Just then, Taesu folded the paper and said,
Snap.
“It has nothing to do with you anymore, so don’t take it to heart.”
“Right. We’re strangers now.”
“But did you really not go because it left a bad taste in your mouth?”
Taesu casually steered the conversation elsewhere.
Jo Uncheol must have decided that was for the best as well, because he answered calmly.
“No. They said the Korean medical team would be arriving this way this morning.”
“Those people?”
“Yeah. Since they’re here, I thought I’d go around with the Korean medical team.”
“I’m a Korean doctor too, you know.”
When Taesu subtly presented himself, Jo Uncheol smiled faintly.
“I’d split myself in two trying to keep up with you, Dr. Choi.”
“What did I do?”
“Even that patient just now…”
As Jo Uncheol was about to say something, Taesu, sensing what it was, cut him off first.
“We should rest a little longer, then we’ll be deployed too.”
“Heh. Fine. Let’s leave it at that for now.”
“It’s the truth.”
Taesu answered confidently, but his gaze slid aside.
He knew himself that he was far from ordinary.
Even if he wanted to stubbornly insist otherwise, there were too many witnesses, so he knew better than to argue.
Jo Uncheol simply laughed as well.
No, he was wearing a smile that seemed to clear his chest.
“Hoo, hoohoo. This is nice.”
He was more than satisfied with the atmosphere he was enjoying at the NGO.
Taesu smiled along with Jo Uncheol.
He did not know how the man had worked as a doctor in Japan.
But there was no reason for that to matter now.
This moment was what mattered.
He was here beside him like this.
He had chosen the path of the NGO.
‘Then that’s enough.’
Rustle.
Taesu put the paper into his pocket, removing it from sight.
He was just about to continue what remained of his rest.
In the distance, he saw Nurse Ellen.
“Ellen?”
Taesu looked at her with a puzzled expression.
He had thought she had gone into the same operating room as Dr. Schmidt. But now Nurse Ellen was approaching with a large tray in her hands.
When she came closer, Nurse Ellen was the first to call out and ask,
“You haven’t eaten yet, right?”
“Ah, that’s true.”
“The doctor was exactly right.”
Clack.
As she spoke, Nurse Ellen entered Medical Tent 3.
At the same time, a savory smell wafted through the air.
“Huh?”
Everyone’s noses were twitching.
Nurse Ellen set down the tray and said,
“They’re sandwiches.”
“Oh.”
Everyone was startled by the sight of the generously stuffed sandwiches.
Taesu quickly stepped closer and asked,
“How did these suddenly appear?”
“Casey didn’t tell you?”
“No. She went into the hospital with the guardian.”
“Then this isn’t the time for me to be here either. Excuse me first.”
Tap tap tap.
As soon as she finished speaking, Nurse Ellen turned around and ran toward the hospital.
She had appeared suddenly, then vanished just as suddenly.
“…”
Taesu had no choice but to stare blankly as she grew distant.
Then he suddenly froze.
Putting the pieces together, it meant the sandwiches were a simple meal Dr. Schmidt had prepared for them.
“Ah.”
Realizing it, Taesu let out a short exclamation.
But beside him, he heard exclamations of a different meaning.
“Mmm.”
“Ooh, wow.”
“Oh my.”
Whoosh.
When Taesu turned his head, they were already eating the sandwiches.
Their eyes had turned into crescents.
Seeing that, the taste was certainly guaranteed.
The place they were in was a medical tent with blood splattered here and there.
It was hardly an appropriate place to eat anything. And yet none of the medical staff cared as they devoured the sandwiches.
That was because the day was not over yet.
Even now, many patients were waiting for them.
That was why they ate.
It was, quite literally, a means of replenishing their strength.
Dr. Schmidt must have sent them with the same intention.
As Taesu was thinking that, Nurse Lee Chorong handed him a sandwich.
“Dr. Choi, here.”
“Thank you. Chomp.”
Taesu immediately took a big bite.
The taste?
Honestly, he could not really tell.
His mouth was rough and dry, so the pastiness felt stronger.
Eat.
He had to eat so he could move again.
With that thought, he first shoved it into his mouth.
Once something entered his mouth, one person came to mind.
‘Minsu.’
He was not here right now.
He had left his post for an official reason.
He was especially sensitive when it came to food.
If possible, Taesu wanted to save some for him.
And as his mind gained a little more ease, one more thing he had to do came to mind.
There was somewhere he needed to go now.
Tap.
Taesu picked up a whole sandwich.
When he held a sandwich in each hand, Bread Kim smiled wryly.
“Were you that hungry?”
“No. I’m afraid of the consequences later.”
“Ah, Dr. Jeong. How do you know when he’ll come?”
“That’s why I’m going to look for him. I haven’t given the guardian any explanation either, so I’ll meet them while I’m at it.”
When Taesu stated his purpose, Bread Kim checked the time and answered,
“We’ll eat, catch our breath, and get started.”
“I’ll be back as soon as possible.”
“You’d better be. Crunch, mmm.”
Bread Kim, who had taken a large bite of his sandwich, nodded with a satisfied expression.
The other team members were the same.
Taesu also took a bite as he headed toward the hospital.
He did not enjoy eating while walking around, but now he had no choice.
A short while later.
