08.43 in the morning….

             The sunshine greets Hyungsik’s eyelids, making him half awake and suddenly remembers that he has an important presentation today. He looks at his alarm clock that is placed on the drawer on the left side of his bed.

“08.43…. WHAT?????!!!!! SHOOT , I’M LATE!!!!”

               He immediately washes his face, brushes his teeth, combs his hair and pack everything that would be needed for the presentation. He cannot stand still in the elevator and for the first time ever, he regrets for living on the 15^th in this apartment building. The security greets him at the lobby and at that moment, he realizes that he forgets to bring his car key.

“Ouwh! Why am I so unlucky today?” Hyungsik walks towards the bus station near his apartment.

                The bus will arrive at 09.10 which means that he will be super late for the presentation. He decides to ride a taxi instead, and he is lucky this time, the taxi arrives even before the thought of cancelling riding a bus disappears from his head.

“Please take me to Gyeongjin Hospital, Sir. Thank you.. ” Hyungsik tries to keep himself calm.

                The driver says yes while smiling and looking at the messy Hyungsik through the rearview mirror. It is 08.50 and the traffic looks crazy. Many of the cars are lined up, it is either because of the rush hour or there is a collision ahead. Hyungsik still remembering what he needs to say during for the presentation but his focus suddenly get distracted after he sees a man running from three cars ahead of the taxi he rides while holding his shoulder and his head covers with blood.

                 Hyungsik gets out of the taxi and asks the man if he is okay. He says he is fine but the driver and the passenger of the other car are not. Hyungsik asks people to call the ambulance and goes to the other car. Some people already help to get the two young women out of the car. One of them still can communicate well and cries because of her fractured shoulder, while the other one looks like she is having a serious injury on her head. She is bleeding here and there. Hyungsik goes to that patient first and two people there are trying to push him away.

“I’m a doctor!” Hyungsik shows his nametag which he puts in his pocket.

                 Hyungsik tries to give that woman the first aid. Her pulse almost cannot be felt and he does not want this woman to lose in this life and death battle, he covers this woman with his suit. About ten minutes later, three ambulances arrive and bring the two women and one man Hyungsik met earlier to the nearest hospital, Gyeongjin Hospital.

                 Hyungsik, with shirt full of blood from the woman who he thinks gets serious brain injury and fractured arm, get out of the ambulance and keeps taking care of this woman. He runs to the emergency room and calls the nurses to be ready for an operation.

“Dr. Choi! One patient from the second ambulance, fractured shoulder! Take care of her!” Hyungsik tells a woman with short brown haired who looks at him with eyes wide open.

“Dr. Park, are you okay?” a nurse asks.

“I’m fine, prepare the x-ray and CT-scan. This patient seems to get a serious injury..” Hyungsik washes his hands.

 

05.23 p.m…

                   After almost ten hours struggling to save his patient’s life, Hyungsik goes to a vending machine near the ER to buy a can of orange juice. He then sits at the waiting room while watching the tv and sips his orange juice. A security guard comes and says that someone is looking for him, a man who looks like he is in his mid fifties, wearing a baseball cap, and holding a bag which Hyungsik familiar with.

“Hello…” he greets Hyungsik.

“Ah yes, hello…” Hyungsik gets up from his chair. “How can I help you?”

“You rode my taxi this morning and you left this…” that man gives the bag to Hyungsik. “I kept looking for you but you disappeared, some people said that you’re a doctor. When I came here, you were in the operation room. I am here to give you this bag..”

“Ah…yes. Thank you very much” Hyungsik bows.

“Next time, take care of your things better.. I’ll go.. nice to meet you, doctor..”

                  Hyungsik bows then opens the bag and sees his documents for the presentation. He sighs for a while then remembers that he has not paid the bills. He runs towards the taxi driver.

“Sir, I haven’t paid the bill. How much was it?” Hyungsik is ready to open his wallet.

The man refuses with two hands at front and says that it is okay since Hyungsik was in a hurry to save somebody’s life. Hyungsik insists to pay but the man keeps refusing.

“Have you had dinner? You must be hungry because you’ve been waiting for me since afternoon. Do you want to have dinner with me? There’s a good bulgogi restaurant next to this hospital..”

                   The man smiles and they both go to the bulgogi restaurant where Hyungsik often visits with his fellow doctors. They spend two hours talking about their lives. Hyungsik finally knows that the man has two sons who are waiting for him at home, his wife works as a kindergarten teacher near their house. To say thanks because the man has saved his important documents, Hyungsik asks the waiter to wrap some bulgogi for the man’s family.

“Doctor, you don’t have to do that. I’m so thankful that you even bought dinner for me..”

“Please don’t call me doctor. My name is Park Hyungsik, you can just call me Hyungsik, Sir..” said Hyungsik while smiling.

