Fifth Vital [EN]: Chapter 197

Fifth Vital Sign – Episode 197

197. Medical Community

The Next Day-

“Hyun-woong’s mother!”

The detective in charge of the hit-and-run case called out to Lee Soo-jung, who was running frantically from the police station entrance.

“Are you alright?”

“Did, did they really catch the culprit?”

Lee Soo-jung had been handing out flyers again and had just returned home to prepare a snack for her youngest when she abruptly left the house.

She hurriedly left her children with a close neighbor and rushed to the police station, practically barefoot. She had received news from the detective that the culprit was at the police station.

She was so flustered that she didn’t even notice she was wearing mismatched shoes. That’s how out of it she was.

“The culprit turned himself in.”

“He, he surrendered himself…?”

“Yes. He said he saw the broadcast and came to turn himself in. A young man came with his father last night, saying he wanted to beg for forgiveness, so we’re investigating… Are you alright?”

“Yes, I’m fine.”

Lee Soo-jung’s legs gave way, and the detective supported her.

“If it’s too difficult, you don’t have to see him now. Maybe later…”

“No. Detective, I want to see him. I want to see him. I want to receive an apology.”

Lee Soo-jung desperately wanted to see who had done that to her husband.

After composing herself, she entered the police station and waited in a room prepared by the detective.

Clank-

Shortly after, Oh Man-cheol entered the room with his father, following the detective.

“This is the victim’s wife.”

“I’m sorry… I’m so sorry!”

As soon as Oh Man-cheol made eye contact with Lee Soo-jung, he knelt down and apologized while crying.

Seeing his appearance, Lee Soo-jung was slightly taken aback by the culprit’s youth.

He was different from the image of the culprit she had imagined in her head.

She had thought he would look like a villain from a movie, someone who looked like a criminal at first glance.

Otherwise, she couldn’t believe that a normal person would do such a thing and run away. But he was very different from what she had expected.

Seeing the culprit, who was still young and ordinary, she couldn’t understand how he could have done such a thing.

“Are you the one who hit my husband and ran away? Is that right?”

“I’m sorry.”

“Why did you do it? Why!”

“I raised my son wrong. I’m sorry.”

The CEO also knelt down next to his son and apologized, but Lee Soo-jung was not ready to accept the apology.

“Why did you do it? What’s the reason?”

“I was drinking and driving that day, and I made a mistake… No, I committed a wrong.”

“Why did you drink and drive…? Ha! You should have at least reported it! You should have at least reported it!”

Overwhelmed with emotion, Lee Soo-jung shouted while crying.

“I was too scared… I was afraid, so I couldn’t. I’m sorry.”

“Our family is living in pain because of you!”

“I know I can’t be forgiven, but I wanted to apologize. I’m really sorry.”

“Ha!”

Oh Man-cheol knelt down and buried his face in the floor, shedding tears and sincerely apologizing.

For three months, he had hidden the truth and felt uneasy, but now he felt relieved rather than afraid of paying for his crime.

She didn’t want to believe that Oh Man-cheol’s desperate apology was fake.

Moreover, the fact that he had turned himself in rather than being reported or caught by the police made her feel that he wasn’t such a bad person after all, which was somewhat comforting.

“The mistake you made in a moment could be the end of someone’s life.”

“Sob! I’m really sorry. I’ve committed a crime worthy of death.”

“Don’t die, but live and pay for your crime. And never drink and drive again. It’s murder.”

“Yes…”

Having said what she wanted to say with difficulty, Lee Soo-jung didn’t want to see Oh Man-cheol’s weeping face any longer, so she left the room.

“Here’s some warm water. Have a cup.”

The detective, who had handed Oh Man-cheol over to his colleagues, followed Lee Soo-jung out and sat with her on a chair, handing her a cup of water.

“Are you feeling a little better?”

“Haa! Honestly, I still don’t know. I thought my upset feelings would subside if the culprit was caught, but I don’t think so.”

The culprit she had longed for had been caught, and thanks to Tae-kyung’s help, she was relieved of her worries about the hospital bills. But her heart was still sore and aching.

Her beloved husband was still lying in the hospital bed, unable to wake up. Today, she missed her husband’s smiling face more than ever.

“Detective, thank you for your hard work all this time.”

“You’re welcome. I’ll contact you separately about the punishment of the perpetrator and the progress of the investigation after the final investigation is over.”

“Yes, please do.”

The detective told her what kind of sentence Oh Man-cheol would receive and how the case would proceed, but she didn’t hear it.

‘Honey, the culprit has been caught. No, he turned himself in.’

