Fifth Vital [EN]: Chapter 262

Five Vital Signs – Episode 262

262. The Only One in the World

“I’m going on my rounds.”

“Yes, Doctor.”

After finishing the staff meeting, Tae-kyung began his rounds in the ward.

During the morning, the emergency room and outpatient clinic were less busy, making rounds easier than usual.

Most of all, Tae-kyung preferred this time because he could listen to the patients’ stories and talk to them in detail.

He felt more relaxed than usual today.

Click-

“Hello, Mom.”

Tae-kyung, making his rounds, visited Choi Mi-na, who had given birth two days prior.

“Hello, Director.”

The mother, who had struggled in the delivery room, was much better and greeted him with a bright smile.

“How are you feeling?”

“How could I not feel good when you take such good care of me? I feel great.”

“You’ll probably have surgery later. Dr. Jung told you about the surgery, right?”

“Yes, Dr. Jung told me earlier. He said I’ll be discharged and have it done in a month or two, depending on my condition.”

“Dr. Jung is very concerned, so don’t worry too much about the surgery.”

“Of course. He checks everything in detail and often comes to ask if I’m uncomfortable. I’m just grateful.”

As the mother said, Euijin checked on the mother and child almost whenever he had time, meticulously caring for them.

The mother was genuinely grateful for Euijin’s attentiveness.

“The baby is so beautiful.”

“Thank you. She’s my daughter, but I’m always surprised by how beautiful she is every time I see her. I wonder how such a princess came from my husband and me.”

Choi Mi-na wore the happiest expression, like any mother, when her child was praised.

“The older brothers must love her?”

“You have no idea. All three of them are so happy. They’re all thrilled to have a little sister. My husband says the third one seems to have changed the most.”

The third child, who was the youngest before the fourth was born, reportedly showed a more mature side after his little sister arrived.

“He says he has to be an older brother now, so he has to change. My husband said that when he wakes up, he makes his bed and says he’ll clean up by himself.”

“Woo-joo will be a great older brother.”

“Yes, he’s so cute.”

“It’s not easy raising one child, but you and your husband are amazing.”

“The doctors here say we’re amazing every time they see us, but it’s not really like that at all. My husband and I just love children so much, and honestly, it’s hard to risk your life to give birth and raise them, but conversely, we’re grateful to the kids for helping us live in this difficult world.”

Choi Mi-na’s eyes were full of love as she thought of her children.

“Indeed, there’s no one as lovely as children.”

“That’s right. Excuse me, but you’re not married yet, are you, Director?”

“No, not yet.”

“Then get married later and have lots of children.”

“Yes, I will. I definitely will. Then rest well.”

After leaving Choi Mi-na’s room, Tae-kyung only had Hamad, the United Arab Emirates royal who had recently undergone stomach cancer surgery, left to visit.

As he walked towards the room, he slowed down and hesitated near the door.

“Should I just go and come back this afternoon?”

Tae-kyung was a doctor who made time for rounds even when he was busy. Moreover, these rounds allowed for active communication with patients, so he never missed them.

It was surprising that someone who valued and enjoyed rounds so much would consider skipping a patient’s visit.

“Should I go? Or not? He’s recovering well and there are no special issues, so it would be okay to come in the evening, right? Ha!”

“Are you *gomin* [Korean term for ‘agonizing’ or ‘worrying’] about whether to go in again today?”

Nurse Im Jung-sook, who was working in the ward, smiled as she approached Tae-kyung, who was genuinely *gomin*.

“Don’t laugh. It’s serious.”

Nurse Im Jung-sook was also surprised when she first saw Tae-kyung avoiding rounds. But after learning the reason, she couldn’t help but laugh whenever she saw Tae-kyung standing in front of Hamad’s room.

“It’s not that, it’s just that I keep laughing because I wonder what could make you avoid rounds so much.”

“I’m serious.”

“Surely he won’t do it again.”

“Well, he probably won’t after being rejected like that.”

“That’s right. And if you don’t do rounds now, you’ll feel uneasy, right?”

Nurse Im Jung-sook knew Tae-kyung well.

“I can’t say you’re wrong.”

“Exactly. And if Mr. Hamad finds out you didn’t visit him, he’ll be very disappointed.”

“That’s true. Then, hoping nothing happens today… I’ll go.”

“Yes, go ahead.”

Click-

“Ms. Soo, did he go in?” Lee Chan-hee asked, seeing Nurse Im Jung-sook come down to the first floor after Tae-kyung entered Hamad’s room.

“Yes, he went in.”

“I wonder what will come out of this today?”

“Well, I don’t think there will be any ‘events’ today?”

“No. I think there will be something today.”

“Mr. Lee is right.”

Team Leader Choi, who was working nearby, joined the conversation.

“He’s royalty; he won’t stop here after being rejected a few times.”

“No. I’m betting on Ms. Soo’s opinion.”

Amid the three people’s incomprehensible conversation, Euijin chimed in.

“Based on my experience as a doctor, it’s time to stop. Usually, they don’t do that after being rejected this much, even out of embarrassment.”

“So, you’re saying you’ve had a similar experience?”

“Yes, I had one back when I was at the university hospital.”

“Oh! Really? Wow. But why haven’t I had one yet?”

“Maybe Mr. Lee’s skills aren’t impressive enough to *gamdong* [Korean term for ‘move’ or ‘touch’ someone emotionally] the patients yet.”

Choi Mona, who was heading to the emergency room, said to Lee Chan-hee with a chic expression.

