Fifth Vital [EN]: Chapter 176

Fifth Vitality – Episode 176 (176/502)

Episode 176. The Identity of the Guest

“We… we don’t have any money at home right now.”

The words from her son rang in Lee Soo-jung’s ears like tinnitus, then struck her heart heavily.

“Dad is still in the hospital, and Mom is handing out flyers during the day and working hard at the mart at night. And you want me to just study?”

Hyun-joon’s dam of emotions, which he had barely been holding back, finally burst, as if his heart was also suffocating.

“Isn’t Mom being selfish?”

“Hyun-joon…!”

“Why didn’t I go on the school trip? It’s to Jeju Island, and it costs over 400,000 won [approximately $300 USD] because we have to take a plane and do all sorts of things. Expensive hospital bills keep coming out, but how can I go on a school trip comfortably in this situation? Mom is obviously having a hard time, but she always says she’s okay and tells me to just study? Do you think that’s possible? I can study later.”

“……!”

Lee Soo-jung was quite shocked by her son’s unexpected confession.

After her husband’s accident, she tried her best not to show it to the children and deliberately acted more cheerful.

But the fact that her eldest son was thinking like that made her feel so sorry.

‘Don’t cry. Never cry in front of the kids.’

Tears seemed ready to pour out like a broken faucet, but Lee Soo-jung bit her lower lip and repeated the words to herself.

“Son….”

Lee Soo-jung, barely holding onto the last thread of her collapsing emotions, held her son’s hand tightly.

“Mom is sorry.”

And she apologized. It pained her to think that her son, who should be focusing on his studies and enjoying school life, was worrying about money and struggling alone.

“Mom was so out of it that she didn’t realize Hyun-joon was having such worries and difficulties.”

“…….”

“Hyun-joon. You’re right, you can study later. But there’s a time for everything. Mom is doing her best as a mom right now, and Hyun-joon should be doing his best in school life as a student.”

“I know that too. But Mom is having such a hard time.”

“Honestly, Mom has a hard time sometimes too. But I think it would be harder for Mom if Hyun-joon keeps hiding it and working.”

“I’m sorry for hiding it.”

“Hyun-joon, motorcycles are dangerous. I hope you don’t ride them again. Mom hates anything dangerous now.”

“I won’t ride them.”

“And I hope you don’t do any more part-time jobs and focus on your school life. Mom gains strength when she sees you three siblings, even when things are tough. That’s how parents are.”

What Lee Soo-jung said was true. No matter how hard the world is, parents gain hope and courage from just one smiling face of their children.

What cannot be explained by any theory is the priceless heart of parents towards their children.

“Hyun-joon, do you understand Mom’s heart?”

“Yes….”

The deeper her mother’s sincerity became, the more Hyun-joon lowered his head.

“That’s right! And you don’t have to worry about money anymore.”

“……!”

“I was going to tell you today anyway, but it looks like Dad’s hospital bills will be taken care of.”

“What does that mean?”

Hyun-joon quickly raised his head, which had been deeply bowed, at the unexpected news.

“Actually, we’re getting sponsored for the hospital bills.”

“Sponsored? You said it didn’t look like it would work out last time.”

“Mom thought so too, but they contacted me today saying that we meet the conditions, so you don’t have to worry about Dad’s hospital bills.”

“Is that really true?”

“……It’s true. So don’t worry too much about money anymore. It really upsets Mom when you keep doing that.”

“Okay. That’s really great.”

Hyun-joon was sincerely happy to hear that the hospital bills would be sponsored.

“I’m sorry. Mom.”

“No, don’t be sorry. And apply for the school trip too.”

“I’m not the only one not going on the school trip. There are quite a few kids who aren’t going. And I don’t really want to go either.”

“Then let’s think about it a little more. You must be tired, so go wash up quickly.”

“Okay. And this is for Mom.”

Hyun-joon, who had gotten up from his seat, took out a bankbook from his bag and handed it to Lee Soo-jung.

“It’s a bankbook where I saved up my part-time job money. I want you to use it.”

“You worked hard to earn that money, so how can you give it to Mom? Don’t do that and keep it with you and use it if you need anything. Mom can’t use this money.”

No matter how short of money she was, Lee Soo-jung couldn’t use the money her son had earned riding a motorcycle.

