Fifth Vital [EN]: Chapter 97

97. Pikachu Cutlet

“Okay, who should I give this to… Heh!”

Tae-kyung was absentmindedly turning the box over when he burst into laughter.

“Heh! Heh!”

It was because of an unexpected phrase written on it.

“Why are you laughing?”

On the back of the Lemona box [a popular Korean vitamin C supplement], ‘Gae-mona’ was written in clumsy, cute letters.

“Woo-jin, who told you this?”

“The name, you mean?”

“Yeah.”

“A male teacher who laughs a lot.”

The only person who would do such a childish thing as a male teacher who laughs a lot was Lee Chan-hee.

“That male teacher told you?”

“Yes, I couldn’t remember the teacher’s name who looks like my mom, but he told me it’s Gae-mona.”

“I see. But can I ask why you’re giving this to Teacher Gae-mona instead of eating it yourself?”

“Because I felt sorry for her falling because of me last time.”

“Teacher Gae-mona fell because of Woo-jin?”

“Yes.”

Woo-jin was concerned about Choi Mona, who had fallen in front of the emergency room a while ago. At the time, he was fine, but he thought the unpleasant expression she had then was because she had fallen.

“And please deliver this too.”

“What’s this now?”

This time, he handed over a neatly folded small piece of paper.

“This is…”

Woo-jin pointed to the ‘Voice of the Customer’ box hanging on the wall next to the stairs with his finger.

“I want to put it inside, but I can’t reach it. Please put it in for me, Teacher.”

Looking at the box, Tae-kyung could guess what was written on the paper in Woo-jin’s hand without even looking at it.

“I think Teacher would like it if Woo-jin gave this to her directly.”

“Me, directly to Teacher Gae-mona?”

“Yeah.”

“Will she really like it?”

“Of course. Teacher Gae-mona is shy, but she’ll be very happy inside if Woo-jin gives it to her.”

“Then I’ll give it to her myself.”

“Good, you thought well.”

“But, what if the teacher doesn’t come? She said she wouldn’t come anymore…”

“No. She’ll probably come. Now! Shall we go back to Woo-jin’s hospital room?”

“Yes, Captain Teacher. Goodbye.”

“Okay. Sleep well, Woo-jin.”

Tae-kyung smiled as he watched Woo-jin’s cute back as he walked into the hospital room.

“Is Woo-jin a drizzle [meaning someone who subtly affects others]? How cute.”

* * *

Choi Mona’s expression, whose trademark was a blank face and cynicism, was different from usual.

‘I’m going crazy. I’m going crazy.’

Only after entering and exiting the bathroom with a very urgent look and quick steps could she find her trademark blank expression.

“I feel like I can live now.”

She emptied her bladder in exactly 3 hours, 57 minutes, and 27 seconds. Really, if she had been a little later, a dizzying situation would have occurred as her bladder was reaching its limit.

On Fridays, there are many patients, so she tries not to drink water and beverages as much as possible. This was to avoid going to the bathroom often.

Until now, no matter how busy she was, she had never exceeded 3 hours. But yesterday, she was so busy that she far exceeded that time and only now came to the bathroom.

She was so busy that she didn’t even know that a stabbing had occurred until later because she was focused on the patients.

“It’s already this time.”

Before she knew it, the war-like Friday had passed and Saturday morning was coming.

Choi Mona stopped by the medical office to grab some jelly and headed back to the emergency room.

‘Should I go out for tteokbokki [spicy rice cakes] for lunch today? Or a hamburger?’

As she was thinking about such small happiness and entering the emergency room, her eyes were drawn to the bed near the station where the curtains were half drawn.

“It’s the same.”

Something was strange.

It was a bed with two children, but nothing had changed from when she arrived.

Usually, when you visit the emergency room and receive treatment, you receive treatment accordingly.

For example, some people get IVs, some get bandages, and some get emergency surgery, etc., and receive appropriate treatment accordingly.

Furthermore, even though they were in bed, there was no sign of the common IV.

‘It seems like they’ve been here for quite a while…’

Even though the emergency room is a series of waiting, they didn’t wait for more than an hour and a half at our hospital.

Besides, there was a guardian earlier, but when she thought about it, the guardian was nowhere to be seen.

Feeling a certain strangeness, Choi Mona walked to the bed without hesitation.

*Charyuk-*

“Hey?”

Even though there was quite a bit of noise around, the children were sleeping soundly close together. They looked like an older elementary school student and a preschooler.

“Children?”

Choi Mona woke up the children, who appeared to be sisters.

“Uhm!”

“Kids, can you get up for a bit?”

“…Yes?”

With continued prodding, the older child, who appeared to be the older sister, rubbed her eyes and got up.

“Did you come to the emergency room for treatment? Haven’t you been examined yet?”

“Yes, we came for treatment, but we haven’t been examined yet.”

“Who did you come to the emergency room with…? No.”

At the sound of coming for treatment, Choi Mona changed her question. There was something more urgent than who she came with now.

“Where are you hurt? Who will receive treatment? Are you hurt?”

“No. My younger sister is hurt, not me.”

“The child who is sleeping?”

