BC | Chapter 2

The taxi driver continued to boast about his daughter without pausing.

“So, about the fortune-cleansing ritual? To do that, you need a profession that endures hardship, you see. Oh, really. That’s the nature of being a parent. When someone says something bad about me, I can just brush it off and forget about it. But when it’s about my child’s fortune, I can’t help but worry so much.”

A faint voice once again echoed in Beom-woo’s mind.

“My mother had my fortune read, and she said that to avoid bad influences, I needed to have a profession that endures hardship. That’s why I came to med school.”

He vaguely recalled that someone had told him that with such harmful influences, he could become a police officer or a soldier, while another person had said that among all professions, doctors deal with the most blood.

What was her name? It was something round and pleasant-sounding, wasn’t it?

It wasn’t just the name that was hazy. Her face was also just on the edge of his memory. After all, he must have had quite a few juniors pass through.

Despite this, Beom-woo couldn’t understand why he was so absorbed in trying to recall the name and face that eluded him. He furrowed his brow in confusion.

Meanwhile, the taxi stopped at a traffic signal near the hospital. In the middle of the intersection stood a large Christmas tree decorated with red ribbons and light bulbs.

Oh, is tomorrow Christmas?

Beom-woo’s gaze turned to the Bethlehem star shimmering at the top of the tree. It was said that if you made a wish upon that star, it would come true. So, as a child, he would fervently pray with his hands clasped under the Christmas tree that took up one corner of the living room.

“Please let my dad come to visit me this winter break.”

But the Bethlehem star had never granted Beom-woo’s wishes, not even once.

“My daughter used to make a wish every time she saw this Christmas tree at the intersection.”

The fact that the taxi driver spoke in the past tense made Beom-woo uneasy. It might have been a defense mechanism to erase the melancholic memories of his childhood.

“So, what does your daughter do now?”

Beom-woo asked the question indirectly.

“Oh, so my daughter, you see, was exceptional in her studies. She studied diligently without complaint and eventually got into med school with no trouble. But,”

“She got into med school?” The image of the round name once again stirred in his mind.

“But?”

The taxi had now passed the traffic signal at the intersection and was heading towards the hospital. The city, still not fully bright, was shrouded in twilight.

“In the end, she gave up on becoming a doctor.”

The taxi driver, who had been fervently boasting about his daughter, replied in a somewhat melancholy tone and fell silent for a moment. Beom-woo also felt it was awkward to probe further and remained silent.

“You’re curious, aren’t you? About what my daughter is doing now.”

The taxi driver’s wrinkled eyes, glancing briefly at the rearview mirror, were filled with a playful smile. Although the driver’s manner was a bit confusing, Beom-woo nodded and responded willingly.

“Yes, I’m curious.”

Normally, it would have been excessive interest for someone Beom-woo didn’t know at all.

Well, it is Christmas Eve today.

“She left med school and went back to study computer engineering. So I thought she might become an engineer. But, well, look at that.”

The taxi driver pointed at a vertical banner hanging from a streetlamp and laughed. The banner read, “Next-Generation Media Artist Exhibition.” The banners hanging from each streetlamp fluttered in unison, like flags celebrating the triumph of a great general.

“My daughter is doing that. It’s a combination of technology and art, a real craft!”

The taxi driver emphasized the word “craft” with extra enthusiasm.

“You have a wonderful daughter.”

 

“Wonderful? Well, actually, art doesn’t make much money, you know. Between going back to school and preparing for exhibitions… it’s all been quite hectic. Oh, right! You work at Blue Korea Hospital, don’t you?”

“Yes”

Even though Beom-woo answered briefly, the taxi driver burst into laughter.

“That banner over there is for an exhibition starting next February. From today until the first week of January, there’s a special exhibition for pediatric patients at the Blue Korea Hospital.”

It seems that the taxi driver had intended to tell this story from the moment Beom-woo first got into the car.

“I think I heard something about it. They’re preparing something in the pediatric ward for Christmas.”

The taxi driver nodded vigorously in response to Beom-woo’s reply. Meanwhile, the taxi came to a stop in front of the main entrance of the Heart and Vascular Center building.

“You’re getting to work early. It’s not even 7 a.m. yet.”

The taxi driver, processing the payment with Beom-woo’s credit card, said sympathetically, “You’re working early. It’s not even 7 a.m. yet.”

“I have a surgery early in the morning.”

The taxi driver, handing the credit card back to Beom-woo in the back seat, suddenly turned to look at him.

“Oh my goodness! I didn’t recognize you in the dark of the car! Dr. Jeong Beom-woo, right? You’re the son of Dr. Jeong Min-sik, the Asian Schweitzer! I saw your face on the banner on the overpass. You look even better in person!”

The taxi driver was full of energy from the morning. Beom-woo merely smiled faintly in response.

After politely thanking the driver, Beom-woo stepped out of the taxi, but then the passenger-side window rolled down.

“Doctor! If you have time, please come check out my daughter’s exhibition!”

The taxi driver, leaning his head toward Beom-woo, was beaming with a bright smile. His immense pride in his child was evident. The unexpected display of cheerful fatherly love, encountered in such a random place, gently tugged at Beom-woo’s emotions.

