Fifth Vital [EN]: Chapter 250

250. A Secret Whisper

“Jie, I’ll be here. Hurry back.”

“Okay, I got it.”

Click-

Shin Ji-ae entered the restroom, leaving Kwak Yong-jin waiting outside.

But something about her seemed off.

She had rushed into the restroom as if she were about to have diarrhea any second.

However, Shin Ji-ae didn’t go into a stall. She stood in front of the sink, looking at her face in the mirror.

Her face in the mirror looked gaunt and haggard after just a few days.

Swish-

“…Let’s get a grip.”

Shin Ji-ae turned on the cold water at the sink, washed her face, and whispered to herself.

Then, she roughly wiped her face with a paper towel and stood still. Or, to be precise, she stood leaning against the restroom wall, watching the entrance.

About five minutes passed.

Click-

The restroom door she had been staring at opened, and someone came in.

“Mom! I think I’m going to go.”

“Just hold on a little longer and go inside quickly.”

But Shin Ji-ae looked somewhat disappointed as she watched the mother and daughter enter.

After the mother and daughter left the restroom, she stared at the door again.

The second hand of the restroom clock ticked relentlessly, and five minutes turned into ten.

“Honey?”

Kwak Yong-jin’s voice came from outside the restroom door.

“Honey, are you okay?”

His voice was filled with concern.

“Yeah! I’m done. I’m coming out.”

Shin Ji-ae, who had been leaning against the wall, replied, and, unable to wait any longer, washed her hands and left the restroom.

Click-

“Are you okay? Is your stomach really upset?”

Kwak Yong-jin asked, supporting Shin Ji-ae as she came out of the restroom.

“Should I talk to the nurse if you’re having a hard time?”

“No, it’s okay. Everyone else is waiting. I’ll tell you if I really can’t handle it.”

“Okay, I understand. Let’s measure your blood pressure first.”

“Okay, I got it.”

As they waited for the person ahead of them to finish measuring their blood pressure, a cell phone rang between them.

Rrrrrrrrr

“Honey? The director is calling me, so I’m going to take this call. You’ll be okay alone, right?”

“Of course. I’ll be fine. Go ahead and take the call.”

“Okay, I will.”

While Kwak Yong-jin went to answer the phone, Shin Ji-ae sat down at the blood pressure monitor after the person before her got up.

Then, she got up from her seat, took the blood pressure reading, and headed to the nurse.

“Excuse me, nurse?”

“Yes.”

“I measured my blood pressure.”

“You can give it to me.”

“……”

As Shin Ji-ae handed the blood pressure reading to the nurse, she gripped the end of the paper tightly.

“Excuse me…?”

When the nurse looked at her with an awkward smile, Shin Ji-ae hesitated, about to say something to her.

“Honey?”

In the meantime, Kwak Yong-jin, who had finished his call, came up to Shin Ji-ae, placing his hand on her shoulder.

“Are you done?”

“Huh? Oh. I’m done.”

“Is there something you need from me, patient…?”

“No. It’s okay. Thank you. Yong-jin, let’s go.”

Leaving the bewildered nurse behind, Shin Ji-ae sat down with Kwak Yong-jin to wait their turn.

“What was that about?”

“Why? What are you staring at?”

A senior nurse asked the nurse who was talking to herself as she came into the station.

“It’s nothing.”

“Prepare the dressing for patient number 7.”

“Yes, I will.”

About 50 minutes passed.

“Shin Ji-ae?”

Shin Ji-ae, who had been waiting, finally had her turn for a consultation.

“Yes, that’s me. That’s me.”

“Please wait for a moment on bed 13 over there, and the doctor will be with you.”

“Yes, thank you.”

“Honey, it looks like we can finally see the doctor. That’s a relief.”

“I know. It’s such a relief…!”

“Oh!”

As Shin Ji-ae was walking to the bed with Kwak Yong-jin, she bumped into Choi Mona, who was passing by in a hurry.

