Fifth Vital [EN]: Chapter 319

Five Vital Signs – Episode 320 (319/502)

320. That Woman

As they crossed the crosswalk, the light changed as if on cue, and Kim Sun-min sighed, setting Seung-woo down.

“White lines! You didn’t step on seven of them.”

But just then, Seung-woo, who had been muttering to himself, turned and dashed back onto the crosswalk before she could stop him.

It was an eight-lane road already packed with cars.

“Seung-woo!”

Without a moment to breathe, Kim Sun-min was startled and quickly turned back toward the crosswalk.

It was then, as she looked back with a horrified expression, that she heard:

“Hey!!”

Two male voices called out in quick succession.

“You’ll get hurt doing that.”

“It’s dangerous to run into the road. Never go onto the road when the light has changed.”

Turning her head fully, she saw two male college students holding Seung-woo tightly.

“Ha! Thank goodness.”

Kim Sun-min’s legs momentarily gave way, and she sat down, saying,

“Thank you.”

“It’s nothing.”

“We were right behind you, so we caught him; otherwise, it could have been a disaster.”

Just moments before, as the two of them hurried onto the crosswalk, the college students were also running behind them to cross. That’s how they were able to catch Seung-woo when he suddenly darted onto the road.

“Thank you so much.”

“It’s nothing. Kid, be careful.”

“Yeah. Always watch out for cars.”

“White lines… 7.”

Seung-woo, not even glancing at the college students who were cautioning him and saying goodbye, still looked anxious and dissatisfied that his routine had been disrupted.

“Where do you think you’re going!”

Kim Sun-min’s voice involuntarily rose as she turned toward the crosswalk again.

“White lines… I have to step on the white lines…”

“Are you not listening to me! What do you mean, step on the white lines! You almost got hit by a car. Seung-woo, come here!!”

“…”

“How many times has your sister told you? Never run into the road.”

“…”

“Are you listening to me? Where are you looking?”

Seung-woo, still bothered by not having stepped on the white lines, was looking toward the road.

This wasn’t the first time this had happened, and each time, Kim Sun-min had calmly soothed him and spoken firmly. But today, she was so angry she couldn’t bear it.

“I told you to look at me! If you keep doing that, I’m really going to get angry.”

“Hng! Waaaaah!”

As her voice grew louder, Seung-woo finally burst into tears.

Seeing this, Kim Sun-min also felt like crying, upset and frustrated.

Enduring physical hardship was manageable to some extent, but enduring emotional hardship was becoming increasingly difficult.

She bit her lip to hold back tears, but the wall of reality before her was too high, and tears flowed involuntarily.

Occasionally, passersby stared, but Kim Sun-min didn’t care.

She wanted to cry out even louder, but she was afraid of losing control if she lost her reason, so she barely composed herself and comforted Seung-woo.

“Seung-woo, don’t cry. I’m sorry I raised my voice.”

“I’m sorry.”

“I’m sorry too. But you can’t go into the road when cars are coming. Okay?”

“No road when car comes. Cross on green, stop on red.”

“That’s right. Good job. Shall we go now?”

Taking Seung-woo’s hand as he nodded, Kim Sun-min hurried home.

“I’m sorry every time.”

“No need to be sorry. It’s not like I’m watching him for free; I’m earning some pocket money too. Don’t worry about Seung-woo and go quickly.”

“Yes. Thank you, Grandma.”

Kim Sun-min, after entrusting her brother to the elderly couple upstairs who occasionally looked after him when she had work, paid the landlord the several months of overdue rent, apologized, and hurried to work.

Knock knock-

“Come in.”

Kim Sun-min cautiously knocked on the president’s office door and entered at the response.

“Hey! What are you doing? Didn’t you fix the specifications when sending the bar’s ad draft?”

The president, as soon as he saw Kim Sun-min, scolded her and threw the A4 paper with the draft printed on it in front of her.

“…!”

After hearing from the manager that the draft was wrong, she hoped it wasn’t the bar’s ad. But Kim Sun-min’s expression quickly darkened as she picked up the paper and checked it.

“I emphasized to Manager Kim several times that this was a place with many revisions, so to check it carefully before passing it on.”

“I’m sorry, President. I thought I checked it earlier, but I think I forgot because I was distracted.”

“Forgot! Is that what you’re saying now? The wrong draft was used to complete the production, and the store owner cursed and made a fuss.”

The president was very angry.

That was because she had caused damage to the company by making a mistake with the draft for a franchise bar that had been a long-term client.

“No, how many times is this already? You’re not a newbie, so why do you keep repeating this kind of thing since this year?”

Moreover, this wasn’t the first time Kim Sun-min had made this mistake, so she had nothing to say even though the president was angry.

“The amount of damage you’ve caused the company alone is…”

“I’m really sorry, President. I will make sure this never happens again and keep my mind focused.”

“Enough. Don’t come in from tomorrow.”

“…!”

“You know the company’s situation is difficult, right? I started this company to make money, but it doesn’t make sense to keep an employee who keeps causing losses. Don’t you think?”

“Please, President, don’t do this, just one more time…”

“That one time has already been several times. I think I’ve given you enough chances, so don’t say any more and leave.”

“…”

“What are you standing there for? I said get out!”

Clang-

In the end, Kim Sun-min, unable to argue any further, left the company. In fact, she had been anxious about being fired because of her mistakes.

Still, she felt very bad when she actually quit. But she couldn’t afford to wallow in self-pity.

