Yuna was sitting in a wheelchair, slowly doing wrist exercises together with Nurse Bak Geumja.
"Ms. Yuna, shall we try moving your fingers slowly, one by one?"
"Like this... Is this right?"
Yuna's voice was still weak, but it was definitely clearer than when she had first woken up.
The family members watching her were filled with hope.
"My daughter is speaking like that..."
Jang Cheolmin muttered in a choked voice. For the past two years, he had felt nothing but inescapable despair. Now, hearing his daughter's voice again, his chest welled up hotly.
Yunho, who was beside him, sensitively picked up on his father's feelings. His father, who had shown almost no change in expression while his sister was lying down, now had an expression again. He was happiest that his sister had come back to life, but he was also glad that his mother and father had returned to how they used to be.
"Dad, Sis has really gotten a lot better, right?"
"Yes, she's really gotten much better."
Jang Cheolmin felt his eyes growing damp and was surprised at himself.
He was not a cold-blooded prosecutor who wielded a blade, but simply a father to a child.
He could not ask for anything more.
Watching Yuna carefully lift a small cup, Han Miyeong spoke in a trembling voice.
"Honey. We were really fools. We did nothing but resent for two years... Director Gang really saved our Yuna. I don't know how to express our gratitude to Director Gang."
Watching Yuna exchange jokes with the nurse and laugh, she finally shed tears.
Yuna was talking with Nurse Bak Geumja when she slowly turned her head to look at her family. And she smiled brightly and waved her hand. That smile brought comfort to the family once again.
As soon as the rehabilitation therapy was finished, the family members rushed to Yuna.
Nurse Bak Geumja approached Taeho and spoke in a low voice.
"Director. Ms. Yuna's condition is much better than expected. Her cognitive abilities have also recovered to almost normal levels."
"That's truly a relief."
Taeho looked at Yuna, who was eating fruit with her family and smiling brightly.
"It was possible because the Director did not give up until the end."
Nurse Bak Geumja couldn't hide her emotion and her eyes turned red. She had cared for countless patients at Geumsan Clinic, but this was the first time she had seen such a dramatic recovery as Yuna's.
"Nurse Bak, you really worked hard staying up all night taking care of Yuna during that time."
"Not at all. I only did what I had to do. This job is hard and there are many difficult times, but I feel the most rewarded when a patient recovers and smiles happily with their family. I should go home today and eat something delicious with our Minsu."
Bak Geumja smiled brightly as she looked at Yuna.
***
Yuna was eating dinner quietly with her family, but she kept looking toward the door. She had chosen her words dozens of times in her mind, but it wasn't easy to actually open her mouth. Finally, Yuna carefully parted her lips.
"Dad, I... don't know how to thank the doctor."
She had been lying in a vegetative state for a long two years.
But she could hear and feel everything. Her consciousness was always clear, but she couldn't move a single fingertip even once. Each day was a terrible nightmare. She was afraid she might never wake up.
It was then that Director Gang Taeho's voice came like a ray of light for the first time.
'Yuna, it's Gang Taeho. Do you remember? I've come back. I won't give up on you. So you don't give up either.'
When she first heard that voice, Yuna felt her heart beating again.
Her lost hope wriggled and came back to life.
And until this very moment arrived.
Gang Taeho had been a ray of light and a lifeline to Yuna.
Jang Cheolmin looked deeply at his daughter's expression and smiled.
"The Director will be here soon. Tell him directly then."
A short while later, the hospital room door opened and Taeho came in. Yuna's heart began to pound fiercely. She spoke the words she had repeated countless times in her mind.
"Director. Thank you for not giving up on me until the end and saving me."
The unbelievable thrill when she moved her fingertips for the first time. The overwhelming joy when she opened her eyes and saw her family's faces for the first time. And the happiness that made her whole body tremble in the moment she raised her body to sit up for the first time.
All of that was thanks to this person.
Taeho smiled warmly upon hearing Yuna's words.
"I should be the one saying thank you, Yuna. If you hadn't endured, I couldn't have done it either. Today's test results came out, and your recovery speed is much faster than expected. You'll be able to walk sooner than you think."
"Really?"
"Yes, Yuna. Your will to recover on your own is strong, so your progress has improved greatly. Let's keep pushing a little harder from now on."
Just then, Jang Cheolmin's cell phone vibrated.
"Director. May we watch the news for a moment?"
Taeho and all of Jang Cheolmin's family stared at the television placed on one side of the hospital room.
Reporter Gim Jeonghun delivered the news with a serious expression.
"A colossal incident that simultaneously shook the medical community and the judiciary has erupted. In connection with the medical accident involving victim J two years ago, medical staff from Seyeong Hospital have been arrested en masse. Prosecutor General Song Gibok has also been placed on the investigation list."
The screen changed, and a close-up showed Professor Gim Haseong being escorted in handcuffs in front of Seyeong Hospital.
Taeho's previously calm eyes sharpened. The screen showed reporter Gim Jeonghun again.
"Among the twelve medical staff arrested this time are Professor Gim Haseong, a specialist in neurology, Mr. Cha, and clinical assistant professor Mr. Jeong. They are under suspicion of direct involvement in the medical record deletion incident."
Taeho's expression hardened.
Cha Yeonghu and Jeong Singeon.
From the attitude they had shown at Seyeong Hospital last time, he had expected they would be directly or indirectly involved in the incident.
