Fifth Vital [EN]: Chapter 268

Five Vital Signs – Episode 268

268. Ten Zeros…

“Hello.”

“Director, welcome. You’re here awfully early?” Jang Deuk-chil greeted Tae-kyung as he entered the hospital’s main entrance.

“Good morning.”

“It’s still dark to call it morning, isn’t it? More like dawn?”

“Then good dawn. Have a good day.”

Tae-kyung, who had slept soundly after drinking beer the night before, arrived at the hospital quite early.

“Hello, Director.”

“Yes, hello.”

“Are you already coming to work?”

“I woke up early, so I came early.”

After exchanging greetings with the reception staff, Tae-kyung headed to the emergency room and then to the doctors’ lounge.

Clang-

“Dr. Lee?”

Tae-kyung shook Lee Chan-hee’s shoulder, who was asleep on the bed in the doctors’ lounge, to wake him up.

“…Mona. Gae-mo… Let’s go together.”

“What are you saying? What’s ‘Gae-mo’? [Likely a term of endearment or a reference only understood by those close to him.] Chan-hee?”

Whether it was sleep-talking or nonsense, Lee Chan-hee was muttering to himself in his sleep and didn’t respond when called.

“Hey! Lee Chan-hee!”

Eventually, Tae-kyung shouted into Lee Chan-hee’s ear, who was still sleep-talking.

“Ah! Jeez! What’s up, you punk?”

“I’m a punk.”

“D-Director!”

Lee Chan-hee, rubbing his sleepy eyes and recognizing Tae-kyung, was startled and jumped up.

“When did you get here?”

“A little while ago. Stop sleep-talking and go home to sleep comfortably.”

“Huh?”

“What ‘huh’? I’m telling you to go home.”

“But Dr. Choi and I are on duty today.”

As scheduled, Tae-kyung was supposed to come in the afternoon for outpatient clinic hours, so Lee Chan-hee and Choi Mona were indeed on duty.

“That’s true, but I came early.”

Tae-kyung, having heard from Nurse Lim Jeong-sook that they had a hard time with many patients in the early morning, wanted to send his juniors home.

“You both must be tired. Go get some rest and come to work later.”

“No, I’ll just consider it my regular duty and work today. I’ll be here with my respected director.”

“Respected, really? I clearly heard you call me a punk without even breathing… You knew it was me, didn’t you?”

“Director, come on! How could I, who admires you so much, do that?”

“You said ‘punk’ very clearly. Do you usually badmouth me in your head?”

“Your jokes are too much. Absolutely not. Anyway, I’ll just do my duty.”

“Well, if that’s what you want, I won’t stop you, but for your information, Dr. Choi went home.”

“Yes? Dr. Choi went home? When?”

Lee Chan-hee’s eyes widened at the news that Choi Mona had gone home.

“Ah, geez! No loyalty.”

“It’s not about loyalty, but it’s wise to go home, rest comfortably, and come to work later. Then, should we leave Dr. Choi, who went home, and you and I go into the operating room for some practice for the first time in a while?”

“Yes? Ah, no. That’s a bit…”

“Alright! Shall we go to the operating room then?”

“Director, next time.”

While Tae-kyung was checking his phone, Lee Chan-hee took off his gown and finished preparing to leave.

“Why? Aren’t you on duty?”

“I’m going home to refresh my brain with sufficient rest and come to work with a clear mind. See you later.”

Tae-kyung chuckled as he watched Lee Chan-hee quickly leave the doctors’ lounge and headed to his office.

Knock, knock-

“Director, Mr. Hamad said he’s moving up his discharge time due to today’s schedule…”

Hamad had adjusted his discharge time because of a breakfast meeting with government officials.

Another reason Tae-kyung came in early today was to see him before he left.

“Okay. Tell him to come in.”

Clang-

“Hello, Director.”

Hamad entered the office with his interpreter and aides, greeting him.

