Fifth Vital [EN]: Chapter 418

“I can’t believe this! How can he make his wife work at the restaurant while he’s fooling around with a young woman at the hospital?”

After the commotion, the patients who had gathered in the hospital room returned to their own rooms, discussing what had happened.

“I know, right? I’ve never seen anyone cheat in a hospital before. There’s a reason *makjang* dramas exist [Korean dramas known for their over-the-top and often scandalous storylines]. Reality is even worse.”

“Exactly. We saw a whole drama today. This is much more entertaining.”

“But that woman was so articulate at the end.”

“She seemed very strong-willed.”

“Don’t be naive. She’s probably crushed inside. She just had to keep it together in front of those people.”

“True. No one can be okay after seeing their spouse cheat. She must be devastated.”

“Those cheating bastards should be torn to pieces. Ugh! Disgusting people.”

“Why are you so worked up?”

“My brother got divorced because his wife cheated on him. I can’t stand those kinds of people.”

“That happened? Is your brother doing okay now?”

“He’s living well with his kids now.”

“Excuse me?”

As the patients were talking and entering their rooms, someone approached and called out to them.

“Are you calling us?”

“Excuse me, I’m sorry to bother you.”

Looking closely, it was Gu Ji-yeon, Kim Mal-ja’s daughter.

“Yes?”

“Did you happen to see what happened in that room earlier?”

“We saw a bit…”

“What’s wrong?”

“The woman who came out of that room a little while ago is my mother.”

Gu Ji-yeon revealed her relationship with Kim Mal-ja, seeing the puzzled looks on the patients’ faces.

Earlier, after talking to her aunt at the restaurant, she returned to the hospital and went straight to the reception desk.

‘Excuse me, did my mother come back to the hospital?’

‘Oh! Your daughter is here.’

‘My mother is in the ward, but something happened.’

‘Something? Is your mother sick?’

‘No, it’s not that.’

After hearing a rough explanation from the receptionist, Gu Ji-yeon went up to the ward and saw the three people among the gathered patients.

She didn’t see what happened before because she was coming from the restaurant, but she immediately understood the situation after hearing Kim Mal-ja’s refreshing remarks.

She saw her mother going down in the elevator with Tae-kyung a moment ago, but Gu Ji-yeon didn’t acknowledge her.

She wanted to run to her mother right away, but she couldn’t.

She knew that her mother wouldn’t want to show this side of herself to her daughter, so she deliberately didn’t.

More than anything, Gu Ji-yeon wanted to know the exact details.

“Oh my! Da, daughter?”

“Are you saying that the young lady is the real wife’s daughter?”

“Yes, that’s right. I just came and didn’t see the whole situation.”

“I see. But I don’t know if we should be talking about someone else’s family like this…”

“What do you mean? She’s her daughter, so of course she should know. You probably guessed it, but that young lady’s father was cheating with the woman in the room earlier.”

The patient who was angry about her brother’s wife cheating stepped forward to explain the situation, and another patient added to it.

“That’s right. The woman came for a health check-up, and her father came for back treatment, but they were so sickeningly close in the ward. Other patients complained, and the director warned them.”

“When the young lady’s mother said something, she even lied about being pregnant and got caught.”

“Oh, come on! Why are you telling her that?”

“Why not? We should tell her everything.”

Gu Ji-yeon was able to hear everything in detail from the three patients, from what happened in the room to what the two had been doing at the hospital.

“Your mother must be having a hard time. You should comfort her.”

“Yes, thank you for telling me.”

“Ji-yeon? Are you okay?”

After the patients went into their rooms, her boyfriend, who was next to her, asked Gu Ji-yeon with concern.

“No!”

After a short answer, Gu Ji-yeon seemed to think for a moment and then headed straight to Gu Dong-gon’s room.

“Oppa [Korean term for ‘older brother’ used by females to address older males, also used romantically]? Was what you said earlier true? You said you were sincere with me? You said you liked me?”

At that moment, the two were in the room, pouring out their emotions and arguing.

“Hey! When did I say I liked you? You were just excited on your own. And what about the pregnancy? Why did you even say that and make things bigger?”

“Make things bigger? So what? Are you saying you’re going to break up with me?”

“What’s there to break up with you about?”

“What, what did you say!”

Lee Ye-rim seemed to be quite shocked by Gu Dong-gon’s words.

“Break up? Are you serious? You said you’d *jeongri* [Korean term meaning ‘to 정리’, to 정리 something means to ‘organize’, ‘settle’, ‘take care of’, or ‘end’ something]! You said you’d *jeongri*?”

“Let’s get the facts straight. When did I say I’d *jeongri*? You were just playing the drum and gong by yourself [idiom meaning to act alone or assume things without confirmation]. Like I said before, I have no intention of breaking up with my wife.”

“Ha! Oppa, are you dumping me now? Don’t dump me. What’s wrong with me compared to that woman? You said you liked me. That old, fat, breastless woman…!”

Slap-

At that moment, Gu Ji-yeon, who had burst into the room, slapped Lee Ye-rim in the face as she continued to cross the line with her shocking remarks about Gu Dong-gon’s attitude.

“Ah!”

The force of the hand that struck with all its might was so strong that Lee Ye-rim’s head tilted to one side, and the cheek that was hit turned red in an instant.

“What is this!”

