Fifth Vital [EN]: Chapter 378

379. The Three Conditions of a Typical Doctor

“Has your opinion not changed?”

“I’d like to hear how you want me to help first.”

“Instead of me…”

Yoo Hyuk-jin adjusted his posture, looked directly at Tae-kyung, and continued.

“Please tell that woman about Cha Tae-cheol’s ugly side. Can you do that for me?”

“Is that all?”

“Yes, that’s all I need. The reason I lied about my back hurting, even though it didn’t, and went up on the operating table, and why I desperately tried to escape was to tell her the truth in front of Cha Tae-cheol.”

From the moment he conceived his initial plan, Yoo Hyuk-jin had no intention of killing Cha Tae-cheol. Of course, he still ‘killed’ him dozens of times a day in his mind, but in reality, he had no such intention.

The despair one can only feel when losing something truly precious. He only wanted to inflict the same desperate despair that he and his family had felt.

He would only regret not being able to witness Cha Tae-cheol’s expression when his ugly and dirty side, which he had been hiding, was revealed.

“Thank you, Director.”

Yoo Hyuk-jin suddenly thanked Tae-kyung. Looking at his expression, it wasn’t just a polite greeting but a sincere expression of gratitude.

“Isn’t it a bit early to receive thanks? I haven’t explicitly agreed to help yet.”

“I’m not talking about that part.”

“Then…?”

“Thank you for listening to my story.”

Tae-kyung silently listened to Yoo Hyuk-jin’s terrible and, at times, cringe-worthy story.

Every time he choked up with intense emotions, Tae-kyung handed him a tissue and offered comfort, patting him on the shoulder.

Yoo Hyuk-jin was grateful for Tae-kyung’s actions.

“I didn’t even tell Chang-gyu [Oh Chang-gyu, likely an accomplice or friend] this much detail, but you’re the first person I’ve told everything to, Director. Actually, I was only going to tell you some of it. But strangely, I ended up telling you everything.”

“I just listened; I didn’t do anything.”

“In the past, when my younger sister had a frustrating day at school, she would come to my room in the evening and chatter away, and after she had finished talking, she would tell me, ‘I feel better after talking to you, Oppa [older brother].’ Now I understand why my sister said that back then.”

After telling his whole story, Yoo Hyuk-jin felt a little relieved, as if a heavy weight had been lifted from his chest.

“I think I did well to confide in you, Director.”

“I’m glad you think so. But can I ask you something?”

“Of course. Go ahead.”

“Yoo Hyuk-jin, how much time do you have left until your release date?”

“My release date? If I’m chosen as a model prisoner, it might be a little sooner, but there’s still quite a bit of time left.”

“Have you ever thought about how you want to live when you get out?”

“I haven’t specifically thought about how I should live…”

Yoo Hyuk-jin paused for a moment, seemingly thinking about something, then answered with an embarrassed expression.

“I want to bake bread.”

“Bread?”

“Yes, even within families, people have different tastes, just like there are foods they like and foods they dislike. My father liked soybean paste stew [doenjang jjigae], but my mother liked kimchi stew [kimchi jjigae]. My younger sibling neither liked nor disliked stew, and I ate well with just any kind of stew. But there was one food that our family all liked, and that was bread.”

Each with different tastes, the family all liked bread, especially chestnut bread, soboro bread [a sweet, crumbly-topped bread], and old-fashioned vegetable bread with cucumbers, cabbage, and sausage.

Yoo Hyuk-jin learned baking skills in prison while thinking of his family.

“If I can blend in with people and live a normal life after I get out, I want to get a baking license and open a small bakery. I want to make bread while thinking of my parents and younger sibling, and live a simple life like that.”

“A bakery sounds good. Earlier, you asked me if my opinion on helping you was still the same, right?”

“Yes? …Yes.”

“It hasn’t changed. I will help you.”

Tae-kyung still wanted to help him. He felt sorry for him, living a wounded and desolate life with no one to rely on.

“Really? Are you saying that sincerely?”

In fact, Yoo Hyuk-jin didn’t expect much from Tae-kyung’s offer to help.

They weren’t acquaintances, and there was no real reason to help, so he thought it was just a polite remark to comfort him after treating his wounds.

But he couldn’t help but be surprised that Tae-kyung was really going to help.

“Are you really going to help me?”

“Yes. I will help. But there are conditions.”

“Conditions…?”

Yoo Hyuk-jin cautiously asked back at the unexpected word ‘conditions’.

“Yes, conditions. There are three conditions.”

“Three? If they’re too difficult, I might not be able to do them.”

“They’re not difficult. First, you must live a righteous life in prison and be released as a model prisoner. Second, you must obtain a baking license and open a bakery.”

“I can’t give you a definite answer about being a model prisoner right now, but I will work hard. And I’m interested in getting a license, so that won’t be too difficult.”

Yoo Hyuk-jin’s tense expression relaxed at the easier-than-expected conditions.

“But even if I have money, would anyone give someone like me a place for a bakery?”

“What do you mean?”

“You may not know this, Director, but it’s not easy for released prisoners to start anew because of the stigma of being in prison. Because of that, there are quite a few people who can’t adapt to the outside world and end up committing crimes again and returning to prison.”

“If you can’t find a place after searching, then come find me.”

“Yes?”

“If you can’t find a bakery location, I’ll give you a spot in our hospital parking lot, so don’t worry about that.”

“Is it really that easy? Thank you for the thought.”

Yoo Hyuk-jin was grateful for Tae-kyung’s words, but he didn’t fully believe them.

