It was just as the cylinder was filling with blood.
“Phew. Intubation complete.”
Jeong Minsu’s vigorous voice rang out.
At the very same moment.
Beep-beep-beep, beep, beep.
The sound of the ECG changed in an instant.
And then?
“Ugh…”
A faint groan sounded.
At that moment, the left side of the chest rose sharply.
It was a sequence of changes that meshed together like a machine.
Seeing it, a deep smile spread across Taesu’s lips.
“Good.”
“Good? It’s good? Then, hell yes.”
Jeong Minsu jumped up and down in delight.
Two residents had resolved a hemothorax. It would not have been an exaggeration to call it an incident enormous enough to turn a hospital upside down.
But that was in Korea.
Taesu immediately scolded Jeong Minsu, who was rejoicing without thinking.
“We’re not done.”
“Huh? Ah… right.”
Jeong Minsu immediately suppressed his joy and regained his composure.
At that moment, Kim Hyeokgwon glanced over and said a word.
“I’m starting to wonder how someone can have such an easy-to-read personality.”
“You can tell him that separately later.”
“I have no intention of digging deep.”
Kim Hyeokgwon cut off the conversation at an appropriate point.
Taesu had no intention of talking further either.
The brief pause had only been to confirm whether the patient’s breathing was being maintained.
Whoosh, whoosh.
Both lungs repeatedly swelled and sank in time with the flow of the ventilator.
Only after watching it repeat several times did Taesu feel certain.
“His breathing seems to be back for now. Minsu. Let’s continue right away.”
“Yeah. We need to remove the bandages first.”
“Hyeokgwon, bandage shear, Mixter.”
“I’ll need curved forceps and long-nose forceps.”
Following Taesu, Jeong Minsu also held out his hand.
Kim Hyeokgwon stared at them in disbelief.
“What the hell is this, damn it.”
The sight of the doctors brazenly treating him like a nurse seemed to feel shameless to him.
He couldn’t help but wonder whether they had any conscience at all, demanding things so openly, and whether they had even the slightest consideration.
And assisting two doctors by himself was difficult even for him.
That expression only lasted a moment.
He instinctively realized that he had been wrong to expect consideration from Taesu during an emergency surgery.
And he immediately put the thought that flashed through his mind into action.
He simply placed the tray containing the surgical instruments on the patient’s abdomen.
Thud.
“Pick out what you need yourselves.”
It was a curt remark made with the mindset of, “Do whatever you want.”
Yet that action was actually wise.
Taesu and Jeong Minsu each quickly picked up what they wanted.
Clack, clack.
Then Taesu moved first.
“I’m cutting.”
“Yeah.”
Snip.
The blunt-tipped bandage shear began cutting through the compression bandage. Jeong Minsu used both hands to peel it away to either side.
The conversation exchanged was only a single word.
Yet the rhythm that followed between the two was strangely smooth.
Kim Hyeokgwon seemed to find that unexpected as well.
“Strange.”
That was how Kim Hyeokgwon saw it.
As for Taesu and Jeong Minsu?
Clack, clack.
“……”
“……”
They still moved only their hands without speaking.
Yet they were in constant conversation.
Not a conversation of words, but one shared through their hands.
They had been interns together.
They had spent their final three months fiercely in Thoracic Surgery, and even before that, they had trained in the same department.
Now the two of them were operating together like this.
Deep down, it felt profoundly moving.
He even recalled a conversation they had once exchanged as a joke during their internship.
“I’ll be the operator, and you’ll assist.”
“No. The calm one, me, should be operating. You’ve got the kind of personality that would cause a riot in the operating room, so no.”
“Calm, my ass, you timid bastard.”
“I’m not timid. I’m careful and I pursue safety.”
“Enough bickering. Anyway, let’s perform one hell of a surgery together someday.”
“Yeah. Let’s do it properly enough to make everyone fall over in shock.”
It was a faint memory.
But those words from back then had now become reality.
That was how well they knew each other’s strengths and weaknesses. Just by watching how their surgical tools moved, their personalities were plainly revealed.
Taesu was somewhat aggressive and bold in style.
Jeong Minsu, on the other hand, was cautious and made sure to confirm things clearly before moving on.
Those opposing personalities did not clash; instead, they blended and harmonized in just the right way.
Suddenly, Taesu and Jeong Minsu’s eyes met.
“Our lives.”
“Start now.”
Their eyes exchanged the words.
That was how perfectly they understood each other.
But that emotion was shattered before long.
It happened immediately after they removed the compression bandage.
The moment the true affected area was revealed, Taesu and Jeong Minsu were both startled.
“Mm?”
“What… is this?”
That shock was not mere exaggeration.
A horrific wound spread before their eyes, from the upper left chest to the shoulder. Internal bleeding that had been held back by the compression bandage began flowing out as well.
The cut was so deep that even the white cross-sections of broken ribs were visible.
The clavicle seemed to have been shattered too.
But blood kept pouring out, making it impossible to identify anything further.
Taesu sharpened his focus to the very ends of his hair.
He had expected it, but seeing it with his own eyes made it far too grave.
This was not the time to be shocked.
He quickly turned his head and looked for Kim Hyeokgwon.
But he was not in his place.
Taesu immediately called out.
“Hyeokgwon.”
“You said that at times like this, I should check the blood type first.”
As expected, he had good instincts.
Even so, they could not simply stand by and wait until the transfusion pack was hung.
There was far too much to do.
Taesu immediately gave an order to Jeong Minsu, who stood on the opposite side.
“Minsu, connect the IV and hang glucose first. Then add a hemostatic, antibiotic, anti-inflammatory, and tetanus medication.”
