Clutch.
He clasped Taesu’s hand between both of his own. The rough texture of a man who had done hard labor all his life secretly startled Taesu.
But it was then.
“Doctor.”
He uttered the same word once more.
Biting his trembling lips tight, he forcibly steadied his wavering gaze.
He looked at Taesu with that much desperation.
The feelings he could not convey in words, he delivered through his eyes and expression.
Just one thing.
Not two, but a single heartfelt emotion could be felt.
‘Please save him.’
That was all.
Why?
His desperation confused Taesu.
The injured man was a father hurt while trying to save his son. But why was the man who had driven him here pleading so desperately?
At that moment, Taesu sharply furrowed his brow.
‘Could it be?’
Was this related to when the building debris had collapsed?
It was the most certain hypothesis at the moment.
If so, it made sense.
Now, his desperate wish was conveyed directly to Taesu.
At that moment, surprisingly, Taesu’s wildly pounding heart settled back into place.
His wavering mind also calmed completely.
And he solidified his resolve.
‘Let’s do the surgery.’
It was so decisive that the earlier worries seemed meaningless.
Thump.
Taesu covered the back of the driver’s hand and spoke heavily.
“I’ll give it everything I’ve got. Right now, these words are the best I can offer.”
“Doctor.”
He still repeated the same word.
He likely had not understood Taesu’s words.
But it was clear that he felt what the words meant through the resolute, unwavering light in Taesu’s eyes, and that was his answer.
A person’s lips could spew lies, but the heart could not.
The heart conveyed only truth.
Right now, Taesu and the driver exchanged hearts rather than words.
Inside them, there was nothing but truth and sincerity.
That moment was brief.
Now that his resolve was firm, there was no second hesitation.
Taesu immediately tried to get out of the passenger seat but paused.
Perhaps sensing the unusual atmosphere, Jeong Minsu was approaching.
“Why is Mr. Hyeokgwon...? Don’t tell me?”
“That’s right.”
Hah.
Jeong Minsu gasped.
Then his body began to tremble.
It felt as if yesterday’s shock had not all been washed away by alcohol.
The moment he saw that, Taesu quietly called out.
“Minsu.”
“Y-yeah.”
“Do you like alcohol?”
It was a short but intense question.
At that moment, Jeong Minsu shook his head violently.
“N-no. I hate it. Absolutely hate it.”
“Then what are you doing? We need to move him quickly.”
“Right. Right.”
Jeong Minsu struggled fiercely to pull his faltering mind together.
It was obvious at a glance.
That level of resolve was enough.
Soon, Taesu, Jeong Minsu, and the driver moved the patient to the surgical tent together.
Shortly after.
Rip.
The partition was roughly pulled aside as Taesu and Jeong Minsu entered, supporting the patient’s upper and lower body.
The driver added his strength from the middle.
Swoosh.
It was the moment they lifted the patient onto the operating table.
Taesu immediately grabbed the driver’s shoulder.
“….”
A firm gaze.
Facing that, the driver nodded with difficulty. And forcibly turned his reluctant steps to leave.
As the partition closed, Jeong Minsu immediately zipped it shut.
Ziiiip.
It was the minimum safety measure to prevent anyone from entering, even by mistake during surgery.
Meanwhile, Taesu connected the ECG to the patient’s bare upper body.
Beep. Beep.
Numbers and graphs fluctuated on the monitor.
Taesu analyzed them immediately and raised his voice.
“The bleeding isn’t severe. But the SO2 (oxygen saturation) is quite low….”
Before he even finished.
Suddenly, the ECG numbers changed drastically.
Bee-beep.
Kim Hyeokgwon, who had been preparing, jumped in shock and asked sharply.
“What is this? Why is it suddenly doing this?”
“Hematothorax (hemothorax).”
“Do you think I understand when you say it like that?”
Kim Hyeokgwon’s voice rose with his surging irritation.
It was then.
Thud.
Jeong Minsu positioned himself across from Taesu and answered instead.
“It’s hemothorax. It’s a problem caused by blood filling the lungs.”
“Ah, tha… huh?”
Kim Hyeokgwon flinched and looked at Jeong Minsu. In Jeong Minsu’s eyes that met his, a chilling intensity flickered.
“We’ll save him. No matter what, somehow.”
His voice was resolute.
But his body was trembling faintly.
It was an extremely contradictory sight.
Yet strangely, it did not feel awkward.
Clearly, even at this moment, Jeong Minsu was frightened.
He was forcibly restraining such a timid self, showing a contradictory appearance.
Taesu had known intuitively from the first moment he saw.
Why?
Because not long ago, he had been the same.
But certainty was good.
A glance.
Taesu looked and asked quietly.
“Don’t overdo it.”
“Damn, you said we don’t have much alcohol either. We have to save it.”
It was a strange answer disconnected from the question.
Because it was a toughness forcibly drawn out while suppressing timidity, there was more force than necessary.
The rough tone from the very start was proof of that.
Taesu nodded heavily and replied.
“Right. Alcohol is hard to get around here too, so we should save it.”
Taesu’s answer was just as absurd as Jeong Minsu’s.
Kim Hyeokgwon, sandwiched between those two, was dumbfounded.
“You quack doctors. Is now the time to worry about alcohol?”
It came with a strong rebuke.
