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Kang Chan stepped out of the way for Shim Su-Jin’s father.
Shim Su-Jin’s voice cracked. She seemed to be having difficulties talking, but they definitely heard her calling her mother from under the bandages. After that, the ICU began reminding Kang Chan of a battlefield.
“Please go to the back!” Yoo Hun-Woo firmly yelled. Shim Su-Jin’s parents stood beside Kang Chan, breathlessly watching their daughter.
Ten minutes flew by in an instant.
“Whoo!” Yoo Hun-Woo sighed as he stepped away from the bed. Approaching the onlookers, he shook his head, but it was difficult to know what that meant.
“Doctor Yoo Hun-Woo!” one of Su-Jin’s parents yelled.
“Her pulse and breathing have stabilized for now. We have to monitor how she does tonight,” Yoo Hun-Woo said.
“She called for me! You heard that!” Shim Su-Jin’s mother exclaimed.
“Honey!” Su-Jin’s father held her shoulder, but they looked as if they had used up all of their energies.
“Let’s head to the office first,” Yoo Hun-Woo said.
As Shim Su-Jin’s parents followed Yoo Hun-Woo, their gaze remained on the bed until the last moment. It was as if they found it hard to walk away.
“Please have a seat,” Yoo Hun-Woo told everyone.
Su-Jin’s parents sat on the sofa, and Kang Chan sat across from them.
Rattle.
Yoo Hun-Woo brought over an office chair in the middle of the office.
Kang Chan fully understood why he looked tired.
“This would be difficult for the parents to hear, but we will probably only be certain whether she just recovered a little bit of energy prior to her death or that was a sign that she’s recovering at the end of the night,” Yoo Hun-Woo said.
“Urgh!” Su-Jin’s mother began sobbing.
“I’ll do my best.” Yoo Hun-Woo tried to reassure them.
“Thank you,” Su-Jin’s father said with a sigh, then turned his head toward Kang Chan and expressed his gratitude again.
Kang Chan remained silent.
“Mr. Kang Chan, let’s head downstairs,” Yoo Hun-Woo said.
When Yoo Hun-Woo and Kang Chan stood up, Su-Jin’s parents did as well.
“I’m sorry that I couldn’t be of help,” Kang Chan apologized to Su-Jin’s parents.
“Isn’t it enough that we got to hear her voice again? Since we don’t have much time, we’ll talk to you again after tonight.”
“Please don’t worry about it.”
Yoo Hun-Woo walked away after Kang Chan finished talking to them. Kang Chan followed behind him. After entering the elevator and waiting for its doors to close, Yoo Hun-Woo glanced at Kang Chan. Their eyes met.
“Why are you looking at me?” Kang Chan asked.
“I’m just thankful.”
Kang Chan simply smirked in response.
“A lot of doctors start their own medical business because they can’t stand their patients dying on them. They avoid working for university hospitals even though they are more than capable to do so and they would get great treatment there. Watching patients die every day, we often feel skeptical about this job,” Yoo Hun-Woo added.
“Didn’t you also save me?”
The elevator opened.
Kang Chan stepped out of the elevator and headed to his room. Yoo Hun-Woo was the one following him now.
Rattle.
Seok Kang-Ho stood up while holding his chest. “What happened?”
“We’ll know whether she will survive or not tonight,” Kang Chan answered.
“Mr. Director, have you had dinner?” Seok Kang-Ho asked.
“I haven't eaten yet.”
“That’s too bad! Should I order a jjajangmyeon for you?”
“Sounds good!” Yoo Hun-Woo replied, then went to go lay down on the empty bed across from Seok Kang-Ho and Kang Chan’s beds.
As Yoo Hun-Woo laid down, Kang Chan made coffee, and Seok Kang-Ho ordered jjajangmyeon.
A moment later, Kang Chan and Seok Kang-Ho heard Yoo Hun-Woo snoring lightly.
“What the? That gentleman is the director of this hospital, yet he just fell asleep in someone else’s patient room?” Seok Kang-Ho commented. Despite speaking crudely, he walked over and put a blanket over Yoo Hun-Woo. “He must’ve been having a hard time.”
Seok Kang-Ho then approached Kang Chan and held up a cigarette. However, he put it back down after looking at Yoo Hun-Woo.
“It’s strange, but you attract people,” Seok Kang-Ho commented.
“What?”
Seok Kang-Ho took a sip of coffee, then looked at Yoo Hun-Woo again with a smirk. “I find myself depending on you whenever you’re around. No matter how difficult the situation I’m in or even when I start thinking, ‘How am I going to get out of this?’ I just know that we’ll find a way somehow for as long as you’re there. Something like that.”
“Hey! I was shot in the neck and died as well.”
