Fifth Vital [EN]: Chapter 40

40. Skewer

“Ggot-bun!”

Kim Ggot-bun deliberately wore a serious expression upon hearing that her son had arrived.

“Ggot-bun, it’s been a while since I’ve seen you. Why aren’t you answering?”

“…….”

“You’re not feeling well, so why are you outside…? But what’s with the travel bag? Are you going somewhere?”

“Don’t say much, just lead the way.”

Despite her son’s joyful expression, Kim Ggot-bun remained stern.

“Lead the way? What are you talking about?”

“Your dead father and I may have lived uneducated lives, but we never made a living off of other people’s backs.”

“Mom, what are you suddenly talking about?”

“I heard the company you work for is a loan shark company.”

“How did you know… Oh. The sisters told you again.”

“The sisters! The sisters!”

Thwack- Thwack-

Kim Ggot-bun smacked her son’s back with her palm as he took out his phone to call his sisters.

“Ow! That hurts!”

“I hit you to hurt. To hurt.”

“It’s not as bad as you think.”

“You rascal! How can you say that now… I won’t say much more. Quit it right now.”

“If I quit this, what am I supposed to do now?”

“Why wouldn’t you have anything to do? At least go to a meat restaurant and wipe the grill.”

“Ugh! No way. I have my pride. How can I do that?”

“That kind of work? It’s much more valuable than what you’re doing.”

The son didn’t easily listen to Kim Ggot-bun’s words.

“So you’re going to keep doing that awful job?”

“It’s not like that. I have my own plans.”

In fact, the son had been worried about his job. His colleague, who had been with him from the start, had almost died and quit.

He couldn’t get along with the new team member, and the team leader kept picking on him, so he was constantly annoyed.

“If it’s not like that, then quit quickly. What are you thinking about?”

“Frankly, who would want to hire a guy who used to do gangster-like things?”

“Be a security guard.”

“Security guard? Who would hire me?”

“Someone your mother knows said they’ll arrange an interview. Don’t say anything, just go and see.”

“Ugh! No thanks. I’m not a kid. Why would I rely on my mom’s favor… You should take care of yourself, Ggot-bun.”

“Son! Do you see this?”

Anticipating her son’s reaction, Kim Ggot-bun took out a brown bottle from her travel bag.

“Your mother has nothing to fear anymore. What am I afraid of after having my head split open and surviving surgery? But I’m afraid of my son living like this.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I’d rather die than see you living like this. Deuk-chil’s father, I’m coming soon too.”

“What are you saying… Mother!”

Jang Deuk-chil was startled and stopped Kim Ggot-bun as she tried to drink from the brown bottle.

Unlike his quiet and gentle father, his mother was the opposite.

A woman of valor who dominated the marketplace, his mother was the type to do whatever she set her mind to.

Jang Deuk-chil was suddenly afraid.

“Treatment or whatever, I’m going to die, so live like a gangster or do whatever you want.”

As the yellow liquid in the brown bottle was about to fall into Kim Ggot-bun’s mouth, Jang Deuk-chil swiftly reached out.

“Okay! I won’t do it! I won’t.”

Jang Deuk-chil, who barely snatched the bottle and threw it on the floor, continued.

“I’ll quit.”

“The interview? What about the interview!”

“Okay. I’ll go. I’ll go. I’ll go.”

“Deuk-chil, you promised.”

“Okay, okay. By the way, where did you get that medicine while you were in the nursing home?”

“You don’t need to know.”

Kim Ggot-bun didn’t say that the yellow liquid in the brown bottle was a health tonic.

“Ggot-bun, ma’am?”

Kim Cheol-gi and Lee Ok-bin, who had left their seats, approached the two.

“Min-gi’s mom, did you have a good walk?”

“Yes, Min-gi was very excited. Oh! Min-gi’s dad said to tell you that he’ll let your son have an interview.”

“Oh my! Really? Shouldn’t he decide after seeing him?”

“He already saw him. He told me to tell you.”

