36 – Teaching Mr. Matthew (2), Love Dilemma
Silence.
Catherine and Jessica chewed on their bread in silence.
The silence continued.
Jessica asked, “Is it about Dr. Kim Chul-soo?” but Catherine didn’t answer.
Catherine was embarrassed to bring up her and Kim Chul-soo’s affairs directly.
Catherine, 19 years old, a pure lady who had believed only in Uri Gyo her whole life.
There’s no difference in dating experience between her and a 13-year-old girl walking around the village.
‘Ugh.’
But even Catherine alone finds it difficult to groan.
It’s been a week since she and Kim Chul-soo became awkward.
Catherine wanted to reconcile with Kim Cheol-su!
“Jessica.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“She’s my friend, but let’s pretend she’s not.”
Catherine lied, calling her business a friendship!
After all, business with a friend is always personal.
“Tell me what you would do if you were Jessica and heard about Jessica.”
“Got it, ma’am.”
Sharp Jessica quickly realized that Catherine’s story wasn’t about a friend, but about Catherine and Kim Cheol-su.
Where would Catherine, who spent all day at the clinic, have a friend?
Jessica perked up her ears and focused.
“It was during the winter festival. My friend danced with a guy at the campfire. The atmosphere was really nice back then, you know? Tense, my… I mean, my friend was about to confess. The guy was willing to accept. But my friend, being shy and inexperienced in such matters, ran away in the middle of confessing. Ugh!”
Catherine’s friend = Catherine herself.
The guy = Mr. Kim Cheol-su.
Just hearing Jessica’s story, wasn’t it all clear as day?
It’s as easy as pie.
“Why not try confessing again?”
“Wait, it’s not over yet. Fortunately, the guy chased after my friend. My friend, after hesitating, finally mustered the courage to face the guy again. But the guy was dancing with another girl!”
“Oh?”
“The campfire dance is for couples! The guy danced with two other girls!”
Thinking about it again, Catherine’s face turned red, her eyes blazing with anger!
Jessica remained silent.
“Mr. Kim Cheol-su, the scoundrel!”
To dare to court Catherine, the one and only forbidden fruit of Lord Roland Viscount.
Brave or insane, what should we call it?
Kim Cheol-su seemed pitiful to Jessica.
“Well, that…”
“…He did mention it was part of the patient’s rehabilitation exercise. He could have asked someone else to do it. Why did it have to be Kim Cheol-su… I mean, the guy supporting that girl?”
“Oh… The second girl he danced with is a patient?”
“Yes… She’s still hospitalized.”
Wasn’t this just a misunderstanding on Catherine’s part?
Of course, love between a therapist and a patient is rare these days, so Jessica was cautious.
“Mr. Kim Cheol-su really did seem to be assisting with the patient’s rehabilitation.”
After a week of helping out at Kim Cheol-su’s free clinic, Jessica had pretty much figured it all out.
At least from Jessica’s perspective, Kim Cheol-su didn’t seem to show any special interest in anyone other than Catherine.
“Did he visit the patient he helped with rehabilitation after that?”
“Just briefly during rounds…”
“Anything else?”
“No.”
So, it was simply a professional relationship.
“If it were me, I would reconcile with that man.”
“…Really?”
“Yes, but I would ask him to be careful meeting other women. Because I love that man.”
“L-Love…”
Catherine’s ears tingled intensely.
For some reason, Jessica seemed incredibly mature, like an older sister.
Jessica’s words seemed to be all true!
Catherine’s heart pounded. It felt like her feelings had been exposed.
“You shouldn’t give him a chance to meet other women. I’ll keep an eye on him.”
“T-Tough…”
“Ahem! I may be single, but…”
Catherine completely fell for Jessica’s words.
Yes, there was no need to suffer silently.
She could take charge, straighten Kim Chul-soo out, and keep an eye on other women!
“Jessica, I’ll muster up the courage.”
“You mentioned it was a friend thing… No, I’ll support you. Miss Catherine.”
Jessica chuckled and cheered Catherine on.
To Jessica, it was the adorable love of a young lady.
* * * *
A busy weekday afternoon at the clinic.
I assign a task to Matthew.
“Matthew, get a cold cloth.”
“Yes! Right away!”
Matthew rushes off with the paper in his arms, returning with a squeezed cold cloth.
Skillfully, Matthew tucks the cloth under the armpits of the feverish patient.
“Matthew, check the pulse and respiration.”
“Yes! One, two… Pulse 51 beats per minute, respiration 13 breaths per minute!”
“The pulse is a bit slow. Let me check instead. One, two… 52 beats per minute. Patient, feeling dizzy?”
“A little… I feel a bit dizzy.”
