Group chat of mothers from the Sunshine Class at Green Kindergarten
—Tae-seong's mom: Other moms. How are the kids doing? Our Tae-seong has stabilized a bit nowㅠㅠ
—Min-seo's mom: Our Min-seo too! What a relief. But Dr. Kang Tae-ho is really amazing.
—Do-yoon's mom: That's right!! I saw it firsthand on site, and he really looked like a god. He grasped the children's conditions at a glance...
—Eun-seong's mom: I saw it too! Even in the midst of all that chaos, he took care of every single childㅠㅠ
—Ji-an's mom: I watched the video and it still gave me chills.
—Tae-seong's mom: I know, right! Our Tae-seong says the doctor is so cool that he wants to go to medical school later. Hahaha
—Min-a's mom: Oh my. Tae-seong's mom must be thrilled. Lolllll
—Jun-ho's mom: But, seriously... I really felt how hard it is to raise kids in Gangwon-do this time. Giving birth here was already a struggle with no OB-GYN...
—Su-bin's mom: That's rightㅠㅠ Samcheok Central Hospital is always full, it takes over an hour to get to Gangneung, and there's no pediatric ward either...
—Eun-seo's mom: I heard if you go to Wonju, there's a four-hour wait. What would have happened to our kids in the meantime...
—Do-yoon's mom: It's really frustrating with no infrastructure. My friends in Seoul have several big hospitals within twenty minutes...
—Eun-seong's mom: That's why I'm even more grateful to Director Kang Tae-ho. How fortunate we are to have someone like him in our area...
—Ji-an's mom: But is it just me? Did you all know that Director Kang Tae-ho is an incredibly famous doctor?
—Tae-seong's mom: Ah, right! I thought so too! I thought I saw him on TV but I wasn't sure.
—Jun-ho's mom: He's the one who treated the President of Gambia, right? I saw it on the news! I'll post the link.
—Su-bin's mom: OMG, someone like that is in our neighborhood?
—Min-seo's mom: He's someone who received an award from the WHO! He's a world-class doctor.
—Do-yoon's mom: Then does that mean his child attends our kindergarten?
—Eun-seo's mom: Whose dad is he in our class? Does anyone know?
—Min-gi's mom: I have no idea. Is he the father of a new kid?
—Ji-an's mom: Ah! Ha-yul! Isn't he Ha-yul's dad?
—Min-seo's mom: Ah, right! Min-seo said Ha-yul was some kind of special child...
—Su-bin's mom: He's so good at making shapes. He must be good at math. Does he take after his dad?
—Do-yoon's mom: That's right! This time too, only Ha-yul was completely fine. I heard he said the food smelled strange...
—Jun-ho's mom: Oh my, really? Does he figure things like that out quickly because he takes after his dad?
—Eun-seong's mom: Our Eun-seong says Ha-yul notices strange things well even normally
—Tae-seong's mom: He really must take after his dad hahaha. Kids from doctor families do seem different somehow. But he doesn't actually look like a father... He must take very good care of himself.
—Min-seo's mom: I can't tell you how lucky we are to have a child like Ha-yul attending our kindergarten.
—Ji-an's mom: That's rightㅠㅠ If Ha-yul hadn't been there this time, and Director Kang hadn't come to the scene... I don't even want to imagine it
—Su-bin's mom: But do you remember how we viewed Ha-yul at first?
—Do-yoon's mom: I'm sorry. Ha-yulㅜㅠ For having prejudices at first...
—Min-seo's mom: Me tooㅠㅠ I worried he was autistic, but instead Ha-yul saved our kids
—Eun-seong's mom: I'm really ashamed. I'm sorry to Ha-yul, and to Director Kang Tae-ho too...
—Tae-seong's mom: I think we all need to reflect. Let's make sure to help Ha-yul a lot from now on
—Jun-ho's mom: By the way, how should we express our gratitude to Director Kang Tae-ho?
—Ji-an's mom: He's truly our lifesaverㅠㅠ
—Su-bin's mom: Should we send a thank-you wreath to Geumsan Clinic?
—Min-seo's mom: Good idea! Everyone participate!
—Eun-seong's mom: I want to express my gratitude to Ha-yul too.