The two people collided harder than expected, staggering and falling to the floor.

“I’m sorry.”

Shin Ji-ae apologized to Choi Mona, flustered.

“No, I’m fine. Are you okay, patient?”

“…Help me.”

Shin Ji-ae apologized, and Choi Mona asked if she was okay. But at that moment, a faint, small voice brushed past her ear.

“Yes, I’m fine.”

Although it was a very small voice, Choi Mona’s eyes widened as she looked at Shin Ji-ae, clearly hearing the voice in her ear.

“I was feeling weak and fell. I’m sorry.”

However, unlike what she had said, the woman in front of her didn’t even bat an eye and had a nonchalant expression.

“Patient? Did you just say something to me?”

“Me? No.”

“I must have been mistaken.”

“Ah, yes…”

Shin Ji-ae got up and headed to bed 13 with her boyfriend.

‘What is going on?’

Choi Mona felt something was strange. It wasn’t a hallucination, and no matter how much she thought about it, she didn’t think she had misheard what she had heard.

‘I definitely heard it…’

Muttering to herself, Choi Mona tilted her head and was surprised once again as she looked at Shin Ji-ae’s back.

For a moment, Shin Ji-ae turned her head and mouthed something very quickly but clearly, then turned her head again.

She didn’t say it out loud, but she could intuitively understand what she was saying.

‘H.e.l.p. M.e.’

The five letters she said were definitely “Help me.”

It was exactly in line with the words whispered in her ear when she fell to the floor a little while ago.

‘What on earth is going on?’

No matter how much she thought about it, she couldn’t understand.

“Choi, are you okay?”

A nurse called out to Choi Mona, who was staring intently at the two people who had taken their seats on bed 13.

“Yes?”

“No, I mean, you bumped into a patient and fell a little while ago. I was wondering if you were okay.”

“Ah, yes. I’m fine. By the way, nurse? Do you know what the relationship is between that patient and the man who came with her?”

“Who? Are you talking about the patient in bed 13?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“He’s her guardian.”

“Her guardian?”

“Yes.”

“So, are they a couple?”

“No. They’re dating and living together. I heard that his girlfriend came because she was sick, and he’s been getting her water and asking if she’s okay since they started waiting. He must really care about his girlfriend.”

The nurse, who was busy taking care of patients, had been paying attention to the two people because they were so good-looking.

“But why do you ask?”

“Oh, it’s nothing.”

“Choi, the results for patient number 5 are in.”

“Okay, I’m coming now. Nurse, I’ll look at patient number 13 after I see the results for number 5. If Dr. Lee is going to see her, tell him I’m seeing her.”

“Okay, I understand.”

Choi Mona went to the emergency room station, looked at the results for patient number 5, returned to the patient to explain, and finished the treatment. Then, she immediately left the emergency room and headed to the reception desk.

“Excuse me, can I ask you something?”

“Yes, Choi. Of course. What is it?”

“About the patient Shin Ji-ae who came to the emergency room. Did you notice anything strange when you checked her in?”

“Strange? No, I didn’t see anything like that? Did you notice anything strange when you checked in that good-looking couple earlier?”

The receptionist who received the question asked the employee sitting next to her, but the answer was the same for both of them.

“No. Just that the man was taking good care of the woman? There was nothing particularly strange.”

“Why? Is something wrong?”

“Ah, no. It’s nothing. Thank you for your help.”

Choi Mona, who didn’t hear anything special at the reception desk, scratched her head and headed to the restroom to take care of her business.

And in the meantime, Tae-kyung, who had finished his outpatient appointment after surgery, entered the emergency room.

“Is patient number 13 still waiting for treatment?”

“Yes, Choi said she would see her, but I think she went to the restroom.”

“I’ll see her. What are the patient’s symptoms?”

Tae-kyung, who had taken his place at the station, checked the emergency room patient situation and looked at Shin Ji-ae’s symptoms, who was still waiting for treatment.

