Fifth Vital [EN]: Chapter 499

500. Beyond That Door

Our Hospital Ward-

At the same time Tae-kyung was with Oh Si-won, Lee Jung-bon, who had undergone hip surgery due to a traffic accident, was moved to his hospital room.

“Sob!”

“I told you I’m okay…….”

Lee Jung-mi, who had been brave until she heard from Tae-kyung that the surgery went well, had been crying for a while now.

After Lee Jung-bon woke up from anesthesia, his younger sister felt sorry for her brother, and tears burst out without her even realizing it.

“You idiot, stop crying!”

Lee Jung-bon, who had woken up from anesthesia after the surgery, still felt pain in the surgical area, but it was bearable thanks to the pain relievers.

More than anything, he had been scared from the moment of the accident until he entered the operating room, wondering if things would go wrong. But he was grateful and relieved that the surgery went well.

“Jung-mi, do you know you look really ugly right now?”

“I don’t care. My brother is so pitiful.”

“Oh my! Our Jung-mi is just a baby.”

As Lee Jung-mi shed tears, the wife of the mart [small grocery store] owner, who came to visit, comforted her as if she were her own daughter.

A few hours earlier, after hearing about her brother’s accident from Im Ma-joon, Lee Jung-mi left the house without thinking.

She ran out of the house like a crazy person, so she couldn’t pack what she needed and didn’t even lock the door.

As her brother’s surgery was underway, Lee Jung-mi was worried about her house and called the mart owner couple after much deliberation.

Her brother and she were the only family in this world, so there was no other place to contact.

She thought about contacting her friends, but they lived in different places, so she couldn’t. So she contacted the couple who usually liked her and her brother.

‘Jung-mi? Oh, what’s going on at this hour? What’s wrong?’

‘Auntie, I’m sorry to contact you so suddenly. My brother……. My brother had an accident and is having surgery at the hospital now.’

‘What? Jung-bon?’

‘……Yes.’

‘Oh my gosh! Honey! Get up right now. Jung-bon is in the hospital.’

‘What? Jung-bon?’

‘Jung-mi, which hospital are you in? It’s okay, tell me calmly.’

Even though they were close, they were not blood-related, so she wondered if it was okay to contact them like this.

However, contrary to Lee Jung-mi’s worries, the mart owner couple comforted Lee Jung-mi, telling her not to worry.

Then, they went to the siblings’ house, packed Lee Jung-bon’s underwear and necessary items, locked the door, and drove straight to the hospital.

Not only that, but they moved Lee Jung-bon, who was originally assigned to a multi-person room, to a two-person room, showing kindness so that the siblings could be comfortable.

“Uncle, Auntie. I’m so sorry.”

Lee Jung-mi, who had been crying because she was worried about her brother, pulled herself together and apologized to the mart owner couple.

“What are you talking about?”

“I know, why are you suddenly sorry to us?”

“Jung-mi must be like that because she contacted you two in the early morning. I’m really sorry and thank you too.”

The kind siblings were sincerely grateful and sincerely sorry to the two people. In this harsh world, who would do this much for someone who is not blood-related?

“Why are you both like this today? It’s not a big deal! Isn’t that right, honey?”

“Of course. They say there is no one above people and no one below people. We should help each other when people are in trouble. Jung-mi, how desperate would you have been to contact us at this early hour?”

“Of course. And this person and I don’t think of you two as strangers. If you have any difficulties in life, we will always hold your hand, so don’t be sorry for things like this.”

The mart owner sincerely thought that the siblings, who had been working hard for a long time, were admirable.

“Well, even if my wife gets mad at me, her heart is as big as the Pacific Ocean towards you.”

“Oh my! You’re so loud.”

“But Jung-bon, do you remember how the accident happened? I heard from the nurse that you violated the signal [ran a red light]…….”

“No, I don’t think I can understand it no matter how much I think about it.”

“Hey, don’t interrupt people when they’re talking.”

The topic of conversation among the four people, who had been having a heartwarming conversation for a while, shifted to the story of Lee Jung-bon’s accident.

“It’s not important that your words were interrupted right now.”

“Okay.”

In particular, the mart owner couple could hardly believe the story they had heard from the nurse earlier.

Im Ma-joon kept talking about the accident circumstances to the medical staff without being asked.

The nurse in the emergency room heard the story from Im Ma-joon, the ward nurse heard the story, and the mart couple heard the story again.

The gist of the content was this.

‘I am completely a victim. Yes, doctor, nurse. You’ve seen a lot of traffic accident patients, right? That patient who came with me earlier.’

‘Lee Jung-bon patient?’

‘Yes, that person is a delivery driver, and he ran without paying attention to the signal and crashed into my car. That’s why I’m feeling dizzy and out of my mind right now. I’m telling you again, I’m not the one who did wrong.’

From the moment he was taken to the hospital, Im Ma-joon kept telling everyone that he was an innocent victim.

“No, no matter how you look at it, Jung-bon is not the kind of person who would violate a signal.”

“Hey! Don’t raise your voice so loudly and stay still. People can make mistakes in life. But this could turn into something bigger than you think.”

“Something big?”

Lee Jung-bon asked, looking at the mart owner’s serious expression, which was different from a moment ago.

“Yes, actually, a young woman came to the emergency room due to a traffic accident, and she was badly injured, so it seems like it will be difficult. But it seems like that woman and the man who had the accident with you are somehow related again.”

