Fifth Vital [EN]: Chapter 327

328. Do You Like Games?

“Yeah. Why?”

“Excuse me? I think the Director is calling you?”

As Euijin pointed to the opposite side mid-conversation, Oh Gyesoon approached with a hurried expression.

“Director? Whew! I’m out of breath.”

“Were you looking for me?”

“I went to the emergency room, then the examination room, and searched all over for you.”

“Is something wrong with the child?”

“It’s not that, but the kid said something strange, and I thought it would be good for the Director to hear it.”

“Something strange?”

Taekyung immediately headed to the cafeteria with Oh Gyesoon and Euijin. The cafeteria was filled with the delicious smell of side dishes being made for Seungwoo.

“Seungwoo?”

“Yes.”

“Can you tell the Director what you told Grandma earlier? About why you are in the hospital?”

Seungwoo, who was looking at a book, nodded.

“Grandma asked you why you’re in the hospital, right? Tell me about half of that again.”

“My sister told me to stay in the hospital.”

“The sister who went to save aliens?”

“Yes. My sister. My beloved sister.”

Thinking about it, Taekyung had only asked the child how he came to the hospital from the beginning, but not why he was in the hospital.

It sounded similar, but in Seungwoo’s case, he thought it might be easier for the child to understand if he pointed it out accurately.

“Seungwoo, why did your sister tell you to stay in the hospital?”

Thump-

When asked the reason, Seungwoo, who had been sitting in a chair reading a book, suddenly got up. And he greeted Taekyung and said.

“Kim Taekyung, Teacher. I’m sorry, but please take care of Seungwoo. Seungwoo and I are the only two in this world. If I’m not here, there will be no one to take care of Seungwoo. I’m sorry for asking someone I don’t even know to do this, but please take care of Seungwoo. I’m really sorry. This was the only way I could think of. I’m sorry.”

“……!”

“…….”

Thump-

After finishing speaking, Seungwoo sat back in his chair and read his book, and Taekyung, Euijin, and the other staff who had rushed over after hearing the news were all speechless.

“Seungwoo?”

Taekyung, who had come to his senses, knelt down and asked Seungwoo.

“Did your sister tell you to say that?”

“Yes, my sister told me to say that to Teacher Kim Taekyung.”

“Seungwoo, is your sister sick?”

“No. My sister is not sick.”

“Can I ask why your sister left that message for the teacher? Do you know, Seungwoo?”

“Because my sister went to save the aliens.”

The answer was so anticlimactic that everyone was holding their breath and concentrating.

In a way, it was the most accurate answer for Seungwoo, but those watching, including Taekyung, felt like they were losing strength.

“Okay! Seungwoo, let’s eat.”

“Let’s eat.”

“You must have been very hungry. Eat quickly.”

In the meantime, the kitchen staff who had finished cooking brought rice and side dishes.

“Director, what should we do about this? That sister seems to be…….”

“Team Leader!”

Taekyung cut off Team Leader Choi, who was trying to say something urgently, with a firm look.

“Seungwoo is listening.”

And he cautioned that he was in front of the child, as if he already knew what he was going to say.

“Let’s let Seungwoo eat first. Seungwoo, eat slowly and a lot.”

“Yes. Chew it slowly and thoroughly several times. It’s not good for your body if you eat too fast.”

“That’s right. Director, please look after Seungwoo.”

Taekyung, who had briefly removed his serious expression, spoke to Seungwoo with a warm expression, then asked Oh Gyesoon to take care of the child and left the cafeteria.

“Director, this seems to be no ordinary matter. I’m worried that the sister might have had extreme thoughts.”

“I agree with the Team Leader’s opinion.”

Nurse Im Jungsook also agreed with a serious expression and continued.

“What Seungwoo said doesn’t sound like a lie, and just looking at the words the sister left behind, it feels strong.”

“Me too. Above all, the sister said that she and Seungwoo were the only two, so I wonder if she had a hard time raising her younger sibling alone.”

Taekyung’s thoughts were not much different.

However, he couldn’t completely conclude that the sister had attempted an extreme method just by listening to what Seungwoo said.

However, considering the situation so far, he couldn’t rule out the possibility.

It didn’t matter why the sister asked him to take care of her younger brother Seungwoo. What was most important now was to check on the safety of Seungwoo’s only family member, his sister.

Taekyung couldn’t help but feel more drawn to these siblings because he remembered the young female patient who had sadly passed away in the emergency room not long ago.

“Director, what should we do about this?”

“We have to help. Why the child was sent to our hospital, we can be curious about these reasons later, so we need to check on Seungwoo’s sister’s safety first.”

“Then, how about asking Seungwoo for his sister’s phone number and information?”

“That would be good. And Team Leader, how is the contact with the person who brought Seungwoo?”

“They are not answering the phone. So, I left a text message and am waiting.”

“Okay. Let me know immediately when you hear back.”

“Yes, I understand.”

“Excuse me, Director?”

Nurse Im Jungsook, who had received a call, called out to Taekyung, who was about to head to the cafeteria.

“It’s a ward call. Patient Go Mirin in room 307.”

“Okay. I’ll be right there.”

Having been called, Taekyung left the work to Team Leader Choi and headed to the ward.

Fortunately, the patient who had called was not in a critical condition, so it didn’t take long.

Taekyung, who had come down to the first floor, briefly checked the emergency room situation and then headed back to the cafeteria.

“Do you know your home phone number?”

“I don’t know.”

“Then, can you just tell me your home address?”

“I don’t know.”

“Seungwoo, tell the uncle, okay?”

“I don’t know.”

“How did it go?”

“Director, I don’t think this is going to work.”

