A short while later.
Only the traces of their finished meal remained on the table.
Everyone looked slightly bloated.
Kim Hyeokgwon grumbled and explained why.
“I’m exhausted, and after eating combat rations, I feel like I’m going to die of indigestion.”
“You won’t die from that.”
“It’s just an expression. Honestly, first thing in the morning…”
Kim Hyeokgwon looked awkward at the sensitive word that had slipped out without him realizing.
It was then.
Thud-thud-thud.
The faint sound of a weak motor could be heard, gradually drawing closer.
It was the sound of the only truck in Sahad Village.
Though the village was close enough to reach in no time, it was an important means of transportation for patients who had difficulty moving.
It had been impossible to operate because of a burst tire.
The PKO had quickly provided support, so it had been able to run again since yesterday evening.
Sensing that it was the truck, Taesu sprang up from his seat.
“It’s time to digest.”
“Shall we go make some money?”
“Whew.”
Kim Hyeokgwon got up leisurely, while tension appeared on Jeong Minsu’s face.
The examination began as soon as preparations were complete.
The second round of treatment was clearly different from yesterday’s.
Yesterday had focused on emergency care.
In the process, they had divided the patients into two groups.
They had identified patients with severe external or internal injuries and transported them to the NGO.
Most of the remaining patients either had relatively minor injuries or needed to be monitored for progress.
Today, they had to examine those patients in greater depth.
In short, yesterday had been the preview, and the main feature was starting now.
The hygiene conditions were also very different from yesterday.
Yesterday, it had been bare ground, but today a wide cloth had been spread across the floor.
The patients were sitting on it.
As Taesu had advised, their clothing was also much cleaner than yesterday.
The number of voices complaining of pain had also dropped noticeably.
As the situation changed, so did the medical staff.
First, Taesu and Kim Hyeokgwon formed a team and approached the patients.
Kim Hyeokgwon first opened a notebook in his hand and compared the patient to the description.
“This person is… Uh, one moment…”
Rustle, rustle.
He was quickly flipping through the pages, searching for what seemed to be a kind of chart.
In the meantime, Taesu lowered himself and spoke to the patient with a gentle smile.
“How is the lower left side of your abdomen?”
“…”
The patient stared blankly, unable to understand English.
At that moment, Kim Hyeokgwon asked Taesu in surprise.
“You remember?”
“Of course.”
“Forget that. So what were this patient’s symptoms?”
“Pain in the left lower abdomen. We suspected a splenic contusion. If not that, then the intestines could be swollen, and we also decided to keep open the possibility of a temporary decline in pancreatic function.”
As Taesu answered smoothly, Kim Hyeokgwon’s mouth fell open without him realizing.
“Are you a genius or an idiot?”
“I’m a doctor who needs an interpreter.”
“Right. Why am I wrecking my brain over this? I’ll just interpret. @#$.#$.”
Kim Hyeokgwon simply focused comfortably on supporting him.
During the brief moment he interpreted,
Taesu’s gaze turned toward Jeong Minsu, who had his back to them nearby.
Jeong Minsu himself did not notice Taesu’s gaze.
Moving on his own, Jeong Minsu’s main role was dressing wounds.
It was on a different level from Kim Hyeokgwon’s dressing.
He began by removing the bandages wrapped the day before. Then he disinfected the affected area, applied new medicine, and wrapped it again with bandages, repeating the process.
During that process, he also squeezed out pus or drained clotted blood.
His manner was quite composed.
It was clearly different from the confused state he had been in yesterday.
And it was not merely his outward appearance that had changed.
A situation immediately unfolded that proved it clearly.
“Urgh.”
While pus was being drained from his injured shoulder, the patient grimaced and cried out.
Jeong Minsu’s eyes wavered slightly.
However, he did not make the mistake of becoming frightened and letting go of the patient’s shoulder.
He held it firmly and soothed him in English, though it would not get through.
“It’s almost over. I’m nearly done.”
“Uuuugh.”
Nod.
The patient, his face tightly contorted, responded with a faint nod.
Their language clearly did not get through.
But it seemed he had read the sincerity in Jeong Minsu’s eyes and expression.
As the patient showed patience, Jeong Minsu continued the dressing with care.
His hands were surprisingly steady.
A resident in thoracic surgery at Yeonseong University Hospital.
That title was not granted to just anyone.
One had to rank among the top residents of the same year.
Timidity was a matter of personality, unrelated to the measure of one’s learning.
Taesu and Kim Hyeokgwon, who had just finished an examination, were watching him.
Taesu winked at Kim Hyeokgwon and asked.
“See? Wasn’t I right?”
“If he’s a doctor in name, isn’t that only natural?”
“He’ll get even better.”
“Good grief.”
Kim Hyeokgwon looked dumbfounded.
Still, judging by the fact that he no longer made harsh remarks, he seemed to acknowledge that Jeong Minsu had improved a little.
Taesu smiled calmly.
The medical tent did not have the same bustle and urgency as yesterday.
But that did not mean it was leisurely.
The atmosphere was heavy, with the examinations now being more in-depth.
Within that atmosphere, Taesu and Jeong Minsu examined each patient in more detail and with greater care.
It was then.
Thud-thud-thud.
The sound of a weak engine could be heard.
As expected, the shabby truck was coming up the hill.
Was it Chief Kandor?
It was too early for him to be taking patients away.
Taesu looked at it with a slightly puzzled gaze.
