Fifth Vital [EN]: Chapter 340

341. Not a Genius

“I must have surprised you a lot, right?”

Kim Sun-min, who had cried her heart out as if unburdening [吐露 – tǔlù: expressing] the lump in her chest, felt relieved and comfortable.

“No. Are you feeling better now?”

“Yes, I feel so much better after telling everything to you, Doctor. Um, Doctor, this….”

Filled with [歉意 – qiànyì: apology], Kim Sun-min held out a small envelope she had taken out of her pocket.

“Just a moment.”

In an instant, Tae-kyung quickly interjected to stop Kim Sun-min’s action.

“I’m curious, why did you entrust Seung-woo to our hospital?”

He had heard from Sergeant Kim that Kim Sun-min’s situation was not good, but he was curious why she chose their hospital when there were other hospitals nearby.

And this was what not only Tae-kyung but also all the hospital staff were curious about.

“Perhaps you were taken to the hospital the day you collapsed, and that’s why you happened to leave him at our hospital?”

“I thought you might be curious about that, but that’s not the reason. It’s true that the elderly neighbors upstairs had their own circumstances and there was no place to leave him, but that doesn’t mean I left Seung-woo at our hospital by chance.”

“Then why…?”

“Because of you, Doctor.”

“Yes? Because of me?”

“Yes. That’s right.”

Kim Sun-min nodded and replied.

“I had come to your hospital for treatment a few times before coming to the emergency room.”

“Ah, really? I guess I didn’t remember. I’m sorry.”

Tae-kyung felt bad for not remembering the patient when she said she had been treated a few times.

“No. It’s natural that you don’t remember. Both times were for simple symptoms, and one time another doctor treated me. I’m not a very talkative person and I’m not a very distinctive person, so I probably didn’t leave much of an impression. Actually, I’ve heard a lot of good things about you, Doctor.”

Kim Sun-min first learned about the hospital because of the old woman upstairs.

‘It’s important to get treatment from a good doctor, especially when children are sick, as well as adults. There’s your hospital in Yeoul-dong. If Seung-woo or Sun-min gets sick, go there. Got it?’

The grandmother had heard many stories about Tae-kyung from the people around her and had also heard stories from her daughter and her husband who had been treated directly, so she had a high level of trust in the hospital.

‘My husband also went to the emergency room, and everyone was kind, including the doctors and nurses. And I heard that the director there is on TV and is a famous person.’

‘Yes, thank you, Grandma.’

After hearing that, Kim Sun-min realized that the famous doctor she had seen on TV and YouTube in the past was Tae-kyung.

Then, she collapsed in the emergency room due to overwork, and at that time, she decided to entrust Seung-woo to Tae-kyung because of the warm consideration he showed her.

“You didn’t even know what kind of person I was, but you told me to just go without asking anything.”

She couldn’t pay for the treatment, so she reluctantly held out ten thousand won with an embarrassed gesture, but he stubbornly refused and told her to take a taxi because it was late.

So, she thought that if he was such a warm-hearted and considerate person, he would take good care of Seung-woo.

Of course, she couldn’t know everything about Tae-kyung from that one encounter.

It may have seemed reckless to others, but Kim Tae-kyung’s kindness felt genuine in her harsh reality.

“That’s why I entrusted him to you, Doctor. Our Seung-woo likes the human body and doesn’t have much fear of hospitals, so I thought it was even better. I’m really sorry and grateful that you and the staff have suffered so much for the past few days.”

“No. All of us, including me, laughed a lot and felt happy because of Seung-woo. Don’t worry about suffering at all.”

“And please accept this.”

Kim Sun-min handed over the envelope she was about to hand over again.

“I’m trying to keep the promise I told you then.”

“This is the medical bill, right?”

“Yes. That’s right.”

“It’s okay, just put it away. I’ve already received enough payment with Kim Sun-min’s return to Seung-woo.”