“Welcome. I heard you have something going on today.”

“Yes, it’s important to me because it’s related to the Korean government, so I had to rush my discharge.”

“You’re busy. The surgery went well, and as I’ve said several times, please take care of yourself for the time being.”

“Of course. You extended my life, so I’ll listen to you and take good care of myself.”

“Just in case, I’ve carefully prepared your medical records. And even if you’re busy, be sure to see a doctor.”

Since Hamad didn’t live in Korea, it wasn’t easy to have regular outpatient visits like other surgery patients. So Tae-kyung prepared his medical records so that he could see a doctor wherever he went.

“It’ll be difficult to come every time, but since there are airplanes, I’ll try to see you if possible.”

“That would be great. Thank you for your hard work during your hospital stay.”

“The hard work was done by you and the staff. I rested well and am leaving. And Director, whenever you have time, please come to my country with all the staff. I’ll take care of everything from the plane to the accommodation.”

“Thank you for the offer.”

“Did you see the gift I gave you?”

“Ah! I had something urgent yesterday, so I haven’t checked it yet. Shall we check it now, since we’re on the topic?”

“Why are you being so shy? Look at it later.”

“I’m just kidding. I hope everything you do goes well in the future.”

“I’ll see you next time. Thank you for your consideration in many ways.”

After the final consultation, Hamad shook hands with Tae-kyung and thanked the staff before leaving the hospital.

A little later-

Tae-kyung, who had seen a patient in the emergency room, sat at his desk in his office and turned his gaze to the drawer.

He took out the coffee beans he had brought from the cafeteria and Hamad’s letter, which he had hurriedly put in the drawer the day before, while drinking the coffee.

“I never thought I’d receive a letter…”

Come to think of it, it had been a while since he had received a letter from a patient. Letters from patients, regardless of age or gender, always made him feel good.

“Shall I take a look at the letter then?”

Humming a tune, he opened the envelope with the aroma of coffee beans filling his mouth, and at that moment,

“… !”

Tae-kyung was shocked.

And immediately after, a surprised sound and a thud echoed in the office.

“Ah! Hot!”

Startled by the shocking paper inside the letter, he spilled the coffee he was holding and fell from his chair.

Thump, thump!

Clang-

“Director! Are you okay?”

“Director? What’s wrong?”

Nurse Lim Jeong-sook and Team Leader Choi, startled by the series of sounds, rushed in.

Since there were no outpatient patients yet, the waiting room was quiet, so the sound was even louder.

“Oh my, what’s going on here?”

The chair was overturned on the floor, and his gown and work clothes were covered in spilled coffee stains. And above all, Tae-kyung’s expression, sitting on the floor of his office, was as if he had seen something he shouldn’t have.

“Director, what’s wrong? Are you sick somewhere?”

Nurse Lim Jeong-sook and Team Leader Choi were flustered by Tae-kyung’s appearance, which they had never seen before, and helped him up.

“Thank you.”

“Did you get burned while drinking coffee? Are you hurt?”

“I’m okay.”

“But how did this happen?”

“That’s what I’m saying. For someone who’s the most careful person in our hospital, to spill coffee and fall over, it’s quite a thing.”

“I was so surprised, I thought my heart would stop.”

“Why would your perfectly fine heart stop?”

“Because of that.”

“That?”

“That thing…”

Nurse Lim Jeong-sook and Team Leader Choi’s gazes turned to the desk where Tae-kyung’s fingertip was pointing.

“What’s that?”

“It’s what Mr. Hamad gave me.”

“Ah, this is the letter he gave as a gift. But why is the letter… Mom!”

Wondering what could be wrong with the letter, Nurse Lim Jeong-sook, with a curious expression, picked up the paper, but then exclaimed as if calling for her mom and threw the paper she was looking at.

“Oh my! You scared me. W-What is that? My heart’s pounding.”

Lim Jeong-sook also took a step back, looking as if she was about to fall over with Tae-kyung.

