* * *
As Kahyun pressed down on the wound, he noticed Minjae’s wallet lying not far from the accident site.
He recalled the look of relief on Minjae’s face when the wallet had been returned to him.
For some reason, this wallet clearly held great significance to him.
Minjae would surely want to know where it was when he regained consciousness.
“Excuse me, could one of you grab the wallet over there?”
Kahyun singled out one of the taxi drivers from the crowd and asked for help.
The taxi driver, who had been murmuring with others while watching the accident scene, was startled, looking around before picking up the wallet and quickly approaching Kahyun.
“Tsk, a young man got seriously hurt. Is he still alive?”
Ignoring the rude question, Kahyun snatched the wallet and stuffed it into his pants pocket.
While the embarrassed taxi driver mumbled and returned to his group, the sound of sirens from a distant ambulance finally reached them.
Kahyun shouted at the crowd to clear the way, and as people moved aside, the ambulance came to an abrupt stop in the newly created space.
The paramedics swiftly transferred Minjae onto a stretcher and loaded him into the ambulance in the blink of an eye.
Kahyun heard several professional terms exchanged urgently among the paramedics, but they all sounded like a foreign language to him.
One of the paramedics turned to Kahyun and asked:
“Are you the patient’s guardian? Would you like to accompany us?”
It took Kahyun a moment to fully grasp the question.
He knew he should say he wasn’t his guardian, but the words didn’t come out.
This was the moment where he should step back, detach from the situation, and return to his normal life.
Her mind knew he had to hurry if he didn’t want to be late for his 3 PM appointment—time was running out.
Yet, he couldn’t just walk away from the scene and head back to his car without any regrets.
Seeing his hesitation, the paramedic, about to get into the vehicle, was stopped by Kahyun’s urgent voice.
“Yes, I’m Park Minjae’s guardian. Which hospital are you taking him to?”
“It seems serious, so we’re heading to Seongmun Hospital’s emergency room.”
Inside the ambulance, the space felt more cramped than expected.
Various devices were being connected to Minjae, who lay there as if lifeless.
Amid the loud beeping of machines and urgent voices, one paramedic turned to Kahyun again.
“Guardian, does the patient have any conditions we should be aware of?”
“I don’t know anything about that.”
The paramedic, upon hearing this, immediately called the ER through the radio, requesting preparations for blood tests and an emergency transfusion.
Things seemed to be getting critical.
“Is the bleeding severe?”
“The head injury is significant, and there’s quite a bit of blood loss. He’ll likely need to go into surgery as soon as we arrive.”
Even as they spoke, the machines surrounding Minjae continued to beep incessantly.
Kahyun, watching as they placed an oxygen mask on him, checked the time.
Realizing his 3 PM schedule was already out the window, Kahyun pulled out his phone.
Missed calls had piled up.
He remembered that in the rush of getting into the ambulance, he hadn’t informed Mr. Kim of his absence.
He immediately called him.
“Mr. Kim, I’m heading to the hospital now. Yes, all afternoon appointments are canceled, so please hand the truck driver over to the police and call it a day. Leave my contact details with the police, and I apologize for the short notice.”
-Understood. Take care.
After ending the call, Kahyun contacted his office to cancel the rest of his day’s appointments.
It was the first time since joining the company that his team received such an abrupt cancellation notice.
Leaving behind the brief commotion in the office, Kahyun stared at the patient monitor in front of him.
Minjae’s erratic heart rate was displayed on the screen, but ironically, the blood staining Kahyun’s hands from Minjae’s body was still warm.
As he gazed at his darkened palms, he absentmindedly rubbed the wallet in his pocket.
Kahyun resolved to save Park Minjae first and figure everything else out later.
∗ ∗ ∗
Once they arrived at the emergency room, everything happened so fast that there was no time to think.
Minjae, even before Kahyun could intervene, was whisked into surgery by the waiting doctors.
Kahyun, staring blankly at the blue-lit surgery sign, eventually sat in the waiting area nearby.
The blood from Minjae, now dried and caked on his hands, felt rough and uncomfortable, yet he couldn’t be bothered to get up and wash it off.
After sitting for some time, the surgery light turned off, and several people emerged from the operating room.
A doctor who recognized Kahyun approached.
“You’re Park Minjae’s guardian, correct?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“We’ve completed the initial procedures, but the surgery didn’t go well. It appears he suffered a brain hemorrhage from the impact during the accident. We’re planning a second surgery after an MRI.”
“When is the reoperation scheduled?”
The doctor hesitated, unable to answer right away.
Seeing the questioning look in Kahyun’s eyes, the doctor nervously tapped the chart and replied.
“Well, it’s difficult at the moment. All the specialists capable of performing the surgery are booked up.”
“What do you mean? Isn’t this an urgent situation?”
“There are many other emergency patients, not just this one. We can’t prioritize everyone’s circumstances. But we’ll try to expedite the process as much as possible—”
“Enough. I understand. You can go now. Thank you for your efforts.”
The doctor, clearly uncomfortable with Kahyun’s dismissal, turned away.
It was a cold but indisputable reality.
Kahyun had momentarily forgotten how the world really operated.
With a bitter smile, he walked to the restroom to wash his hands, deep in thought.
Leaving things as they were didn’t sit right with him.
If Minjae died while waiting for surgery, all his efforts to improve his image would be in vain.
Kahyun decided he wouldn’t leave until Minjae’s second surgery was confirmed.
He took out his phone.
Kahyun had several high-ranking connections at Seongmun Hospital.
He planned to mobilize his network to schedule Minjae’s second surgery as soon as possible, under the care of the best specialist available.
A casual phone conversation, which began with the usual pleasantries, soon led Kahyun to the hospital director’s office on the top floor of Seongmun Hospital.
The director, his face gleaming with oil, welcomed his warmly.
Their seemingly affectionate small talk quickly evolved into a veiled negotiation, each party politely but firmly jockeying for position.
“Director Koo, what are you talking about? We’ve only been distant since the last forum because I’ve been busy settling in. You knew that, didn’t you?”
Kahyun responded with a smile, mentally calculating the last time he had shown favor to Seongmun Hospital.
The director’s impatience had surfaced sooner than expected, confirming the hospital’s notorious greed.
“Oh, I understand your situation. But it seems the higher-ups have different views.”
It would have been more convincing if he had wiped his oily lips before lying, but Director Koo had never been one to conceal his true intentions.
Suppressing his disdain, Kahyun replied.
“You know better than anyone how much the foundation values your dedication to Seongmun. Please let the chairman know that I’ll make sure to visit soon with a proper gesture of appreciation.”
Pleased to hear what he’d been waiting for, Director Koo grinned widely, reiterating Kahyun’s intentions.
“Of course! Leave it to me. And about that emergency patient you mentioned earlier?”
“Yes, Park Minjae. He came to Seongmun with a head injury from a traffic accident. It seems he needs a second surgery due to a brain hemorrhage.”
“There’s a top surgeon here who’s known for making a name in external surgeries. I’ll make sure he handles it. Don’t worry; everything will go smoothly.”
“Thank you, Director.”
“Alright then, I’ll see you soon. Oh, my mistake—I should be calling you Director now, right?”
The hospital director let out a hearty laugh as he sent Kahyun off.
With a small sigh, Kahyun left the office.
The immediate crisis had been dealt with, and as the tension lifted, a heavy wave of exhaustion swept over him.
* * *
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