Knock, knock. There was a sound at the hospital room door.
A moment later, the door opened and Secretary Kim came in. He was holding a large leather bag.
“Secretary Kim. You got here fast.”
Lee Donghyeon was pleased.
He had resolved to live differently from now on. The first step was to express his gratitude to Secretary Kim, who had put up with his temper for years while taking care of him.
Secretary Kim lifted the leather bag and grinned.
“I went to the Seoul office and brought some black tea. It’s Fortnum & Mason’s Royal Blend, the one you like.”
“Oh, I was just craving black tea. Good job. Very good, Secretary Kim.”
At Lee Donghyeon’s response, Secretary Kim flinched, then quickly recovered his expression.
Secretary Kim placed the large leather bag on the table and opened it wide. Inside, elegant teacups and black tea were fitted perfectly in place.
With practiced hands, Secretary Kim set out the teacups, then poured hot water from a thermos and brewed the tea. The fragrance of black tea spread softly through the hospital room.
Lee Donghyeon murmured.
“Secretary Kim, did you know? The reason I started drinking black tea. It was because of my mother. I wanted to get in her good graces somehow, so I studied the black tea she liked and started drinking it too. Well, no matter how many times I did things like that, I never got a word of praise. She only said I was putting on airs... Heh heh. But whatever. Thanks to that, I came to know the taste of black tea and learned to enjoy it...”
Lee Donghyeon gave a faint laugh. From now on, he would no longer make such pointless missteps. Instead, he would spend his energy only on those who treated him with sincerity. Like Secretary Kim, who had always stayed quietly by his side...
“The aroma is really nice.”
“Isn’t it?”
“Thank you, Secretary Kim.”
“...Why are you suddenly saying that?”
“Secretary Kim. Why do you look like that? As if I said something wrong.”
“You don’t usually say things like that.”
Secretary Kim smiled awkwardly as he poured the tea.
Lee Donghyeon sighed and replied.
“I’ve treated you too harshly all this time, haven’t I? I’m sorry.”
“If you change so suddenly...”
“Why? They say if a person changes all of a sudden, he dies. Are you worried that’ll really happen?”
Lee Donghyeon chuckled as he accepted the teacup Secretary Kim handed him.
Secretary Kim watched him with an anxious expression.
Just then, the hospital room door opened and Taeho came in.
“Wait a moment! I heard someone just came in here...”
“Doctor? Welcome. We happen to have some really good black tea. Please try some.”
Taeho calmly swept his eyes over the situation, then took the teacup from Lee Donghyeon’s hand.
Lee Donghyeon looked flustered, then seemed to realize something and jerked his chin toward Secretary Kim.
“Secretary Kim. Pour the doctor a cup too, quickly.”
“Yes? Yes.”
Secretary Kim hurriedly poured black tea into another teacup.
Taeho looked at him and took a small bottle from his pocket.
“And what is your name, Secretary Kim?”
“Ah, I’m Kim Jeongmin.”
“Kim Jeongmin, then. Mr. Kim Jeongmin, do you like chemistry?”
“Pardon? I did study it back in school.”
Listening to Taeho and Secretary Kim’s conversation, Lee Donghyeon said with a smile.
“Doctor, our Secretary Kim may not look it, but he graduated from Hanguk University’s Business Administration Department. Do you know how hard it is to get into the Taeyang Group secretarial office? You practically need a perfect TOEIC score and incredible credentials.”
Taeho sprinkled the clear liquid from the glass bottle into the cup of black tea in his hand and said,
“If you studied well, perhaps you’ve heard of Ligand-K reagent?”
Not only Secretary Kim, but Lee Donghyeon as well stared blankly at Taeho.
Taeho continued.
“If you haven’t, I’ll explain. This Ligand-K reagent reacts to gold. Well, it’s made by refining something that was used long ago when mining gold in gold mines. Look. When it comes into contact with gold like this, it turns fluorescent.”
When Taeho showed them the cup of black tea, the clear red tea could be seen turning fluorescent pink.
The color drained from Secretary Kim’s face.
“Gold usually isn’t said to cause allergies, so people even sprinkle it on food and eat it. But a small number of people are allergic to gold. If such people eat food containing gold components over a long period of time, they gradually begin to develop problems.”
“I’ve never eaten gold.”
Lee Donghyeon asked.
Taeho nodded.
“Not all gold sparkles. Sometimes gold components are included in medicines, such as those for rheumatoid arthritis. They’re colorless and odorless. Drugs like aurothioglucose.”
“Uh, that’s, I mean...”
Secretary Kim’s face had now turned ashen. He breathed rapidly and took a step back.
Taeho opened the door and called out into the hallway.
“You can come in now.”
Two people in police uniforms entered.
One was Sergeant Lee Gyeongmo, who occasionally stopped by Geumsan Clinic, and the other was Lee Gyeongmo’s partner, Officer Park.
