Fifth Vital [EN]: Chapter 333

“I can’t believe I’m actually setting foot in the medical staff lounge,” Kim Geon-hyung said, looking around the room.

“You’re the hospital’s chairman, and you’ve never been to the medical staff lounge before?”

“Just because I’m the hospital chairman doesn’t mean I can barge into any place I want, does it? Of course not. Should I just waltz into the operating room too? Even someone in a high position needs to know their limits.”

“You’re absolutely right, sir. But I didn’t expect the hospital’s medical staff lounge to look like this…!”

“Ouch!”

Team Leader Go, who was walking ahead, suddenly stopped, causing Kim Geon-hyung, who was following behind, to bump his forehead against Go’s broad back.

“Why did you stop so suddenly? What’s going on?”

“Chairman… there’s a child here?”

“What are you talking about?”

“A child. There’s a child! There’s a kid here. A kid! Right here, can you see?”

“……!”

It was true.

When they first entered, the desk had blocked their view, but as Team Leader Go said, there really was a boy playing on the floor.

“There’s… a child?”

“See? I told you so, didn’t I?”

“Yes.”

Kim Geon-hyung and Team Leader Go exchanged bewildered glances as they watched Seung-woo playing on the floor.

“But why is a child in the medical staff lounge?”

“Maybe he’s a medical staff member’s child, or…”

“Or?”

“Or maybe he’s the child of a patient who’s receiving treatment after an emergency?”

Team Leader Go covered his mouth with his hand and spoke cautiously in a low voice.

“Since this is a hospital, that’s certainly possible.”

Kim Geon-hyung and Team Leader Go carefully avoided Seung-woo, who was comfortably drawing on the floor, and sat down side by side on one side of the room.

“The child is playing well by himself.”

“The medical staff lounge has everything.”

Kim Geon-hyung, who didn’t seem particularly interested in Seung-woo, smiled with delight as he spotted the Rubik’s cubes on the desk.

There were three types of cubes: three-by-three, four-by-four, and six-by-six.

“Team Leader Go? Do you know what these are?”

“They’re Rubik’s cubes, aren’t they? Kids these days have so many things to play with, but when I was young, there weren’t as many options. That’s probably why these were quite popular. I used to play with Rubik’s cubes a lot in middle school. Do you know about Rubik’s cubes, Chairman?”

“I bought them for my grandchildren to play with when they were little. That’s why I remember them.”

Kim Geon-hyung held the three-by-three cube in his hand, seemingly reminded of his grandchildren’s childhood.

“These are harder to solve than you think. I found them quite difficult.”

“That’s probably because you’re not very good at it, sir.”

“So, you can do it?”

“Of course. This one is relatively easy.”

Team Leader Go took the three-by-three cube from Kim Geon-hyung and completed it within a few minutes with a relaxed expression.

“See? I did it quickly, right?”

“I didn’t know you had this talent. Can you do this one too, then?”

Watching Team Leader Go solve the three-by-three cube, Kim Geon-hyung picked up the four-by-four cube, scrambled it haphazardly, and handed it over.

“Well, I used to be quite the cube master in middle school.”

Despite his confident words, Team Leader Go struggled with the four-by-four cube, only managing to solve one side.

“You said you used to play with Rubik’s cubes a lot?”

“The four-by-four is generally difficult. It’s hard enough to solve just one side.”

“That’s enough. That’s enough.”

“It’s true. Kim Tae-kyung probably put this here to solve it himself. That’s how difficult it is for ordinary people.”

“Well, Kim Tae-kyung would probably be good at this kind of thing.”

As the two men were engaged in a heated debate over the cube, Seung-woo, who had been focused on his drawing on the floor, got up and approached them.

“That’s not the teacher’s.”

“What?”

“The cubes aren’t for Kim Tae-kyung. They’re mine.”

“All these cubes here are yours?”

“Yes, that’s right. They’re all mine.”

Seung-woo glanced at Team Leader Go before shifting his gaze back and answering.

“You know how to do this?”

“To be exact, I know how to solve the cubes.”

“Really? Did you see what the man was doing earlier?”

“Yes. I saw it while I was drawing.”

“Can you do it faster than him?”

“The man solved the three-by-three cube in 2 minutes and 43 seconds, but I can solve it faster than that.”

“Faster than me? Hey! Are you sure about that? Don’t lie.”

“Lying is bad. I don’t lie.”

“Really? Then would you like to try?”

With a serious expression, Team Leader Go scrambled the cube and handed it to Seung-woo, not expecting anything.

“Can you do this?”

“Yes, I can.”

Seung-woo stopped fidgeting with his ten fingers and scanned the cube with his eyes.

“Then I’ll time you…!”

But before Team Leader Go could find the timer on his phone, the solved cube was already in front of his eyes.

“What! You’ve already solved it?”

“Yes, I’ve solved it.”

“No, it feels like only a few seconds have passed…”

“Four seconds.”

Kim Geon-hyung answered instead of Team Leader Go, who was too shocked to speak.

“What? Four seconds? No way. That’s a record that rivals the champion’s record.”

“It’s four seconds. I was watching the clock. Hey, can you solve this one too?”

