Fifth Vital [EN]: Chapter 213

213. I’ll Take Care of the Trash

The furious and distrustful Lee Min-woo, the man who first arrived at our hospital, was now a changed man.

‘Lee, I know you must be upset, but Kim Tae-kyung is the only one we can trust right now. You won’t find a doctor like him anywhere else. So, please calm down and let’s support the surgery so it goes well.’

After hearing about Tae-kyung from his father-in-law, Gam Deok-chan, during the surgery, he regretted his earlier misunderstanding.

“I apologize for being rude earlier. Thank you again for saving my wife.”

“Don’t mention it. I understand your concern as her guardian.”

“I am also grateful. I received a lot of help from you, Director Kim. Thank you for saving my daughter.”

Not only Lee Min-woo but also Gam Deok-chan sincerely expressed his gratitude for saving his daughter.

“Excuse me, are you the guardian of patient Gam Ji-yeon?”

A moment later, Nurse Im Jeong-sook came to the waiting room.

“Yes.”

“You can visit the patient now, but only one person is allowed at a time. Who would like to visit?”

“Of course, you should go.”

Gam Deok-chan gently pushed his son-in-law’s back as he looked at him.

“Wouldn’t it be better for you to go in, Father? I know you miss Ji-yeon a lot.”

“My dear, you’re the one who has been by Ji-yeon’s side, not me. I can see her tomorrow. So, go quickly. And tell Ji-yeon that I miss her a lot and thank her for being so strong.”

“Yes, Father. I will. See you later.”

Nurse Im Jeong-sook, who was leading Lee Min-woo to the intensive care unit, stopped in front of it for a moment.

“Guardian? This…….”

Im Jeong-sook handed a tissue to Lee Min-woo, who still had tears streaming down his face.

“You’re about to see your wife, but she might be surprised if you keep crying. Did you hear the director’s explanation? The surgery went well.”

“Ah! Thank you. I keep crying. My wife will worry more if I cry. I was so shaken.”

Lee Min-woo wiped away his tears with a tissue and calmed himself down.

“Of course, you’d be shaken since your wife was hurt. I fully understand how you feel.”

“Thank you.”

“I’ll let you go in.”

After hearing the instructions, Lee Min-woo entered the intensive care unit and went to his wife.

“Ji, Ji-yeon?”

“Honey…….”

As Lee Min-woo approached, Gam Ji-yeon, who had woken up from anesthesia, called him in a weak voice.

“Honey, you went through so much to have the surgery. The doctor said it went well. Was it hard? Are you okay?”

“Yes. The nurse said they are giving me a strong painkiller. So, I’m okay. It’s bearable. How’s our Chae-young?”

“Her older sister is taking good care of her. Don’t worry. She didn’t cry because she missed Mom and Dad and fell asleep a while ago.”

“Our daughter is so wonderful.”

“Ji-yeon, I’m sorry.”

“You must have been very surprised, right? Why are you sorry?”

“If I hadn’t gone to buy a razor, you and Chae-young wouldn’t have had to go through this. It’s all because of me…….”

“Don’t say that. It’s not because of you. I’m just grateful that Chae-young wasn’t hurt.”

“I will protect you and our Chae-young with my life from now on. So, you just focus on recovering. Okay?”

“Okay. I feel reassured.”

“Ji-yeon. And your father is outside.”

“Ah, Dad? How could Dad…….”

Gam Ji-yeon, who had been comforting her husband with teary eyes, suddenly had her eyes flutter at the mention of her father, reverting from a mother full of affection to a daughter.

“He must have been watching over our family all this time. He rushed over here, and he was so worried he looked terrible. Your father misses you a lot.”

“Really? I miss my dad too.”

Although she hadn’t said it, Gam Ji-yeon also missed her father a lot.

After giving birth to her daughter and becoming a parent, she missed her father, who was left alone, and understood his feelings back then.

“Really?”

“Yes, really.”

“That’s a relief. Your father will come to visit tomorrow.”

“I want to see him soon. Tell him I’m sorry for everything and not to worry too much because I’m okay.”

“Okay. Ji-yeon, I’m so grateful you’re alive.”

Lee Min-woo held Gam Ji-yeon’s hand tightly and comforted his wife, who had endured the difficult surgery.

* * *

After Lee Min-woo left the guardian waiting room with Nurse Im Jeong-sook, Tae-kyung asked about the accident.

“You must have been very surprised to hear about the accident.”

“For a moment, I felt dizzy, and it felt like my heart stopped. At first, I didn’t feel good when they said they were transferring from Shinhwa University, but I was relieved when they said they were coming to your hospital, Director.”

“Thank you for thinking highly of me. But has the department store apologized yet?”

“No, Director. That’s why I’m going to make sure these shameless and trash-like guys get what’s coming to them.”

Gam Deok-chan’s eyes were blazing with anger, and he was determined to take action.

“Anyway, I owe Director Kim a great debt this time. I will definitely repay this kindness.”

“What do you mean by debt? It’s a doctor’s duty to save patients. You don’t have to think that way.”

Saving patients.

For Tae-kyung, it was as natural as breathing.

But it was a bit embarrassing that Gam Deok-chan expressed it with such a grateful expression.

