Fifth Vital [EN]: Chapter 264

264. Inside the Moving Train

And a moment later-

While Tae-kyung was engrossed in his paper, an announcement seeking a doctor echoed through the train.

-We would like to make an announcement again. If there are any doctors among the passengers, please come to the crew room between cars 1 and 2. Thank you.

The announcement was repeated, but Tae-kyung didn’t hear it at all.

Normally, he would have rushed out like a bullet as soon as he heard the announcement and immediately run to the patient, but today was different.

He had turned up the music to concentrate on his paper and avoid the couple’s conversation.

“What, honey? Didn’t they just ask for a doctor?”

“Yeah, I guess someone’s hurt?”

“They wouldn’t have announced it if they weren’t hurt, right? I hope it’s not too serious.”

Unlike the worried couple, Tae-kyung was still focused on his paper.

“I need to go to the restroom.”

In the meantime, the announcement came on once more, and Tae-kyung, who had been intensely focused on his paper for a while, took out his earphones and got up to relieve himself.

“Should we ask him, honey?”

The woman behind him saw Tae-kyung passing through the aisle and spoke to her boyfriend.

“Ask him what? You’re just staring because you saw a handsome guy, aren’t you?”

“Am I you? Don’t talk nonsense or you’ll get hit. It’s not that, it’s just that they announced they were looking for a doctor again.”

“But why would you ask that guy?”

“He might be a doctor.”

“Ha!”

The man scoffed at his girlfriend’s absurd words.

“Are you kidding me?”

“No, I’m serious. Doesn’t he look familiar?”

“What are you talking about? And you know I’m good at reading people. Just by looking at his face, he’s definitely not a doctor or anything like that.”

“I think you’re wrong… He looks like he studies really well and has a trustworthy face.”

“No way. He just looks like… what should I say? An ordinary office worker on a business trip?”

“Isn’t that just what you think?”

“If that guy is a doctor, I’ll buy you the handbag you wanted for your birthday.”

“Really? A handbag? I won’t let you off if you’re joking.”

“I’m serious. Promise.”

“You promised. Oh! Honey’s coming back. I’ll ask him.”

The woman, who had been having a heated debate with her boyfriend, peeked her face out into the aisle as Tae-kyung came back.

“…Excuse me?”

“Yes?”

“I’m sorry to bother you, but are you by any chance a doctor?”

“Ah, yes. I am a doctor, but why do you ask?”

“Wow! You’re really a doctor? You’re not lying, are you?”

The man, who had been sitting indifferently, jumped up from his seat at the word ‘doctor’ and asked again.

“He’s a doctor.”

“See? What did I tell you? I had a feeling he was a doctor.”

“No way!”

“…!”

Tae-kyung was taken aback by the couple who were making such a fuss, stopping a passerby and asking if he was a doctor.

‘What is this situation?’

“Excuse me, doctor?”

Just as he was about to go back to his seat, thinking they were just some strange people, the woman called out to Tae-kyung again.

“Yes?”

“Did you not hear the announcement earlier?”

“Announcement?”

“Yes, there were several announcements.”

“I was wearing earphones, so I didn’t hear it, but why?”

“But are you really a doctor?”

“Oh! Stop it already. He said he is.”

“Ugh!”

The woman elbowed her boyfriend, who still looked incredulous, and made him shut his mouth.

“I’m sorry. It’s just that there was an announcement looking for a doctor.”

“…!”

Tae-kyung’s expression changed at the mention of looking for a doctor.

“Are you sure about what you just said?”

“Yes, they said if there are any doctors among the passengers, please come to between cars 1 and 2.”

“Okay. Thank you.”

Tae-kyung immediately started running towards the place the woman had mentioned.

“What! That guy is really a doctor.”

“Are you kidding me? He said he’s a doctor. Anyway, thanks in advance for the handbag, honey. Keep your promise.”

“Alright, alright. This mouth is always the problem.”

The man grumbled, watching Tae-kyung’s retreating figure.

‘That’s strange. I didn’t see anything when I checked earlier…’

Tae-kyung thought as he ran.

He had definitely checked all the cars out of habit when he first boarded the train at Seoul Station.

He had checked the fifth vital sign [a doctor’s intuition or sense about a patient’s condition] to see if there was anyone who needed help, from the first car to the last. But there was no one who seemed to be in need of help.

‘Did they get on at a stop along the way?’

Come to think of it, it had been a while since the train had departed, and it was possible that someone had boarded at another station.

‘Ha! I shouldn’t have listened to music. Anyway, I hope it’s not an emergency…’

Hoping it wasn’t a critical patient, he kept running towards the place mentioned in the announcement.

“Excuse me?”

Tae-kyung, who had arrived between cars 1 and 2, approached a crew member who was coming out of the crew room.

“Yes, passenger. Do you need help?”

“It’s not that, I came because I heard an announcement looking for a doctor.”

“Are you a doctor?”

“Yes, I am a doctor.”

“That’s a relief.”

The crew member, surprised at the word ‘doctor,’ soon wore a relieved expression.

“I made the announcement several times, but no one came. So I thought there wasn’t one, but I’m so glad you came.”

“Ah, yes. But the patient…”

“Oh! I’m sorry. I’ll guide you. Follow me.”

Tae-kyung followed the crew member to where the patient was.

“What’s the patient’s current condition? Is it serious?”

