Fifth Vital [EN]: Chapter 86

86. Spastic Fit and Foolish Act

“Let’s see, what should I dress Minki in today?”

Kim Cheol-gi, having washed his face in the washroom, held the Minki doll he had cleaned the day before, as always.

‘Honey, please dress our Minki in the bear-printed outfit tomorrow.’

Remembering his wife’s words before falling asleep, he dressed the doll in a sky-blue top with a bear pattern.

“Minki, please take good care of Mom today, too.”

He placed the Minki doll in his still-sleeping wife’s arms and left the hospital room.

“Hello. Thank you for your hard work. Please have this after you’re done.”

“Oh, you really don’t have to do this every time, but I’ll enjoy it.”

Kim Cheol-gi, as always, handed a drink to the cleaning staff and sat on a hospital bench, making a phone call.

-Hello?

“Director Kim, am I calling too late?”

-Not at all.

The person Kim Cheol-gi was happily talking to was Tae-kyung.

-I apologize for texting you so suddenly yesterday. I realized I contacted you in the early morning. I’m sorry for calling during your sleeping hours.

“No need to apologize. I was asleep anyway, so I didn’t know. And it’s even better to talk to you this way.”

-Is that so? Are you and your wife both healthy?

“We’re both healthy. We live without worries, so we don’t get stressed, and our recovery is going well. My wife and I are happy.”

-That’s a relief. The reason I contacted you urgently is that I had a question about the security personnel.

“Come to think of it, today is the interview, right?”

-Yes, that’s right.

Kim Cheol-gi knew about the hospital’s news through the emails Tae-kyung sent him periodically.

“Alright, ask me anything.”

-It’s just that I wanted to know about the applicant you recommended.

“The applicant I recommended?”

-Yes. There are two applicants in total, and I was wondering who it was that you recommended.

He had said he would recommend someone, but he hadn’t given any details, not even a name, so Tae-kyung’s curiosity was understandable. But his tone, as if he really didn’t know anything, was a bit strange.

Looking at the name and photo on the resume, there was no way Tae-kyung could react so calmly.

There was no way he wouldn’t know the face and name of Jang Deuk-chil, who had been so terribly entangled in private loan debts for so long.

Clearly, Jang Deuk-chil’s mother, Kim Kkot-bun, had said she sent the resume. Kim Cheol-gi wondered what was going on.

‘Did she perhaps send the email to the wrong address? Jang Deuk-chil isn’t usually that clueless.’

“Then let me ask you something. Director Kim, who made the better first impression on you?”

Kim Cheol-gi, trying to figure out the situation, used his wit to ask a question.

-First impression?

“I mean the first impression from the photos on the resumes.”

-It seems there was an error when uploading the applications, so Jang Hyeon-soo and Kim Geon-hoon didn’t attach photos.

The name Jang Deuk-chil was not among the applicants Tae-kyung suddenly mentioned.

‘Jang Hyeon-soo and Kim Geon-hoon…’

Kim Cheol-gi thought after hearing the names.

Jang Deuk-chil had clearly said he sent the email. But his name wasn’t on the application. That meant Jang Deuk-chil had likely changed his name.

“Director Kim, how about not knowing?”

Kim Cheol-gi suddenly had a good idea.

-Not knowing?

“Yes, if I tell you who it is, you’ll be subtly conscious of it. But if you interview them without knowing who it is, you can interview them comfortably, and the applicants will think it’s fair. And the applicant doesn’t know about my relationship with the hospital either. What do you think?”

-You’re suggesting a blind interview.

“That’s right. But this is just my opinion, and I can tell you the name if you want to know.”

Kim Cheol-gi wanted to give all the choices to Tae-kyung.

He was currently the head of their hospital, and it was up to Tae-kyung to grow the hospital in the future. He would just support him from behind as a senior colleague, as he was doing now.

“Since all the choices and decisions are up to you, I’ll just respect your opinion.”

-I’ll go with the blind interview.

“Are you sure?”

-To be honest, I was curious because I thought I could trust someone you introduced. But it seems fair to evaluate them impartially.

“We’ll see if the person I introduced is trustworthy in your eyes.”

-I’ll email you the results when they come out. I’ll visit you sometime.

“Use that time to take a day off. You must be busy, so let’s hang up now.”

