Fifth Vital [EN]: Chapter 68

68. Tourette’s Youth

While Tae-kyung was in the examination room, Eui-jin received a KakaoTalk message from Nurse Lim Jeong-suk and hurried back to the hospital.

“So, Chairman Kim Geon-hyung and Kim Seo-hyun are still waiting?”

“Yes. I told them they could go to another hospital, but could you take a look over there?”

The receptionist timidly pointed.

“They have a secretary sitting there and are waiting in the car. And the director was incredibly persuasive earlier.”

“Oh, really? Still, Kim Seo-hyun isn’t exactly low profile, so it’s a relief nothing big happened.”

“Dr. Jung, you know her too? She often stirs up gossip and is secretly a troublemaker.”

The employee, usually keen on celebrity gossip, spoke knowingly.

“This is just my opinion, but I think she probably ran away.”

“Ran away? She seemed so confident earlier.”

“That’s exactly why she ran away. How embarrassing would it be for her to apologize with that personality?”

“Pfft! Thinking about it, you’re right.”

“Exactly!”

The receptionist, mid-conversation, suddenly clapped, startled.

“Oh, you scared me! Dr. Jung, were you surprised too? Young-hee, what’s wrong?”

“I’m sorry. It just clicked. It’s him! It’s him!”

“What are you talking about all of a sudden?”

“Who are you talking about?”

Eui-jin and another employee were puzzled by her outburst.

“You know, the person who made prank calls to the hospital.”

“Ah, the man who cursed when we answered the phone… Oh my!”

“So, patient Go Yoon-gi is…?”

“That’s right.”

Eui-jin and the other employee understood who she meant.

For a while, someone would call and curse at a similar time every morning and hang up. The nurses and staff were annoyed, and Team Leader Choi even tried to catch the culprit.

“That patient has Tourette’s, right?”

“Yes, Dr. Kim said so.”

Eui-jin now understood why Go Yoon-gi had no choice but to curse. She looked at the examination room door with pity.

‘How hard must he have worked to come to the hospital all this time?’

* * *

“Chairman, would you like to continue waiting?”

The head of the security team, in the driver’s seat, looked in the rearview mirror.

“I have to wait. It would be a waste to have waited this long.”

“You shouldn’t push yourself.”

“What’s there to overdo when I’m sitting comfortably in a car worth millions? Do you know why I came to see Kim Tae-kyung?”

“Well, how would I know the chairman’s intentions? However…”

“However?”

“I thought you came to see him in person because he saved your life.”

“You’ve become quite the sly fox. That doctor’s eyes were extraordinary.”

“His eyes are something else, right? Especially in front of patients, he’s even more fearless.”

“Hahaha! He’s a very interesting fellow.”

“Are you talking about Dr. Kim?”

“Yes. Didn’t you see earlier? He said no even if the president came. He’s the first person to refuse me besides my wife. Imagine, someone scolding me like that.”

“Dr. Kim has more guts than I thought.”

“Whether it’s guts or bluff, we’ll soon find out.”

“Chairman?”

The head of the security team, receiving a message from the hospital director, turned back.

“It seems you have to leave now.”

“Did the hospital contact you?”

“Yes, the hospital director asked you to return. Health is paramount, so let’s go today.”

“…….”

“I’ll have Secretary Lee call and cancel the appointment.”

* * *

“Ugh!”

“I’m sorry, doctor.”

Go Yoon-gi and his grandfather apologized as soon as they entered the examination room.

“Why are you two apologizing?”

“We thought we caused a commotion because of us.”

“Not at all, so don’t feel that way. Now, Yoon-gi, why don’t you sit over here? Please sit down too, sir.”

Tae-kyung sat across from Go Yoon-gi warmly.

“Thank you, doctor.”

“Ugh! xxx.”

As soon as Tae-kyung saw Go Yoon-gi, he recognized Tourette’s syndrome.

