Fifth Vital [EN]: Chapter 400

401. The Redness Visible Inside

After Nurse Im Jeong-suk left the examination room, Tae-kyung called the number Lee Jae-san had given him.

-Hello?

Lee Jae-san answered the phone as if he had been waiting for it, before the first ring even ended.

-Are you the director?

“Yes, this is Kim Tae-kyung.”

-Ah!

Having waited for the call all day since leaving the hospital, Lee Jae-san couldn’t help but sigh in relief when he heard Tae-kyung’s voice over the phone.

-Thank you for calling.

“It’s nothing. Are you off work now?”

-Yes. I came straight home from the hospital earlier.

“Is your mother home too, by any chance?”

-My mother has a dinner appointment tonight, so she’ll be late.

“That’s good.”

-Pardon?

“Then I’ll head over to your place now, so please give me your address.”

-No, Director. I’m grateful just for you coming, so I’ll come and pick you up right away.

“Don’t do that.”

Lee Jae-san wanted to pick him up out of gratitude, but Tae-kyung refused.

“It’ll take longer if I wait for you, so it’s better if I go.”

-Understood. Director, I’ll send you the address right away.

“Yes, I’ll leave immediately.”

After hanging up with Lee Jae-san, Tae-kyung checked if there were any urgent patients, informed the staff of any instructions, and headed to the parking lot.

“Sunbae [senior colleague or mentor]? Just a moment.”

Ui-jin ran towards Tae-kyung, who was about to get into his car.

“Take this with you.”

“What’s this?”

“Madam Oh made you some kimbap [Korean seaweed rice rolls].”

Ui-jin handed Tae-kyung a lunch box containing kimbap and soybean paste soup made by Oh Yeo-sa from the cafeteria, as he hadn’t had dinner yet.

Even if it was a patient in need of help, he couldn’t just leave the hospital during clinic hours.

Fortunately, Lee Jae-san’s house wasn’t too far from the hospital, so Tae-kyung decided to spare some time from his dinner to go see the child.

“Spread it out on the passenger seat and eat one each time you stop at a light.”

“I can eat later, and it’s not like anything will happen if I skip one meal…….”

“The staff trembles even if they eat a little late, and who was it that said you need to eat well to work at the hospital?”

“I’m just sorry. I’ll eat well. Thanks.”

“Sunbae, call me if anything happens.”

“I’ll be back.”

“Drive safe.”

Tae-kyung departed with Ui-jin’s send-off.

* * *

Lee Jae-san’s house-

“Are you alright, Little Madam? You look very worn out.”

“I’m fine.”

“I hesitate to say this, but the caregiver needs to be healthy to take care of the sick person.”

After learning about the couple’s situation, the housekeeper became their supporter, perfectly deceiving the mother-in-law and taking care of the family more diligently than before.

“You haven’t been eating well at mealtimes, but you mustn’t do that. You must be strong for Jin-i’s sake and eat heartily. And if there’s anything you want to eat, anything at all, just let me know, and I’ll make it for you.”

“Yes, I’ll make sure to eat well from now on. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

Kim Yeon-ju picked up the child’s clothes that the housekeeper had folded and went up to the second floor where her daughter was.

Since her daughter became ill, she had been sleeping more. She quietly entered the room so as not to wake the child, put the clothes in the closet drawer, and walked to the bed.

The daughter, smaller than her peers, was asleep with her favorite dolls as usual.

They were dolls she always had with her no matter what; one was bought by her brother who had passed away, and the other was bought by her parents.

The daughter cherished the two dolls the most among her many toys.

Sitting at the head of the bed, Kim Yeon-ju adjusted her daughter’s position, who looked uncomfortable because of the dolls, and then got up.

As she approached the desk to adjust the humidifier’s spray, she noticed the color pencils scattered haphazardly.

The daughter, who loved to draw, drew several times a day.

As she sorted the color pencils by color one by one, a sketchbook caught her eye.

“……!”

The moment she saw it, Kim Yeon-ju’s tear ducts filled up instantly.

The picture showed her dad, mom, and grandma inside the house, and above the clouds, there was a picture of her brother with a yellow halo and wings, and her daughter also had a yellow halo and wings on her shoulders.

And on one side of the picture, there was writing by her daughter, and the content was shocking.

-I love my mom and dad very much. I like grandma too. I love my brother who is in heaven now very much too.

But I’m making Mom and Dad sad.

Our mom has a pretty smile, but Mom doesn’t smile because I’m sick. I don’t like Mom crying because of me. I don’t like Dad being sad because of me.

I don’t like Grandma arguing with Mom and Dad because of me.

If I become an angel like my brother, won’t Mom and Dad not be sad then?

It would be nice if I could protect our family from heaven…….

Mom, Dad, I’m sorry for being sick.

“Ah!”

Kim Yeon-ju, reading the words containing her daughter’s inner thoughts, felt her heart collapse and unknowingly began to cry out loud.

“Hic!”

She had no idea that her young daughter was thinking such things. She felt so sorry for her daughter, who was worried about her family even while she was sick.

She wished she could be sick instead, if only she could.

“Mom……?”

Jin-i, who was tossing and turning in her sleep, opened her eyes at the sound of Kim Yeon-ju’s sobbing.

“Oh, did our Jin-i wake up?”

Startled by her daughter’s voice, Kim Yeon-ju hurriedly turned her head and wiped away her tears, but Jin-i could immediately tell that her mother was crying.

“No, Mom’s not crying. Mom came in to put away the clothes, but I woke Jin-i up for nothing.”

“Liar. Mom is crying. Here…….”

Jin-i wiped away the tears flowing down her mother’s cheek with her little hand and continued,

“There are tears? Mom, are you crying because of me again?”

