Chapter 120
Suhyuk's eyes immediately became wide.
"Are you listening to me, Suhyuk?"
"Was he injured?"
"Yes, we're now going to your hospital. Almost there."
Coming to his senses suddenly, Suhyuk asked, "How was he injured?"
"I heard he was buried under bricks while working..."
"Come to the emergency room, mom!"
Suhyuk then moved. He ran now.
Looking at him with surprised look, Arum's mother murmured, "Thank you so much."
Suhyuk raced to the emergency room like a mad man.
He pressed on all the buttons of the four elevators in the lobby.
None of the elevators were going go up or down.
Suhyuk then turned back suddenly.
As the emergency room was located on the ground floor of the cardiothoracic surgery building, it was much faster for him to cross the bridge to get there.
While crossing the bridge, he thought of all the names of medical predicaments that his father could get with his injury. And he kept murmuring, "Please, no damage to his brain…"
'Even if he has brain damage, I would treat it by all means.'
Suhyuk was crossed the bridge before he knew it, and arrived at the cardiothoracic surgery building.
There was a patient walking with a limp in the hallway, and another patient was carried on a stretcher.
Usually he would speak to them, but they were not in his eyes at this time.
Then the two interns and Im Gyungsu noticed Suhyuk running toward them.
"Hey, the patient you collected blood from a while ago was diagnosed with empyema. Go and…"
Blinking his eyes, Im turned his head to the side.
Without even looking at him Suhyuk passed by.
Arriving at the emergency room, Suhyuk flung the door open and quickly looked around.
Had he arrived yet? Nowhere in the room was his father found .
"Suhyuk."
A voice was heard from the side.
Suhyuk turned his head instantly at the voice.
Seated on the bed, his father was stroking his leg, and his mother was standing beside him.
Suhyuk, who almost ran into the room, failed to notice them right beside him.
Recognizing his father, Suhyuk found his legs tottering.
His father was looking at him with an embarrassed look.
He did not look injured, except for small bruises on his legs.
It was fortunate for him. Yes, it was.
Then he felt something warm around his eyelids all of a sudden.
'Why?'
He confirmed his father was healthy first...
"Are you okay…" asked Suhyuk, clearing his throat.
When Suhyuk approached, he smiled bitterly.
"Yes, I'm okay. I just fell over."
"Honey, don't talk nonsense! You said you couldn't move a while ago!"
Talking to him in scolding tone, she then looked at Suhyuk.
"Suhyuk, your father is talking nonsense now."
"Honey, why did you bring me here to disturb Suhyuk?"
Suhyuk bent one of his knees without saying anything.
Then Oh Byungchul, resident at the emergency room, approached them.
"Are they your family members?"
"Yes, sir."
Oh said hello to them.
"Hello. How were you injured…"
"Let me take care of him, sir," said Suhyuk.
Oh nodded at his words, and left the scene after saying goodbye to his parents.
Suhyuk checked his shin carefully. There were some bruises caused by the blood being trapped under the skin from ruptured capillaries, and also some swelling.
"Were you buried under bricks, dad?"
"It's alright. It'll be okay after I apply a muscle relaxant patch. Just go and do your work."
At his curt reply, Suhyuk grabbed his shin with some strength.
"Ooohh…"
Though he made a low moan, he did not change his facial expression at all as if he did not want to show it to his son.
Suhyuk knitted his brows a bit. It seemed like his shin had a fracture.
He began disinfecting it without saying anything. If he did say anything, he felt he would shed tears all of a sudden.
When he was done, he barely opened his mouth, "You seem to have a fracture in your shin."
"Fracture in my shin? Never mind…"
"Wait a minute," said Suhyuk, who then brought a stretcher.
"Please get on it, dad."
"Aren't you busy?"
"Honey, listen to him!"
He then reluctantly got on the stretcher.
Suhyuk pushed it out of the emergency room.
"How did you get injured, by the way?"
"Nothing serious, son."
Instead of his short reply, his mother now opened her mouth,
"He was working near this place when he was buried under some piled-up bricks. He just insisted on going to another hospital instead of Daehan Hospital for treatment. You know how stubborn he is, right?"
He looked at his father lying on the stretcher. He could figure out why.
His father did not want to disturb his son.
Suhyuk was pushing the stretcher without any word, and soon arrived at the scanning room.
He moved to the opposite room overlooking the scanning room.
"Careful scanning, please."
At Suhyuk's words, the radiologist nodded his head,
"Don't worry, sir. As I know whose father he is…"
Weeeing...
At the sound of the scanning machine, Suhyuk fixed his eyes on his father.
What was he thinking?
Looking at his father quietly, Suhyuk wiped his eyelids with his sleeve.