Tourette’s syndrome is a neurological disorder characterized by motor and vocal tics, affecting about 1 in 1,500 people.

Go Yoon-gi had both. The profanity at regular intervals was a vocal tic, and the slightly raised shoulder, as if keeping rhythm, was a motor tic.

Others might miss it, but Tae-kyung noticed the regularly repeated right shoulder movement.

“Yoon-gi, it’s okay, can you lower your hand from your mouth? It’s okay.”

Go Yoon-gi seemed unsure.

Cursing and shrugging were involuntary actions he couldn’t control. He kept covering his mouth because of the constant curses and didn’t speak much.

“You don’t have to be self-conscious here, you can be comfortable. It’s okay.”

“Thank you… Ack! Shit, sorry, Ack! I am.”

Go Yoon-gi lowered his hand, expressing gratitude and apology simultaneously.

“From now on, if you say sorry, the doctor won’t see you. And say whatever you want. Got it?”

“Yes, Ack! Thank you.”

“Okay! So, Yoon-gi, what brings you here today?”

“Doctor, Yoon-gi has something on his scalp.”

“Really? Let me take a look. Yoon-gi, let me take off your hat.”

“Yes, Ack!”

Go Yoon-gi, hat removed, turned his head and pointed to the back.

“Doctor… Ack! It started small, but Ack! It got bigger.”

“Yoon-gi was uncomfortable. He wanted to come, but couldn’t comfortably, so he held back and it became like that.”

“Let me see.”

Tae-kyung stood and approached Go Yoon-gi. He closely examined and touched a soft lump, slightly larger than a table tennis ball.

‘It’s quite big.’

The soft, unmoving lump was a cyst. From the start, Tae-kyung suspected it wasn’t serious, sensing no critical signs.

A major illness would have been difficult for both patient and guardian. Tae-kyung was relieved it wasn’t.

‘Still, it’s quite big.’

He’d removed cysts on patients’ backs before, but never this big on the scalp.

“Yoon-gi, does it hurt?”

“Ack! No, it doesn’t hurt.”

Since he didn’t complain of pain, it seemed uninfected.

“The lump on your scalp is a scalp cyst.”

“Doctor, is it dangerous?”

“No, sir. I’ll do an ultrasound, but it’s not dangerous, so don’t worry too much.”

“Thank you, doctor.”

“Nurse Lim, prepare the sonography. I’ll take a closer look at the cyst.”

“Yes, doctor.”

* * *

After checking the surroundings and outlet with ultrasound, Tae-kyung moved to the treatment room with Go Yoon-gi.

“Yoon-gi, I’m going to remove the cyst now. Lie down here.”

“Yes, fuck! Doctor.”

Go Yoon-gi, sitting on the bed, started to lie down but sat up again.

“Ack!”

“Why? Are you uncomfortable?”

“No, Ack! Doctor… Ugh!”

“Okay. Speak slowly and comfortably.”

“Shit! Can I cover my mouth again? Ack!”

“Your mouth?”

Go Yoon-gi suddenly asked to cover his mouth.

“I don’t want you to, doctor. It’s too hard for you.”

Tae-kyung didn’t want Go Yoon-gi biting something to suppress the sound, straining his teeth and jaw.

“I’m okay… Ack! No. Actually, I think the doctor will be uncomfortable, you son of a bitch.”

“Are you worried my voice will make it difficult during the examination?”

Go Yoon-gi nodded, worried that his vulgar vocal tics would hinder Tae-kyung.

Covering his mouth was uncomfortable, sometimes catching his uvula or making breathing difficult. But Go Yoon-gi felt bad for making him hear curses.

“You’re worried about the cursing?”

“Ack! Yes.”

“Okay, I understand.”

Go Yoon-gi thought he could cover his mouth. But as he reached for a towel his grandfather left in the bathroom, Tae-kyung pushed it aside.

“Ack……!”

Then he asked an unexpected question.

