Golden Time

Chapter 101

The ginseng chicken soup restaurant was crowded with customers.

Such a big crowd made them realize why it was a famous place to eat.

Although crowded, seeing as it was past lunchtime, they were able to find an empty table.

“Welcome. How many are you?”

Lee Mansuk replied to the employee’s asking,

“Five.”

“Right now we’ve only got an empty room. Is it okay?”

Lee asked, looking at Suhyuk’s parents.

Waving her hands, Suhyuk’s mother said,

“Professor, it doesn’t matter to us.”

Nodding his head, Lee said to the employee,

“Escort us to the best room, please.”

“It’s all the same, sir.”

The employee escorted them to the room.

It was quite s.p.a.cious, but narrow at the same time.

Out of the five tabes, there was only one table left.

Suhyuk’s parents were seated at one side of the table, while Kim and Lee on the other.

Suhyuk took a seat between them at the head of the table.

After placing an order, Kim, who was holding a water cup, looked at Lee.

Was it a coincidence?

He could not help but shake his head.

He felt as if he was being watched.

When he was thinking about it, Lee said with a pleasant smile,

“You have a very good son. Other doctors feel jealous about Dr. Lee Suhyuk because he works so wonderfully.”

Satisfactory smiles were plastered all over Suhyuk’s parents’ faces.

His father opened his mouth, “Looks like he has become what he is now thanks to your great guidance, though he still has a long way to go. Thank you.”

Kim shook his head, replying, “No, we didn’t do anything for him at all, so we even feel sorry.”

The couple smiled at Suhyuk. They felt so proud of him.

Lee Mansuk kept praising him, and so did Kim.

Soon ginseng chicken soup was served, and they began to eat.

Suhyuk’s mother took out a rear chicken leg and gave it to Suhyuk.

“Try this, Suhyuk.”

“Oh, I’ve got one here. Please try it yourself, mom.”

“I can’t have all this. You have to eat a lot and get more strength since you work until very late every day.”

Lee Mansuk agreed and nodded his head.

She asked, “Can you change the department where you work if you wanted to?”

With a perplexed look, Suhyuk was about to open his mouth, but at that moment, Lee Mansuk spoke first, “Of course he could. I can guarantee that he leaves the office on time if he comes to the neurosurgery department.”

Kim Jinwook intervened then, “I can guarantee that at my department too.”

The two professors kept saying sweet words to Suhyuk’s parents.

Because Suhyuk let what they said go in one ear and out the other, they decided to turn to other methods to persuade him. They could not miss the opportunity in front of them.

While they were competing to curry favor with his parents, Suhyuk began eating, shaking his head.

At the counter Lee Mansuk took out his wallet. When he was about to take it out, Kim came up and said, “Let me pay this time.”

Lee Mansuk quickly presented his credit card to the owner at the counter.

“I just want to pay, Prof. Kim.”

“Actually I am indebted to Suhyuk’s parents for what they did to me before. Let me pay,” said Kim.

Kim had nothing like that, of course, but he wanted to get credit from them anyway.

“Don’t you think it’s a bit weird to repay your indebtedness by serving ginseng chicken soup. Let me pay this time, so you can buy them nice food at a decent place.”

“No, let me just pay this time,” said Kim.

The owner showed a bewildered expression, looking at the two credit cards.

“Who wants to pay then?”

The two replied at the same time. “Use my card, please.” “No, use mine!”

Then Suhyuk’s father came out of the room and said, “It’s on me.”

When he gave cash, the owner took it without hesitation.

Lee and Kim made a bitter expression, blaming each other.

After paying, they came out of the restaurant.

With a pleasant smile Lee Mansuk said, “This is my business card. If you don’t feel well in the future, please contact me immediately. I’ll take care of you. See you next time then.”

Kim said the same thing, and looked at Suhyuk.

“You’re going back to the hospital, right?”

Suhyuk shook his head, saying, “I’m going to go home.”

He got a text message from Prof. Han Myungjin that he could take a break until tomorrow.

Han thought Suhyuk needed some rest.

No matter how much he told Suhyuk not to, Suhyuk worked until the daybreak.

And this time he spent as many as 25 hours partic.i.p.ating in the surgery.

Suhyuk did not refuse Han’s instruction.

He would reject such an instruction on his usual days, but this time he wanted to go home with his parents.

“Goodbye then!”

Soon Lee Mansuk and Kim Jinwook moved towards their destination.

The two did not say anything to each other, and headed for the hospital.

“Are they on such bad terms?” asked Suhyuk’s mother tilting her head.

Suhyuk could not help but smile bitterly.

—–

When he entered the door, there was a smile spreading on Suhyuk’s face naturally.

How long had it been since he last visited here?

He felt so good about being at home.

