The classroom filled with the sound of children crying in an instant.
"Blegh, hurk."
"Mommyyy."
On one side, children were vomiting.
Taeseong's mother shouted into her phone.
"What? Ambulances are in short supply because of a traffic accident, so they won't arrive for forty minutes? How are we supposed to wait until then?"
In the meantime, Doyun's mother filmed the situation with her phone and uploaded it to the kindergarten group chat.
Doyun's mom: [Video]
Doyun's mom: This is the situation right now! The kids are all suddenly vomiting!
Hyein's mom: WTF is this!!!
Hyeonseo's mom: What happened to our Hyeonseo?
Jian's mom: Argh, I'm going crazy, I can't leave the office right nowㅠㅠㅠ
Eunji's mom: Is our Eunji there too?? I can't see herㅠㅠ
Taeseong's mom: I called 119 and they said they'll come in 40 minutes!! They said ambulances are lacking because of a traffic accident!
Subin's mom: 40 minutes?? Are they crazy!! What happens to the kids in the meantime!!
Junho's mom: Ugh, is this because it's Gangwon-do? If this were Seoul, they'd be here in 5 minutes
Hyeonseo's mom: What do we do, what do we do, are our kids going to dieㅠㅠㅠㅠ
Doyun's mom: The teachers are all flustered right now and can't do anything eitherㅠㅠ
Eunji's mom: I'm driving there right now!! It'll take 20 minutesㅠㅠ
Jian's mom: Me too!! I told my boss and ran out!!
Taeseong's mom: The kids are vomiting so much... it's too hard to watch
Subin's mom: Did this happen after they ate lunch? Is it food poisoning?
Doyun's mom: I think so. Right after lunch, suddenly...
Junho's mom: Ugh, what did the kindergarten feed them!
Junseong's mom: But 40 minutes for an ambulance... isn't that too late? The kids' condition...
Taeseong's mom: That's rightㅠㅠ Our Taeseong isn't doing well either...
In a corner of the classroom thrown into chaos, Hayul sat stiffly with both hands covering his ears.
Right now, Hayul was the only child who was perfectly fine.
Hayul took out his kindergarten bag and pulled out the kids' phone from inside. It was something Uncle Taeho had bought him, telling him to call if anything happened. When he pressed and held number 1, the call connected.
"-Hayul? What's going on at this hour?"
Uncle Taeho's happy voice.
Hayul said.
"My friends are sick. They're crying."
"What? Hayul, stay right there. Uncle will come right now."
"Okay."
Hayul hung up and squatted down in the corner.
The classroom had become a scene of chaos.
The teachers and the other mothers were all out of their minds.
His friends were all crying, vomiting, and wilting away helplessly.
Hayul was scared, but he decided to endure it.
Because Uncle Taeho was coming now.
Because Uncle Taeho healed all sick people.
Once Uncle Taeho came, everything would be okay.
***
It was normally a twenty-minute drive, but Taeho arrived in front of the daycare in eight minutes.
Taeho got out of the car together with Nurse Park Geumja and immediately moved into the classroom.
The inside of the classroom was truly horrific. Vomit and feces were scattered everywhere on the floor, and children were crying all around.
"Director! How did you know to come!"
Teacher Kim Seoyeong, Hayul's homeroom teacher, greeted Taeho with a pale face. Children's vomit was smeared here and there on her clothes.
"What happened?"
"Starting a short while ago, the children suddenly began vomiting and having diarrhea. Right now about twenty children are showing symptoms, and three teachers have the same symptoms."
The children and teachers had suddenly shown symptoms at the same time?
Taeho closed his eyes and internally called forth Biovision.
When he opened his eyes, Taeho's vision had completely changed.
The biological signals of everyone in the classroom looked like auroras. Various colored lights appeared around the bodies of the children and teachers.
Just then, Hayul, who had been sitting in one corner, ran to Taeho and hugged him.
"Uncle."
"Hayul, are you okay?"
Taeho hurriedly bent down and examined Hayul.
No color appeared around Hayul. As if he were transparent—no, rather, a faint blue light enveloped him.
-Status: Normal (BLUE)
-Notes: No symptoms
"Hayul's not sick."
Taeho felt relieved on one hand, but puzzled.
Why was Hayul the only one who was fine?
He turned his head and saw the food trays scattered on the desks.
To ordinary eyes, they were just leftover curry rice, but to Taeho, they looked completely different. The curry rice on the trays was emitting auras of various colors as if they were living creatures.
What caught his eye first was the curry sauce.
Above the sauce that normally looked brown, a sinister, deep red wavelength flickered. A red energy swirled above it as if a toxic substance were breathing.
The rice grains were no exception. Warning signals flashing from yellow to orange blazed above the white rice.
But the most horrible things were the meat pieces in the curry. A deep purple aura close to black hovered around them. It was a chilling color, like the energy of death itself.
"Hayul, did you happen to eat lunch?"
"No. It smelled funny."
"Do you remember what smell was strange?"
"The meat smelled funny."
Hayul said, scrunching up his face.
As expected…….
Taeho said to Hayul.
"Hayul, go to another classroom. Play with blocks, okay?"
"Okay."
A question arose in his head.
If it were food poisoning, symptoms usually appeared after about three or four hours. Sometimes they appeared after several days. But looking at the current situation, it had happened while the children were eating lunch.
Taeho grabbed his glasses frame and muttered to himself.
"Was there ever a food poisoning bacteria that caused reactions this quickly?"
Lema understood and answered.
-I will search the medical database.
-Searching…….
Then Doyun's mother, who had recognized Taeho, quickly approached.
"Director Geumsan? Thank goodness, truly thank goodness! What should we do with our children?"
"First, please calm down. I'll assess the situation first."
"Aaack! Eunseong! Eunseong!"
