Rookie Talent Agent Knows It All
Chapter 550: Park Sang-Gyu (4)

Chapter 550: Park Sang-Gyu (4)

[Everyday V12.1]

[Date: December 24, 2021]

-2:00 p.m. <Schedule Entry Deleted>

(Deleted Schedule Entry: Visit Hope Hospital. (Mrs. Lee Sa-Yeon regains consciousness. Bring gift.))

An unbelievable thing had happened. Originally, Lee Sa-Yeon wasn't supposed to regain movement until the end of the year. But now, the schedule entry was gone. That could only mean one thing—she had awakened even earlier than expected and had already begun regaining physical control.

To confirm what I was seeing, I spoke to Lee Sa-Yeon directly. "Sa-Yeon noonim, can you hear me?"

In response, Lee Sa-Yeon slowly closed and then opened her eyes.

Blink.

As expected, she was conscious. And more than that, she could even respond to speech with intentional eye movements.

I urgently shouted to Park Sang-Gyu, "Hyung-nim! She's blinking! Sa-Yeon noonim just blinked!"

I couldn't help the volume as my heart was about to explode with joy.

Park Sang-Gyu turned to his wife, but gently stroked her cheek and explained with a faint, distant voice. "Ah... she always does that. Even in a vegetative state, the eyes move. She sleeps with them closed, wakes with them open. I've mistaken it before and thought she had come back."

After being disappointed so many times, Park Sang-Gyu had learned to suppress hope.

However, I wasn't done. "No, please look at this."

I ignored his explanation and turned back to Lee Sa-Yeon.

"Noonim. If you can hear me, could you slowly blink just once?"

Blink.

I pointed to her face. "Did you see that?! She blinked slowly right after I asked her to! She's responding!"

Park Sang-Gyu's face went blank in disbelief. "Wh-What...?"

All he could do was stammer, but he soon came to his senses and took her hands in his.

"H-Honey! Can you... Can you really hear me?"

Blink.

"I-Is it really you? Is this for real?"

Blink.

Lee Sa-Yeon kept blinking slowly and deliberately over and over again, clearly trying to communicate.

And then, unable to hold it in any longer, Park Sang-Gyu broke down in sobs as he gripped her hands tight. "Sob... I'm sorry... I'm so sorry, honey... You ended up like this because of me..."

The accident had been caused by a wrong-way driver, but Park Sang-Gyu had never stopped blaming himself for convincing her to take that honeymoon trip. He had lived with that guilt for two long years.

Tears streamed from Lee Sa-Yeon's eyes. Behind us, the patients and guardians whispered in awe.

-Wait... did she really just wake up?

-I think so!

-Wow... after all that care, he's finally been blessed. He deserves it.

-This is amazing. Seriously... why am I crying?

Even the others in the room quietly celebrated the miracle they were witnessing.

***

After crying his heart out for a long time, Park Sang-Gyu finally gathered himself.

"H-Honey... I'll go get the doctor right away. Just wait a moment, okay?"

At that moment, Park Sang-Gyu collapsed back down as he tried to stand.

Thud.

"H-Huh? My legs... what's going on?"

The shock must've overwhelmed him so much that his legs were trembling, unable to support him.

Looking at me with an awkward smile, Park Sang-Gyu said, "Y-Yoon-Ho... could you get a nurse for me? My legs won't move..."

"Got it. Just keep holding noonim's hand. I'll be right back with the doctor."

"O-Okay."

Without delay, I turned and rushed out of the hospital room. I sprinted to the nurse station at the fourth floor entrance and called out urgently.

"Head Nurse! Room 410's patient regained consciousness! Please call her primary physician!"

The head nurse looked at me with a pitying expression and shook her head. "Her eyes are probably just moving. That's not unusual..."

"No, she's blinking in direct response to questions. Once for yes, twice for no. I confirmed it several times."

Her face changed instantly. "Seriously? Alright, I'll go check myself before we alert the director."

"Thank you."

The head nurse hurried back to Room 410. After confirming what I had said was true, she pulled out her phone and made a call right away.

"Sir, Room 410's patient Mrs. Lee Sa-Yeon has regained consciousness. She's clearly communicating through blinking. Please come up immediately."

After the call, she summoned other nurses to begin checking Lee Sa-Yeon's condition.

Now that the medical staff were attending to the patient, I returned to Park Sang-Gyu's side to support him.

***

Rattle.

The door to Room 410 opened, and a white-haired doctor burst in. It was Seo Hwan-Hee, the director and founder of Hope Hospital himself. His grandson, Doctor Seo Myung-Woo, followed close behind.