Then he found his shoulder being patted by his mother gently.
Her soft voice came into his ears, "It's alright, it's alright."
Then the radiologist said, "Looks like he is normal, except for one crack in his shin."
Suhyuk looked at the monitor. He was right.
Checking the monitor carefully, he raised his head suddenly.
***
Suhyuk's father had his shin plastered in a cast, which was done by his son.
He used synthetic cast, which had more advantages compared to ordinary plaster bandages.
First of all, it was light and tight. Also its embedded ventilation made the patient feel less stuffy around the plastered area.
"Just listen to Suhyuk," said Suhyuk's mother.
At her angry scolding, he would have no choice but to be hospitalized for one day according to Suhyuk's wishes.
It was a room for two patients.
Suhyuk administered expensive tonic to him and went out for a moment.
And he went to the break room at the end of the hallway.
Looking at the sky, Suhyuk let out a long sigh.
He did not know his father was working right near Daehan Hospital.
'How stupid I am.'
Though he paid lots of lip service to his parents with words, there was nothing he translated into action. All he did was to give them two thirds of his monthly salary.
Maybe they would deposit the money for him as the seed money for his marriage later.
Suhyuk's deep sigh lasted a long time.
He had to look for some way to make them enjoy a happy life during their remaining years.
Returning to the patient's room, Suhyuk was stunned.
Nobody was there.
The toilet as well as the water purifier were inside the room.
Suhyuk waited for a moment, seated on the bed.
Still, he did not sense that his father and mother were coming back. For as long as one hour he waited.
After that, he went out to look for them but it was in vain.
Did they go home?
There was little possibility of their returning home because they could not get discharged without paying the bill.
Suddenly he took out his cell phone, but it did not turn on because it ran out of battery.
Returning back to his lodging, he charged the phone, and when it was turned on, he called his mother.
"Suyuk, did your phone run out of battery?"
"Yes, mom. I've just charged it. Where are you now?"
"Oh, we've been transferred to another room. It's so cool here. Honey, what did they call this room? Now I remember it. VIP?"
Suhyuk's eyes became wide.
VIP rooms of Daehan Hospital were extraordinary rooms reserved usually for company presidents or National Assemblymen.
Its interior was designed like hotel rooms.
"I'll be there now."
Suhyuk went up to the top floor of Daehan Hospital.
Getting off the elevator, he ran into Profs. Lee Mansuk and Kim Jinwook unexpectedly.
Both of them were talking with each other in front of the room.
"Let me pay the bill," said Prof. Lee.
At his words, Kim replied with a smile,
"I think I told you at the ginseng chicken soup restaurant last time that I owe them a nice treatment someday…"
It was a lie, of course.
"Yeah, I know, but treat them next time!"
"Why should I do?"
"Let me pay today, Prof. Kim."
They did not yet give up on Suhyuk.
Unaware of it, Suhyuk approached them, saying,
"Hi, sirs. Are my parents staying here?"
"Oh, Suhyuk. Yes, they've move here."
"Suhyuk! This brother called you many, many times. Did your phone run out of battery?"
Did he not hear them well?
Suhyuk went into the room.
The first things that came into his eyes were a large TV set and luxurious sofa.
Even the refrigerator was expensive, and the room had a veranda.
It was the first time ever that Suhyuk had entered a VIP room.
It was only natural that Suhyuk had no chance to visit it because those admitted to VIP rooms were taken care by the professors alone.
"Suhyuk!"
At his mother's voice he turned his head to her.
Seated on a soft bed, his father was enjoying fruits peeled by her.
"When did you move here…"
"Prof. Lee Mansuk and Prof. Kim Jinwook insisted we move here, saying only one room is available here."
The VIP room charge would be very expensive.
"They told us it was because they were treated to delicious ginseng chicken soup last time. Hohoho..."
Then the two professors' conversation was heard slightly outside the room.
"Hey, why are you stopping me like this?"
"Well, I'm just heading for the elevator…"
Their sense of presence soon faded away.
"These apples here taste very delicious. Try one, Suhyuk."
Suhyuk was handed one piece of apple that she offered.
It was very delicious.
He then took a glance at his father.
Slightly leaning on the bed, he was watching the TV news.
"How do you feel, dad?"
"I'm fine," said he.
They talked with each other cheerfully. Of course his father was reticent, while his mother talked most. She asked him how he was work was going at the hospital.
"Well, it's time for a soap opera for your father, 'Great King Kwangge' is on TV."
The three cast their eyes at the TV.
How long passed? When the history drama was at an end, his mother made a regrettable look, because Suhyuk was asleep with his face down.
