Not a single breath could be heard inside the hospital room. In the syringe held in Taeho's hand was a therapeutic agent carefully prepared over the past 12 hours through the night. It was a treatment compounded by Taeho based on Mama Aisha's traditional remedy.
President Ibrahim lay in bed, unconscious.
"Blood pressure 85/50, pulse 62, respiration ventilator-dependent."
Dr. Chen, who had agreed to work in tandem with Taeho on the new treatment, said.
Madam Aminata gripped her husband's hand and asked in a trembling voice.
"Will it really be alright?"
"All preparations are complete. We will begin now."
Taeho began slowly administering the drug through the intravenous line. One milliliter per minute, injected at a precise rate. He immediately checked his watch and spoke.
"First dose, beginning now."
"Administration speed normal. Blood pressure 84/50, pulse 62, oxygen saturation maintaining at 92%."
Dr. Chen replied, assisting him.
The room was silent. Only the mechanical rhythm of the ventilator and the beeping of the heart monitor rang out at regular intervals.
When no significant change occurred even after some time had passed, Madam Aminata looked at Taeho with an anxious expression.
"It seems there's no reaction at all."
"We must wait a little longer. The drug needs at least 20 minutes to reach the central nervous system."
Taeho reassured her calmly.
When 30 minutes had passed, the first signs were detected.
While the others hadn't noticed, Taeho, whose intuition was exceptional, caught that the President's eyelids were trembling ever so slightly.
"Wait, I see a tremor in the eyelids."
"I'll check."
Dr. Chen said, walking closer. He had officially endorsed Taeho's treatment method, but he didn't fully believe in it.
Kang Taeho's method was, in a word, too radical. If there had been another way, he probably wouldn't have endorsed it. He wondered if Taeho would be right this time, just as he had been during Lee Junho's SSPE treatment before.
Dr. Chen shone a penlight on the pupil.
"There's a weak response to light. It's not a full pupillary reflex yet, but he's recognizing the stimulus."
Dr. Chen's eyes widened in disbelief.
Madam Aminata approached her husband even closer and whispered.
"Dear, can you hear my voice?"
At that moment, President Ibrahim's finger moved. It was only a very slight movement, but Madam Aminata couldn't hold back her overflowing tears.
"Oh! Thank you. Thank you. He's responding!"
***
After that, Taeho hardly slept for 12 hours. He checked the patient's condition every 2 hours, analyzed blood test results, and made minute adjustments to the drug dosage. He also didn't neglect to secretly check the patient's condition through Lema.
Taeho, who was having dinner with Dr. Chen, checked his watch and stood up.
"It's time for a check."
Dr. Chen said worriedly.
"Dr. Kang, please get some rest. The other doctors can take turns watching him."
"I'm fine. I still can't let my guard down, so I'll check on him myself."
Taeho popped the last piece of akara made from mashed black beans into his mouth and went to check on the patient again.
Upon entering the hospital room, an astonishing change was taking place.
"Check the ventilator settings."
"Yes. Huh? Spontaneous respiration is appearing!"
Dr. Schneider, who had entered with Taeho, replied.
President Ibrahim was showing regular and stable breathing patterns even without the help of the ventilator.
"I'll assess the level of consciousness. Mr. President, can you hear me?"
Taeho gently shook the patient's shoulder.
President Ibrahim's eyelids slowly trembled, then he carefully opened his eyes. At first, they were unfocused, but they gradually became clearer.
"Uh... where..."
A cracked voice.
"President Ibrahim?"
President Ibrahim slowly turned his head to look at Taeho.
An Eastern doctor he was seeing for the first time.
"Who are you...?"
"Mr. President. I am Dr. Kang Taeho, from Korea. It's done. Your consciousness has returned."
Taeho answered joyfully. Only now could he breathe a sigh of relief.
The news that President Ibrahim had regained consciousness spread quickly.
The other medical staff who had been waiting came in shifts to check pupillary responses and test reflex reactions. Everything was normal.
"Unbelievable."
"How is this possible?"
Dr. Schneider shook his head, and Dr. Ranieri smiled brightly.
President Ibrahim's reflexes, motor functions, and language abilities were all improving rapidly.
"This is medically inexplicable. To think a patient who was in a coma until yesterday would recover this quickly."
"It seems the new drug's effects are manifesting optimally."
"How on earth was Dr. Kang able to come up with such an idea?"
The medical staff at the presidential palace talked about Taeho whenever they gathered in the cafeteria or lodgings. Dr. Chen told them about what he had witnessed at Mount Sinai.
"Is that true? He treated SSPE like that?"
"I saw it with my own eyes."
"I'll have to look up all of Dr. Kang's papers when I get back."
"This isn't merely a matter of creativity. How he could conceive of such an idea..."
"How is someone of such skill working at a local clinic?"
It was something they simply couldn't understand with common sense.
