Taeho opened one of the supply crates sent from the UAE inside the container.
MRE (Meal, Ready-to-Eat). It was a combat ration used by the US military. He took out three MREs and three water bottles and headed outside.
The children were standing in front of the checkpoint.
As Taeho approached, Mashika raised her head.
"Here. Eat this."
Taeho held out the MRE.
Mashika stared at it blankly.
"What is this?"
"It's food. Something you can eat."
Taeho tore one open to show her.
Several pouches came out from inside.
The main meal pouch contained a beef taco; the side pouch held crackers and peanut butter; the snack pouch held chocolate and candy.
Taeho tore open the main meal pouch.
"Like this."
He handed it to Mashika.
Mashika carefully took it and smelled it.
It was the smell of meat. Her nose flared on its own, and saliva trickled out.
"Can we really eat this?"
"Of course. It's yours."
Mashika hesitated no longer.
She was about to put the beef taco in her mouth when she saw her younger siblings staring at her. Mashika first fed each of her siblings a bite, then took a bite herself.
The children swallowed the meat without even chewing. Their eyes grew wide.
"It's delicious."
"Eat slowly. You'll choke."
Taeho smiled.
He tore one open each for Kasim and Yusuf as well.
The two children too began frantically eating their tacos.
Having starved for days, the children ate with astonishing speed. The moment the food entered their mouths, it vanished.
Taeho opened the water bottles for them.
"You have to chew slowly. Drink water too."
Mashika gulped down the water.
Sauce was smeared around her mouth.
Taeho took out a handkerchief and wiped around Mashika's and her siblings' mouths.
Mashika spoke in a small voice.
"Thank you."
"Don't mention it."
Mashika looked up at Taeho.
"Doctor, can our mom really survive?"
"Yes."
Taeho nodded.
"Your mom will wake up soon. So wait just a little longer."
"Thank you."
Tears welled in Mashika's eyes.
Taeho quietly stroked the child's head.
After the children left, Taeho returned to the tent.
He donned his protective suit and helmet. Then, after putting on gloves, he entered the isolation tent.
Bed 7.
A woman lay dependent on a ventilator. Though her record indicated she was twenty-eight, her face looked a decade older from hardship.
She was Mashika's mother, Rose.
Taeho checked Rose's chart.
Remdesivir, day three. Favipiravir, day three. Monoclonal antibodies, day two.
Everything was proceeding according to plan.
'Just a little more.'
Taeho held Rose's hand and spoke quietly.
"Rose. Mashika is waiting. Kasim and Yusuf are waiting anxiously for you too."
Rose did not answer.
Taeho gripped Rose's hand tightly.
The thick gloves prevented any warmth from getting through, but.
"Hang in there. You have to meet your children again."
***
Inside the BSL-4 isolation tent, the whir of the negative pressure fans and the mechanical beeping of the monitors was suffocating.
Taeho couldn't tear his eyes from Patient 4's chart.
The inside of the triple-layered protective suit helmet was sticky with his exhaled carbon dioxide and sweat. A bead of sweat ran down his forehead, soaked his eyebrow, and slid down the bridge of his nose. It was maddeningly itchy, but he couldn't scratch. Inside this armor-like suit, all he could do was endure.
But the pain greater than the itch was the anxiety that prevented him from looking away from Patient 4's monitor.
"Doctor Kang."
Doctor Ali approached. He was in his mid-fifties and affiliated with the Dubai Infectious Disease Center. He was the leader of the medical team dispatched from the UAE.
"Patient 2's vital signs have stabilized."
Taeho turned his head. His neck was stiff.
"Temperature?"
"Thirty-seven point eight degrees. Within normal range."
Just thirty-six hours ago, it had been 39.5 degrees. The fever that wouldn't break even with antipyretics had come down.
"What about oxygen saturation?"
"Ninety-five percent. I think we can discontinue the oxygen."
"Good. Reduce it slowly. One liter every thirty minutes."
Taeho recorded on the chart and asked about Rose.