“Yoon-gi, do you like singing?”

“Singing?”

“Yeah. Singing. Do you like it?”

“Ack!”

“Then tell me your two favorite songs.”

Confused, Go Yoon-gi showed his phone playlist.

“There are only two songs. Is this your favorite song?”

“Yes.”

“Nurse Lim, please turn up the volume in the examination room and treatment room and play this song.”

“Play a song in the examination room and treatment room?”

Nurse Lim Jeong-suk was puzzled, never having played music there, not even in the operating room.

“Yes. Please play it right now.”

“Yes, doctor. I understand.”

Soon, “This Is Me” from *The Greatest Showman* played in the examination room, and “The Time Goes On” by BewhY in the treatment room.

“It’s good to listen to music, right? Now, there’s nothing uncomfortable for both Yoon-gi and me.”

“……!”

Go Yoon-gi was surprised. He’d never seen a doctor so considerate of his symptoms.

“You can shout as much as you want while listening to your favorite song. Got it?”

Tae-kyung played music to ease Go Yoon-gi’s mind.

“Okay! Now, I’ll start removing the cyst. If you’re uncomfortable or in pain, just raise your hand slightly.”

“Ack! Yes, doctor.”

* * *

Go Yoon-gi’s grandfather, returning from the bathroom, headed to the reception desk.

“Excuse me, is there an ATM in the hospital?”

“Yes, go straight to the end on the left, turn the corner, and you’ll see it.”

“Thank you.”

He saw the ATM, but someone was using it, so he sat on the nearby chair.

‘Grandma, I brought Yoon-gi to the hospital today.’

Looking at a picture of his late wife and young Yoon-gi in his worn wallet, he overheard voices.

“How much should I give you? Is 75,000 enough?”

“It’s okay. Just give me 70,000. Are you okay now?”

“Yeah. I feel fine after the IV. I was scared for two days because of the stomach pain. I thought I had stomach cancer, but I was relieved it was just a spasm.”

“Hey, what 21-year-old gets stomach cancer?”

“You never know. Young people get cancer these days. The doctor told me to avoid spicy and irritating food.”

“That’s why you should stop showing off your spicy food skills. Why are you eating the death stage [extremely spicy food]?”

“Really. I almost died eating the death stage. I have to be careful.”

“Your jokes are so boring. That’s right! You saw him when you were paying, right?”

“The man who kept cursing?”

The men’s topic shifted to Go Yoon-gi.

“Yeah. Isn’t that it? Ha! What was it called? I saw it on a documentary.”

“Tic disorder.”

“Oh. That’s right. I felt sorry for him. That’s also a disease.”

“Is that true? It’s funny that cursing is a disease. How can cursing be a disease?”

“What’s so funny?”

The grandfather lowered his head, unnoticed, listening to their conversation.

“For example, if someone calls me a son of a bitch, I curse back, ‘What, you bastard?'”

“That’s true.”

“Cursing comes out when anger builds up, so how can curses pop out all the time?”

“Oh! That’s strangely persuasive.”

“I told you I’m right. It’s all a lack of willpower. Or it could be a show. Let’s say there’s someone I don’t like. I’m talking. Ack! You son of a bitch. I have… tic Ack!… Shit! I have a tic disorder.”

“It’s exactly like that man earlier. Hehe! It’s so funny.”

“And you have to be careful of strange people like that. They might have schizophrenia or something.”

“You’re talking nonsense. Okay. The kids are telling me to come to League of Legends?”

“I should go back to the jungle for the first time in a while. Let’s go to the PC room [internet cafe].”

The men, carelessly talking without knowing the situation, laughed and left through the back door.

Thud- Thud-

Though he should be used to it, the grandfather clutched his chest, his heart aching at their mockery.

Thud-

“No. Our Yoon-gi is not a strange person.”

He barely held back tears and calmed himself.

“My poor puppy…….”

Finding the money and reaching the examination room, he paused.