Fifth Vital [EN]: Chapter 65

65. What’s the Name of This Thing?

“So, that’s how things turned out with Teacher Choi.”

“Ah… I see.”

“I’m telling you!”

“So that’s how it happened.”

“In a faraway land, grabbing a *Kkan-dda-ppia* [a popular brand of] chicken leg and cheeping.”

“That’s right. Cheep-cheep is like that.”

When Eui-jin responded calmly to the nonsensical words, Nurse Lim Jeong-suk put down the tumbler she was holding.

“Teacher Jeong?”

“……Yes?”

“Teacher Jeong, look at me. What’s wrong with you today?”

“What do you mean?”

“No, your eyes are glazed over like a frozen pollack, and your mind is somewhere else. And why are you suddenly avoiding Teacher Kim?”

“When did I ever avoid Senior… I mean, Teacher Kim?”

Eui-jin, who hadn’t reacted to other topics, showed a strong reaction when Tae-kyung’s name came up.

“I didn’t avoid him.”

Although she said she didn’t, Eui-jin had been subtly avoiding Tae-kyung since coming to work today.

‘Senior, I like you.’

She had boldly confessed the day before, but it wasn’t easy to face Tae-kyung. Her feelings were so intense that she sincerely hoped there wouldn’t be an emergency surgery with Tae-kyung today.

“Really?”

“Of course. Nurse Su must have misunderstood.”

“I guess so. I was just wondering if you were avoiding him after confessing, that’s all.”

“Ptooey!”

In an instant, the iced Americano in Eui-jin’s mouth was sprayed onto the floor of the nurses’ lounge.

Nurse Lim Jeong-suk, who was as perceptive as a snake [a Korean idiom for someone who is very observant] crossing a mountain, had tested the waters, and Eui-jin was caught red-handed.

“Teacher Jeong, are you okay?”

“I’m sorry. I was so surprised…”

“What was there to be surprised about… Don’t tell me you actually confessed?”

“Nurse Su, what should I do? A lot happened yesterday.”

Eui-jin told Nurse Lim Jeong-suk everything that had happened yesterday.

“Oh my gosh, you two filmed a movie yesterday! But I think it was good that our Teacher Jeong confessed.”

“Was it a good thing? I don’t know what I’m doing at my age.”

“That takes so much courage. It was a good thing. I confessed to my husband first, too.”

“Really? Nurse Su, you’re awesome.”

“Teacher Jeong, you’re awesome too. And age doesn’t matter when you like someone. Psychologists say that even young people experience the same emotional risks as adults when they break up, and that the feelings of love are the same for 80-year-olds as they are for young people.”

“Well, age doesn’t matter when you like someone. But Senior doesn’t seem to care at all.”

“He probably didn’t expect it at all, so that might be why. But it’ll be hard for him to do that from now on.”

“What do you mean, hard?”

“The human heart is so mysterious. Even if you’re not interested in someone, if they say they like you, you can’t help but be aware of them. So, I think it would be good for our Teacher Jeong to just interact with Teacher Kim naturally, as usual.”

Nurse Lim Jeong-suk, who knew that Eui-jin liked Tae-kyung, hoped that the two of them would get together.

“Ha! Still, I feel better after talking to Nurse Su. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. By the way, what about that chairman issue?”

“Actually, I’m more worried about that Kim Seo-hyun, the daughter, than the chairman.”

“But when I think about it, this is outrageous. How dare they treat our precious teachers like that. She’s a pathetic person with a flawed character.”

“I know, right? They need to become human before they make money.”

“Still, she wouldn’t actually sue the person who saved her father, would she? Don’t worry too much.”

“You think so?”

“Of course.”

“I hope so.”

Eui-jin recalled Kim Seo-hyun’s venomous glare from the day before and wiped up the coffee she had spat out.

* * *

New Hope Hospital, VVIP ward.

“Chairman… Chairman?”

Kim Geon-hyung, whose life had been saved by Tae-kyung’s emergency measures, was hospitalized in the ward after surgery to close his abdomen the day before.

“Chairman, how are you feeling today?”

“Are you alright?”

“Is the surgical site pulling?”

The professors and the hospital director, who had flocked to make an impression under the guise of rounds, called out to Kim Geon-hyung with worried expressions.

“Is there anything that’s bothering you?”

Kim Geon-hyung, rolling his eyes, gestured with his index finger and called for his chief secretary. The chief secretary bowed his head and brought his ear close to Kim Geon-hyung’s mouth.

“Yes, Chairman. I understand.”

“What is the chairman saying?”

“He says everyone is being distracting, so shut your mouths and get out immediately. He wants to rest.”

“Ah, yes. That sounds like a good idea. Chairman, we’ll be on our way then.”

The hospital director and professors bowed in unison as Kim Geon-hyung gestured for them to leave quickly.

Clang-

“Those things, honestly…”

As the professors left, Kim Geon-hyung opened his mouth with a disgusted expression.

“Those so-called professors should be seeing patients, but instead, they’re all gathered here trying to look good. By the way, what happened to me?”

Kim Geon-hyung, who had been dealing with urgent company matters since waking up from surgery the day before, was now curious about what had happened to him.

“You collapsed while attending the Blue Moon opening game.”

“Right. I remember collapsing for a moment… Team Leader Go, come over here.”

Kim Geon-hyung, who had been talking with his chief secretary, called out to the head of the security team, who was standing a short distance away.

“Tell me what happened. Why was Seo-hyun running wild, what’s this about my beloved car being wrecked, and who is this person who treated me?”

“Well… it would be best if you saw it for yourself.”

