Dr. Taesoo Choi

To be honest, Tae-su didn’t want to say a word. However, at this moment, he was the only person left for the old man.
All he could think of was continuing to talk and keep the old man’s consciousness intact.
The old man asked Tae-su,
“Do you remember Hippocrates’… oath?”
“Why do you ask that?”
“I just… want to hear it.”
A small sense of longing appeared in the old man’s eyes.
“I’ll do it later. Maybe a hundred times should be enough?”
“It has to be now…”
“Is it hard?”
It was a request from someone facing death.
No, if there was any chance of survival, Tae-su knew he had to buy time.
The old man would undoubtedly hold on to life to hear the words he wanted.
Tae-su slowly opened his mouth.
Soon, his solemn recitation of the Hippocratic Oath echoed through the quiet forest.

“I now receive permission to practice medicine, and I solemnly pledge to dedicate my life to the service of humanity.
I will respect and thank my teachers.
I will practice medicine with conscience and dignity.
I will prioritize the health and life of my patients above all.
I will keep the secrets of my patients, even after their death.
I will maintain the noble traditions and honor of my profession.
I will consider my colleagues as brothers.
I will uphold my duty to my patients, transcending race, religion, nationality, party, or social status.
I will respect human life from the moment of conception.
Even in the face of threat, I will not misuse my knowledge in ways contrary to ethics.
I make this pledge freely and with honor.”

As Tae-su recited the lengthy Hippocratic Oath, the old man’s gaze drifted from Tae-su and up to the sky.
‘Is someone up there?’
No answer came.
But the old man’s inner muttering continued.
‘I’m also terrified… I don’t know who you are, up there. And I never wished for this death…’
After a brief pause, the old man continued to mutter to himself.
‘But still… if it’s your will, I must follow. However, I have one last request.’
As Tae-su neared the end of the Hippocratic Oath, the old man made one final plea to someone above.
‘I hope the little knowledge in my humble mind will continue. And I hope that it will be passed on to this young man. His purity makes me, a dying man, regret so much. Please, let us meet sooner. Just for one day, could you give us that time together? You owe me a great debt. So please, please let this humble knowledge be passed on to this nameless young man. That is my last wish.’
While the old man prayed earnestly to the heavens,
Tae-su finished reciting the Hippocratic Oath.
“Did you hear that?”
“Your voice… is nice.”
The old man rambled on, and Tae-su quietly asked,
“Why did you want me to recite it?”
“It was my beginning… and my end.”
“…”
Tae-su fell silent.
He had already suspected the old man was a doctor.
But hearing it spoken like this, he couldn’t bring himself to say anything more.
Then the old man spoke in an even quieter voice.
“My hands… the ring.”
He weakly lifted his hand, and his fingertips trembled.
Tae-su quickly took the old man’s hand and examined it, spotting a ring.
The old man continued.
“Can you deliver it to my wife?”
“Where do you live?”
“You’ll find me… someone will come to you.”
His brief words conveyed his love for his wife and that he knew everything.
To be honest, Tae-su didn’t think there was any hope.
It had already been 10 minutes since he called 119.
The old man, who had likely gone into shock long ago, was still holding on because Tae-su had been applying pressure to his ruptured liver.
Tae-su understood this, so he nodded without saying anything further.
The old man added one more thing.
“Also… tell her this. Your smile… was everything to me.”
“I will.”
“Ah, I think I’ve said everything now… I’m tired.”
“You still need to keep talking.”
Tae-su tried to urge him, but the old man refused.
“It feels like I’ve been lying here for almost 50 years… I don’t want to get up anymore.”
“You should go home and hold your wife’s hand for your final goodbye.”
“I’ve already said everything to you.”
“I won’t tell her.”
Tae-su insisted, but the old man smiled faintly.
“If you were someone who wouldn’t deliver it… I wouldn’t have said anything.”
“How do you trust me?”
“Your eyes.”
“…”

As Tae-su fell silent, the old man, with a weakening voice, forced himself to speak one last time.
“You’ll become a good doctor… because your eyes… don’t lie.”
“I’m doing it to make money.”
“You will, I made a lot of money too…”
“Is that so?”
As Tae-su gave a bitter smile, the old man slowly lowered his eyelids and spoke his final words.
“I’m going to rest now. Please take care of everything.”
There was no more resisting the inevitable.
Tae-su, who had been anxious and restless, changed his mindset.
He was now here, in the old man’s final moments.
Should he force himself to appear calm?
That wouldn’t be the right approach to someone who was about to take their last breath.
So, what should he show instead?
The answer came surprisingly easily.
For the first time, Tae-su smiled brightly at the old man.
Though tears filled his eyes and blurred his vision, he continued to look at the old man and spoke in a warm voice.
“Safe travels.”
“I’m not in pain anymore… and thank you for talking to me one last time.”
With that, the old man closed his eyes, and his faintly fluttering chest ceased to move.
The old man was no longer a part of this world.
Tae-su, who had been pressing on the old man’s liver, slowly pulled his hand away.
The tears that had gathered at the corners of his eyes slowly fell.
There was no sound of sobbing, no sound of holding back tears.
Only the quiet fall of tears.
They had known each other for barely ten minutes, but the feeling in his chest was as if he were saying goodbye to someone he had known for a long time.
Soon, Tae-su collapsed against the old man’s body.
“Ugh… ugh.”
It sounded like he was trying to hold back his tears, but soon they burst forth.
“Ughh!”
It was a scream that was neither a cry nor a wail.
The agony of being unable to do anything as a doctor.
The compassion as a fellow human being.
It was a cry tangled with everything.
As Tae-su screamed, something quietly left the old man’s heart and headed toward Tae-su.
It was invisible, and he couldn’t feel it.
Only Tae-su’s cries filled the forest.

The paramedics arrived just as Tae-su’s tears had stopped flowing.
Upon arrival, they immediately checked the old man’s condition.
There were no words exchanged.
“Thank you for your efforts.”
That was all.
As the paramedics handled the body, Tae-su was in a somewhat dazed state.
The shock of witnessing death up close was overwhelming.
He might have been used to seeing death in the hospital, but the shock of losing the first life entrusted to him was almost unbearable.
However, Tae-su didn’t leave the spot.
He had been the one to stay with the old man in his final moments, and there were procedures to follow afterward.
Tae-su, understanding this, stayed with the paramedics as they moved the body.
After descending the mountain, Tae-su and the paramedics got into the ambulance and headed to the nearest general hospital emergency room.
The ambulance ride was filled with nothing but silence.
Tae-su, with an indifferent look, stared at the old man, his head covered in a white cloth.
Is this how it all ends for a person?
No matter how hard you live, does it all end with death?
The concept of life and death stirred great confusion in his mind.
How much time passed, he couldn’t tell.

Screech!
The ambulance stopped and then reversed.
As he realized they were trying to pull up to the emergency room entrance, Tae-su snapped out of his thoughts.
“Let’s just leave it for now.”
Muttering to himself, Tae-su pushed his thoughts away.
He didn’t want to keep unsettling his heart with questions that would lead to no answers.
When they arrived at the emergency room, the attending physician approached them.