Golden Time

s.h.i.+n only took care of their check-ups while Suhyuk not only proceeded with the check-ups but also had them take an X-ray.

This time he came back to the room after he took an X-ray.

X-ray shots were hung on a small viewer, and Suhyuk looked at the neck part carefully.

The patient was there due to pain in his neck.

He supposed that the patient’s neck bone was bent, but it was not, fortunately.

With a smile, Suhyuk turned his eyes to the old man, saying,

“What are you doing for a living, sir?”

“Well, farming on the field.”

There were fields here and there on the island, though they were not large.

“Are you working with your head down a lot?”

“Yes, because I have to use a pickaxe.”

Suhyuk shook his head.

The pain in his neck was one which meant he could not lift his head for a long time.

“If you look at this...”

Suhyuk pointed toward the X-ray shot.

“You see the neck bone here is curved. If this gets straightened, you experience a neck disc.”

“Disc? That’s not good, right?”

Suhyuk shook his head, replying,

“If you don’t want it, you have to stretch your body while working.”

Then Suhyuk stood up, asking him to follow his stretching.

Suhyuk pulled the other side of his shoulder with his right hand. Then he turned his head to the left.

“You have to loosen up your neck like this.”

The old man nodded his head, following his actions.

“Let me give you some muscle injections.”

Every time a needle touched his neck, he made a slight frown.

He felt it much more stinging and stiffening than the shots he usually got on his a.s.s.

“As I had shots administered, do you think my neck can get better?”

“Sure, very soon.”

“What about medication?”

“You don’t have to take any. Just stretching will do.”

During the morning Suhyuk saw patients without letup.

That was the same situation for s.h.i.+n and Choi.

Soon the morning pa.s.sed quickly, and lunch time came.

Now the clinic was empty because all the patients in the morning were gone after their check-ups.

“Have lunch first!”

At Choi’s voice outside the clinic, s.h.i.+n and Suhyuk headed to the break area.

It was narrow.

Choi took out some side dishes from the refrigerator, and added her own food to the table.

s.h.i.+n looked at Choi, narrowing his eyes.

“Oh, a meat side dish?”

“I made it yesterday.”

“You didn’t do this before...”

Choi scooped rice in a bowl and gave it to him.

“Please eat it.”

Then she, looking at Suhyuk, served rice in a bowl and pressed it with even more.

“Please eat a lot.”

“Oh, it’s too much...”

“As lots of patients want to see you, you have to eat a lot for stamina!”

At her smile, Suhyuk could not refuse it.

Three of them began eating like that in a merry mood.

—–

The waves. .h.i.t the steep cliffs.

The foam scattered and produced a spectacular view.

There were some people throwing a fis.h.i.+ng pole over it.

They were a couple who looked to be in their late 20s.

It looked like they were here for travel.

“Honey, do you really know how to slice raw fish?”

When the straight-haired lady named Jinhee asked in a tw.a.n.ky voice, Lee Mujin holding the pole said with confidence, “Sure. I heard that this is the spot that attracts lots of parrotfish. Wait a minute, honey.”

“Okay, then. I look forward to it!”

Then Jinhee’s head turned to the side suddenly.

It was a road leading to the foot of the island.

“Why isn’t she coming yet? I’m so thirsty.”

The lady who came here with her boyfriend and her friends went out to buy ramen and bottled water, but she had not yet returned.

Jinhee asked her boyfriend, fanning herself with her hand,

“Honey, do you know when she went down there?”

“About 30 minutes ago? Looks like she will be late for her date...”

Then Mujin pulled hard on a fis.h.i.+ng rod when he felt something heavy on his palm.

“Hey, it looks like a big fish. Wait a moment. Let me catch it right away.”

At that moment his body became fixed like a stone statue.

A lady could be seen falling into the sea, scattering her hair in the distance, as if she was falling from a cliff.

Jinhee’s screaming voice broke out.

Obviously it was Minji, her friend, falling into the sea, who went out to buy ramen and bottled water.

Her brown hair and clothes all showed it was she.

“Minji!”

A man’s voice coming from somewhere was echoing through the area.

Both of them hurriedly went down the hill.

In the meantime Minji was floundering in the sea.

Her head was bobbing up and down in the sea repeatedly as if she could not swim.

Coming down to the seaside, Jinhee and Mujin were just at a loss, not knowing what to do.

“Honey, just do something to save her!”

