Chapter 122
That night.
Suhyuk made the rounds for each patient's room, checking their conditions as usual.
Inside one room was a 32-year-old man.
With an IV on the back of his hand, he was snoring heavily on the bed.
Smiling gently, Suhyuk looked down at him.
He was a patient who underwent laparoscopic cholecystectomy.
"You'll get better soon."
Then he moved to another patient's room.
She was suffering from a traumatic diaphragmatic hernia due to an accident caused by falling.
She was also fast asleep, with her eyes closed.
She could have had a chest wall incision caused by the fall, but she was very lucky.
If she had arrived at the hospital a bit later, she might have been in a dangerous condition.
"Stay healthy."
Adjusting the IV fluid hung on her arm, he soon went out of the room.
Suhyuk kept taking care of patients like that, and soon he was done with the day's work.
Walking through the hallway, he took out his cell phone.
He leaned against the wall. The cool feeling of the wall he had on his spine seemed to cool off his head.
Suhyuk then called someone.
"Looks like you've made your decision."
"Yes, professor."
"Ok, then. What do you want to do? I'm not forcing you to do this."
"I'd love to go to the United States."
There are many patients over there who are in need of a doctors' care.
In his mind he thought of his father getting into a taxi, moving with a limp, and his mother who tidied up his gown.
"I thought you would say that. You had better get a passport first. You have to go directly to the Immigration Office. You have to prepare many things. Therefore, you don't have to come to the hospital starting tomorrow. Let me tell the hospital director in advance."
"Thank you."
After calling him, he went back to the lodging.
Arriving there, he touched the door knob all of a sudden.
It was a resting place for him where he could take a nap.
When he entered, he saw the double bed first.
His room mate was not there. Most likely he would still be taking care of the patients.
Suhyuk perched on the bed, and touched the mattress as if he was caressing it.
It was soft. Once he lay on the bed, he fell into sound sleep just like a log.
Everything in the room seemed afresh to him.
One single gown hung on the hanger, and the stethoscope before the bookshelf, and a pen next to that.
With these accessories, he met a lot of patients.
Suhyuk smiled at that. He would not be leaving for forever.
He would come back in one year, which in of itself, was not that long a time.
Suhyuk began putting his stuff into a box.
As for his things, he had only a few.
One box was enough for his stuff.
***
The next morning he left his lodging.
Holding a box, he went to the cardiothoracic surgery department.
"I already heard about it. One year?"
"Yes, sir. Thanks so much for your help."
Im patted him on the shoulder.
"It was me who felt thankful to you. Don't hate me too much."
Actually Im found it troublesome to deal with difficult patients. So, he let Suhyuk take care of them instead.
Though he was worried about Suhyuk, since he was in his first year of residence, he did his job so well.
"As you know, I'm not leaving this place forever..."
"Well, I will miss you from time to time."
During his absence, Im would have to do all the unpleasant work.
And the two interns said, "Goodbye, doctor. Please come back when you're done over there."
They bent their heads, and so did the nurses.
Suhyuk was going around the buildings to say goodbye to the medical staff.
And then he headed to the elevator to move to other buildings.
At that moment, someone called him, "Sir!"
Suhyuk turned his head at that voice.
It was Park Sungjae, who ran up to him, short of breath.
"I heard that you're going to the United States."
With a smile, he nodded.
"When are you coming back?"
"I'm not sure, but I'll stay there for about one year."
"Ah…"
"By the time I come back, I guess you will have become a good doctor."
The elevator arrived, and Suhyuk got on it.
"Goodbye then!"
"I'm going to apply for the cardiothoracic surgery department, sir."
Suhyuk's smile was no more seen when the elevator door closed.
"Hah...Hah..."
Binna, gasping for breath, was pacing around in the lobby.
He was seen nowhere.
Her eyelids were red.
She kept moving her head to look for him.
"I might not see him…"
Binna now moved out of the lobby further and further away.
She could not find him there, either.
Was he on the bus now that just departed from the bus stop? Or was he inside the taxi disappearing in the distance?
She took out her cell phone to find a text message.
Today is Monday, so it's the day after tomorrow.
Looking at the phone, she nodded her head.
Her tears dropped onto the LCD of the phone.
***
When Suhyuk opened the door of his house, his father's eyes became wide.
He should be very busy at this time of the day.
And what about the box in his hands?
It seemed as if he was fired.
Suhyuk crossed over the porch, saying, "I'm going to take a rest for several days."
His father, who was lying slantly on the bed with one of his legs plastered with cast, lifted his upper body and said, "Why? Did you make any trouble?"
Suhyuk smiled, saying, "No, daddy..."
Suhyuk explained to him about his plan.
His father made a quiet smile.
He could not help but be happy when his son was going to a large hospital in the US.
