Fifth Vital [EN]: Chapter 258

258. An Unexpected Patient

Seeing Natimi’s father turn away with his head bowed, Euijin wanted to muster one last bit of courage.

“Just a moment! Sir, aren’t you regretting it?”

“……!”

Natimi’s father, who had been shedding tears, couldn’t hide his bewilderment at the sudden question. *Who in the world wouldn’t regret losing their child?*

His tears stopped flowing as he wore an absurd expression.

“I’m not as educated as you, Doctor, and I’m poor. I don’t know how this will sound, but that culture was normal *for us*, and I thought it was the way for my daughter to live well.

Everyone here has lived like that. I know I’m not a good father. But Doctor, Natimi is my daughter. No matter how inadequate or pathetic a parent is, no one can be indifferent in front of their dead daughter.”

He poured out his heart as if he were releasing pent-up emotions.

“You asked if I regret it? I regret it. I regret it so much that I want to kill myself for making my daughter like that.”

“I have a favor to ask of you.”

“A favor?”

“Yes, I know it’s very difficult. But that regret shouldn’t be repeated. Please don’t force arranged marriages on the remaining children anymore.”

The parents had several more daughters. Euijin didn’t want Natimi’s younger sisters to go through this again.

So, she asked and asked again.

“I know you might be uncomfortable with a stranger like me asking this. But I really wanted to say it. If you love your children, please, for Natimi’s sake…….”

“I won’t do it.”

“Pardon?”

“As you said, for Natimi’s sake, I won’t force arranged marriages on my remaining daughters.”

After the young daughter’s wedding and before following her elderly husband, Natimi had said something.

“Dad, since I’m getting married, don’t make my sisters do it. Just let them live happily with the family. If they find someone they love later, let them get married normally then.”

It was a forgotten memory, but it suddenly came to mind at Euijin’s request. Tears welled up again in the eyes of the child’s father, who had stopped crying.

“I really am a bad person. I won’t let my sisters suffer like that. Because it’s Natimi’s wish.”

“I’ll trust you. Please keep your promise.”

“I promise. And I had something to give you, but I almost forgot. Please accept this.”

“What is this?”

What the child’s father took out of his pocket was a heart folded from light blue construction paper.

The first origami Natimi had learned was how to fold a heart.

“Please open it.”

At those words, Euijin slowly opened the heart, checked the inside of the construction paper, and tightly shut her eyes.

In awkward, crooked letters, as if writing Korean for the first time, it was written, ‘Thank you, Euijin Unnie [older sister or friend].’

The child’s father said that Natimi had been studying Korean at home and doing origami before she got married.

It seemed she wanted to express her gratitude to Euijin.

“You seem to have given my daughter many good memories. Thank you. I heard you’re leaving; always stay healthy.”

Euijin, unable to respond to the child’s father’s last greeting, could only sob again on the spot.

After telling her story, Euijin couldn’t speak for a while, as if she was reminded of the child, and Taekyung was the same.

“I didn’t know that happened. It must have been hard.”

Taekyung, who slowly broke the silence, patted Euijin and said.

“It was really hard back then, but I’m okay now.”

“What the child’s father did can’t be justified, but I wonder how desperate he must have been.”

“I think so too.”

“But that father, do you think he really kept his promise?”

“Honestly, I was half-doubtful, but he did keep it. Later, after I came back to Korea, I received an email from the interpreter that the younger sisters weren’t forced into arranged marriages.”

“I’m glad he kept his promise. Is that child the one in the frame in the examination room?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Just a moment.”

Rrrrrrrr

“A patient? Okay. I’ll be right there.”

Taekyung received a call during the conversation and got up from his seat.

“A patient came?”

“Yeah. I feel bad about this.”

“Are you worried about cleaning up? A patient call came; this is the priority. Go quickly.”

“Okay, oh! Right, Euijin?”

Taekyung stopped and turned his head as he was about to leave the medical office.

“Yes, Doctor.”

“Thank you.”

“Thank you for what? You even bought me late-night snacks; I should clean this up. I’ll treat you to late-night snacks next time.”

“No, not that. Thank you for telling me the story, even though it must have been difficult.”

No matter how much time had passed, it wasn’t easy to bring up those difficult memories again.

“You’re welcome. Honestly, I feel relieved after telling you. I always wanted to tell you, Doctor.”

“Good, you did well. But Euijin, if you really don’t hate it, I hope we can slowly start again.”

The subject was omitted, but Euijin knew exactly what Taekyung was talking about.

It was about obstetrics and gynecology.

“Actually, I thought you might bring that up.”

“Of course, I’m not saying we should start treatment right away.”

“I know. I understand what you mean.”

The fact that Euijin brought up the story herself was a positive sign.

He didn’t want to push her urgently, but he wanted to test the waters.

Besides, Taekyung knew that she was still occasionally looking at obstetrics and gynecology-related books and papers.

“As I said before, don’t feel pressured. I always respect your opinion, so just do whatever your heart tells you.”

“Then, are you saying that as the director, or as a senior doctor?”

“Neither?”

“Pardon?”

