Fifth Vital [EN]: Chapter 174

Fifth Vital-Episode 174 (174/502)

174. Temptation

“A job… Are you perhaps trying to introduce me to a hospital?”

“Yes, someone said they’d like to scout you, Sunbae [senior colleague or mentor].”

“S, scout offer? To me?”

Startled by the words, Lee Dong-hoon widened his eyes and asked again.

“It’s a place I know. How should I introduce you?”

“I’d be grateful, thank you. If Director Kim introduces it, I can trust it. Where is it?”

Lee Dong-hoon, his face brightening, focused on Tae-kyung’s next answer.

“But there are some slight problems there.”

“Problems! What problems could there be in a hospital?”

“The working hours might be a bit long.”

“Hey! What does it matter if they’re long? As long as I get paid. Do they pay well?”

“As far as I know, the salary is satisfactory.”

“That’s enough. As long as they pay for what I work, that’s not a problem.”

“But compared to Shinhwa University Hospital, it’s not a famous hospital, and it’s not that big.”

“Tae-kyung, you and I both know, having worked in one of the top five hospitals in Korea, that size and fame don’t matter at all. Frankly, I even became a professor, what more could I want?”

“Lastly, the director is a bit of a problem…”

“Why the director again!”

“How should I put it? He’s sometimes so focused on the patients that the staff gets tired, and he doesn’t leave work, so people feel pressured.”

“Thinking about the patients, that’s not something to criticize. But the director not leaving work is a bit concerning.”

Lee Dong-hoon, who had been concentrating intently on the conversation, seemed to hesitate for a moment when the word ‘leaving work’ came up.

“You don’t have to accept if you don’t want to.”

“Surely they don’t prevent you from leaving work?”

“Of course not. It’s not like that.”

“Then it’s fine. It seems the director is just very passionate.”

“Are you really okay with it?”

“Of course, I’m okay with it. So, which hospital is it?”

Tae-kyung answered simply, watching Lee Dong-hoon, who was full of curiosity.

“What! What do you mean, here…?”

“Literally, it’s here, our hospital. I’m offering you a scouting proposal to our hospital, Lee Dong-hoon Sunbae.”

“……!”

“How about working with me? Sunbae.”

Clatter- Thud-

“Here!”

Lee Dong-hoon was so surprised by Tae-kyung’s words that he jumped up from his seat. The chair fell backward because he got up so abruptly, but he didn’t care at all.

“So, you’re saying I should work with you here, at our hospital? Is that right?”

“Yes, that’s right!”

“But there’s an anesthesiologist here. Is he quitting? Getting married?”

“Married? What marriage? It’s not that… First, calm down and sit down.”

Clatter-

Tae-kyung picked up the fallen chair and sat him down as the surprised Lee Dong-hoon was still standing in front of the desk.

“We decided to hire another anesthesiologist, and I offered it to you after hearing that the doctor quit.”

“……!”

“We’ll discuss the details later, but if it doesn’t suit you after hearing everything, you can, of course, refuse…”

“I’ll do it! I’ll do it!”

Lee Dong-hoon’s answer burst out before Tae-kyung could finish speaking.

“Tae-kyung, no, Director Kim… No. Director, I will work at our hospital no matter what.”

“Are you sure you’re okay with it?”

“What do you mean? I’d love to work with you. More importantly, are you okay with it, our director?”

“Of course.”

“Are you perhaps doing this because you feel sorry? If that’s the case, I’ll just take your sentiment.”

Lee Dong-hoon had been asked by Go Gye-deuk to persuade Tae-kyung to accept the professorship, but he didn’t persuade him, and as a result, he was fired from the hospital.

Because of that, Lee Dong-hoon wondered if Tae-kyung was asking him to work together because he felt sorry.

“I thought you might think that way. Not at all. I know your skills better than anyone, so I’m offering this purely as a doctor.”

“I don’t know what to say. Thank you. Thank you so much.”

Lee Dong-hoon had been quite struck by the words that Tae-kyung was working happily when he came to see him.

That’s why he wanted to work in a decent hospital with a human touch rather than a fancy, good hospital.

He wondered if he should directly ask Tae-kyung for a job, but he didn’t bring it up because he thought it might be burdensome. But he was genuinely happy and didn’t know what to do when he was asked to work together like this.

“I’ll work really hard.”

“Working hard is good, but don’t overdo it and enjoy your work.”

“Of course, I’ll enjoy it. But when do I start working? Next week? I feel like I could start this week.”

Lee Dong-hoon’s heart was already at work.

“For the record, my condition is very good.”

“I’m thinking of starting your work in four weeks.”

“Four weeks? Not four days, but four weeks? Isn’t that too late?”

“Sunbae, I know you’re in good condition now. But you were discharged today. I’ve given you a month to rest well for a while, start your first chemotherapy in three weeks, and then, if your condition is good, you can start working next week.”

Working while undergoing chemotherapy was not a big problem.

Of course, it was possible only if the type and stage of the disease, consultation with the doctor, and individual condition allowed it.

In Lee Dong-hoon’s case, he thought that chemotherapy would proceed without much difficulty, but since medicine can have individual differences, he decided to watch the first chemotherapy first.

“I’m saying all this for Sunbae’s sake.”

“Okay, good! I have to listen to my doctor.”

“You have a very good attitude as a patient?”

“Of course. Anyway, Director Kim Tae-kyung, I look forward to working with you.”

“I look forward to working with you too.”

Lee Dong-hoon reached out his hand to Tae-kyung and greeted him.

