Husband Role - Episode 46

Jung-hyuk’s expression was somber on the phone.

“So, have you been to the hospital?”

Jung-hyuk retorted in a stiff voice. Eun-seol answered with a slight cough.

—No, I don’t think it’s bad enough to go to the hospital, so I took some medicine and lay down.

“Why don’t you take care of yourself?”

He spoke reproachfully without realizing it. A moment of silence flowed.

—If it’s not better tomorrow, I’ll go to the hospital.

Eun-seol said belatedly in a weak voice.

“What’s your temperature?”

—…If it’s around 38 degrees Celsius, it’s just a slight fever.

“So, you do have a fever.”

Jung-hyuk covered his eyes with his hands. He could vividly feel the prominent blood vessels throbbing in his eyes.

—…A little.

It was an answer in a voice that seemed like it would fade away at any moment. Jung-hyuk repeated to himself not to push her and spoke in a suppressed voice.

“Fevers usually rise at night.”

That’s why he was worried.

—Isn’t that… only for young children?

Jung-hyuk retorted sharply to Eun-seol’s question.

“You’re still young too.”

—……

“If you feel worse, even in the early morning, go to the hospital anytime. I’ll tell your mother.”

“I’m okay…” a small voice was heard.

Suddenly, Jung-hyuk had a thought.

Wasn’t the bed in the master bedroom too big?

—Okay. Jung-hyuk, you must be tired too. Get some rest.

“Just.”

He emphasized the next words.

“If anything happens, call me right away.”

He emphasized once more, “Got it?”

—Ah…

Eun-seol then smiled slightly, thinking that she must be the only one to receive such concern for a simple cold.

Jung-hyuk thought that even if it seemed excessive, he couldn’t help it, and hung up the phone.

And an hour later, the bell rang again.

Jung-hyuk immediately thought of Eun-seol’s face and snatched up his phone. It wasn’t his wife.

He let out a sigh of relief and answered the phone.

—Director Yoon.

It was an unfamiliar title. That was because he had taken on the position of outside director of the Hocheon Foundation but had not been actively involved.

He had no personal contact with the other directors, and the board of directors had never been convened.

There had only been one meeting.

In any case, that meant that the foundation was running smoothly.

“Ah, Executive Director Park.”

The person who called was a member of the foundation’s board of directors and an executive director at K Pharmaceuticals.

He was also someone with whom he had some personal acquaintance.

“Yes, what’s the matter?”

—I have some urgent news to convey, so I’m calling you at this late hour.

“Please tell me.”

Executive Director Park hesitated for a moment, then soon got to the point.

—There has been a medical malpractice incident at Hocheon Hospital.

“……Yes?”

Jung-hyuk tried to recall each of the foundation’s hospitals rooted in each region.

“Where is it?”

And asked back.

—It’s at Seoul Hocheon Hospital. It seems a doctor performed a lung resection without the patient’s consent.

“How is that possible?”

—The consent form is one thing, but the real problem is the diagnosis.

“Please explain it simply.”

—They performed surgery to remove the entire right upper lobe of a tuberculosis patient who didn’t need a lung resection in the first place.

“You mean.”

—Yes. There was also a misdiagnosis. The patient’s guardian found out about this and raised a fuss. They have now filed a lawsuit seeking damages.

“Ha…”

—You know how quickly issues spread these days. It seems it will be difficult to quietly move past this.

“It shouldn’t be allowed to either.”

Jung-hyuk said coldly.

—Even if we cut off the tail, it will have a big impact on Hocheon. But it’s someone we must cut off. A board meeting will be held soon to come up with countermeasures, and President Yoon is expected to attend. That’s why we need Director Yoon to side with us.

His mind raced.

“Is there any reason why I should do that?”

He was asking why or how his power would have an impact.

—This is just a precautionary proposal in case the president tries to protect him. In any case, we need to prepare for various possibilities.

“And that preparation is…”

—Yes. We believe that if you give us your support, the president will be able to understand.

Even after hearing the explanation, Jung-hyuk’s question remained.

His grandfather was a cold-hearted founder who pursued practicality rather than recognition.

Who would such a person be defending?

That seemed to be the key.

“……Who is the doctor?”

With a voice saying, “You probably know him well, Director,” the perpetrator of the medical malpractice was revealed.

—It’s Professor Mok Dae-hyuk from the Department of Thoracic Surgery.

________________________________________

Jangmi visited her parents’ house for the first time in a while. There was a reason why she had to come despite the freezing cold that felt like her ears would fall off.

It was to open a high-end wine that she had received as a New Year’s gift from an acquaintance.

She was planning to share it with Kyung-ha. And she was also planning to invite her niece-in-law, who had been feeling weak lately, to taste the DRC La Tache Grand Cru.

“When would she ever get to eat something like this? She’ll be blown away.”

Jangmi muttered to herself with anticipation and entered the main house.