“Yeah. But Taesu.”
“What?”
“This… with him in this state, can you operate?”
Jeong Minsu asked with his eyes wide.
It was because Taesu and Kim Hyeokgwon’s actions were far too natural.
The answer came not from Taesu, but from Kim Hyeokgwon.
“This is tame. He even saved a soldier who’d been showered with bullets. Oh, type B. Okay.”
He seemed to have identified the blood type in the middle of answering.
Clatter.
A flurry of noise came from behind.
But disbelief still lingered in Jeong Minsu’s gaze as he stood in front of Taesu.
“Really? You really operated on something worse than this?”
“What are you doing right now?”
“Huh?”
“Why is that important right now?”
Taesu shouted.
At that moment, Jeong Minsu flinched.
At the same time, Taesu’s expression crumpled sharply.
Jeong Minsu’s center kept wavering.
Having composure and having one’s tension slacken and tighten again were different matters.
If things continued like this, it would be difficult for Taesu to operate with him. No, it might be more helpful if Jeong Minsu simply were not here.
For the sake of the patient, he had to make a decision quickly.
“Damn it.”
There was no helping it.
He did not have the leeway to keep dragging along Jeong Minsu when he would not be of immediate help.
Just as he was about to make a firm decision.
“Ugh.”
A strange cry came from Jeong Minsu.
When Taesu looked, Jeong Minsu was biting his lip.
Drip.
Blood seeped out between his lips.
His wavering eyes were once again filling with venom.
Only after seeing that did Taesu’s crumpled expression turn serious.
“Jeong Minsu.”
“Damn it. Sorry. There’s no weak Jeong Minsu anymore. That bastard died yesterday.”
His voice, spat out through clenched teeth, was fierce.
The timid appearance he had shown just now had changed completely.
It was an extremely drastic shift. But his newly hardened will, drive, and passion made Taesu’s nagging vanish entirely.
Taesu, watching him, spoke in a low voice.
“What are you doing? I gave you an order.”
“Got it. IV first.”
“It’ll be a problem if your blood drops in. Put on a mask too.”
“Got it.”
Jeong Minsu answered with a pause, then moved to find a mask first.
Like that, Jeong Minsu and Kim Hyeokgwon each continued with their respective tasks.
Taesu was not idle either.
Before he knew it, he was using the prepared saline and gauze to clean the affected area first.
Splash. Wipe.
He poured saline from the container and wiped it away with gauze along with the diluted blood.
At times like this, it would be nice to have even a single suction device.
Of course, that was wishful thinking.
The only medical machines available were the ECG and the ventilator.
A general anesthesia machine?
Suction?
They did not even have a Bovie.
The environment was unquestionably poor.
That was an obvious fact, but saying it hindered the surgery was nothing more than an excuse.
“In the old days, they scooped it out with spoons—what era is that memory from?”
Caprene’s knowledge suddenly reminded him of operating rooms from the past.
Taesu shook his head.
Immediately shaking it off, he moved his hands even more diligently.
While Taesu cleared away the bleeding, the surroundings grew busy.
Because each movement had a purpose, changes both large and small took place.
The IV was connected, various injections were administered, and a transfusion pack was hung. That series of steps proceeded rapidly.
And soon, Jeong Minsu and Kim Hyeokgwon returned to their places.
Step.
As soon as the empty spots were filled, Taesu gave an order.
“Hyeokgwon, pull this side to secure the field of view. Minsu, remove the bone fragments.”
“Why only us…? When did you clean this up so neatly?”
“A lot of time has passed.”
Taesu said it flatly.
Kim Hyeokgwon glanced at him sidelong, but did not argue.
That was how right Taesu was.
A considerable amount of time had been stolen away by trivial issues.
Thanks to that, only now were they properly prepared to proceed with the emergency surgery.
They could not delay any further.
Jeong Minsu seemed to think the same and quickly picked up a surgical instrument.
Now they entered the emergency surgery in earnest.
What stood out was Taesu.
Kim Hyeokgwon’s role was less participation and more taking care of what was needed from the side. Though Jeong Minsu was a doctor, he had too little experience and lacked depth.
In the end, the surgery proceeded with Taesu holding the two of them together and leading them.
“Minsu, look for bone fragments on that side. Hurry.”
“Yeah.”
“Hyeokgwon, spray saline once. And wipe the sweat from my face.”
“Let’s do that.”
Clack, clack.
The two responded quickly.
That was at least why the surgery did not stall.
However.
The more the surgery progressed, the more severe the situation became.
It was not only the bones that were broken and shattered.
The left lung had also suffered damage severe enough to cause hemoptysis.
Black blood clots and necrotic tissue were visible near the left upper lobe.
Taesu’s expression grew correspondingly grave.
It seemed he would have to touch the lung after all.
Then the bleeding would worsen, and with the tools currently available, they could not continue for a long time.
He considered transferring the patient to the NGO.
But that was impossible.
Even if they called the PKO now, they had to calculate the time it would take for them to arrive and then the time to return again.
And that meant?
Only the patient’s death.
Ultimately, they had to finish the surgery here.
And it would have to be done boldly and quickly.
Taesu stated his thoughts without delay.
“Minsu. Let’s proceed in the order of pneumonectomy, then thoracoplasty.”
“Wh-what?”
“Is there another way?”
When Taesu asked reflexively, Jeong Minsu quickly shook his head.
“No, no.”
“You can support me, right?”
“Theoretically. Hoo. I’ll try. No, I’ll do it.”
Jeong Minsu quickly showed his resolve.