With his mouth stuffed full, Jeong Min-su gave a brief account of the situation in the operating room.
“Mmph, mmph. So first, I need to free up my hands……”
“So that’s how it’s going.”
“I was going to stay with them too, mmph, but outside is more……”
“Right. I’m grateful for your consideration.”
Tae-su somehow managed to understand the words that kept getting cut off and answered.
Once that conversation ended, Kim Hyeok-gwon asked next.
“Dr. Choi, the medical chart was quite something, wasn’t it?”
“That’s been bothering me too.”
“It’s hard to see him as an overseas Korean.”
Kim Hyeok-gwon offered his serious conjecture.
But oddly enough, only then did Tae-su seem to remember that he was there.
“How did you get here, by the way?”
“I was a little worried about Chang-gyu.”
“You startled me earlier, leaving like that. If you were going to do this, why did you act that way?”
Tae-su asked exactly what he was curious about.
With Kim Hyeok-gwon, a direct approach worked far better than clumsily trying to be clever.
That was still true now.
At Tae-su’s blunt question, Kim Hyeok-gwon looked slightly flustered.
“Ahem. Khm. Khhmm.”
“The way you looked at Chang-gyu seemed complicated too.”
“Come on, what are you…… This isn’t the time to talk about that.”
Kim Hyeok-gwon responded brusquely.
Tae-su firmly caught onto that.
“Then you’ll tell me later.”
“I said I got it.”
“Then that’s fine. For now, I’ll meet the guardians first.”
“That’s why I came.”
Kim Hyeok-gwon made it clear he intended to come along.
Before he knew it, Tae-su’s gaze had turned to Jeong Min-su.
The enormous sandwich that had been in his hand had vanished as if by magic.
“Phew. I feel alive now.”
“If you quit being a doctor, go film mukbangs.”
“I’m thinking of doing that too.”
“Glad to hear it. Are you coming with us?”
At Tae-su’s brief question, Jeong Min-su thought for a moment, then shook his head.
“No, I’ll go to the medical tent. No need for all of us to move around in a crowd.”
“Good call. Let’s talk about what we’re curious about later.”
“Yeah. Patients come first.”
Jeong Min-su’s answer was decisive.
Then the three of them briefly said goodbye to the nurses and stepped out into the corridor.
“I’m off.”
“Take care.”
“Hurry back.”
“I’ll be there soon.”
Thud, tap.
After bumping fists a few times, Jeong Min-su left first.
Then Tae-su and Kim Hyeok-gwon headed in the opposite direction and began moving.
The distance Tae-su and Kim Hyeok-gwon traveled was not very far.
That was because the surgical nurses’ station and the operating rooms were close to each other.
A total of five operating rooms had been assigned.
Since general surgery and thoracic surgery were grouped under the same medical division, operating rooms were always in short supply.
It was common to see doctors subtly engaging in a battle of nerves to move their surgeries up in the order.
Even now, the operating rooms were full.
The incandescent bulbs hanging in front of each operating room were all lit.
And on the long benches placed in front of the operating rooms, guardians were waiting.
Their appearances varied widely.
“Sniff, sniff.”
Some cried, while others comforted them.
“Ughhh. Hooo.”
Some looked as if they might burst into the operating room at any moment.
Some looked as if they had gone beyond endurance, their insides rotting away.
“$.@$. .$@.#$…….”
There were even those praying to the god they believed in.
Only the country and place were different; there was no difference from what he had seen in Korea.
A person’s heart was the same anywhere.
And among the guardians, a few faces were familiar.
They were the guardians of patients Tae-su had examined that morning.
He could not simply pass by after seeing them like that.
It was not merely because he was the doctor who had performed their initial examination.
At one point, Tae-su too had felt the same way they did.
It was when his mother had been hospitalized at Dongseong Medical Center.
Because he was a doctor, he had been able to observe and participate directly in his mother’s surgery.
It had hurt his heart, but it was a privilege he could enjoy because he was a doctor.
But they were not like that.
All the guardians were anxiously waiting before the operating rooms through a time with no promised end.
That was why Tae-su could not just let this pass.
And Kim Hyeok-gwon happened to be with him.
Tae-su’s steps headed straight toward the guardians.
Swoosh.
He lowered himself and met their eyes.
Then, with his heart in it, he offered them comfort.
“They’ll be holding on well. Truly, everything will be going well.”
“Now you’re starting without any warning. %$#$%$#%…….”
Even as Kim Hyeok-gwon grumbled, he immediately began interpreting.
Having spent so much time experiencing Tae-su’s personality up close, he took this situation naturally.
The guardians’ response was warmer than expected.
Grip.
They clasped Tae-su’s hand in both of theirs and spoke with tears brimming in their eyes.
Their words came through Kim Hyeok-gwon.
“……It really is going well, isn’t it?”
“……Thank you so much for coming like this.”
“……Since Dr. Choi looked after them so well, and since you’re giving us courage like this, it’ll go well.”
They were words filled with the guardians’ feelings exactly as they were.
Kim Hyeok-gwon’s voice as he interpreted them was extremely calm. But his eyes trembled faintly, unnoticed by anyone.
The feelings passing between Tae-su and the guardians were sincere.
Perhaps that was what stirred Kim Hyeok-gwon’s cold heart.
Meanwhile, Tae-su conveyed as much comfort and courage to the guardians as he could.
The meeting was quite brief.
Even so, a tiny bit of breathing room appeared on the faces of the desperate guardians.
That gap was faint, but it brought about a great change.
“……”
“……”
The guardians who had been restless and anxious became a little calmer.
And the heavy air in the corridor, packed with unease, grew slightly lighter.
Their nerves, sharpened to a point, dulled just a little.
