Fifth Vital [EN]: Chapter 369

370. Do You Think That’s Possible? (1)

“I’m not just saying it. If Yoo Hyuk-jin needs help and it’s a legitimate cause, I’ll help him.”

“I trust you, Director. And my request is that you don’t report my brother to the police. Instead, I! I will take the punishment. I know it’s hard to believe in this situation, but Hyuk-jin is a law-abiding person.”

With the ironic statement of a ‘good person’ to a ‘prison inmate,’ Oh Chang-gyu continued to speak.

“He lived that way until the incident. It was a sudden accident that changed him, but he’s genuinely a good person. As you may have heard, Director, he’s a model prisoner. I heard he might be eligible for parole this time. But if the police find out about this, his parole will be out of the question, and his sentence will be extended. So, please, Director, just turn a blind eye for once.”

“Even if I turn a blind eye, wouldn’t it be useless if the prison guards report it to the prison?”

“The prison guards in the ward won’t be able to report it so easily. One of them is up for promotion, and this incident would be a major blow to their career.”

Whether he heard it from Yoo Hyuk-jin or not, Oh Chang-gyu also knew a lot about the prison guards.

“I can’t give you a 100% guarantee that I won’t report it to the police.”

“…….”

“But if Yoo Hyuk-jin comes out of the ventilation shaft without causing any trouble and cooperates, I’ll consider it. However, if you, Oh-seonsaeng [Mr. Oh], have other intentions, or if anyone gets hurt, or if I feel there’s a risk of him escaping again, I won’t hesitate to report it to the police.”

“……Yes. I understand.”

Oh Chang-gyu, realizing there was no room for further compromise with Tae-kyung’s unwavering determination, complied.

Anyone else might not be trustworthy, but because Tae-kyung was the one making the offer, he could believe it. There’s a saying that you can know ten things from seeing one [meaning you can judge a person’s character from a single action].

From the way he treated patients, guardians, and staff, he didn’t think the person in front of him was someone who would lie.

And with the problem with Yoo Hyuk-jin’s body, he decided that it was impossible to proceed any further.

Clang-

“Director!”

While the two were talking, Team Leader Choi burst into the office.

Rushing in, he held out a photo from his phone and said.

“Here, I found it.”

What Team Leader Choi presented was a photo of an old hospital blueprint with a ventilation shaft structure on one side.

Tae-kyung had asked Team Leader Choi if he knew about the ventilation shaft structure in case it might be needed, and Team Leader Choi was able to find an old blueprint in the document storage room.

“The paper was so old that I was afraid it would tear, so I took a picture of it.”

“Good job.”

Looking at the ventilation shaft structure, Tae-kyung discovered something and showed the phone photo to Oh Chang-gyu.

“See here? You can’t get out this way anyway.”

“……!”

Oh Chang-gyu’s eyebrows twitched as he looked at the photo. Inside the ventilation shaft, there was an X-shaped structure to prevent anyone from going out.

He prided himself on having examined the inside and outside of the building in detail, starting with the security cameras, but he never expected that there would be such a structure inside the ventilation shaft.

Perhaps Yoo Hyuk-jin was destined not to be able to leave the hospital from the beginning.

‘Hyung [older brother], I don’t think I can do it anymore.’

Oh Chang-gyu thought to himself, recalling Yoo Hyuk-jin with a bitter expression.

“Really… it is. You’re right, Director. There’s no way out.”

“Since you’re the only person Yoo Hyuk-jin can trust right now, I think it would be a good idea to talk about his condition and get him to come out naturally.”

“Just a moment.”

Oh Chang-gyu took out his phone from his pocket. Yoo Hyuk-jin’s text message came to mind. Now that things had come to this, there was no need to hide and look at the text messages.

-Chang-gyu?

-There’s a problem here. I need your help.

Oh Chang-gyu told Tae-kyung the contents of the text message.

“I checked the text message before you came in, and he said there was a problem.”