"Everyone, please step back. Let's check the patient's condition first."

Once the nurses moved aside, Seo Hwan-Hee held up three fingers. "Mrs. Sa-Yeon, how many fingers am I holding up? Please blink the number."

Blink. Blink. Blink.

When Lee Sa-Yeon blinked exactly three times, Seo Hwan-Hee's eyes widened.

After a few more tests, he spoke with confidence in his voice. "She's regained consciousness."

Park Sang-Gyu bowed deeply. "Thank you, sir! Truly, thank you! This is all thanks to you."

Seo Hwan-Hee smiled warmly. "Haha. What are you thanking me for? This was your wife's strength, and above all, your devotion. You gave her the will to live."

Watching Seo Hwan-Hee examine Lee Sa-Yeon triggered a vivid memory of a scene from the first episode of Nice to See You Again, Ms. Yung-Hee, a drama featuring Ju Yung-In.

In that scene, a patient who couldn't move due to a car accident communicated only through blinking. The police were trying to identify a culprit, and Yung-Hee, played by Ju Yung-In, guided them using a board of Korean consonants and vowels, blinking at each character to spell the name.

'The culprit was Chul-Soo, right?'

Recalling that scene, I quickly downloaded a Korean alphabet learning app for children onto my tablet. When the app launched, a grid of consonants and vowels appeared. Below was a long blank space that displayed the letters once selected.

I showed the app to Seo Hwan-Hee and asked, "Sir, do you think we could use this for more detailed communication?"

Seo Hwan-Hee glanced at me. "That might work, but... may I ask who you are?"

Park Sang-Gyu stepped in. "This is the benefactor who's been supporting my wife's medical bills. And going forward, he'll also be my talent agent."

"Ahh, so you're the one. I've only met your representative before. It's a pleasure."

"Nice to meet you, sir. I'm Jung Yoon-Ho from Hoop Entertainment. I apologize for only sending my hoobae before."

"No worries at all. Though, I'll admit I expected the benefactor to be older. Seems I was way off. Either way, you're doing something truly good."

Even at 80 years old, Seo Hwan-Hee was a true gentleman so much so that he spoke politely and formally with me.

He examined the tablet app carefully and nodded. "This method should definitely work for communication. In that case, we'll step aside for now."

Sensing the moment, Seo Hwan-Hee motioned for the other doctors and nurses to step back. Park Sang-Gyu and I positioned ourselves close to Lee Sa-Yeon's face.

I pulled out the stylus and spoke gently. "Noonim, I'll slowly move the pen across the screen. If I land on the right letter, blink once. If not, blink twice. Ready?"

I began pointing slowly across the consonants. The first one she selected was H.

"H. Is that correct?"

Blink.

"Alright, moving on to vowels."

The second one was O.

"Combined, that makes HO. Is that right?"

Blink.

Lee Sa-Yeon blinked slowly, picking consonants and vowels, combining them into full words. It took time as blinking out words letter by letter was slow, but no one rushed her and no one left.

Finally, the first full sentence appeared.

[Honey, why have you gotten so thin?]

The moment he read the message, Park Sang-Gyu's tears began to fall again. "Ah, th-that's..."

Unable to answer, he broke down again.

I stepped in to help. "Noonim, he's been dieting for an upcoming role. That's all."

Park Sang-Gyu sniffled, then smiled. "Yeah... Yoon-Ho's right. I had to lose weight for a role. I ate well and I stayed strong, but I couldn't help losing a bit. Don't worry."

He smiled wide through his tears. His eyes crinkled into little crescents with tears still running down his cheeks.

Then, Lee Sa-Yeon blinked again and signaled me. When I brought the tablet back in front of her, she spelled out a message for me.

[Mr. Yoon-Ho, please take good care of my husband.]

Even now, all Lee Sa-Yeon could think about was her husband.

My heart tightened. I looked her in the eye and answered with determination, "Don't worry. I know acting is the only thing hyung-nim can do, and I'll make sure he shines. But you've gotta get better fast and come watch him perform, okay?"

Park Sang-Gyu nodded. "That's right, honey. Just leave it to me. I've got a real talent agent now. I'll act my heart out and win that big award for you!"

Lee Sa-Yeon blinked repeatedly again. I followed along, recording her words as she formed them.

[I'll get up before then. And when the time comes, let's have our wedding.]

When Lee Sa-Yeon answered, the overwhelmed Park Sang-Gyu held her hands tightly. He looked just like the joyful, lively man I remembered. "Alright. I'll win that award... and you get up, okay? We'll have our wedding then, the one we couldn't before. Let's ask Dr. Seo here to be our officiant. Sounds good?"

