Fifth Vital [EN]: Chapter 207

207. Don’t Fall Asleep! Don’t Doze Off

The department store was in utter chaos following an unforeseen accident.

“Hey! Over here, please!”

“You there! Lift it higher!”

“Yes, understood!”

As paramedics rushed the victim away, department store employees frantically erected screens around the accident site and began cleaning up.

“Oh my! What are we going to do….”

The faces of shoppers who had been beaming with happiness were now etched with pity and sorrow.

“Excuse me, what happened? Was there an accident?”

Curious onlookers from other floors gathered, drawn by the commotion. Those unaware of the incident peppered staff with questions.

“A decoration fell from the ceiling. A mother threw herself in front of it to protect her child.”

“The father was shouting at his wife, the child was crying, and the department store staff were slow to respond. Some bystanders tried to comfort the child.”

“Oh, my goodness!”

“She lost so much blood… I hope the mother will be okay. I feel terrible for her.”

A middle-aged woman who had witnessed the accident while shopping was teary-eyed as she worried about Jiyeon Gam.

“If they’re going to hang such a large decoration, they should make sure it’s secure.”

“Exactly! It wasn’t like they were hanging children’s toys. How could this happen?”

“That’s just shoddy workmanship, plain and simple.”

Amidst the worried and angry murmurs, the manager overseeing the scene hurried off.

It was the same person who had expressed concerns about the decorations to his subordinate just hours earlier.

Dada dada dada-

“Ugh! This is a nightmare. It finally happened….”

Click-

“Is the department head in there?”

“Is it true there was an accident?”

“Do you think I’d joke about something like that?”

The manager, entering the department head’s office, was on edge because of the accident.

“Are you still on the phone?”

“Yes, I left a note saying it was urgent, but he doesn’t seem to notice. It must be an important call.”

“Enough with the phone calls. I’m going in.”

Knock knock-

“Department Head!”

Normally, he would have waited for the call to end, but not now. Unable to contain himself, the manager barged into the department head’s office.

“Something terrible has happened.”

“Ah, yes, of course. I’ll call you back later. Come in.”

The department head glared at the employee who had interrupted him.

“Can’t you see I’m on the phone? What’s all the commotion?”

“Remember the central decoration we reported this morning?”

“Yes? If there are complaints, just handle them….”

“It fell.”

“If it fell, clean it up quickly before customers or reporters see it.”

The obvious question – ‘Is anyone hurt?’ – remained unasked.

The department head was primarily concerned about the incident becoming public and potentially losing customers.

“We’re cleaning it up… Department Head, more importantly, people were hurt. A child and her mother were underneath it when the decoration fell.”

“What! Ugh, damn it. This is going to be a major headache.”

The department head cursed under his breath, clearly annoyed.

“I told you to be more careful! Tomorrow’s the weekend. What are we going to do? The reporters will have a field day. Seriously! How badly are they hurt?”

“I’m not sure yet, but it seems serious.”

“Clean it up quickly and move the injured where they can’t be seen. You know the chairman’s way of thinking, right?”

“Yes?”

“Don’t you know? Our company specializes in department stores and supermarkets. Do you think this is the first accident we’ve had? Construction accidents, other accidents… we’ve always resolved them with money.”

“……”

Of course, anyone injured deserved reasonable compensation. But it still felt wrong that his first thought was about money rather than the victims’ well-being.

“Give the victims and their guardians plenty of money to avoid any fuss. Meet with them, act like you’re dying with apologies, and make sure they don’t say anything else.”

“Ah, yes, I understand.”

“Ugh! We haven’t even been open that long, and we’re already having such bad luck… Oh, right! What happened to the victims?”

The department head, after rambling for a while, finally asked about the injured people as an afterthought.

“Bystanders called emergency services [119 is the emergency telephone number in South Korea], so they were taken away by paramedics.”

“What! How could you just let them go! We should have offered to take them ourselves and bought some time! Are you that dense?”

“But, Department Head, the victim was bleeding heavily, so we couldn’t really stop them.”

“How is that my problem? What matters is the media coverage. So, do you know which hospital they went to?”

“The management team leader and a staff member are following them. We should get a call soon.”

“Once you confirm where they went, contact me immediately, and do everything you can to win over the victim’s family. The most important thing is to prevent them from going public. Got it?”

“……Yes, I understand.”

The staff member, experiencing an accident for the first time on the job, forced out an answer and left the department head’s office.

He wondered if this was the right approach, even for a large corporation with deep pockets.

* * *

Friday evening-

As the red siren wailed, the ambulance cut through the endless traffic jam, the other cars parting like the Red Sea to make way.

“Honey….”

Jiyeon Gam asked weakly from inside the ambulance.

“Yeah, honey. It’s okay. Don’t worry. Remember your sister came?”

“Yeah.”

“Your sister came and took Chaeyoung. She said our daughter is perfectly fine, thanks to you.”

“Oh my. My brother-in-law must be having a hard time….”

Jiyeon Gam and Minwoo Lee were being transferred from the first hospital. They had been rushed to the nearest hospital from the department store, but it was unable to provide adequate treatment.

The emergency room was already overwhelmed with accident victims and patients complaining of various ailments, likely due to it being a Friday evening.

The paramedics and Minwoo Lee, knowing they couldn’t afford to waste time when only Chaeyoung was receiving treatment, rerouted to another hospital.

