Fifth Vital [EN]: Chapter 67

67. Even if the President Comes

The loud noise made Lee Chan-hee and Choi Mona, who were attending to patients in the emergency room, look towards the entrance simultaneously.

“Soo, was that your voice just now?”

“I’ll go check.”

As expected, Nurse Lim Jeong-sook, who had heard the shouting, came out of the emergency room and approached the reception desk.

“Soo, you came at the right time.”

“What’s going on? Was that Mr. Kim’s voice? It sounded like he was shouting.”

“Yes. Do you see those two people next to Mr. Kim over there?”

The staff member pointed alternately to Kim Seo-hyun, dressed to the nines in a yellow suit, and a man wearing a hoodie.

“That young man checked in 40 minutes ago, and the woman in yellow came 10 minutes later, saying she was here to see Mr. Kim. Then she checked in and went outside. But……”

The staff member quickly explained the situation.

“So, the man cursed but apologized, and when the woman tried to hit him, Mr. Kim shouted.”

“But that woman seems like trouble.”

“What do you mean?”

“She’s wearing all expensive designer clothes, but her behavior is like she’s used to being entitled.”

The receptionist immediately recognized Kim Seo-hyun’s character.

“And Soo, doesn’t that woman look familiar? She looks strangely familiar……”

“Familiar?”

“Yes. Did I see her on TV?”

At the staff member’s words, Nurse Lim Jeong-sook slowly moved towards Tae-kyung, watching the woman closely.

* * *

“What are you doing to my patient!”

A thunderous shout struck Kim Seo-hyun’s eardrums. The person who shouted at Kim Seo-hyun was Tae-kyung, who had just come out of the emergency room.

“Get your hand off him right now!”

Tae-kyung shouted again clearly.

“What?”

Kim Seo-hyun confirmed that the source of the shout was Tae-kyung, walking out from inside the hospital.

“He comes out 40 minutes after checking in.”

“Can’t you put that hand down quickly?”

“Ah, this hand? Why should I?”

“That person is a patient. He didn’t do it on purpose.”

“What, a patient?”

At Tae-kyung’s word ‘patient,’ the man flinched with a surprised expression. And from that moment on, the man’s gaze was directed at Tae-kyung.

“Yes. He didn’t curse at Kim Seo-hyun on purpose either.”

“Ha! That’s why you need to find a good doctor. That’s why you’re called a doctor with no roots [lacking connections or prestige]. Cursing with a mouth full of garbage is because of a disease? Where are you trying to sell drugs?”

Kim Seo-hyun didn’t like Tae-kyung’s attitude of defending the man who cursed at her.

“You can say whatever you want about me, but I can’t stand you talking carelessly about my patient.”

“That’s ridiculous.”

“Patient Go Yoon-gi?”

While Kim Seo-hyun was scoffing, Tae-kyung called the man’s name and approached him closely.

“Did you wait long? It took a bit longer because I was seeing an emergency patient.”

“Ugh!”

“It’s okay, you can put your hand down.”

“Ah, no……sh*t. Argh!”

Tae-kyung removed the left hand that was gagging Go Yoon-gi from his mouth and wiped the saliva with a tissue brought from the reception desk.

“You son of a b*tch…… Argh! I’m okay…… f*ck! Argh!”

Go Yoon-gi was startled and tried to stop him, but Tae-kyung remained calm and treated him calmly.

“Hey! Where are you going?”

At that moment, Kim Seo-hyun grabbed Go Yoon-gi’s shoulder as he headed to the examination room with Tae-kyung and turned him around.

“Please don’t do this.”

Nurse Lim Jeong-sook, who was next to her, said firmly, but she didn’t even pretend to listen.

“Shut up, and hey, if you don’t apologize to me right now for cursing at me, I’m going to sue you.”

“Kim Seo-hyun, please stop?”

Tae-kyung blocked Kim Seo-hyun’s path with a serious expression.

“Nurse Lim, please go to the examination room with the patient first.”