Eunseong's mother's scream filled the classroom.
The most intense red warning light was flashing around Eunseong.
-Status: Maximum Danger (CRITICAL RED)
-Consciousness level: Comatose
-Blood pressure: Estimated 50/20 mmHg (Shock)
-Dehydration level: Severe (12% or more)
Eunseong's mother suddenly stood up and shouted.
"I can't wait any longer! I'm going to Samcheok Central Hospital in my car!"
"Me too! Our Taepyeong keeps vomiting, what can we do here!"
Taepyeong's mother also jumped to her feet.
Minseo's mother agreed as well.
"That's right! Instead of waiting for an ambulance, I think it's better if we each go to the hospital!"
"We have a car so we'll leave right away!"
Even Doyun's mother joined in.
Taeho quickly raised his hand to stop them.
"Wait a moment! You absolutely cannot!"
"Why? Instead of standing around here, going to the hospital is——"
"It's dangerous to move the children right now!"
Taeho spoke in a firm voice. He explained while pointing especially at Eunseong.
"Look at the child's condition. He's already in shock. If a more severe shock comes while moving by car right now, he could go into cardiac arrest inside the car!"
Eunseong's mother stomped her feet and asked.
"Then... Then what should we do?"
"First, you have to stabilize their condition with emergency treatment before transporting them. That child is the same. If vomit enters his airway in the car while he's continuously vomiting right now, he could suffocate."
Taepyeong's mother's face grew pale.
"Is it that dangerous?"
"Yes. But if we provide appropriate treatment here, we can transport them safely. Nurse Park, prepare Hartmann's solution! Begin rapid fluid resuscitation at 20 mL/kg!"
"Yes! Director!"
While Taeho was giving orders, the statuses of the other children were continuously updating on one side of his vision.
Minseo, who had an orange aura, was gradually changing to red. It was a signal that his condition was deteriorating.
"Connect IV fluids to that child immediately as well!"
Taeho began treating the children while moving through the classroom like a commander. Thanks to Biovision, he could see at a glance who was the most critical and in what order they needed to be treated.
"You said Eunji? Eunji's condition is relatively stable. But since dehydration is progressing, we'll start with oral rehydration."
"Yes. Understood, Director."
"Doyun is okay for now, but I'll provide IV fluids as a preventive measure."
"Yes!"
Taeho administered antiemetics to Taepyeong and spoke.
"Taepyeong, Teacher will make you stop vomiting. You'll feel better soon."
"Yes......"
Taepyeong, who had been lying limply, answered.
Taeho calmly administered emergency treatment starting from the most critical child, and Nurse Park Geumja and Teacher Kim Seoyeong assisted him. Watching that scene, the mothers' anxiety began to subside little by little. Once their own children found relative stability, Doyun's mother and Taepyeong's mother also went around looking after the other children.
After first looking after the children, Taeho contacted nearby major hospitals and ordered preparations for transporting the children. Then he checked the teachers' conditions.
"Director, you've worked hard looking after the children first. We're fine."
"No. The teachers are patients too."
Taeho activated Biovision and scanned the teachers' conditions. All yellow. They were in a markedly more stable state than the children.
"Fortunately, the teachers are in better condition than the children."
Taeho said with a relieved expression.
"Adults have stronger immunity after all, and since they weigh more, even if they ingest the same amount of toxin, the concentration is lower."
Then,
Beep-
A faint ringing in his ears.
When he turned around, Eunseong's breathing had grown shallow.
Taeho immediately rushed to Eunseong's side. The child's small body went limp.
"Hartmann's solution 20 mL/kg rapid IV! As soon as you secure vascular access, immediately!"
"Yes! Director!"
Taeho quickly inserted a needle into Eunseong's jugular vein.
"If blood pressure doesn't rise, prepare epinephrine 0.01 mg/kg IM!"
It was as if all other noise in the classroom had disappeared. Only saving Eunseong's life dominated Taeho's mind.
The red aura around Eunseong visible through Biovision was gradually growing darker.
Not much time remained.
While connecting Eunseong's IV and performing emergency treatment, his phone rang.
"Mr. Kang Taeho, this is Chief Kim Daeho of Samcheok Central Hospital Emergency Room."
The voice coming from beyond the phone was exhausted.
"Yes, Chief. I contacted you regarding the transport of pediatric patients."
"I'm calling about that matter. I'm truly sorry, but... Currently our hospital is completely overwhelmed. This morning, multiple traffic accident patients came in, and water play accident victims flooded in as well..."
Taeho's face hardened.
"Then is the ER impossible as well?"
"For now, two adult patients are waiting in the hallway, and as for the pediatric ward... to be honest, I think you'll have to wait about three days."
Before he could hang up, another call came in.
"Doctor, this is Park Junseok from the Emergency Medicine Department of Gangneung Howon Hospital."
"Yes, Dr. Park. Is it possible to transfer the food poisoning pediatric patients?"
"Ah, I was just about to contact you first about that matter. Our ICU is currently full..."
It was another piece of hopeless news.
"RSV pneumonia patients have suddenly increased, so beds are insufficient. There are about fifteen patients waiting for the general pediatric ward too."
"Then at least the ER..."
"Emergency treatment is possible, but admission will likely require at least a week of waiting."
After hanging up, Taeho stood there blankly for a moment. He looked down at Eunseong. The child's face was growing paler and paler, and the biological signals visible through Biovision were continuously deteriorating.
-Status: Continuous deterioration (CRITICAL RED)
-Estimated time limit: Within 2 hours
The sounds of children crying continued around him.
'The children's conditions will continue to deteriorate during transport too. And we have to wait again even after arriving at the hospital? Then we'll miss the golden hour.'
In that instant, something flashed through Taeho's mind.