Chapter 67: The Best Gift
Kim Ijun sprang up from his seat as he checked the time. It was about time for Raul’s parents to get off work.
“I’ll go get his parents first.”
“Ijun, I’ll go with you.”
Jin Suho followed Kim Ijun out of the door.
Yoo Yeon Seo gently let go of Raul’s hand and headed somewhere. Everyone was too worried about the child to pay attention to where he was going.
“How is he?!”
The PD burst into the room. He brought along the medical staff who came with the production team and a local doctor.
The cast members moved aside to make room.
The two medical staff examined the child and sighed softly.
Their expressions were grim.
“His condition is serious… We can’t treat him here.”
“Then what do we do?”
“We need to take him to a better hospital, but there’s none on this island. We have to go to the mainland.”
The local guide who was in charge of the translation wiped his sweat nervously.
The boat had already left for the day, but they couldn’t just sit and do nothing.
While the medical staff were doing emergency treatment, Yoo Yeon Seo, who had gone upstairs, pushed through the crowd around the child and approached the guide.
“Where is there an open space here?”
“An open space?”
“Somewhere wide like a playground.”
Yoo Yeon Seo was so out of it that he asked without a subject, but the guide had a vague idea of what he meant and widened his eyes.
“I know a suitable place.”
“How long will it take?”
“It’s a bit far. It takes about 10 minutes by car…”
“Let’s go there then.”
Just then, Kim Ijun and Jin Suho arrived with Raul’s parents who had just gotten off work.
As soon as they heard that their child was sick, they ran over to him and sobbed.
Yoo Yeon Seo spoke to the child’s parents right away.
“*Hold him and follow me.”
“*What?”
“*We don’t have time. We’re going to the hospital.”
The parents looked at his determined face.
Yoo Yeon Seo was the person that the child trusted the most, so they didn’t hesitate.
Raul’s father carefully picked up the child and followed him.
One of the quick-witted staff had already started the van.
Yoo Yeon Seo got the child and his parents in first and looked back.
“I’ll go ahead with the guide, one of the medical staff, and the child.”
“We’ll follow you!”
The PD and the others got into another car. It was no use to follow them in a crowd… Anyway, they just hoped that the road wouldn’t be blocked.
“Go out and turn right.”
The staff nodded at the guide’s words. His driving wasn’t bad, but Yoo Yeon Seo regretted a bit that he didn’t bring Lee Taegyeom with him. He was good at driving… He pulled up a map on his phone and handed it to the passenger seat.
“Mark the place on the map.”
“Wait a minute… I think it’s here.”
“Are you sure?”
“…I’m sure. It’s correct.”
The guide hesitated for a moment, but then gave him a confident look. It was a place that had been bought for development but then abandoned. It was an open space without a fence, where the neighborhood kids used to play soccer.
“I sent you the location. Check it out.”
(Yes, I got it.)
Yoo Yeon Seo immediately sent the location and called Lim Seunghyun. He hadn’t hung up yet, so he heard Lim Seunghyun making another call on the other side.
“How far are you?”
“Well…”
It was a festival period, so there were a lot of people and cars. Yoo Yeon Seo heard Raul groaning and felt anxious.
“I’ll clear the way.”
“Wait a minute!”
The guide stopped Yoo Yeon Seo from getting off.
In front of them, someone on a scooter was speeding through the cars, asking for permission from the drivers and pedestrians.
“There!”
“Yoonjung noona?”
Not only Lee Yoonjung, but also Park Seunghwan appeared and asked for permission from the drivers on the opposite lane. The scooter seemed to be borrowed from a local.
Their gestures worked, and the cars moved aside one by one. The guide opened the window and gave a thumbs up to the drivers who made way.
“We’re almost there!”
“Let’s park here for now.”
Yoo Yeon Seo turned his body to the back seat and checked on Raul.
“*How is he?”
“*He’s… He’s burning up.”
