Fifth Vital [EN]: Chapter 50

50. Medical Job Search Site

“Did the patient leave?”

With a sharp rustle of the curtains, Tae-kyung made his presence known.

Cut-

“Yes, they just left.”

Tae-kyung, who had been treating a patient in the bed right next to it, had heard everything that had happened so far.

He had briefly stopped by the station to check the results and found out that the patient had left.

“I tried to stop them, but they kept asking to have the IV removed.”

“Okay.”

The nurse’s tone was cautious. Tae-kyung’s demeanor seemed different from usual. He seemed to be holding back his anger.

“Wow, Dr. Kim happened to be in the next bed. So, he heard everything?”

As Tae-kyung went out of the curtain, the nurse whispered to herself, watching his retreating figure.

* * *

Tae-kyung’s gaze moved busily, scanning every corner of the emergency room. He checked the beds one by one and even checked the intensive care unit, but his gaze did not stop.

Turning his gaze back towards the station, he spotted Choi Mona in his field of vision.

Thud, thud-

He was striding towards Choi Mona with large steps when it happened.

“Dr. Kim?”

Nurse Im Jung-sook called out to Tae-kyung as she rushed into the emergency room.

“I think you need to go to the examination room.”

“Is it an outpatient?”

“No, it’s not. Choi Sun-hae’s guardian is here and wants to see you.”

“Okay, I’ll go right away. And tell Dr. Choi to come to my office after she checks on her patient.”

“Yes, Doctor.”

Tae-kyung turned his steps towards the examination room, away from Choi Mona.

* * *

Clang-

“Hello, I’m Kim Tae-kyung, the doctor in charge of Choi Sun-hae.”

As he opened the door to the examination room, the guardians, looking nervous, jumped up.

“Hello, Doctor. I’m Choi Sun-hae’s wife, and this is our daughter.”

“Yes, nice to meet you. Please, sit down. Your daughter seems very shocked.”

Choi Sun-hae’s wife and daughter, who had heard the news from Choi Sun-hae’s colleague, had rushed to the hospital, setting aside their work. The daughter, shocked by the sudden news of her father’s accident, had swollen eyes from crying.

“Is my dad okay?”

“I heard from my husband’s colleague that he had surgery. He said there was a hole in his stomach…”

“Yes, the patient initially sustained damage from a metal skewer that pierced his large intestine, the upper part of his bladder, and extended towards his back. This caused an infection, which we’ve managed with a strong antibiotic. However, the patient experienced severe bleeding, requiring us to perform a spinal anesthetic and suture the perforated area of the large intestine through the anus.”

Tae-kyung didn’t bother to add the fact that Choi Sun-hae had tried to die. He didn’t want to add to the burden of the guardians, who already looked distressed enough.

“Was the bleeding very severe?”

“Yes, it was so severe at the time that it could have been critical.”

“Oh my, how hard it must have been for him alone. Is my husband’s condition getting better now?”

“After stopping the bleeding, we transfused blood and immediately performed bladder surgery with a urologist using laparoscopy [a minimally invasive surgical technique].”

“Did the bladder surgery go well?”

“Yes, and when I went back in to suture the large intestine, I was very fortunate that there were no further damaged areas in the large intestine other than the anus where the bleeding was stopped.”

“Oh, thank goodness.”

A detailed explanation continued for the wife and daughter, who were more curious than anyone else. Tae-kyung never concluded an explanation to a guardian with a simple statement that the surgery went well. Guardians, as much as patients, have the right to a full explanation.

“After that, we checked the inflammation levels by doing blood tests every day. This morning, we confirmed that they have returned to normal.”

“Thank you.”

“We started him on a diet this morning, so if there are no problems after a bowel movement, we will check and consider discharge.”

Slide-

“Thank you, Doctor.”

“Thank you so much.”

The wife and daughter stood up from their seats at the same time, expressing their gratitude.

“No, it seems that Choi Sun-hae’s strong will to recover quickly helped him recover faster.”

“Excuse me, Doctor. We haven’t seen my husband yet. We were so surprised that we met with you first… Can we visit him now?”

“Of course. I’ll guide you.”

* * *

“Honey!”

“Dad!”

“No, how did you… even Miri?”

Choi Sun-hae was flustered by the sudden appearance of his family, and his wife and daughter teared up.

“How did you get here?”

“This taxi driver told us. Are you okay, Dad?”

“I told this driver to keep his mouth shut. Seriously.”

“Is that what you’re saying now? You were in this state, and Miri and I were happily preparing for the wedding without knowing…”

“Honey, Miri. Dad’s okay. And Dad will help with our daughter’s wedding properly, so don’t worry about anything. Okay?”

“Dad, I heard you got hurt while protesting because of my wedding. I’m sorry.”

“Why are you sorry? Don’t say that.”

A scene unfolded where it was hard to tell who was the guardian and who was the patient. While the wife and daughter looked tearful, smiles bloomed on Choi Sun-hae’s face.

“Dad’s fine now. So stop crying.”

Choi Sun-hae, who had missed his family, seemed happier than ever. He comforted his family and gave a short nod to Tae-kyung, who was standing by the hospital room door with a smiling face.

“Doctor?”

Tae-kyung, who had returned the nod, came out into the hallway, and Choi Sun-hae’s wife hurriedly followed him.

“I was so out of it that I forgot to give this to you earlier. This is it.”

“What is this?”

“It’s Yakshik [a sweet Korean rice dish made with glutinous rice, nuts, and dried fruits]. Our family likes Yakshik so much that we often make it. My daughter said that these days, you’re not supposed to give thank-you gifts to medical staff, so…”

Choi Sun-hae’s wife slightly opened the lid to show the Yakshik, which didn’t even have the usual raisins. It didn’t have any fancy toppings, but the most savory and delicious smell permeated the air.