"His work must be very hard…"
His father then said, "That's why I told you to go to another hospital."
With a short sigh, she went to the restroom.
Then, his father stroked Suhyuk's head with his hands with many small scars.
Has he ever stroked his son's head like this before?
"I come to live high off the hog thanks to my son…"
Chapter 121
10:30pm.
After confirm his father was asleep, Suhyuk went out of the room. So did his mother.
He closed at the door of the room quietly.
"Have a good sleep."
Having said that, he turned back.
Im Gyungsu called him when he came back to the cardiothoracic surgery department.
He looked at Suhyuk with half-closed eyes as if he had something against him.
"Where have you been…?"
"Sorry, my father has been hospitalized."
"What?"
"He's been hospitalized with injuries."
Im was about to say some harsh words, but stopped, and then he was handed a patient's chart from a nurse. It was the record about the patient who had surgery for pleural fluid.
"I took care of it."
At his voice, Suhyuk just looked at him, who was stroking his chin with a bitter expression.
It was natural that Im showed such an expression.
After Suhyuk disappeared suddenly, he had to take care of the patient.
It was really uncomfortable for Im to deal with the patient looking like a gangster.
Besides, the patient really hated anesthesia.
"Where are you going?"
Im opened his mouth when Suhyuk began moving.
"To check the condition of the patient, sir."
Im nodded his head.
It was part of Suhyuk's daily work that he checked the patient's condition before leaving the office. He never failed to do so. Sometimes he visited the patient's room until the wee hours of the night.
"Take care of your father today instead of seeing the patients."
Suhyuk smiled bitterly at Im's remarks.
Though he wanted to, his father was sleeping.
Bowing his head slightly, Suhyuk soon began making the rounds.
He checked the patients' vital signs and IVs, and sometimes covered them with blankets.
Almost two hours passed by the time he was done.
Going out of the last patient's room, Suhyuk's gait looked feeble.
He headed to the elevator to go to the Sky Park on the rooftop.
As it was late, there were not many people there.
Sometimes some medical staff holding coffee passed by.
Holding on to the railing, he looked up at the sky.
His father's image glimmered in his eyes when he made the rounds. And that of his mother sleeping on the bed next to him too.
He just thought himself so pathetic because he did not thank his parents enough for raising him.
He felt that he had been taking care of only patients, and only doing what he wanted.
"Huuuuuuh…"
Then someone's voice was heard in the back.
He turned his head at the abrupt voice.
It was Han Binna, who saw him getting on the elevator.
She bought a canned coke from a vending machine for him.
And she was convinced that Suhyuk looked unusually down today.
He received the coke, saying, "Thanks."
He drank it down in a single gulp.
"You look like you're on call today," asked Suhyuk.
She nodded at his asking, and sat next to him.
"You look kind of tired…"
"Yes, a bit..."
Suhyuk nodded his head slowly.
"Why don't you take vacation leave if you're stressed out? You had better take care of your own health first..."
Turning to her, he smiled at her.
She misunderstood him because that was not the point.
Binna went red in the face suddenly. It was not so easy for her to see face to face with someone she liked.
"Thanks," said Suhyuk with sincerity. She was always there to cheer him up.
"My father was hospitalized today, so I'm kind of down."
Her eyes became wide.
"Did he feel unwell?"
Suhyuk shook his head, replying, "Oh, he has a fracture in his shin."
"Oh my god... I hope he gets well soon."
Suhyuk beamed at her. Her words seemed to comfort him.
For a while they looked up at the sky without talking to each other.
***
7am.
Suhyuk visited his father's room.
"Son, did you eat breakfast?" asked his mother.
His father then said bluntly, "Why did you come when you're busy?"
"I'm not really busy. Why did you change clothes?"
Taking off the patient's gown, he was already dressed in the clothes he had on when he was taken into the emergency room.
"Looks like I don't fit well with this place. I feel like I might get sick if I stay longer here."
His mother shook her head, saying, "Who is going to stop him?"
"Still, please have breakfast before you go."
His father shook his head and said, "Well, I don't have any appetite."
After all, his father, who insisted on going back home, was ready to go out.
Suhyuk helped him walk, and watched him using crutches quietly.
Fortunately he was good at using crutches.
"You have to take a rest for the time being, dad."
"How long does it take to remove this cast?"
"At least 5 weeks..."
He made a bitter smile at Suhyuk's words. He seemed to be thinking about his job.
As the bill was already paid by Prof. Lee Mansuk, his parents wanted to offer thanks to him, but could not because he was out on a trip to attend an academic seminar.
"Get in, please!"
Suhyuk called a taxi, and opened the rear door.
If he had not done so, his father would obviously have used public transportation like the bus to get home.