Yoo Hun-Woo’s snores were like the sounds a cat made whenever they were in a good mood.
“You still don’t get it even after looking at that gentleman? He probably would’ve wanted to depend on someone right now as well. He’s probably like that fucker GĂ©rard right now,” Seok Kang-Ho added.
“Phew, forget about it.”
Being able to console people was great and all, but not being able to smoke cigarettes was bullshit.
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“Go get changed out of those weird clothes. You look like you just got back from a semiconductor factory,” Seok Kang-Ho said.
Kang Chan took off the clothes that he had put on when he went into the ICU.
The jjajangmyeon arrived some time after Kang Chan told Seok Kang-Ho what happened upstairs. It didn’t feel right to wake up someone sleeping soundly, so Seok Kang-Ho ate Yoo Hun-Woo’s jjajangmyeon while complaining instead. He ate every last bite, cleaning his plate completely.
Yoo Hun-Woo woke up about thirty minutes later. He left the patient room feeling upset because they didn’t wake him up when the jjajangmyeon arrived.
Damn it. He can tell a nurse to order another one.
Saturday ended not long after.
***
Doing his morning rounds, Yoo Hun-Woo entered Kang Chan’s room with a bright expression.
“What happened?” Kang Chan asked.
“She’s responding well. We think she’s becoming stable, so we’re watching her with hope,” Yoo Hun-Woo answered while unwrapping the bandages around Kang Chan’s left hand, then asked Kang Chan if moving it was painful.
“I’ll wrap a thin layer of bandages around your left hand. If your hand trembles when you clench it, that means it’s in a dangerous condition and you have to come back and get it checked immediately,” Yoo Hun-Woo warned.
“Alright, I’ll do that.”
After treating Kang Chan, Yoo Hun-Woo cut Seok Kang-Ho’s bandages.
Several pieces of skin were taken off with the bandages, the sight making Kang Chan groan. Fortunately, Yoo Hun-Woo said that wasn’t a bad sign.
Yoo Hun-Woo disinfected Seok Kang-Ho’s wounds, applied medication, then wrapped them in bandages again.
“Thank you, Mr. Kang Chan,” Yoo Hun-Woo thanked him out of nowhere.
The best thing to do during moments like this was to just smile in response.
After Yoo Hun-Woo left, Kang Chan and Seok Kang-Ho comfortably relaxed. They felt as if they had gone on a vacation for about a week.
“What are you going to do starting tomorrow?” Seok Kang-Ho asked.
“I’m not sure. Considering everyone is hospitalized right now, including manager Kim, I think I’ve become a bit free
 What about you?”
“I asked the school to hire a new teacher for a couple of months.”
When Kang Chan looked at Seok Kang-Ho, he elaborated, “Just think of it as a substitute teacher. Since running and jumping is difficult for me right now, I’m thinking of taking time off for about a year. There’s still that National Assembly member who’s trying to sell off military secrets, too. Taking that into consideration, wouldn’t it be better for you if I have a bit more time?”
Thinking the idea didn’t seem that bad, Kang Chan nodded. Seeing how Seok Kang-Ho’s knife wounds weren’t healing as fast as Kang Chan’s, he definitely had to rest for a bit. Since Seok Kang-Ho also had spare money in his bank account and received a salary from the National Intelligence Service anyway, he didn’t have to worry about his livelihood.
Sitting on his bed, Kang Chan looked outside the window. It bothered him that he didn’t get a single text message from Kim Mi-Young.
‘I should leave her be. She’s a senior in high school.’
He was like a kid whose younger sister recently grew up dramatically. However, no matter how much Kim Mi-Young would change in college, Kang Chan thought of accepting her.
All that was left for him to do was spend the rest of the day resting properly.
As he leaned back against the bed

Buzz— Buzz—Buzz—. Buzz— Buzz—Buzz—. Buzz— Buzz—Buzz—.
Kang Chan’s phone rang as if to ask, ‘Why are you trying to rest?’
It was Lanok.
Lanok said he’ll wait for me to get discharged before contacting me. Is this for something urgent?
“Hello?”
- Mr. Kang Chan, how are you feeling?
“I’m thinking of getting discharged tomorrow.”
- I’m sorry for calling you on your day off, but Vasili contacted me. However, this isn’t something we can talk about over the phone, so I was hoping we could meet up. Is it okay for me to visit you at the hospital?
Vasili was Russia’s representative for the Eurasian Rail. That fucker looked mean.
“Sure. How long will it take you to get here?”
- I’ll be there in ten minutes.
“Alright, Mr. Ambassador.”
After hanging up, Kang Chan told Seok Kang-Ho about the phone call, then asked him to stay in the room next door for a bit.
Seok Kang-Ho threw several paper cups in the trash can, then left the room. Lanok arrived not long after.