Fifth Vital [EN]: Chapter 441

Episode 442. Going by Boat?

As soon as Kim Han-sol heard the good news from Tae-kyung, a warm smile spreading across his face, she collapsed, overcome with emotion and tears.

“Ah… *sob*… He’s…”

Just hearing that the surgery went well was enough to release all the tension Kim Han-sol had been holding onto.

“Thank… you.”

She managed to express her gratitude, her voice choked with sobs, like a child.

She desperately wanted to articulate her thanks properly, but the uncontrollable sobs made it impossible to speak clearly.

“Mr. Lee Jun-hyuk endured it well,” Tae-kyung said gently.

“…Yes. *sniffle!*”

Hearing that her husband had endured so much, she was overwhelmed, imagining how scared and difficult it must have been for him, alone in the operating room.

“Oh my! The guardian?”

Tae-kyung gently took Kim Han-sol’s arm, helped her to her feet, and guided her to a chair.

“The floor is cold. Please, sit here.”

Tae-kyung understood the hearts of guardians and patients better than most.

He knew the agonizing vortex of worry and anxiety that could make someone collapse and burst into tears.

When a beloved family member was in the operating room, guardians often felt helpless, with only one thing they could do.

Just hope that their husband, wife, child, or sibling would have a successful surgery and a positive outcome. That was all.

Tae-kyung understood the heightened anxiety and frustration that came from being unable to know or see what was happening inside the operating room.

So, no matter how demanding his schedule, he always made it a point to speak with the guardian after every surgery.

Even after major surgeries lasting over 10 hours, even when his bladder felt like it would burst and his neck was stiff, the guardian always came first.

All it took was a single sentence to the guardian, who had been waiting with a heart clenched tight with worry: “The surgery went well.”

“You’ll exhaust yourself if you keep crying like this.”

Tae-kyung handed Kim Han-sol a tissue he had retrieved from the restroom, offering comfort as she struggled to stop crying.

“You need to keep your strength up.”

“*Sob*! Doctor, I’m so… grateful.”

“You’re very welcome. Mr. Lee Jun-hyuk will be transferred soon.”

“Transferred?”

Kim Han-sol, having calmed down somewhat, wiped away her tears and looked at him questioningly.

“Yes, it would be best to transfer him to a larger hospital for post-operative care and management. We don’t have an intensive care unit here, so transferring him is the right course of action.”

“Yes, I understand. I agree that transferring him would be best. Um, Doctor, I was wondering…”

Was she about to ask something difficult? After a moment of hesitation, Kim Han-sol looked at Tae-kyung and spoke.

“Could I see my husband’s face?”

“Of course. Come with me.”

“Yes, thank you.”

Relieved that she could see her husband, Kim Han-sol quickly rose and followed Tae-kyung toward the second floor.

“Tae-kyung?”

“You must be Mr. Lee Jun-hyuk’s guardian?”

As they stepped off the elevator, Lee Jae-hyun and Park Jun-seok approached them.

“Yes, that’s right. I heard about you both from Dr. Kim Tae-kyung. I understand that you two assisted with the surgery and were a great help. Thank you so much.”

Kim Han-sol bowed her head, conveying her heartfelt gratitude to the two doctors.

It felt as though her sincere appreciation was being communicated to Park Jun-seok and Lee Jae-hyun with that single expression of thanks.

“No, we didn’t do much.”

“That’s right. Dr. Kim Tae-kyung did all the work. We just assisted.”

“Has Mr. Lee Jun-hyuk been moved to the recovery room?”

“Oh, yes, the nurse moved him.”

“It’s that way. I’ll show you.”

A middle-aged nurse, who had just emerged from the recovery room, led Kim Han-sol toward the recovery area.

“By any chance, are you the owner of the restaurant downstairs?”

The nurse, who had been studying Kim Han-sol’s face, suddenly recognized her.

In fact, the nurse had thought there was something familiar about Lee Jun-hyuk in the operating room, but the surgery had been so urgent that she hadn’t had time to dwell on it.

But seeing Kim Han-sol’s face triggered her memory of who Lee Jun-hyuk was.

“Yes, that’s me.”

“My husband really enjoys the food from your restaurant. I do too. We often get takeout. Thank you for always giving us generous portions. Oh my! I’m rambling on.”

The nurse, suddenly feeling a sense of personal connection, realized the inappropriateness of her words and apologized.

“I’m sorry, this isn’t the time to be saying this.”

“No, it’s okay. Were you also in the operating room with my husband?”

“Yes, I assisted the three doctors.”

“Thank you for saving my husband.”

Kim Han-sol made sure to thank the nurse as well. She felt grateful to everyone who had participated in her husband’s surgery.

“The three of you worked so hard. If it weren’t for you, the patient might have been in dire straits. Especially the handsome doctor, right?”

“Yes, Dr. Kim Tae-kyung.”

“That’s right. He worked exceptionally hard. I only saw him for a few hours, but I could tell he was a truly dedicated doctor.”

“Yes, I think so too.”

“This is the recovery room. They mentioned earlier that the transportation from the mainland would be arriving soon, so I’ll let you know when I receive a call.”

“Yes, thank you.”

The nurse excused herself, and Kim Han-sol approached the bed where her husband lay.

“Honey…”

She noticed his shaved head, the bandages wrapped around his head, and his swollen face.

Seeing these signs, she understood how hard her husband had fought in the operating room and how serious his injuries had been.

“Were you very scared, all alone? I’m so incredibly proud of you for enduring such a major surgery. Honey? When I heard about your accident, my heart sank. I prayed so hard that you would just stay alive. Thank you for staying alive, honey.”