“Why are you doing that too, Dr. Lim?”

It wasn’t a lucky letter, but what was written on it that made everyone who saw it react like that? This time, Team Leader Choi, puzzled, picked up the paper that had fallen on the floor.

“… !”

But Team Leader Choi, facing the paper, was speechless for a moment.

The fact that he, who rarely stopped talking, was silent meant that something was unusual.

“Can’t see the letters well because of dry eye syndrome? What is this?”

After checking the paper, Team Leader Choi put artificial tears in his blurry eyes and checked again with an expression of disbelief.

“Let’s see. One, ten, hundred, thousand, ten thousand… Wait! T-T-Ten… Zeros… Hah!”

Team Leader Choi, having confirmed the reality of the paper, also stuttered in surprise and even trembled.

“D-Director. What on earth is going on?”

“Mr. Hamad gave it to me, but it seems he gave a donation.”

What the three were surprised to see was a check inside the letter.

“A donation?”

“A donation!”

Nurse Lim Jeong-sook and Team Leader Choi answered simultaneously.

“As expected, the class of oil money is different. I’ve never seen such a large amount of money in my life.”

“Me too. I’ve only seen it in dramas.”

“Honestly, I didn’t believe it when Mr. Hamad said he was giving a letter as a gift. He’s a man with a different level of generosity. Isn’t that right, Dr. Lim? Haha! Middle Eastern tycoons are different.”

“Yes, Team Leader, you’re absolutely right. Let’s go out now.”

“Go out… Why?”

“Why! What do you mean why? I’m saying let’s go out so the director can think. Let’s go out quickly.”

“Then can’t we take just one picture and leave?”

“That’s enough. Go out quickly.”

Nurse Lim Jeong-sook dragged the clueless Team Leader Choi out of the office.

Even after the two left, Tae-kyung stared silently at the check on the desk, then finally came to his senses, sat at his desk, and read the letter.

-Director, were you surprised?

I prepared a letter as a gift of the heart, but I thought you would be surprised because there was a check inside.

As I mentioned before, there are several rules that my family must follow.

One of them is that if you owe a life debt, you must repay it with all your heart.

Please think of this money as my heartfelt gratitude for saving my life.

Let me tell you one thing, this money is not a gift for you.

Until now, I have been trying to give you personal gifts, but this time it is different.

I am giving you a donation. I prepared this gift for the patients who come to our hospital for treatment in the future. It also contains the hope that the hospital’s medical staff and employees will work in a better environment.

Excuse me, but this money is not a big deal to me. But I believe that if I give it to you, you will use it much more valuably.

I hope you will understand my intentions, and I will support your name being known in Korea in the future. Thank you.

-Hamad Dream-

“Ha!”

Tae-kyung, who read the letter written by the interpreter, was still dumbfounded.

He never thought Hamad would surprise people like this.

In fact, Hamad seriously considered what Tae-kyung really needed and what would be helpful to him after repeated refusals of gifts.

Then he thought of a donation, and at that moment, he heard from Assemblyman Gam Deok-chan that Tae-kyung was interested in the trauma center and made up his mind.

Many large hospitals often use donations to expand or build new buildings. Therefore, donation projects are quite important for each hospital.

Large hospitals receive a considerable amount of donations within a year. But that was only the story of large hospitals.

But it was completely unexpected that such a large amount of money would come to our hospital as a donation.

“He said the letter was a gift. What should I do with this…”

Honestly, he was happy to receive the donation. There are hardly any people in the world who hate money.

Moreover, with this huge amount of money, he could make various plans to grow our hospital.

But the truth was that he was also worried about whether he could accept it.

“Haa!”

While he was still thinking with his arms crossed, the phone next to the letter vibrated violently, signaling that a text message had arrived.

Rrrrrrrrrr

“… !”

Tae-kyung, staring at the check and checking his phone, couldn’t help but be surprised.