“Hmm… Skin feels cool and clammy. Blood pressure might be low. Matthew! Lay the patient down and elevate their legs. Let’s raise the blood pressure a bit.”
“Yes!”
Matthew brings a makeshift bed and lays the patient down, placing their legs on a bunched-up cloth.
Elevating the legs higher than the heart can help raise blood pressure, reducing dizziness and clamminess.
Two hours later, the patient, with the fever gone, expressed gratitude and left!
Confirming the absence of dizziness and clamminess, I carefully explained health management to the patient before sending them off.
“Are you okay?”
It feels like Matthew is getting the hang of things to some extent.
“I’m more comfortable than I thought.”
With Matthew and Jessica around, having an extra pair of hands makes things easier.
The feeling that things are ending quickly.
Should we hire more employees for this?
Kim Cheol-su’s long-cherished dream, a sweet life, I have not given up on it yet!
Lunchtime.
I share the baguette bread I received from the kitchen at Yeongjoo Castle with Matthew.
Matthew, being very poor, eats moldy bread, so I just share mine with him.
“Please have some, Matthew.”
“Oh, thank you so much every time, Mr. Kim Cheol-su. I will definitely repay this kindness someday!”
“It’s okay.”
I cut the baguette in half and handed it to Matthew.
“Hmm, setting a specific lunchtime is really good.”
It was challenging in Korea!
Small clinics have a designated lunchtime.
But in large and busy hospitals, it’s really difficult to find time to eat lunch.
Although there is a lunch break, if there’s a lot of work, people often end up eating very late.
Skipping meals is also common.
At least in hospital-grade facilities, there are restaurants, so you can take the elevator to go back and forth to the restaurant.
“Ugh, terrible.”
When I lived in Korea and worked at a hospital, I experienced the busyness of those days!
I don’t want to go back!
“I miss my phone, though.”
I don’t like hospitals, but I really miss my phone.
I want to watch YouTube videos on my phone!
I’m starting to forget what the YouTube logo looks like.
Darn it.
Anyway, as I’m lost in thought, Catherine suddenly comes to mind.
Small and pretty, with sky-blue hair… Catherine.
What I feel in my heart is a fondness that’s close to love.
At the same time, memories of my past relationships come flooding back.
The relationships I’ve had.
Except for the short-lived relationships I had while living in Korea, there was only one relationship that lasted over 100 days.
The girl I dated for over 100 days, up to 265 days.
She was a year older than me.
From Noble mtl dot com
Other than getting really negative on her period, she listened well to what I had to say.
As for why we eventually broke up… Well.
I suddenly become sentimental.
I asked Matthew, “Are you married, Matthew?”
“Gulp, gulp… Phew! Uhm, are you talking about marriage?”
“Yes.”
Mr. Matthew must have been married by middle age, of course.
“Ahem, I got married to a clinic.”
But Mr. Matthew was a confirmed bachelor.
Married to a clinic, what an odd choice.
He could have just said he was single.
“Yes… So, have you had any dating experiences…?”
“Well, please wait a moment. My memory is a bit fuzzy…”
“…It’s okay.”
Mr. Matthew was absolutely no help in matters of love.
Surely he wasn’t a lifelong bachelor?
I shook my head and pondered.
Anyway, whenever I see Miss Catherine, my heart flutters.
As someone with dating experience, I know that’s a sign of attraction.
An attraction that could evolve into love.
“I want to reconcile with Miss Catherine…”
I don’t want to keep being awkward around Miss Catherine forever.
Every time she ignores me, it feels like my heart is being torn apart.
Of course, I brought this upon myself, so I can’t complain.
Ugh, should I confess to Miss Catherine today?
* * * *
But when I returned to my room after work, wasn’t Miss Catherine sitting on my bed!
Miss Catherine, who had never visited my room after the campfire.
That very Miss Catherine was finally in my room.
I felt hopeful for reconciliation!
“Ah, Miss?”
“Kim Chul-soo.”
Tap, tap.
Miss Catherine lightly tapped her fingers on the spot next to her.
Without much hesitation, I immediately went to sit next to Miss Catherine.
She smelled nice, as if she had just taken a bath.
‘Has Miss Catherine’s heart finally moved?’
My heart raced with excitement!
“Kim Chul-soo.”
“Yes, yes… Miss.”
“Do you know what I want?”
“W-what, what is it? Miss. Anything I can do, I will.”
Miss Catherine wordlessly cupped my cheeks with both hands!
Her body was slightly trembling, but a strong determination emanated from her.
“Can you be careful when meeting other women?”
“Well, what do you mean…?”
“I learned it from Jessica. Men are supposed to tame women.”
“Huh?”
Miss Catherine seemed to have learned something peculiar.