“Honestly, it may be natural for someone like you, Director, but there are some doctors these days who are not like that. Not all doctors are like you.”

“……!”

Tae-kyung, who was listening to that, suddenly thought of someone. Come to think of it, there was someone who was an embarrassment to the profession.

It was Ko Gye-deuk.

It was perhaps natural that people distrusted doctors because of such strange medical professionals.

“The patient will be able to have visitors tomorrow. You’ve overcome the biggest hurdle, so don’t worry too much.”

“Yes, Director.”

“Then I’ll be on my way…….”

“Wait! Just a moment.”

Gam Deok-chan hurriedly called out to Tae-kyung, who was turning around after saying goodbye.

“Director, I apologize for being rude, but can I ask you something?”

“Yes, of course.”

“Well.”

Gam Deok-chan paused for a moment and then continued with a serious face.

“I heard that my daughter was suddenly transferred while receiving treatment at Shinhwa University Hospital.”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“But no matter how much I think about it, it’s a bit strange. Lee said that the resident at Shinhwa University was very proactive from the beginning. But suddenly, without saying anything, they said they couldn’t treat her and told her to transfer unconditionally. I was wondering if you knew anything about this.”

“What I know?”

“Yes, I know that you are from Shinhwa University Hospital. I will resolve this so that there is no harm done, so I hope you can help me if you know anything. If this was not an appropriate transfer and there was something fishy going on, I will not stand still.”

Tae-kyung, who had been listening to Gam Deok-chan’s words, reacted to the next words he threw.

“At least there shouldn’t be doctors who play around with patients whose lives are in danger, right?”

Those words were similar to what Tae-kyung had said on TV. And he thought.

‘Could this be related to this incident too……?’

If Ko Gye-deuk was involved in this incident as well.

It’s not good to suspect people without reason.

But it’s inevitable to suspect someone who repeatedly does bad things.

Kwon Soo-hyun was an acquaintance of Chairman and Ko Gye-deuk at the same time.

Moreover, he was not in the position of professor based solely on his skills.

He usually had residents perform surgeries or frequently sent transfers if he was not confident.

Apparently, the resident he contacted had been planning to perform the surgery, judging from the fact that he had conducted the examination thoroughly.

However, he had no choice but to do so because Kwon Soo-hyun told him to send the transfer without any reason.

And when I thought about it, I remembered what the resident had said in passing during the call.

‘I don’t know what happened……. After people in suits came to see Professor Kwon, he told me to send the transfer.’

The resident was careful, but the people in suits were probably from the department store.

‘Then there must be someone who connected them in the middle…….’

Tae-kyung, who was deep in thought, suddenly remembered what Lee Dong-hoon used to say.

‘Do you know why Shinhwa University Hospital never runs out of donations? Ko Gye-deuk has tremendous connections with people in the business world.’

At this point, Tae-kyung felt it was better to let Gam Deok-chan know about his thoughts.

Because he was a member of the National Assembly [South Korea’s unicameral legislature] whom even the hospital chairman could not do anything about, and above all, Gam Deok-chan was someone he could trust.

If he was going to bring Ko Gye-deuk down anyway, it was right to bring him down more surely and completely.

“Assemblyman?”

Tae-kyung, who had been thinking for a while, opened his mouth.

“Yes, Director.”

“I know that someone from the department store came to Shinhwa University Hospital earlier. The person who met them directly is likely the culprit. And…….”

“Is, is that true?”

Gam Deok-chan looked shocked after hearing everything Tae-kyung said.

“It’s true.”

“In the end, you mean to check the relationship between Kwon Soo-hyun, Ko Gye-deuk, and the department store.”

“Yes.”

“Let me ask you one more thing. Is that doctor you mentioned on TV by any chance Ko Gye-deuk?”

“That’s right.”

“Ha! A person who is the director of a major hospital……. This is really something! Director, I will take care of those trash, so now you can focus on taking care of the patients with peace of mind. Thank you for telling me.”

“No problem. Then I’ll be on my way.”

After saying goodbye to Tae-kyung, Gam Deok-chan hurriedly made a phone call somewhere.

-Yes, Assemblyman.

The person who answered the phone was the chief aide.

“Find out about the relationship between Ko Gye-deuk and JQ Department Store. And let the media know that the victim is my daughter.”

He thought that if the rats knew that the victim was the daughter of a member of the National Assembly, they would come out on their own.

-Yes, I understand. And I have contacted the writer you mentioned earlier.

“Really? How did it go?”

While his daughter’s surgery was in progress, Gam Deok-chan instructed Chief Lee to contact the foreign writer who made the department store decorations.

-What you expected, Assemblyman, was correct.

“Shoddy construction?”

-Yes. The writer said that the ceiling load would not be able to withstand it and asked for more cable lines to be installed, but it was ignored.

“That means JQ Department Store knew it was a shoddy construction.”

-Yes, he had several conflicts with the chairman over this issue.

“These crazy bastards were so obsessed with money that they opened a department store where an accident could happen. Those trash-like guys. Spread all the facts to the media and make it public.”

-Yes, Assemblyman, I understand.

Gam Deok-chan had no intention of just letting this go.