“Yes, Doctor.”

“Go where! Who said you could go? Can’t you get out of my way?”

“I’m sorry.”

It was then, as Kim Seo-hyun pushed Tae-kyung and shouted at Go Yoon-gi, that a white-haired, slightly hunched old man rushed into the hospital and knelt down.

“I’m really sorry.”

“Doctor, my grandson has a disease. He didn’t curse on purpose, so please clear up the misunderstanding. I’m sorry.”

The old man put his hands together and apologized as if he was used to this situation.

“Hey, Grandpa. Even so, this isn’t right. You shouldn’t raise your grandson like that either. If the kid did something wrong, he should apologize.”

“Yes, yes, it’s all my fault. I’m really sorry. My grandson is sick, so please be understanding.”

“Guardian, please get up. Nurse Lim?”

“Yes, Doctor.”

“Take the patient and guardian to the examination room.”

“Understood.”

“Go where?”

“Hey, Kim Seo-hyun!”

As Kim Seo-hyun tried to block them again, Tae-kyung, whose patience had reached its limit, glared at Kim Seo-hyun coldly and shouted firmly.

“Don’t treat my patient and guardian carelessly anymore.”

The look in his eyes was so fierce that Kim Seo-hyun, who had been bulldozing her way through, flinched momentarily.

“Wh-what did you say?”

“And the apology isn’t for that patient; it’s for you to make. Don’t cause a commotion in my hospital and get out.”

“Me, get out? Are you saying that to me……”

“Seo-hyun, stop it.”

Just as Kim Seo-hyun was about to argue in an agitated voice, Kim Geon-hyung entered the hospital with the head of the security team.

“Dad? I told you to wait in the car. Why did you come to a place like this?”

“Hey, you rascal. If you’re going to get treatment, you have to come into the hospital.”

Tae-kyung and the others turned their attention to Kim Geon-hyung’s unexpected appearance.

Everyone from Team Leader Choi, who had rushed out of the office, to Nurse Lim, the patient, and the guardian, who were heading to the examination room, stopped in their tracks.

“Oh my gosh. Team Leader, isn’t that the chairman of Who Group?”

“Y-yeah, I think so.”

“It’s him. I heard he was sick recently, but is that not true? But why did he come to our hospital at this hour?”

“I know, right? Why would that famous chairman come to our hospital? That’s so strange.”

Unlike Kim Seo-hyun, who was tilting her head, people immediately recognized Kim Geon-hyung.

Kim Geon-hyung, who had undergone surgery, was granted a day off by the hospital director and the attending physician under the pretext of doing company work. But his destination was not the company, but to meet Tae-kyung.

The reason he came at this late hour was to avoid people’s attention.

Kim Geon-hyung arrived with Kim Seo-hyun but had been waiting in the car until now because he was told there would be a wait.

“Dr. Kim Tae-kyung, I am Kim Geon-hyung.”

“I know.”

Tae-kyung took a deep breath as soon as Kim Geon-hyung approached him.

‘A faint ammonia smell.’

With a weak stage 2 smell, he could tell that Kim Geon-hyung’s surgery was going well and he was recovering well. And above all, unlike the appearance he had seen a few days ago, his complexion looked very good.

“Do you know why I came here at this hour?”

“I think you came to see me.”

“That’s right. By the way, when can I get treatment?”

“You have to wait.”

Tae-kyung told Kim Geon-hyung, who was asking about his turn, to wait. Then Kim Seo-hyun, who had been quiet, was about to start her sword dance [cause trouble] again.

“Are you saying you’re going to treat the person who swore at my dad first?”

“Excuse me, Doctor, we’ll wait longer, so you can treat them first.”

The old man, who was patting the back of his grandson who was covering his mouth, recommended giving way, but Tae-kyung was firm.

“No. Guardian, you don’t have to do that.”

“This grandpa says it’s okay.”

“I don’t.”