Though he was usually brusque, he did not hid his joy this time.
"Yes, how nice! Come on in, and take a rest."
Suhyuk looked at his cast.
"How do you feel now?"
"Well, I wonder if the bone fracture has been healed already. I feel like I can already walk…"
"You have to stay like that for four weeks without moving," said Suhyuk.
"Ok, got it. Did you eat?"
Shaking his head, he looked at the wall clock. It was already 2pm.
He did not eat breakfast, either.
"How about you, dad?"
"Oh, I have to eat, too. Let me check if there are any side dishes…"
When he was trying to move, Suhyuk quickly rose from the seat.
"Let me do it, dad."
"Suhyuk, let's boil ramen."
"You don't like it…"
"Well, I'd like to eat for once after such a long time."
Suhyuk nodded his head.
He poured water into a kettle, and took out two ramen packets from the kitchen cabinet, and kimchi cabbage from the refrigerator, too.
When the water was boiling, he put in some chopped kimchi cabbage for better tasting soup.
Then he put in ramen, along with some hot peppers for a spicy taste.
When he put the boiled ramen on the dining table, his father sat uncomfortably and said,
"Just sit and let's have it together. You don't have to take out any side dish except for Kimchi."
Suhyuk put on the table roasted potatoes, along with some kimchi.
The mysterious mix of the aroma of the ramen soup and kimchi stimulated their appetite.
"Let's eat then."
Though his father did not enjoy ramen usually, he enjoyed it this time.
Was it because his son made it?
***
8pm.
Suhyuk was heading for somewhere after he went out of the house.
He got out of a taxi in a main street. It was crowded with people.
Suhyuk moved to a restaurant where a yellow light was coming out.
The restaurant specialized in stir-fried beef tripe.
When he came in, Dongsu smiled at him.
"Hello?"
Kim Hana was there too, and said, "Long time, no see!"
The three met like this after such a long time.
Suhyuk had contacted them in advance for this get-together as he was leaving soon.
As he sat at the table, Dongsu offered him a soju cup and said,
"Are you now going to get some experience in a foreign country?"
"When are you coming back?"
At Hana's asking, he smiled.
She was really beautiful whenever he saw her. Even other customers drinking alcohol at other tables took a glance at her from time to time.
"I think I have to stay there for about one year."
Nodding her head, Hana drank a cup of soju in one gulp.
"Hey, slow down."
Suhyuk turned to the side at Dongsu's words.
There were already two empty bottles of soju next to him.
They drank that much even while the stir-fried beef tripe was tenderising.
Suhyuk asked, looking at Hana, "When did you get here?"
"About 30 minutes ago."
And she refilled some soju into her own cup.
"Hey, you're going to be blackout drunk if you drink like that. Anything bad happened to you at the company?"
"Don't you know that I'm a good drinker to being with?"
"I know your drinking capacity is one bottle of soju. I'm going to take you two to other places for drinks. So stay sober."
"You had better not fall asleep at the table"
While Dongsu and Hana were squabbling like that, the beef tripe was becoming nice and tender.
And the atmosphere was getting more and more ripe for drinking.
Emptying his cup, Dongsu knitted his brows.
"Yeah, soju is the perfect match with stir-fried beef tripe. By the way, introduce me to a nice girl at your company. I'm lonely these days."
With her face in a blush from drinking, Hana shook her head, saying,
"As you're a prosecutor, there must be lots of girls following you, right?"
"Nope. Such girls are not pure in their motivations..."
Hana nodded as if she agreed with him.
"Yeah, it might be hard to find a girl like me who is pretty and pure."
"What the heck… hey, you're already drunk, Suhyuk?"
Suhyuk shook his head at their conversation.
Then Dongsu cast his eyes at Suhyuk, asking, "If you leave, who should I play with?"
Suhyuk offered a cup without saying anything.
They touched their cups in the air.
They soon could hear the sound of it raining outside.
"Was there any weather forecast saying it would rain today?"
Dongsu's voice scattered into the air, when Suhyuk suddenly came to think of what his mother had said to him, namely that on rainy days she wants to have mung bean pancakes.
Suhyuk checked the time. It was 10:52pm.
As his mother usually went to sleep after 12 am, it was not too late.
"Let me go home early."
With wide eyes Hana looked at him, and so did Dongsu.
"Hey, it's still too early for you to leave like that. Where are you going?"
"Sorry, sorry. Suddenly I've got something to do."
He was going to buy some mung bean pancakes as he never bought it before for his mother.
"Let me contact you once more before I leave for the United States."
After paying the bill, he went out of the restaurant, nd he bought an umbrella at the convenience store nearby.
When he was about to pass by the stir-fried beef tripe place again, someone dashed toward him.