Minwoo Lee’s sister, who lived nearby, had quickly arrived to take care of Chaeyoung.

Fortunately, Chaeyoung was only startled and unharmed.

This was partly due to her small size, but mostly because her mother, Jiyeon Gam, had instinctively shielded her with her body in that split second.

A mother’s love had miraculously saved Chaeyoung.

“Honey….”

“Yes, honey, I’m here.”

Minwoo Lee replied, already distraught and sobbing.

He cursed himself for going to buy a razor and felt heartbroken for his injured wife.

“If I die, you can remarry, but promise me you’ll send our child to college first. Okay?”

It wasn’t a joke. Jiyeon Gam was usually bright and optimistic, but she was in no state for jokes now.

The area injured in the accident was excruciating.

The thought that she might die filled her mind, and she wanted to speak to her husband while she was still conscious.

She was terrified because it was the first accident of her life, but she didn’t want to show it, worried about her husband.

“Okay? Why aren’t you answering….”

“What are you talking about! Why would you die? You can’t leave me and Chaeyoung.”

Beside the sobbing Minwoo Lee, the paramedics were applying gauze to Jiyeon Gam’s abdomen, trying to stem the bleeding, but the blood continued to flow.

The shard of glass had pierced her right abdomen, its sharp, broken edges exposed.

“Excuse me, officer, could you please drive a little faster?”

“Yes, I understand.”

“Honey… is the traffic bad?”

“No, everyone’s making way, so it’s not bad.”

“Then wait… they’re having a hard time.”

“It’s because you’re in pain! How can I wait when you need to get to the hospital quickly?”

“Still… I’m… sleepy.”

Jiyeon Gam’s eyelids fluttered, drifting closed.

“Honey! Jiyeon? Don’t fall asleep! Don’t doze off! Hang in there a little longer, okay? Honey, please don’t fall asleep. I’ll be better from now on. I won’t leave my clothes lying around, and I’ll put my socks in the laundry basket. Please, come to your senses, Jiyeon!”

“That sounds good. Honey, just in case, listen to me carefully….”

“Yes. Anything. Just tell me.”

“Our daughter… tell our Chaeyoung not to get too stressed about studying. And tell her to date a lot. And tell her to take good care of her dad because he’s an idiot.”

Her husband was such a kind and good person that she had chosen to marry him despite her father’s disapproval. Jiyeon Gam worried about him being left alone.

“What are you talking about? I should be taking care of you! And stop saying strange things.”

“Chaeyoung is smart because she takes after me.”

“Yes, everything you say is right.”

“Minwoo, and my dad….”

Minwoo Lee focused intently when she mentioned her father-in-law, whom she hadn’t spoken of since their marriage.

“Tell my dad that I missed him because he was lonely after Mom died and only worked. And that I still love him, and that he should retire and stay healthy….”

“You can tell your father-in-law yourself after you get treatment and are discharged, okay?”

“I’m sleepy. I… I’ll just sleep for a bit.”

“Honey? Jiyeon?”

Minwoo Lee, his heart bursting with worry, kept calling her name, but Jiyeon Gam’s eyes remained closed. His heart burned with increasing fear as he watched her.

“O-Officer, our Jiyeon? What’s wrong with Jiyeon? Huh?”

“The patient’s heart rate and blood pressure haven’t dropped. She may be temporarily losing consciousness, but shaking her like that isn’t good for her.”

“Ah, yes… I’m sorry. I was so surprised.”

“It’s okay.”

The paramedic, understanding the protector’s anxiety, calmed the distraught Minwoo Lee.

“Officer, will my wife be okay?”

“We have to make sure she is. We’ll do our best, too.”

“Thank you. Um, but which hospital are we going to now?”

“We’re going to Shinhwa University Hospital.”

The ambulance sped towards Shinhwa University Hospital, the next closest facility.

“Ah! There it is. We’re almost there. Officer? Such a big hospital should be able to save my wife, right?”

“Of course. We’ll move the patient quickly when we arrive. Please register first.”

“Yes, thank you.”

While Minwoo Lee spoke to the paramedic, the ambulance arrived at Shinhwa University Hospital.

As the ambulance screeched to a halt in front of the emergency room, the paramedics jumped out.

One flung open the doors, while the other swiftly and carefully pulled out the transport bed and wheeled it into the emergency room entrance.

“36-year-old female, trauma with abdominal bleeding.”

“Honey!”

“Yes, officer, this way.”

The nurses, alerted in advance and waiting, immediately began treatment.

“And the guardian, we’ll take a look at the patient. Please register first and wait in the guardian waiting room.”

“Ah, yes, I understand. Please take care of her.”

Minwoo Lee reluctantly tore his worried gaze away from his wife and headed to the registration desk.

“Who’s the trauma professor on duty today?”

“Abdominal trauma is that person.”

“That person? Ah! That incompetent… It’s a terrible thing for the patient.”

Another nurse, speaking to a colleague, frowned at the thought of the professor in charge.

“I should have just said no when I answered the phone earlier.”

“Shh! Be quiet. The guardian might hear.”

The fellow nurse glanced around and cautioned her to watch her words.

“First, tell the intern to call the professor quickly.”

“Yes.”

The nurse hurried to the emergency room intern and instructed him to contact the professor on duty. The intern promptly grabbed his cell phone and made the call.

-Yes, this is Kwon Soohyun.

The person who answered was Kwon Soohyun, who had secured Taekyung’s position with the chairman’s support.