-Yes, goodbye, Doctor.

After hanging up, Kim Cheol-gi went back into the hospital, muttering to himself with a very amused expression.

“An interview where a debtor and a loan shark meet as an employer and an applicant. Today will be quite a sight.”

* * *

Before starting outpatient care, Tae-kyung seriously contemplated and wrote down the questions to ask the applicants.

“Great! This should be enough. Still, since a new person is joining the hospital, I hope a good person comes in.”

“Undoubtedly, a good person will come.”

Nurse Im Jeong-suk, who came in through the opened clinic door for cleaning, said.

“Our hospital has always been lucky with people.”

“Is that so?”

“Of course. Look, you came to our hospital, didn’t you?”

“That’s a very valid point. What kind of person do you want to come, Soo-ssam [Soo-ssam is a respectful term for nurses]?”

“Instead of someone who’s all talk on the outside, I want someone who’s a bit more steadfast. Our hospital has a lot of work and it’s not easy, so I want someone who can endure it well until the end.”

“I want exactly that kind of person too. If an outpatient comes, please guide them so they can see the doctor.”

“Actually, there’s a patient who’s come to see you.”

“Now?”

Tae-kyung looked at his watch when he heard that an outpatient had arrived. It was a bit early for outpatients to come.

Originally, the outpatient hours at their hospital started in the afternoon. Tae-kyung had sped up the outpatient hours a lot since he came, but it still wasn’t time for outpatients to come.

“Yes, they said they were going to the bathroom for a moment… Oh! There they come.”

“Then tell them to come in.”

“Patient, please come into the clinic.”

“Hello, Doctor.”

“……!”

Squeak-

Tae-kyung’s pupils widened as he saw the patient who came in with a slight limp, and he hurriedly pushed back his chair and moved away from the desk.

“What’s wrong, patient?”

Tae-kyung poured out questions before the patient could even sit down, trying to check their condition.

“Where does it hurt?”

“Look at this. I told you you’d be surprised, right?”

The person who responded to Tae-kyung’s urgency with a bright smile was Choi Seon-hae, who had undergone surgery after being impaled in the abdomen at the construction site.

“Doctor, I’m perfectly fine. Nothing hurts.”

In the meantime, Choi Seon-hae’s condition had improved after the surgery, and he had been discharged from the hospital. Since then, he had been coming to the outpatient clinic periodically to check his condition.

His next outpatient visit was exactly a week away, so he was surprised that he had come so early.

“I’m doing well without any pain.”

Tae-kyung, having confirmed that everything was normal—blood color, expression, physical condition, and even the fifth vital sign—finally calmed his surprised expression.

“Then why did you come?”

“I was supposed to meet a colleague nearby today, but I came to deliver this to you, Doctor.”

Choi Seon-hae handed over a white envelope.

“This is……”

“It’s a wedding invitation. I said when I was hospitalized that my daughter was about to get married, but I don’t know if you remember.”

He remembered exactly. It was because of his only daughter’s wedding that he had once tried to make an extreme choice.

“Of course, I remember. I couldn’t even say hello back then because I was so flustered. Congratulations.”

“Thank you. The thing is, I was hoping you would come to the wedding.”

“Me?”

“Yes, you saved my life, so you’re a meaningful person to our family.”

“You’re giving me too much credit.”

“I really mean it. In fact, my daughter wanted to come with me today, but I stopped her because I thought you might feel burdened.”

“Since you’re saying this much, I have to go. But the date is quite far away.”

Looking at the wedding invitation, the wedding date was a full three months away.

“That’s why I gave it to you now on purpose.”

Choi Seon-hae had delivered it in advance, considering Tae-kyung’s schedule, even though it was early to hand out wedding invitations.

That’s how much he wanted him to attend.

“If I don’t have anything urgent on the wedding date, I’ll definitely attend.”

“Thank you, Doctor. I’ll assume you’re coming and tell our Miri that.”

After a pleasant conversation, the two returned to their relationship as doctor and patient.

“Since you came today, why don’t you get an outpatient visit and change the next outpatient date?”

“Yes, I will.”

Choi Seon-hae’s face, free of pain and worry, looked better than ever.

* * *

“Son? You need to start getting ready.”

Kim Kkot-bun, who had taken a leave from the nursing home, arrived the day before for her son’s interview.

