Husband Role - Episode 45

The year changed. Eun-seol, now twenty-three, was still immersed in sorrow.

It was because Bong-cheol was losing his vitality day by day. These days, he rarely had the energy to get out of bed. Naturally, his stubbornness also decreased.

It pained her heart, but she tried her best to maintain her daily life.

Even though she came to see Bong-cheol every day, she no longer cried and instead acted strong.

The caregiver watched Eun-seol with pity.

Knock, knock.

On a Saturday afternoon, someone knocked on Bong-cheol’s hospital room. The caregiver answered, “Yes?” and the door slid open.

The person who bowed to the caregiver and approached Eun-seol was,

“Let’s eat, Seol-ah.”

It was Jung-hyuk.

Eun-seol, who had been reading to Bong-cheol, turned slightly and smiled brightly.

Jung-hyuk’s coat, as he approached Eun-seol, smelled of the cold winter wind.

“Are you very hungry?”

“Yeah.”

“Then hold on a little longer.”

Jung-hyuk faintly narrowed his smooth brow at Eun-seol’s reply. Then she gave him a playful smile.

“I’ll finish reading this first. Judging by Grandpa’s eyes, he seems very curious about the ending.”

At her explanation, Jung-hyuk nodded. And he sat on the opposite sofa, taking in Bong-cheol and Eun-seol.

The sunlight, having forgotten winter, shone on the two like a welcoming dream.

It was like a painting, perhaps sad, perhaps beautiful.

Jung-hyuk took out his phone and captured the scene with his camera.

Just then, Bong-cheol made a disappointed expression, as if she had just told him the ending. Eun-seol was explaining the interpretation in detail, using gestures.

Bong-cheol, who could barely speak anymore, could only convey his meaning through expressions.

Eun-seol, who miraculously read his mind, nodded with a face of understanding.

Then, Eun-seol pointed to Jung-hyuk and whispered something to Bong-cheol.

When Bong-cheol made a grumpy face, Eun-seol gently kissed his wrinkled forehead.

“I’ll be right back.”

And Eun-seol approached Jung-hyuk. Jung-hyuk stood up and wrapped a scarf around his wife’s neck.

________________________________________

Her husband had thoroughly explored the best restaurants near the nursing home. He found restaurants even she thought impossible to find and brought her there.

The pork back-bone stew restaurant they found today didn’t even have a sign. It was amazing.

“How did you find this place?”

Eun-seol looked at him with curious eyes.

“I wonder.”

“I’ll keep it a secret.”

She said, pressing her index finger to her lips.

Her nose, reddened by the brief exposure to the cold wind, looked just like a child’s.

Jung-hyuk shrugged instead of answering. Then she made a “Tch” sound.

“I’ll tell you when you’ve eaten everything deliciously.”

“That’s easy. When have you ever seen me leave food behind?”

He had. Immediately after finding Bong-cheol, who had gone missing, Eun-seol had barely eaten or drank for nearly a month.

All her attention was focused on Bong-cheol. She seemed to be carrying some kind of guilt that he couldn’t even imagine.

Jung-hyuk was very worried about Eun-seol. He couldn’t be by her side every day, so he was even more anxious.

“Eun-seol-ah.”

“Yes.”

Eun-seol answered absentmindedly.

“I love you.”

It was a confession that came out unintentionally. Eun-seol looked up at Jung-hyuk with surprised eyes.

He had no smile on his face at all. His long, narrow eyes were calmer than ever, and his clear lips were tightly closed, as if he had nothing more to say.

His excessively dark and calm eyes were telling her it was the truth.

“So…”

Eun-seol’s lips, which had been about to open, soon closed tightly like a clam. It was because her heart felt like it was about to jump out of her chest.

It was such an ordinary situation. As much as she had let her guard down, the magnitude of the resonance he offered was immense.

Eun-seol’s heart was churning as if caught in a storm. Her eyes felt like they were stinging, and soon even unwanted tears seemed about to spill out.

“Um…”

It was when Eun-seol opened her small lips again.

“Let’s eat.”

He said, covering the rice with soup on her plate. He was warming up the cold food.

Eun-seol felt choked up again.

She was always warm because of her husband.

She hadn’t been able to pay attention to him for a while. Therefore, her desire for affection was also stagnant.

But Jung-hyuk conveyed his feelings as if it didn’t matter.

They say there’s no such thing as a free lunch.

She had just received so much from him.

“…Thank you.”

Eun-seol murmured faintly. It was her double meaning. A sincere expression of gratitude to him, who filled her with warmth in both body and mind.

“If you’re thankful, eat it all.”

Jung-hyuk replied, placing a piece of meat on Eun-seol’s plate, she didn’t know when he had taken it.

Eun-seol swallowed it with the rice, feeling like she was about to burst into tears. Her stomach felt full.

________________________________________

On a weekday, Ilseong visited the nursing hospital. The doctor, who had been waiting for him after hearing the news of his arrival, bowed his head.