“I’m saying it as someone who cares about you, not as the director or a senior doctor.”

Rrrrrrrrrrr

“Oh! Another call is coming. I’ll go. See you later.”

“……Yes.”

After Taekyung left the medical office, Euijin cleaned up around her and headed to the examination room, talking to herself.

“When you look at it, Doctor is good at saying cool things without making a fuss.”

Click-

“Ah, I’m full.”

Euijin, leaning back in her desk chair, looked at the small frame on one side and said to herself.

“Can I do well again? Please support me, Unnie [older sister or friend].”

In the small frame with the light blue heart-shaped origami attached, there was a picture of Natimi smiling radiantly.

* * *

“Director, how did the results come out?”

“Do you remember removing the colon polyps during the examination?”

Taekyung looked at the monitor in the examination room and answered the middle-aged man’s question.

“Of course.”

“I told you not to worry too much back then…….”

“Don’t tell me! Is it cancer?”

“No. The tissue test results are also normal.”

“Ah! Really? That’s a relief. Thank you.”

“You can see it here, right? We removed quite a few polyps back then.”

“That’s what I’m saying. I’m 46 years old this year, but don’t I have too many polyps for my age?”

The man looked at his colonoscopy screen on the monitor and reacted in disbelief.

“These days, even people in their 20s get colon cancer. Actually, age isn’t important; what’s important is what you eat and how you live. But you drink and smoke, don’t you?”

At Taekyung’s words, the man glanced away, looking embarrassed.

“And you mainly eat meat and don’t eat vegetables.”

“Well, when you’re working, you get stressed, so you drink to relieve it…….”

“You need to take care of yourself. Something really bad will happen.”

“Yes……. I’ll take care of myself.”

The man lowered his tail [became submissive] at Taekyung’s firm words.

“I’m not kidding. Your blood pressure and cholesterol levels are also high. Health doesn’t wait for you.”

“I understand. I’m scared because you’re saying it so seriously.”

“So, take care of yourself. Got it?”

“I understand. I have a favor to ask. Please keep the fact that I had polyps removed a secret from my wife. If she finds out, she’ll be furious and bombard me with nagging for a month. I won’t even be able to gather my bones [a Korean expression meaning he’ll be in big trouble].”

“Instead, you must take care of yourself, and if you lose 3kg [approximately 6.6 pounds] by next month, I won’t say anything.”

“I’ll do it no matter what. I’m so scared of my wife that I went to the hospital this early morning before going on a business trip to the United States.”

The man pointed to a large carrier and continued.

“Still, I can go on a business trip with a comfortable mind since the results are good.”

“Don’t eat too many greasy foods.”

“Of course. I’ll only eat grass like a baby rabbit. Thank you, Director.”

“Have a good trip.”

Taekyung, who came out of the examination room with the patient and saw him off, headed to the medical office to lie down for a while.

This time before dawn was the time when there were the fewest patients, so it was good to close his eyes for a while.

Click!

“That’s not it!”

As he went inside, Lee Chanhee was speaking with a serious expression, his voice full of emotion.

“What if you make eye contact while taking off the perilla leaf?”

“That’s too much, isn’t it?”

“I know, Doctor Lee, that’s an overreaction.”

Euijin and Choi Mona retorted with expressions that they couldn’t understand at all.

“Hey! You two don’t know anything. Perilla leaves are *that* dangerous.”

“Am I hearing things wrong?”

Taekyung, who sat down on the bed with a thud, joined the conversation.

“What nonsense are you talking about, saying perilla leaves are dangerous? Lee Chanhee, go to sleep if you’re sleepy.”

“It looks like our doctor doesn’t know about the perilla leaf debate.”

“He found out about glass noodles today.”

“What’s the perilla leaf debate? What, is it a new word? You’re not talking about the perilla leaves we eat, are you?”

Taekyung couldn’t understand what they were talking about at all.

“As Doctor Choi just said, everyone knows about this these days, but there’s someone here who doesn’t.”

“Instead of that, Doctor Lee, please explain it to him.”

At Euijin’s words, Lee Chanhee shrugged his shoulders and got up from his seat.

“So, the perilla leaf debate is like this. For example, imagine you, your girlfriend, and your friend are having a meal together. Seasoned perilla leaves come out as a side dish, but your friend can’t take off the perilla leaf by himself.”

“So?”

“But at this time, your girlfriend presses down on the struggling friend’s perilla leaf with her chopsticks to help him. What do you think of your girlfriend’s actions at this time?”

“What are you talking about? What’s wrong with taking off a perilla leaf?”

“No! It’s not *just* about taking off a perilla leaf.”

“What are you talking about again?”

“So, at that moment when she took off the perilla leaf…….”

It was right then that Lee Chanhee was passionately explaining.

Click-

“Doctor!”

Nurse Lim Jungsook rushed into the medical office with a desperate face. And following behind her was the youngest nurse with a bewildered expression.

“Doctor, what should we do? Something happened.”

“Something happened? Is it an emergency patient?”

“Yes, but the patient is a pregnant woman, and it looks like the baby is coming out soon…….”