Why am I feeling like this? I’m not a child.

The fatherly love the taxi driver displayed carried such warm sincerity. Beom-woo clenched his lips, trying not to be swayed.

“If I have time, I’ll stop by,” Beom-woo said.

“Merry Christmas!”

At the lively greeting from the elderly man, Beom-woo couldn’t help but let out a small laugh. The taxi driver’s smile, filled with affection for his daughter, was so vivid that it seemed as if it would imprint itself on Beom-woo’s retina.

However, as Beom-woo elegantly made his way toward the hospital, his face quickly hardened once again.

A surgery was scheduled for 8 a.m. There is no such thing as an unimportant surgery. However, there are surgeries that are a bit more challenging.

Beom-woo stood in front of the self-service kiosk in the lobby café out of habit.

“Hello, Doctor! An espresso doppio and a room-temperature bottled water, right?”

The staff member greeted Beom-woo with a smile, recognizing him.

“Yes, that’s right.”

Polite yet cold, Beom-woo’s response prompted the staff to give a business like smile in return. While the employee prepared the espresso, Beom-woo’s deep, introspective gaze shifted to the standing sign next to the self-service kiosk.

 

A Christmas Village is coming to Blue Korea Hospital!

Join us at the auditorium on the 1st floor of the Pediatric Ward!

Exhibition Planner: Jang Ha-jeong

Participating Artists: Kang Gi-won, Song Jun-young, Lee Yoo-eun…

Lee Yoo-eun? Those three syllables, evoking a soft and round image, instantly grabbed Beom-woo’s attention.

He remembered now—those soft, round syllables. Lee Yoo-eun!

The intern who fled, covered in blood. Yes, it was her.

Beom-woo let out a faint, incredulous laugh at the sudden vivid memory, then he recalled the story the taxi driver had told him earlier.

A daughter who had entered medical school because of her fortune reading, but quit midway. And now, someone exhibiting artwork here. It didn’t seem likely there would be two people like that.

What? You were the taxi driver’s daughter?

Beom-woo couldn’t help but chuckle in disbelief. Though he usually didn’t laugh easily, today his usually stern expression frequently softened into a smile.

At 8 a.m., just as the CABG1 surgery was finishing, a patient who had collapsed due to an aneurysm was transferred in. As they cleaned out debris from the contaminated vessels and replaced them with shiny synthetic ones, evening arrived.

Due to the shorter days, it was already dark outside the office window before 6 p.m. Once again, Beom-woo didn’t get to see the sun high in the sky.

“Hey, you don’t have any more surgeries, right? Let’s go check out the pediatric ward. I heard the exhibition planner is crazy.”

Bursting into the office and speaking frivolously was Shin Seong-heon, the pediatric cardiologist and lead surgeon.

“Why is the planner said to be crazy? What happened?”

Beom-woo furrowed his brow slightly as he asked. He couldn’t even begin to imagine what might happen if someone planning an exhibition for pediatric patients on Christmas Eve were to go crazy.

“They say the face is crazy. Absolutely beautiful.”

After finishing two challenging surgeries and taking a moment to catch his breath, Seong-heon managed to drag Beom-woo to the pediatric ward. During the intense focus on the surgeries, the memory of the junior with the round name had slipped from his mind.

“Who could be the exhibition planner?”

Seong-heon hummed rhythmically to himself while putting his hands in his gown pockets. For some reason, this Christmas, he was spending it alone, unlike his usual pattern of changing girlfriends. Perhaps that’s why there was a twinkle in his eyes as he looked at the exhibition space set up in the auditorium on the first floor of the pediatric ward.

The auditorium resembled a massive white cube. The floor was covered with white carpeting, and the walls on all sides were draped with white fabric. It seemed there were more projectors installed on the ceiling than usual for an event.

Santa clause is coming to town.

As lively Christmas carol rhythms began to play from somewhere, the surroundings gradually took on the hue of a dark, starry night.

“Hey, look over there!”

Seong-heon, excited like a child, pointed to the back wall.

It was as if a sleigh, pulled by Rudolph from afar and driven by Santa, was rushing toward them. Overhead, the shadow of eight reindeer and the enormous sleigh swiftly passed by, as if Santa’s sleigh was flying overhead. Then, right in front, Santa’s figure magically appeared.

“Wow!”

The children in patient gowns exclaimed in awe. Even Beom-woo, who usually wasn’t moved by art, felt his heart flutter a bit. To the thumping drumbeats, the kids clapped their hands along with the rhythm.

The round name that came to mind floated above the bright red sack Santa was carrying.

Artist Lee Yoo-eun

The visitors’ attention was fixed on Santa Claus, who was filling the sack with gifts with the help of Christmas fairies. Beom-woo, glancing around unconsciously, found his gaze drawn to the lower part of the right wall.

A woman with bleached pink hair was deftly handling the sound equipment and scanning the exhibition hall. It was definitely the intern, Lee Yoo-eun.

 

 

Got it! Here’s a note on the abbreviation:

1) CABG (Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting), also known as coronary artery bypass surgery.