“He saw him? Anyway, he’s my benefactor. Be grateful.”

“Oh! Is this Ggot-bun’s son?”

“That’s right. This is my youngest, Deuk-chil.”

“Nice to meet you, Deuk-chil. Min-gi, say hello.”

Jang Deuk-chil looked at Lee Ok-bin, bewildered.

‘What is this? What’s with this bizarre concept? Is she crazy?’

Her appearance and voice were that of an old woman, but her tone was that of a young woman, and the most absurd thing was that she treated a doll like a child.

“Why is this grandma acting like this?”

“Grandma!”

“And what’s with the dol… Ow! That hurts.”

The moment Jang Deuk-chil was about to say the word ‘doll,’ Kim Ggot-bun grabbed her son’s ear tightly and whispered.

“If you say that word, I’ll overlock [sew shut] your mouth, so shut it.”

Jang Deuk-chil quickly closed his mouth as he saw Kim Ggot-bun glaring at him with lasers.

“Why are you staring like that? Say hello quickly!”

“Hello. I’m Jang Deuk-chil.”

* * *

“How many days has it been since the surgery?”

“It’s been four days.”

Tae-gyeong was looking at the PC in the ward station with Lee Chan-hee.

“But the inflammation levels are still high. This could be due to the post-surgery situation, but there may be something else wrong with the patient.”

“Yes.”

“When there’s a possibility like this based on the numbers, you have to watch the patient more carefully.”

“Yes.”

Lee Chan-hee’s answer was lackluster. The time he used to have to rest in the medical office has disappeared these days.

‘Ha! I was going to do some homework during the remaining time, but I guess he’ll ask me more questions again?’

He was slightly nervous about the sudden accompanying rounds. When he goes on rounds with Tae-gyeong, he suddenly throws out questions.

‘Wait a minute!’

Lee Chan-hee glanced at Tae-gyeong, who was seriously looking at the monitor, and thought.

‘But when does the professor leave work?’

Come to think of it, something was strange. When he thought about it, he didn’t seem to have seen Tae-gyeong leave work except for the first day.

‘What! Don’t tell me he’s been staying at the hospital the whole time? No way. But he’s definitely the type to do that.’

While Lee Chan-hee was shaking his head with a surprised expression, Tae-gyeong’s surprise question continued.

“Lee, what should we pay particular attention to?”

Lee Chan-hee swallowed hard. Whether he’s looking at patient charts or making rounds, he couldn’t get used to this question time.

“Shouldn’t we look at the surgical site?”

“That’s also correct, but we’re disinfecting the surgical site every day. There’s something more important than that. What could it be?”

“Could it be… the lung?”

“That’s right. It’s the lungs. Although the timing is slightly different from the textbook, post-operative care is very important after surgery, especially for patients who have undergone general anesthesia. That’s why this patient…”

Rrrrrrrrrrr

Tae-gyeong’s suddenly ringing ringtone interrupted the heated conversation about the patient.

“Yes, hello.”

-Hello. This is Sudom Hospital. I’m calling to inquire about a transfer.

Sudom Hospital was the closest hospital to our hospital.

This hospital also had an emergency room, but it was not large enough to perform surgery.

“A transfer?”

-Yes, a 57-year-old man. There was an accident at a construction site, and he suffered an abdomen penetrating injury from a skewer [a long, thin piece of metal or wood used to hold pieces of food together].

“A skewer?”

The word ‘skewer’ made Tae-gyeong and even Lee Chan-hee next to him flinch and prick up their ears.

-Yes. But this patient doesn’t have much bleeding. He came to our emergency room after pulling it out at the accident site.

“Wait a minute.”

Tae-gyeong listened and questioned his ears, repeating what he had heard.

“You said the skewer was pulled out at the accident site?”

-Yes, that’s right. According to the rescue workers, he fell on a pile of rebar [steel bars used to reinforce concrete] and was penetrated, but when they arrived, the patient was unknowingly standing up.

It was a series of unbelievable words.

