Fifth Vital [EN]: Chapter 484

485. Skin Condition

“Ugh! I’m going crazy.”

Immajun glanced around nervously and approached Lee Jeongbon.

“What happened? Did everyone get to the injured person?”

Kim Mihoe, unable to grasp the exact situation or see it directly, kept pressing for information via her phone.

“I’m going. Mom? Instead of that, shouldn’t you come here?”

“Hey, you! What are you saying? If I go, the situation might get worse for you. Just do as I say.”

Kim Mihoe felt the same way.

She wanted to rush to the scene and resolve the situation herself, but after running some calculations in her head, she realized it wasn’t the right move.

“Ugh!”

“What?”

“This guy is wriggling, and there’s a ton of blood coming from his lower body. Ugh! It’s gross.”

“Watch your language from now on, and quickly call an ambulance for him. Tell him to wait a little longer.”

Kim Mihoe began to instruct Immajun on how to handle the situation.

“Say, ‘I was really surprised when you suddenly appeared. Uh! It’s dangerous to drive your motorcycle like that while delivering.’ Say exactly what I just told you, word for word. Got it?”

“Mom, there’s one more thing I haven’t told you.”

“One more thing? What is it?”

Whether it was her intuition as a mother or the years of raising a wayward son, Kim Mihoe had a bad feeling.

The fact that her son said there was one more thing made her feel uneasy, as if something big was about to happen.

“What is it? Tell me quickly.”

“Well, Mom, I… I…”

“Did you drink and drive? Is that it?”

“No! I didn’t drink. Really.”

“Then?”

“I didn’t drink, but I did drugs…”

“What!? Drugs?”

“…I did drugs.”

“…!”

At that moment, Kim Mihoe gasped on the other end of the phone, her mouth snapping shut. At the same time, her son’s skin condition from the *officetel* [a Korean term for a multi-purpose building with residential and commercial units] flashed through her mind.

His skin looked like it had been severely scratched and was all irritated, but he said it was just allergies and that he was fine.

She had her doubts, her suspicions.

A long time ago, when they were in the United States, he and some friends he went to school with had briefly experimented with marijuana.

Her son confessed that he had only taken one puff, like a cigarette, and promised never to do it again, so she let it go.

She dismissed it as a youthful indiscretion, something that young people do when they can’t control their impulses. But she never imagined he would still be doing drugs.

“Mom, I said I did drugs? Are you listening?”

Immajun, who had found it difficult to confess his drug use at first, now spoke freely about it, since Kim Mihoe wasn’t responding.

“Mom! I said I did drugs…”

“Shut up!”

A muffled, irritated voice pierced Immajun’s eardrums from the other end of the phone.

“What are you doing, saying that word over and over again? What if someone hears you?”

“Who’s going to hear me?”

“There’s an injured person there, isn’t there?”

“He’s in too much pain to even think straight. It’s okay.”

“Don’t talk nonsense. From now on, don’t say that word out loud. Got it? And do as I told you earlier. I’ll contact Kim the lawyer. If the police come before that, don’t say you did that, no matter what. Got it?”

“Got it.”

“Pretend to care about the injured person and go with him in the ambulance. Even if you caused the accident, it’s not your fault, and going to the hospital with him will be much better for you.”

Kim Mihoe, who was more thorough than expected, gave Immajun detailed instructions and warned him not to make any mistakes.

“Mom, what should I do? The injured person’s sibling keeps calling.”

Immajun said, looking at the phone on the ground. The words “My beloved sibling” kept appearing on the screen.

“Hang up, call 119 [the emergency telephone number in South Korea] to report the accident first, then say what you said to the patient earlier. If the phone keeps ringing after that, tell the sibling and let them know which hospital you’re going to.”

“Okay. Mom, I’m screwed, aren’t I? What about Dad?”

“I’ll smooth things over with your dad, so don’t make any mistakes. Got it?”

“Yeah. I will.”

“And, Majun? There aren’t any other injured people, are there?”

“Injured people…?”

At Kim Mihoe’s sudden question, Immajun paused, trying to recall what had happened.

After thinking it over, he said there weren’t any.

Immajun had completely forgotten that he had hit Kana with his car.

Of course. He was high on drugs at the time, and the world seemed like a magical place. There was no way he would remember.

He firmly believed that Lee Jeongbon was the only person who had been injured.

“No.”

“Are you sure?”

“I’m sure. I’ll do as you say and call you.”

“Majun? Don’t call, just text or message me.”

“Okay.”

Immajun nudged Lee Jeongbon’s ringing phone with his foot. Then, he approached the groaning Lee Jeongbon and knelt down.

“Ugh! Ugh… !”

“Sir? Are you in a lot of pain right now?”

Immajun put on his most kind and gentle voice.

“My car collided with your motorcycle. I was so out of it that I was just sitting in my car. I was driving at a reasonable speed, but you suddenly jumped out, and that’s how the accident happened.”

“Ah… ha! Ugh!”

“You shouldn’t drive your motorcycle so dangerously. I’ll call 119, so please wait a little longer.”

