Fifth Vital [EN]: Chapter 206

206. An Unbelievable Accident

High-end Korean restaurant.

“Honestly, this guy!”

Koh Gye-deuk, who was supposed to meet someone from the business world regarding hospital donations, sat in a private room, checked his watch, and grumbled.

“He’s never been on time, not even once.”

As he continued to mutter to himself, a knock sounded, and the sliding Hanok [traditional Korean house] door opened.

Screech-

“This is the room, Chairman.”

“Thank you.”

Guided by the employee, a man with graying hair entered the room.

“Director Koh, I’m sorry. Am I late?”

“Oh, no, Chairman! You’re not late at all. I just arrived myself.”

Koh Gye-deuk, who had been sitting on the floor, sprang up like a coil, bowed, and extended his hand.

“How have you been, Chairman? It’s good to see you.”

“I’ve been well, thanks to Director Koh’s care.”

“You flatter me. I asked them to bring the meal a little later. Please, have a seat.”

The two men, who seemed to need each other at a glance, greeted each other like brothers and sat facing each other.

“So, Director Koh, are you in good health?”

“I’m always the same. By the way, Chairman, congratulations.”

“Congratulations all of a sudden?”

“On the opening of JQ Department Store. The rumors are all over town. You’re truly amazing.”

The person Koh Gye-deuk had been eagerly waiting to meet for days was Chairman Yoon Bu-sil, the owner of JQ Department Store, which was listed in the Guinness World Records as the largest department store.

“Hahaha! I guess I’ve become desensitized from receiving congratulations from dozens of places. Thank you. Thank you.”

“It’s on TV all the time, and everyone’s going crazy about it. The facilities are amazing, and the size is just overwhelming.”

“How did someone busy with hospital work and taking care of patients find the time to go there?”

“Of course, I had to go.”

Koh Gye-deuk, who had never actually been there, was pretending to have gone based on photos he had seen online.

“The interior is so wonderful. That decoration on the ceiling is absolutely fantastic! Haha!”

“Don’t even mention it! He’s a very famous artist from Europe, and his works are in all the buildings that are considered top-notch these days.”

“Really? Well, even I, who am ignorant of art, thought it was impressive.”

“It cost billions, but it changes the atmosphere when you hang it on the ceiling. I’m very satisfied. But after the work was completed, I had a big fight with that old man when I was installing it.”

“With the artist?”

“Yes. He was incredibly stubborn. As Director Koh knows, since you’ve been there, it’s made of crystal.”

“Ah, yes. Crystal.”

“At first, he wanted to hang all these supporting cables, saying it had to withstand the weight, but I strongly opposed it. It would look messy.”

The foreign artist who created the crystal decoration for JQ Department Store was a person with great pride in his work.

He was loved by architects all over the world for his unique and extraordinary works, but his pride was strongly rooted in the belief of safety above all else.

Since many of his works were hung in the air, the artist believed that the works had to be safe so that people could view them safely.

He believed that artwork should not endanger people.

However, there was someone who ignored his beliefs: Yoon Bu-sil. He was adamant that he didn’t want anything messy and disregarded the artist’s belief in safety.

In the end, the artist received a written agreement stating that he would not be responsible for any accidents and stopped paying attention.

“Anyway, there were many troublesome things before the opening, but I’m glad it opened successfully. By the way, let’s get to the point before Director Koh’s neck gets any longer.”

“No, no. Let’s eat and talk slowly.”

Koh Gye-deuk’s eyes lit up when Yoon Bu-sil brought up the topic of donations.

“It’s okay. 1 billion won [approximately $750,000 USD] will be deposited into your account in the name of a donation from the company next week.”

“One billion won?”

Koh Gye-deuk’s lips curled up to the sky at the unexpected large sum.

“I’m grateful, but isn’t that too much? Chairman, why don’t you just do half this time?”

“What are you talking about? I had all my grandsons exempted from military service, so I have to pay this much.”

Yoon Bu-sil’s donation of such a large sum was not entirely for good intentions.

It was thanks to Koh Gye-deuk, who had manipulated their medical records with spinal disorders so that Yoon Bu-sil’s grandsons would not have to go to the military.

