardian was so angry that the ward staff had a hard time stopping her.”

“His wife has quite the force.”

“Dr. Lee, didn’t you know? Lee Gwi-nam and his wife are judo department alumni.”

“Really?”

“Yes, and his wife is even his senior, so she’s incredibly fierce when she’s angry. Anyway, they wrote a contract and even stamped it with their fingerprints, and it ended well with Lee Gwi-nam promising to quit smoking.”

“He even had cancer surgery, he shouldn’t even look at cigarettes. Well, have a good one.”

“Yes, you too, Dr. Lee.”

“I’ll enjoy the candy.”

After talking with the reception staff, Lee Chan-hee headed towards Jang Deuk-chil, who was patrolling near the main entrance, with his coffee.

“Officer Jang? Here’s the coffee you asked for.”

“Thanks, Dr. Lee. Ah! That’s good.”

“You’re drinking coffee like it’s alcohol.”

“I just make a sound when I drink coffee. Actually, I never used to drink coffee.”

“Really?”

“The bitter taste felt like I was drinking ssanghwa-tang [a traditional Korean herbal medicine], so I didn’t like it.”

“What ssanghwa-tang.”

“Really. But at first, I drank one cup at a time to wake up, and then it became savory and delicious.”

“That’s the charm of coffee. Officer Jang, isn’t it hard to work?”

“Hard? It’s fun to work hard mixed in with these ordinary people. Dr. Lee, you don’t know how happy I am these days.”

“No, anyone who hears that would think a back-alley thug has turned over a new leaf and is working.”

Lee Chan-hee clapped his hands and laughed loudly, but Jang Deuk-chil next to him didn’t even flinch, remaining expressionless.

“…….”

For a moment, Lee Chan-hee felt a slight chill and felt like he had misspoke.

“Officer Jang, what did you used to do……?”

“Me? I was just in a small financial business.”

“Really? It doesn’t really match……. I was scared for a moment because you didn’t say anything.”

“A man doesn’t get scared by something like that. It’s all in the past.”

“Huh? The past?”

Rrrrrrrrrr

“Dr. Lee, you’re getting a call. Answer it quickly.”

Lee Chan-hee was about to ask Jang Deuk-chil again, but his phone rang just in time.

“Yes. This is Lee Chan-hee.”

-Dr. Lee, a new patient came in, but Dr. Choi is treating another patient right now.

“I’ll be right there. Officer Jang, I’ll go now. Let’s talk again later.”

“What talk again later. Go quickly and see the patient. I’ll enjoy the coffee.”

“Have a good one.”

Lee Chan-hee drank the half-remaining coffee in one gulp and headed straight to the emergency room.

“What number is it?”

“It’s Swag Grandpa, and he’s in bed 18.”

“Swaaag!!”

No sooner had the station nurse finished speaking than a resounding echo was heard from one side.

“You hear that?”

“These guys won’t give me swag!”

“He came in after drinking heavily.”

“It won’t be easy today either.”

“I think so too. Good luck.”

“Bring the medicine!”

The person raising his voice loudly in the emergency room was an old man known among the medical staff as ‘Swag Grandpa.’

He is 165cm tall, 75 years old, and his real name is Park Joo-dang, a person who lives near the hospital.

Usually quiet and gentle, he comes to the emergency room and shouts for IV fluids whenever he drinks.

Because his pronunciation is slightly slurred when he’s drunk, he pronounces IV fluid as ‘swag,’ which is how he got his nickname.

And he’s so stubborn that he refuses any other tests and only wants IV fluids.

Clatter-

“Oh, our Joo-dang Grandpa is here. You must have had a heavy drink today.”

Because he came to the emergency room so often, they were friendly with him, both fondly and with a hint of exasperation.

“Today it’s the newbie doctor. Where’s the boss?”

“Our boss is in surgery right now.”

“Good. The boss doctor is too picky.”

“He’s just very thorough with his patients. By the way, Grandpa, did you drink a lot today?”

“No. I didn’t drink much today.”

“Oh! That’s right.”

Come to think of it, Park Joo-dang didn’t smell as strongly of soju [Korean distilled liquor] as usual.

“You don’t smell like alcohol, what’s the matter.”

“I was riding my bike and bumped into a wall and rolled a bit, and it hurts a little. Make it not hurt, newbie doctor.”

“Yes!? Grandpa, that’s drunk driving. I’ve told you so many times that it’s dangerous.”

“Shut up. What drunk driving!”

He said that riding a bike after drinking wasn’t drunk driving, but it is. If the blood alcohol content is 0.03% or higher, it is subject to enforcement and a fine is imposed.

“That’s a crime.”

“What crime is it to move a little in front of my house. Doesn’t the doctor do that too?”

“Of course not. Why would I drive after drinking? Grandpa, please don’t do that, you’ll get into big trouble.”

“Okay. Pick your boogers and talk!”

“It’s not boogers, it’s eye boogers.”

“It’s all the same. Stop talking nonsense and give me medicine quickly because it hurts!”

“Where does it hurt?”

“Here! It hurts here.”

Park Joo-dang pointed to his abdomen.

“Your stomach hurts?”

“Yes!”

Lee Chan-hee’s eyes, which had been smiling, became serious.

‘If Park Joo-dang Grandpa comes after drinking and falling off his bike or bumping into something, take special care of him. Never just send him away.’

That’s what Tae-kyung usually told Lee Chan-hee and Choi Mona.

Even if it’s just a bicycle, he doesn’t know how much impact he received while drunk. Also, the impact of a machine, no matter how small, can directly lead to a major injury, so you have to take good care of it.

‘His stomach hurts?’

Moreover, Park Joo-dang had no visible external injuries but complained of abdominal pain.

“Grandpa, lie down on this bed and bend your knees.”

“How annoying.”

Park Joo-dang grumbled and lay down on the bed.

“Where does it hurt?”

“It hurts all over.”

“How about here?”

When Lee Chan-hee pressed his stomach, Park Joo-dang complained of pain everywhere he pressed.

“That hurts a little too.”

“From now on, tell me where it hurts the most.”

“Okay.”

“How is it here?”

“Ouch! There! That’s where it hurts the most.”

Before Lee Chan-hee’s hand could even make contact, Park Joo-dang raised his voice and said it hurt.

‘This is LLQ [Left Lower Quadrant].’

The place where he complained of pain was the LLQ (Left Lower Quadrant). It was not something to simply dismiss.

“Grandpa, you’re in a lot of pain in your left lower quadrant right now, so we need to do some tests.”

“Tests?”

“Yes, we need to do imaging and blood tests to check accurately.”

“Uh……!”

Confusion was added to Lee Chan-hee’s serious face. It was because Park Joo-dang suddenly took a surprising action.

“No, Grandpa, why are you doing this?”