Lee Sa-Yeon blinked slowly.

Blink.

Seo Hwan-Hee chuckled warmly. "That would be an honor indeed. Hahaha."

His hearty laugh filled the entire room. And then, one last message from Lee Sa-Yeon came.

[Doctor, nurses... thank you for not giving up on me.]

Tears welled in the eyes of everyone present including Seo Hwan-Hee, the head nurse, and every member of the medical team. Witnessing the miracle of a patient waking from a vegetative state, everyone in the room was overwhelmed with joy.

"Congratulations on coming back, Mrs. Sa-Yeon!"

"Yes, truly congratulations."

"You might be able to talk soon, and even walk."

"Please don't give up now!"

Even though their hospital was due to close in three months, every member of the Hope Hospital staff offered sincere congratulations. They were genuinely happy for her.

It was unthinkable that a place this kind-hearted, where miracles like this happened, might just vanish. Since hope had returned to Lee Sa-Yeon here at Hope Hospital, it was time for me to return that hope to the hospital itself.

I messaged Choi Yung-Ho, the president of Daeheung Savings Bank, via Kk Talk. Banks usually had real estate divisions. If they were aware of the development plans for this land, persuading Seo Hwan-Hee wouldn't be difficult.

A few moments later, the reply came.

[President Choi Yung-Ho: I'll get back to you within 10 minutes.]

[Jung Yoon-Ho: I'd really appreciate it.]

While waiting for his response, I stayed to observe Seo Hwan-Hee's ongoing checkups.

***

After instructing his grandson Seo Myung-Woo to proceed with a full evaluation, Seo Hwan-Hee stepped out of the room.

Just then, I received Choi Yung-Ho's Kk Talk message.

Turning to Park Sang-Gyu, I said, "Hyung-nim, I'm going to speak with the director for a bit. After that, let's shoot your audition video."

Director Na Tae-Yang's Doppelgänger had a 5 p.m. deadline for first-round video auditions. If Park Sang-Gyu passed, he would attend a final in-person audition a week later. I planned to use that week to dissolve his contract with Ace Entertainment and bring him fully into Hoop Entertainment.

Park Sang-Gyu looked at me, eyes gleaming with life. It was a stark contrast to the emptiness I had seen when we first met. "Alright. I'll be here getting ready."

Just hearing that made my heart race with anticipation. I was about to see the acting brilliance of the man once called 'the man of a thousand faces' again.

I handed Park Sang-Gyu the tablet. "The script is in here. And when you talk with noonim, use the same app from earlier."

"Got it."

Then I left the room and followed Seo Hwan-Hee. "Sir!"

Seo Hwan-Hee turned at my call. "Oh, yes. Mr. Benefactor."

Catching up to him, I said, "Please, just call me Chief Jung. There's no need for formality."

"Alright. What's the matter?"

"I'd like to speak with you briefly. Do you have a moment?"

Seo Hwan-Hee looked slightly troubled. "Hmm, I have another appointment soon. Could we set something up later?"

"It won't take long. I've heard rumors you plan to sell and relocate the hospital. I want to give you some information that could help."

I was going to tell him the land value would skyrocket soon because a mega-mall was being developed nearby, but Seo Hwan-Hee just let out a hollow laugh. "Unfortunately, I've already received a deposit from the real estate agent. There's nothing I can do now..."

"Then pay the penalty and cancel it. SNG Inc., the 14th largest conglomerate in Korea, is about to build a massive mall here. When they do, this land will be worth ten times as much."

Seo Hwan-Hee's eyes widened. "Wait... SNG Inc.? They're building here?"

"Yes. Take a look."

I showed him the Kk Talk message I had just received from Choi Yung-Ho.

[President Choi Yung-Ho: For over a year, SNG Inc.'s agents have been quietly buying up land in that area. They're targeting around 30,000 pyeong. The Hope Hospital site is the last piece. Once they secure it, they'll officially announce plans for the mega mall.]

Daeheung Savings Bank's real estate and loan review team had dug up the info fast.

Seo Hwan-Hee looked at the message with an astonished expression. "Is... is this really from the president of Daeheung Savings Bank?"

"Yes. I can put you on the phone with him right now. And if you'd prefer, I've arranged a visit to the nearby branch for verification."

Seo Hwan-Hee thought it over for a moment. "I think we should talk more in depth. Please, come to my office."

I followed Seo Hwan-Hee into his office, where we began discussing the hospital's finances and the suspicious activity surrounding this land.

But what I found out next was that something outrageous was happening behind the scenes.

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