“Isn’t he trying to say that the ventilation shaft is blocked?”

“Yes, I think so too.”

“Did you reply?”

“No, I couldn’t.”

“That’s good. We can use this text message to get Yoo Hyuk-jin out.”

“Yes, I think that will work.”

“It’s been a while since the text message came, so reply quickly. Tell him you were late because of a patient so he won’t be suspicious.”

As Tae-kyung said, Oh Chang-gyu sent a reply to Yoo Hyuk-jin. He was worried because he had been wondering what was going on.

-Hyung, I’m sorry. I just saw the text message because I was taking care of an emergency patient. But what do you mean there’s a problem?

-More importantly, are you okay? And are the prison guards still not awake?

Yoo Hyuk-jin, who had been waiting for Oh Chang-gyu’s text message, quickly sent a reply, and the two continued to text each other.

-Yes, I’m fine. Don’t worry about the prison guards. I went up there a little while ago, and they’re still asleep. How about you? Are you okay?

-Really? That’s a relief. Chang-gyu, there’s a problem here. I don’t think I can get out through the ventilation shaft. The passage is blocked.

Yoo Hyuk-jin said about the structure blocking the ventilation shaft as expected.

-The passage? I didn’t know about that. What should we do? I think the only way is for you to come out again. Anyway, the prison guards are asleep now, and there aren’t many people around because it’s early morning, so I think it’ll be okay.

-I’ve been thinking about it, and I think that’s the only way. Then prepare some clothes and bandages. Let’s meet in front of the ventilation shaft.

-Bandages? Are you hurt?

-It’s just a slight cut, it’s okay. Chang-gyu, even if the prison guards are under the influence of sleeping pills, they’ll wake up after a while, and someone might wake them up, so I think we should prepare quickly and get out.

-Yes, Hyung, I’ll prepare and go within 10 minutes. Please wait a little longer.

-Okay. Thank you.

Tae-kyung, who had checked the contents of the two people’s text messages, hurried without waiting any longer.

First, he informed the prison guards of all the facts, and fortunately, the two, who were in better condition, came down to the office using the central staircase with handcuffs.

When everyone gathered, Tae-kyung told each of them what to do.

“As soon as Yoo Hyuk-jin comes out, handcuff him right away.”

“Yes, I understand.”

“Team Leader Choi and Security Guard Jang should wait on both sides of the ventilation shaft entrance and prevent Yoo Hyuk-jin from escaping with the prison guards when he comes out. And don’t let your guard down until he’s handcuffed.”

“Yes, Director.”

“Oh-seonsaeng, you have to keep in touch and emphasize that there’s no one outside and act naturally.”

“…….”

Oh Chang-gyu suddenly didn’t say anything.

“Oh-seonsaeng?”

“I just… I don’t know if this is the right thing to do, if it’s really for Hyung. I know what I did was wrong, but I just feel so sorry and resentful for Hyung…”

“Oh-seonsaeng, I don’t know what’s going on, but if you really think of Yoo Hyuk-jin as your brother and want to help him, you know that what you’re doing now is the right thing to do.”

“That’s right. You’re right, Director. If Yoo Hyuk-jin left the hospital like this, we wouldn’t be able to help him no matter how hard we tried.”

“That’s right. This is the best we can do.”

Tae-kyung and the prison guards comforted him, worried that Oh Chang-gyu might have other intentions.

“Oh-seonsaeng, there’s no time.”

“Ha! I understand.”

In the end, Oh Chang-gyu pulled himself together and headed to where Yoo Hyuk-jin was with the people.

Tae-kyung asked Nurse Lim Jeong-suk to prevent other medical staff from coming up to the ward.

Oh Chang-gyu went up first, and Tae-kyung and the others took off their shoes so as not to make any noise and carefully climbed the stairs.

When they reached the problematic ventilation shaft entrance, they took their places as promised. Then Tae-kyung gestured to be quiet with his index finger and nodded as a signal.

