Fifth Vital [EN]: Chapter 471

472. Twins

“Hey, Junhyun, we need to go this way.”

“I know.”

“Wow! Junhyun, you’re really good.”

“I am, aren’t I?”

“Yeah. Can I do it now?”

“Okay. You do it.”

The twins were happily playing a game at their grandparents’ house.

“Aren’t my little ones hungry?”

“Hungry, aren’t you?”

The grandparents were concerned that the children, who were too busy playing to eat, might be hungry.

“Grandma, Grandpa, Junhyuk is hungry.”

“Our little one is hungry. And our big one isn’t hungry?”

“No, I’m not really hungry.”

Unlike the younger twin, Junhyuk, who announced his hunger, the older twin, Junhyun, wasn’t hungry.

The grandmother’s face showed a hint of worry at those words.

It was possible the children weren’t hungry because they were engrossed in playing, but she suspected something else was going on.

Even though the twins were identical in every way, their eating habits were quite different.

The younger twin, Junhyuk, usually had a small appetite and wasn’t particularly interested in food.

On the other hand, the older twin, Junhyun, usually ate well and wasn’t picky about food at mealtimes.

When eating, the younger twin always required more coaxing than the older one, who ate independently.

So, the grandparents couldn’t help but worry when the older twin, who rarely skipped meals, said he wasn’t hungry.

“Junhyun, you’re not hungry?”

“No.”

“You didn’t even have a snack, so you must be hungry….”

They hadn’t given him a snack, thinking it might spoil his appetite, so logically he should be hungry, but Junhyun didn’t seem hungry at all.

“Are you really okay?”

“Yes. I’m okay.”

“Grandma, what are we having?” Junhyuk, who had eaten a light breakfast unlike his brother, was quite hungry.

“I bought beef this morning to make for you and Grandpa. I’m going to make bulgogi [Korean marinated beef] with it.”

“Bulgogi is good. Sounds delicious.”

“It will be delicious, right? Grandma will make it for you quickly, so wait a little bit.”

“Okay.”

“Junhyun, Junhyuk, shall we read a book with Grandpa while Grandma cooks?”

“Yes.”

“I’ll go get a book.”

While the grandmother prepared the meal, the twins spent time with their grandfather.

After a while, the grandmother finished preparing the meal and they all sat at the table.

“Our Junhyun, Junhyuk, eat up!”

On the table were bulgogi, miso soup, rolled omelet, stir-fried mushrooms, kimchi [traditional Korean fermented cabbage], and other healthy and delicious foods.

“Grandma, the bulgogi is so delicious!”

Junhyuk, who was hungry, ate the side dishes that his grandparents gave him with relish.

“Is it that delicious?”

“Yes, it’s a little more delicious than what Mom makes. But it’s a secret from Mom.”

“Okay, Grandma will keep it a secret from Mom. Eat a lot.”

“Yes.”

“Junhyun, why aren’t you eating much?”

Unlike Junhyuk, who was eating well, Junhyun wasn’t eating at all.

“Grandpa?”

“Yes. Is there something you don’t like about the side dishes?”

“Tell me if there’s anything you want to eat. Grandma will make anything for you.”

“No. It’s okay. There’s nothing I really want to eat.”

After eating a few bites of rice and side dishes, Junhyun put down his spoon and got up from his seat.

“I’m going to go to the bathroom.”

Junhyun went into the bathroom, sat on the toilet, and then got up.

“Ah, it’s happening again. My stomach hurts.”

Junhyun said to himself as he put on his clothes and left the bathroom. Then, he walked past the table towards the sink where the water purifier was.

“Why? Do you need something? Tell me. Grandma will get it for you.”

“I’m going to drink warm water.”

“Oh my, if you drink it like that, it’ll be too hot and you’ll burn your tongue. Honey, mix some cold water for him.”

“Okay, I will.”

The grandfather got up from his seat, watching Junhyun get hot water from the purifier into a cup.

“But Junhyun, why are you looking for warm water? Does your stomach hurt?”

Junhyun, who had taken a sip of warm water, shook his head at his grandmother’s words.

“No. I just wanted to drink warm water. Warm water is good for the body.”

“Liar!”

“Hey, Yoo Junhyuk. I’m not lying.”

“That’s right, Junhyun is right. Warm water is good for the body.”

“See? I’m right, aren’t I?”

Junhyuk, who had been nodding at Junhyun’s words, picked up his empty rice bowl and said,

“Grandma, I finished my rice, so can I have ice cream now?”

“You finished your rice and you’re going to eat ice cream? Aren’t you full?”

“No. Grandma. Ice cream doesn’t make me full. I’ll only eat a little.”

Perhaps because he was still a child, Junhyuk was excited at the thought of eating a snack. That’s because his mom doesn’t usually give him ice cream at home.

He wanted to eat as much ice cream as he wanted, but he could only eat it occasionally, so he was really happy to come to his grandparents’ house like today and eat snacks.

“But only a little bit. Okay?”

“Yes, I’ll only eat a little. Yay! Grandpa, give me chocolate and strawberry flavor.”

“Okay, I will.”

“Me too!”

Hearing that his younger brother was eating ice cream, Junhyun, who was drinking warm water, widened his eyes and continued,

“Grandma, I want to eat ice cream too.”

“Junhyun can’t. If you eat ice cream without eating rice, your stomach will hurt.”

“No. Grandma. I don’t hurt. And I ate some rice. Please! Grandma!”

Junhyun, who didn’t have an appetite but wanted to eat ice cream, pleaded with a very earnest expression.