She needed money to live. Above all, money was even more desperately needed in the current reality.

“Min-sun, what are you going to do…”

“I’ll find another good job.”

“Okay, I’ll look into it for you too.”

“Thank you all for everything.”

After a brief farewell to her colleagues, Kim Sun-min headed to the large logistics center for her night shift job, which she worked several times a week.

“Sun-min, hello.”

As she clocked in and came out of the locker room, a woman she had met while working part-time greeted her warmly.

“Hello.”

“Honey, I thought you wouldn’t come today after coming yesterday. Do you urgently need money?”

“Yes, that’s how it is.”

“Well, who in this world doesn’t need money? I’m diligently working to cover my credit card bills.”

“Don’t you live with your parents?”

“I do, but my parents absolutely don’t support me after graduating from college. I must be very materialistic because I went over my credit card limit again this month, so I came to work part-time after work again.”

“You’re amazing, though.”

“You’re more amazing than me. I’m coming because I’m afraid my parents will shave my head while looking at the bills.”

Kim Sun-min, who had been feeling depressed all day, felt a little better after talking to someone cheerful.

“Sun-min, you’re doing picking today too, right?”

“Yes. 3rd floor.”

“Alright! It’s not just today. Let’s burn the dawn white again today [work until dawn]. Good luck.”

“Yes, you too… !”

Kim Sun-min, who had come up to the 3rd floor, was engrossed in picking.

Picking involved walking around and collecting items that customers ordered from the online shopping mall so that they could be shipped.

Because the logistics center was so large and the order volume was so high, it was a pretty tough job.

Especially during sale periods like today, when order volumes surged, she had to move several times faster.

‘Ha! It’s tough.’

Whether it was because there were so many orders today or because she was mentally exhausted, Kim Sun-min’s body wasn’t keeping up as usual.

She just wished for the time to pass quickly and barely made it to her break time.

“The order volume is really crazy today.”

“I know. It seems like too much.”

“Even if it’s a sale, it’s too much. Honestly, I thought about running away during the first break, money or not.”

“Me too.”

“Ha! This precious break time is over again. Good luck, and see you later.”

“Yes, good luck to you too… !”

Kim Sun-min, who was resting in the break room, suddenly stopped and couldn’t continue speaking as she got up to go back to work.

“What’s wrong? Are you okay?”

“Ah, yes. I’m okay. I just felt a little dizzy…”

Thud-

Kim Sun-min, who was telling her colleague that she was okay while looking at her worried face, suddenly felt very dizzy and collapsed.

“Oh my, Sun-min? Honey?”

She heard urgent shouts, but Kim Sun-min couldn’t open her eyes.

* * *

An hour and a half later-

Kim Sun-min, who had collapsed in the logistics center’s break room, opened her eyes on an emergency room bed.

‘That’s right! I collapsed, didn’t I?’

She blinked at the ceiling lights a few times and turned her head to confirm that she was in a hospital.

She could also tell that this was Our Hospital.

It was the hospital that the grandmother who sometimes looked after Seung-woo had told her about, and Kim Sun-min had also been there a few times for her own treatment.

It wasn’t a very close hospital to her house, but it was easy to see a doctor because the staff were all friendly.

The feeling of being weak and dizzy when she collapsed was completely gone. It felt like she had woken up from a deep sleep, perhaps because of the IV drip.

As she slowly raised her head and tried to lift her upper body, Nurse Im Jeong-suk, who was passing by, saw her and came into the curtained area.

Shhh-

And she said, holding her upper body,

“You’re awake, patient?”

“…Yes.”

“Get up slowly. Are you dizzy?”

“No, I’m okay. I’m not dizzy now.”

“The woman who brought you here earlier, do you remember her?”

“Yes. I remember.”

Kim Sun-min also remembered that the colleague she worked with had brought her. And she vaguely remembered that she had apologized for leaving first because of work when she had briefly regained consciousness earlier.

“We did a few tests when you first came, patient. The test items we did are…”

“Excuse me, Nurse…”

Kim Sun-min, who had been listening to Nurse Im Jeong-suk’s kind explanation, opened her mouth.

“Is there something wrong with me?”

She knew that they did tests when you came to the emergency room, so that wasn’t a big deal. She was just worried that there might be something wrong with her body.

“The doctor will come and tell you the test results. Please wait a moment.”

“Yes…”

After Nurse Im Jeong-suk left, Kim Sun-min called the colleague who had taken her to the hospital.

“It’s me.”

-I was just about to call you during my break… Are you okay, honey?

“Yes, I’m okay. Thank you for taking me to the hospital, Unnie [term for older sister or female friend].”

-No need to thank me. I’m sorry I couldn’t stay by your side longer. Sun-min, your phone and wallet are in the shopping bag under the bed. And today’s pay will be deposited tomorrow for the hours you worked. What did the hospital say?

“I’m waiting for the doctor now.”

-It won’t be anything serious, so don’t worry too much and eat well and rest well.

“I will. I’ll call you, Unnie.”

-Okay, rest well.

After hanging up, Kim Sun-min stared intently at Seung-woo’s picture on her phone’s background.

“Well, it’s better to collapse at a time like this.”

Kim Sun-min thought it was fortunate that she hadn’t collapsed while she and Seung-woo were alone.

Because if she had collapsed while they were alone at home, she wouldn’t have been able to do anything.

As she was thinking this and that, Tae-kyung appeared, parting the curtains.

“Kim Sun-min, patient?”