“It’s not just a thought; it’s real. Who would joke like this in front of a prisoner worrying about their future? How about that? Aren’t the conditions not too difficult?”

“…Yes. Well, as you said, Director, it’s not difficult. What’s the third one?”

“Actually, the third one is the most important. The moment you leave prison, forget about Cha Tae-cheol and live your life as yourself, not anyone else. That’s the last one.”

“…!”

Yoo Hyuk-jin couldn’t answer easily at the completely unexpected last condition.

“I don’t want you to abandon and neglect yourself anymore. No one can undo what you did. There aren’t many people in reality who directly seek revenge by going after the person who hurt their family, killing and injuring them. But killing someone, that’s not right.”

“Then!”

Yoo Hyuk-jin, who had been listening to Tae-kyung’s words with his head down, suddenly raised his voice with strength in his eyes.

“Then are you saying those guys who made my sister like that did well? Is that what you’re saying? Yes?”

Thud-

“What’s going on?”

“Director, are you okay?”

The prison guards who had been waiting right outside the hospital room, startled by the raised voice, opened the door and came in.

“It’s okay. It’s nothing.”

At Tae-kyung’s reassurance that he was okay, the prison guards told him in a small voice not to provoke Yoo Hyuk-jin too much and closed the hospital room door.

“No. Those guys deserve to die, and they’re trash who don’t deserve to live. Honestly, after hearing all the circumstances and the reason why you were imprisoned, I didn’t think you did anything wrong. I would have done the same. But after killing Go Seung-eun and leaving Cha Tae-cheol in the hospital for over six months, were you at peace?”

“…”

“The fact that you didn’t answer right away means you weren’t at peace, right? Then if you had killed Cha Tae-cheol back then, would you have been at peace?”

“…”

No.

Yoo Hyuk-jin’s heart was not at peace. He thought he had avenged his sister, who had been ignored by the trash and the corrupt injustice, but his heart was not at peace.

He couldn’t kill him back then, but Oh Chang-gyu had said this about Cha Tae-cheol, who had gone through several life-threatening moments in the hospital for six months.

‘Hyung-nim [term for older brother or respected male figure]. At this point, Cha Tae-cheol is as good as dead.’

I understand with what heart Oh Chang-gyu said those words. It was a word to put down the burden of his heart, but it didn’t work out as he wished.

I thought that if I punished those guys as much as I wanted, my frustrated heart would be a little more at ease, but it wasn’t. My heart was still not at peace.

So, in order to relieve the burden of his heart, he desperately tried to reveal Cha Tae-cheol’s true colors for the last time.

He thought that after doing so, the hollowed-out heart would be filled a little.

But Yoo Hyuk-jin himself knew.

The reason why his heart has not been at peace for so long is because his beloved family is not by his side.

That’s why he couldn’t cut off the link to Cha Tae-cheol, who was the cause of everything, and he may have been clinging to him more, ignoring the fact that he was tormenting himself.

“I can’t presume to know all of your wounded heart. But at least I can say for sure that your family wouldn’t want to see you clinging to Cha Tae-cheol.”

“…”

“Rather, they would want to see you happier and living better than anyone else. I know it’s not easy, and I’m not saying it lightly because I’m not in your shoes. But I want you to be happy. So, with this incident as the last, kill Cha Tae-cheol in your heart and live your own life.”

“Do you know what?”

After a moment of silence, the man who had been shouting and serious until just now burst into laughter, relaxed his frowning face, and said.

“What?”

“You’re a really strange doctor, Director. This is the first time I’ve seen a doctor like you in my life.”

“Well, I hear that kind of thing often.”

“No, why is a doctor trying to fix people’s hearts when they should be fixing their bodies?”

“Doctors fix both bodies and minds when they’re hurt and in pain. Is there a law that says we can only fix wounds on the body?”

“There’s no such law, but most doctors live like that. There aren’t many doctors who listen to their patients’ stories like you do, Director.”

“I’m a normal doctor too. But just because others do that doesn’t mean I have to do the same. And I’m a bit of a busybody by nature. Why? Do you have a complaint?”

“Yes, I have a complaint.”

“Having a complaint is your right, so I won’t say anything. So, can you keep the conditions I presented?”

“…”

Yoo Hyuk-jin seemed to be contemplating whether to answer Tae-kyung’s question.

“Okay. It’s dawn, and you must be tired from everything that happened today, so if you need time to think, I’ll come back tomorrow…”

“No. I will keep them. I will keep them.”

“Really? Then just a moment…”

Tae-kyung tore off a piece of memo paper that he carried in his gown pocket and quickly wrote down the conditions he had presented earlier, handing the paper forward.

“Here! Write your name and sign below.”

“…!”

“Don’t look at me like that. You might change your mind later, so we need to leave solid evidence like this.”

“Do you have to go this far?”

“Of course.”

“Okay! Here you go! Is that enough?”

Yoo Hyuk-jin handed Tae-kyung the paper with his name and signature.

“Okay. That’s enough. You must be tired, so get some rest.”

“Hey, Director?”

Yoo Hyuk-jin called out to Tae-kyung, who was about to open the hospital room door and leave.

“Yes?”

“I’m sorry, and thank you again.”

“Me too. Thank you.”

“Yes? What are you…”

“Thank you for not dying and for changing your mind. Yoo Hyuk-jin, the patient.”

Thud-

‘Thank you for that…’

As Tae-kyung left the hospital room, leaving those words of thanks, Yoo Hyuk-jin stared blankly at the hospital room door for a while and said to himself.

‘You’re a really strange doctor.’