Fifth Vital [EN]: Chapter 16

16. Shock

“Stop! Just a minute. What is that?”

Ignoring the agitated woman, Taekyung reached for the blood vessel. She raised her voice, erupting in anger.

“Is that a knife in your hand? Or something? You’re not going to stab him with that, are you?”

She blocked the paramedics from getting closer, shouting loudly from within a meter, making it difficult to concentrate on the treatment.

“Hey! Are you sure you’re a doctor? Stop the bleeding already.”

“Ma’am, the patient is in critical condition. Please cooperate so we can treat him.”

“Are you saying I can’t worry about my injured boyfriend? Do you know who my daughter is?”

“Oh, come on. That’s too much. Stop it.”

Eventually, citizens watching the scene from outside the safety line began to criticize the fault-finding woman.

“Why is she acting like that when her boyfriend is hurt?”

“Exactly. She should just be quiet instead of interfering with the treatment.”

“Hey! I’m not interfering with the treatment. Why are you talking like that?”

“He’s her boyfriend, so she should be quiet and let the doctor concentrate on the treatment.”

“Seriously, did you forget your manners? Be quiet.”

“Who are you to interfere? We don’t even know if he’s a real doctor. Are you going to take responsibility if something happens to my *oppa* [Korean term for older brother or boyfriend]?”

Just as the woman, angered by the citizens, was about to pick another fight,

“He is a doctor!!”

Lee Chanhee, who had been running from the car, shouted with a lion’s roar, using diaphragmatic breathing.

“He’s a doctor. That doctor over there and I are both doctors. Ma’am, can you see this?”

“…Yes?”

Lee Chanhee drew her attention, blocking her from interfering.

“Can you see the hospital logo and name on this gown?”

“Ah… I, I see it.”

Meanwhile, Taekyung, who could no longer delay, found the patient’s artery with a fierce gaze and lowered his hand.

His confident touch found the damaged artery without hesitation, as if an eagle were snatching its prey.

“It stopped!”

“The bleeding stopped.”

“Oh my gosh, the doctor saved him.”

The people around marveled at the flawless skill and shouted.

“Doctor, you’re amazing.”

Lee Chanhee couldn’t help but admire.

‘He’s different. This guy is different.’

Finding a damaged artery is not easy even in the operating room. Moreover, it was even harder in this chaotic and harsh environment. It was truly a sensational skill.

“Thank goodness.”

Lee Chanhee, admiring Taekyung, asked,

“Brachial artery, right?”

“That’s right. You know your stuff. It was near the popliteal region [area behind the knee], and I thought it was the brachial artery when I saw the blood spurting out.”

“Now, we just need to do the first aid.”

“But, Doctor Lee, what about the patient…?”

“Of course, I checked the patient’s condition thoroughly. I’ll go get the splint and medicine.”

Before Taekyung could finish asking about the patient, Lee Chanhee answered and got up.

“Excuse me! Just a minute.”

The woman who had been blocked by the paramedics called out to Lee Chanhee as he was about to get the cast and medicine needed for the patient.

“Is my *oppa* okay?”

“Yes, he’s fine. He’s past the critical point.”

“Really? I thought my *oppa* was going to die.”

“When the ambulance comes, he’ll be taken to the hospital for further treatment.”

“Whew! I was so worried. That’s a relief.”

“So, you should get treatment too, ma’am.”

“Treatment? I just fainted for a moment. I’m fine.”

The woman was puzzled by the word ‘treatment,’ and Lee Chanhee and the paramedics spoke in turn.

“You’re not fine. You’re bleeding from your forehead.”

“Yes! What? Bl-Bleeding!”

The woman panicked when she saw the blood on her hand after touching her forehead.

“Is my forehead cut? Is that what happened?”

“Ma’am, don’t touch it. You need treatment.”

“Crazy! I only got a forehead implant a month ago. It can’t get scarred. Ugh, this is so annoying!”

The woman, who had been causing a scene over her boyfriend’s life, followed the paramedics with surprising ease.

“Is it badly cut? This forehead cost a fortune.”

She even took the lead, hurrying them along.

“I knew he was driving like crap. Hurry up! Hurry!”

It seemed that her implant was more important than her boyfriend’s injury.

* * *

Lee Chanhee entered the ambulance with quick steps.

As expected, the ambulance was empty because of the emergency treatment for the people injured in the accident.

“This should be enough.”

He was reluctant to take the items in the car without permission, but the patient was more urgent now, so he had no choice.

“We need more ambulances to come quickly.”

Lee Chanhee hurried his steps after gathering the necessary items.

“Doctor, I brought the splint and medicine.”

“Excuse me…”

As soon as Lee Chanhee arrived next to Taekyung, a paramedic suddenly appeared and spoke to them.

“Doctor, could one of you help us?”

It was the paramedic who had taken the woman who was causing the commotion.

“What’s wrong?”

“There’s a citizen who can’t get out of the car because the car door won’t open. My colleague is not strong enough, so I have to go, but I was wondering if you could treat the people with minor injuries.”

“Of course. Doctor Lee, go and help them.”

“Then, I’ll just help with the patient’s treatment and go right away.”

“No, I can handle it alone, so go and help them now.”

“Yes, I understand.”

Only the final treatment that could be done on-site remained, so Taekyung immediately sent Lee Chanhee to the paramedic.

“That’s it.”

