Fifth Vital [EN]: Chapter 366

367. Three Variables

“Oh, Sam, can you help me out?”

Lee Chan-hee, having heard from the station nurse that Oh Chang-gyu was in the restroom, came in to find him.

‘Damn it! Why call me now of all times….’

Swallowing his annoyance, Oh Chang-gyu stopped typing his message and came out.

“Oh, Sam? Are you coming?”

“Yes, Dr. Lee. I’m here.”

“Sorry to chase after you when you came to use the restroom. Did you come out because of me while you were busy?”

“No, I was done. But what’s the matter?”

“It’s nothing major, but I need Oh Sam’s help with a patient issue.”

“Yes. I’ll help you.”

Oh Chang-gyu, who was about to contact Yoo Hyuk-jin, had no choice but to follow Lee Chan-hee out of the restroom to assist with a patient transfer.

* * *

In the CCTV control room, Tae-kyung and the staff member were both dumbfounded by the screen showing a different area than the hospital ward stairs where Yoo Hyuk-jin had been.

“This can’t be happening….”

The staff member, in particular, was not only dumbfounded but also flustered.

He didn’t know what was going on, but it was quite embarrassing since Tae-kyung, the director, had come in person and this happened.

Moreover, the CCTV screen had never pointed elsewhere, and no one had ever touched the camera equipment, which made it even more perplexing.

He had been checking regularly, but he had no idea why this was happening.

“Why is the screen pointing somewhere else?”

“That’s what I’m saying. Director, I’m sorry, but I honestly don’t know what’s going on. It was definitely fine when I checked.”

The flustered staff member continued rambling.

“I can’t believe the CCTV, which was working perfectly fine, is pointing in the wrong direction. I’m at a loss.”

“You haven’t left your seat while working today, have you?”

“No. I haven’t left my seat or anything like that. But today, I’ve been so sleepy, like I’m possessed. I definitely drank coffee, but I got even sleepier after drinking it….”

“Just a moment.”

While the staff member was touching the screen with a flustered expression, Tae-kyung’s phone vibrated.

-Director.

The caller was Nurse Lim Jung-sook.

“Are they both awake?”

-Yes, Director. They’re awake enough to talk. They just told me they fell asleep after drinking coffee.

Come to think of it, he remembered the takeout coffee cups around the two men who were asleep when he entered the darkened hospital room.

“Did they buy the coffee?”

-No. That’s the strange part. The guards said that Mr. Oh gave them the coffee.

“Mr. Oh Chang-gyu?”

-Yes, now that I think about it, Mr. Oh told me earlier that he went to give them coffee.

“Okay. I’ll be up there now.”

Tae-kyung hung up the phone and asked the staff member about Oh Chang-gyu.

“Do you know Mr. Oh Chang-gyu among our staff?”

“Of course. I know him. He’s young, kind, and works hard.”

“Please quickly check Mr. Oh’s video from today and yesterday. If you find anything strange, call me immediately.”

Tae-kyung suspected Oh Chang-gyu of tampering with the CCTV screen, and his suspicion was accurate.

Oh Chang-gyu had turned the direction of the CCTV cameras not only in the hospital ward stairs where Yoo Hyuk-jin was but also in the stairs of other hospital wards to create confusion.

More meticulous than expected, he changed from his uniform into civilian clothes and wore a hat while moving towards the blind spots when turning the cameras. Therefore, his face was not clearly captured on the screen.

“So, you’re saying to check Mr. Oh’s video now?”

“Yes, that’s right. And don’t tell the other staff members.”

“Yes. I understand, Director.”

Tae-kyung, who was talking to the staff member and leaving the control room, suddenly stopped and went back inside.

“I don’t understand why you’re asking me to check Mr. Oh’s video.”

“…What did you say?”

“Ah! You startled me.”

The staff member, who was talking to himself, was startled by Tae-kyung’s sudden entry.

“Yes? No, I just said I don’t understand why you suddenly asked me to check Mr. Oh’s video….”

“No, not that. What you said earlier about feeling sleepier after drinking coffee?”

Tae-kyung, who was leaving the control room after hearing from Nurse Lim Jung-sook that Oh Chang-gyu had given them coffee, suddenly remembered what the staff member had said just before he received the call.

The staff member had said, ‘I definitely drank coffee, but I got even sleepier after drinking it….’

“Yes, that’s right. I usually feel refreshed after drinking coffee, but strangely, today I was so sleepy that I couldn’t focus. It was like I drank sleeping pills instead of coffee.”

“Did Oh Chang-gyu give you that coffee?”

Tae-kyung asked, as if certain, after hearing the staff member’s words.

“Yes! That’s right. How did you know? Did you get coffee from Mr. Oh too, Director?”

“First, please get me the video you mentioned earlier as soon as possible.”

“Ah, yes. I understand.”

After assigning the task to the staff member, Tae-kyung quickly headed to the hospital ward, thinking.

Oh Chang-gyu was the one who gave coffee to the two prison guards as well as the control room staff, and with this, one thing was certain.

‘Oh Chang-gyu was Yoo Hyuk-jin’s helper!’

He thought that Oh Chang-gyu had been offering drinks to the hospital staff all along on purpose.

Apparently, Oh Chang-gyu had worked hard while working in a factory and had struggled to obtain his license [professional certification].

Moreover, he felt proud of his work and said that he liked the hospital staff and wanted to work here for a long time.

He had always been overly enthusiastic about hospital work, was kind to all patients, young and old, and always had a smiling face without ever looking tired.

