Fifth Vital [EN]: Chapter 300

“Here! Drink this.”

Choi Mona, after pulling Lee Chan-hee, who had spoken harshly to Grandma Kim Gil-ja, out of the emergency room for a moment, poured cold water from the water purifier and handed it to him.

“Drink up and get a grip. What’s wrong with you, Lee? You’re not usually like this.”

Choi Mona, surprised by her colleague’s uncharacteristic behavior, spoke sternly.

Although he could be a bit clumsy at times, Lee Chan-hee was always calm, kind, and good to everyone who came to the hospital.

He was different from her, who was prickly and cynical.

So, it was unexpected for such a person to raise his voice at an elderly grandmother who had come to see her granddaughter in her final moments, especially at this late hour.

“I mean, why would someone who’s usually so good to patients and their families suddenly snap at an old woman?”

“…….”

“Lee Chan-hee!”

“I’m not deaf, okay? I just…….”

“Just what? If you hadn’t stopped there, you would have been chewed out by the professor.”

“I know.”

He knew it all too well. He would probably get a proper scolding later.

He had clearly seen the laser beams shooting from Tae-kyung’s eyes the moment he raised his voice at the guardian, the grandmother.

“I was just frustrated.”

“So, what were you so frustrated about that made you suddenly lash out at the guardian, something you never do?”

“You wouldn’t understand.”

“Oh, come on! What wouldn’t I understand? Is it because of the grandmother’s attitude?”

“Yeah! How did you know?”

“Have I only worked with you for a day or two? I can tell just by looking.”

In fact, Choi Mona had already guessed why Lee Chan-hee had snapped.

She had arrived after the situation had progressed a bit, as she had been seeing patients in the ward and going to the lab, but Choi Mona also felt sorry for the guardian’s attitude.

If she had been in charge of the Go Chae-ryang patient, she probably would have snapped even more than Lee Chan-hee.

“I understand how you feel. But Lee? We can’t do that. You know that saying, right? That everyone who comes to the hospital has a story to tell.”

Lee Chan-hee nodded silently.

Since hospitals are places where people with pain mainly come, there were many times when he felt choked up by the stories patients told him during treatment.

“We don’t know what circumstances the patient and that grandmother are in. Of course, there may be no circumstances at all, but even so, Lee can’t criticize the guardian.”

“Why wouldn’t I know that? I know it in my head, but I can’t understand it in my heart. And she’s family. According to the police, she’s the only family member they could contact, and even then, it’s for such a young granddaughter…….”

“I know. But even if they’re family, they may not feel affectionate. Remember the old woman who lived alone?”

There was a time when an old woman who lived alone died alone at home, and her body was brought to the emergency room for handover.

The old woman, who had been living alone, was contacted by her only blood relative, her son, with the help of the police. But the son’s attitude at the emergency room was appalling.

The son didn’t grieve his mother’s death; instead, he found her bankbook from her body as she lay there with her eyes closed and left.

“I remember. Choi Mona, you shouted at that son and made a fuss back then.”

“You remember. That’s right. I was so angry at the time that I couldn’t stand the thought of the grandmother having such a son. But what I felt while looking at that son was that even real family can be worse than strangers. You see that sometimes in the news.”

“I know. I know that too.”

Lee Chan-hee knew that as well.

However, he couldn’t deal with the grandmother in front of him rationally as he watched her treat her young granddaughter.

“We can’t know what’s going on inside her just because the grandmother’s outward reaction seems dry. And above all, the grandmother came.”

“Came? What?”

“She came to the hospital at this late hour after hearing that her granddaughter was in critical condition. Real trashy people don’t care whether they live or die. In my opinion, that grandmother is at least not a bad person. She came to see her granddaughter off in her final moments.”

“Geez!”

Lee Chan-hee, who had been listening to Choi Mona’s story, smiled.

“What? I went to the trouble of saying all that, and that’s your reaction?”

“What’s wrong with my reaction?”

“It sounds like you’re sneering at me…….”

“You’re wrong. I’m not sneering; I’m smiling because you’re cool. Cool Mona.”

“Now you know?”

“Our Mona has grown up so wonderfully?”

“Whatever. Stop talking nonsense and go inside and stay put.”

Choi Mona nudged Lee Chan-hee’s shoulder and entered the emergency room together.

Clatter-

“Il-sang?”

Lee Chan-hee, who had entered the emergency room, headed to the bed where his friend was. He had been so out of it that he had forgotten about his friend until now.

“Chan-hee?”

Kim Il-sang, who had come to the hospital smiling to simply disinfect his butt, was just lying on the bed, not knowing what to do in the face of the sudden emergency room situation.

“Are you okay?”

“Of course, I’m okay. Are you okay?”

“I’m fine……. But Chan-hee? That patient. Can she be saved? She won’t die, will she?”

Kim Il-sang was worried about Go Chae-ryang, even though he had never met her and hadn’t even seen her face properly.

“It’s going to be tough.”

“Oh, really? It’s tough? What to do? That young friend……. Ha!”

“Lee? New patient.”

“Yes. I’ll be right there.”

“I came to disinfect you, but I have to go again. Sorry, wait a little longer.”

“What are you talking about? I have plenty of time, so don’t worry about me and go see the patient.”

“Okay. Thanks.”