The mart owner, who had gone to the ward lounge to get a vending machine coffee, was telling Lee Jung-bon exactly what he had heard the nurses say.

“So it seems important whether Jung-bon, you remember when the accident happened.”

Lee Jung-bon, who was listening to the owner’s words, was lost in thought.

‘When the accident happened…….’

To be honest, he had just come out of the operating room and had not been fully awake from the anesthesia, so his memory at that time was not 100% certain. But one thing was clear.

That was that he did not cause the accident. This thought was firm and it was the truth.

Lee Jung-bon was able to confidently say in front of anyone that he was not at fault in this accident.

While working part-time as a delivery driver after finishing his factory work, he had made a resolution.

That was to never violate a signal under any circumstances.

Even if the delivery was a little late and the customer cursed at him, he thought that he should not cause an accident due to careless driving.

Motorcycle drivers know that they get more seriously injured in an accident than car drivers, so they always kept their minds sharp and were careful.

He did not forget to drive safely because of his younger sister who would be left alone in this world if he got hurt.

He always had the four letters ‘safe driving’ engraved in his head.

But he was the one who caused the accident. That was absurd.

That meant that Im Ma-joon was lying, and Lee Jung-bon knew that fact.

Since he was not the one who caused the accident in the first place, he was not worried about this part even while being taken to the hospital.

In fact, what Lee Jung-bon was trying to recall with his vague memory was not this part.

Im Ma-joon!

He was trying to recall what that man, who caused the accident, had said while looking at himself lying on the road.

He knew that he had definitely said something huge at that time, but he was not sure because that something was not clear.

Above all, if the young woman’s traffic accident that the mart owner had mentioned earlier was related to this accident, it seemed like he had to remember Im Ma-joon’s words.

“Brother? You didn’t cause the accident, did you?”

Lee Jung-mi, who had been quietly listening to the adults’ stories, carefully looked at her brother and asked.

Lee Jung-mi also had no doubt that her brother was not that kind of person. She was sure that something was wrong.

“No. It wasn’t me. So Jung-mi, you don’t have to worry.”

After Lee Jung-bon said that to his younger sister, he made it clear to the owner couple as well.

“Uncle, Auntie, I didn’t cause the accident.”

“Yes, I knew it. What kind of person is Jung-bon that he would cause an accident.”

“Since this is a traffic accident, I think the police will come later, so let’s talk about it then.”

“Yes, Uncle.”

Lee Jung-bon was trying to remember that Im Ma-joon had talked to someone on the phone and even the content of that conversation.

* * *

Tae-kyung headed to the treatment room where Kana was, with Oh Si-won, who looked fine on the outside.

Each step Oh Si-won took was agonizing.

It was so difficult to enter the treatment room, as if a stone of immeasurable weight was attached to his legs.

In fact, he was scared. He was afraid.

It felt like if he went in there, he would really have to say goodbye, so it was even harder.

‘Let’s calm down.’

He had been comforting and persuading himself from the waiting room until now.

His heart was pounding uncontrollably like it was broken, and it was beating so hard that it felt like it was hitting his chest.

While Oh Si-won was walking with indescribable feelings, Tae-kyung examined his expression.

He still looked fine on the outside, but he knew that was not the case on the inside.

It was the first time that the nasty Fifth Vital [a term referring to a life-threatening condition] emanating from the treatment room was so infuriating.

Tae-kyung knew as clear as day what the patient’s condition was without having to smell this smell.

However, every time the intensifying Stage 5 smells invaded his sense of smell, he felt like he wanted to get rid of these smells right away if he could, even for a moment.

Because to Tae-kyung, the smell felt like a countdown to take the patient away quickly.

He desperately hoped that the patient would hold on at least until his younger sister woke up and his parents came from Japan.

“Director…….”

Oh Si-won, who had been walking silently ahead, stopped for a moment when he saw the ‘Treatment Room’ sign in front of him. And he called Tae-kyung in a low voice.

“Yes, guardian.”

“…….”

Oh Si-won called Tae-kyung but said nothing. No. He seemed to have a lot to say, but it seemed like he couldn’t.

“I…….”

Just as Tae-kyung, who was worried about him, was about to speak, Oh Si-won opened his tightly closed lips with difficulty.

“……I’m scared. I’m scared.”

That was exactly what he meant.

It was the first time in his life that he had been so scared.

He was scared to go in because it felt like he would never see Kana again if he crossed that door.

The desire to see her to death and the inability to do so seemed to be biting and tearing at each other.

“I fully understand the guardian’s feelings.”

Tae-kyung, who slowly approached Oh Si-won, patted him on the shoulder and said warmly.

“But the patient is waiting for you now.”

Tae-kyung was actually a little impatient.

As a doctor, he knew that every minute and every second was precious for Kana, who was lying on the treatment room bed, so he wanted Oh Si-won to see the patient as soon as possible, no matter what.

So, even though he knew it would be difficult, he comforted and soothed him.

“Yes, the director is right. Kana is waiting for me…… I’m just talking about being scared like a fool……. I’m sorry.”

At Tae-kyung’s words, Oh Si-won regained his composure.

“Guardian, this way.”

Oh Si-won, who had been contemplating and agonizing, entered the treatment room like that.