Chapter 12
In an instant, Daeho reached the wheelchair.
Clatter!
The patient seemed to notice Daeho’s sudden appearance as well.
With a swollen face, he smiled brightly and greeted him.
“Oh, doctor! I came to greet you like this…”
“Mr. Jeong Sangbok. What are you doing right now?!”
Daeho’s voice was low and firm, eyes sharp.
At that force, the patient—no, Sangbok’s face filled with confusion.
“Huh? Eh? Why… why are you saying that…”
Daeho ignored his hesitation, glaring intensely as he scolded him.
“Do you think you’re in a condition to move around in a wheelchair like this? Return to your room immediately!”
“Oh, doctor. I know, I know… but a person’s duty, and, well, it’s not like that…”
“You had more than ten pins put in overnight, and now you want to roam around?!”
Daeho scowled deeply, scolding him.
Soon, the eyes in the emergency room turned toward them.
Patients and guardians watched with suspicion and anxiety.
“What… what’s happening?”
“What’s wrong?”
“Feels like he came to complain.”
Meanwhile, the doctors and nurses were watching with complicated looks.
“It’s Richard again? Again?”
“How many accidents in one day, seriously!”
“What now? Did Richard treat another patient?”
“Check who that patient is. We need to know to respond!”
Rustle, rustle.
Some of the staff discreetly moved to avoid the crowd’s attention.
But Daeho didn’t care about the surroundings.
He was focused only on Sangbok.
With a fierce, sharp gaze, he stared.
Yet Sangbok’s face held only a smile.
“Please don’t be so upset.”
“What?”
“I came here knowing everything. This is my daughter.”
Sangbok placed a warm hand over the guardian behind him and explained the relationship.
Daeho’s gaze reflexively shifted to her.
She looked like a woman in her early twenties, a university student.
“Hello. I’m Jeong Hyein.”
“Your daughter? You should have stopped him. How can you be here with him?”
Daeho scolded the guardian without mercy.
Sangbok responded quickly.
“This is Hyein’s school friend’s father. He’s a doctor.”
“And?”
“We called the attending doctor here, and he said it was okay to come. We just wanted to greet you. I swear.”
Sangbok explained the situation like a rapid-fire.
But Daeho still didn’t fully believe him.
“Ahem. Hmm!”
“No, really. You can call the orthopedics department if you want.”
“Actually, that’s my plan.”
“Well, if you can’t trust me like this…”
Sangbok was embarrassed by Daeho’s rigid demeanor.
At that moment, Nurse Lee Suyeon approached from behind.
“Dr. Richard, here.”
Swish.
Quickly, she handed him a tablet.
The EMR screen was fully displayed.
Daeho took it and checked the message from orthopedics:
“-Authorized by Senior Specialist Cha for one outing today. Only movement within the ER allowed.”
Sangbok had told the truth.
Yet Daeho’s expression remained firm.
Swish.
He looked up at Sangbok and asked quietly,
“Is there a specific reason you came down to the ER?”
“It’s right in front of me, isn’t it?”
“Me?”
Daeho’s steady gaze made a small tremor in Sangbok.
It was an unexpected response.
But Sangbok smiled gently and extended his hand.
Swish.
“Oh, so short, Dr. Richard. Hold my hand for a moment, will you?”
“Yes.”
Daeho approached and took his hand, almost instinctively.
Though he didn’t fully understand everything yet,
Seeing Sangbok’s warm eyes, he couldn’t scold blindly.
Then, Sangbok placed his other hand over Daeho’s.
“Thank you. Truly, thank you.”
Pat, pat.
Sangbok gently patted Daeho’s hand with rough, calloused palms.
He looked like someone who had lived a harsh, desert-like life.
But at this moment, his joy was like an oasis, pure and deep.
Seeing that smile, Daeho paused, regaining his composure.
‘Unknowingly…’
He had been drawn by the patient’s warmth.
Daeho quickly straightened and asked Sangbok,
“What are you thanking me for?”
“I heard everything. If you’d been just a little later, they would have had to amputate the leg.”
“That’s just a probability…”
“Yes, a probability. But to me, that probability isn’t just numbers.”
“…”
Daeho chose silence over a hundred words.
Sangbok continued in a moist, emotional voice.
“Thank you for saving us. You didn’t just save me. You saved Hyein, my wife, everyone.”
“Patient…”
“I had to come down and say this today. Thank you, truly.”
Swish, swish.
Sangbok bowed until his forehead touched Daeho’s hand.
Hyein also bowed next to him.
“Doctor, thank you for helping my father.”
In her quiet voice was gratitude that words could barely express.