After Lee Chan-hee left the bed, Kim Il-sang’s gaze turned back to the bed where Go Chae-ryang was lying.

* * *

“Can I see my granddaughter now?”

“Of course. You can stay by her side. Please be with the patient.”

“Thank you.”

The grandmother, giving a slight nod to Tae-kyung, slowly walked to the bed where her granddaughter was lying.

The grandmother, walking to the bed next to her granddaughter, quietly sat down in a chair.

“Can you see it?”

Then, she took something out of her bag and held it up to her face so that her granddaughter could see it well.

What the grandmother held up was a faded family photo she had found while cleaning at home.

“You said that, didn’t you? That you don’t remember your mother’s face and asked if there were any photos. I found this while cleaning the house earlier. This is you when you were little, and this is your mom and dad.”

“……!”

“Do you remember now? I had forgotten their faces too, but seeing this, I remembered.”

Even in her difficult state, Go Chae-ryang couldn’t take her eyes off the photo her grandmother was showing her.

“It seems like you and I have lived very difficult lives. Right? They say on TV that even if it’s hard, good days will come as you live. That life is worth living. But looking at you and me, it seems like that’s not true. There are people whose lives are just suffering. Right?”

The grandmother gently took her granddaughter’s trembling hand.

“For people whose lives are hard, how painful is it to keep living? I can’t say anything to you. When you meet your mom, say everything you want to say, and do everything you’ve wanted to do. Forget the memories of the hardships here and be happy there. You’ve suffered a lot. And I never hated you. My life was so hard that I didn’t have the capacity to take care of you, but I didn’t hate you. I’m sorry.”

The grandmother put down the photo she was holding and carefully hugged her dying granddaughter.

“Sniff!”

After that, Go Chae-ryang, who was lying on the bed, burst into tears.

“Sniff! Sob!”

She, who had not vented her pain even in unbearable agony, sobbed as if the emergency room would collapse.

Tae-kyung, who was watching the two from a short distance away, could tell that the young student’s tears were not just from pain.

Of course, there was indescribable pain, but judging from the patient’s reaction so far, it didn’t seem to be just because of the pain.

She just seemed like a child crying so sadly.

He didn’t know what had happened to those two and what their story was, but his heart was heavy with that sorrow.

But even in the midst of all that, Grandma Kim Gil-ja didn’t shed a single tear.

The faces of the patients, guardians, and people a little further away from the bed where the two were, all became solemn, but the grandmother didn’t waver much.

None of the medical staff or other patients in the emergency room said anything about the loud crying.

“Sniff!”

At the mournful sound of crying, people just looked at the two with pity, without saying a word.

Go Chae-ryang’s sorrowful crying, which had continued for a while, stopped.

The grandmother was still holding her granddaughter’s trembling hand without any reaction, silently guarding her side.

And in the dark dawn, Go Chae-ryang passed away.

She was only 19 years old.

At the young age of 19, she said goodbye to this world on her own.

The grandmother, who had been holding her granddaughter’s hand, neatly placed the hand she was holding on the bed. And she quietly whispered to herself as if talking to herself.

“You’ve worked hard to live until now. You’ve worked hard. I hope you live happily in that place.”

Nurse Im Jeong-sook, who was watching the scene, quietly approached Tae-kyung.

“Doctor……. Shall I have Doctor Lee confirm the Go Chae-ryang patient [declare her death]?”

“No. I’ll do it.”

Tae-kyung, who had been watching the patient and constantly monitoring the situation, walked to the bed where the patient was lying.

The fifth vital [vital signs], which had been vibrating throughout the emergency room and the hospital, disappeared without a trace as if it were a lie.

To be exact, the terrible smell didn’t even come out the moment the patient’s breath stopped.

Tae-kyung approached Go Chae-ryang and quietly did what he had to do. Her breath had stopped, but there was still work to be done.

It was the declaration of death.

Usually, in dramas or movies, the doctor looks at the time and speaks, but that’s not all.

After the patient’s spontaneous breathing stops and the curve on the monitor stops, even if anyone can see that the patient is dead, a final electrocardiogram [ECG or EKG, a test that records the electrical activity of your heart] is performed.

It was a natural result, but Go Chae-ryang’s heart rate was zero. After completing the electrocardiogram flatline, only the declaration of death remained.

The patient’s declaration of death is not the time when the patient died, but the time when the doctor finishes all the procedures and confirms it.

Tae-kyung, who had checked the current time, was about to declare the death when it happened.

“Now, x month x day, 2 a.m…….”

“Excuse me, Doctor? Just a moment.”

The grandmother, who had been sitting quietly next to her granddaughter without saying anything or reacting in any way, got up from her seat. And she gently grabbed the hem of Tae-kyung’s gown with her fingertips, stopping him from declaring the death.

“I’m sorry……. I’m really sorry, but could you please wait a little bit with the declaration of death?”

“……!”

Waiting for the declaration of death.

Tae-kyung was quite taken aback.

For a moment, he wondered if he had misheard. It was the first time a guardian had said such a thing during a declaration of death.

Not only Tae-kyung but everyone around the bed perked up their ears and concentrated.

“Guardian, did you just say to wait for the declaration of death?”

“Yes, that’s right. I’m sorry. But it’ll only be a moment. Could you please wait just two minutes before declaring it?”