“Grandma, please! I’ll really only eat a little.”

“Honey, don’t do that, let’s give Junhyun ice cream too.”

“I don’t know if I should give it to him since he didn’t eat rice.”

“Let’s just give him a little. Junhyun, you’re only going to eat a little. Okay?”

“Of course. Grandpa.”

In the end, Junhyun, who had received permission, ate ice cream with his younger brother.

The twins enjoyed their snacks and had a good time playing with their grandparents.

After a few hours, Junhyun and Junhyuk finished reading their mom’s homework book and were engrossed in the game again.

“Ah!”

“Why?”

Junhyuk, the younger brother, asked why Junhyun, who was playing the game, was frowning.

“I’m going to go to the bathroom. You play the game.”

“Hyung [Korean term for older brother], you! Does your stomach hurt?”

Junhyuk followed Junhyun, who said he was going to the bathroom, and asked quietly.

“A little. It’s not that painful, so it’s okay.”

As Junhyun went into the bathroom, Junhyuk, who was watching, got up from his seat.

“Grandma, Grandpa?”

Junhyuk came out of the room and quietly called out to his grandparents, who were watching TV in the living room.

“Yes, sweetie, do you need something?”

“No. It’s not that, but I think Junhyun’s stomach hurts.”

“Junhyun’s stomach hurts?”

“Yes, Grandpa. He went to the bathroom often earlier. But he went again now. And when I asked him just now, he said it hurt.”

Junhyun and Junhyuk were twins, so they had a great connection with each other.

Sometimes they felt emotions or pain that even their parents couldn’t feel, and they immediately caught on when something was wrong with one of them.

“Really?”

“Yes. Junhyun said it only hurts a little, but if he says that, it means it really hurts. Because when I’m sick, I pretend it doesn’t hurt until the end, and then I say it only hurts a little when it really hurts.”

“Is that so? No wonder. That’s why he went to the bathroom so often.”

At Junhyuk’s words, the grandmother finally understood Junhyun’s behavior until now.

Junhyun had been going to the bathroom strangely often since after eating.

She asked him why he was going so often, if his stomach hurt, because he seemed to be going more often than when he usually came home.

‘No. Grandma. Nothing hurts. It’s not that, but I drank a lot of water earlier, so I have to pee.’

He said he had to pee with a cheerful expression, and the grandmother thought that was the case, but it wasn’t.

In fact, Junhyun had diarrhea symptoms since last night. But he only went to the bathroom once yesterday and his stomach didn’t hurt that much, so he didn’t tell his dad and mom.

But since this afternoon, his stomach felt a little more painful than yesterday, and the symptoms worsened after eating ice cream. But he didn’t say anything until the end.

The reason was that he didn’t want to take medicine and he hated going to the hospital even more.

Parents who raise children know that going to the hospital with a child is no easy task.

I wonder how many children like going to the hospital without any problems, but the twins were particularly difficult.

They went to the hospital well enough, but when they tried to get treatment, they were so stubborn and resisted that it wasn’t easy to get treatment even once.

Click-

“Ha! That was tough.”

“Junhyun?”

The grandmother approached Junhyun, who was talking to himself as he came out of the bathroom.

“Yes?”

“Our Junhyun, Grandma has something to say in secret, shall we go over there?”

The grandmother took her grandson’s hand and entered the kitchen.

“Junhyun, does your stomach hurt right now?”

“Yes!? No. My stomach doesn’t hurt.”

Junhyun flatly denied it with an indifferent expression. But because he was still a child, the telltale signs of hiding the truth were all over his face.

“Really. My stomach doesn’t hurt.”

“Grandma isn’t going to scold our Junhyun for having a stomach ache, and she’s not going to tell Mom either. I’m just worried.”

“You’re not going to tell Mom?”

“Of course.”

Junhyun was worried that Grandma might tell Mom.

“Junhyun? Our sweetie doesn’t like taking medicine, does he?”

“Yes, it’s bitter, it doesn’t taste good, and I don’t really want to eat it.”

“You hate going to the hospital even more, don’t you?”

“Yes, I hate the hospital even more. I really hate it.”

There was an immediate reaction when the hospital story came up. The expression on his face as he spoke with wide eyes seemed to indicate that he really didn’t want to go.

“Junhyun keeps going in and out of the bathroom. That’s because his stomach isn’t good and he’s having diarrhea.”

“…….”

“But if you have more diarrhea, your body will be tired and it may hurt more. So, Grandma thinks, what if we try taking medicine once?”

“Medicine……?”

“Yes. If you take medicine and your stomach feels better, you don’t have to go to the hospital, but if you keep resisting because you don’t want to take medicine, you have to go to the hospital? Which one do you think is better, Junhyun?”

Junhyun pondered with a very serious expression after hearing his grandmother’s words.

To be honest, he hated both. He hated medicine and the hospital, but if he had to choose the one he hated less, it was definitely medicine.

He really, really didn’t want to go to the hospital.

He had a memory of being tricked by his mom into going to the dentist last month and crying his eyes and nose out, so going to the hospital again was out of the question.

“Grandma, do I have to choose one between medicine and the hospital?”

“Yes. Unfortunately, those are your only two choices.”

“Then, I’ll take medicine.”

Junhyun, who had been seriously contemplating, finally chose to take medicine.

The grandmother gave her grandson the medicine that children take when they have a stomach ache, hoping that the symptoms would subside.

Junhyun also swallowed the bitter medicine, hoping that he wouldn’t have to go to the bathroom anymore.