Chapter 82 – Devoted Couple (3)

“Hello. I am Kim Ji-hyuk, who has been dispatched to the clinic recently.”

Kim Ji-hyuk greeted as politely as possible.

“If it is the clinic… Ah. That new doctor?”

The man swayed, staring at Kim Ji-hyuk with blurry eyes.

The man’s eyes, which occasionally tightened, were filled with wariness.

“Yes. That is correct. By any chance, are you the husband of patient Park Mi-yeong?”

“I am, but why?”

“Your wife is currently hospitalized at the clinic.”

“And? Did you come to get the hospital bill now?”

‘What kind of human is this? His wife is sick, and he is talking about the hospital bill?’

Kim Ji-hyuk wore an absurd expression.

“Right now I do not have a penny to save my life, so come back later. My wife will work to pay it back. Shouldn’t she take care of her own body?”

The man shot back gruffly, smelling of alcohol.

“Your wife’s body is very uncomfortable.”

“As long as it is not a fatal disease, it is fine. Why does she bother going to the hospital when she will get better after resting for a few days? No, a fatal disease would actually be better. Since I do not want to live in this tedious world anymore.”

The man poured out curses.

‘He is a piece of trash. From the looks of it, he seems to have been drinking somewhere all night… Shouldn’t he have brought her to the hospital with that money?’

“Were you not at home yesterday?”

When Kim Ji-hyuk asked demandingly.

“Was I only gone yesterday? I was not here the day before either.”

The man chuckled absurdly.

“…”

Kim Ji-hyuk was lost for words at the man’s rogue-like attitude.

“Anyway, that wife of mine has a life stretched out like taffy. While her husband is dodging here and there because of creditors’ demands?”

At Kim Ji-hyuk’s words, the man’s bloodshot eyes rolled.

‘What kind of person is this? Is he even sane right now?’

Kim Ji-hyuk shook his head slightly and opened his mouth.

“Although we will have to wait for the test results to know, the symptoms seem to have been going on for a long time. Were you aware of this?”

Although he felt unpleasant at the man’s rude attitude, Kim Ji-hyuk spoke while controlling his emotions as much as possible.

“What is the point of knowing such things? Whether she dies from illness or dies from being hounded by loan sharks for debt, it is all the same.”

The man let out a smirk, laughing self-deprecatingly.

When Kim Ji-hyuk did not react, he slowly opened his mouth.

“So what, are you saying she got some fatal disease?”

“It is not that, but her blood pressure is high and the possibility of diabetes seems high. If possible, she should be moved to a larger hospital for a detailed examination.”

Since it was a doctor’s duty, he recited the patient’s condition and the tests she needed to receive, but it did not seem like the man would accept it. Sure enough.

“Kyakyakya, a larger hospital? If I had that kind of money, I would pay the interest to the loan sharks first. They said if I do not repay the principal by this month, they will gouge out my eyeballs.”

The man lifted his shirt, showing off his desperation, and shouted.

‘I suspected it, but was my guess wrong? Is this man really just trash?’

Kim Ji-hyuk let out a small sigh.

“And, there are many bruises on your wife’s body. By any chance…”

“Why? Are you asking if I beat her?”

Before Kim Ji-hyuk could even finish his sentence, the man’s eyebrows twitched.

“No, it is because there are signs of bruising all over her body. I am asking out of curiosity if your wife falls often at home.”

“Ayy, your eyes are already certain that I beat her, so what? That is right. She would not listen so I gave her a bit of a beating. Do you not know the saying that women and dried pollack heads need to be beaten once every three days? She is my wife, and I beat her, so what does it matter to you, Doctor?”

‘A beating? Indeed, I must have thought wrong. This guy is trash!’

“Are you confessing now? That is clearly a criminal act.”

Kim Ji-hyuk’s face turned serious.

“Ohho, thank you for that! That is exactly what I wanted. If I committed a crime, of course I should go to prison. Please, you go ahead and report me. If I go to prison, at least I won’t get hounded for debts.”

Gulp, gulp, the man stumbled and sat on the veranda, then opened a bottle of makgeolli and drank it in one go.

‘Hopeless! It is disgusting to talk to this human any further!’

“Anyway, since your wife needs more treatment, we will look after her at the clinic for the time being.”

Kim Ji-hyuk did not want to speak with the man anymore. He thought it was better to get away from such a man quickly.

“Do whatever you want. As long as you do not ask for money, I am grateful! I do not even have anything to eat for meals, so if she gets free food, how great is that.”

The man spread himself out flat on the veranda.

“…”

Kim Ji-hyuk was lost for words at that sight, finding it absurd.

The man slowly raised his head, glared at Kim Ji-hyuk, and spoke.

“Do you have more to say? If you are going to keep standing there, go to Anseongdaek over there and buy me a few more bottles of makgeolli.”

Belch, the man took the opportunity to drain the remaining makgeolli and burped.

“I will be on my way.”

A person with whom communication was impossible. Kim Ji-hyuk gave a short farewell.

“Tch, how stingy. Then forget it! Go, go!”

The man waved his hand dismissively.

* * *

After a short while, the clinic.

“Seeing that your expression is dark, you did not get much results after all, did you?”

“…”

When Kim Ji-hyuk returned to the clinic, Nurse Park In-seon guessed what had happened from his expression.

“See? I told you there was no need to go, right? That person is not the kind hyeongbu he used to be. I do not know how a person can change like this. Money is truly the enemy…”

“Nurse, when did they say the patient’s test results would come out?”

“Ah, yes. I checked in the morning, and they said it would come out later this afternoon.”

Since it was just a diabetes test result, it would not take very long.