Lee Soo-jung looked at her husband’s picture on her phone as she left the police station and whispered to herself.

‘He was a younger man than I thought. I couldn’t receive his apology. I told him I’d receive it when you wake up. So please wake up soon.’

Feeling a little more relieved than before, Lee Soo-jung walked towards the subway station when she noticed the mismatched shoes she was wearing.

“Oh! I came all the way here like this. If you had seen this, you would have laughed and teased me…”

Rrrrrrrrrrrr

Lee Soo-jung, who was reminiscing about her past memories with her husband while looking at her ridiculous shoes, was startled by the sudden ringing of her cell phone and answered the call.

“Hello? Yes, Doctor. Yes! I’ll be right there.”

Hanging up the phone, Lee Soo-jung went straight to the roadside, grabbed a taxi, and headed to Shinhwa University Hospital.

The person who called was Professor Gu Si-kyung, Cha Dae-han’s attending physician. He delivered the unbelievable news that her husband had woken up.

“Excuse me! Excuse me?”

Arriving at the hospital in a hurry, Lee Soo-jung shouted as she ran towards the elevator that was just closing.

“Just a moment, please? Thank you so much…”

Fortunately, the person inside pressed the open button and opened the door. However, the voice that was giving thanks paused for a moment before greeting again.

“Thank you.”

Go Gye-deuk was behind the person who opened the door.

The person who opened the door got off at the next floor, leaving only the two of them in the elevator.

Lee Soo-jung, who had paused when she encountered Go Gye-deuk a moment ago, was surprisingly indifferent.

Go Gye-deuk was no longer a frightening presence, and her mind was now filled with thoughts of her husband.

In contrast, Go Gye-deuk, who was looking at Lee Soo-jung’s back, was different.

His eyes were fierce, his expression was dark, and his twitching mouth seemed ready to utter curses at any moment.

‘If it weren’t for that xxxx [expletive], this wouldn’t have happened…’

He swallowed the rising anger, but that was all he could do. In his current position, cornered on the edge of a cliff, there was nothing he could do.

Having swallowed his anger, Go Gye-deuk got out of the elevator first, and Lee Soo-jung got off a few floors later.

Arriving at her husband’s room, Lee Soo-jung sat on a chair in the hallway, dumbfounded, and prayed earnestly with her hands together.

‘Please don’t let this be a dream. Please protect him. Please help him. I won’t ask for anything. Just let my husband come back.’

“Guardian?”

Lee Soo-jung quickly got up as Gu Si-kyung approached.

“You must have been very surprised to receive the call?”

“Yes, Doctor…”

Some time ago, after Lee Soo-jung had visited, Cha Dae-han’s hand had moved.

At the time, it was only a brief movement, so neither Lee Soo-jung nor the nurses noticed his movement.

Since that day, Cha Dae-han’s fleeting movements had continued, and Gu Si-kyung discovered his movement while making his rounds. However, he did not immediately inform Lee Soo-jung at the time.

It was because of a hopeful thought.

Gu Si-kyung had a patient with a similar case to Cha Dae-han a long time ago.

At that time, there was a brief movement in the patient who was in a coma, and he informed the guardian of the good news. But that was the end of it. There was no further movement in the patient, and the patient’s condition deteriorated and he passed away.

Since then, Gu Si-kyung has been reluctant to speak to families unless he is certain. He knows better than anyone else that the mental pain that families go through with false hope is not insignificant.

So, when he saw Cha Dae-han’s movement this time, he didn’t rashly inform her first. Instead, he visited Cha Dae-han more often and more frequently to check on his condition.

Then, the fleeting movements gradually increased in frequency, and a few hours ago, Cha Dae-han woke up.

It was truly a miraculous event. Gu Si-kyung immediately examined the patient’s condition thoroughly, conducted various tests thoroughly, and then delivered the good news to Lee Soo-jung.

Fortunately, Cha Dae-han’s physical condition was also good after the examination.

“The examination just finished a little while ago.”

“Doctor, is he really awake? Is this not a dream?”

Lee Soo-jung still couldn’t believe this fact after hearing everything about her husband’s changes and the examination.

“Yes, that’s right. Of course, we’ll have to keep a close eye on him, but if he maintains his current condition well, I think Cha Dae-han can be discharged after rehabilitation treatment.”

“Oh my gosh! Thank you. Thank you so much.”

Lee Soo-jung expressed her gratitude with all her heart.

“Go in and see him.”

“Ah, yes…”

This was the most thrilling moment in her life. With trembling hands, Lee Soo-jung slowly opened the hospital room door.

