Fifth Vital [EN]: Chapter 381

382. Hyperventilation

“Lee Ji-ya, you know the person you’re seeing, right? Do you think you know him well?”

“You mean Tae-cheol?”

“……Yeah.”

“I think I know him well enough since we’ve been dating and are going to get married. Unnie [older sister or female friend], are you worried about me?”

“Huh?”

“Your expression and tone have been off since earlier.”

Goeiji smiled at Euijin, who kept looking at her with worried eyes, and continued.

“Is it because of the arranged marriage?”

“Lee Ji-ya, it’s not that…….”

“I’m okay. Honestly, your family doesn’t do things like this, so you might not understand why I’m getting married like this, but I’m really fine. And about the rumors that Tae-cheol’s company isn’t doing well, well, companies have their ups and downs, so I’m not too worried about that either. I think my dad will help out after I marry him.”

Watching her junior speak so brightly, completely unaware, Euijin had resolved to tell her the truth, but she couldn’t bring herself to say it.

“Lee Ji-ya. Actually, there’s something…….”

“Euijin-ah. I’ll tell her.”

Seeing Euijin struggling to speak, Taekyung comforted her, saying he would tell her.

“Actually, there’s a reason why I came out with Euijin today.”

“A reason?”

“Yes, I came because I have something I need to tell Lee Ji.”

“To me?”

“Yes. It’s a story you absolutely need to know.”

“What are you going to talk about…….”

“It’s about Cha Tae-cheol.”

“My boyfriend?”

“Yes, it’s going to be a difficult story to hear.”

“…….”

Goeiji’s words rapidly decreased.

Come to think of it, she had been so excited talking about herself that she hadn’t noticed, but their expressions had been bad ever since they entered the room to meet her.

“Unnie and Teacher’s faces are full of worry, so I’m already nervous before hearing it. What is it?”

“There was a couple who helped with housework at Cha Tae-cheol’s house about 10 years ago. The couple had a son and a young daughter, and the daughter was about the same age as Cha Tae-cheol. Cha Tae-cheol’s mother and the couple who did housework were on good terms. I guess the kids were too.”

Taekyung continued to explain step by step. He told everything he had heard from Yoo Hyuk-jin and Oh Chang-gyu, without adding or subtracting anything.

Goeiji, who had been quietly concentrating, began to stiffen as the story progressed, unable to believe what she was hearing.

“So, Yoo Hyuk-jin is currently serving time in prison. And this is a photo of his younger sister who passed away because of that incident. Yoo Hyuk-jin, Euijin, and I…….”

“S-s-similar……!”

Before Taekyung could finish his sentence, Goeiji continued.

“This woman looks like me. This woman in the photo……. Ha!”

Goeiji stopped speaking and tightly closed her eyes.

“So, this woman was subjected to terrible things by T…… Tae-cheol oppa [term of endearment for older brother or male friend], and died unfairly? And because of that, an entire family collapsed.”

“That’s right, Lee Ji-ya.”

“Ha! Unnie!”

Squeak-

Goeiji, having heard the shocking story, shook her head and quickly got up from her chair.

“U-unnie, your joke is too much. Tae-cheol oppa isn’t that kind of person. People’s personalities are like that, right? A good person to me can be a bad person to someone else, and vice versa. It seems like you and Teacher have misunderstood something?”

Goeiji couldn’t easily accept the unbelievable story.

It was a natural reaction.

Probably no one would easily believe it if they suddenly learned about their future spouse’s past like that.

“Lee Ji-ya……. I only found out a few days ago. That’s why I urgently contacted you and came out with Sunbae [senior/mentor].”

“Unnie, that person even buys snacks for stray cats he sees on the street from time to time. Ha!”

Goeiji, calming her trembling fingertips, took a breath and continued.

“And you said it happened over 10 years ago, right? At that time, Tae-cheol was hospitalized because he was sick, so how could someone like that do such a terrible thing?”

“It’s true that Cha Tae-cheol was hospitalized. I don’t know the exact timing, but I know he was hospitalized about twice. Once, it wasn’t for a physical illness, but for a mental issue.”

“Just a moment. I’m sorry for interrupting, but what kind of mental issue are you talking about?”

“His family had him hospitalized due to several self-harm incidents. And according to someone who worked with him, he was verbally and physically abusive and had difficulty controlling his anger, but he changed a bit after meeting Lee Ji.”

“T-then……. What about the other time?”

“The other time, he was injured by the older brother of your deceased younger sister and was hospitalized.”

“Ha!”

“Lee Ji-ya, it’s natural that you’re surprised and can’t believe it. But it’s all true, and there’s even a file of your younger sister’s direct recording from that day.”

“Haa! Ha!”

Not knowing how to react, Goeiji leaned against the wall with one hand, gasping for breath, and suddenly collapsed to the floor.

Thud-

“Lee Ji-ya?”

Squeak-

Surprised by the sudden situation, Euijin and Taekyung quickly got up from their seats and approached Goeiji.

Goeiji’s chest was rising and falling even faster than before.

“Lee Ji-ya, get a grip. Sunbae? It seems like Euiji is hyper…….”

“That’s right. It’s Hyperventilation syndrome.”

The cause of hyperventilation syndrome can vary, but the main cause is excessive breathing due to mental stress, which results in the excessive expulsion of carbon dioxide.

Goeiji, shocked by the story of Cha Tae-cheol, was feeling dizzy from hyperventilation and collapsed to the floor.

‘Clean.’

Fortunately, the fifth vital sign didn’t smell at all.

“I’ll get a bag.”

“Goeiji? You’re having hyperventilation right now. It’s okay.”