“Yes. I understand. Ah, and it seems better to have the patient stay at the clinic for a few days.”

At Kim Ji-hyuk’s words, Nurse Park In-seon brightened.

“Right? I was going to suggest that too… Even if she goes home, she won’t be able to rest properly under hyeongbu’s pressure, so I thought it would be better for her to stay here. She can receive treatment too.”

“Yes. The bruises are one thing, but seeing how severe the edema is all over her body, there is a high possibility that her kidneys are also ruined. I have requested the necessary medicine from a higher institution, so it will arrive soon. Let us have her stay here for a few days.”

“Yes, yes!”

Nurse Park In-seon nodded with a bright expression.

“Since the patient absolutely needs stability, visits are forbidden. In case…”

“Do not worry. Hyeongbu, that man will definitely not come. If he were the type of gentleman to do that, he would not have left Sister to get ruined like that. Anyway, I must report it to the station. That is fine, right?”

“Well, you handle that as you see fit, Nurse. In any case, let me know as soon as the test results come out.”

“I understand!”

“Yes. Then I will go up to the second floor for a moment.”

“Yes. You must have been tired since morning, so please rest.”

“No. I will check something and come right down.”

With that, Kim Ji-hyuk moved his steps to the second floor.

After a short while, the official residence.

‘It is clearly not a simple bruise…’

Kim Ji-hyuk took out a book from the bookshelf and looked through it here and there.

‘Did I deduce incorrectly? Looking at the husband’s attitude, my thoughts seem wrong and Nurse Park In-seon’s words seem right!’

Kim Ji-hyuk tilted his head. He had a somewhat puzzled face.

‘Ha, at any rate, it is certain that the husband did not even know his wife was at the clinic. He said he was not home yesterday, nor the day before! Wait. If that is the case, who beat the patient? If the husband’s words are true, it was not that man who beat her!’

Frowning deeply, Kim Ji-hyuk tilted his head and pulled out another book to look at it carefully.

“Doctor!”

Right at that moment, Nurse Park In-seon came up to the official residence and knocked.

“Yes. Come in.”

She came inside.

“Doctor, the test results came out, and it is serious.”

Nurse Park In-seon’s expression was not good.

“It came out quickly.”

“Yes. They said you requested the test to be done as quickly as possible, Doctor. Here are the test results!”

Nurse Park In-seon handed the blood test result sheet to Kim Ji-hyuk.

‘What? The glycated hemoglobin level is 11%?’

Since the glycated hemoglobin is the standard for judging diabetes, and the normal range is 4% to 5.7%, 11% was a value that was far, far out of the normal range. In other words, it meant severe diabetes.

“This is the patient’s value?”

“Yes. It is extremely high, right?”

“It is not just high; at this level, it is the worst.”

Whew, Kim Ji-hyuk let out a deep sigh.

“She was not originally a person suffering from diabetes…”

“You said the patient suddenly gained weight, right? I think you said she was originally of a thin build.”

“That is right. Since a person who does not even eat proper meals suddenly gained weight, I was also surprised.”

“And she did not have diabetes or high blood pressure either?”

“Yes, yes. That is certain. Was it last winter? Around that time, I did a test once. Until then, she was perfectly fine.”

Nurse Park In-seon tilted her head.

‘A person who did not originally gain weight suddenly increased in weight?

Moreover, rapidly rising blood pressure, diabetes. And crucially, severe edema, and the skin around the neck was darkly discolored. If so, it means cortisol (a stress hormone secreted by the adrenal cortex of the kidneys) was secreted in excess. Then by any chance?’

Kim Ji-hyuk’s eyes sparkled as if he was convinced of something.

“Doctor?”

As Kim Ji-hyuk was lost in thought, Nurse Park In-seon touched his arm.

“Yes?”

“What are you thinking about so intently?”

“Ah, it is nothing. At this level, we must start active treatment immediately. It is a situation where various diabetic complications are suspected. She must be moved to a larger hospital for a detailed examination right away.”

“Yes. I also think we should do that, but Sister’s financial situation…”

“The financial situation is not what is important right now. If the patient does not receive proper treatment, she could die!”

“Yes?? D-Die? You mean Sister is going to die?”

Surprised, Nurse Park In-seon made a fuss.

“If my guess is correct, it is a very dangerous situation. Let us go down right now.”

“Yes. I-I understand! Oh dear, I knew this would happen! She could not even take proper care of her own body, and in the end, this disaster happened!”

Nurse Park In-seon and Kim Ji-hyuk hurried down to the treatment room together.

However.

The treatment room was empty. The patient who should have been in the treatment room was not there.

A neatly arranged bed. On top of it lay a folded patient gown, and only the IV bottle that had been administered to the patient to recover her strength hung lonely on the stand, swaying.

[Doctor, thank you for your concern. I will never forget this kindness for the rest of my life.]

And at the head of the bed, a note written by the patient was placed.

“What has this sister done? Doctor, what do we do now?”

Nurse Park In-seon’s fingertips trembled as she handed the note to Kim Ji-hyuk.

“Since she was here just a moment ago, she could not have gone far.”

“B-By any chance, she did not think of doing something foolish, right?”

Nurse Park In-seon’s voice cracked.

“Probably not. First, let us go out and look. Ah, let us go to her house first.”

“W-Wait a moment! She would not have gone home because of hyeongbu!”

Nurse Park In-seon stopped Kim Ji-hyuk’s steps.

“Then is there any place she might go?”

“I have a place in mind! Let us go there!”

After falling into thought for a moment, Nurse Park In-seon spoke in a confident voice.

“Where is that?”

“You will know when we get there!”

Nurse Park In-seon pulled Kim Ji-hyuk’s sleeve.