Clank-

Her heart was pounding non-stop during these few seconds of opening the door and entering.

Slowly entering the hospital room and raising her head,

“Soo, Soo-jung…”

Her husband, whom she had dreamed of so much, called her name. It wasn’t a dream.

“Honey!”

Lee Soo-jung burst into tears and rushed to her husband’s side, grabbing his hand tightly.

“You, you’re really awake, aren’t you? Really?”

“Of course. Don’t cry. Why are you crying?”

His voice was a little weak, but Cha Dae-han was smiling at Lee Soo-jung.

“It’s really you! Honey! Sob!”

For a while, the husband and wife made eye contact like magnets and shed tears while looking only at each other.

“You’ve been through a lot because of me, haven’t you?”

“No, I haven’t been through any hardship. More than that, are you okay? Is there anything uncomfortable?”

“I think I’m okay. Are our Hyun-joon, Hyun-mi, and Hyun-woong doing well? Are the kids healthy?”

“Of course. They all miss their dad so much. Honey? Thank you so much for waking up. I was so scared that something would happen to you.”

“Where would I go, leaving my beautiful wife and kids behind? I’m not that weak.”

Cha Dae-han stroked his wife’s face. He could tell just by looking at Lee Soo-jung’s eyes how much she had suffered.

“Thank you. I think I woke up because of you.”

It may be a medically unbelievable story, but Cha Dae-han seemed to hear his wife’s voice from time to time while lying in the intensive care unit.

He felt that he was able to open his eyes again because of his wife, who did not give up and called out to him.

“No. It’s thanks to the efforts of the doctors. Professor Gu just said that it’s a miracle that you woke up. He said that heaven really helped us.”

“I think so too. This moment when I can see you again seems like a miracle too.”

It wasn’t just empty words, it was really true.

At the time of the accident, when he saw the car rushing towards him, he thought it was the end. But now, all these things that he has come to see his beloved wife and children again are a miracle in themselves for Cha Dae-han.

He realized how grateful he was for his ordinary life.

“I’ll work hard on rehabilitation and make you happy for the rest of your life when I get discharged. I love you. Soo-jung.”

“I just want you and our family to be healthy. I don’t want anything else.”

After that, Lee Soo-jung had video calls with the children one by one and told them about the fact that the hit-and-run culprit had turned himself in and that Tae-kyung had helped. She spent time laughing and catching up on the stories she had missed.

Cha Dae-han thanked Tae-kyung for helping him through Lee Soo-jung and vowed to become a person who helps others in the future.

* * *

Meanwhile, there was someone who was making a fuss alone at this time when good news was heard one after another, and that was Go Gye-deuk.

He thought that his issue on the broadcast would subside over time. However, contrary to his expectations, the real-time search terms and various community posts were burning like pouring oil on a fire.

The most active place for a nationwide game of tag [a widespread search or pursuit] was where medical staff gathered.

Not only medical and nursing schools where prospective doctors and nurses study, but also local hospitals and university hospitals, regardless of location, people working in the medical field were all talking about who the doctor in question was when two or more people gathered.

“What are you doing? Are you washing your face or washing your hair? Here!”

A fellow resident from another department handed a handkerchief to a resident who was wetting his hair in the bathroom sink and asked.

“Judging by your appearance, you were on duty yesterday. Didn’t you get any sleep?”

“I could have slept for two hours, but I wasted my golden time looking at the internet. I’m trying to wake up because I think I’ll be in trouble if I fall asleep while assisting Professor Gu later.”

“You saw the broadcast, right? Teacher Kim Tae-kyung has become even more handsome?”

“He was originally so handsome and had a deadly charisma in the operating room.”

The resident shook his head and spat out a low curse.

“Ha! Anyway, I couldn’t sleep because of that damn doctor.”

“What, don’t tell me you’re also looking for that doctor?”

“You too?”

The person the two were looking for was, of course, Go Gye-deuk.

“Of course. Everyone working in this field is probably looking for him.”

“I guess so.”

“Look at this. I make sure to go around the community every chance I get with my cell phone. Oh! Shxx [an expression of surprise or frustration]. What is this!”

The colleague who was looking at the screen while talking was excited with rough words.

“What is it? Why?”

“I was just looking at our hospital’s medical staff community, and there’s a post that says ‘We’ll find the culprit.'”

“What, really?”

“That’s strange. It wasn’t there until just now.”

“Someone must have posted it. Click on it quickly.”

There was one more person who was more excited than the two people who were excited by the tempting title. It was Go Gye-deuk, who was sitting on the toilet in the bathroom.

‘Find the culprit?’