He dropped the umbrella. It was Hana who was hugging him.
"Hana…"
She did not answer when Suhyuk called her name.
She just buried her face into his chest like that.
Raindrops soaked both of them.
While others were running around to avoid the rain, it seemed like the time was stopped for Suhyuk and Hana. A soft light coming out of the restaurant was illuminating them.
"You won't stay there long, right?"
He stroked her small shoulder, saying, "Only a short time…"
Nothing was heard in his ears except for the sound of falling rain… No, he could not hear nor see her weeping and tears at that moment, though she did cry.
Dongsu, looking at them from inside the restaurant, downed his cup of soju and murmured,
"You guys look great together."
He smiled at them.
Chapter 123
Times passed by fast.
Suhyuk finished all the preparations in one week for his trip to the United States.
As he promised, he met Binna. She wept until her eyes were swollen, which made him very much embarrassed. She did not say anything other than to express her wishes for his health and well-being. She said that while crying.
"Suhyuk," called his mother.
Suhyuk, who was packing his suitcase, turned back his head at her voice.
With an apron, she was helping him with his packing after taking a day off.
He would leave for the United States tomorrow.
"Pack this too."
She was holding daily necessities such as ointments and headache pills. All sorts of things besides insect spray.
It seemed she took out all the stuff from the first-aid kit.
Though he did not need them since he worked at the hospital, Suhyuk did not refuse.
That would make his mother feel at ease.
"Don't you need anything else?"
"Well, I can buy other stuff there."
"Don't you think you need more money?"
Suhyuk shook his head, and showed her his bankbook.
There was deposit of exactly 1,000,000 won in it, which was actually the remainder his parents deposited after deducting some of his monthly salary that he used to give them.
She wanted to withdraw all the money from the savings account to give to Suhyuk, but he was opposed to the end.
She looked at him packing his suitcase quietly.
Though she was worried, she was proud of him at the same time.
That evening Suhyuk's family had dinner together after such a long time.
His mother often wiped off tears, but his father cheered him up with encouragement.
The next day.
Suhyuk was leaving home with his carrier bag. He was alone now, as he discouraged his parents from seeing him off.
They were waving their hands at him from in front of the door.
"I'll be back soon," said Suhyuk with a smile.
He was determined that when he would return, he would serve them really well as a devoted son.
He then moved to the taxi stop because he felt his large carrier bag would cause inconvenience to customers on the bus.
About 10 people were forming a line to wait for taxis.
Waiting in the back, Suhyuk checked the time.
7:37 am.
It would be okay for him to arrive at Daehan Hospital by 9am, so he had plenty of time.
It would take only 20 minutes to get there.
Whenever a taxi arrived, those in the line dwindled.
Was it 10 minutes he waited for?
Finally Suhyuk could get in a taxi.
"Hi, please take me to Daehan Hospital."
"Daehan Hospital... Okay."
A weather forecast was sounding out from the car radio,
'Can the plane take off safely in this weather?'
As Suhyuk would take the plane for the first time ever, he was a bit worried even though he knew a plane was safer than a car.
"Are you going there because you're sick?"
"No, I'm a doctor."
"Wow, you've got a good profession. You must have lots of girls following you seeing as you're handsome and tall."
"Thanks."
Suhyuk looked out the car window slightly.
Cars were moving so slowly because of a traffic jam.
He wanted to arrive well in advance, but it seemed he could barely arrive there by 9am.
"Oh, this is the rush hour as you know. There is traffic congestion around this time in the morning. Are you busy?"
"Well, not necessarily, but I have to be there by 9am."
The taxi driver nodded his head, saying,
"I think that as you're a doctor who saves people's lives, you should not be late."
Having said that, the driver changed lane after checking the side mirror.
Now his taxi moved a bit faster than other cars.
"You don't have to go to the trouble of doing this…"
Whenever the driver changed lane, he heard noisy cruxions in the back.
"I think I have to drive like this because you're a doctor. I guess lots of sick people would come to the hospital even at this hour. So you had better get there quickly to save them."
Suhyuk smiled bitterly.
Though the driver was right, Suhyuk would not see patients today.
When Suhyuk was about to say that, the driver moaned, "Oops..."
He could not drive to onto the hard shoulder because of a large bus in front of his taxi.
To make matters worse, a one-ton truck was also blocking them.
The truck was loaded with bundles of long steel poles as if it was heading to a construction site.
"You can drive slowly."
Given the pace of the taxi moving, he felt he could arrive there around 20 minutes to 9am.
The driver wore a regrettable expression.
The taxi slowly moved, and the driver was murmuring, "I could drive faster if it wasn't for the driver ahead of me…"
The truck driver was driving slowly for fear that the steel poles piled up high might fall down.