As the old truck drew closer, its interior became visible through the cloudy windshield. But the driver’s expression was extremely poor.
It was also unusual to see a man in the passenger seat with his head tilted back. On top of that, his body was shaking this way and that from the truck’s rough jolts.
Taesu’s eyes had narrowed before he knew it.
He had a bad feeling.
“Mr. Hyeokgwon.”
“Yes? What… What’s that over there now?”
“Let’s go.”
As soon as Taesu moved, Kim Hyeokgwon followed right behind him.
At the same time the old truck stopped nearby,
Bang.
Taesu roughly yanked open the passenger door and climbed up.
A patient?
No, a critical patient.
At a glance, he was unconscious.
A faint cyanosis showed on his lips, and his complexion was pale overall. He was also sweating coldly enough that his clothes were damp.
Every one of those symptoms was far from ordinary.
Tap, tap.
Taesu lightly patted his cheek and called softly.
“Hey, hey.”
While Taesu was trying to wake him,
Kim Hyeokgwon, who had quickly exchanged a few words with the driver, interpreted at once.
“Chest, Doctor, chest.”
Chest?
The patient’s top was a shirt.
Taesu immediately grabbed it with both hands and tore it open roughly.
Pop, pop.
Buttons flew off, and the shirt spread open.
From the upper left side of the patient’s chest to his shoulder, a pressure bandage was wrapped round and round.
It was undoubtedly one of the pressure bandages Taesu had handed out to the patients last night, just in case.
Seeing how thickly it was wrapped, it seemed they had wound it around blindly.
It was wrapped so thickly that there were no bloodstains.
‘As expected, emergency treatment.’
It was enough to emphasize all over again how important it was.
At that moment, Taesu flinched.
The thickness of a pressure bandage was directly proportional to the size of the wound.
If it had been wrapped this thickly?
The moment he thought that far,
Kim Hyeokgwon, who had been talking with the driver, cried out in shock.
“He says it’s gouged deep enough to see the breastbone.”
“What?”
“Apparently they were demolishing a building when debris came pouring down, and he fell wrong while trying to avoid it.”
“Damn it. Do these people work without securing even the bare minimum safety?”
Taesu shouted.
His voice was so sharp that the driver flinched in surprise.
Taesu did not care and growled roughly at the driver.
“If you’re going to work like this, quit.”
“Uh, Doctor Choi.”
“Don’t call for me. You should be telling him what I said.”
“Don’t get worked up.”
Kim Hyeokgwon tried to calm him, but Taesu’s anger did not subside so easily.
“How could I not get worked up?”
“There was a child underneath. He pushed the child aside and got hurt instead.”
“What, wait?”
As Taesu, who had been about to shout, stopped short, Kim Hyeokgwon quickly added.
“He says the child was coming toward him because he was happy to see his father, and that was exactly when it happened. The father ran over, pushed the kid away, and got hurt instead!”
“He, he, the child, so…”
Taesu’s words lost their way.
Kim Hyeokgwon calmed Taesu once more and said.
“It really happened in an instant. Accidents happen like that, don’t they? And that’s not what matters right now.”
“Whew. First, give me the stethoscope.”
Kim Hyeokgwon took it out of the medical bag and handed it over.
Taesu quickly put the stethoscope in his ears and placed the chestpiece near the heart.
Thump, thump.
As expected, the heartbeat was not good.
But there was another sound that drew Taesu’s ears even more strongly.
Shhh, shhk.
It was the sound of wind, but uneven.
It meant air was not entering both lungs evenly.
After auscultating, Taesu’s eyes went wide.
This was serious.
As expected, the pressure bandage had not been wrapped so thickly for no reason.
This was no time for this.
Whip.
Taesu turned his head and looked intensely at Kim Hyeokgwon.
At that sharp force, Kim Hyeokgwon froze without realizing it, and his eyes wavered faintly.
“Don’t tell me?”
“Yes. As fast as possible.”
It was a conversation without a subject.
No, it was a conversation that did not need one.
Kim Hyeokgwon, immediately understanding, furrowed his brow.
“The weather’s so nice, and now this bolt out of the blue.”
Tat-tat-tat.
After shouting bluntly, Kim Hyeokgwon quickly ran toward the surgical tent.
Meanwhile, Taesu looked back at the patient.
It was then.
Gurgle, gurgle.
The sound of his breathing changed strangely.
And then.
Drip.
Blood flowed in a long streak from his mouth.
At the same time, Taesu froze.
This was?
Hemoptysis.
He was coughing up blood.
Bleeding in the lungs had passed through the airway and come out of the mouth.
The amount was not large yet.
If there was anything fortunate, that was extremely fortunate.
Before he knew it, Taesu’s gaze had turned fierce and sharp.
His expression had also hardened.
Every doctor knew.
Saving a person’s life was truly difficult.
It was also a cruel trick of fate.
Once again, a person’s life would hang in his hands.
There was no way he could be unaffected.
The weight of life.
Jeong Minsu was not the only one who felt that burden.
Rather, the psychological pressure Taesu felt was even greater than Jeong Minsu’s.
Who was he to do this?
By what right could he decide whether someone lived or died?
Even so, the fact that he once again had to handle a life did not change.
It was then.
“Doctor.”
The driver’s voice came from beside him.
Snapping back to his senses, Taesu quickly turned his head to look.
“You can speak English?”
“Doctor.”
He repeated only the same word.
It might have been the only English he knew.
After calling him repeatedly like that, he reached out his hand.