"Okay, don't skip meals before going to work."
His father got in the taxi first.
"If anything happens, give me a call, son. Thanks for what you've done for your father."
She tidied up his gown, saying, "I'm leaving now."
When they got in, Suhyuk opened the front door and gave the driver a fee.
"Suhyuk, I've got money."
Suhyuk smiled gently, saying, "I've got the money too. Good driving, please."
When he closed the door, the taxi drove immediately.
Then his phone buzzed. It was a call from the hospital director.
"Yes, this is Lee Suhyuk, sir."
"Can I see you for a moment?"
When the taxi disappeared out out of his sight, Suhyuk began moving.
***
Knock, knock, knock.
"Come in."
Suhyuk bowed his head, and the director, sitting before a PC, offered him a seat.
When he sat on the sofa, his secretary put down coffee and left.
Taking a sip of coffee, the director said, "Is there anything you find uncomfortable about working here?"
"No, it's very good here."
The director nodded his head at that.
"Why did you want to see me, sir?"
Savouring the coffee, he put down his cup and said,
"Okay, let me say it briefly. Won't you go on TV? It's a TV program about medical common sense..."
The director continued on and on. According to him, it's a program hosted by an entertainer, with a doctor examining and explaining about diseases. And the director thought he was the right candidate for such a TV program. For Suhyuk was tall and handsome, with his vast knowledge of medical science that even the professors praised. Besides, Suhyuk could promote Daehan Hospital indirectly by participating in the program.
As soon as he said that however, Suhyuk opened his mouth, "I'm sorry I don't want to."
Appearance on TV was the last thing he wanted.
"You don't like it? If you appear on TV, your recognition among the people will go up, too."
"Sorry, sir."
The director could not help but give a hollow smile at his unhesitant reply.
"Got it."
"Goodbye, then."
"Why are you in such a hurry? Just drink the coffee before going."
"Actually I've got to see a patient."
It was a lie. To him, talking with a patient was better than staying here in the director's office.
The director nodded his head, "Okay, then."
Is there anybody who does not want to be on TV? If Lee Suhyuk starts his own clinic, his appearance as a TV guest would be an advantage to him.
Scratching his head with one of his fingers, he asked himself, "Does he hate me?"
***
Coming out of the office, Suhyuk picked up the phone.
This time it was a call from Prof. Han Myungjin.
"Yes, professor."
"Are you available now?"
"What's up, sir?"
"Come to my office. I've got something to say..."
"Yes, sir."
Suhyuk headed to Han's office directly.
Was he going to bring up the topic of the TV program?
If he did, Suhyuk thought he would reject it like before.
Arriving at the office, he knocked on the door and went in.
"Oh, you're here already."
Combing through a medical book, Han smiled at him.
"If you're going to talk about the TV program…"
"What are you talking about? TV?"
"No, sir. Never mind."
"Alright. You want me to cut to the point, right?"
With an embarrassed look, Suhyuk nodded.
"Do you know how to speak English?"
"Just a little bit..."
"That is not enough. You should have enough of a command of English to be able to speak with Americans."
Suhyuk made a curious look.
"Actually I'm going to the US on a working trip. For about one year."
Strictly speaking, he was invited by a hospital in the US.
Han opened his mouth again, "Don't you want to go with me?"
Suhyuk's eyes became wide.
"It would do you good if you go. Your value as a doctor will go up too."
The images of his parents came to his mind.
"Can I make money there while taking care of the patients?"
Han was surprised a bit because he thought Suhyuk would go anywhere for money.
"Of course. Just think that you're working in the US for one year."
"When are you leaving, sir?"
"One week later."
Suhyuk nodded his head slowly.
There was silence between them, while Han waited for him to reply.
About 10 minutes passed.
Suhyuk opened his mouth, "If I go with you, I'm afraid the cardiothoracic surgery department will be short staffed."
Actually there were not many interns at the department, let alone the persistent lack of doctors.
"You don't have to worry about it. Doctors are everywhere, and somebody else will take our place soon."
Suhyuk nodded his head. There were many doctors who wanted to work at Daehan Hospital.
"I think I need some time to think it over."
"Sure. I understand as I've brought it up suddenly. But don't keep me waiting too long. I've been thinking of someone else if you say no."
"Yes, sir."
He went out of the office, thinking of the patients who he had taken care of up to now, including his parents.
'What is the right choice?'
He could not stay away from that thought.
***
Suhyuk arrived at the cardiothoracic surgery department.
Im approached and asked, "Why did the hospital director call you?"
Shrouded in thoughts, Suhyuk suddenly came to his senses, and said,
"I think I'm going to the United States."