After entering the hospital, Taesu headed straight for the surgical nurses’ station.
Perhaps because he had finished his own sandwich, he seemed a little more energized.
The reason Taesu chose this place was because it was where all news from surgery gathered.
As soon as he entered, the surgical nurses spoke to him first.
“Dr. Choi, we heard you had a hard time.”
“The patient went into the operating room, and they said surgery would begin immediately.”
By now, they understood him without needing an explanation.
They had figured out why Taesu had come and answered him first.
The nurses’ eyes lit up slightly at the sandwich in Taesu’s hand.
“Who did you bring that for?”
“It’s not a bouquet, but we’ll forgive you.”
At that moment, Taesu’s expression turned slightly awkward.
“This is because Dr. Jeong hasn’t eaten, so I brought it… I’m sorry.”
“What are you talking about? We can joke around with each other this much, can’t we?”
“Pardon?”
Taesu’s eyes went round.
In contrast, the surgical nurses were smiling softly.
“Honestly, at times like this, he’s the only one who gets serious.”
“If you’re that oblivious, how are you going to date anyone?”
“Just look at him. He’s exactly the type who’d have trouble dating.”
The nurses openly poked at Taesu’s shortcomings.
That did not mean they were leisurely standing around making jokes.
The nurses’ station was where every piece of news from surgery gathered, and it was the passageway for contacting other departments.
Patients and guardians also came and went constantly.
That continued twenty-four hours a day.
It was not a place that allowed anyone to remain gentle, and they had to maintain their tension.
That was why they needed moments like this.
Time to breathe by tossing out little jokes.
Taesu knew that situation too, so he did not take it sensitively.
With an embarrassed laugh, he answered smoothly with good humor.
“Haha. Next time, I’ll be sure to bring my tact with me.”
“We’ll see about that when the time comes. You came at just the right moment. Please take a look at this.”
Thud.
She set a document down on the desk and urged him to look.
Taesu’s gaze naturally turned that way.
It was a medical chart.
But the writing filling the blank spaces was unusual.
“Hmm?”
“We have no idea what any language other than English says. You know, don’t you, Dr. Choi?”
“It’s a mix of English, Korean, and Chinese characters.”
At that, the nurses quickly exchanged words among themselves.
“See? I told you I was right.”
“You said it was English and Chinese characters.”
“Korean is… I’ve barely seen it a few times, so I wasn’t sure.”
It seemed there had been a back-and-forth because of this medical chart.
Taesu fully understood how the nurses felt.
Because of that, Taesu’s gaze as he looked at the chart grew heavy.
- NAME : LEE, CH……
- DATE OF BIRTH : XXXX年 XX月 XX日
- AGE : 14(滿 13世)
The name was written in English, and the date of birth was written in Chinese characters.
After seeing even the age, Taesu’s eyebrows twitched.
“Full age?”
Korea was the only country in the world with a different way of counting age.
And there was one more peculiar point.
- Nationality:
The nationality field was blank.
It was hard to say it had been overlooked, because all the other fields were densely filled in.
If it had been left blank deliberately, there had to be a clear reason.
Lastly, he saw Korean.
- Symptom : 나무에서 落傷하여…….
The blank space for symptoms was filled with a mix of Korean and Chinese characters.
Because Korean was used, he naturally thought the patient was Korean.
Had that been a hasty judgment?
Just like the medical chart filled with multiple languages, Taesu’s mind grew confused.
“What on earth is this?”
“You don’t know Chinese characters?”
At Jeong Minsu’s voice suddenly coming from beside him, Taesu was startled.
“Oh.”
“Why so surprised?”
“When did you come out?”
“Just now. I can still feel the liver in my fingertips.”
Tremble.
Both hands that Jeong Minsu lifted were trembling faintly.
It felt different from a sign of fatigue.
Those hands contained the complicated emotions of someone who had held an organ directly.
Taesu had experience with it, so he had a rough idea of how he felt.
“It’s hard to put into words, isn’t it?”
“Yeah. Saying it’s hard to put into words is exactly right.”
“We’ll talk about that impression calmly later. Do you know Chinese characters?”
When Taesu asked with a bit of mischief, Jeong Minsu immediately glared at him.
“I’m a man who’s been playing with old men in the market since I was a kid. Most Chinese characters are no problem.”
“Then what does it say?”
“Let’s see. Fell from a tree and was injured…”
Jeong Minsu read the Chinese characters aloud in Korean.
Only Taesu understood that.
It was too much for the foreign nurses to understand Korean.
That part was naturally resolved when another person appeared.
“Why are you doing a Korean reading here?”
“Mr. Hyeokgwon.”
“Hey, nurses. What he’s saying is…”
Kim Hyeokgwon put his conversation with Taesu aside and volunteered to interpret first.
As soon as he heard it, he realized it was the patient’s history and stepped in immediately.
Scribble, scribble.
The nurses’ faces brightened as they immediately began writing it down.
Meanwhile, Taesu smiled faintly as he looked at the two people who had appeared on either side of him.
‘The three of us have to come together to make one whole.’
He realized once again that they had a mutually complementary relationship.
Perhaps that was why Taesu found them the most comfortable and the best to be with.
That moment ended before long.
The medical chart passed back to the nurses.
And in Jeong Minsu’s hand was the sandwich Taesu had brought.