Anger.

The angrier Taesu got, the faster his emergency treatment became.

Then getting him thoroughly angry was something that would be good for everyone.

Flash.

Taesu’s entire body snapped taut with fighting spirit.

“I’m increasing the speed.”

“More than this?”

“Dr. Oliver, faster. Even faster.”

“Ha, is that a challenge?”

Dr. Oliver answered boldly.

But then.

Swish, swish.

Taesu’s hands moved even faster.

Dr. Oliver, who had looked relaxed, gradually began to look pressed.

“What is this guy?”

“You’re slow. This side, hurry.”

“Ugh, damn.”

“Recover one bone fragment.”

Clatter.

The tension that had risen so high showed no sign of dropping.

What was amazing was that the same intensity continued throughout the rest of the emergency treatment.

The only person who could support it was Kim Hyeokgwon.

“This side? Here?”

“That side.”

“Okay. Got this here, and this side, right?”

“Good.”

It had been a long time since they had worked in sync, but there was no sense of a gap at all.

The hands of the two men moved the fastest and the most fiercely.

And so, as his worries disappeared, Taesu moved with all the more passion.

So that the patient’s heart would not rest for even a moment.

So that his breathing would not stop for even a moment.

So that the flow of blood would not be cut off.

He mobilized every nerve and sense he had and carried out the lung surgery.

Dr. Oliver, the assistant, and Dr. Talon as well, did not put themselves forward.

Since Taesu was the operating surgeon, they respected his direction and supported him.

Needless to say, Jeong Minsu did the same.

Kim Hyeokgwon and the nurses also matched their rhythm with the doctors while adding their own support.

Separately, and together.

The surgery continued like a torrent, overturning and surging forward.

And once again, he thought.

His position in the operating room was not important.

The place where he could be of help to the patient was his place.

Two hours later.

The emergency surgery?

“A success.”

“We did it.”

“Phew.”

“All right.”

They savored their joy with short, powerful cheers.

“Phoo.”

Taesu felt the tension drain out of him all at once.

Even so, it felt good.

“Heh, he lived.”

The patient’s life, and his lung, were both safe.

They would observe his progress and then decide whether or not to go into a scheduled surgery.

That was for later.

At this moment, the fact that the patient’s lung was still attached where it belonged was the most satisfying thing of all.

A little while later.

Slide.

The tightly shut classroom door opened.

Kim Hyeokgwon came out first, and after him, the medical staff carrying the stretcher emerged.

The corridor was packed with volunteers, children, and people who had heard the rumors and come over.

Taesu and the rest of the medical staff were not worried at all.

They had put Kim Hyeokgwon at the front because they had expected something like this.

Kim Hyeokgwon also knew exactly what he had to do and first asked the volunteers for help.

“What are you all just standing there watching for? We need to pass through.”

“Ah, just a moment.”

Only then did the volunteers look as if they had realized their mistake, and they began shouting loudly as they made a path.

Everyone headed toward the entrance along the path that had been made that way.

But something was a little strange.

Not a single guardian, who should have rushed over first, was in sight.

Jeong Minsu, who was holding one rear side of the stretcher, quietly whispered in Korean.

“Don’t tell me they’re still beating them.”

“In this neighborhood, it might be possible.”

When Taesu answered, Jeong Minsu looked even more puzzled.

“They didn’t seem that vicious.”

“Being vicious is a separate matter. Standards differ depending on what their own laws are like.”

“Ah, there’s no concept of a government here.”

“By the time you realize how frightening that is, it’s already too late.”

Taesu’s answer was extremely cold.

But Jeong Minsu, who nodded indifferently, was no less chilling.

Soon the medical staff came out beyond the entrance.

At that moment, a group of people approached from the distance.

They were the guardians.

But the way they approached was anything but ordinary.

“What the hell? Why do they have compression bandages on their hands?”

“And what about the person with the bandage around his head?”

“Surely they didn’t go to beat them and get beaten instead, right?”

“It looks like they were treated, but I have no idea what’s going on.”

The members of the surgical team were all bewildered.

In that brief moment, the guardians rushed over in a crowd and surrounded the medical staff.

“%.#^#.”

“#$%^#$%^.”

A torrent of words they couldn’t understand poured out.

Because the intonation was quite harsh, it even felt as though they were arguing.

But everyone knew that was not the case.

Their desperate eyes and faces full of worry expressed their emotions clearly.

It was Kim Hyeokgwon’s role to calm them down.

“Hey now, you people sure are impatient. All right, I’ll explain. Ah, I’m speaking English again. Anyway. ^#%……”

He began in English, then switched over and conveyed the results of the surgery in Hindi.

Even Kim Hyeokgwon, a veteran interpreter, had clearly been flustered for a moment.

At the same time, it was possible to feel just how worried, and how furious, the guardians had been.

The path was blocked for a while as he explained things to the guardians.

To be honest, the stretcher was a little heavy.

Since they had just finished emergency surgery, it was true that they were somewhat physically strained. But no one urged them to go on ahead.

Squeeze, squeeze.

Nurse Casey, who was rhythmically squeezing the Ambu bag, was the same.

Soon, the guardians would be reassured and open the way for them.

How long could that take?

They could wait as much as needed for that brief moment.

It was while they were stuck there for a short while.

Vroooom.

At the sound of an engine, everyone turned their gaze in that direction.

An NGO transport vehicle had left the medical tent and was approaching them.

The NGO transport vehicle, drawing near, seemed to spot the patient and turned ninety degrees.

Screech.

The moment the rear of the vehicle came into view, everyone’s eyes narrowed. Dr. Kuramoto and the Japanese medical team were riding in the cargo bed.