“Son, give me the gown and go wash quickly.”

Handing her the gown, he took a shower right away.

He cleaned his body carefully to wipe off any possible pathogens.

He could not leave behind any pathogens at his parents’ house.

“Are you not hungry?”

Suhyuk shook his head with a smile. It’s only been two hours since he ate ginseng chicken soup.

“Can I cut some fruits for you?”

At his father’s asking, Suhyuk went into his room, replying with a no.

It was clean, as if they cleaned the room every day.

While touching his own stuff, he lay on the bed.

His eyes automatically closed when he felt the softness of the bed.

***

The voice of his father calling someone in the living room came into his ears.

“Yeah, the university hospital is really good. How much was the bill? Of course, it’s free! You know my son is a doctor there. And do you how much the professors there praise Suhyuk…”

Suhyuk formed a slight smile on his face, and the sunlight coming through the window was warm. Suhyuk fell asleep before he knew it. How long did he sleep for?

Suhyuk’s mother came into his room to find her son sound asleep.

“Son, it’s time for dinner.”

He showed no sign of waking up as if he was in a deep sleep, and just hugged the blankets tight.

“Suhyuk, dinner time…”

“Just let him sleep. If he gets hungry, he will get up on his own accord.”

At her husband’s words, she closed the door silently after looking at him.

His father, watching TV, stood up.

“Where are you going?”

“For a walk outside. Do you want to join me?”

“Are you sure?”

So, the couple moved to the door.

“What did Suhyuk like?”

“Honey, don’t you know what he likes?”

“Give me some tips now.”

“Are you going out buy Suhyuk’s food, not for a walk now?”

“No more talk, honey.”

—–

Suhyuk, who slept like a log, opened his eyes slowly.

He confirmed the time by checking his cell phone.

It was just past nine in the morning.

Rising from the bed, Suhyuk scratched his head.

It was a long sleep. He felt that he went to sleep before evening, and he woke up only now.

He surely must have been very tired. Thanks to a sound sleep, he felt great now.

He went to the living room, and n.o.body was there.

Instead there was a set of foods on the dining table covered by a piece of paper.

They went out for work.

Suhyuk read over the note left there.

With a smile Suhyuk removed the paper covering the table.

Spicy soup, vegetable noodles and rolled omelet, his favorite.

‘I wish she just went out without preparing all this.’

Suhyuk moved to the kitchen sink to heat the soup.

At that moment he heard the strange voice of a man. Did he hear wrong?

“Don’t approach me!”

He did not hear wrong. He heard a series of foul words from the man.

He went into his room, and found the origin of the noise was outside the window.

Was there a fight outside?

He opened the window to look outside.

Suhyuk’s eyes became wider.

A middle-age man holding a knife was taking a woman in her early 20s as hostage.

Those men confronting face to face with him were shouting,

“Let go of the knife, b.a.s.t.a.r.d!”

“If she gets hurt while you’re holding her like that, don’t you know it will only add your jail terms?”

Looks like the men confronting him were detectives.

“I told you to get out of my sight quickly before she gets hurt!!”

A crowd began gathering at the place.

The situation really looked dangerous.

Suhyuk recognized it was even more dangerous than people might have thought. The middle-aged man’s forearm was pressing the woman’s neck very hard.

Her darkening face, who was trembling with fear, indicated a danger sign of going unconscious.

Then, the woman, squeezed hard against his chest, let out a feigned cough.

And soon she fell like a limp noodle.

“d.a.m.n it!”

Dragging her limp body, the man began to step back and then ran away.

“Catch him!”

The detectives began to chase him quickly, and one detective that was left behind called 911 urgently.

Bang!

Closing the door, Suhyuk went out of the house immediately.

Already there was a large crowd in the alley, and Suhyuk elbowed his way into the throng.

Approaching her quickly, Suhyuk asked the detective putting his ear to her lips.

“How is her condition?”

The detective answered without realising, “she doesn’t seem to be breathing.”

“Please step aside.”

Suhyuk pushed the detective to the side.

Squatting down, the detective looked at him blankly. A man going around with just his bare feet.

“Who are you?”

“I’m a doctor.”

Replying shortly, he lifted up her eyelids. As expected, there was no reaction.

He quickly checked to see if she was breathing. As the detective said, she was not breathing.

Suhyuk applied CPR without any hesitation.

One, two, three…

Locking his arms together, he applied CPR. Whenever he did that, her chest went up and down repeatedly. He then blew air into her mouth. Still no reaction.

Nonetheless, Suhyuk did not give up. He was applying CPR without saying anything.

Soon his forehead formed beads of sweat. One, two…

Then he felt something strange on her chest while he was applying CPR. He knitted his brows.

Her ribs were broken as a result of the CPR. Still, he had no intention of stopping.