“Yes, So-young.”

“Where is she hurt?”

“Her leg.”

“Her leg?”

At that sound, Choi Mona quickly pulled up the outerwear covering the sleeping child.

“… !”

Then, the child’s reddened leg came into view at a glance.

‘Oh, it’s a burn.’

The identity of the redness that went up to the child’s thigh was a burn mark.

“Did your sister get burned on her leg? Where did this happen?”

“I was trying to boil ramen and spilled water.”

“Hmm… Sister? What are you talking about.”

In the meantime, the younger sister woke up and rubbed her eyes, raising her upper body.

“I’ll treat you first, so wait here for a moment. Okay?”

“Yes.”

“Children, don’t go anywhere else and stay here. I’ll be right back.”

*Charyuk-*

Choi Mona headed to the station, urging them.

“A child patient in bed 5 came with a burn and has not been treated yet, so I’m going to treat her.”

“Yes!? Bed 5?”

Leaving the nurse who answered in surprise behind, Choi Mona gathered the necessary items and headed back to the bed.

*Charyuk-*

“I’m going to treat your sister from now on… What’s your name, big child?”

“So-hee. Lee So-hee.”

“Okay, So-hee. I’m going to treat So-young from now on, so you have to hold your sister. Can you do it?”

“Ah, yes. I can do it.”

She was still quite young as an elementary school student, but So-hee was calmer than her peers because she was an older sister.

“So-young. The teacher will look at your leg. Is that okay?”

“Yes. It’s okay.”

The younger sister looked at her sister once, and when her sister nodded, she stretched out her folded legs.

“Didn’t it hurt a lot?”

“She was in a lot of pain when she came to the hospital, but she seems to be a little better now that she woke up from sleep.”

Choi Mona carefully examined the child’s leg.

‘It’s a second-degree burn. But it’s not deep.’

After checking the wound, there were blisters, but the depth did not appear to be deep.

It appeared to have invaded the epidermis, which is the layer directly below the skin, but slightly or hardly invaded the dermis, which is the layer below that. Fortunately, it was not a severe case of second-degree burns.

In this case, it is rare to have a transplant or be hospitalized. Of course, inflammation may worsen later and require hospitalization, but not at present.

What Choi Mona had to do now was to ensure that the child’s leg did not worsen and that healing progressed well.

‘She’s definitely going to cry. Can she hold her well since she’s a child too?’

She had to hold the child down to treat her, but it seemed difficult for the child’s sister to do it.

“Here…”

Just as she was thinking that it wouldn’t work, nurse Lim Jeong-sook entered the bed.

*Charyuk-*

“Did I come in just in time?”

“Yes, that’s right. Please help me, Teacher Soo.”

“Of course. Hello. I’m a nurse here. What are our friends’ names?”

“I’m So-hee and my sister is So-young.”

“You have pretty names too. The doctor here is going to treat our So-young, can she do well?”

“So-young can do it.”

“Oh, you’re so kind. Then the teacher will gently hold your arms and legs with your sister. Is that okay?”

“Yes.”

Experienced nurse Lim Jeong-sook soothed the child and took off her clothes so that the burned area was exposed.

“Teacher Choi, are you ready?”

Nurse Lim Jeong-sook held the child’s hands and feet stably and well.

“Yes.”

Choi Mona felt relieved and scooped up the medicine with a tongue depressor (a medical device used to press the tongue down) to apply it.

“It’s whipped cream.”

“That’s right. The medicine looks like whipped cream, right?”

Nurse Lim Jeong-sook agreed with the child’s words and induced a response.

“Yes. There’s a cake.”

“So-young is very smart.”

As the child said, the medicine in the large cosmetic container looked like white cream.

This white medicine was developed to be applied to burn patients with extreme pain with minimal pain, and it contains antibiotics.

“I’m sometimes glad that the medicine is white.”

“I think the same way.”

If the medicine was as intense as red, the children would have been scared, but they were not very scared because it was white.

“I’m going to apply the medicine.”

Choi Mona began to apply it widely and meticulously to the burn area so that no area was missed.

“Ugh!!”

She thought the child would scream and thrash around with the start of the cry. But the child only screamed briefly once and sobbed. She didn’t even cry or struggle.

“Our So-young is holding back well. You’re so admirable. Teacher, is So-young doing well?”

“Ah, yes. She’s doing well.”

Even though it was not a severe burn treatment, it must have been difficult for the child to receive it, but she was surprisingly calm and patient.

“Give me an EB (elastic band, elastic bandage).”

Choi Mona carefully applied the medicine and then covered it with a large gauze. Then, she wrapped it tightly with an elastic bandage to finish the treatment.

“It’s all over. So-young did well. But who did So-hee and So-young come here with?”

“Dad?”

“I see. But where did your dad go?”

“He said he was going to pick up a customer for a while and would come to pick us up when we were treated.”

“Okay. I want to talk to your dad, do you know your dad’s phone number?”

“Yes, here it is.”

“The teacher will call and come, so stay here with your sister. Okay?”

“Yes.”

“Teacher?”

The older child called Choi Mona, who was going out of the curtain after Lim Jeong-sook.