Their appearance?

In a word, it was a sight.

Among those watching, Dr. Talon spoke first.

“They got beaten up badly. Their eyelids are all bruised red and purple.”

“Judging from the way they’re wrapped in bandages, it looks like they were pounded all over.”

“But these bastards. Doesn’t that mean they treated those scumbags?”

“No need to get worked up. It looks like they did it themselves.”

Dr. Oliver was certain.

Dr. Talon, who had been looking at them more closely, soon nodded as well.

“You’re right. They must have been in quite a hurry, seeing how sloppily the bandages were wrapped. Looks like they’re running away after being scared out of their wits.”

“Return as much as you received. That’s their law, apparently.”

“Then they went easy on them. At least they didn’t remove their lungs.”

“They probably held back to some extent out of consideration for us.”

Dr. Oliver spoke indifferently.

It carried the meaning that he wanted nothing to do with people who had abandoned the professional ethics of a doctor.

Behind them, Taesu and Jeong Minsu were also conversing quietly.

Their topic was a little different.

“What does it mean if both sides are hurt? Mutual assault?”

“The difference in damage is pretty considerable to call it that, isn’t it?”

“Hmm. Wow.”

When Taesu, who had been thinking about something, suddenly let out an exclamation, Jeong Minsu looked at him in puzzlement.

“Why?”

“Minsu, how much do you have to hit someone for your fists to get scraped raw?”

“Huh?”

“How hard do you have to ram your head into someone for your head to split open?”

Taesu’s questions were far too violent. But perhaps understanding the meaning contained within them, Jeong Minsu’s eyes trembled slightly.

“They really beat them that badly?”

“Looks about that way to me.”

“Ugh, I’d better keep my head down here. One wrong move and I won’t even be able to gather my bones.”

“The people here are simple and honest. They’re always grateful. Those bastards tried to do something insane to people like that, so of course they got beaten up like that.”

When Taesu’s expression turned serious, Jeong Minsu also wiped the mischievous look from his lips and answered calmly.

“Yeah. And they’d been poking around every year under the pretense of medical volunteer work. Turns out they weren’t even originally with an NGO.”

“How many patients have they done wicked things to until now?”

“Tch. Garbage bastards.”

“This is why doctors have to have a conscience. The patient doesn’t know what happens inside the operating room.”

Taesu’s gaze remained fixed on the NGO transport vehicle as it grew distant.

Among them, he was staring directly at Dr. Kuramoto.

His face was covered in purplish bruises, and dried blood was crusted all over his lips.

From his hands to his shoulders and head, he was wrapped in bandages.

Most of all, his facial expression was filled with emptiness, as if the world had ended.

Taesu did not pity him in the slightest.

As a final image of him, there could be no scene more fitting than that.

“Ha. Pulitzer Prize material.”

He felt a little regretful that reality did not allow him to pick up a camera right away.

Some time passed after that.

In the meantime, they reassured the guardians and moved the patient to the temporary ward.

And now.

Taesu was seated in a room that had the feel of an office.

It was the medical volunteer team’s conference room.

It was his first time entering this place, so Taesu felt a little unfamiliar with it.

It was not because the atmosphere of the room was unfamiliar, but because of the person sitting across from him.

Across the table, he was facing Dr. Oliver.

There was a cold drink in front of him, but Taesu did not immediately reach for it.

When carrying out emergency surgery, they had inevitably exchanged many words.

But now that he was sitting one-on-one with him like this, awkwardness felt as though it were whirling around them.

Toward that Taesu, Dr. Oliver offered the first words.

“It’s awkward, isn’t it?”

“Yes. A little.”

“Dr. Schmidt told me to wait until the surgery was over.”

“He told me as well.”

When Taesu answered formally, Dr. Oliver soon lightly pushed the drink on the table toward him.

Slide.

“Drink.”

“I’ll drink it slowly.”

“……”

“……”

The moment their words stopped, an awkward air immediately pressed in.

Taesu felt suffocated.

To be honest, there were many things he wanted to ask.

But because they were not close, he could not easily open his mouth.

Then Dr. Oliver brought up something unexpected.

“Actually, I was the one who asked him to arrange this meeting.”

“You did, Dr. Oliver?”

“Yes. Even if it wasn’t today, we would have ended up sitting face-to-face like this before long.”

“……”

When Taesu merely looked at him with his eyebrows slightly raised, Dr. Oliver continued as if he had expected it.

“Back when we first operated together, I really hated you, Dr. Choi.”

“Why?”

“Because Dr. Schmidt was fond of you.”

At that, Taesu’s brow furrowed sharply.

“Are you saying that’s why you glared at me?”

“It’s only natural I’d get angry when Dr. Choi was receiving something I still haven’t managed to get after more than ten years.”

“Well…… I suppose that could happen.”

Taesu felt he could vaguely understand.

After that, Dr. Oliver continued.

“It’s true that I was rather narrow-minded. So I kept looking for chances to apologize to you.”

“By chances……”

“My way of speaking is a bit harsh.”

Dr. Oliver tossed the words out.

At that moment, all the conversations Taesu had had with him until now overlapped in his mind.

‘That wasn’t him picking a fight?’

If it had only been because the process of getting closer was awkward that he had ended up speaking so sharply, then the story changed completely.

He had been endlessly approaching Taesu.

If anything, it could be said that Taesu had been the one pushing him away.

“Ah, no, wait a moment. Then when you watched me on the first day in Padum?”

“I was checking to see whether you were doing well.”

“Then the day Nurse Casey arrived?”

“I was worried whether the two of you would get along……”

Scratch.

Dr. Oliver quietly scratched his cheek.