“I didn’t have a pretty bowl, so I hurriedly made it in a side dish container at home. But I run a restaurant, so I’m good at cooking.”

Choi Sun-hae’s wife added an explanation as if she was embarrassed, but the lunch box with the reddish-brown lid was particularly impressive. When Tae-kyung was young and poor, the food his mother always made for his birthday was Yakshik. A small cake, bulgogi [Korean marinated beef] made with American beef, and his mother’s Yakshik made in a lunch box were always on the table.

‘It’s been a while since I’ve seen Yakshik.’

Tae-kyung had never lost his composure, even when seeing patients with severe injuries. But seeing the Yakshik in the lunch box made his heart ache for no reason.

“Thank you for saving my husband. It’s a small token, but please accept it.”

“It’s not a small token at all. I will enjoy it. Thank you.”

There was a person who had tried to give him a gold bar as a gift if he performed the surgery well. He claimed that this gold nugget was nothing compared to the value of a life, but Tae-kyung naturally refused.

His fellow doctors jokingly told him that he should have secretly taken it, but he didn’t feel regretful or regretful. But if he refused this Yakshik, he felt like he would regret it.

“Doctor, what’s that smell? Did you go to a sesame oil store?”

Nurse Im Jung-sook, who was coming down from the ward towards Tae-kyung, asked, catching her breath.

“Yes, I squeezed some sesame oil. Share this and eat it.”

Tae-kyung took out a container of Yakshik from the shopping bag and handed it over.

“The savory smell is amazing. What is this?”

“Yakshik.”

“Yakshik is delicious. But where did you get it?”

“Choi Sun-hae’s guardian made it.”

“That’s a lot of effort. Oh! Dr. Choi is waiting for you. Go quickly.”

* * *

Choi Mona, sitting on a chair next to the examination room, recalled what the nurse had said a little while ago.

‘Excuse me, Doctor. The patient left without finishing his IV.’

‘Is that so?’

‘Yes. But I think Dr. Kim was in the next bed. His expression was very bad. I think he heard everything.’

Even if there was a gap between the beds, the distance was not that great. If he was in the next bed, he would have heard everything.

“If his expression was bad… am I in trouble?”

-Medical Job Search Site

Choi Mona, muttering to herself, took out her cell phone and naturally clicked on a professional site for medical personnel.

Considering the previous complaint card incident and what happened a little while ago, she thought that today was definitely D-Day. Recommendation for resignation D-Day.

‘Would it be more comfortable in the countryside…? No. Should I go on a trip this time?’

Team Leader Choi had been subtly hinting at a recommendation for resignation, and she thought it was only a matter of time anyway. Choi Mona, who was already highly immune to being fired, felt no emotion as always.

‘I wanted to see more surgeries.’

However, there was only one thing. No. There were two things that felt slightly regrettable. One was that she wanted to see more of Tae-kyung’s surgeries, and the other was why he kept asking about the Geneva Declaration [a declaration of physicians’ dedication to humanitarian goals],

Although not exact, it seemed like he had asked her almost dozens of times so far.

“Why aren’t you going in and are standing here?”

Tae-kyung approached while she was lost in thought.

“I waited outside because you weren’t inside.”

“Let’s go in since you’re here.”

“Yes.”

Clang-

“Sit down. Dr. Choi, would you like something to drink? Coffee, chocolate, strawberry, scorched rice, brown rice, pine needle dew, cassia seed [a type of plant used in traditional medicine], what can I get you?”

“Anything is fine.”

“Okay. There’s something here that looks just like Dr. Choi.”

Tae-kyung handed over a strawberry milk with a sullen-looking cactus character, a popular cartoon character among children, printed on it.

“Thank you.”

Tae-kyung, who had been angry a little while ago, looked calm. He took out the customer complaint card from the drawer and placed it on the desk.

“I don’t know if you know, but this is a complaint card filed under Dr. Choi’s name.”

“I know.”

“Dr. Choi. There’s one thing I want to ask you.”

“Yes, please tell me.”

“I’d like to hear Dr. Choi Mona’s opinion. Does she want to continue working at our hospital?”

“Weren’t you going to tell me to quit?”

“Why do you think so? No.”

It was quite unexpected. When he called her to the examination room a few days ago, she thought that was it. The nurse had clearly said that Tae-kyung had heard everything from the next bed and that his expression was not good. But again, her expectations were wrong.

“Why aren’t you answering?”

“I’m curious if my opinion will be reflected in your decision.”

“Of course. That’s why I’m asking.”

“I want to work at our hospital.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

“Okay. I’ll ask you one more thing. Don’t you remember the Geneva Declaration?”

“Why do you keep asking about the Geneva Declaration?”

He was asking about the Geneva Declaration almost every time they made eye contact. Choi Mona, thinking that she couldn’t take it anymore, asked the reason.

“Because it’s important.”

“I want to ask if it’s that important.”

“I don’t think I’m the one to judge whether it’s important or not. If you’re that curious, try to remember it.”

“I’m sorry, but I have no intention of doing so.”

“Okay, the choice is up to Dr. Choi. Just like you made the choice to work at the hospital now. Okay, go do your work.”

Choi Mona bowed and left the examination room.

“Doctor, please come to the examination room.”

“Did you call me?”

Nurse Im Jung-sook received the call and entered the examination room.

“Yes, I have a favor to ask.”

“But Dr. Choi’s expression looked serious just now. I’ve never seen Dr. Choi with that expression before.”

“It will become more serious in the future. Please proceed with the emergency room schedule as it is from tomorrow.”