CH 63

Yiyoung felt blessed. She was able to have a great lunch, drink some coffee—even brush her teeth—and she still hadn’t been called to the ER.

Her whole day had gone by peacefully; the patients who visited the ER only had minor injuries. In the blink of an eye, the time had passed by, and now it was time for the shift rotations.

The entrance to the ER opened, and the paramedic escorted a man in. A frown took over Dr. Kang’s face when he noticed the man. “Here he is again.”

Dr. Kang’s facade cracked. It wasn’t like him to react so negatively in the presence of others, but he simply couldn’t himself when he saw the man walk in. The man was no patient, only a crazed person desperate for attention.

Dr. Kang looked around to search for someone who could take care of the man, but it was in vain. It was a slow day at the ER, so he knew many of the doctors were free, but he couldn’t spot anyone, including Dr. Yoon and Dr. Kim.

Dr. Kang cringed as he wondered if he would have to handle the guy again. His shift was about to end soon, and he really wanted to avoid dealing with this nuisance. He had examined the man four times already. Each time, he would come up with a different complaint: a heartache, stomach ache, headache, even leg pain. But there would never be anything actually wrong with his body.

It must be his lucky day, Dr. Kang thought. He always acted nicely toward his patients, but it was precisely that behavior which got him stuck in situations like these. However, he knew that to gain support from other doctors, he would need to keep acting all nice and kind. It was important, since he would soon be in charge of the ER.

But this man was giving Dr. Kang a headache. The paramedic gave Dr. Kang a bitter smile when their eyes met, perhaps because he understood his suffering.

Meanwhile, the man rolled around on the floor in pain. When he spotted Dr. Kang, he rejoiced, “Oh, there’s my doctor. Doctor!”

The man had claimed Dr. Kang as his personal doctor. Sure, the man had every right to come to the ER and undergo different exams for his well-being as long as he paid the bills, but the ER was not the place for him, he needed a consultation with a psychologist instead.

This time, Dr. Kang was determined to honestly tell the man so he could seek proper treatment for his condition.

“Oh, I think I’m going to die this time!” the patient moaned, “My head hurts so much, it feels like it’s going to explode.”

The man’s story had not changed by even a word, but Dr. Kang was different today. He interrupted the man, “Sir, I told you this the last time you were here, too, but even the CT image didn’t show anything wrong with you.”

“Then, what can I do this time? How about PET-CT? Would that give us an accurate result? I’m worried I’ll die at this rate.” The man was lying straight through his teeth; his face was positively glowing with health.

Dr. Kang was about to respond harshly, but suddenly, a new patient was brought in.

“He was riding a bike and got hit by a car from behind,” explained the paramedic. The patient was bleeding excessively, the sounds of his agony echoing throughout the place. It sent chills down everyone’s spines.

“I’ll take over.” Dr. Kang raised his hand. After all, he was the only doctor available. But before he could move to treat the new patient, the other man clung to his sleeve. “Where are you doing? You have to take care of me first. I’m sick, too.”

“Please wait a moment. I do have something to tell you, but I have to take care of this patient right now.” Acting nice was a habit ingrained in Dr. Kang’s bones, and it caused their conversation to last longer than necessary.

And now this man was being clingy. “I have an emergency as well. I feel like I’m dying!”

The painful screams of the injured patient continued to resonate in the room. The situation was quickly growing urgent, so Dr. Kang spat out, “Sir, you shouldn’t be here. This place isn’t for you.”

“Where should I go, then?”

“You should go to the psychiatry department.”

“What?”

“I said, you should go to the psychiatry department.” Since he was in a hurry, Dr. Kang told him the cold truth without much consideration, but then promptly proceeded to forget about the conversation.

* * *

Muyeol opened the door, his body somehow feeling as if it was burdened with all the work he had done today. Every step he took was a struggle; he had to constantly lean on the wall to support himself.

He was bone-weary, his legs trembling due to the strain. He scowled, annoyed at himself for being unable to bear the workload.

Propping himself against the wall, Muyeol swept his hair back with a hand. It was way too early in the day for him to be this exhausted, and the sole cause of his condition was Mr. Cha. Profanities filled Muyeol’s mind.

He had found out today why Mr. Cha had gone to the United States; he was visiting Jaeho.