Then, the tail lights of the truck came on suddenly, which meant that the driver put on the brake pedal. At that moment, the steel poles shaking dangerously came falling down.
Some of them directly fell down on the front body of the taxi.
Thump!
One of the steel poles hit against the front window of the taxi, causing cracks in it like a web and it pierced through the window into the driver's seat.
"Ow!!!"
When the driver screamed like that, Suhyuk glared at the scene.
A sharp steel pole was clearly flying toward him. The black hole of the pole could be seen clearly.
The pole passed beyond his hair narrowly, sticking into his seat directly.
Then he heard the driver's moaning, who was holding his right shoulder with his arm.
His long white sleeve was becoming stained with blood.
"Are you okay?"
The driver, pushed on the side brake, and made a frown.
Suhyuk checked his condition. Though he could not see the wounds, the driver was bleeding a lot.
"Let me have a look at the wounds."
Suhyuk bit his clothes to tear it apart.
The wounds were laid bare when he removed the clothes.
Fortunately the bone was not seen yet, but a lot of bleeding was coming out.
Suhyuk fastened his shoulder with the torn clothes.
"Don't worry. Your injury is not that serious."
Once he reassured the driver, he checked the situation outside.
All the cars stopped because of the traffic accident.
And the people began getting out of their cars one by one.
The driver opened his mouth, looking at his granddaughter's picture hung inside the car,
"Am I all right?"
"Don't worry."
Suhyuk called 911 quickly.
***
An ambulance arrived at Daehan Hospital urgently.
It stopped and Suhyuk got out first, followed by the taxi driver carried on a stretcher.
When he was about to head directly to the emergency room, someone called him, "Lee Suhyuk."
He was Prof. Han Myungjin. He happened to be waiting outside as Suhyuk did not contact him.
"Where are you going?"
Han was just dumbfounded when he looked at Suhyuk, as he just got off the ambulance.
"There was an accident in a taxi I was in..."
"In the taxi you were in?"
"Yes, I'm all right, but it looks like the driver's bleeding needs to be stopped now."
Suhyuk turned back, when Han said, "We have to leave now."
They could get on board the plane only if they were leaving now.
It was already 9am.
Suhyuk could not take his eyes off the patient on the stretcher.
Han approached him and said, "Do you think the patient would die without you?"
Suhyuk shook his head slowly.
If his bleeding were stopped, he would get better.
"I told you this before, but there are many doctors, and not to underestimate their capabilities."
Suhyuk nodded his head while looking at the door of the emergency room.
Actually he did not underestimate them. He just wanted to take care of the patient by himself.
"We have to leave right now."
They soon got in a taxi on standby.
The taxi left in no time, and Han opened his mouth,
"Hey, you don't have any baggage?"
"Ooops, I left it in the taxi…"
Actually his baggage was in the taxi trunk. He searched in his back pocket.
Fortunately he could find the wallet and the passport.
Han nodded, with a smile.
"You'll have to buy several clothes there. As for your baggage, you can call the shipping company to have it shipped to you later."
Suhyuk had to smile bitterly.
***
Incheon International Airport was crowded with passengers and other people alike.
The boarding time was fast approaching.
Suhyuk turned back momentarily while he was showing his ticket and passport.
"..."
It was only for a brief moment.
"What are you doing now?"
At Han's calling, Suhyuk instantly followed him, and got on board the plane.
He looked around after taking his seat, at which Han smiled and said,
"Is this the first time you're on a plane?"
"Yes, sir."
"You don't have to feel strained. Just take a nap, and you'll be there by the time you wake up."
Nodding his head, he fastened his seat belt and turned off his cellphone according to the in-flight announcement.
As the air pressure goes up with the plane flying high in the sky, he felt his ears becoming deafened.
Suhyuk looked out the window, seeing a tiny land below.
'Can I find my house somewhere down there?'
For a while Suhyuk could not take his eyes off the window.
***
After going through the immigration checkpoint, Suhyuk came out.
White and black people came into his eyes.
He now fully realized that he had arrived in the United States.
Many people were holding placards at the picket line in front of the exit gate.
One of them, a white man, drew his attention because he was holding a placard with awkward Korean characters written on.
Han Myungjin written in Korean. It was none other than the name Han Myungjin.
"Hey! Michael! How are you?"
Speaking alternately in English and Korean, Prof. Han approached him gladly.
Dragging his carrier bag, Suhyuk followed Han quietly.
"Welcome to USA."
Han grabbed his hands. Prof. Han's English was fluent.
Then a lady with blonde hair pointed her finger at Suhyuk and approached him,
"Are you Lee Suhyuk??"
Suhyuk's eyes became wider slightly.
When he nodded, she was more surprised.
"Oh my god! I'm a big fan of yours!"