He clicked his tongue and looked at the time. They were late because of the traffic, so they should be here soon… He got out of the car and looked up at the sky. Choi Junyoung, who got off the car behind him, muttered as if he didn’t understand.
“Why did we come here?”
“Shh!”
Park Seunghwan put his index finger on his mouth. It was faint, but this sound…
“…Is that a helicopter?”
“Back off.”
Yoo Yeon Seo’s face brightened and he pushed the people behind him back and gestured for Raul’s parents to come out.
The helicopter slowly landed in the center of the open space. The sound of the propeller spinning hurt their ears and the wind blew up dust, but no one cared.
The door of the helicopter opened and someone waved for them to come. Yoo Yeon Seo, Jin Suho, and Kim Ijun surrounded Raul’s parents and protected the child in their arms.
“I’ll go with you.”
“Wait a minute.”
The guide who followed them tried to get on the helicopter, but Yoo Yeon Seo took out all the bills in his wallet and handed them to him. It was the money that was left in his wallet because he had been caught by the PD not to use his own money.
“Take this just in case. It should be enough.”
“…Thank you.”
The guide looked at Yoo Yeon Seo’s back as he ran away from the helicopter with a curious eye.
The helicopter that took the people to the hospital lifted off and disappeared into the distance.
“…Will he be okay?”
“He’ll be okay.”
I did everything I could. Yoo Yeon Seo sighed heavily. His shoulders were tense from the stress.
“But that helicopter, Yeon Seo, you called it, right?”
At Park Seunghwan’s words, Yoo Yeon Seo shook his phone silently.
“Wow…”
Everyone gaped. He was able to send a helicopter to a remote island village.
Well, he wasn’t from any ordinary company, but the third generation of Juseong. He had enough power to send a helicopter to the mountains.
They felt a wall between them and Yoo Yeon Seo’s background.
The PD patted the shoulder of the staff who drove the car that Yoo Yeon Seo was in and whispered.
“Did you film it?”
“Yes. I still had some battery left from the camera I installed before.”
“Good job.”
He encouraged the staff and looked at the cast members who were covered in dust from the helicopter wind.
“Everyone, I know it’s heartbreaking to see the child sick… But you all did your best, so I’ll lift the budget limit for tomorrow. Let’s have a party.”
“Really?”
“Yes, we’ll hear good news by tomorrow.”
“I hope so.”
The cast members got on the car with brighter faces.
Yoo Yeon Seo got off the car after returning to the guest house.
He gave a casual thumbs up to the villagers who had gathered nearby because of the commotion and lay down on the sofa. His body felt limp from exhaustion.
“Wow, I feel so drained after the tension is gone.”
“Me too.”
Everyone else seemed to feel the same as Yoo Yeon Seo and lay down on the floor.
“We’re here.”
Park Seunghwan and Lee Yoonjung, who had driven the scooters, arrived at the guest house belatedly.
“How did you come up with the idea of driving scooters?”
At Yoo Yeon Seo’s question, Lee Yoonjung and Park Seunghwan giggled.
Lee Yoonjung remembered that the traffic was jammed at this time and borrowed them from a local. Park Seunghwan followed her and borrowed one too.
“I had a license because of the filming… But I wasn’t very good at it. But when it comes down to it, I can do anything. Right, uncle?”
“People’s lives are unpredictable.”
Park Seunghwan was passive when it came to things that he couldn’t communicate.
Even if there was no one else to greet the guests at the guest house, he wouldn’t come out of the kitchen until his other siblings arrived.
But earlier, he shouted loudly at the drivers to move their cars aside.
Of course, in Korean. He was relieved that the drivers understood him roughly and turned the wheel.
“I’m hungry. Let’s eat.”
“Do you want to drink?”
“We have to drink on a day like this.”
They were still anxious because they hadn’t heard any news about Raul, but they also had hope that there would be a good outcome since they sent him on a helicopter.