-The patient’s current vitals are stable. We don’t have a CT scanner yet, so we haven’t been able to accurately assess the situation. It started in the lower abdomen, so I think the bladder is probably damaged.

“Does the patient have any underlying conditions?”

-No, he doesn’t.

As soon as he heard the doctor requesting the transfer, Tae-gyeong made a plan for the patient in his head.

‘The bladder.’

If it’s the bladder, the urology department must perform the primary surgery first. In this case, it’s faster to contact the relevant department. Fortunately, today was the day the urologist was working.

“Lee, right now…”

“Hello. Dr. Lee is here too.”

Just as he was about to give orders to Lee Chan-hee, Na Go-han, a urologist, was passing by.

He had failed to run a private practice in Gangnam and Gangbuk [affluent districts in Seoul], and he was working at several hospitals.

“I was just about to call you.”

“Really? Is it because of a patient?”

“Yes. He said his bladder was pierced by a skewer.”

“A skewer? Oh my. That’s terrible.”

“His vitals are okay, and we received a transfer request. Are you okay with it?”

“Yes, Doctor! All the patients I was caring for yesterday were discharged at the same time, so I have plenty of time.”

“Really? That’s a relief.”

“Three friends had enlargement surgery together and were discharged, and they were all satisfied. I feel a sense of pride as a doctor when my patients are satisfied.”

Na Go-han added words he wasn’t even asked, as if the surgery was really satisfactory.

“I may not be good at management, but I used to be called an art in this field. Hahaha!”

He was as cheerful as ever. Strangely, urologists tend to be cheerful and outgoing.

Among them, Na Go-han was an even more humorous person.

When asked why he chose urology, he replied that his name was his destiny and he didn’t even consider other departments.

“Hello. We’ll accept the transfer.”

Tae-gyeong spoke into the phone he was holding, accepting the patient transfer to the Sudam Hospital staff.

-Yes, he’ll arrive within an hour. Thank you. Doctor.

“You’re welcome. Take care.”

“Doctor, I’ll see you later then.”

Na Go-han left his seat, and Tae-gyeong, who had heard about the condition of the transferred patient, couldn’t concentrate on the patient chart.

“It’s a big deal that a skewer penetrated him.”

Lee Chan-hee was right. A skewer had penetrated a person’s body. And it was in the abdomen, where there are important organs. It was definitely a big deal.

“Doctor, will the patient be okay?”

“We’ll have to see exactly.”

He had to see the patient directly to know his condition, but he was worried.

Tae-gyeong was already worried about the patient.

If a skewer penetrated, a large blood vessel may have been damaged. And it may have penetrated the intestines.

Moreover, the patient’s condition was not known at all due to the absence of a CT scan.

‘I hope it’s not a serious injury….’

Even after that, Tae-gyeong continued to think about the patient while making rounds.

‘But his vitals are fortunate.’

The fact that his vitals were okay relieved his anxiety somewhat, but the situation was still unknown.

* * *

40 minutes later.

Tae-gyeong, who was seeing outpatients, received a call from the emergency room from nurse Im Jeong-suk.

-Doctor, the transferred patient has arrived, so we checked his vitals and sent out a basic blood test.

“The patient doesn’t have any underlying conditions, but check his eGFR (Estimated Glomerular Filtration Rate, an indicator that reflects kidney function) and administer contrast media. We’ll take a CT scan right away.”

-Okay, Doctor.

As soon as he received the emergency room call, he rattled off orders as if he had been waiting for it.

The fifth vital stage is important, but the importance of imaging for patients who have suffered trauma like this is beyond imagination.

His vitals are okay, so imaging comes first.

Tae-gyeong finished his outpatient treatment and hurried out of the examination room.

Click-

‘……!’

The moment he opened the door of the examination room, he felt the presence of the fifth vital.

‘This smell is stage 3.’

A faint smell of feces was spreading in the hallway.

With each step, the smell became clearer and more distinct.

The closer he got to the emergency room, the more concentrated and condensed smell of feces hit Tae-gyeong’s sense of smell.