The head of the security team clicked on a video on the tablet PC he was holding and handed it to Kim Geon-hyung. The video was a CCTV recording of Tae-kyung and Eui-jin at the baseball stadium, in the car, and in the helicopter.

“Do I really have to watch this?”

“Seeing it for yourself will be more informative than an explanation.”

The listless gaze in his eyes quickly focused on the screen.

Kim Geon-hyung was known for his impatience and demanded that everything be prepared concisely and quickly, even during meetings. However, he watched the video featuring Tae-kyung from beginning to end without skipping a single part.

“Huh, well, he’s quite bold.”

Kim Geon-hyung showed an inscrutable reaction after watching the video.

“Is this the guy who saved me?”

“Yes, Chairman.”

“Very interesting. Secretary Lee?”

“Yes, Chairman.”

“What’s this thing’s name?”

“Kim Tae-kyung.”

“Kim Tae-kyung, huh… Find out where this guy works.”

“Understood.”

After giving instructions to his chief secretary, Kim Geon-hyung replayed Tae-kyung’s video once more.

* * *

“Please come in. The next patient can go in.”

Tae-kyung was seeing outpatients in his office.

“Hello, Doctor.”

“Welcome. What brings you here?”

“I’m not here because I’m not feeling well, but because I have business with Dr. Kim Tae-kyung.”

“Business?”

“I’m from the legal team of Nuga Group.”

“……”

The man in the black suit and strong perfume handed over a document envelope.

“What is this?”

“It’s a small document containing our president’s sentiments. Well, I’m sure you’re busy, so I’ll be on my way.”

Without any further explanation, the legal team employee left the office, leaving the document behind.

“A bill!”

Inside the document the man handed over was a piece of paper that read ‘Bill’.

-Bill-

Kim Tae-kyung is hereby billed for the unauthorized use of Nuga Group property.

You are required to pay a total of 237,500,000 won [approximately $180,000 USD], which includes compensation for the damaged vehicle and the use of Nuga Group’s corporate helicopter, a property of Nuga Group, within one week from today, September x, 2021.

-Kim Seo-hyun, President of Nuga Hotel Business Division-

“She actually sent a bill.”

Tae-kyung was dumbfounded when he saw the bill with the astronomical amount.

He didn’t think she would just let it go, but he didn’t expect such an absurd amount to be charged.

You can’t compare a person’s life to money, but the value of his life, which saved Kim Geon-hyung, was literally ‘astronomical’.

Clang-

“Senior?”

Eui-jin, who had heard the news from Nurse Lim Jeong-suk, burst into the office.

“I heard the Nuga Group came. Are you okay… T-Two hundred million? Are these people crazy?”

Eui-jin was speechless when she saw the amount on the bill.

“At least I’m the only one being billed.”

Even in this situation, Tae-kyung thought it was fortunate that the bill only came to him.

“Senior, how can you be laughing right now?”

“I guess I’m laughing because I’m glad I didn’t cause any trouble for Teacher Jeong.”

“No, Senior, this is not the time to be laughing. Right now, that woman Kim Seo-hyun is charging you an outrageous amount under ridiculous pretenses…”

“Teacher Jeong, it’s okay.”

He patted Eui-jin on the shoulder, who had rushed over with her gown flying and was excitedly ranting, to calm her down.

“What do you mean, it’s okay? Are you not worried at all?”

“I have something very important to do right now, so that’s all I’m thinking about.”

“Something important? What is it?”

“Do you see that?”

Tae-kyung poked his head out of the office with Eui-jin, and the waiting patient greeted them.

“See? I have a lot of outpatients today, so I need to see them quickly.”

“Of course, patients are important, but that’s a whopping 200 million won…”

“Don’t worry. We’ll talk about that later. Now! Our Teacher Jeong, go back to seeing patients quickly. Ms. Lee Geum-rye, please come in.”

Eui-jin couldn’t understand Tae-kyung’s calm demeanor when he was the one with a fire under his feet.

“Nurse Su, is that right? How can he be so calm?”

“I understand it.”

“Yes?”

“Anyone else would probably cancel their appointments today and run to apologize or hire a lawyer.”

That was normal, so it was natural.

“But he’s Kim Tae-kyung. ‘Nothing is more important than my patients.’ That’s Kim Tae-kyung’s motto.”

It wasn’t that Eui-jin didn’t know that. But she wished that Tae-kyung would think of himself more in situations like this.

* * *

Close to midnight.

“Argh! Sh*t!!”

A man standing in a building near our hospital shouted and cursed.

“Argh! You son of a b*tch.”

As the man, who had been pacing in the same spot for an hour, cursed again, passersby were startled.

“What was that? Did you hear that man cursing just now?”

“It’s okay. Don’t look back and just go. There are a lot of strange people these days, so it’s best not to provoke them.”

“Yeah. I saw on the news yesterday that someone with schizophrenia was randomly wielding a weapon on the street.”

“Exactly. Let’s be quiet and go quickly.”

The man standing at the entrance of the building heard the passersby and covered his mouth with a towel he was holding. “Ugh!”

He clenched the towel, which was soaked with saliva, so tightly that his molars were about to break.

-Hyun-joon, the hospital said it’s not too busy right now. It’ll be okay. It’s not good to leave it alone. Okay?

The man, who had read a message from someone, hesitated for a long time before pulling his hat down further and heading towards the hospital.

“Argh! Damn it.”

The curses bursting from the man’s mouth were relentless, but his footsteps were quite cautious.

‘Please. Please…’

The man, with a tense expression, prayed for something as he got closer to the hospital. And once again, he put the towel in his mouth. He clenched it even tighter with all his might.

“Ugh!”

As he entered the hospital, the receptionist greeted the man.

“Welcome. Are you here to see a doctor?”