"What about Patient 7?"
"See for yourself."
Taeho moved to Bed 7.
Rose lay with her eyes closed. Her pale face was beaded with sweat.
But her breathing was stable. Her chest rose and fell rhythmically.
Taeho took out his stethoscope.
Auscultating through a protective suit was never easy. The sounds didn't transmit well, but he had to do it anyway.
He placed the stethoscope on Rose's chest. Her heart sounds were regular and strong.
Taeho moved the stethoscope to her lungs.
No wheezing. No crackles.
Clean.
"Doctor Kang?"
Doctor Ali asked cautiously.
Taeho slowly raised his head.
"She made it. Patient 7 has recovered."
"So quickly...!"
The tent stirred.
The UAE medical staff gathered one by one.
Though no one cried out, their expressions were filled with emotion.
From the moment the helicopter arrived until now, they had slept none, eaten a proper meal none, and repeatedly donned and doffed protective suits.
They had devised treatment protocols, compounded medicines, and tended to patients. Not a single additional life had been lost in that time.
Taeho looked down at Rose.
Pale face. Parched lips. Sunken eyes.
But she was alive. She was breathing.
"Ugh..."
Rose had opened her eyes.
Her eyelids trembled as they opened. Her pupils weren't cloudy; they had focus.
"Rose?"
Taeho leaned over.
Rose slowly turned her head. Her gaze found Taeho.
A person in a protective suit. An East Asian face visible beyond the helmet.
Rose's lips moved.
"Where..."
Her voice was hoarse from days without speaking.
"Eungilri Hospital," Taeho said.
Jean Paul interpreted into Lingala from beside him.
"You were sick. But you're okay now."
Rose blinked and looked around.
Tent. Medical equipment. Other beds. People in protective suits.
The face she sought was nowhere to be found.
"The children..."
"The children are fine."
Taeho quickly said.
"They're outside. They're safe."
"I want to see them."
Tears welled in Rose's eyes. Transparent tears pooled at the corners and slowly trickled down her temples.
Taeho spoke as he watched those tears.
"You'll see them soon. Please wait just a little longer."
"Thank you."
Rose's voice was so faint it was barely audible.
Taeho nodded.
"Don't mention it."
Then he slowly stood.
Gihwan handed him a chart.
"Director, the other patients are improving as well."
"Really?"
"Yes. Patient 9's oxygen saturation is rising, and Patient 6's fever has completely broken."
Taeho checked the chart.
It was true. Every patient's numbers were improving.
Taeho sent Jean Paul to bring the three children.
Outside the isolation tent. The children stopped beyond the transparent vinyl wall.
Mashika, Kasim, Yusuf.
All three children were looking at their mother.
Inside the transparent wall, Rose was sitting on the bed. She still had an IV in, but she could sit up.
The moment their eyes met.
"Mom?"
Rose's face crumbled. From her dry, scratchy eyes, tears burst forth like a waterfall.
"Mom!"
Mashika wailed and ran, slamming her small palm against the transparent vinyl wall with a smack.
"Mom! Mom, are you there? Mom!"
The second and youngest children finally burst into tears too, pounding on the wall.
"Hnng..."
"Waaah..."
As if drawn by instinct, Rose tried to step down from the bed. Despite the severe muscle pain, she tried to stagger to her feet toward the children.
"You can't. You mustn't overexert yourself yet."
Taeho caught Rose's shoulder. Rose remained seated, tears streaming down her face.
Taeho activated BioVision.
Rose's body was outlined in blue. Her liver, spleen, lymph nodes, blood vessels—every organ was overlaid semi-transparently. Within them, tiny red dots were visible.
It was the virus.
Scattered red dots in the deep liver tissue, some lymph nodes, and the edge of the spleen. But golden particles surrounded them.
They were antibodies. IgG antibodies stood guard over each red dot like sentries. Most of the virus had already been neutralized, and what remained were mere fragments that had lost their ability to replicate.