Oh Chang-gyu was such a perfect employee that Tae-kyung, who worked so hard for the hospital and patients that he would jump out of bed even in his sleep, thought so highly of him.

Now, thinking about it, he realized that all of this was a thorough plan.

In fact, Tae-kyung sometimes felt that Oh Chang-gyu was a bit unusual.

He himself said that he was ignorant and not smart, so he couldn’t study well, and that he had a hard time preparing for this license exam and had almost given up several times.

However, sometimes when talking in the cafeteria or with other people, he didn’t seem like an ignorant person at all.

He had considerable knowledge not only in this field but also in other fields.

Rather, the expression ‘ignorant’ didn’t suit him, and he seemed like a well-educated person.

Once, Nurse Lim Jung-sook had said this.

‘But, when you see Mr. Oh talking, it seems like he would have studied very well… He doesn’t seem like someone who didn’t study at all.’

‘It’s because the nurse thinks highly of me, but I really didn’t study well. I have a complex about that because I’m not good at studying. That’s why I read a lot of books because I’m ashamed of it. I read a lot without choosing genres, so I guess that’s why.’

Oh Chang-gyu said it was because of books when he was told that he seemed like he would have studied well, but that was probably a lie too.

Tae-kyung wondered if there was even one truthful part from the day he first started working at the hospital until now.

“Director!”

As he approached the hospital room where the prison guards were, Nurse Lim Jung-sook, who was on the phone, showed Tae-kyung the messages sent by the staff.

-Is something wrong at the hospital?

-Nurse Soo, why are we suddenly not accepting patients?

“The staff keeps asking what’s going on since earlier, what should I do?”

Anyone who was a staff member would have felt that the atmosphere in the hospital had become strange.

Along with curiosity, they were starting to worry if something had really happened in the hospital.

They couldn’t ask Tae-kyung directly, but more and more people were asking Nurse Soo, Lim Jung-sook.

“I was going to talk about that separately anyway, so it’s good that you’re here. Nurse Lim, go to the emergency room and if the staff asks….”

Tae-kyung suggested a clever plan to Nurse Lim Jung-sook.

Anyone who wasn’t an idiot would know by now that the atmosphere in the hospital had become strange.

Above all, Oh Chang-gyu, who had caused this much trouble, would naturally be quick-witted and have a good head on his shoulders.

Therefore, the most important thing now was to make them believe that the strange atmosphere in the hospital was not because of Yoo Hyuk-jin and himself.

“Oh Chang-gyu won’t ask directly because of his personality. In that case, deliberately talk around him so that he can hear.”

“You’re trying to deceive Oh Chang-gyu? But will he be fooled?”

“We have to make him believe it. I haven’t seen all the CCTV footage yet, so I’m not sure, but it doesn’t seem like Yoo Hyuk-jin has gone outside.”

“Really? That’s a relief.”

CCTV footage was important, but if Yoo Hyuk-jin had gone outside the hospital, Oh Chang-gyu wouldn’t have been in the hospital until now.

Because he was an accomplice who helped him escape, there was a high possibility that the two would move together.

“But considering the patients, it doesn’t seem like it’s a good thing that he’s in the hospital. It seems more dangerous because we don’t even know where he’s hiding.”

“We have to find out where he’s hiding. And… Thank you for your help.”

“Yes, Director.”

Tae-kyung asked Lim Jung-sook for a few more things and entered the hospital room to meet the prison guards.

* * *

Meanwhile, as Tae-kyung was moving busily, Yoo Hyuk-jin was still passing through the ventilation shaft.

“Haa!”

The heavy breathing echoed softly as it passed through the ventilation shaft.

He worked hard to move forward, but he couldn’t go as far as he thought.

Yoo Hyuk-jin had planned this quite thoroughly, but there were three variables that he hadn’t anticipated.

The first was his body.

He had to maintain a low crawl position due to the limited space, but it wasn’t as easy as he thought because his body hadn’t fully recovered yet.

Even though it didn’t touch his vertebrae, he had undergone abdominal surgery, so his body didn’t move as he wanted.

He had taken the strong painkillers prepared by Oh Chang-gyu, but they didn’t completely eliminate the pain.

The second was the oil he had poured on his body.

He expected to be able to slide forward, but he failed to control the amount, so the slippery intensity was considerable.

Also, various dust and dead bugs stuck to his body because of the oil, which was more annoying than he thought.

“Damn it! xx. Go away.”

Yoo Hyuk-jin muttered a low curse and crushed a small bug with his hand while taking a moment to catch his breath.

“Hoo! Let’s go.”

It was uncomfortable and nerve-wracking that his body wasn’t in perfect condition and that the oil was causing trouble, but it was okay.

He had endured and endured for so long for today, so this was nothing.

Right now, he felt like he could crawl even if his back gave out, as long as he had his arms.

Yoo Hyuk-jin gave himself strength and moved forward again.

‘Don’t be impatient. You can do it.’

As he slowly moved forward, he gradually got the hang of it and started to pick up speed.

After crawling forward without stopping for a while, Yoo Hyuk-jin suddenly stopped crawling and didn’t move, like a frozen person.

“……!”

Not only did his movement stop, but his expression also froze. His expression was like that of someone who had seen something he shouldn’t have.

1 second, 2 seconds, 3 seconds….

From his blank, frozen expression for about 10 seconds, a sense of bewilderment and dismay gradually emerged.

He was so dumbfounded that even when a small bug crawled around his eyes, Yoo Hyuk-jin didn’t even blink and remained with a blank expression.