Thanks to the many people who helped, the meal preparation was done quickly.
And the six cast members gathered around a table and ate.
Yoo Yeon Seo thought that eating together like this wasn’t so bad compared to eating alone.
“Whose phone is vibrating?”
“It’s mine.”
Yoo Yeon Seo received a message from Lim Seunghyun and smiled softly.
“Raul is okay.”
“What? Really?”
Just as the guide who accompanied them received a phone call, the PD came into the guest house with a loud voice.
“Everyone! He’s okay!”
“We just heard.”
“Really?”
The PD looked blankly at him, and Yoo Yeon Seo shook his phone silently.
“The guide contacted Yeon Seo first?”
“There’s a reason for everything.”
Yoo Yeon Seo answered with a nod and the PD gave a hollow laugh.
“I don’t know the details, but the guide said…”
“He said that it would have been a disaster if they were a little late, but luckily they arrived on time. And the surgery went well too.”
“Really?”
They were curious about how serious it was that he needed surgery. They all waited for the PD to open his mouth.
“Anyway, he seems to be recovering well, so there’s no problem… But by the time Raul is discharged, we’ll already be in Korea.”
That’s a shame.
Yoo Yeon Seo tilted his beer glass and drank.
They all looked regretful at the words that they couldn’t say goodbye.
“But the hospital’s response was really fast, right? The guide said that he had never seen such a quick work in his life here…”
“Don’t tell me…”
The PD trailed off and they all looked at Yoo Yeon Seo. He deliberately gave a meaningful smile. He didn’t know for sure, but Lim Seunghyun probably took care of it well.
‘I should give him a bonus when I go back.’
He put down his glass and looked into the distance.
He couldn’t see the stars today.
The commotion was over, and the guest house was operating normally as usual.
The only thing that changed was that the market vendors either sold their goods at a low price or didn’t take any money at all.
The rumor that the outsiders had sent a helicopter for Raul had spread throughout the small island village.
“This makes the budget limit meaningless.”
“I know, right.”
The PD said that, but he was busy capturing the touching and heartwarming scenes on the screen.
The vendors were kind, and the cast members returned to the guest house with their hands full.
And time passed and it was the day they returned to Korea.
They got up early, packed their bags, and got on the car.
The cast members looked out the window silently and took in the scenery of the village. They weren’t sleepy, but sad.
“I wish we could say goodbye to Raul.”
“We can’t help it.”
At Lee Yoonjung’s words, Yoo Yeon Seo answered indifferently as he looked out the window. He was glad that the child was safe.
“Check your luggage. Is there anything left?”
“I don’t think so.”
As they got off the car at the pier and helped the production team with the luggage, the cast members turned their heads at the sound from behind.
“*Excuse me!”
It was Raul’s mother.
“*How did you get here?”
“*My husband is taking care of him at the hospital. There… Thank you so much.”
She had waited at the pier without knowing the way. She held each person’s hand and thanked them repeatedly. She held Yoo Yeon Seo’s hand for quite a long time. She knew that he was the one who called the helicopter.
“*I don’t know how to repay, repay you…”
“*Like I said before, you don’t need to repay me.”
“*Please, please take this.”
Yoo Yeon Seo unfolded the paper that she handed him. It was a picture drawn by the child. It was Yoo Yeon Seo and Raul sitting side by side and eating ice cream. On top of the picture, there was a crooked Korean word that said ‘Thank you’.
He should have rested instead of drawing this… Yoo Yeon Seo looked at the picture silently, and Raul’s mother smiled brightly.
“*Please come again. To see Raul healthy. Our family will treat you well.”
Raul’s mother didn’t leave the spot even after the boat that left the island became a dot and disappeared. She looked at the horizon.
“The best gift.”
On the boat, Jin Suho looked at the picture over Yoo Yeon Seo’s shoulder and whispered.
“Well… I guess so.”
Yoo Yeon Seo carefully folded the picture and put it in his chest.
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