Taeho shifted his gaze.
Rose's sweat glands, salivary glands, nasal mucosa.
There was nothing. Not a single red dot. Not even a trace remained on the pathways through which the virus would be expelled from the body.
Taeho deactivated BioVision and opened his eyes.
Rose was no longer dangerous.
But a problem remained.
How to let them meet.
Taeho called Doctor Ali.
"I want to send Rose outside."
Ali's eyes widened.
"Now? Doctor Kang, you know the isolation release protocol."
"I do. Seventy-two hours asymptomatic, two negative PCR tests, and a minimum ten days of observation—that's the standard protocol. We blocked viral replication early and maximized the immune response. Rose's body has already beaten the virus."
"Then what are you going to do?"
"I'll take Rose to the empty lot behind the hospital. It's isolated from the other patients. I'll let her meet the children there."
"What about protective suits?"
"We take them off. Rose will wear only a mask, and I'll wait beside her."
Ali thought for a moment, then nodded.
"Then I'll bring the children."
Taeho removed his Level C protective suit and changed into simple surgical scrubs. After a disinfectant shower, he re-entered the isolation ward.
Rose was sitting on the edge of her bed. She was still weak, but her eyes were alive.
"Can you stand?"
"Yes."
"Slowly. I'll support you."
Taeho stepped inside the transparent wall and took Rose's arm. She stood on trembling legs. It was the first time she had stood in a week.
"Aren't you dizzy?"
"I'm fine. Can I see my children?"
"Yes. I'll take you to them now."
Taeho fitted Rose with a mask. Then slowly, step by step, he supported her out of the ward.
Rose paused at the outside air. Then she took a deep breath.
"This way."
Taeho slowly guided Rose to the back of the hospital.
There was a small vacant lot. Jean Paul had set out a makeshift chair.
"Sit here."
Rose sat in the chair. She clenched her hands. They were shaking.
"Don't be nervous. They'll be here soon."
Before Taeho finished speaking, footsteps sounded from afar.
Doctor Ali was bringing the three children.
Mashika, Kasim, Yusuf.
Mashika saw her mother first.
The person sitting under the moonlight.
"Mom...?"
Mashika's voice trembled.
Rose slowly raised her head. Tears flowed down above her mask.
"Mashika."
At that moment, Mashika ran.
"Mom!"
Taeho quickly reached out and stopped Mashika.
"Wait, Mashika. Slowly."
"Mom! Mom!"
Mashika wailed. Kasim and Yusuf ran after her. All three were blocked by Taeho's arm and couldn't reach Rose.
"That's our mom!"
"I know. I know, Mashika. Mom is still a little weak. If you hug her too hard, you could hurt her. Slowly, hug her carefully. Okay?"
Mashika nodded, her face soaked with tears.
Taeho lowered his hand.
The three children slowly, but as if they couldn't stop themselves, walked toward Rose.
Rose opened her arms.
"Mom!"
Mashika threw herself into Rose's arms.
"Mom, Mom."
Kasim and Yusuf hugged Rose from both sides.
Rose embraced the three children and collapsed into sobs.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, my babies."
"Were you sick, Mom? Were you very sick?"
"It's okay. It's okay now."
"We were hungry. We ran out of bread."
"I know, I know. I'm sorry."
The four of them embraced and cried for a long time.
Doctor Ali watched the scene and discreetly wiped away tears. Even Jean Paul, who always wore a cynical expression, sniffled as he tried to hold back tears.
When Rose was discharged, Taeho sent forty MREs with her.
"You're sending this many?"
"Because it's also an important part of the treatment process for the patient to receive adequate nutrition during the recovery period."
No one objected to Taeho's words.
***
It was the day most of the patients showed signs of recovery.
After showering with cold water, Taeho went to the temporary laboratory.
In the corner of the container, inside a black box the size of a laptop, lay the secret of Prometheus.
Taeho turned on the laptop.
The screen lit up.
'This is only the beginning. The reason I came all the way to Congo.'