Chapter 80 - Lee Donghwa: The Explanation Of Dr. Jeong

After half an hour, I arrived at Du-Ho Hospital. I hurriedly got out of the car and asked Hoonsik to wait before getting inside.

In the hall, I immediately went to the reception area and asked a nurse at the counter about the doctor named Jeong Hoon. She said that the doctor was doing chemotherapy on a patient and asked me to return about two or three hours later.

There was a disappointment after hearing the answer, but I had no choice but wait. At least, knowing that Dr. Jeong was still in this hospital, was enough to make me relax.

Even though the nurse asked me to come over the next few hours, I preferred to remain in the waiting room.

A few moments later, from the entrance, Yoon Hoonsik walked towards me with several cans of drinks and several packets of food in his hands.

When he was near me, showing a worried expression, he spoke, "Mr. Lee, you haven't eaten since this morning." He handed me a drink and also the food he brought, then continued, "Here, you better have to eat first."

I was about to turn down the offer. But, seeing the look on his face that was earnest, I sighed before taking him out of the hospital to eat this meal together in the front yard.

We sat on the bench, eating the food that he brought. We did a little conversation, which was maybe ... just a small talk ...

"Sir, what happened to you and Mr. Kim?"

I took a sip before answering, "You don't need to know."

"But, sir, what you did before ..."

"You don't have to worry. You don't have to worry about it. You better worry about yourself and your family."

Yoon Hoonsik nodded and said nothing about this matter again.

After a while, and talking about a few things, I returned to the hospital to wait for the doctor at the previous place and asked Hoonsik to wait for me outside.

After almost three hours of waiting, a nurse came over to me. Smiling kindly, she said that Dr. Jeong was already in his office. She immediately escorted me to the doctor's room.

In front of the oncology room, the nurse immediately left. Then, without thinking any longer, by taking a deep breath, I knocked on the door and stepped inside.

As soon as the door opened, I could see a bespectacled man wearing a neat white coat, sitting behind the desk with a notebook. He was attractive and looked very sociable. He was Professor, Dr. Jeong Hoon.

At first, I thought that this doctor was someone who would be much older than me. However, when I saw him directly, his appearance was far from my expectations. He looked twenty-seven to twenty-eight years old, even younger than I imagined. I was a little dumbfounded to see a doctor — even younger than me — a few years younger than me —who had already earned his 'professor' title at such a young age.

When he heard the door open, the doctor named Jeong Hoon suddenly smiled, welcoming me so friendly. He had a clear familiarity on his face, looked like a pleasant person. He said, "Ah, sir, please sit down."

I immediately sat on a chair in front of his glossy black desk, with several books on it.

"May I know your name, sir?"

"Lee Donghwa."

He smiled. "Mr. Lee, what is your complaint?"

I took a deep breath before speaking, "Doc, I'm not coming here to consult. I just want to ask you something."

He frowned in confusion, then asked again, "What is it, sir?"

"Is it true that you have a patient named Park Chunghee?" Without further ado, I tried to make my words sound clearer, "I heard he was in this hospital for doing a consultation with you, so I came to confirm it."

He fell silent after hearing my words. His gaze darkened with suspicion, then asked coldly, "Perdon me, sir, but, who are you? I mean, what is your relationship with Mr. Park? Since this concerns a medical code of ethics, I can't give out information carelessly, sir."

For a moment, I lowered my gaze, confused about what kind of answer to give. Until finally, I replied, "I ... I'm his family."

"Family?" Dr. Jeong looked at me deeply, as if observing me, whether the answer I gave was true or fake. Until he smiled, as if he had found an answer in my eyes. "Oh, I see."

I was silent and waited for an answer.

His expression immediately turned calmer and smiled. "I'm sorry, sir. I'm asking such a thing because I just want to protect the privacy of my patient." He paused for a moment, then said, "Regarding Mr. Park ... that's true. He's my patient."

"Can you tell me more details?"

"Hmm, 'More details'?" At first, Dr. Jeong hesitated to speak, but finally, he did, "Mr. Park came to have his condition checked about a few months ago, and his diagnosis showed that he had brain cancer, already in stage three."

Hearing those words, my body immediately went limp, and I resignedly leaned back on the chair as if I had lost the strength to move.

Dr. Jeong explained again, "At this stage, I advised him to do all the treatment procedure. At first, he only asked me to administer medicine, but in the end, he decided to do surgery—"

"So, all this time he has never done the treatment?" Hearing about this, made me so surprised.

"Yes, sir. For a few months, Mr. Park just continued to take medicine. I warned him, but he insisted on delaying the surgery. However, once he decided to do surgery and several times consulted with a neurologist, he suddenly disappeared. I tried to contact him but it's useless."

"It's quite strange because Mr. Park is always checking his condition and collecting medicine regularly. I'm afraid if something happens to him." With a pause, he continued, "Judging by his last medical record, his condition is really bad. If he doesn't continue his treatment soon, it will accelerate the spread of cancer in his body. I am not a God who can predict how long a person would live, but according to my previous experience, in his current state, it is quite dangerous because, in the next stage, his life expectancy will likely decrease."

My eyes suddenly widened open, startled as I heard the explanation of Dr. Jeong.

My whole body became weak and cold. I felt like I was dying.

Dr. Jeong looked at me earnestly. There was a seriousness to his words when he said, "Aren't you his family, sir? As a family, you should always support him and persuade him. This is because cancer sufferers need more psychological support to build more emotions that will make them have a passion for life."

I smiled weakly after hearing about this, but it didn't reach my eyes. This smile only implied deep sadness from me. I replied, "Actually, he never told me about this. I also just found out it today."

After finishing my words, Doctor Jeong froze, as if there were things from my words that he had just understood and refused to interfere with.

I stood up and bowed to him. "Dr. Jeong, thank you for your explanation."

He smiled and said sincerely, "It is my duty to do this. And, make sure to remind Mr. Park to do the surgery right away. Mr. Park is a good person. He is also the only patient I get along well with. I'm sure, if persuaded him, he will return to continue his treatment."

I nodded, then was about to turn around to leave this room. However, before doing so, the sudden thought made me stop immediately and spoke again, "Ah, I almost forgot. What about the medical expenses?"

"Ah, about that, he already paid it off, sir."

Stunned for a moment, I turned around and immediately left this place, leaving the hospital.

So, all of Yunhee's words were the truth ...

In the car, I told Hoonsik to immediately drive the car.

I gazed at the ring that wrapped around my finger while smiling implied my grief. Previously, I had never felt something like this; felt a feeling where there was only sadness and regret in my heart.

So, this kind of feeling was called the saddest thing so that it no longer made me express everything.

Am I at the point of depression?

Anything else than just being frustrated?

Heh, looks like more than that!

I regretted that I didn't spend a lot of time with him.

And ... the medicines he had brought ...

I regretted that I didn't force Chunghee to be honest about his condition at that time.

I was wondering, how would I have been without you? Could I survive?

Before I could think any further, Hoonsik's voice brought me to my senses, "Sir, shall we return to the apartment?"

"What time is it now?"

"Six o'clock, sir."

"Take me to the usual bar," I replied indifferently.