At Jinhee’s pressing, Mujin hesitantly jumped into the sea.

Like someone who learnt swimming systemically, he swam his way toward her bravely.

It looked as if he could reach her quickly who was now floundering in the sea.

At that moment Minji, who was struggling to poke her face out of the water, went into the sea but did not come back up. Mujin swam even faster to get to her.

Arriving at the spot he saw her, he looked around and then submerged into the sea.

How long pa.s.sed?

Watching him anxiously, Jinhee’s eyes became open wide, for her boyfriend came out of the water.

And he came out not alone, but also with Minji.

Hukk. Hukk.

Taking her out of the water, Mujin was letting out a rough breath.

“Minji! Minji! Come to your senses!”

Jinhee tapped her cheek, but she did not open her eyes.

“Step aside,” said Mujin.

He took his ear to her mouth. She was not breathing.

“She isn’t breathing!”

Suddenly Mujin applied CPR, and pounded on her chest several times.

It was typical CPR.

Though it was not professional, he kept on applying CPR.

But she showed no reaction.

“Minji! Open your eyes!”

Then another man’s voice was heard. A man with a strong build who was her boyfriend, Yonggyu.

“Brother, what happened?”

At Jinhee’s crying voice Yonggyu came up as if he was absent-minded.

“Minji...”

Though Mujin kept applying CPR, she did not move one bit .

“What happened?”

At Jinhee’s screaming, Yonggyu made a blank expression.

“She made a false step... We need to take her to the hospital right now.”

He tried to raise Minji who was unconscious, but Mujin stopped him, saying,

“Hey, move back! We need to get her to breathe first!”

Again CPR was applied.

At that moment.

Cough, cough!

Suddenly sea water came out her mouth along with a cough, from her who had shown no reaction until a moment ago.

“Come to your senses! Minji!”

Mujin patted her on the shoulder lightly, but she still had no consciousness.

Fortunately, she was able to breathe.

“Hey, carry her on your back!”

At Mujin’s order, Yonggyu carried her on his back.

Carried on her boyfriend’s back, her body was drooping down.

***

As soon as the lunch time was over, the people began gathering again at the clinic.

Suhyuk went back and forth to the X-ray room and injection room alternately.

When he was sorting out the patients’ files, he heard some noise outside.

“Please save this woman!”

Those waiting for their medical check-ups turned their eyes to the entrance.

Yonggyu was entering, with Minji on his back.

Choi at the reception desk approached him quickly, and so did s.h.i.+n.

Suhyuk asked urgently, “Was she hurt?”

“She fell from the cliff right into the sea.”

“This way.”

Guiding them into the checkup room, he lay Minji on the bed.

Choi alternately looked at Suhyuk and the patient, while s.h.i.+n was standing in the back.

s.h.i.+n trusted Suhyuk who was now confirming the patient’s breath.

Mujin opened his mouth,

“I applied CPR as she wasn’t breathing.”

“Good job.”

Suhyuk took out a penlight from the pocket in his gown and lifted her eyelids.

When the penlight illuminated her pupil, it shrunk visibly within no time.

“What is the patient’s name?”

Jinhee answered, “Park Minji.”

Nodding his head slowly, Suhyuk cast a suspicious look.

Obviously she had consciousness.

Has the multiple shock mentality weakened?

No, because her reaction was too immediate.

Her cheekbone was swelled up red.

Was she hurt while falling into the sea? That was impossible because she had no abrasion.

“As she can get burnout, let me inject a sap first.”

“Do you think she will be alright?”

At Jinhee’s asking, Suhyuk nodded his head, saying,

“I don’t think she has a big problem, but...”

He looked at Mijin quietly, who was closing her eyes.

“Let me take all the possible tests for her.”

He then pushed the bed into the X-ray room.

“Guardians, please wait outside.”

Suhyuk took a shot of her body very carefully from head to toe.

And he did not go out after the shot.

He checked the picture inside.

Fortunately her body was not hurt, except a fracture in her cheekbone.

Looking at the picture, he headed to her on the bed.

Turning off the viewer, he approached her and opened his mouth,

“You have a fracture in your cheekbone.”

If somebody had seen it, he might have misunderstood.

For he was talking to the unconscious patient.

But Suhyuk was full of confidence.

“You must be feeling a lot of pain...”

Looking at her, he opened his mouth again,

“Why are you still lying down?”

At that moment her eyes opened silently.