“We’re here in response to a report from Geumsan Precinct. Mr. Kim Jeongmin, we are placing you under emergency arrest on suspicion of attempted murder of Mr. Lee Donghyeon.”
“What, what is this!”
When Secretary Kim resisted and shoved his hand away, Sergeant Lee Gyeongmo firmly seized his arm.
“Mr. Kim Jeongmin, please cooperate peacefully. You have the right to remain silent. Also...”
Sergeant Lee Gyeongmo recited the Miranda warning. Since he usually had such an easygoing impression, one would never have guessed it, but when dealing with a criminal, he looked resolute. Once he gripped his arm, Secretary Kim could not move an inch.
Quick to grasp the situation, Secretary Kim soon stopped resisting and submitted quietly to arrest. He had concluded that it would be better to look for another way than to fight back here and now.
Officer Park snapped handcuffs onto Secretary Kim’s wrists.
“Wait. Secretary Kim, why would you?”
Lee Donghyeon’s voice trembled.
Secretary Kim merely turned his head away and gave no answer.
Lee Donghyeon sprang up from his seat, grabbed Secretary Kim by the collar, and roughly pulled him close.
“Secretary Kim. Why did you do it? Why on earth would you do this to me? I trusted you of all people... How could you?”
Secretary Kim shook his head, tears brimming in his eyes.
“Sir. I don’t know anything about this. You don’t believe me?”
For an instant, Lee Donghyeon looked confused and turned to Taeho. In that moment, he wanted to believe Secretary Kim.
With a composed expression, Taeho approached and clasped Secretary Kim’s two hands tightly in his own.
“...?”
Secretary Kim, whose hands had been seized in confusion, violently shook off Taeho’s hands.
But it was already too late.
The Ligand-K reagent on Taeho’s hands had turned Secretary Kim’s two hands fluorescent pink.
By contrast, there was no change at all on Taeho’s hands.
“This is the evidence. Proof that Mr. Kim Jeongmin personally put the drug into the black tea. You should take a photograph.”
Sergeant Lee Gyeongmo quickly took a photo with his cell phone.
Secretary Kim bowed his head deeply, as if resigned.
Sergeant Lee Gyeongmo said to Taeho,
“Then we’ll take him to the precinct.”
“Thank you for your hard work.”
Taeho gave a slight bow.
Once the police dragged Secretary Kim out of the hospital room, only Taeho and Lee Donghyeon remained.
Lee Donghyeon was trembling with betrayal, his fists clenched tight.
Taeho slowly opened his mouth.
“Mr. Lee Donghyeon. Among metal allergies, you are an extremely rare case that reacts only to gold, and even then only to certain organic gold compounds. It doesn’t show up in ordinary blood tests or medical records. In fact, almost no one would know about that constitution of yours.”
“But how did Secretary Kim know that?”
“Have you ever had an allergic reaction after eating a particular food? Or perhaps after dental treatment.”
“Ah, three years ago, I had a crown treatment and the inside of my mouth became completely raw. In the end, they had to remove it all and treat me again...”
“He must have found out then.”
“But I’ve had black tea with Secretary Kim plenty of times.”
“Aurothioglucose is colorless and odorless, and it isn’t a major problem for ordinary people. But for you, it’s no different from poison. He must have added tiny amounts over a long period, so little it wouldn’t be found even in an autopsy.”
At the word autopsy, Lee Donghyeon shuddered.
“I really almost died.”
Lee Donghyeon sank weakly onto the bed.
“But Doctor, how did you know I had a gold allergy?”
“To be honest, I wasn’t certain.”
“Pardon?”
“It was definitely a heavy metal allergic reaction, but to a heavy metal not included in ordinary heavy metal test items. So I thought about what heavy metals would be easy to obtain. Today, the Ligand-K reagent confirmed it.”
Taeho spoke calmly.
“Then how did you know to call the police in advance today?”
“Because I saw this article.”
Taeho pulled up the news on his cell phone.
It was an article stating that Lee Eunhyeon, the heir to Taeyang Group, had been hospitalized at dawn due to a worsening chronic illness.
***
As the sun was beginning to set, in front of Geumsan Super at the three-way intersection.
Gu Yongsan spotted Lee Donghyeon sitting alone on the wooden platform and said a word.
“What’s a young fella like you doin’ sittin’ there with a face like you’re carryin’ the whole world’s troubles?”
“Oh!”
As Lee Donghyeon flusteredly tried to stand, Gu Yongsan waved him down.
“Hey, hey, sit yourself down. Not like you got anywhere to run off to.”
“I’m sorry about what happened last time.”
“That’s enough of that. Why’s your face lookin’ so miserable? You look like a pup that got caught takin’ a dump in the yard.”
Lee Donghyeon stared at Gu Yongsan with a bewildered expression.