“By the way, what are you going to wear?”

“What do you mean what am I going to wear? I’ll wear the clothes I usually wear.”

Kim Kkot-bun was dumbfounded when she saw the clothes Jang Deuk-chil had taken out.

“You’re not seriously going to wear that to the interview, are you?”

“That’s exactly what I mean.”

“You’re crazy. You’re out of your mind. Are you going to collect debts! How old are you to still be wearing those kinds of clothes?”

The clothes hanging on the wall were a large-fitting suit and a jacket with a tiger picture on the back, which Jang Deuk-chil usually wore like a uniform.

“What’s wrong with them? I’ve been doing fine wearing these clothes so far.”

“You’re not going to steal money right now. You’re going to an interview. Don’t you know you wear a suit to an interview?”

“Oh, whatever. Am I some kind of office worker? I hate wearing those kinds of clothes because I feel like I’ll get hives.”

“Don’t be ridiculous.”

“Your words are so colorful, as expected of our Kkot-bun.”

“Don’t talk nonsense and wear this.”

“What’s this?”

Jang Deuk-chil asked, looking at the black suit Kim Kkot-bun handed him.

“What do you mean what is it? It’s your clothes. I bought a suit in your size yesterday while coming up to Seoul.”

“Geez. A poor woman like you should buy something for yourself. Why waste money on something useless? I don’t even know if I’ll get the job.”

“Shut up! Shut up!”

Kim Kkot-bun slapped Jang Deuk-chil’s mouth with her palm for talking nonsense even before going to the interview.

“What kind of opportunity is this that you’re saying such things! You know people say words have power, so you need to think, ‘I’m going to get this job.’ Got it?”

“Yes, I got it.”

“That’s right! You wrote your name as Jang Hyeon-soo on the resume, right?”

Kim Kkot-bun, who had checked several times on the day she wrote the resume, started talking about the name again.

“I did. Why are you telling me not to write my son’s real name, Jang Deuk-chil?”

“Hey, you idiot. You already have a scary scar on your face, and if you write your name as Deuk-chil, your face and name will be like a set of gangsters.”

“You’re saying such nice things to your son. Still, I think my name is manly and good.”

“I wanted to name you Hyeon-soo. But your father-in-law was so against it, saying that you had to be named Deuk-chil to have a long life.”

Kim Kkot-bun continued, ironing her son’s shirt with care.

“I was so scared of your grandfather that I couldn’t even open my mouth.”

“Well, our grandfather’s aura was amazing.”

“Okay! All done. Put it on.”

“Why bother……”

Even though he grumbled with his mouth twisted, Jang Deuk-chil was secretly pleased to be wearing a proper suit for the first time.

“Wow! Whose son is this? He’s so reliable and handsome.”

“You said I looked like a gangster a minute ago?”

“You’re my baby, so you’re pretty. But if I met you on the street at night, I’d want to run away.”

“Geez. There are other things you can say to your son who’s going to an interview.”

“I was joking to tell you not to be nervous and do well. You didn’t forget what Mom said earlier, did you?”

“How can I remember all those words?”

“Whatever the director says, desperately say that you’ll work hard and die trying.”

“Okay.”

“And there are a lot of sick people at the hospital, so even if people are a bit prickly, don’t lose your temper and be kind.”

“I got it. What is this, sending a kindergartner to an interview? I’ll take care of it myself.”

“Lastly, smile! They can’t spit on a smiling face, so always answer questions with a smile.”

“Our Kkot-bun has too many worries.”

“Hey, you should be younger. It’s hard for young people to get jobs these days. It doesn’t matter if you fail, but still, go to the interview without regrets. It would be even better if you got the job.”

“Okay. I’ll do my best.”

“Deuk-chil? Say ‘ah.'”

“……?”

“Open your mouth.”

“Why the mouth…… Ah!”

Kim Kkot-bun forcibly shoved taffy into Jang Deuk-chil’s mouth as he questioned her.

“Eat this taffy. Eat it and stick to the job like glue.”

“I can’t stop you. I’ll be back.”

“Okay. Do well. Always smile and don’t frown when taking public transportation.”

With boisterous support, Jang Deuk-chil finally headed to the hospital, the interview location.

“What’s the big deal about an interview?”