Only after sensing the changed atmosphere did Tae-su force a smile.
Kim Hyeok-gwon quietly said to him,
“You really seem to have a talent for buying trouble for yourself.”
“I’m not the only one buying trouble.”
“Then?”
“Over there.”
Swoosh.
Tae-su pointed to one side.
It was toward the guardians seated in front of Operating Room 1.
At some point, doctors and nurses had come over to them.
They were handing them drinks, holding their hands, and offering courage and comfort.
Seeing that, Kim Hyeok-gwon raised only one corner of his mouth.
“Tch, they should know when to stop putting on a show.”
“Do you really think so?”
“……”
When Kim Hyeok-gwon fell silent, Tae-su added casually,
“That is how most medical staff feel. Especially those who have experienced someone precious to them being ill.”
“Living in this world, is there anyone around me who has never been sick?”
“Statistically impossible.”
“Exactly.”
At Kim Hyeok-gwon’s blunt answer, Tae-su smiled faintly.
“Then they must all feel that way.”
“I’ve seen things with my own eyes, so let’s not glorify it too much.”
“There are exceptions everywhere. If you calculate it by probability…… winning first prize in the lottery would be faster.”
Tae-su did not hesitate to make the comparison.
But it did not seem to leave much of an impression on Kim Hyeok-gwon.
“Hmph.”
“I’m not going to force you to believe it.”
“Forget it. I’m not standing here to argue about that.”
Kim Hyeok-gwon gently pushed the topic aside.
Tae-su did not dig any deeper either.
“I see Kang Yeong-hun and Kim Gwang-hyeon at the end over there. Let’s go.”
“Let’s.”
Tae-su and Kim Hyeok-gwon finally approached the two men.
At that moment, Kim Hyeok-gwon glanced back.
He took in the medical staff who had gone to the guardians.
Their expressions and gazes all resembled Tae-su’s.
“……”
Kim Hyeok-gwon turned his gaze away again with an indifferent expression.
Meanwhile, Tae-su arrived one step ahead in front of Kang Yeong-hun and Kim Gwang-hyeon.
Seated on a temporary bench, they were no different from the other guardians.
They were fidgeting as if sitting on a bed of thorns.
Still, they seemed to have seen Tae-su coming.
They greeted him awkwardly first.
“Ahem. You’re here.”
“You must be very worried.”
“Well, that’s……”
Kang Yeong-hun subtly averted his gaze, avoiding a definite answer.
That clearly meant caution.
And Kim Gwang-hyeon was showing even stronger wariness than Kang Yeong-hun.
They had exchanged only a word, but Tae-su noticed it immediately.
Was it because of his personality?
He greatly disliked this kind of unfamiliar atmosphere.
At times like this, Tae-su always faced things head-on.
Because there was no master key for opening a person’s closed heart like sincerity.
This time was the same.
With a calm face, Tae-su asked,
“Have you heard about Chang-gyu’s condition?”
“Accurately…… no.”
“Then I came at the right time. I thought I should tell you what condition Chang-gyu is in.”
Tae-su clearly stated the reason he had come.
At that moment, Kang Yeong-hun’s gaze snapped back to Tae-su like lightning.
Whip.
“How is Chang-gyu?”
“First of all, you probably know that his condition when he arrived wasn’t very good.”
“That, I know that.”
“Then, from after that……”
Tae-su explained Lee Chang-gyu’s situation in a low, clear voice.
The longer he spoke, the faster Kang Yeong-hun and Kim Gwang-hyeon’s expressions hardened.
“Hm.”
“Haa.”
Heavy sighs continued to be heard.
Tae-su had not come to deliver despair, so he began to turn the situation around.
“However, the one operating on him right now is Dr. Schmidt, a highly skilled surgeon, and the other doctor is……”
Dr. Schmidt was the most skilled member of the medical volunteer team.
His assistant was also one of the top surgeons.
That explanation did not need to be very long.
“……Those are the people operating on Chang-gyu.”
Tae-su’s explanation ended there.
There was no certainty about the surgery’s success contained anywhere in it. However, his firm voice and clear tone carried the same meaning.
Kang Yeong-hun must have felt that too, because his sunken face brightened a little.
“Then does that mean there’s a high possibility it will succeed?”
“I believe so.”
“That means it isn’t certain, doesn’t it?”
Kang Yeong-hun’s expression hardened again.
He reacted that sensitively to a single word from Tae-su.
Tae-su knew why, but he could not convey uncertain information to a guardian as if it were certain.
For that reason, he spoke while imbuing his words with as much of his meaning as possible.
“They say to do all that one can, then await heaven’s will.”
“Heaven, is it? You’re speaking very vaguely.”
“Medicine is not something where I can easily guarantee the number one hundred percent.”
Tae-su answered honestly.
It was a rule he had to uphold as long as he wore a gown.
Kang Yeong-hun seemed rather displeased with Tae-su’s lukewarm attitude.
Perhaps because of that, he approached it from another angle.
“Then, leaving your work aside, what is your personal opinion?”
“It will succeed, no matter what.”
Tae-su’s answer, which sprang out reflexively, was filled with strength.
It was an expression that there was not even room for hesitation.
At Tae-su’s response, firmer than expected, Kang Yeong-hun hesitated. Kim Gwang-hyeon’s eyes widened as well, as if that answer had been unexpected.
The only answer came from Kang Yeong-hun.
“I see.”
“It will be a difficult surgery, but Chang-gyu will overcome it.”
“Thank you.”
Kang Yeong-hun replied with a slight bow of his head.
It seemed awkward for him to keep holding Tae-su at a distance when Tae-su was showing him such goodwill.
On the other hand, Tae-su’s expression was still not very good.
Because in this situation, he had to ask a question that was not exactly welcome.