The two moved to one side and continued their conversation.

“Why?”

“You have no idea. It’s like a complete iron wall.”

“He’s not talking?”

“He just says he doesn’t know. When I asked him what his sister’s name was, he said he couldn’t say it carelessly, and when I asked for her phone number, he said he didn’t know.”

He asked several things, such as where he went to school, what neighborhood he lived in, and whether he had a home phone number. But from Seungwoo’s pretty lips, only the same words echoed back.

“I was going to take him outside with the teacher and the uncle for a while, but he said he couldn’t do that either.”

Frustrated, Team Leader Choi even thought about taking the child to the police station, but Seungwoo clearly said that he shouldn’t leave the hospital.

It was as if something terrible would happen if he left the hospital.

“Director, so I’ve been thinking about it. Seungwoo is a bit different from other children. At first, I thought he was deliberately not talking, but at this point, it seems like he really doesn’t know. Look?”

Team Leader Choi pointed to Seungwoo with his fingertips and continued.

“That pure expression doesn’t seem like he’s lying.”

“That’s not it.”

“Yes!?”

“Seungwoo’s expression is pure, but I think he’s probably deliberately not talking.”

“Deliberately?”

“Yes.”

Taekyung judged that Seungwoo couldn’t possibly not know information about his sister.

First of all, Seungwoo is a child with autism spectrum disorder who is different from ordinary children.

His sister would have clearly and surely instilled her home address and phone number to her younger brother several times.

This is often the case even when raising ordinary children, but it would have been even more so in Seungwoo’s case.

This is so that people around him can help if his younger brother gets lost or something happens outside.

And above all, Seungwoo was a child with a genius-like talent.

There was no way that a child who remembers even what he saw once in detail would not remember information about his sister.

Presumably, Seungwoo kept saying he didn’t know because his sister had told him to answer that way.

“Then what should we do? Director. Should we just report it to the police and have them come and investigate?”

“That’s one way, but even if the police come, it probably won’t change much.”

“But we can’t just stay like this. We need to know the information to help. This is like looking for Kim Seo-bang [a common Korean surname and given name] in Seoul. There’s no way to help because there’s no way…….”

“It’s not like there’s no way at all.”

“Yes? Are you saying there’s a way?”

“I don’t know if it will work for Seungwoo, but I’m going to try it.”

What method is he going to use to find out the information? Team Leader Choi looked at Taekyung, who was taking Seungwoo, who had finished eating, out of the cafeteria, with a curious expression.

“Did you enjoy your meal?”

Taekyung entered the doctor’s office with Seungwoo.

“Yes. I enjoyed it.”

“What did you eat?”

“Pink sausage, rolled omelet, stir-fried sweet potato stems, beef radish soup, and black rice.”

“You ate a lot of delicious things. Are you sleepy, Seungwoo?”

“I’m not sleepy yet. It’s not home, so I need some more time to adjust before I can fall asleep.”

“That’s right. It’s not easy to fall asleep in an unfamiliar place. Seungwoo? Do you like games?”

“Games! Yes, I like games.”

“Really? Then shall we play a game until you get sleepy?”

“Okay.”

“From now on, I’m going to play a simple game with the teacher. If you win the game, the teacher will give you a present.”

“A present?”

“Yes. It’s a book that the teacher cherishes a lot, and I think Seungwoo will like it.”

Taekyung took out a book from a bookshelf in one corner of the doctor’s office.

“Here it is. How is it?”

The book was about the human body and was mainly for doctors.

It was a book full of various pictures and explanations about the human body, and Seungwoo, who likes the human body, would like it.

“Oh!”

As expected, Seungwoo’s reaction was certain enough to not take his eyes off the book.

“Oh! Teacher, I want to see the book.”

“Right? You want to see it, right? I’ll give it to you if you win the game.”

“If I win the game.”

“That’s right. What kind of game are we going to play? Do you like drawing, Seungwoo?”

“Yes. I like drawing.”

“Really? We’re going to play a drawing game. We’re going to draw our neighborhood scenery.”

“Our neighborhood scenery?”

“Seungwoo, do you know the word scenery?”

“It refers to scenery, situation, or natural scenery.”

“That’s right. You can draw the house and neighborhood where I live. The person who draws more beautifully and accurately gets a sticker, and the person who gets the most stickers wins the game.”

“Ah~!”

“Then I’ll show you first, so watch carefully.”

“Yes.”

Taekyung started drawing on the paper with a pen.

“Okay! Seungwoo. Do you know what this is?”

“A house.”

“That’s right. This is the house where the teacher lives. The teacher lives on the rooftop at the very top of this house. And there’s a high hill in front of the house. If you go down this hill, there’s a small convenience store. The teacher sometimes buys ramen or snacks here. And next to it are houses where people live, and below that is Hwangje Snack Bar, which sells tteokbokki [spicy rice cakes] and sundae [Korean sausage].”

Taekyung did his best to draw and explain with his clumsy drawing skills.

At first glance, this picture, which seems like a simple neighborhood scene, had a secret.

It was a kind of map to find Seungwoo’s house, and he deliberately induced him to draw the neighborhood scenery around the house.

Taekyung predicted that Seungwoo, who is smart and has a great memory, would draw the area around his house accurately.

“The teacher is done drawing. Would you like to draw it now, Seungwoo?”

“…….”

“Why? Don’t you want to draw?”

Seungwoo hesitated at the words to draw. Taekyung asked, nervous that he might not want to draw.

“Seungwoo, you don’t have to draw if you don’t want to.”

“……Are there no pencils?”

“What?”

“Colored pencils. I need colored pencils when I draw.”