“No, I’m not.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Why? Why is Jin-i sorry? It’s not because of Jin-i that Mom cried. It’s because our daughter is sick, and Mom hasn’t done anything for you, so I’m sorry.”

“I’m okay. I think it’s better for me to be sick than for Mom, Dad, and Grandma to be sick.”

“Don’t say that. Our daughter will definitely get better. Mom will make it happen. And can Mom make a promise with Jin-i?”

“What is it?”

“I saw the picture and the writing Jin-i wrote on the desk earlier. From now on, never think about going to heaven. Okay? Mom, Dad, and Grandma can’t live without Jin-i. Mom will be upset if Jin-i thinks like that.”

“Okay. I understand. I won’t think like that anymore. Promise.”

Jin-i stuck out her pinky finger and promised her mother that she would no longer have bad thoughts.

“Mom, you know what? If I get better from being sick, can I go to the zoo?”

“Jin-i wants to go to the zoo?”

“Yes. I want to go see penguins, pandas, and tigers.”

“Of course, you can go. When you feel better, let’s all go together as a family.”

“Really?”

“Of course. Is there anywhere else you want to go?”

“I want to see fish, play with my friends, and go to the amusement park.”

“Mom will take you to all the places you want to go.”

“Wow! Mom is the best! I wish I wouldn’t be sick soon.”

“That’s how it will be. Please make sure our Jin-i doesn’t get sick. Please help her get better soon. Mom’s hands are magic.”

“That’s right. Mom’s hands are magic. I feel like it doesn’t hurt when Mom touches my tummy.”

Knock knock-

“Little Madam, it’s me.”

Just as Kim Yeon-ju was hugging her daughter tightly and praying that her daughter wouldn’t be sick, the housekeeper’s knock was heard.

“Yes, Housekeeper.”

“A guest has arrived, and I think you should go downstairs for a moment.”

“Okay.”

“Jin-ah, Mom will go downstairs for a moment. Can you be with the Housekeeper?”

“Yes.”

“Should I read Jin-i a book?”

“Yes, please.”

At the word ‘guest,’ Kim Yeon-ju entrusted her daughter to the housekeeper and went down to the first floor.

“Honey, the director has arrived.”

Kim Yeon-ju, who came down to the first floor, paused when she saw Tae-kyung standing next to Lee Jae-san.

“……!”

A few hours earlier, she had heard from her husband that a doctor was coming, but she wondered if her husband had been deceived.

She didn’t expect that a busy doctor who had appeared in the media and whose face was known would actually come to her house.

She had seen numerous heartwarming stories about Doctor Kim Tae-kyung on the internet and thought she definitely wanted to meet this doctor, but she couldn’t believe that he was actually in front of her.

“To think you really came……. Honey, this person really came.”

“Yes, I told you he would come. Director, this is my wife.”

“Hello, my name is Kim Yeon-ju. Thank you so much for coming despite your busy schedule.”

“It’s nothing. I heard about the situation from your husband. If it’s alright with you, I’d like to see Jin-i. Would that be possible?”

“Yes, of course. This way, please.”

Tae-kyung followed the two up to the second floor.

“She wasn’t like this before, but she’s become a bit shy and sensitive since she got sick.”

“Adults also become sensitive when they’re sick, so children can be even more so. I’ll make sure not to startle her.”

After Kim Yeon-ju entered the room and the housekeeper went down to the first floor, Jin-i stood close to her mother and stared intently at Tae-kyung as the door opened.

“Mom. Who is that mister?”

The child asked, blinking her white skin and big eyes.

That unique, lively energy that is felt in young children was absent in Jin-i.

“That person is someone Dad knows, and he came to say hello to Jin-i.”

“Jin-i, hello.”

Tae-kyung deliberately did not introduce himself as a doctor. He had heard from Lee Jae-san that his daughter still had fears about hospitals and doctors.

She was a child who had seen her family distrusting hospitals, so it was right to approach her cautiously.

“Ah!”

As Tae-kyung tried to approach the child, Jin-i, startled by the stranger, tried to hide behind her mother.

“That mister is going to look at the place where our Jin-i hurts and try to help. Would that be okay?”

“No, I don’t want to.”

Kim Yeon-ju tried to soothe her daughter, but the child still didn’t let her guard down.

“You were surprised. I’m sorry. Then, I want to talk to Jin-i while looking at her from here. Would that be okay?”

Tae-kyung, kneeling on one knee with the door as the boundary line, asked for permission from that spot without approaching any further, and only then did Jin-i nod her head.

Tae-kyung’s eyes were filled with worry and regret.

He needed to do palpation as well as visual inspection to get more information, but it was difficult to make contact because the child was shy.

Moreover, the fifth vital sign that he had felt since entering the house was quite bothersome.

The smell of feces coming from the child was so foul that it was sickening, and there was also the smell of formalin [a solution of formaldehyde used to preserve biological specimens] mixed in from time to time.

It was a lower grade even among the third stage, and it seemed that the child’s condition was about to move to the fourth stage.

Fortunately, the smell of formalin was not purely present.

It meant that the child was not in a hopeless situation, although she was not well.

Tae-kyung stared intently at Jin-i with the eyes of a hawk and observed her.

What was clear was that the child, although not in a hopeless situation, looked exhausted to anyone.

She was still eating to some extent, so she wasn’t skinny. However, her belly was bulging, and she frowned from time to time as if she was feeling pain.

‘That’s!’

Looking more closely, she was wearing a diaper, and the redness that had stained the inside was slightly visible on the outside.

‘Hematuria [blood in the urine] and abdominal mass…….’