“So, are you telling us to wait longer because of that swearing kid? Are you crazy?”

“Ahem! Seo-hyun, lower your voice and stop it. Hey, Dr. Kim. I’ve been waiting for 40 minutes; can’t you see the old man first?”

“No, I can’t.”

As the saying goes, the position makes the person; Kim Geon-hyung’s aura was truly great.

His confident aura was enough to intimidate the other person. Moreover, he had never heard anything unpleasant or been refused by anyone.

Because no one even dared to think of saying such a thing. But Tae-kyung’s solid firmness made Kim Geon-hyung slightly embarrassed.

“Excuse me…… I’m sorry to interrupt your conversation.”

Team Leader Choi, who had been watching quietly from the reception desk, suddenly intervened.

“Doctor, why don’t you treat the chairman first? He’s a very busy person, so I think that would be better.”

A big shot playing in the world’s business community came to our hospital for treatment.

If we spread the word about this, the number of patients would increase several times more than now. The more patients, the more profit for the hospital.

Team Leader Choi was thinking of persuading Tae-kyung so that Kim Geon-hyung would not be upset any further.

“The patient and guardian have also agreed, so I think it would be okay.”

“Team Leader, I can’t do that.”

“Dr. Kim, I’m a person whose time is money. And isn’t my precious money being wasted in the hospital hallway?”

“The chairman’s time may be money, but the patients’ time may be their lives. And time is precious to everyone, not just the chairman’s time.”

The staff who watched Tae-kyung’s refreshing remarks showed relieved expressions, and Team Leader Choi was embarrassed.

“Dad, it’s impossible to communicate, so don’t waste your time because of some lousy doctor and just go today.”

Behind Kim Seo-hyun, who was turning red, Kim Geon-hyung had an ambiguous expression.

“You stay still. So, you’re saying no until the end.”

“That’s right. Even if the president comes, what can’t be done can’t be done.”

To others, it may seem different, but to Tae-kyung, Kim Geon-hyung was also an ordinary patient, not a business tycoon.

“In my hospital, unless it’s an emergency patient, the principle is to treat patients in order.”

“You have a very upright personality.”

“Whether you wait and get treatment in order or leave now, that’s the chairman’s freedom. Patient Go Yoon-gi, please come in.”

“Wait!”

Kim Geon-hyung hurriedly stopped Tae-kyung, who was just about to enter the examination room.

“Dr. Kim clearly said earlier that the young man’s swearing wasn’t intentional. Is that right?”

“That’s right.”

“Honestly, I don’t understand that part, but if it’s not a lie, can you tell me what disease causes that friend to swear?”

“No. I can’t do that.”

“I knew it. That doctor has no roots. It doesn’t make sense that swearing is because of a disease. If it’s true, I’ll kneel down and apologize.”

“Doctors do not disclose a patient’s medical information to others without their consent.”

“D-Doctor……Argh! Sh*t!”

At that moment, Go Yoon-gi, who had been standing by the examination room door covering his mouth, approached Tae-kyung. He covered his mouth again at the outburst of swearing and quickly took out a notepad.

-Doctor, you know my diagnosis, right?

Tae-kyung nodded after seeing what Go Yoon-gi had written.

-You can tell those people. Their reaction is a natural reaction. If you don’t tell them, I’ll continue to be treated like a crazy person. I don’t want to be someone who swore for no reason.

“Guardian, are you okay with that too?”

“If Yoon-gi is okay, I don’t mind.”

“Are you really okay?”

-Yes. I’m really okay.

After finishing the conversation with Go Yoon-gi, Tae-kyung approached Kim Geon-hyung again.

“You asked why that friend used harsh words, right?”

“Yes. People can become sensitive and have a hard time because of illness, but isn’t it strange that swearing is caused by illness?”

“As a doctor, I don’t think it’s strange at all. Doctors have to look at the disease inside, not what’s visible in front of them.”

“So, what is that friend’s diagnosis?”

“Tourette Syndrome.”