Taeho had reported them directly, but for them to be arrested meant they had been personally involved to a considerable degree. The thought that those who had once been his colleagues and seniors had stabbed him in the back left a bitter taste in his mouth.
Two medical record documents from Seyeong Hospital appeared side by side on the screen.
"I obtained this internal document exclusively. The left is the original, and the right is the manipulated record. You can clearly see that records of incorrect drug prescriptions have been deleted."
The voice of a special investigation official flowed out.
"Seyeong Hospital manipulated even the EMR system logs to forge the medical records."
Reporter Gim Jeonghun's voice filled the screen again.
"What is even more shocking is that high-ranking prosecutors were involved in this cover-up."
Photos of Prosecutor General Song Gibok and golf course CCTV footage appeared in sequence.
Soon after, the sign of Geumsan Clinic and a mosaic-blurred scene of Yuna's rehabilitation therapy were shown.
"Meanwhile, victim J woke up for the first time in two years thanks to the treatment of Director Gang of Geumsan Clinic. Director Gang has been completely cleared of all charges as of today."
Reporter Gim Jeonghun, shown in close-up, delivered his closing remarks.
"This incident clearly showed how prosecutorial power and the medical cartel distorted the truth. Justice may be delayed, but it will surely be served. This has been Gim Jeonghun of Taeyeong Ilbo."
While the news was on, the hospital room was so quiet that even breathing could not be heard.
Shortly after, the screen switched to different news.
[Breaking News] Controversy over reduction of kindergarten meal budget expands due to declining infant population
Taeho turned off the TV.
Yuna's lips moved slowly.
"Is it really... all over now?"
"Yes, my daughter. It's time to return to daily life."
Han Miyeong, who was holding Yuna's hand tightly, nodded.
Jang Cheolmin spoke to Taeho.
"Thank you once again, Director."
"It was something I naturally had to do."
"It is something I could be grateful for my whole life and it still wouldn't be enough. If the Director has a child later, you will understand my feelings. When something goes wrong with a child, parents lose the entire world."
Taeho felt something heavily resonate in one corner of his heart at those words.
'A child...'
Ha Yuri suddenly came to mind.
The bright smile that had come to the child's once-shaded face, and the warmth of that small hand.
When he remembered the first time they met, one corner of his chest still ached.
A small body, eyes that looked afraid.
She was not his biological child, nor had they spent such a long time together, but from some moment on, he had felt his entire body grow warm whenever he saw Ha Yuri's smile.
Whenever he recalled the child's once-dark face shining brightly, he would unconsciously smile in contentment.
Merely a smile, yet it felt as if all his fatigue melted away like snow.
'Is this what family is?'
Taeho did not try to deny the surging, heartwarming emotion.
It was fine that she was not his biological child. Ha Yuri had already become a huge part of his life. And he did not dislike it. Rather, he was grateful and happy for that warmth.
***
Since waking Yuna, Taeho had been in a continuous state of tension for twenty-four hours. He couldn't let his guard down because he was afraid that if he neglected even a minor sign, it could lead to irreversible results.
He closed his eyes for a moment.
It felt as if a giant boulder that had been crushing him for two years had disappeared.
Rema's notification sound called him back to reality.
-Gang Taeho has succeeded in recovering the consciousness of patient Jang Yuna, who was in a vegetative state for two years.
-Trauma healing complete: Psychological burden related to Jang Yuna has decreased by 87%.
-The following rewards...
-Rema system upgrading...
The hologram screen flickered for a moment and its color changed from blue to gold.
-Achievement being reevaluated.
-Gang Taeho has embodied the essence of a true healer by confronting and overcoming his greatest trauma, going beyond simple medical treatment.
-Gang Taeho's achievement has been registered as one of the top cases in the Rema medical achievement database.
The message that appeared next was even more surprising.
-Special reward: +2,000 coins
-Current: 6,120 coins
-Congratulations. You have achieved Gold rank.
-Count in progress: D-620
Two thousand coins at once?
There had never been a reward of this magnitude until now. Thanks to it, he had jumped straight to Gold rank.
-Intuition has increased by 35%.
-Patient empathy ability has been strengthened.
Taeho's hand trembled.
It wasn't solely due to surprise.
He felt his entire body vibrating faintly.
A sensation as if each and every cell was being reconstructed.
-[Bio-Vision] unlocked: The ability to visualize toxins or bacteria as colors or patterns to identify them with the naked eye has been granted.
"Bio-Vision?"
Taeho looked down at his hand.
At first it looked ordinary, but when he concentrated, color patterns began to emerge on his skin.
Blue lines flowing along blood vessels, and red spots in several areas caused by fatigue.
"Wow, what is this?"
He picked up the coffee cup on the desk as a test. Surprisingly, color changes were detected even inside the coffee.
An orange swirl created by caffeine.
White crystalline dots of sugar.
"Is this some kind of future technology?"
Rema's screen continued to update.
-Gang Taeho now possesses medical capabilities surpassing the specialist level in dermatology, surgery, neurology, infectious disease, immunology, and toxicology.
-Some of Rema's secrets are partially revealed to Gold-ranked users.
-Please press [Confirm] when ready.
Something had changed greatly.
It felt as if a door to a new dimension was opening.
His heart had never pounded like this before...
Taeho's finger moved toward the hologram.