“Hey! Gae-Mona, come here.”

“Yeah. No way.”

“You’re dead later.”

“Well! Instead of that, why don’t we make a bet? The losing team buys snacks today. What do you all think?”

“That’s a good idea?”

“Deal!”

Everyone actively participated in Team Leader Choi’s words, their eyes sparkling.

“I’m in.”

“I’m betting on ‘no’.”

“Dr. Jung and Ms. Im are betting on ‘no,’ and Mr. Lee and I are betting on ‘yes.’ Great. Then I’ll go around and gather the opinions of the rest of the staff.”

After that, Team Leader Choi went around with a notepad, asking all the staff in the hospital for their opinions.

“I’m betting on ‘yes’.”

“Has the director come out yet?”

“No, we’ve been watching him since he went into the director’s room a little while ago.”

Every staff member actively answered whenever Team Leader Choi asked for their opinion, showing interest in Hamad’s rounds.

* * *

At that time, Tae-kyung was finishing Hamad’s rounds.

“Are you feeling any discomfort?”

“No.”

Hamad nodded vigorously as he answered, and the interpreter conveyed the words.

“The surgery site is good, and everything is great. Above all, I was deeply *gamdonged* that you even provided halal food.”

“No. The restaurant manager took care to provide food that suits your taste while you’re recovering.”

Chef Oh Gye-soon made and provided halal food that they could eat, thinking of Hamad, who was from the United Arab Emirates.

“Please thank him for me.”

“I will. Then I’ll see you at the next round.”

“Doctor, Kim? Stop!”

Hamad urgently called out without going through the interpreter as Tae-kyung tried to leave the room quickly.

“Patient, do you have something to say?”

Tae-kyung slowly turned his head with an expression that said, ‘Here it comes?’

“Yes, I do. It’s not about anything else, but I think I’ve been short-sighted.”

As soon as the interpreter finished speaking, Hamad, who was sitting on the bed, got up and bowed his head in apology.

“I thought I was doing it for the doctor, but that wasn’t the case.”

“It’s okay.”

Tae-kyung, who had been listening to the long and polite words, finally felt relieved, and his expression brightened.

In fact, he had been having a hard time because of Hamad these days.

It started a few days ago during rounds.

‘I have something to give you, Doctor.’

‘To me?’

‘Yes, I want to repay you even a little for the warm heart you have shown me.’

After the stomach cancer surgery, Hamad told his aide, Omar, that he wanted to repay Tae-kyung and asked him to find out what gift to give him.

Upon hearing those words, Omar *gomin-ed* and researched for days to find out what gift would be good and then conveyed it to Hamad.

‘Please accept this.’

Tae-kyung, who received a small box that fit in his palm, was surprised when he opened it.

‘……!’

Inside the box was a car key to a famous foreign car that was worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. It was also a car that was hard for ordinary people to obtain, with only a few in the world.

‘How do you like it?’

‘Excuse me, patient? I appreciate you thinking of me, but I can’t accept this. I’ll only accept your gratitude.’

Unlike Hamad and Omar, who were excited, Tae-kyung refused firmly.

The two were embarrassed, but it was a natural result given Tae-kyung’s personality. However, Hamad was not an easy person to deal with.

‘The doctor refused?’

‘Omar, you have other things prepared, right?’

‘Of course.’

‘Then prepare that next time.’

‘I understand.’

Hamad, who was not bothered by the firm refusal, prepared another gift during rounds two days later.

It was a stethoscope.

It was one of the essential items needed by a doctor. However, the stethoscope prepared by Hamad, who was not ordinary, was also not ordinary.

‘I didn’t know that you don’t have many opportunities to ride in a car. So this time, I prepared something you definitely need.’

The stethoscope he prepared, which seemed to reek of money, had diamonds *bakyeo* [Korean term for ’embedded’ or ‘studded’] on it.

It was so dazzling that you couldn’t even look at the stethoscope because of the diamonds *bakyeo* on both ear tubes that allowed you to hear the patient’s condition.

It was amazing how he even thought of this.

‘How is it? I personally made this one-of-a-kind stethoscope in the world for you.’

‘Thank you very much, but this is enough for me,’ Tae-kyung said, showing his stethoscope and refusing with a polite greeting. After that, Hamad’s gifts did not stop.

There were also days when he brought everything from hard-to-find ultra-expensive watches to gold bars seen only in movies.

Despite the continued rejections, Tae-kyung was embarrassed and in a difficult situation due to the relentless gift offensive.

With the hope that Hamad would finally give up, he entered the room, but after listening to what he said a little while ago, it seemed that he had given up now.

He really didn’t know how fortunate he was.

“Have I been causing you a lot of trouble lately?”

“I can’t say no, but it was still… amusing.”

“When I think about it, I think I was rude. That wasn’t my intention, but I unintentionally offended you.”

“What are you talking about? It’s okay.”

“You know better than I do, but I’m being discharged tomorrow.”

“Of course. I know.”

“When I leave, I have to finish my work with the Korean government and return to my home country right away. But no matter how I think about it, I’m too sad to go back like this.”

“……!”

“If someone saves your life, you must repay them with the same sincerity. It’s a saying that has been passed down in our family for a long time. So, no matter how I think about it, I don’t think it’s right for our family to let this pass by.”

After hearing the story up to this point, Tae-kyung sensed that Hamad’s gift offensive had not ended.

‘This isn’t it…….’

But what he held out was completely different from what he had done so far.

“I really put my heart into it. Please accept this, Doctor.”