“Well, honestly, I don’t really know. In fact, she might not even know we made the announcement because of her.”

“…?”

Tae-kyung couldn’t easily understand what the crew member was saying.

“Didn’t the patient request help and that’s why you made the announcement?”

“No, that’s not it. A woman who boarded at oo station 50 minutes ago was bleeding from one arm.”

The crew member’s explanation was as follows.

A woman who boarded the train at a station 50 minutes ago was bleeding from one arm.

The surprised crew member offered to help, but the woman refused, saying it wasn’t a big deal.

However, the crew member was worried about the woman and went to her again, and after seeing the tissue on her arm soaked with blood, she decided to look for a doctor through the announcement.

“Did the wound look severe?”

“I didn’t see it in detail, but there was quite a bit of blood. So I was worried and told our team leader, and he told me to make the announcement.”

The injured person said she was okay, and the crew member said she needed help. In any case, he had no choice but to see the condition of the bleeding woman and make a judgment.

“Do you see that way? The person sitting at the far end on the right.”

The crew member who entered car 10 pointed with her finger, but it was hard to see.

Although he couldn’t see the woman’s face because she was sitting in the opposite direction, he was sure of one thing.

The fifth vital sign he felt from that woman was not an emergency.

“Excuse me… Are you okay, ma’am?”

The crew member, who approached, asked the woman.

“Ah, yes. I’m fine.”

“We brought a doctor.”

“Yes? Then did you make that announcement earlier because of me?”

The woman, surprised to hear that they had brought a doctor, looked back and forth between the crew member and Tae-kyung.

“Yes, I was worried because you seemed to be bleeding a lot.”

“I heard you hurt your arm, can I take a look?”

“Ah, well, I’m okay…”

Tae-kyung looked at the tissue wrapped around the woman’s arm.

The outside looked like it was soaked with blood, but fortunately, the bleeding didn’t seem severe.

“How long has it been since you were injured?”

“Probably about an hour.”

Tae-kyung, who was listening to the answer, happened to see something under the seat where the woman was sitting. Then his expression turned serious in an instant and returned to focusing on her arm.

“The tissue is stuck and won’t come off easily.”

The tissue was stuck because of the blood on her arm. In this case, it’s best to wet the tissue to remove it, but tap water can cause infection, so it’s better to use saline solution.

“Crew member, do you have any saline solution here? I need saline solution to remove the tissue stuck to her arm.”

“Saline solution… Ah! That’s right.”

The crew member, who was thinking hard, clapped her hands as if she had remembered something and asked Tae-kyung.

“Is saline solution for nasal irrigation okay too?”

The crew member remembered that a colleague who suffered from severe rhinitis [inflammation of the nasal mucous membrane] always had saline solution for nasal irrigation.

“That’s fine too.”

“I’ll go get it quickly.”

“If you have a first aid kit, can I ask you to bring that too?”

“Of course. I’ll bring that quickly too.”

“Doesn’t it hurt?”

While the crew member went to get the saline solution and first aid kit, Tae-kyung asked the woman.

“It’s bearable. And right now, my injury isn’t the important thing, so honestly, I don’t even care about it.”

Even a very simple wound is bound to hurt if it’s on your body.

But the woman looked completely calm and didn’t care.

Rather, she seemed preoccupied and nervous, dealing with the urgent phone calls she was receiving.

“Doctor, here you go! I brought it.”

And not long after, the crew member returned with saline solution and a large first aid kit.

“There’s nothing missing in here.”

“Right? Our team leader said that we should be able to do at least basic treatment if an emergency patient occurs on the train, so he told us to buy and prepare everything we need.”

“Your team leader is amazing. Okay, let me take a look at the wound.”

“Yes.”

Tae-kyung removed the tissue with saline solution, checked the wound on her arm, and explained.

“Fortunately, the wound isn’t deep, but it still needs stitches. Make sure to go to the hospital and get stitches when you arrive at your destination.”

“It’s not like I’m going to die from this kind of wound… I’ll take care of it myself, so can you just disinfect it roughly and quickly?”

“Just disinfect it roughly?”

Tae-kyung raised an eyebrow at the woman’s words.

“Hey, Lee Ye-jin? Did you just say to disinfect it roughly?”

The woman looked surprised when her name, which she had never mentioned, was called. Tae-kyung, who had a good eye, had seen the name written on the cover of the notebook the woman had been holding a little while ago.

“Because there is a risk of infection, you should also take antibiotics to prevent infection from the resident bacteria on the skin. You know that too, Lee Ye-jin.”

“…”

“I know you’re in a hurry more than anyone else right now. But if you’re someone who runs around for the lives of others, you should value your own life even more. And wouldn’t people be surprised if they saw you in that state right now?”

What on earth is he talking about?

What does he mean by being in a hurry, and what does he mean by running around for the lives of others…

The crew member next to her wondered what was going on, watching the complacent woman and the firmly speaking Tae-kyung.

“I didn’t mean it that way, I’m sorry.”

“No, Lee Ye-jin, don’t misunderstand, I’m just telling you to take good care of yourself.”

“Of course. I know. Well, doctor, then… can you treat me?”

“Of course.”

“No, not just disinfect it. Please stitch it up for me.”

Lee Ye-jin, who had been asking to just disinfect it roughly until a little while ago, suddenly asked for stitches.

Even on a moving train.