“How is he?”

Ilseong asked the doctor about Bong-cheol’s progress.

“When he first came to the nursing home, we were considering surgery if his condition improved…”

“Cut to the chase and tell me the main point.”

The doctor was a little embarrassed by Ilseong’s sharp words. He wanted to emphasize once again that he was not responsible for the deterioration of patient Bong-cheol’s health.

Anyway, the doctor, whose words had been cut off, opened his mouth again with a sullen face.

“With elderly patients, we can’t guarantee even tomorrow.”

“I asked about this person, not about the elderly.”

Ilseong hated roundabout ways of speaking more than anyone else.

“…It’s the same with the elder.”

At that, Ilseong closed his eyes deeply with a mournful face, then opened them. And he instructed, “I understand, so go out.”

Silence lingered in the hospital room, where only the humidifier was diligently running.

Soon, Ilseong sat beside Bong-cheol and looked down at him.

Bong-cheol blinked at him as if looking at a stranger, but he didn’t make any particular gestures. He didn’t have the energy.

“My friend…”

Ilseong continued in a sorrowful voice.

“Didn’t you say you would stay by my side for a long time, in place of my brothers who left early?”

As a child, Ilseong lost all his brothers in the Korean War, and he buried the brutal memories of that time in his heart.

The resentment that it all happened because Korea was weak was etched into his bones.

First, he felt that quality education was essential to cultivate the lacking national character. And he also thought that medical services that even the underprivileged could enjoy should be nearby.

So, establishing schools and acquiring hospitals was a natural thing for him.

In his youth, he was so focused on moving forward that he couldn’t look around.

The only person who took care of Ilseong’s internal and external affairs in detail was Bong-cheol, his partner and friend.

He was also the only person who poured out harsh words whenever Ilseong was swayed by dark temptations.

He was his brother.

“…I relied on you more than I thought.”

Ilseong muttered with reddened eyes. His face, which had sagged with age, was also trembling faintly.

“Thank you.”

And he got up from his seat, pressed down on his wool hat, and said goodbye.

“See you again.”

After Ilseong left, Bong-cheol was alone again.

Hot tears streamed down Bong-cheol’s eyes, which were smiling strangely.

________________________________________

A long time ago, Dae-hyuk, who had successfully performed a living lung transplant, was a well-known figure among thoracic surgeons in Korea.

Back then, he lived in the operating room, so no one dared to challenge his authority.

They could only look up to him.

But these stories are all in the past now.

Dae-hyuk, who was inherently selfish and calculating, realized one day.

That he could never succeed with skill alone.

Swallowed by the monster of desire, he turned his back on the operating room from then on.

He was currently living a double life.

A soulless doctor during the day.

A lobbyist at night.

He was addicted to the pleasures of drinking and women, which were like a set for entertainment, and he no longer had a sense of professionalism.

Therefore, he had long since given up on complicated surgeries.

The medical staff in the hospital could only accept it, even while glaring at Dae-hyuk.

It was because if the patient was their family member, they would never want to entrust them to Dae-hyuk’s hands.

But a problem arose.

Suddenly, Dae-hyuk volunteered to go into the operating room.

“Professor Mok, you have many patients, so I’ll do this surgery.”

Professor Park, who was in the same thoracic surgery class, tried to dissuade him.

“Professor Park has been struggling alone, so I should do it this time. It’s not a difficult surgery, so don’t worry.”

Dae-hyuk said with confidence.

The patient was a childcare teacher from , which was sponsored by the Hocheon Foundation.

She had been hospitalized a few days ago with a high fever, and a chest CT scan confirmed that there was something wrong with her lungs.

So, a tissue biopsy was performed. Even after that, inflammation was found. It was possible to infer that the area excised for the tissue biopsy had not been properly sutured.

“Still…”

“Whatever it is, we have to open it up to fix it. So, let’s stop this pointless bickering.”

And Dae-hyuk entered the operating room.

He saw the patient, who was fast asleep.

This patient was an opportunity for Dae-hyuk to clear his name.

A childcare teacher from an orphanage that Seong Gyeongha was particularly concerned about. In addition, a poor, unrelated person who could relieve the burden of holding a scalpel for the first time in a long time.

Since it wasn’t a serious illness or surgery anyway, he had to take it on.

“Scalpel.”

As he drew the scalpel across the skin, beads of red blood formed and the chest opened. Dae-hyuk carefully looked down at the patient’s lungs and made a situational judgment.

“Proceeding with right upper lobectomy.”

At Dae-hyuk’s words, the dedicated nurse (TS PA), who had been watching him, opened her mouth, “Professor…”

“…That part was not agreed upon in advance.”

“Based on the surgeon’s medical judgment, there is no other way than RU lobectomy.”

“But.”

“…Shut up and assist properly. If you say one more word, you’ll be kicked out of my room.”

Dae-hyuk scolded the nurse fiercely and proceeded with the right upper lobectomy.

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