Kim Han-sol, tears streaming down her face, continued to whisper loving words to her husband.

“You don’t like your hair short, and now one side is shaved. But it’s okay because you’re still handsome. Honey, you know what? The doctors that Ji-sang found saved you too. I’m so grateful to them. So, you need to get up quickly and thank them in person. Okay? Honey, I love you so much.”

* * *

While Kim Han-sol was in the recovery room, the three doctors sat side by side on a row of chairs.

“Doctors, would you like some coffee?”

The nurse offered the three men coffee from the vending machine.

“Oh my! Thank you. You really didn’t have to…”

“I really enjoy coffee. I bought some for you while I was getting mine.”

“I’ll enjoy it.”

“Aren’t you drinking?”

“…”

“Why are you acting like this all of a sudden? Hurry up and take your coffee.”

Lee Jae-hyun, taking Park Jun-seok’s coffee, placed the paper cup in his unresponsive hand.

“What, are you still bothered by the surgery? Tae-kyung said he’d take full responsibility.”

“Hyung [older brother/friend], don’t worry.”

“And frankly, the surgery went well, so Tae-kyung doesn’t even need to take responsibility. Why are you so gloomy?”

“That’s not it.”

“Then what is it?”

“I’m just a little tired, okay?”

Park Jun-seok, replying to Lee Jae-hyun that he was tired, suddenly took a large sip of coffee and was startled by the heat.

“Ah! Sh*t. It’s so f***ing hot.”

“It’s 당연히 [of course] hot because it just came out of the vending machine. Where are you going?”

“I’m going to cool down my burning tongue. Okay?”

Park Jun-seok said curtly and drank a cup of cold water from the water purifier.

In reality, there was a specific reason for Park Jun-seok’s somber expression.

It was because of the greeting. More precisely, it was Kim Han-sol’s earlier expression of gratitude.

Park Jun-seok felt embarrassed and uncomfortable with the way she looked at him and acted, treating him like a savior.

Until that moment, he had felt good that the difficult surgery had gone well, but he felt naturally solemn at the guardian’s sincere attitude.

Even Tae-kyung, who usually didn’t care about anything except saving patients, must have had some worries.

However, Tae-kyung hadn’t shown any of those worries and had focused solely on saving the patient from beginning to end.

It was like a firefly flying straight into a flame.

And Lee Jae-hyun was the same, though not to the same extent as Tae-kyung.

Perhaps because he was a general practitioner, he might have been more cautious and hesitant, but Lee Jae-hyun hadn’t backed down from the surgery, whether out of ignorance or bravery.

But he hadn’t.

He had known how urgent Lee Jun-hyuk’s situation was even more than the other two, but he had hesitated to participate in the surgery until the very last moment.

He had placed his own concerns above the patient, who was in such critical condition that he might become a vegetable.

‘Ah! How embarrassing.’

The sincere eyes of the guardian and his own actions, which contrasted so sharply with the other two, kept replaying in his mind, and he felt deeply ashamed.

Looking back, there had been a time when Park Jun-seok had been different.

There had been a time when he was a professor of neurosurgery and would scold his juniors to understand the importance of patients and their pain, urging them to always approach patients with a sincere heart.

‘Are you guys not 정신 안 차려 [paying attention]? If you’re going to come into the operating room and act like this, get out!’

‘A doctor’s job is to save patients. That’s what defines a doctor. Don’t think about anything else. Just focus on the patient.’

Park Jun-seok, suddenly remembering that time, wondered if he was still living up to his ideals as a doctor.

He questioned whether he was still worthy of the title “Doctor: Park Jun-seok” embroidered on the gown he wore every day.

Even though he was facing a major problem with the lawsuit, he couldn’t deny that he was disappointed in his behavior today.

“Hyung? What’s wrong?”

Tae-kyung asked, noticing Park Jun-seok’s sudden return to his seat.

“What’s wrong? Nothing’s wrong.”

“I see. Hyung, are you just hungry?”

“Yeah! I’m so hungry I’m going crazy. Okay?”

Park Jun-seok patted his stomach like a hungry person, playing along with Lee Jae-hyun’s words, trying to lighten the mood.

“Well, it’s also the time when late-night snacks are 땡기는 [tempting]. I’m hungry too now that Hyung mentioned it.”

“Tae-kyung, what about the patient transfer?”

Park Jun-seok and Lee Jae-hyun hadn’t heard any specific details about the transfer since the surgery ended.

“That’s right. I was so focused on the surgery going well that I didn’t even ask about the transfer. Are we going by boat?”

Since emergency patients on the island were sometimes transferred to the mainland by boat, the two naturally assumed they would be traveling by sea.

“Of course, by boat. What, are we going to drive from here? Or are we going to fly?”

“But will it be safe to move the patient by boat? I hope the waves aren’t too rough and the boat doesn’t shake too much.”

“Jae-hyun, look at the weather. What waves would there be on such a beautiful day? There won’t be any waves in this kind of weather.”

“Really? That’s a relief then.”

“Mr. Lee Jun-hyuk is not going by boat.”

Tae-kyung, who had been listening to their conversation quietly, said calmly.

“If we’re not going by boat?”

“We’re going to fly.”

“Fly…”

“Fly? With what?”

“Helicopter! Mr. Lee Jun-hyuk will be transferred by helicopter.”

“What!?”

“Helicopter!”

The two, who had naturally assumed it would be a boat, exclaimed in surprise simultaneously.