“I worked to give this to Mom. So I hope Mom will use it. I think that will make me feel better.”

“Okay……. Thank you, Hyun-joon.”

Click-

As soon as her son left the room, Lee Soo-jung opened the bankbook. There was over a million won [approximately $750 USD] in the bankbook.

“Ha!”

Tears that Lee Soo-jung had been holding back began to pour out as she looked at the bankbook.

‘What should I do, honey……!’

Her chest felt 답답하게 조여 오는 것만 같았다 [dapdaphage joyeo oneun geotman gatatda – like it was being suffocated]. Large teardrops fell onto the bankbook and blurred.

After crying silently for a long time, Lee Soo-jung, as if having made a decision, shifted her gaze from the bankbook to the box containing money on the dresser. And after 고민하던 끝에 [gomin hadeon kkeute – agonizing] for almost an hour in that position, sitting on the edge of the bed, she sent a text message.

-Are you really going to sponsor the hospital bills?

The recipient was Go Gye-deuk.

A reply arrived shortly after sending the text message.

-Of course. Let’s talk about the details in person. I’ll contact you tomorrow.

Lee Soo-jung looked at the text message for a long time with a thoughtful expression before going out to the living room to do housework.

* * *

Our Hospital Emergency Room.

“Teacher?”

Choi Mona approached Tae-kyung, who came out of the intensive care unit with the test results.

“The results for patient in bed number 3 are out.”

“Really? I was worried, but it’s okay at this level.”

“Then, do they not need to be hospitalized?”

“If the current levels are maintained, I don’t think they need to be hospitalized. Let’s keep an eye on them in the emergency room until the morning and decide based on their condition then.”

“Yes, I understand. What’s wrong with him?”

Tae-kyung, who had given the orders, looked at the emergency room station and asked.

Lee Chan-hee, who was at the station, was making strange gestures, holding up his index finger and rubbing his hands together, while making eye contact.

“What is Doctor Lee saying right now?”

“He is expressing his desire for you to reconsider the amount of homework you have given him, as he cannot possibly handle it with your generous heart.”

“But how does Doctor Choi know that so well?”

“It’s not like he’s been doing that for a day or two, so I know it well.”

“Really? Go tell Doctor Lee not to talk nonsense and not to do homework in the emergency room.”

“Yes, Doctor.”

“And I’ll be in the examination room, so call me if there’s an emergency.”

“Yes, I understand.”

Tae-kyung, who came out of the emergency room, went around the ward and examined the patients before coming back down to the first floor.

“Doctor Lee Dong-hoon’s guardian called earlier, did you talk to them?”

Nurse Lim Jung-sook, who was working at the reception desk, said to Tae-kyung.

“Yes, I did right after I came out of surgery.”

“They were happy, right?”

“They were so grateful that I was embarrassed by all the thanks I received.”

Lee Dong-hoon, who had received the offer to come and work together at the hospital in the afternoon, told his wife the good news as soon as he got home. Lee Dong-hoon’s wife called Tae-kyung to express her gratitude.

“Why wouldn’t they be? Doctor Lee Dong-hoon looked so happy when he came out of the examination room earlier that I felt good too.”

“I know. It seems like they will receive treatment well in the future, and it’s a good thing, but… I’m a little worried about one thing.”

“What are you worried about?”

“This is just my thought, but I’m a little worried that they might come to the hospital and say they’re going to start working from tomorrow.”

Lee Dong-hoon, full of passion and positivity, contacted him not only the moment he left the hospital but also after he went home, saying that he wanted to work quickly.

“I think they might do that. They even greeted the staff earlier, saying that they would be coming to the hospital often, so please take care of them.”

“They need to rest well… If I had known this would happen, I should have told them later.”

“No, it’s good to know good news quickly.”

“Okay. Good is good.”

“But where are you going now, Doctor?”

“I’m going to look up some papers in the examination room. Why?”

“That’s good. I was going to tell you that you needed to go to the examination room anyway.”

“Do we have an outpatient?”

“No. It’s not an outpatient, but a guest has arrived.”

“A guest?”

Tae-kyung was puzzled because he had been silent until now and suddenly said that there was a guest. Besides, there was no one who would come to visit at this hour as a guest, not a patient.