                   After dinner, Hyungsik hands the man three sets of bulgogi soup for his family and says sorry that he waited for so long to meet him and thank you for returning his bag.

“I’m the one who needs to say thank you. Why you even bought these expensive meals for my family? You’re too nice…”

“It’s okay. Let’s say it’s my gift for them because they have such a good man like you, Sir. Tell them I said thank you and sorry, because you‘re late to meet your family at home..”

“I wish I had a daughter, I’d ask her to find you and get married to you..” the man laughs. “You’re a good kid, I hope you’ll find happiness only. Take care of your health! Thank you for everything, doctor..”

“You’re welcome..” Hyungsik smiles. “Be careful on your way home..”

                   Hyungsik then goes back to the hospital. Nurse Kim runs towards him and tells him the condition of the patient that he took care of earlier. They both run to where the woman is. After examines her injuries, Hyungsik asks Nurse Kim to prepare an ICU room since this woman is in the life and death battle once again and has fallen into a very critical condition.

 

The next morning…

                    Hyungsik knocks on the door at room no 212 then slides the door open. He smiles at the patient in that room who is currently struggling to eat a cup of pudding.

“Park Kyungri-sshi? How’s your shoulder?” Hyungsik asks.

“It…hurts? Of course..”

“Ah definitely, because it’s broken. May I ask you something?”

“Yes…”

“Do you know the woman was in the car with you?”

“Yes..”

“Are you close to her?”

“Why you ask that?” Kyungri glances at Hyungsik.

“Is there someone that I can call? Her family, perhaps?”

“She’s just my acquaintance. I don’t know her that much..”

“Ah, really?” Hyungsik keeps quiet for a while. “But, you’re in the….”

                   Before Hyungsik finishes his words, the door is slid open by a man who brings a bouquet of flower.

“Oppa!” Kyungri smiles at that man.

Hyungsik and that man exchanging looks for a while then he excuses himself, afraid that he will disturb them.

“Her boyfriend..” Hyungsik gets out of the room.

                 He then walks back to the ER, continues his duty. On the way there, he overhears two women who are looking for a friend who was involved in a car accident yesterday.

“What’s your friend’s name?” Hyungsik asks one of the two women who looks sad and panic.

“Park Semi. Her name is Park Semi…” the woman with blonde hair answered.

“Is she the one who was in the car with Park Kyungri?”

“Kyungri, too? Are they okay?”

                 The blonde one looks very panic, her eyes filled with tears while the other one, the girl with black hair and wears brown blazer, seems calmer but still looks confused.

“Park Kyungri-sshi is in the room no 212. She’s currently with a guy she calls oppa…” Hyungsik says.

“Ah… Kevin oppa. How about Semi? Where is she?”

The black haired woman looks pretty worried now since she notices that Hyungsik’s expression is getting darker.

“Are you both her friends?”

“Four of us are friends since high school!!!” the blonde woman half yelling at Hyungsik.

“Doctor, please tell us where Semi is…”

“She is …in the ICU room.. She is in a really critical condition right now..”

Both of the women start to cry. Hyungsik leads them to the ICU room where, now he knows the woman’s name is.

“Can I talk to you for a while?” Hyungsik asks the woman with black hair.

“Sure..”

                   The blonde woman asks the ICU staff to visit and see Semi while Hyungsik leads the black haired woman to his room.

“Please have a seat..” Hyungsik says. “My name is Park Hyungsik, I’m, your friend’s, Park Semi’s doctor. Um, Semi-sshi is not in a good condition. We made several tests on her yesterday. Nothing’s wrong with her head now since we took care of her head trauma yesterday. The problem is, there is something wrong with her lungs also her heart rhythm is still unstable, that’s why she’s admitted to the ICU last night” Hyungsik tries to explain.

“But, she will be fine, right?”

“Well, yes.. That’s possible, but there’s something that more…”

“What…is that?”

“The problem is, seeing her condition now, her heart can stop at anytime. It cannot be predicted at all. So, I ask you to come here to sign this…” Hyungsik pulls out a letter from his drawer.

“What is this? You ask me to sign this stupid agreement?! She’s not going to die! Aren’t you a doctor? Aren’t the doctors supposed to save their patients?!” the woman starts to drop a tear.

“Miss, I’m really sorry. This is the procedure that I have to follow as a doctor..”

“I’m not going to sign it, nobody isn’t! If something happen to my friend, I’ll sue you!”

                    She then leaves the room and sits on the chair in the lobby. Hyungsik follows her and finally sees her crying while talking to someone on the phone.

“Hyemi-yah, are you still at the ICU ward? I’ll go there..”

“Minha-yah!“

                    A guy in a suit calls her from the entrance door. The black haired woman who apparently named Minha walks towards him and cries in his arms. That guy tries to calm her down then both of them go to the ICU ward.