Fifth Vital [EN]: Chapter 462

Fifth Vitality – Episode 463

463. Tattoo

“Wow! I feel particularly drained today.”

A nurse at the emergency room station said, rubbing her stiff shoulders.

“How could you not? Today, we had a bunch of drunk patients, fighting patients, crying and screaming—it was a complete mess.”

Though difficult patients came in regularly, it wasn’t usually this bad.

Normally, such patients would come in at a manageable rate, but today felt like a collection of the most challenging cases.

Even with emergency room experience and maxed-out medical skills, everyone gets tired on days like this because they are still human.

“By the way, wasn’t Nurse Choi cool earlier?”

“Yeah, I was next to her bed treating a patient, and she was something else.”

The nurse had overheard Choi Mona’s advice to the two couples who had caused a commotion by fighting all the way to the emergency room.

“And she seemed even cooler when she was talking about her boyfriend.”

“They were throwing things and fighting, but thankfully, they listened to Nurse Choi and left quietly. She really saved the day.”

“Oh! Why are you all like this? Please stop.”

Choi Mona, who was writing patient records at the PC next to them, waved her hand, telling the nurses to stop.

“What are you all talking about?”

Just then, Lee Chan-hee, who had finished examining a patient, returned to the station and sat next to Choi Mona with a curious expression.

“Well, Dr. Lee, earlier Nurse Choi…”

“No, it’s nothing.”

Choi Mona stopped the nurse from telling Lee Chan-hee.

“Nurse, just stop there.”

“Should I?”

“Yes.”

“What’s going on?”

“You don’t need to know, Dr. Lee.”

“What is it? Now I’m even more curious. By the way, isn’t everyone hungry?”

“I am hungry. Maybe it’s because we’ve been working so hard? I’m extra hungry.”

“Shall we do a ladder game [a random selection game] for a snack?”

“Sounds good.”

After a rush of patients, Lee Chan-hee and the medical staff took a moment to catch their breath and decided to get some snacks to satisfy their hunger.

Hospital work is surprisingly physically demanding, so on days when patients flood in, dinner wears off quickly.

“Hamburgers, tteokbokki [spicy rice cakes], waffles—what does everyone want?”

“When it comes to late-night snacks, nothing beats tteokbokki.”

“Right. A little spicy and sweet tteokbokki will give us the energy to work well until dawn.”

“Okay, let’s go with tteokbokki, and everyone, pick a number.”

“I’ll take number 3.”

“5.”

“3 and 5, Nurse Choi is 1, I’m 2…”

Lee Chan-hee entered the numbers chosen by his colleagues on his phone screen.

“I’ve posted the numbers for the ward nurses and other staff in the group chat, so please wait a bit.”

“Welcome, Nurse Soo.”

The station nurse said to Nurse Lim Jeong-sook.

“Nurse Soo, we’re ordering snacks. Would you like some?”

“Sure.”

“How much longer until Director’s surgery is over?”

“Yes, it will be a while.”

Taekyung, Uijin, and several other medical staff were still in the operating room.

“We’ll get tteokbokki, sundae [Korean blood sausage], fried food, and fish cakes, and the spice level will be 1.”

“Dr. Lee, your menu choice is excellent.”

“I’m good at this kind of thing.”

Lee Chan-hee was choosing other items to order when suddenly,

“YAH!!!”

Someone shouted loudly.

The sound was so loud that everyone, including the medical staff and the patients in the beds, could hear it.

Following the sound, people’s eyes naturally turned to the automatic doors leading into the emergency room, and the smiles disappeared from the faces of the medical staff.

“Hey!! Where’s the doctor here?”

A group of men entered the emergency room, shouting again.

They were all wearing black suits and were either similar in build to Jang Deuk-chil, our hospital security guard, or even bigger.

Some had very short haircuts, and others had irezumi [Japanese tattoos] extending from their wrists.

Others had dragon and snake tattoos.

In addition to the tattoos, many had scars, likely from knife wounds.

It was impossible to see all the scars hidden under their clothes, but there were noticeable wounds on their hands, around their necks, and on their cheeks.

The medical staff immediately recognized that these were not ordinary people but members of the yakuza [Japanese organized crime syndicate].

“…….”

“……!”

The patients in the beds quietly pulled their curtains further, their faces filled with surprise. The medical staff were equally shocked.

One, two, three, four, five… There were ten men in black suits.

“Hey! Is there no doctor here?”

Another loud shout echoed through the emergency room.

It was the man who had been shouting since earlier, a long-haired man with wavy, dark brown hair tied back to his shoulders.

He looked to be in his late 40s or early 50s, with a good build and tall height.

“I’ll go check it out.”

“I’ll go with you, Dr. Lee.”

“No, I don’t think Nurse Choi should go.”

When Choi Mona said she would go with Lee Chan-hee to the yakuza group, Nurse Lim Jeong-sook stopped her.

“Yes! Why? Those people look dangerous. It would be better for Dr. Lee and me to go.”