Kim Geon-hyung, who had seemed uninterested in Seung-woo until now, picked up the four-by-four cube next to him.

“Yes, I can.”

“You can do this one too?”

Seung-woo nodded once at Team Leader Go, who asked with a skeptical tone, and quickly solved the cube again.

His skills were incomparable to Team Leader Go, who had struggled just moments before.

“No way! Can you do this one too?”

Team Leader Go scrambled the six-by-six cube with an incredulous expression and handed it over once more, but the result was the same.

“What did I just see? Are you a cube competition champion? You are, aren’t you?”

“No. I just play with them.”

“Chairman, did you see that?”

“I have eyes. What’s your name?”

“Seung-woo. Go Seung-woo.”

“That’s a wonderful name. You’re very talented.”

“Thank you for the compliment.”

Seung-woo bowed slightly and greeted Kim Geon-hyung.

“My name is Kim Geon-hyung.”

“Kim Geon-hyung, your name is wonderful too.”

“Really? Thank you.”

After that, Seung-woo nonchalantly lay back down on the floor and tried to focus on the drawing he had been working on. Curious about the child, Kim Geon-hyung slowly got up and approached him.

“……!”

But Kim Geon-hyung, who was peeking at Seung-woo’s drawing from behind, was startled.

“Hey? Seung-woo, what are you drawing right now?”

“A skeleton.”

“What? A s-skeleton?”

“Yes, it’s called a skeleton in English, and in Korean, it’s called ‘golgyeok’.”

That’s right. Seung-woo, who loved the mysteries of the human body so much, was drawing a picture about the human body again today. In particular, he drew pictures of memorable parts from the human body-related books that Tae-kyung had given him as a gift a few days ago.

Today, he was reading about the human skeleton and drawing that part.

The drawing, which depicted the entire front and back of the body from head to toe, boasted a level of detail that was truly chilling.

“You drew this?”

“Yes, I drew it.”

“Seung-woo, do you know what you’re drawing?”

“Yes. As I said a moment ago, I drew a skeleton. The skeleton is a very important element that supports the human body and is made up of bones, cartilage, and ligaments. This part here is…”

Seung-woo, thrilled that Kim Geon-hyung was interested in his drawing, started talking without being asked.

“The skull, and below that is the mandible [lower jawbone], the lower jawbone. And the entire spine is this part, and here are the cervical vertebrae [neck bones] C1 to C7. And below that…”

Like a lecturer, Seung-woo wrote the Korean and English names of all the bones with a black colored pencil and explained them to the two men.

“Finally, this part is the toe bones.”

After completing the explanation of the entire skeleton to his satisfaction, Seung-woo put away his sketchbook and colored pencils and approached Kevin.

“…….”

“……!”

Unlike the composed Seung-woo, Kim Geon-hyung and Team Leader Go, who were dumbfounded by what had just happened before their eyes, stood there blankly, momentarily at a loss for words.

“What did I just see?”

“That’s what I’m saying.”

“Team Leader Go, am I seeing things?”

“No, Chairman. I definitely saw it too.”

“Hey, Seung-woo?”

“Yes.”

Seung-woo, who was adjusting Kevin’s ribs, turned around and answered when Kim Geon-hyung called him.

“How did you know what you just said? Did someone teach you?”

“No. It’s all in the books.”

“Books?”

“Yes. There are many wonderful books in the library, so I can see them all.”

“You’re very interested in the human body?”

“Yes, the human body is like a mysterious universe. One person’s life is like a universe. Our bodies are amazing and beautiful. Humans can feel and express emotions and think for themselves, unlike other animals.”

After speaking, Seung-woo focused on Kevin again, and Kim Geon-hyung chuckled and let out a hollow laugh.

“Chairman, isn’t that child a genius? I’m sure of it.”

“…….”

“If he’s not a genius, how can he solve Rubik’s cubes in the blink of an eye, rattle off medical terms that you’d only know if you went to medical school, and have such amazing drawing skills? Did you hear his choice of words when he was speaking just now? There’s no other word to describe it but genius. The child may have some unique aspects, but I’m sure he’s a genius. Don’t you think so, Chairman?”

“Quiet. Team Leader Go, take that out.”

“Yes? Take what out?”

“Oh, come on. You have a hobby, don’t you? Take that out.”

“Ah! This.”

At Kim Geon-hyung’s words, Team Leader Go took out a small, thin book from his inside jacket pocket. It was a crossword puzzle book with various topics such as current affairs, English, culture, history, and more.

Team Leader Go, who naturally had long waiting times while assisting Kim Geon-hyung with his many external schedules, spent his time solving puzzles. That’s why he always carried the book with him.

“Yes. That puzzle book.”

“But what are you going to do with this…! Don’t tell me you’re going to give Seung-woo a quiz?”

“He seems to have a pretty sharp mind, so I’m going to check how sharp it is. Give me the book.”

“Why?”

“What?”

“I’m curious why you’re trying to test the child.”

“Why are you suddenly so curious about everything? Just give me the book.”

Kim Geon-hyung snatched the book from Team Leader Go’s hand and sat down next to Kevin, where Seung-woo was playing.

“Seung-woo, can you look at Grandpa for a moment?”