“Perhaps Doctor Lee Dong-hoon is in the examination room…”

“No. What are you talking about.”

“Then did Doctor Kim Cheol-gi come?”

Occasionally, Kim Cheol-gi, who was in the nursing home, would visit without notice, so he wondered if it was him. Moreover, he had recently said in an email that he would stop by sometime, so it was even more likely.

“Not at all. You’ll know when you go in, so go in first.”

“Ha! Something’s suspicious.”

“What’s suspicious? Come on! Go in.”

Tae-kyung was pushed by Nurse Lim Jung-sook and opened the door to the examination room.

Click-

“Wow!”

“Hello!”

However, as soon as he opened the door, Tae-kyung, along with the reaction sounds that rivaled those of a studio audience, closed the door again after confirming the identity of the guest in the examination room.

Click-

“……!”

“Oh my! Doctor, why did you come out again?”

“What is it?”

“What do you mean? It’s your guest, Doctor.”

“Those guys are guests?”

“Yes.”

“They couldn’t be…!”

Tae-kyung, suddenly reminded of the past, asked in astonishment, and Nurse Lim Jung-sook flatly denied it.

“What are you thinking? It’s not like that.”

“Really? I was so surprised for a moment. Then why did they come?”

“Well, let me see… They came when you were doing emergency surgery earlier, Doctor, and said they had to wait a bit, so they went to class and came back.”

“Okay, I understand for now.”

Tae-kyung, who had learned the whole story, went back into the examination room.

Click-

“Doctor! Hello.”

The identities of the guests who were happy to see Tae-kyung again were two high school students.

These two were Hyun-woo and Sol, who had disguised themselves as newlyweds a few months ago to get prescribed emergency contraception, and had received help from Tae-kyung at that time.

“What brings you guys here?”

“Teacher, do you remember our names?”

“Of course. You’re Jo Sol and you’re Ha Hyun-woo.”

“Oh~! You remembered after all.”

“You guys aren’t sick anywhere, are you?”

“Hyun-woo and I are both healthy.”

“Guys. This is just the teacher asking to confirm, but you didn’t come because of something like last time, did you?”

Tae-kyung had already asked Nurse Lim Jung-sook, but he was confirming it again.

“Of course. Since then, Sol and I have both been focusing only on studying and meeting in a healthy way.”

Hyun-woo, as if to reassure Tae-kyung, spoke calmly.

“Then why did you come at this late hour?”

“It’s not even 12 o’clock yet, what’s late about it? We usually go out later than this. Right, Hyun-woo?”

“That’s right, Sol is right. Sometimes it’s almost 1 o’clock when tutoring and academy classes are over.”

“Wow! You guys are really working hard?”

“Of course. We have to study this hard to get into medical school.”

“You went to medical school because you did this too, Doctor.”

“No, I didn’t?”

Tae-kyung took out two chocolate milks from the small refrigerator in the examination room and handed them to Sol and Hyun-woo, continuing his words.

“I’ve never been to an academy [private tutoring school].”

“Wow! Amazing.”

“I thought you would be like that, Doctor.”

“That’s right! I also saw you on TV doing an interview, Teacher. It was really cool.”

“But, do you really have three specialist licenses, Doctor?”

“Where did you hear that again?”

“When there was a lot of interview articles about you, someone said in the comments that you have a triple board and that you’re 넘사벽 [neomsa byeok – literally ‘a wall you can’t climb over,’ meaning someone unattainable or far superior] because you’re so smart.”

“I don’t know about 넘사벽, but the triple board is right.”

Hyun-woo and Sol looked at Tae-kyung, who was speaking casually with an indifferent expression, with eyes of respect as if they were looking at a great person.

“You’re really amazing, Doctor.”

“Amazing is you guys being here at this hour. Aren’t your parents worried? Stop chattering and tell me why you came.”

“First of all, my parents know we came here.”

“Actually, we should have come to see you someday, but we came today because we had time.”

“The reason we came here is because we have a favor to ask you, Teacher.”

“A favor?”

Hyun-woo and Sol, who had been chattering like sparrows, nodded their heads at the same time and made serious expressions.

“What kind of favor is it that you both suddenly look so serious?”