Surprisingly, Immajun acted exactly as Kim Mihoe had instructed, making it seem like it was Lee Jeongbon’s fault. He took out his phone and called 119.

“Hello?”

“Yes, this is 119.”

“Yes, this is 119, right? There’s been an accident here.”

“An accident? Are you saying that you were in an accident?”

The paramedic who answered the phone responded kindly and calmly.

“Yes, that’s right. I was driving, and a delivery motorcycle suddenly jumped out and collided with my car. I was so surprised that I swerved and hit a tree, and then I lost consciousness.”

Even while talking to 119, Immajun subtly made it seem like he was the victim.

He even showed enthusiasm in explaining the situation to the 119 paramedic in a kind and appropriate manner.

“I see. So, are you and the delivery person injured?”

“I hit a tree and the airbag went off, and I lost consciousness for a while, but I don’t seem to have any visible injuries. But the delivery driver seems to be in a lot of pain, and there’s a lot of blood coming from his lower body, like his pelvis or something.”

“Thank you for the detailed explanation. Is the injured driver conscious right now?”

“Yes, he’s conscious, but he’s in a lot of pain.”

“Okay, we’re going to send an ambulance right away. Please give me the exact location.”

“It’s… ?”

“If you don’t know exactly where you are, look for a street sign or a street light with a number on it.”

“Yes, it’s a little past the oo intersection in oo neighborhood. There’s a phone number for oo restaurant nearby, it says xxx-xxxx.”

“Okay, we’ll be there right away. We’ll call you back, so please answer the phone.”

“Yes, I understand.”

After hanging up, Immajun approached Lee Jeongbon again and told him about the situation.

“Hey, sir? I don’t know if you can hear me, but I’ve called 119. I explained the location well, so the ambulance will be here soon. Just hang in there.”

“…Please. Ugh! Please…”

Lee Jeongbon seemed to have something to say to Immajun, repeating something over and over.

“What? Can you say it again?”

“…Sibling. Contact my sibling… please.”

He didn’t have the strength to move his body or make a sound due to the overwhelming pain. But Lee Jeongbon was more worried about his sibling, who must be worried about him, and wanted to contact them.

“Ah, you want me to contact your sibling?”

“…Yes. Please… do.”

“Yes, I understand. But if I call now, I won’t know which hospital you’re going to, so I’ll do it when the ambulance arrives.”

“Now…”

Lee Jeongbon wanted him to at least make a call, but Immajun didn’t seem to want to.

He got up and answered the phone from the paramedic, who was calling to confirm the location. A little later, the ambulance arrived.

The paramedics moved quickly and carefully transferred the injured Lee Jeongbon to a mobile bed, then boarded the ambulance with Immajun.

“Excuse me, officer. Can you tell me which hospital we’re going to? I promised to contact this driver’s sibling.”

“We’re checking which hospital can take him right now, so please wait a moment.”

The paramedics called nearby hospitals, explained Lee Jeongbon’s condition, and asked if they could perform surgery.

“oo Hospital said it would be difficult to perform the surgery.”

“Don’t do that, call our hospital.”

The hospital they contacted said they couldn’t perform the surgery Lee Jeongbon needed, so the paramedic called their hospital.

“Our hospital can do it.”

“Really? Turn the car around and let’s go to our hospital.”

“Yes, I understand.”

The paramedic turned the car around to go to their hospital and told Immajun the hospital’s location.

“The hospital we’re going to now is Woori Hospital in Yeoul-dong.”

“Ah, yes. I understand.”

Immajun called Lee Jeongmi using Lee Jeongbon’s phone, which had a cracked screen.

* * *

At that time-

Lee Jeongmi, who was waiting for her brother at home, felt like her insides were burning. She was incredibly anxious.

It had been a while since he said he was doing his last delivery and coming home.

The delivery area wasn’t that far from here. Besides, she had called him several times, but strangely, she couldn’t get through.

Her brother had never not answered the phone while delivering, no matter how busy he was.

Even if he couldn’t answer, he would always call back later if he saw a missed call.

‘Did he go out for another delivery… ?’

She knew that nothing was wrong, but she couldn’t help but worry.

Lee Jeongmi, unable to put down her phone, paced back and forth in the small room. At that moment, she flinched.

Her brother’s call, which she had been waiting for so long, had finally arrived.

Lee Jeongmi immediately answered the phone when the words “My wonderful brother” appeared on the screen.

“Brother!! Where are you now!!”

Lee Jeongmi poured out her worried nagging. She was always upset when she saw her brother willingly putting himself through hardship.

“Hey! Why hasn’t the person who said they left a while ago arrived yet? Brother, did you go out for another delivery? Is that it? Stop and come home. You have to go to work tomorrow. Okay?”

She rattled off a barrage of nagging, but her brother, Lee Jeongbon, was silent.

“Brother?”

Normally, he would have said, ‘Jeongmi, you’re going to make my ears fall off,’ but he didn’t say anything.

“Brother?”

“Hello… ?”

The moment Lee Jeongmi called Lee Jeongbon again, an unfamiliar voice struck her eardrums.

Something felt wrong.