“Pardon?”
“Never mind. Just sit tight.”
Gu Yongsan soon went into the store, then came back out with two bottles of makgeolli and some grilled semi-dried squid, spreading them out on the wooden platform with a thump.
“Have a glass of sourish makgeolli with me.”
“...”
When Lee Donghyeon hesitated, Gu Yongsan immediately poured himself a glass and began gulping it down. The refreshing sound of it passing over his throat rang unusually loud in Lee Donghyeon’s ears.
Lee Donghyeon swallowed unconsciously.
Gu Yongsan glanced at him and asked,
“Want a glass?”
“But I’ve never tried makgeolli before...”
“What’s so special about makgeolli? If you can’t drink it, then you learn.”
“Learn?”
“Of course. What good’s a man if he can’t even drink makgeolli?”
Lee Donghyeon hesitated, but in the end accepted a glass. Holding the makgeolli cup carefully in both hands, he cautiously took a sip. The sweet yet tart makgeolli went down smoothly.
“Oh? It’s better than I expected.”
“Then have some more.”
Gu Yongsan grinned broadly and kept pouring him drinks.
The two of them were drinking makgeolli when—
“So this is where you were. I went looking because I heard a patient had disappeared.”
When Taeho approached, Gu Yongsan’s face lit up and he beckoned.
“Director Kang! Come over here and have a glass of makgeolli!”
Taeho smiled and sat down beside Lee Donghyeon.
“Mr. Donghyeon, are you all right? A patient drinking makgeolli?”
“Ah... I’m being discharged tomorrow morning, so I was having a celebratory drink.”
Lee Donghyeon sheepishly scratched the back of his head and smiled.
As Gu Yongsan filled Taeho’s cup, he said,
“He must be all better now. For folks like us, if we get sick, it’s Geumsan Clinic, no matter what. No need to even mention Director Kang’s skill, and he’s got a good nature too. A good man.”
“Thank you for thinking so well of me.”
Taeho smiled and accepted the cup.
An hour later, Taeho, Lee Donghyeon, Gu Yongsan, and even Mr. Jang from the butcher shop were sitting around the wooden platform.
The makgeolli had reached fifteen bottles, and the side dishes now included boiled pork that Mr. Jang from the butcher shop had brought, along with tofu kimchi from Geumsan Super.
Everyone’s faces had turned rosy, but Lee Donghyeon in particular was flushed bright red.
Seeming to be in high spirits, Gu Yongsan swirled his makgeolli cup.
“A good day like this is all thanks to Director Kang.”
“Thanks to Director Kang Taeho?”
When Lee Donghyeon asked, Gu Yongsan nodded.
“Of course! If it weren’t for Director Kang, I wouldn’t be sittin’ here drinkin’ makgeolli and laughin’ today! I’d be long dead.”
Mr. Jang from the butcher shop, who was sitting beside them, also chimed in.
“That’s right. I went to every hospital in Seoul and none of ’em could fix me, but Director Kang examined me just once and my back got all better. This man’s hands are pure gold!”
“Really?”
When Lee Donghyeon looked at Mr. Jang in surprise, Mr. Jang slowly nodded.
“Truly. You don’t know just how remarkable our Director Kang is. He’s the kind of man who stays up all night poring over books and can’t even sleep properly, all to save a single patient. Where else do you find a doctor like that these days, right?”
Gu Yongsan continued gently.
“That’s why near half the folks in our village think of Director Kang as their benefactor. That Eco Center or whatever it was, same thing. If not for Director Kang, who knows what would’ve happened to this village by now.”
Lee Donghyeon looked at Taeho with gratitude in his eyes.
“To me as well, Doctor, you’re the person who saved my life.”
“I only did what I should have done.”
Taeho smiled and waved his hand dismissively.
Lee Donghyeon’s eyes grew moist.
“...I’m really happy right now.”
“What’s got you so happy?”
Mr. Jang from the butcher shop asked playfully.
Lee Donghyeon looked down at his glass and said,
“This is the first time I’ve ever drunk comfortably without worrying about anyone’s eyes. Until now, the people around me were always watching my mood. But here, people just say whatever they want and they’re honest. I like that so much.”
“At first you were actin’ like a real pain, and now you like us speakin’ bluntly? You’re plenty drunk now. Hahaha!”
Mr. Jang from the butcher shop laughed loudly and patted Lee Donghyeon on the shoulder.
Lee Donghyeon nodded and blinked his eyes.
“I think I’ll remember this when I go back to Seoul.”
“What’s there to worry about? Just come again.”
“Really?”
“Of course. I’ll buy the makgeolli, so come by anytime.”
Gu Yongsan nodded contentedly.
“Thank you.”
A bright smile unlike any they had seen before spread across Lee Donghyeon’s lips.
Taeho looked at Lee Donghyeon with warm eyes and slowly raised his glass.