***
President Ibrahim sat up in bed, leaning back. Vitality had returned to his face, and his eyes were much clearer. He looked at Taeho and spoke.
"Dr. Kang. I truly don't know how to express my gratitude."
Taeho bowed his head humbly.
"Mr. President, I was merely doing my job. Mama Aisha and the other medical staff also worked hard together."
"Not at all. My wife told me. She told me what fight you waged to save me. You are the savior of my life."
President Ibrahim smiled.
Madam Aminata sat beside her husband and nodded.
"If it weren't for Dr. Kang, I hate to even imagine what would have become of us now."
At that moment, Defense Minister Balla urgently opened the door and entered. In his hand was an emergency report.
The atmosphere inside the hospital room instantly darkened.
Defense Minister Balla hesitated for a moment upon seeing Madam Aminata and Taeho.
"Everyone here is fine, so please speak."
When President Ibrahim nodded, Defense Minister Balla didn't wait any longer and spoke.
"Mr. President! The situation with the neighboring countries is far more serious than expected!"
Defense Minister Balla unfolded the documents and began his urgent report.
"We just received urgent intelligence from our agency. Colonel Assimi Goïta of Mali has convened an emergency military council. They seem to be treating rumors of Your Excellency's death as established fact. More serious is Burkina Faso. President Thomas Compaoré issued a special alert order to the border defense forces last night. Nominally, it is to prepare for regional instability caused by Your Excellency's deteriorating health."
"They intend to use this opportunity for territorial expansion."
"Furthermore, the Nigerien military has also begun to move. General Abdourahamane Tchiani is relocating troops under the pretext of a regional stabilization operation. Officially, they claim it is to resolve the Sudanese refugee issue. If this continues..."
"All of West Africa will become a battlefield."
"That is correct. The peace system you have built over the past 10 years will collapse overnight."
President Ibrahim groaned and listened to the report with a heavy expression.
"I must show them that I am alive and well. Contact the national broadcasting station immediately. I will do a live interview."
Taeho immediately objected.
"Absolutely not! Mr. President, you are still recovering. Even slight exertion carries too great a risk of relapse."
"But Dr. Kang..."
"From a medical standpoint, your condition is still very unstable. Even a little strain could lead to irreversible consequences."
But President Ibrahim forcibly raised himself from the bed. He briefly grimaced in pain but spoke, catching his breath.
"Even now, at this very moment, tens of thousands of soldiers are massing at the borders. A war could break out because they mistakenly believe I am dead."
Madam Aminata took her husband's hand and spoke.
"But dear, if something happens to you, it will all be meaningless."
"No, Aminata."
President Ibrahim said resolutely.
"No matter what happens, we must prevent war."
Taeho objected vehemently.
"Mr. President! Doing a broadcast now could trigger a heart attack. Your intracranial pressure could spike and cause a cerebral hemorrhage. As the physician with full authority over your treatment, I absolutely oppose this."
"Dr. Kang."
President Ibrahim tightly grasped Taeho's hand.
"You are worrying about my life as a doctor. But as president, I must worry about more lives than just my own."
At that moment, the Defense Minister shouted while looking at his phone.
"The Malian forces have begun to move! We've received intelligence that they will likely cross the border within 2 hours!"
President Ibrahim's face grew pale.
"Twenty minutes... No, I just need to hold on for 15 minutes. If I can show them I am healthy and deliver a peace message..."
President Ibrahim, who had been throwing off the bedsheet, suddenly swayed and leaned forward.
"Dear!"
Madam Aminata, who was closest, screamed and supported him.
But President Ibrahim waved his hand.
"I'm fine. This much..."
"You are not fine!"
Taeho shouted.
At the same time, the Defense Minister shouted again.
"The Senegalese forces are also currently approaching the border!"
"How much time remains?"
President Ibrahim asked in a trembling voice.
"One hour at most."
Taeho looked at President Ibrahim with a desperate expression. The patient was hemorrhaging, and his stamina had reached its limit. But if he didn't broadcast within an hour, war would break out.
"Dr. Kang."
President Ibrahim spoke in a low voice. In his voice was a calmness that seemed to have resigned itself to death.
"Twenty years ago, when my wife and my son, who was only eight years old, were killed by rebel gunfire, I swore an oath. I swore that never again would such tragic deaths occur on this land."
Taeho's chest grew tight.
"If war breaks out even once, countless children will die. Then no one will be able to stop it. Please... help me."
Taeho shook his head. It was a situation he could never permit as a doctor. But as a human being, he could not ignore President Ibrahim's noble sacrifice.
"Ten minutes. Exactly ten minutes. And I will prepare emergency treatment right beside you."
"Thank you, Dr. Kang."
"But if you collapse during the broadcast, we may truly be unable to save you then."
President Ibrahim smiled.
"Then I shall prevent the war before I die."
Madam Aminata wailed.
"No! Not like this!"
Taeho clenched his teeth.
Could he really endure ten minutes? What if something happened during the broadcast?