But she heard unexpected news.

Her niece-in-law, who was already small and weak, was sick in bed.

“Has she been to the hospital?”

Jangmi asked Kyung-ha with a frown. Kyung-ha shook her head.

“She says it’s not serious and she’s resting in her room.”

“Why is a young person so careless?”

Jangmi grumbled and then asked.

“Did she eat and take her medicine?”

“Yes, I took care of that.”

Jangmi put the wine down on the table and thought.

She should have brought medicine instead of wine.

Thinking of a famous herbal medicine clinic, Jangmi opened her mouth.

“I’ll go take a peek at her.”

“Just let her rest, Aunt.”

As if she didn’t hear Kyung-ha’s words, Jangmi wrapped her Burberry scarf around her nose.

And she urged her to tell her the password to the annex’s entrance.

After hesitating, Kyung-ha relented to Jang-mi’s repeated urging and revealed the annex’s password.

________________________________________

Eun-seol flinched at the cold sensation on her forehead and struggled to open her eyelids.

“You’re hot.”

“Aunt.”

Eun-seol was surprised and tried to raise her upper body.

“Just lie down.”

“Ah… yes.”

“You should go to the hospital when you’re sick. Why are you just lying here?”

Jangmi said as if she was frustrated.

“…It’s just a cold. I took a fever reducer. I’ll be fine tomorrow.”

“Fever reducer, my foot. That’s for healthy people like me. How can someone as weak as you recover with just a little medicine?”

Eun-seol smiled sheepishly at the harsh words that came back.

It was because she was reminded of Dae-hyuk and So-hee, who had thrown her a box of Tylenol when she was much sicker than she was now.

As a result, her fate had improved dramatically. Eun-seol’s heart felt warm.

“Oh, why are you smiling? Does your head hurt too?”

Eun-seol didn’t answer. She didn’t have the energy to, and she knew that Jangmi would understand her well enough.

“The guest room is empty, right? I’ll sleep there tonight, so tell me immediately if anything happens. If it’s too hard, I’ll check on you from time to time.”

Eun-seol said to Jang-mi, who was muttering something about the wine being ruined.

“…Thank you.”

“I’m just doing it because you’re my hospital buddy.”

It was a blunt answer, as if she was being sarcastic, but Eun-seol knew what Jang-mi’s true feelings were.

“……Yes.”

“Tsk.”

Jangmi swept Eun-seol’s sweaty forehead with her rough hand. And she said in a slightly heavier voice.

“Your mind has to be strong for your body to be healthy.”

“Got it?”

Eun-seol smiled sheepishly again at Jangmi’s repeated emphasis.

________________________________________

Eun-seol was sucked into a distant swamp where time and space were forgotten.

A suffocating feeling of being submerged up to her neck in a hot bath.

Eun-seol struggled to get out of the black water.

An indescribable force was pulling her in, but she couldn’t be consumed like this. She didn’t want to die.

At that moment, the world seemed to explode and her eyes flashed white.

And what appeared before her was the back of a woman with beautiful, elastic long hair.

It was definitely someone she had never seen before, but somehow it didn’t feel unfamiliar.

‘Mom…?’

She moved her lips instinctively.

The woman, who looked just like Eun-seol, turned halfway and smiled faintly. It was a vague smile where joy and sadness coexisted.

‘It’s Mom.’

It was the moment when a strong conviction flashed through her mind.

‘Seol-ah.’

The owner of the low voice was Bong-cheol. He appeared out of nowhere, smiling kindly and looking down at Eun-seol.

‘Grandpa is leaving now.’

‘Where are you going?’

‘I have to go.’

‘I want to go too!’

It was the moment Eun-seol raised her body. The black water created small splashes and pulled on her right foot. She couldn’t move, as if she had fallen into a deep mudflat.

Bong-cheol made a threatening expression, saying, “Where do you think you’re going?” and headed towards Mom.

‘Grandpa—!’

Eun-seol shouted with all her might. Dad, who had appeared out of nowhere, wrapped his arm around Bong-cheol’s shoulder. On the other side, Mom was holding his hand.

The three people were gradually moving away.

‘Take me too! Why only me? Why again, why… do you keep leaving only me behind?! I don’t want to—! I don’t want to anymore—!’

Eun-seol cried out. Her voice was scattered before it could reach her family.

The three people faded away, and Eun-seol sobbed. When black despair rushed in at her powerlessness,

She opened her eyes wide at a vibration that seemed to collapse the world.

“Hah… hah…”

Eun-seol gasped for breath and reached out her hand. She groped for the phone on the bedside table.

[Aunt Hee-sook]

Eun-seol’s spine chilled as she checked the caller. The damp sweat instantly cooled and a chill ran through her.

Eun-seol swiped the green phone icon with a trembling hand.

—Eun-seol…

It was the moment her heart sank again at Hee-sook’s wet voice.

—The director… sob, has passed away.

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