“Me? I’m the daughter of the person here. Why?”

Gu Ji-yeon answered confidently, seeing Lee Ye-rim grabbing her cheek and glaring at her.

“Da, daughter! Oppa, she’s your daughter.”

“…”

Gu Dong-gon, who saw his daughter with her boyfriend, looked more surprised than when he saw his wife and froze.

“Even if you’re her daughter, what gives you the right to hit me?”

“What gives me the right? Do you want to get hit again? Don’t you know why you were hit? A breastless woman? Our mother had breast cancer and had surgery. How can you say that to someone who struggled with cancer?”

“Pe, people can say anything when they’re angry. And you! I’m older than you, so you shouldn’t talk rudely to adults.”

“You only treat adults like adults when they act like adults. I guarantee you’ll shed tears of blood someday.”

“Why would I shed tears of blood? And you, I’m going to get a medical certificate for being hit and sue you.”

“Sue me? Go ahead. The moment you sue me, I’ll sue you for defaming our mother and immediately upload you as a family destroyer on the internet, so do whatever you want. I’m not afraid of anything.”

“Th, this is real…”

Lee Ye-rim, who was about to raise her hand, lowered her hand and couldn’t say anything more when Gu Ji-yeon’s muscular boyfriend glared at her fiercely.

“Ji-yeon, I’m sorry.”

Gu Dong-gon lowered his head and said softly when Gu Ji-yeon turned to Lee Ye-rim and looked at him.

“Is that what you’re saying now? You should apologize to Mom, not me. Did you really cheat with that woman? Is it true?”

“I’m sorry…”

Gu Dong-gon looked around like a defeated dog, but Gu Ji-yeon didn’t feel sorry for her father at all.

“How could you do this to Mom? How could you do this!! I can’t stand being so ashamed and embarrassed that you’re my father.”

“Ji-yeon…”

Gu Ji-yeon looked at her father with contempt and left the room with her boyfriend.

“Mom! What is this!”

As soon as Gu Ji-yeon and her boyfriend left the room, the cleaning staff who had been waiting in the hallway pushed the cart with cleaning supplies and came in.

“What’s wrong with this room.”

The employee who received a call from Team Leader Choi came up to clean the messy room and waited outside after seeing Gu Ji-yeon and her boyfriend.

“It’s just a trash can.”

“Hic!”

Lee Ye-rim, who was hit with a fact bomb by Gu Ji-yeon after Kim Mal-ja, was sitting on the bed crying because she was so upset about her situation, and Gu Dong-gon was still silent.

“Hic! What did I do wrong to me!”

“Ugh! My ears hurt. You messed with a married man and don’t even know what you did wrong.”

“What did you say?”

Lee Ye-rim asked back, feeling unpleasant, after vaguely hearing the words of the employee who was cleaning the floor of the room.

“What did you just say to me?”

“What did I say? I said my ears hurt. Why are you making a fuss when I’m talking with my own mouth.”

“Really? I’m sure you said I did something wrong…”

“What are you talking about? You must be out of your mind from being hit and heard nonsense.”

“Who got hit?”

“Okay, lift your legs a little. You made the room a trash can and just sit still…!”

The employee, who was cleaning, lightly ignored Lee Ye-rim’s words, which had no impact at all, and suddenly stopped sweeping and started sweeping again.

“…!”

But after moving the broom a few times, the sweeping stopped again, and the employee raised her head with a serious face.

“Hey!”

Lee Ye-rim was openly throwing used tissues with snot on the floor of the room that was being swept, even though there was a trash can in the cart.

“What are you doing now?”

“Yes?! What?”

Lee Ye-rim asked back with a blank expression as the employee held up the tissue with tongs.

“What? No, aren’t you going too far now? I always treat patients who come to the hospital for treatment with a smile as much as possible, but this is not it.”

“I never asked you to smile at me?”

“Are you talking nonsense? Even a three-year-old knows to throw used tissues in the trash can. Still, how can you throw tissues on the floor when you can clearly see that I’m cleaning? Yes?”

“Oh, I thought it was okay to throw it on the floor because you were cleaning it.”

“Does that mean it’s okay to throw it on the floor if you’re cleaning it?”

“That’s not what I meant……. I made a mistake. Sorry.”

“Sorry, my foot. Is that why you get cursed at?”

“Did you just curse at me again?”

“What curse did I say? Get up so I can clean!”

The employee didn’t care about Lee Ye-rim’s words and started sweeping more diligently, driving the trash towards the two of them.

* * *

“Ms. Gu Ji-yeon?”

Nurse Lim Jeong-sook, who had finished cleaning the ward and came down to the first floor, called out to Gu Ji-yeon, who was talking to the receptionist, and approached her.

“Are you looking for your mother?”

“Yes, teacher [Korean honorific for nurses and teachers]. Do you know where she is?”

“She came down with the director earlier, so I think they’re talking. Shall I call her now?”

“No. It’s okay.”

“You’re going to wait and go together, right?”

“Yes, I’m going to be in the parking lot.”

“Then, I’ll let her know when your mother comes out.”

“Yes, thank you.”

Gu Ji-yeon came out to the parking lot and got into the car with her boyfriend.

“Ji-yeon…”

“How could he do this? How could Dad do this to Mom!”

Gu Ji-yeon, overwhelmed with emotion, teared up thinking about her mother.