“You don’t have to do this because of that.”

“Don’t say that. People should help each other. If I help like this, Director Koh will help me next time, right? I still have my youngest grandsons left.”

“Of course. Haha! Thank you, Chairman.”

“What’s with the gratitude between alumni? Call me ‘Senior’ from now on.”

“Yes, Senior. I brought a very rare bottle of liquor. Let’s have a drink with dinner.”

“Good.”

Excited by the larger-than-expected donation, Koh Gye-deuk began to have dinner with Yoon Bu-sil, thinking that he no longer had to worry.

* * *

After shopping and eating at JQ Department Store, Chaeyoung’s family was still having a good time.

“Mom? When is Dad coming?”

“He went to look at razors, so we have to wait a little.”

“Mom? Look at this.”

Chaeyoung sat on a fountain bench near the central hall on the first floor and called her mother, Gam Ji-yeon, holding a flashing water ball she had bought from the toy store.

“There are rabbits and fish in this ball, wow!”

“Do you like it that much?”

“Yes. I like it. Chaeyoung is so happy.”

Chaeyoung was excited, holding the ball and looking at it closely.

“Chaeyoung, there are a lot of people here, and if you drop it, we might not be able to find it. Give it to Mom, and let’s play with it at home. Okay?”

“No! No! Chaeyoung won’t drop it. I’ll hold it tight in my hand like this. I won’t throw it. Okay?”

Her daughter’s appearance, holding the water ball tightly in her small, pretty hands, was so lovely that she couldn’t help but allow it.

“Okay. But don’t throw it or bounce it on the floor. Just hold it in your hand and look at it. Got it?”

“Yes, I’ll hold it tight in my hand.”

“Chaeyoung? Look at Mom.”

“Huh?”

Click-

Gam Ji-yeon captured her daughter’s cute appearance on her phone as usual.

“Oh my! My daughter is so pretty. Should we take one more picture, Princess?”

Click- Click-

Rrrrrrrrrrrrr

While taking pictures in succession, Gam Ji-yeon’s phone rang.

“Hello?”

It seemed like an important call, so Gam Ji-yeon quickly answered the phone.

“Yes, Mother. No. Yes, we all came to the department store together.”

The person calling was her mother-in-law. Since she had a good relationship with her mother-in-law, Gam Ji-yeon’s expression and voice were bright.

“He went to look at razors. Yes. Ah! Mother, just a moment.”

Her mother-in-law was saying something, but she couldn’t hear well because of the music coming from the fountain and the person sitting next to her talking loudly on the phone.

“Chaeyoung, Mom is going to talk to Grandma for a minute, so stay here. Okay?”

“Okay.”

Gam Ji-yeon walked a little away from where she was sitting and continued the call while watching her daughter.

“Really? No. You don’t have to do that, Mother. There’s still a lot of the meat you sent last time left. Yes. Of course.”

While the mother and daughter-in-law continued their friendly conversation, Chaeyoung was playing alone with the water ball.

“Oh! It lights up too.”

Chaeyoung was amazed by the sight of the light turning on when she shook the water ball in her hand.

“Pretty. Wow! There’s red too……!”

It was then, as she shook it harder as the color kept changing each time she shook it.

“Oh! My ball!”

The water ball, which had collided with a shopping bag held by a passerby, slipped out of her small hand.

“No! Ball, stop there.”

Unlike Chaeyoung’s anxious heart, fearing she would lose the ball, the bouncy water ball bounced and rolled across the smooth marble floor.

At the time Chaeyoung was running towards the ball, Lee Min-woo, Gam Ji-yeon’s husband, was choosing a razor at the event hall on the 7th floor.

‘Honey, I’ll watch Chaeyoung, so buy your razor and go look around the electronics corner.’

His wife had told him to look around the electronics he was usually interested in, but Lee Min-woo was only planning on buying a razor and leaving.

“Honey, haven’t you picked one yet?”

While he was carefully examining two razors, the girlfriend of a man looking at razors next to Lee Min-woo approached.

“I’ve almost picked one. The movie is about to start.”