He was really happy to be able to work with Tae-kyung again. And he realized that what Han-bit said when he met her earlier was not just a consolation but the truth.

As the angel-like child said, he was grateful for today, and such good things seemed to have come as happiness.

Meeting Han-bit was a turning point in Lee Dong-hoon’s remaining life, and he thanked the young angel in his heart over and over again.

* * *

Old apartment in Seoul-

Lee Soo-jung was on her way back from handing out flyers and visiting her husband, who had been a victim of a hit-and-run accident.

As always, when she came back from visiting her husband, the face of her husband lying in the trauma intensive care unit lingered in her mind until she arrived home.

“Come on! Buy some fruit.”

“The fish is fresh.”

“This is fresh mozzarella pizza with plenty of ingredients.”

The energetic voices of the merchants heard through the small market in the apartment complex stopped her powerless steps.

Her tired steps reached the pizza truck.

‘Mom, I want to eat pizza.’

The cry of her youngest child, who had been singing about pizza all day yesterday, came to her mind, and she couldn’t just pass by.

She would have said she would buy it next time, but the child’s earnest eyes kept bothering her yesterday.

-Fresh Mozzarella Pizza 9,900 won only.

Looking at the price written on the truck’s sign, Lee Soo-jung briefly thought about her pocket situation.

If others heard it, they would say that she was being pathetic with a 9,900 won pizza, but they didn’t know.

The fixed income that was coming in was clearly reduced, and the fixed expenses were the same, so naturally, she became conscious of money.

“Welcome. What can I get you?”

“Give me one of the most basic ones.”

“Yes, do you need a drink?”

“No. I’m okay.”

“It’s 9,900 won. Please wait a moment.”

Lee Soo-jung, who added a 100-won coin and paid, took out her cell phone to check the text while the pizza was being cooked.

-Since you are not answering the phone, it seems that you need more time to think. Please feel free to contact us anytime.

She didn’t answer the phone the day she got a call a week after meeting Go Gye-deuk. Then he sent her a text message.

Lee Soo-jung has not yet made a decision on his offer to help her husband’s medical expenses and support if she grants his request.

Two answers were weighing in her head, but she couldn’t decide which one was the right answer.

She wondered if she should accept the director’s offer because simply granting one request would solve the problem of making a living right away.

Above all, she needed money because it was time to discuss the renewal of the lease again soon. She would tell the landlord about the situation first, but she couldn’t avoid the increase.

However, on the other hand, she was also worried that she might be stirring up trouble for no reason without knowing what the request was.

‘I’m really going crazy.’

She was frustrated with the reality that she was just accumulating worries without being able to do this or that.

“Customer, your pizza is ready.”

“Thank you for your effort.”

Lee Soo-jung, who was still worrying without any gain today, headed home with the pizza.

Clang-

“Mom!”

“Did you come back?”

The second and youngest children greeted her tired face with lovely faces as she opened the front door.

“Oh! It’s pizza!”

The youngest child turned his eyes to the pizza and liked it.

“Mom, is this pizza?”

“Yes. Mom bought it.”

“Wow! My mom is the best.”

Lee Soo-jung felt sorry for her son, who seemed to have the whole world with a pizza.

“Hyun-mi. Leave some for your brother and eat with Hyun-woong.”

“Aren’t you eating, Mom?”

“Mom’s stomach is upset, so I don’t want to.”

“Then you have to take medicine. Here’s a digestive medicine. Eat it quickly.”

The second daughter, who always takes care of her family, found a liquid digestive medicine and handed it to her.

“I already ate it. Hyun-mi, did you do the dishes again?”

The second daughter, who is still a young middle school student, helped her mother by doing the dishes whenever she had time. Lee Soo-jung knew her daughter’s heart, but she still didn’t like her doing the dishes because she didn’t want her daughter’s pretty hands to become rough.

“I told you not to. It’s not good for your skin.”

“I only did what Hyun-woong and I ate.”

“Don’t do it next time.”

“Yes.”

Clang-

Lee Soo-jung’s gaze, who entered the room, wandered around the various bills piled up on the dressing table and headed to the paper bag right next to it.

It was a bag containing a wad of money left by Go Gye-deuk.

Like a magnet, her eyes went to the money dozens of times a day without her knowing it. No, it was more accurate to say that she was chasing money.

‘I can solve everything with that money, right? How much is it……?’

Lee Soo-jung repeated similar thoughts today. She slowly reached out her hand toward the bag containing the money.

Since the day the box was delivered, she had never touched that money even once.

It was then that her powerless hand was about to enter the bag with a rustling sound.

Rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

The sound of her cell phone ringing stopped Lee Soo-jung’s hand as if to cut off the hand of temptation.

“Hello?”

-Hello, Mother. This is Kim So-i, Hyun-joon’s homeroom teacher.

The person who called was the homeroom teacher of her eldest son, who was a high school student.

“Ah, yes. Hello, teacher.”

-I’m sorry to call you so suddenly, right?

“Yes. What’s going on……?”

The eldest son, who was good at studying and had many friends around him, was a reliable son who did everything well without having to worry about him.

Lee Soo-jung was puzzled by the sudden call from her homeroom teacher because she was far from being a problem child who caused accidents at school.

-It’s because of Hyun-joon that I’m calling you. I’ve been worried about telling you because I thought it would be difficult because of your father’s work, but I think it’s right to tell you.

“What’s wrong? Is there a problem with our Hyun-joon?”

Lee Soo-jung, whose voice grew louder, asked urgently.