—Tae-seong's mom: That's right! Thanks to Ha-yul, our kids survived.
—Jun-ho's mom: Having someone like Director Kang in such a remote area is so reassuring...
—Min-seo's mom: I think Geumsan Clinic is our area's greatest treasure.
—Ji-an's mom: I'm never moving to Seoul now! I think it's safer here.
—Su-bin's mom: Ha-yul is also our kindergarten's treasure. I told Su-bin to get along well with Ha-yul.
—Eun-seong's mom: Director Kang Tae-ho and Ha-yul are truly precious. Eun-seong also plays well with Ha-yul these days.
—Tae-seong's mom: I'm relieved our kids are safe, and I'm glad we got to know a good person. But I heard only Hyun-woo hasn't been discharged yet, does anyone know?
—Do-yoon's mom: Come to think of it, Hyun-woo's mom hasn't been reading the chatroom messages these past few days?
***
Tae-ho sat in front of Hyun-woo. While all the other children had recovered and returned home, only Hyun-woo was still lying in bed.
"Strange……"
Tae-ho recalled BioVision once more.
Green and yellow auras intertwined around Hyun-woo.
Colors indicating dehydration and deteriorating liver function.
‘The toxins are all gone, so why do his liver enzymes keep rising?’
Tae-ho furrowed his brows and gave an order to Rema again.
"Let's run another liver function test. We must have missed something."
At that moment, the hospital room door opened and Gi-hwan entered with Ha-yul.
"Director, Ha-yul said he was worried about Hyun-woo."
Ha-yul blinked his large eyes and looked at the lying Hyun-woo.
Hyun-woo, who had briefly dozed off, opened his eyes for a moment.
Tae-ho spoke gently.
"Hyun-woo's awake, so you can go closer and say hello. Ha-yul."
At those words, Ha-yul mustered his courage and approached Hyun-woo's bed. Holding carefully onto the end of the bed, Ha-yul quietly watched his sick friend.
Ha-yul fidgeted with his fingers and asked.
"Hyun-woo, are you okay?"
"Mmhmm, my head hurts a bit, and I'm sleepy."
Hyun-woo answered in a weak, trailing voice.
"What? I can't hear you well."
Ha-yul leaned in even closer to talk with Hyun-woo, then suddenly sniffed the air and tilted his head.
"Huh? You smell like auntie."
Auntie smell?
Tae-ho's eyes sparkled as he asked again.
"Ha-yul, does Hyun-woo smell like auntie?"
"Yes."
"What kind of auntie smell?"
"Auntie Yeon-ji's smell."
Nurse assistant Park Yeon-ji?
Tae-ho's mind grew complicated.
"What does Auntie Yeon-ji's smell smell like?"
"It's when Auntie Yeon-ji does this."
Ha-yul spread his fingers wide and blew on his fingertips with his mouth.
That's what women do when they apply nail polish and dry it?
In an instant, lightning struck in Tae-ho's mind.
Nail polish? Acetone? Could it be a ketone smell?
Tae-ho quickly approached Hyun-woo and sniffed. But he couldn't detect any scent at all.
He immediately recalled BioVision in his mind.
Could he raise the sensitivity as high as possible?
It would be good if he could see atypical metabolite items too……
The moment he thought that, the colors surrounding Hyun-woo changed completely.
The greenish hue disappeared, and an irregular purple band slightly mixed with red began to envelop its place. A subtle crimson wave that seemed to spread from around the shoulders, and near the stomach area, a gently flickering gray flash appeared.
"This is……"
Only then did Tae-ho read the meaning of those colors.
Indirect bilirubin increase. Red blood cell destruction reaction. Ketone body accumulation.
It wasn't a normal toxin pattern, but a toxic metabolite generated internally.
‘It's hemolysis.’
Tae-ho hurriedly examined Hyun-woo's eyes again. The whites had turned very slightly yellow.
Jaundice had already begun.
Gi-hwan asked worriedly from beside him.
"Will Hyun-woo be okay?"
"His red blood cells are being destroyed abnormally. That's why his liver levels keep rising."
Tae-ho urgently called Nurse Park Geum-ja.