“Hyung?”

Then Oh Chang-gyu removed the ventilation shaft entrance and called Yoo Hyuk-jin with his face slightly inside.

He thought about making a phone call, but he changed his plan to speak directly because he was worried that the sound of people moving might leak out.

“Can you hear me? If you can hear me, tap the floor lightly.”

Tap- Tap-

As soon as Oh Chang-gyu finished speaking, the tapping sound echoed along the ventilation shaft.

“I’m standing right in front of the entrance, so don’t worry and come out slowly. When I see your feet, I’ll pull you out carefully, so don’t be surprised.”

Tap- Tap-

Again, the sound echoing from inside the ventilation shaft was heard, and soon the sound of Yoo Hyuk-jin moving was heard.

The rustling sound was gradually getting closer.

The closer the sound got, the more tension grew on the faces of Oh Chang-gyu and Tae-kyung, who were standing right in front of the ventilation shaft entrance.

The tension was so tight that no one could even blink or breathe comfortably.

Even the surrounding air seemed to hold its breath at their tension.

“……!”

The constant sound coming from inside the ventilation shaft rang loudly, and finally Yoo Hyuk-jin’s feet began to appear.

He was crawling on the floor, pushing himself back with his arms.

“Hyung.”

As Oh Chang-gyu spoke to Yoo Hyuk-jin, who was looking at Tae-kyung and the prison guards, thick hands came up over his feet.

“It’s me. Chang-gyu.”

The person who spoke was Oh Chang-gyu, but the hand that grabbed his feet was security guard Jang Deuk-chil. Jang Deuk-chil, who could subdue Yoo Hyuk-jin in case of an emergency, stepped forward.

“I’ll pull you slowly.”

“Okay, Chang-gyu.”

“I’m pulling.”

At the end of the short conversation, Yoo Hyuk-jin’s body, which was inside the ventilation shaft, was completely pulled out in an instant.

At the same time, two prison guards grabbed his arms, Jang Deuk-chil grabbed his shoulders from behind, and Tae-kyung and Oh Chang-gyu stood in front.

Without any room to escape, Yoo Hyuk-jin was completely surrounded.

“Wait a minute.”

Tae-kyung stopped the prison guards from handcuffing his hands. Blood was dripping from one wrist that had been cut by a knife.

Clang-

In the end, the senior prison guard shared the handcuffs on his wrist, and the junior prison guard grabbed the other injured hand.

Contrary to what they had expected, there was no fighting or significant resistance, he had no reaction at all to everyone’s surprise.

“……!”

He was speechless and unable to say anything in the face of the unexpected situation that had happened in an instant.

It was clear that the escape had failed.

He firmly believed that he would be able to get out of the hospital if he went out of the ventilation shaft.

Yoo Hyuk-jin felt as if the sky was falling and his eyes were turning yellow [a Korean idiom for feeling hopeless].

He endured with a firm will to do it and must do it. But that firm will collapsed in an instant.

‘Escape? Do you think that’s possible? It’s impossible.’

The words of an old inmate who had been in prison for over 30 years flashed through Yoo Hyuk-jin’s head.

‘Movies and dramas often show inmates escaping and running away. It’s only possible in dramas. Do you know why it’s impossible? No matter how perfect a plan you make, there will always be variables. Those unexpected variables will hold you back. In the end, you have no choice but to fail.’

That’s what he said when he asked the man, who was called the master of escape, to tell him how to escape.

He was a man who had tried to get out by all means. But every time, he eventually returned to prison and took his own life in the prison shower room the year before last.

Yoo Hyuk-jin squeezed his eyes shut and made a painful expression.

“Hyung……!”

“…….”

Oh Chang-gyu, who looked like he was about to cry if he was touched, called him, but he was silent.

“I’m sorry. Hyung.”

Tae-kyung and Jang Deuk-chil covered his body, which was only wearing underwear, with a thin blanket and moved him to the ward.