Fifth Vital [EN]: Chapter 456

Fifth Vital – Episode 457 (456/502)

457. They Deserve to be Punished

After watching the video Gu Heeyeong showed her, Kim Hahsun’s legs nearly gave way, and she almost collapsed.

“Mother! Are you alright?”

Choi Mona, who was watching the video with her, grabbed her arm and helped her up.

“Yes, Doctor. I’m fine.”

Kim Hahsun calmed her startled heart and asked Gu Heeyeong,

“Heeyeong, why did you film this?”

“Seollae helped me, so I wanted to help her too.”

“I see. Can you send this video to me?”

“Yes, I’ll send it right away.”

After receiving the video, Kim Hahsun excused herself from Choi Mona and briefly left the hospital with Gu Heeyeong.

“Thank you for helping Seollae. It’s late, so take a taxi home.”

“No, it’s okay.”

“I insist.”

Kim Hahsun hailed a taxi at the bus stop, paid the driver, and asked him to take care of the child.

“Driver, please take her safely to OO Apartment.”

“Don’t worry.”

“Go straight home, okay?”

“Yes, thank you.”

* * *

At that moment, Lee Seollae was deep in thought.

‘How did she find out?’

She kept thinking about how her stepmother had discovered her secret and come to the hospital. Suddenly, the door to the doctor’s office opened, and Kim Hahsun entered.

Kim Hahsun, in comfortable slippers and home clothes, walked straight to Seollae and suddenly hugged her tightly.

“……!”

Before she could say anything, Seollae was taken aback by her stepmother’s actions and found herself in an even more bewildering situation.

Kim Hahsun, who was hugging her, was crying.

“Sob!”

Kim Hahsun, sobbing, tried to compose herself, but her emotions wouldn’t subside easily.

She released Seollae from her embrace, turned her head to the side, buried her face in her hands, and cried.

“Ha!”

Five minutes later, she barely regained her composure and wiped away her tears when she saw a tissue in front of her.

Feeling awkward seeing her stepmother cry, Seollae had grabbed a tissue from her desk and handed it to her.

Kim Hahsun silently took the tissue, composed herself, and turned to face Seollae.

“Seollae, were you surprised that I suddenly came to the hospital?”

“Yes…….”

“I was cleaning your room and saw the hospital receipt and bandages. So, I came to the hospital, and I heard everything from the doctor a little while ago.”

“…….”

“You know, I’m sorry.”

“……!”

Not knowing what to say, Seollae just listened. But seeing Kim Hahsun suddenly apologize, Seollae didn’t know how to respond and couldn’t open her mouth easily.

“The doctor said that your self-harm might have been influenced by stress. I think it might be my fault too. I’ve always felt sorry towards you. It wasn’t easy for you to accept Dad and my remarriage, and I think it must have been hard for you without me even realizing.”

Kim Hahsun held Seollae’s hand and continued, hoping that her sincerity would be conveyed, even a little.

“You may or may not believe me, but your happiness is more important to me than Dad’s and my happiness. When Dad first showed me your picture, I was so happy that I looked at it all day long. I thought, ‘How could she be so lovely?’ and I was so grateful to have such a beautiful daughter. But seeing you struggling and hurting like this makes me so upset.”

“…….”

“Dad is important to me, but you are too. And the most important thing to Dad is you. If you’re struggling because of Dad’s remarriage and it makes you uncomfortable, I’ll reconsider it. I’m so sorry…….”

Large tears fell onto the back of Seollae’s hand. When she looked up, Kim Hahsun was crying again.

Seollae could see that her eyes were full of worry.

“So, Seollae, please don’t hurt your body like this. Don’t hurt yourself. It breaks my heart to think that you’re like this because of me.”

Seollae felt strange.

It was because of Kim Hahsun, who kept blaming herself.

Self-harming and swallowing things were her fault, not her stepmother’s. But every time she said it was because of her, she felt uncomfortable.

In fact, she couldn’t tell the doctor earlier, but to be honest, the cause of her self-harm was stress, anxiety, frustration, and various other emotions, but it was also because of her biological mother.

She thought that if she sent a text saying she was sick and sent pictures of her wounds, her mother would pay attention. But she was wrong.

Her always busy mother still hadn’t contacted her. There was a lot of stress and frustration coming from that. But her stepmother was different.

Seeing her stepmother rushing over in her slippers, even shedding tears and worrying, she honestly felt sorry for the first time. And she was also grateful.

She wondered why she was so concerned and worried about her, even though she had always been irritable and never said a kind word to her.

“How much did it hurt? Was it very difficult? Is your body okay?”

“……Not because of you.”

Seollae said in a small voice to Kim Hahsun, who was examining her body.

“Huh! What did you say?”

Kim Hahsun, who didn’t hear her clearly, asked again, but Seollae didn’t answer and was lost in thought.

In fact, she knew.

She always knew that her stepmother was waiting for her when her academy [private tutoring school] classes ended late, that she always cleaned her room carefully, and that only her favorite side dishes, not her father’s favorite, were on the table.

She knew very well how her stepmother had treated her and tried to approach her with sincerity, but she had been pretending not to know and ignoring her.

