"Just relax a bit for a moment, Mom," Dong-joo advised while he took the blood pressure of Mrs Kang, whom by now has been transferred to one of the few number of shared in-patient wards in the hospital. She was naturally rather nervous because it was not every day that she got to be attended to by his only son in the role of her doctor. Fortunately, with Dr Yoon by their side offering an assuring smile, she easily produced a calming effect on Mrs Kang's nerves, perhaps due to the fact that they were both women and were connected to Dong-joo...
"101/58...Pulse rate 85...Everything sounds good, Mom," he said while Dr Yoon took down the readings on her chart.
"Thank you," Mrs Kang expressed awkwardly and both Dong-joo and Dr Yoon smiled.
"Oh dear...Oh dear, even Ma'am had already said thanks to you...What should you be doing in return?" Dr Yoon cued and teased Dong-joo to make his mom feel more comfortable under their care...
A little slow to respond at first, he then nodded in embarrassment before figuring out her message and turning to Mrs Kang, "Oh yes! Thanks very much, Mom,...for your kimchi and "Dong-joo's dumplings"...brought all the way here..."
"Err...Huh?" Mrs Kang was very much surprised upon hearing so. Then, a tacit gaze from Dr Yoon seemed to clarify that she had already reveal to Dong-joo about Mrs Kang's purpose in travelling dozens of miles from her home in another town just so they could enjoy the specialty food she had prepared for them. Mrs Kang had dizzily told Dr Yoon when she met and asked her the seconds before she passed out at the bus-stop earlier that day.
"You know, Ma'am stood carrying this 15kg of your favourites while she waited for the bus for more than an hour under the sizzling midday sun and heat wave today...You should be grateful that she is alright now," Dr Yoon lectured and nagged Dong-joo in front of Mrs Kang, who was beginning to feel a little bashful and uneasy at how Dr Yoon spoke positively about her...
"It's okay, I'm fine now," Mrs Kang smiled.
Dr Yoon then said, "We're more than relieved now, Ma'am...Your meals, fluid and salts needs will be well taken care of here now that you 're staying in this ward. For the best, you will have to avoid alcohol and high-sugar drinks for at least a few days, alright?"
Mrs Kang nodded and could not agree more...The three of them then continued to have a brief light chat before the pair left the ward for Mrs Kang to have her good night rest, yet not without overhearing a few other in-patients in the ward praising what a blessing it was for Mrs Kang to have her own son and Dr Yoon as her attending doctors...
Over at the shared office station of our Doldam's doctors, Yeon-hwa was just waking up from her flash nap at her desk...Stretching her arms and relaxing her shoulders, she was grateful for her much-needed time-out after working for more than 6 hours straight at the emergency department during the day. Preparing for the likelihood of more work, she willed herself to be alert again, only to notice a thing that was previously not supposed to be on her table...
She cautiously grabbed hold of a steaming hot cup of macchiato that was not empty as she had first thought but was actually filled almost to the brim. She vaguely recalled that she had already finished her second cup of iced coffee of the day more than three hours ago...Moreover, she caught sight of a round piece of note that was placed hidden under the cup with a handwritten "Thanks!" Yeon-hwa swallowed hard in surprise...
In the following second, Dong-joo and Seo-jeong came walking into the office...
"What's the matter, Yeon-hwa? You look like you've just seen a ghost," sharp-minded Seo-jeong remarked as she stole a glance at the startled girl.
Yeon-hwa was somewhat at a lost for words...When Seo-jeong dismissed her casual observation and thanked Yeon-hwa for helping out at the emergency that day, the latter quickly inquired if they had kindly bought her that jumbo-sized macchiato.
They both shook their heads, and thus began a round of Yeon-hwa's suspicion and worry...