“Oh, no! Doctor. Please don’t do that. I don’t know about anything else. Please accept this money. I won’t feel comfortable if you take care of Seung-woo and don’t accept the medical bill. Please accept it.”

“Um! Then let’s do this.”

*Swish-*

Tae-kyung took out an envelope from his desk drawer, just like Kim Sun-min, and pushed it over.

“I told you that I have to receive the medical bill, right?”

“Yes, I really hope you accept it.”

“Okay. If that’s the case, I’ll receive Kim Sun-min’s medical bill.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

“Thank you, Doctor.”

Kim Sun-min was even worried about what to do if Tae-kyung didn’t accept the medical bill until the end.

She couldn’t give him a good gift in her current situation, so she wanted to make sure to at least pay the medical bill.

“Instead!”

Kim Sun-min was relieved when Tae-kyung pointed to the envelope he had just taken out of the drawer and continued.

“I’ll receive the medical bill if Kim Sun-min also receives this envelope.”

“What is this?”

Kim Sun-min, who was opening the envelope at Tae-kyung’s gesture, looked up with surprised eyes.

“Doctor!”

There was money in the envelope.

“Why are you giving me this money…?”

“Shall we say it’s our hospital’s scholarship for Seung-woo?”

Tae-kyung wanted to help them both.

He thought that the most practical thing they needed was money. So, he informed the staff of this and held a meeting.

Even though he had all the decision-making power and was the person in charge of the hospital, Tae-kyung didn’t want to act unilaterally.

The hospital is a place where many employees work together, so he thought it was necessary to respect their opinions as well.

Fortunately, all the staff agreed, so they decided to offer some of the hospital’s donations as a scholarship and prepared it in advance.

“It’s not a large amount.”

As he said, it wasn’t a large amount.

Of course, he could have given more, but he couldn’t justify a large amount since Seung-woo wasn’t sick and they weren’t buying hospital equipment.

The purpose of the donations was to use them for the development of the hospital or for truly struggling patients, so this was unavoidable.

“No. It’s too much money for me and Seung-woo, Doctor.”

She didn’t count the bills, but Kim Sun-min could tell that the amount in the envelope was significant.

“I’ve already caused you trouble, so I can’t accept this money. I’d be truly shameless if I accepted this.”

“Buy Seung-woo what he needs with that money. A computer is good, and it would be nice to buy a lot of books that Seung-woo likes.”

“No. I don’t think this is right, no matter how I look at it. It’s already enough.”

It wasn’t just empty words; she truly felt that way.

She thought she had already received enough from Tae-kyung and the hospital staff.

“If you keep refusing, I won’t accept the medical bill either.”

Tae-kyung said, holding out the medical bill envelope.

“You have to accept that.”

“So, accept that envelope too. I’m also very stubborn, so if Kim Sun-min doesn’t accept it, I won’t accept the medical bill until the end.”

“Then… I’ll accept it.”

In the end, Kim Sun-min, who had been hesitating [고민ing – gomin: 고민하다 in present continuous tense], decided to accept the scholarship.

“Thank you, Doctor.”

“But there’s still no contact from Seung-woo’s father, right?”

“…Yes. I asked the security guard to send a letter, but it’s okay if he doesn’t contact me.”

She went to Lee Young-hoon with a desperate heart to grab at any straw, but her heart was different now than it was then.

She was ready to bravely do anything for Seung-woo.

“I wondered why Seung-woo was so brave, but it’s because he resembles Kim Sun-min.”

“Is that so?”

“And how about working at our hospital until you find a job?”

“No. I’m going to work part-time at a restaurant until I find a job.”

“The restaurant work won’t be easy, are you okay?”

“There’s no easy work in the world. And that’s nothing. And restaurant work is more fun than I thought.”

Kim Sun-min was planning to work at the 24-hour restaurant where she had worked to pay for the medical bill.

If she worked at a restaurant, she could freely adjust her time, and Seung-woo could be with her as much as possible.