“Huh?”

“Thank you for treating my sister So-young.”

“Oh… Okay.”

*Charyuk-*

Choi Mona answered the older child’s greeting simply and went out of the curtain.

“Sister, So-young held back well, right?”

“Yes. Did it hurt a lot?”

“It hurt a little, but I didn’t cry.”

“You shouldn’t touch it when eating ramen next time.”

“Okay. But sister, So-young is hungry.”

“Are you hungry? I’m hungry too, but let’s wait a little longer until our dad comes.”

“Okay.”

“This?”

A hand holding a bag of jelly suddenly popped out in front of the young sisters who were appeasing their hunger.

“Would you like to eat this?”

Choi Mona, who had accidentally heard the children’s conversation from outside the curtain, handed over her favorite snack. It was also a special limited edition jelly containing only king earthworms.

The funny thing is that Choi Mona didn’t even know why she gave this precious jelly. Her hand just popped out on its own.

“Oh! Jelly.”

“Can we eat it?”

The older child asked, looking at her sister who grabbed the bag of jelly with a face that smiled as if she had the whole world.

“You can eat it.”

“Thank you.”

* * *

“Teacher Choi?”

Nurse Lim Jeong-sook approached Choi Mona, who was heading to the station.

“How did it go? Did you talk to the guardian?”

“Yes, I talked to him. He’s coming back from driving for a substitute [being a designated driver for others], and he’s almost here.”

“Substitute driving?”

“Yes.”

Nurse Lim Jeong-sook explained the children’s situation.

The children’s father, who was raising the sisters as a single parent, was a substitute driver.

Before going to work, he was making ramen for the children who said they were hungry, and the younger child touched the pot and got burned. But at that time, a long-distance call came from a regular customer, and he had to leave the children alone in the hospital emergency room in a hurry to go to work.

The father was heartbroken, but he had no choice but to go to work to make a living.

“But I’m a little curious as to why the child couldn’t receive treatment.”

“When I checked the CCTV, the children were alone and fell asleep after closing the curtains because they were sleepy. In addition, it seems that it was missed during the handover of new patients in the busy schedule, so they thought it was a treated patient.”

“Ah, I understand now.”

“We should have looked more carefully, but we didn’t.”

* * *

Twenty minutes later, the children’s father, who had arrived, was at the reception desk with the children to pay.

“All payments have been made. Here’s your prescription.”

“Yes, thank you.”

“Dad, did you make a lot of money?”

“Of course, Dad made a lot of money today because he drove a long distance, right? So-young, is your leg okay?”

“Yes. It’s okay. The teacher here treated So-young’s leg.”

“Thank you. What do my pretty princesses want to eat? Dad will buy you everything today.”

The father’s eyes, looking at the sisters, were full of love, so much so that he didn’t feel tired.

“I want chicken and ice cream.”

“Okay. Let’s eat everything our So-young wants to eat. What about So-hee?”

“So-hee wants to eat Pikachu cutlet.”

“Pikachu? So-young, what’s that?”

“The one I bought after school last time. But they only sell it in front of the school.”

“So-hee. Dad will buy that for you next time.”

“Ah~ I don’t want to. So-hee wants to eat Pikachu.”

“So-young, is So-hee going home?”

“Oh, it’s the teacher.”

Nurse Lim Jeong-sook approached the children who were preparing to go home. And Choi Mona, who was talking to Lim Jeong-sook next to her, was also there.

“Dad, these teachers treated So-young.”

“I heard you treated her well, thank you.”

“So-young and So-hee were both very mature.”

“No. The children matured quickly because they ran around alone after meeting a bad dad.”

“It must have been difficult for you to be alone, you’re amazing.”

“Don’t mention it. I live because of these guys.”

“Dad~ So-young Pikachu!”

“So-young, just a moment. I have to go now. Thank you so much today.”

“Be careful going. Goodbye So-young and So-hee.”

“So-young and So-hee have to say hello too.”

“Teacher…”

Just as everyone was saying hello and trying to finish,

“There’s Pikachu cutlet in front.”

Choi Mona suddenly announced the whereabouts of Pikachu cutlet.

“Yes?”

“Ah, So-hee is looking for Pikachu, so I’m telling you. There’s a 24-hour snack bar called Byulnara Kanttappia [a fictional name, could be translated to ‘Star Country Snacktopia’] in front of the hospital, and it’s cheap and delicious. They also have Pikachu cutlet there.”

“Really? That’s good. Thank you.”

“Goodbye, teacher.”

“Goodbye, teacher!”

The children grabbed their dad’s hands and left the hospital in a good mood.

“I’m also raising a child alone, so I think that dad is amazing. I feel that the children have grown up receiving a lot of love, so I feel warm.”

“Teacher Soo is also amazing.”

“Hmm!”

Nurse Lim Jeong-sook smiled at Choi Mona with very admirable eyes without saying anything.

“It’s, it’s not that I originally like snacks and buns, Teacher Soo knows that, right?”

Choi Mona suddenly started talking nonsense and rambling.

“I know. Of course I know. But I didn’t say anything?”

“Ah… I overreacted.”