Taesu and Jeong Minsu both extended their hands toward Kim Hyeokgwon and shouted.
“Saline.”
“Disinfectant.”
At that sight, Kim Hyeokgwon scrunched his face.
Nevertheless, he picked up what he had prepared and quickly handed it over.
Even then, he did not forget to add a word.
“I’m an interpreter.”
“Just give us what we need and do your job.”
“This is why I shouldn’t have come here.”
Kim Hyeokgwon shouted irritably.
It was a sharp, piercing voice.
That much strong displeasure could be felt.
The air was bristling, sharp with extreme tension.
Jeong Minsu was the same.
Taesu himself was not much different.
The reason?
It was because yesterday’s death of Bashu was still continuing.
This was problematic.
Taesu’s gaze changed heavily.
It was then.
One page of Kaprene’s knowledge showed him the solution.
— If tension makes the surgery go smoothly, you might even hold your breath. But in surgery, especially with emergency patients, you must never be dragged along. Without composure, your field of vision narrows.
Whether it was a passage from a book or words spoken during surgery.
That could not be known.
What was certain was that his words had always been truth to Taesu.
Then the same was true now.
He had to shake off the tension called death and find composure.
Taesu started it first.
“Hoo, hoo. Let’s breathe for a moment.”
“What has that doctor eaten alone to be like that?”
“Mr. Hyeokgwon. Minsu.”
Taesu called them in turn.
“What.”
“Why.”
Sting.
Sharp, intense gazes flew toward him.
Taesu opened a small gap in his heart and accepted them.
“Relax.”
“….”
“Let’s proceed while continuously updating each other so we don’t get tangled up.”
“Is surgery child’s play?”
Jeong Minsu growled fiercely for a moment.
At the same time, Taesu hardened his gaze and retorted.
“So yesterday, because it wasn’t child’s play, that mess happened?”
“Urk.”
“Just a little. To definitely control the tension—just a tiny bit, just a very little—let’s relax.”
“Hoo.”
Jeong Minsu forcibly exhaled a long breath.
Kim Hyeokgwon only nodded.
And afterward.
Certainly, his field of vision changed from when only tension had filled the air.
“This… We need to get that.”
“Okay. I got that.”
“This side is ready too.”
Since they informed each other aloud, they definitely did not overlap.
It was noisy, but definitely fast.
Today as well, there was no time to properly put on surgical gowns.
The motions of disinfecting hands and donning surgical gloves continued swiftly.
Ssk. Chak.
But that did not mean they were neglecting the patient showing hemothorax symptoms.
Even in brief moments, their gazes went back and forth between the ECG and the patient’s face.
Taesu gauged the emergency surgery procedure in his head.
And soon Taesu’s eyes sparkled.
“Minsu, first clean the oral cavity and proceed with intubation.”
“Airway management? I tried that when I was an intern… No. I’ll try. I can do it.”
Jeong Minsu answered while constantly fighting with his shrinking self.
Soon Jeong Minsu began securing the airway.
“This is… That’s right. And… Damn it.”
Sounds of struggle due to the unfamiliar procedure were heard frequently.
Still, it seemed to be proceeding at quite a fast pace.
Taesu had no time to pay attention to that.
He had to solve the hemothorax first.
It had to be simple yet certain, and quick.
Fortunately, an appropriate method existed.
“Mr. Hyeokgwon, anesthesia first.”
“Which one?”
“A strong one.”
“Here.”
He immediately held out what was prepared.
Taesu took it and found a vein to administer only the appropriate amount of the general anesthetic. And he additionally ordered something else.
“Next, an empty syringe.”
“Why that… Anyway, here.”
Thud.
The empty syringe was immediately pressed into his hand.
Before the anesthetic spread.
However, the patient was unconscious, and resolving the hemothorax was more urgent.
That was the reason it had to be forced through immediately.
Taesu immediately positioned a long needle upright on the patient’s left chest.
And with his other hand, he straightened his fingertip and carefully swept below the compression bandage.
Rattle.
Thick ribs were felt beneath the chest muscles.
Soon his fingertip stopped.
The spot where it stopped was exactly between two ribs.
The target was set.
At that moment, the syringe needle dug in right beside his fingertip.
“Hup.”
A gasping sound was heard from the side.
Was it Jeong Minsu again, like yesterday?
But not today.
Breaking expectations, it was Kim Hyeokgwon who made the sound.
“….”
When Taesu only gave him a silent look, Kim Hyeokgwon seemed embarrassed and answered curtly after a pause.
“What?”
“I didn’t say anything.”
“Damn. Why are the gauzes packed so small?”
Kim Hyeokgwon vented his embarrassment in a strange direction.
The more you dealt with him, the more interesting his personality was.
Taesu let it pass, pretending not to know given the situation.
Meanwhile, Taesu pulled the syringe piston back.
Swoosh.
Blood surged through the needle hole and filled the cylinder.
‘Got it.’
Taesu inwardly cheered.
It was a procedure that appeared simple but was unexpectedly tricky.
Because it was not simply a matter of avoiding the ribs.
He had to pierce while avoiding as much as possible the tangled blood vessels inside to accurately reach the lung.
That this was possible was thanks to Kaprene’s knowledge.
The image of the thorax vividly engraved in Kaprene’s knowledge was superior to any textbook.