“Her main symptom is diarrhea.”

“Give her 5DW [5% Dextrose in Water, a common IV fluid] for IV fluids first, and we’ll also send out blood and urine tests and an abdominal X-ray.”

“Yes, doctor.”

What’s important with diarrhea is determining whether the cause is an infection.

And if an infection is suspected, it’s important to first distinguish whether it’s viral or bacterial.

Because the treatment varies depending on the cause. But what’s more important than these things is to prevent the patient’s body from becoming dehydrated.

Dehydration can be life-threatening.

No matter how advanced modern medicine is, the importance of the most basic things cannot be overemphasized.

Because if those basic things collapse, life can collapse.

Having already seen such cases, Tae-kyung tried to make a careful judgment.

Swish-

“Hello, patient.”

Tae-kyung opened the curtain and greeted the patient as he approached bed 13.

“Jie, the doctor is here.”

“Oh… Hello.”

Shin Ji-ae, who was lying on the bed with a tired face, raised herself up and greeted him.

“Patient, please lie down comfortably. It’s okay.”

“Yes, thank you.”

“I heard you have severe diarrhea. How long has it been going on?”

“Well… It’s been a few days.”

“Do you have any pain in your stomach?”

“I don’t think it hurts much, except for a slight discomfort before the diarrhea.”

“Are there any people around you who have the same symptoms as you?”

“No.”

“I’m her boyfriend. I’m fine.”

Kwak Yong-jin, who was next to her, answered clearly that he was fine.

“Are you her guardian?”

“Yes. We live together.”

“Patient, do you have any other symptoms besides diarrhea?”

Viruses and bacteria, which cause major diarrhea, infect different areas.

Viruses tend to infect the small intestine more easily, so vomiting is a little stronger.

On the other hand, bacterial infections are more likely to cause systemic symptoms such as chills, fever, and body aches rather than vomiting.

Of course, these are only tendencies, and they are by no means strictly divided.

The symptoms may show completely different results. Therefore, patients who are hospitalized through outpatient care often have their infections confirmed through stool tests, but this is the emergency room. Some flexibility is also needed.

“I think I had body aches, and I also feel like I’m vomiting. I’m retching, but nothing comes out because I haven’t eaten anything.”

“Ah, I see.”

It was an ambiguous answer that she wasn’t vomiting, that she had body aches, and that she didn’t have them.

Of course, there are surprisingly many patients like this.

He thought he would have to treat her as if she had a bacterial infection. The reason was that in the case of a bacterial infection, all that was needed was to add an antibiotic prescription to the viral infection.

“Patient, first of all…”

Swish-

“Doctor?”

Choi Mona opened the curtain with a very urgent look on her face as Tae-kyung was about to explain to the patient.

“I’m sorry to interrupt your examination. The condition of patient Go Cheol-hyeon in the intensive care unit is a bit critical.”

“…!”

Tae-kyung, who was listening to Choi Mona’s words, felt something was wrong.

There were no critical patients in the intensive care unit, and the patient Go Cheol-hyeon was not on the emergency room list.

“I think you should see him as soon as possible.”

Tae-kyung realized that something had happened when she emphasized it again.

“Really? Okay, I understand. Patient, I’m sorry, but I’m going to have to ask for your understanding because of an emergency patient. I’m sorry.”

“No. It’s okay.”

Shin Ji-ae, who glanced at Choi Mona’s face, said she understood, and Tae-kyung left bed 13 and headed to the intensive care unit. And soon after, Choi Mona followed him in.

“I have to wait again.”

Kwak Yong-jin, who was watching the scene, muttered with a dissatisfied face and stroked Shin Ji-ae’s face.

“But, honey?”

“…Huh?”

“Maybe…”

Kwak Yong-jin, who was stroking Shin Ji-ae’s face with his large hand, brought his face closer and closer. Then, he pressed his lips to her ear and whispered secretly.

“You’re not thinking unnecessary thoughts, are you?”