Good Things Happen on Christmas (2)
The expected time of Jang Jun-Hyuk's accident was around 3:30 PM.
But since that was only an approximate time, I had been circling near the accident site from about 3:10 PM.
The current time was 3:27 PM.
My heart was racing wildly.
Thump thump.
Every time I tried to prevent someone's death, it was never an easy task. From what I knew, Jang Jun-Hyuk's vehicle would suddenly accelerate and cross over to the fourth lane from the third lane before crashing into a building wall.
To prevent that crash, I had no choice but to block the lane with my vehicle.
Honk honk.
"Hey! Why are you blocking the lane like that? Move out of the way!"
"What's with that guy? Is he out of his mind?"
"Hey, you jerk! Move your damn car!"
I kept circling the same route amidst the honking of people driving in the fourth lane.
It was now 3:29 PM.
Tick tock tick tock.
The inaudible ticking of the second hand echoed in my ears, like a hallucination.
At that moment, I could finally see Jang Jun-Hyuk's black Binz sedan entering the third lane from my rearview mirror.
'He's here.'
The distance between his car and mine was roughly about 30 meters. I immediately picked up my phone and dialed 119.
"Um, hello. I'm on Cheonho Bridge right now."
-Yes, we know. Our system can detect the location.
It was the same operator I had spoken to before when I tried to prevent Miso's accident.
"Oh? It's you from before, right?"
-Yes, it's me. What's the matter? Is there a gas leak again?
"No. There's been an accident here. The location is…"
-I already told you that we can detect the location. We'll dispatch help immediately. Are you nearby?
"Yes. The driver is having a heart attack. Please hurry!"
-Wait, hold on a minute. If you switch to a video call, I can guide you through the steps of performing CPR so that you can…
'There's no need for CPR because the accident hadn't even happened yet.'
I simply hung up the phone and prepared for the impending crash. Jang Jun-Hyuk's car would soon suddenly accelerate after his heart attack at any moment now.
[Current time: 3:30 PM]
Suddenly, Jang Jun-Hyuk's car, which had been moving slowly in the third lane, started to accelerate rapidly.
Vrooom!
I tucked my smartphone in my arms and clenched my teeth tightly. I then slammed the brakes and gripped the steering wheel, ready for the collision.
Crash!
Jang Jun-Hyuk's Binz slammed into the driver's door of my vehicle.
Jolt!
My car almost flipped over from the impact.
"Ugh!"
My neck felt stiff, as if I got a terrible muscle cramp, but thankfully, the impact wasn't too severe due to the short distance of acceleration.
However, the problem was Jang Jun-Hyuk's car was now pushing mine because he didn't take his foot off the accelerator. His luxury car seemed to have good power, unlike mine.
Squeeeak!
The sound of tires being dragged along the ground was followed by the burning smell of rubber due to friction against the road.
I pulled the handbrake and rolled down the window. Then I screamed at the top of my lungs.
"Mr. Jang Jun-Hyuk! Snap out of it!"
Squeeeak!
The acrid smell from Jang Jun-Hyuk's spinning tires grew stronger and stronger.
Despite my screams at the top of my lungs, Jang Jun-Hyuk still remained unconscious with his head resting against the steering wheel.
"Damn it! Jang Jun-Hyuk! Wake up! Turn off the engine! Turn it off now!"
As I repeatedly shouted his name informally, Jang Jun-Hyuk seemed to slowly come to his senses while clutching his chest.
Then, gasping for breath, he weakly reached out his hand.
Tap.
He barely managed to reach the key. However, he seemed too weak to turn off the ignition.
Tap, tap.
He missed once, then again. His hand kept missing the ignition.
"Ugh…ke uk…"
But eventually, he managed to turn off the engine.
Vroom.
Thud.
The engine was finally off.
At the same time, Jang Jun-Hyuk collapsed to the side as if all his strength had been drained.
I quickly unbuckled my seatbelt to exit from the passenger door of my vehicle and went over to check on Jang Jun-Hyuk.
***
"Huff, huff, huff. Stay with me!"
I began performing CPR to resuscitate him.
"Huff, huff, huff."
Performing CPR was much harder than I thought it would be.
"Please! Just breathe!"
I could see his chest sinking slightly with each compression, but Jang Jun-Hyuk showed no sign of waking up.
"Huff, huff."
I pressed down on the center of his chest about 1.5 to 2 times per second, but there was no response.
Sweat poured down my face.
"Damn it…they said to press hard enough to break the ribs, didn't they?"
I closed my eyes tightly and began pressing harder on his chest.
Crack!
The clear sound of a bone breaking resonated. Cold sweat ran down from my forehead out of frustration, but I didn't stop my hands. After all, saving the life in front of me was more important than any other consequence.
"Huff, huff, huff."
My whole arm throbbed and my back was drenched with sweat from pressing so hard and not holding back.
At that moment, I heard mumbling from my surroundings.
"Hey! Seriously, man. Who taught you how to drive, huh? If there's an accident, you have to move your car out of the…wait. Isn't that Jang Jun-Hyuk? What's going on here?"
"Is this a movie shoot?"
"N-no, dude! It looks like a real heart attack!"
"Well, then what are you doing! Call 112 and get an ambulance!"
"That's for reporting a crime, you idiot!"
The commotion continued, and soon after, I heard the sound of cars blocking the lane behind me.
"Please control the traffic!"
"Everyone! Please make way for the ambulance! Everyone!"
"Hey, young man. Let me know if you're tired. I'll help as well."