It would be comfortable to work at the hospital, but if she was among people who helped her so generously, she felt like she would become weak without realizing it.

Kim Sun-min didn’t want to become weak anymore.

She thought she should live as a proud mother to Seung-woo, facing the world on her own.

“Ah! That’s right. There’s a grandfather who became close to Seung-woo at the hospital, and he wanted to see Seung-woo again. He asked me to ask Kim Sun-min about it.”

“Seung-woo? Who is it?”

“Maybe it’s someone Kim Sun-min knows.”

“Someone I know?”

“It’s this person.”

“….”

Kim Sun-min, who was looking at the business card Tae-kyung gave her with a puzzled expression, was silent.

“You know him, right?”

“Chairman Kim Geon-hyung of Nuga Group. Nu, Nuga…!”

Kim Sun-min, slowly examining the received business card, was surprised and checked again.

“Chairman Kim Geon-hyung of Nuga Group!!!”

She blinked and checked again, but it was the same.

It was definitely the business card of the chairman of Nuga Group, and it was Kim Geon-hyung’s personal business card.

Kim Sun-min received the business card that she couldn’t give to just anyone and couldn’t easily receive.

“Doctor, is this person really the chairman of that Nuga Group?”

“That’s right.”

“Why would such a great person…?”

There are probably few people in Korea who don’t know Nuga Group.

Kim Sun-min also wanted to work at Nuga Group the most when she was preparing for a job.

But she couldn’t understand how the chairman of that famous company knew Seung-woo and why he gave her the business card.

“Do you know Daddy-Long-Legs?”

“Daddy-Long-Legs… the Daddy-Long-Legs in the novel [a reference to the 1912 novel by Jean Webster about a young orphan girl who is supported by an anonymous benefactor]?”

“That’s right. The chairman said he would be Seung-woo’s Daddy-Long-Legs. No? Daddy-Long-Legs would be more accurate. He said he would be Daddy-Long-Legs [a play on words, suggesting he’ll be a long-term benefactor].”

“Doctor, I don’t understand what you’re saying.”

“He said he would become Seung-woo’s sponsor and support him.”

“A sponsor? Our Seung-woo? Why? Perhaps, is it something that supports difficult families in need?”

Thinking about it, Nuga Group seemed to do a lot of charitable work.

She briefly thought that maybe it was because Seung-woo even had autism spectrum disorder.

“Many large companies support struggling families and children.”

“That’s true, but Seung-woo’s case is a little different.”

“Different?”

“Seung-woo is a genius. So, the chairman….”

“Cough!!”

Kim Sun-min, who was drinking tea and listening to Tae-kyung’s words, suddenly choked.

“Cough!”

“Are you okay?”

“Yes, I’m okay. But what did you just say, Doctor? I think I heard you say genius….”

“That’s right. Kim Sun-min also knows, but Seung-woo has a genius disposition. Of course, we need to have an accurate verification from a professional institution….”

“Doctor? Just a moment.”

Kim Sun-min stopped Tae-kyung’s words with an embarrassed smile and continued.

“I’m sorry to interrupt you, but I think you’re mistaken. Our Seung-woo is smart, but he’s not a genius. I think you and the chairman just think Seung-woo is cute.”

“…….”

“Are you serious, not joking?”

Kim Sun-min asked, more embarrassed than before, as Tae-kyung stared at her silently.

“I’m not joking, it’s really true.”

“So, Seung-woo… our Seung-woo is a ge, genius?”

“Yes, he’s a genius.”

“……!”

Kim Sun-min was speechless for a moment, looking at Tae-kyung’s expression, which was serious beyond [진지함 – jinji: serious] and even seemed a little grave.

He looked like he was only telling the truth.

‘A genius… Seung-woo is really a genius?’

She couldn’t easily understand what was going on.

‘Seung-woo is a genius.’

Tae-kyung’s words from a little while ago were constantly [계속해서 – gyesokhaeseo: 계속하다 in adverbial form] repeating in Kim Sun-min’s head.