“Sunbae, here.”

Euijin quickly ran out of the room and brought a transparent bag from the counter.

“Here! Breathe with me. Slowly inhale and good. Exhale again…….”

Taekyung, holding the bag inflated with air to Goeiji’s mouth, reassured her and calmly performed first aid.

“Slowly, inhale slowly according to my cues. One, two, three…… seven. Good. Now, we’re going to exhale in reverse. We’ll do it even slower than before. One, two…… nine, ten. Well done. You’re doing very well.”

With quick first aid, Goeiji’s condition was gradually improving.

“Lee Ji-ya, are you okay?”

“Haa! ……Yes. I feel a little dizzy, but I think I’m better than before.”

“Instead of that, let’s go to our hospital first. I think you need to get an IV and stabilize yourself.”

“Yes. Lee Ji, you’re feeling dizzy right now, so that would be good.”

“……Yes. I will.”

Goeiji felt all the strength leaving her body.

She was worried that she might have another episode of hyperventilation if she stayed alone, so she decided to go to the hospital as they suggested.

Taekyung and Euijin supported Goeiji, hailed a taxi, and rushed to our hospital.

After arriving at the hospital and completing the examination, Goeiji was resting in a private room, receiving an IV drip.

She also needed time to sort out her noisy mind, and since there was still the story about Cha Tae-cheol left, a private room seemed better than the emergency room where people come and go.

It was also a consideration for Goeiji, who was very surprised by the sudden shock.

Squeak-

“Lee Ji-ya, are you feeling better?”

After a while, Euijin and Taekyung came to the hospital room with the examination results.

“Yes. I’m not dizzy and I’m fine now.”

“Why don’t you lie down a little more?”

“No. I’m really okay. So, what were the results?”

Goeiji, who had raised her upper body, asked Taekyung.

“The test results are all normal without any abnormalities. As I explained at the cafe earlier, the hyperventilation was caused by mental stress due to the shock.”

Although it’s always necessary to see the test results of all patients to be accurate, Taekyung wasn’t too worried while conducting the examination because Goeiji’s fifth vital sign was so clean.

However, there was one thing he was worried about, and that was hyperventilation.

Hyperventilation can recur if mental stress is not resolved and one is not psychologically stable.

Taekyung was concerned that Goeiji, who would continue to be stressed by Cha Tae-cheol’s situation for the time being, might experience hyperventilation again.

“I had hyperventilation once when I was preparing for college entrance exams in my senior year of high school because I was severely stressed. So, I thought it was hyperventilation at the cafe earlier, but I think I got better quickly thanks to Unnie and Teacher. Thank you.”

“Thank you for what. Lee Ji-ya, Unnie is sorry.”

Euijin was sincerely sorry to her junior.

She still wanted to tell her the truth about Cha Tae-cheol, but she felt bad seeing her junior shocked by the enormous truth.

Moreover, she felt even worse because of Goeiji’s appearance, which she could see now.

Unlike when she was shocked at the cafe, her outward appearance seemed fine, which was different from what she had expected.

Of course, it was good that she was fine without any problems. However, she felt even worse because she could see that her junior was pretending to be okay, even though she was having a hard time with hyperventilation.

“Why is Unnie sorry?”

“Because you look so tired.”

“No. Unnie, I’m okay. And it’s not Unnie’s fault. So, there’s no need to be sorry at all. What you said earlier? How did you two know that fact?”

“Instead of that, how about resting today and talking again when you feel better?”

“No. I’m okay. And how can I stay still after hearing this story? I’m the person involved, so I need to know. Please answer me.”

“Yoo Hyuk-jin came to our hospital for treatment from prison, and we found out in the process of treating him.”

“I have a favor to ask of Unnie and Teacher.”

“What is it? Tell me.”

“…….”

Goeiji hesitated for a long time after being told to speak.

“Lee Ji-ya, it’s okay, tell me.”

“Teacher said earlier that there’s a recording file.”

“That’s right. There’s a file containing Cha Tae-cheol and your younger sister’s voices.”

“Can you send that to me?”

“Lee Ji-ya. Wouldn’t it be hard to listen to that?”

Euijin didn’t want to give it to her, fearing that Goeiji might be even more shocked if she listened to the file.

“I know. It was a meeting started by our parents, but it’s not like I’ve only met him for a short time, we’ve been dating for quite a while. It’s not that I don’t trust you two, but from my point of view, I need confirmation.”

Goeiji was gritting her teeth and holding on between the Cha Tae-cheol of the past and the Cha Tae-cheol of the present. So, she needed confirmation to know the truth.

She felt like she could only figure out what to do if she knew the exact truth.

“It’s an important matter that affects my life. I think I have the right to know, even if others don’t. I need to know what his real self is.”

“That’s right. That’s why I brought the recorder to the cafe, to tell you the truth of the unbelievable story. But seeing Lee Ji’s appearance, Euijin and I were a little worried about whether we should let you hear this.”

“I know that Unnie and Teacher are worried about me. But I have to face it.”

“I’ll send you the file.”

“Thank you. I’ll be going now.”

“Why? Already? You still need to get more fluids.”

“I don’t feel comfortable lying here. I need time to think alone.”

That was true. Her head was complicated right now, and she couldn’t hear anything. She was surprised by the hyperventilation, but she was fine now, so there was no reason to stay in the hospital any longer.

Right now, Goeiji’s head was full of thoughts about Cha Tae-cheol’s past.

“Are you really okay? Can you go alone?”

“Yes, Unnie. I’ll contact you. Thank you for today.”

Goeiji said goodbye to Euijin and Taekyung with a complicated look and left the hospital.