“There’s still time left. I’ll pick one in 5 minutes.”

“But I saw something strange when I went to the bathroom.”

“What is it?”

“Well, there’s a crystal decoration on the ceiling.”

“Yeah.”

“I was looking at it, and a couple next to me was taking pictures with a professional camera, and they suddenly said that the cable seemed to have broken.”

“The cable that’s hanging the decoration?”

“Yeah. So I looked around, but I couldn’t see it well because they were looking at it with a camera. But the decoration with the broken line seemed to be tilted a bit… Is it okay to watch the movie?”

The woman had a uneasy expression.

“You’re doing that again. You have safety sensitivity.”

“Is this the first time I’ve been like this? Honey, should we just leave?”

“Oh, it’s okay. Don’t worry about it. It hasn’t been open for long. Let’s hurry up and pay and go see the movie.”

The couple left the event hall, and Lee Min-woo, who was listening to the story next to them, put down the razor he was holding. Then, he called his wife and left the event hall, looking up at the ceiling on the 7th floor.

It was partly because he heard the couple’s story, but it was also because his wife and daughter were sitting by the fountain near the decoration.

“She’s on the phone…….”

As his wife continued to be on the phone, Lee Min-woo eventually went down the escalator.

Meanwhile.

“Yes, Mother. Then next week……!”

While talking on the phone, Gam Ji-yeon realized that Chaeyoung was not in her seat as several groups of people passed by.

“Mother! I’m sorry, but I’ll call you back later. Yes. Yes. Goodbye.”

Her shopping bags and belongings were still in the seat, but only Chaeyoung was gone.

“Excuse me, did you see where a little girl who was sitting here went?”

Gam Ji-yeon asked the person next to her, who was still on the phone, about the child’s whereabouts.

“I didn’t see her.”

“Where did she go?”

Gam Ji-yeon, becoming anxious, looked around and began calling her daughter’s name.

“Chaeyoung!”

It was not easy to find a small child because so many people were passing by.

“Lee Chaeyoung! Where are you, Chaeyoung?”

As she walked towards the center and raised her voice, Gam Ji-yeon saw her daughter’s back in her sight, picking up a water ball.

Chaeyoung, who was looking for the bounced water ball, was fortunately able to grab the stopped ball. However, the rolling ball stopped right inside the safety line, just below the structure.

“Ha! Thank you.”

Gam Ji-yeon, who had gone from heaven to hell in a short time, stroked her surprised chest and moved her steps.

Clang- Clang!!!

The sound of glass colliding with glass rang loudly from somewhere, followed by the shouts of people.

“Oh! Oh!”

“Oh my! What’s wrong with that!”

“It’s going to fall?”

People here and there showed surprised expressions as they looked at something, and everyone looked up at the ceiling.

The decoration, which had been left with one cable broken, could not withstand the weight and was dangling and shaking. It was right above Chaeyoung.

Clang!

As another sound was heard, Gam Ji-yeon, becoming desperate, began to run towards Chaeyoung.

“Chaeyoung!”

The moment she took a step, two steps, and ran with all her might and reached Chaeyoung, the decoration was falling on them in an instant.

“Mom!”

“Chaeyoung!”

In the moment the decoration fell without time to avoid it, Gam Ji-yeon instinctively hugged Chaeyoung as if embracing her, and blocked the glass decoration with her body.

Shatter-

The sound of transparent crystal breaking rang loudly throughout the department store.

“Are……are you okay?”

Gam Ji-yeon asked Chaeyoung in a strained voice.

“Yes. I’m okay.”

“Our daughter……. I’m glad.”

Leaving the words ‘I’m glad,’ Gam Ji-yeon closed her eyes while holding her daughter tightly.

Broken pieces were scattered around them, and the middle part of the broken shards had pierced Gam Ji-yeon’s abdomen.

“Ji-yeon!!!!”

Along with Lee Min-woo’s scream mixed with despair, running from afar, red blood spread in a circle on the floor.

Along with the sound of surprised people shouting, a water ball stained with red blood rolled on the marble.

The department store became a scene of chaos due to the unbelievable accident that happened in the blink of an eye.