Taekyung quickly finished the final treatment. But his expression was still serious.

“It’s still coming from somewhere!”

It was because of the smell. The formalin smell was still strong.

“It’s not this patient’s smell. Then there’s more.”

The formalin smell no longer came from the patient he had just treated.

Taekyung was convinced that there was another emergency patient at this chaotic accident site.

“Let’s find them before it’s too late.”

And just as he turned his head to look around,

“Th-There… there!!”

Taekyung turned around at the urgent voice and couldn’t help but be surprised.

“You’re a doctor, right?”

“Yes, I am.”

Because the young male paramedic’s top and both hands were covered in blood.

He trembled with his bloody hands and pleaded with a tearful expression.

“Please… help me.”

Taekyung looked at the paramedic and was certain. There was no need to look for emergency patients.

He hurried after the paramedic to where the patient was.

“…!”

As expected, there was a strong formalin smell and an emergency patient was visible.

“I knew it.”

Taekyung muttered as soon as he saw the patient.

As soon as he saw the blood on the paramedic’s hands and top, he thought it might be pulsatile bleeding [bleeding that occurs in rhythm with the heart beat], and it was.

The female patient wearing a paramedic uniform was bleeding from her left upper abdomen.

‘It’s pulsatile, but it’s different.’

The previous patient also had pulsatile bleeding, but the two patients’ conditions were different.

If the first patient’s blood spurted out, the blood from this paramedic’s bleeding was gushing out like boiling water.

‘The paramedic is also injured. It’s a complete mess.’

He could guess that the injured paramedic that people outside the car were talking about was the patient in front of him.

Taekyung bent his knees and sat next to the patient.

“Senior, come to your senses… please. Doctor, my senior is not waking up.”

The paramedic tried to stop the bleeding by covering the hole with gauze, but it seemed helpless against the force of the blood.

“How long has Kim Mikyung been unconscious?”

He could see the patient’s name on the blood-stained uniform. Taekyung asked, focusing his gaze on the abdominal cavity that was faintly visible through the blood.

“Not long.”

The patient was already in shock and not fully conscious.

“Tell me in detail.”

“I had an accident… no.”

“Paramedic, it’s okay. Take a deep breath and speak slowly.”

“Huff! So, that’s…”

The rambling paramedic slowly added an explanation.

The patient, who had been conscious, started bleeding when she pulled out a structure embedded in her stomach, and then she became faint.

“Doctor, will my senior be okay? Actually, today is my first week on the job. She was originally the patient I was rescuing. But…”

The paramedic, who blamed himself for his senior’s injury, was a rookie who had just taken his first step into society.

“I’m not familiar with the scene, and it’s my first time with such a big accident, so I panicked. My senior told me to look after other patients and she would take care of it… she was helping me when she got hit by a car. She had an accident because of me…”

He began to pour out his self-reproach.

“My senior is a really good person. She’s received commendations in our district, saved a lot of citizens, and takes good care of her juniors…”

“Excuse me?”

Taekyung called out to the rookie paramedic, but there was no response.

“It’s my fault.”

He just muttered to himself, unable to take his eyes off his unconscious senior, trembling with his bloody hands.

“It’s my fault. My senior got hurt because of me…”

“Hey!!”

Taekyung, unable to watch any longer, checked the rookie paramedic’s name tag and shouted.

“Lee Kitak!! Get a grip!”

Then, he handed him a bottle of hexidine [antiseptic solution] from the floor and continued.

“Paramedic Lee Kitak, are you not going to save your senior?”

“Ah, no. Can my senior be saved?”

“We have to save her.”

“Really?”

“Of course. And no one is good at it from the beginning.”

“But it’s because of me…”

“Your senior got hurt while saving a patient, not because of you. So, don’t blame yourself. If you want to save your senior, pour that on. Quickly!!”

“Ah, yes… yes.”

At the urging, Paramedic Lee Kitak poured the hexidine in his hand into and around the patient’s abdominal cavity.

Taekyung also picked up a hexidine bottle next to him and poured it into the same place to disinfect it.

“Still, you brought the necessary things. Now, leave this to me and Paramedic Lee Kitak, go and take care of the injured people.”

“No. I’ll stay here.”

“I’m sorry to say this, but if Paramedic Lee Kitak stays here now, you won’t be able to do anything because you’re worried about your senior.”

“But…”

“There are not enough hands anyway because other ambulances haven’t arrived yet.”

He understood his concern for his senior well enough, but he didn’t think his presence would be of much help.

Taekyung put on sterile gloves and deliberately spoke in a cold tone.

“Lee Kitak, you’re a paramedic, aren’t you? Are you not going to save people?”

“No. I will save them. I’ll save them. I’m going to save them.”

“Good choice. Leave your senior to me and go quickly.”

“Yes, doctor. Then, please take care of my senior.”

There was a reason why Taekyung sent the rookie paramedic away.

He felt that it would be better for the patient’s smooth treatment and his mental burden if he was not there.

“I’m glad his mentality seems to be a little better. First, let’s remove the gauze.”

The gloved hand quickly went down to the patient’s abdominal cavity. Taekyung removed the mass of gauze covering the hole in the abdominal cavity to stop the bleeding.

“Oh, no!”

And at that moment, the blood that had been blocked by the gauze gushed out again like boiling water.

Taekyung’s brow furrowed above his focused gaze.

“Damn it! It’s worse than I thought.”