"Nurse Park, please add more blood tests for patient Park Hyun-woo. Coombs test, G6PD test, and an osmotic resistance test of red blood cells too!"
"Yes, I'll do it right away!"
While Nurse Park collected Hyun-woo's blood for the tests, Tae-ho approached Ha-yul and knelt down.
"Ha-yul, if you hadn't smelled that, it would have taken much longer to find Hyun-woo's illness. Thank you so much."
"Yes."
Ha-yul smiled as if embarrassed.
Gi-hwan spoke in admiration.
"So Ha-yul smelled the ketone scent caused by hemolysis. But is something like that even possible?"
"I know that people trained to be extremely sensitive to smells can detect it. Ha-yul seems to have all his senses on the sensitive side, so I think he smells better than ordinary people too."
"Wow, I see. Ha-yul is really amazing."
Gi-hwan patted Ha-yul's head and took him out.
Two hours later, the test results came out.
—Coombs test: Negative.
—G6PD activity: 2.1 U/g Hb
—Red blood cell morphology: Macrocytes, numerous elliptocytes observed
—Osmotic resistance: Markedly decreased
It was exactly as expected.
Since Hyun-woo's mother and father were taking turns using vacation days from work to care for him, Tae-ho waited until after hours when both could be present.
Tae-ho explained calmly.
"Hyun-woo has a congenital disease called G6PD deficiency."
"What is that?"
Hyun-woo's mother asked with an anxious expression.
"It's a disease where there is a deficiency of an enzyme called glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase. This enzyme protects red blood cells, but when it's deficient, red blood cells are destroyed when the body is under stress."
"Then…… Is this food poisoning the cause?"
"No. Hyun-woo has had this disease since birth. However, while there are usually no symptoms, this episode was triggered by the stress from the food poisoning."
Hyun-woo's father asked worriedly.
"How is it treated? Is it serious?"
"Fortunately, it's not severe, so with sufficient hydration and rest, he will recover. But going forward, you must avoid certain medications and situations."
Tae-ho handed the parents a list he had prepared.
"You must avoid the medications on this list. Aspirin, sulfa antibiotics, antimalarial drugs, and so on. Always carry this list with you, and inform the doctor every time you visit a hospital."
"What about food? Is there anything he shouldn't eat?"
"Be careful not to consume fava beans or blueberries in excess, and most importantly, stress management. Avoid severe infections or excessive exercise as well."
Hyun-woo's mother asked with tears welling up.
"Then this disease can't be cured? Our Hyun-woo can never get better?"
"Ma'am, please don't worry."
Tae-ho said in a warm voice.
"A complete cure is difficult, but with proper management, a normal life is possible. Hundreds of millions of people worldwide live healthy lives with this disease. If Hyun-woo follows the precautions, he can run and play just like other children."
"We didn't know anything about this."
Hyun-woo's father spoke with a face full of guilt.
They had worked hard at dual-income jobs to raise Hyun-woo well. Yet to think they hadn't known their child had a congenital disease.
Tae-ho shook his head.
"The parents couldn't have known naturally. It's rather better that you found out through this opportunity. As long as you're careful going forward, there won't be any major problems."
"Thank you, Director. Thank you so much."
Once the treatment direction was set, Hyun-woo's condition began to improve rapidly. Observing with BioVision during treatment, the rate of red blood cell destruction was decreasing significantly.
Ha-yul would come to the hospital room to spend time with his sick friend.
Hyun-woo also enjoyed playing with Ha-yul, so the two sat side by side drawing pictures or assembling blocks together.
On the day of discharge, Hyun-woo sincerely expressed his gratitude to Ha-yul.
"Ha-yul, thank you."
"Mmhmm."
Ha-yul nodded.
Suddenly, Hyun-woo approached Ha-yul and hugged him tightly with both arms.
"Huh?"
Ha-yul was surprised, but understanding his friend's feelings, he didn't push him away. An awkward expression showed he was still not used to this kind of emotional expression.
Everyone watching smiled warmly.
Gi-hwan spoke to Tae-ho.
"I'm really glad it was resolved well."
Tae-ho shook his head and folded his arms.
"It's not over yet. Because this must never happen again."