“That’s why I’m telling you not to go because it’s dangerous. I’ll go with Dr. Lee. Nurse Choi, it would be better for you to see the other patients.”

“Okay.”

Other emergency patients might arrive, and they had to take care of the existing patients, so it didn’t seem like a good idea for both of them to go to those men.

“Those people look dangerous, so let’s try to respond without provoking them as much as possible.”

“Yes, I understand.”

Lee Chan-hee and Nurse Lim Jeong-sook exchanged small talk as they approached them.

“Are you here for treatment?”

“Hey! Are you the doctor?”

When Lee Chan-hee asked, the long-haired man retorted in a displeased tone.

“Boss, it says ‘Doctor Lee Chan-hee’ on his gown, so I think he’s the doctor.”

Another man standing nearby put his face close to Lee Chan-hee’s name tag to check.

“I can see that too. Shut your mouth, you bastard.”

“Sorry, Boss.”

“So, are you the doctor?”

The long-haired man had no manners from birth, or perhaps it was because he was a yakuza, but there was not a trace of courtesy to be found.

“Yes, I am the doctor.”

Although he felt fear and dread, Lee Chan-hee responded in as calm a tone as possible.

Working in the emergency room means encountering people with truly diverse personalities.

Sometimes, you meet people who make you wonder if personality even exists, and even the so-called human trash.

Therefore, emergency room medical staff have a certain amount of know-how in dealing with even the most difficult patients.

However, even with all that know-how, there are times when patients come in who send chills down your spine.

These are the patients who resort to violence. There are often people who use violence against medical staff, including doctors and nurses, and even threaten them with weapons.

There have been tragic cases where medical staff lost their lives due to unexpected violence while simply treating patients in need.

These things still actually happen in hospitals everywhere.

Especially difficult for medical staff is a situation like this.

The yakuza, who are a common subject in dramas and movies, who harass people and do bad things, have come to the emergency room.

The eyes that looked down on him were filled with murderous intent, and the atmosphere they exuded was the same.

Medical staff, whose main purpose is to save lives, were facing people who prioritize the interests of their group over life.

“Hey!”

The long-haired man poked Lee Chan-hee’s collarbone and shoulder with his finger.

Lee Chan-hee had something he wanted to say, but he swallowed the words and didn’t say them.

Because he remembered what Taekyung had always told him.

‘As you all know, there are times when people come to the hospital who are difficult to communicate with. Be especially careful when those people come. And when people who look dangerous come, refrain from provocative actions or words and call me if possible. I cannot tolerate our medical staff getting hurt because of those people. Just as patients are important, so are you, so don’t confront them rashly.’

Taekyung always warned Lee Chan-hee and Choi Mona, as well as the other doctors, to be careful.

“I shouted as soon as I came through that automatic door, and you’re just crawling out now. You look young… Doctor Lee Chan-hee? You’re not some kind of intern, are you?”

“No, sir. Are you here for treatment?”

“Then why else would I come to the hospital?”

“Is the patient here for treatment themselves?”

“Hey, Doctor. Do I look like someone who’s broken? Not me, but that big boss over there, see him?”

When the long-haired man turned his head, the men who appeared to be his subordinates stepped aside to both sides as if water was parting.

As they stepped aside completely, a man sitting in a wheelchair came into view.

The man, who looked to be in his 60s, was wearing relatively plain slacks and a shirt and looked unwell.

He was being protected by the yakuza in black suits.

Judging from their actions and the use of the term ‘big boss,’ he appeared to be the leader of the yakuza.

“Our big boss is not feeling well, so we came here in the middle of the night, so hurry up and treat him. And I’m telling you clearly, you better treat him properly. If anything goes wrong, you’ll have to be prepared. You know what I mean, right?”

The man, who was used to threatening people, also threatened Lee Chan-hee.

He looked like he would kill anyone who caused harm to the big boss he served.

“The medical staff does their best for all patients.”

“First, the guardian should register, and the rest of you should wait in the waiting room for smooth treatment.”

After Lee Chan-hee spoke, Nurse Lim Jeong-sook guided them.

It was a perfectly natural announcement made to all patients coming to the emergency room.

Nurse Lim Jeong-sook knew very well that the people in front of her were not ordinary patients but yakuza.

So she spoke cautiously. But they didn’t seem to have any intention of cooperating with the medical staff.

“Registration? Hey! Go register, maknae [the youngest member].”

“Yes, Boss. I understand.”

“And all of us here are guardians, so we can’t leave. Don’t waste each other’s time and quickly treat our big boss. What are you doing? You doctors and nurses, hurry up and treat our boss.”

The yakuza didn’t seem to listen to Lee Chan-hee and Nurse Lim Jeong-sook at all.

In the end, the two decided to examine the patient first.

“Hey! Take your hand off! We’ll take him, so just guide us.”

As Lee Chan-hee tried to push the wheelchair, the long-haired man tried to strike Lee Chan-hee’s hand with force.

At that moment, someone took the force of the man’s strike instead.

Soon after, a rough but heavy voice was heard.

“Guardian, please move to bed 12 over there.”