Seollae’s gaze reached Kim Hahsun’s shoes sitting across from her.

She thought she was just wearing comfortable slippers at home, but that wasn’t the case.

Looking closely, she was wearing her father’s slippers on one foot.

Her father and stepmother were wearing the same slippers, only in different sizes, but one side was clearly a man’s slipper.

She must have rushed out of the house without even checking her shoes in her shock.

She felt heavy-hearted thinking that her self-inflicted wounds and the bullying she suffered from strange children were such a big deal to her stepmother.

“Stepmother……?”

“Oh, yes. Seollae. Why? Are you uncomfortable anywhere? Should I call the doctor?”

“No. It’s not that. It’s just that I didn’t become like this because of you. I was just frustrated and stressed by the situations I was in. So, I hope you don’t blame yourself.”

Kim Hahsun was quite surprised by Seollae’s reaction.

She just thought it would be nice if she listened to her story well, and she hoped that her sincerity would be conveyed, but she didn’t expect her to speak so honestly.

But then, Kim Hahsun had an unbelievable expression on her face when she heard what she said next.

“I’m sorry for everything.”

Seollae was conveying her apology with sincerity for the first time.

She felt like she wouldn’t have another chance to apologize to her stepmother if it wasn’t now.

Looking back, she realized that her stepmother had always wanted to talk.

But she also knew that she was the one who had always unilaterally cut off the conversation and acted sensitively.

The moment she saw the mismatched slippers, she felt sorry and thought she had gone too far.

“I shouldn’t have been so sharp with you. I’m sorry for reacting so sensitively.”

“It’s not just empty words. I understand your position. I think you needed time too. Thank you for apologizing to me.”

Kim Hahsun stroked Seollae’s hand and smiled.

“Seollae, I have a favor to ask you. Can you do it for me?”

“A favor……? What is it?”

“I hope you don’t hurt your body anymore. If you think it’s okay to do this once or twice, you’ll get into the habit before you know it. I think it’ll be even harder to fix then.”

“Yes. I will. I’ll try to stop.”

Seollae knew very well that self-harm and pica [eating disorder involving non-food items] were bad for her body and mind.

She kept thinking that she should stop, but she didn’t put it into practice.

After listening to the doctor’s words and her stepmother’s story, she decided to cut it off completely this time.

“Instead, if you have a hard time, please tell Dad, me, or anyone you’re comfortable with. And how about we get a little closer? I really want to get along well with Seollae……. Can we do that?”

“Yes. I’ll try too.”

“Oh! Really?”

Kim Hahsun was so happy that she hugged Seollae tightly, then she was even more surprised.

“Oh my! I’m sorry. I was so happy that I forgot you were in pain.”

“No. I’m okay.”

The two, who had met face to face for the first time and learned about each other’s feelings, were able to resolve their misunderstandings.

The two, who came out of the doctor’s office, met Choi Mona together.

“This is a prescription for antibiotics to prevent bacterial infection and help the stitches heal well. And this is a medicine to help you have a bowel movement, so please make sure to take it without forgetting. This medicine works best if you drink a lot of water.”

“Yes, Doctor. Can I go home and take it now?”

“Yes, you can take it now. And if you don’t see any signs of a bowel movement even after taking the medicine, then come to the hospital right away. Seollae, don’t flush the toilet right away after you have a bowel movement. You have to look at the toilet carefully.”

“……Yes. I’ll take a good look.”

“Mother, please take this.”

Choi Mona handed Kim Hahsun a document envelope with the hospital’s name printed on it.

“This is the document you asked for earlier. If you need any more medical opinions, please let me know at any time.”

“Yes, Doctor. Thank you for your concern.”

Kim Hahsun and Seollae, who had finished their treatment, left the hospital side by side.

“Seollae, those kids who bullied you…”

“Don’t worry too much about that. I’ll take care of it.”

“Take care of it? You can handle it alone? How?”

“If I don’t respond and ignore them, they’ll lose interest in a few days.”

“I’m sorry, but I have a different opinion.”

“Yes?”

“There were bad kids like that when I was your age. Those kids never stop just because you ignore them. And I’m so angry that I can’t stand it anymore.”

Kim Hahsun had no intention of just letting this go. How dare they lay a hand on someone else’s precious child?

“Would it be very difficult for Seollae if this issue became known at school?”

“No. It’s just that I’m too lazy to deal with them, but there’s nothing difficult about it. I didn’t do anything wrong, so there’s nothing to be ashamed of.”

“That’s right. Then, leave this issue to me.”

“What are you going to do?”

“What is there to do? This kind of problem is very simple.”

Kim Hahsun smiled and added.

“People who do bad things get punished. They deserve to be punished. Are you hungry? I’ll go and make you something delicious.”

Kim Hahsun subtly took Seollae’s hand.

“My hands are cold in all seasons. So, I’m going to hold your warm hand.”

“I didn’t say anything.”

Although she said her hands were cold, Kim Hahsun’s hands were warm.

Seollae didn’t dislike holding hands with her stepmother, from whom she could feel the warmth. The two did not let go of their hands until they arrived home.