“I didn’t abandon it.”
“Heh. I know. Anyway, get some rest when you return to headquarters.”
“You too, Bread.”
“Yeah. Take care.”
Clasp.
When Bread Kim held out his hand, Taesu immediately took it.
That was enough.
There was no need for a long-winded farewell.
After the greetings were over,
Yoon Juseong, who had been standing beside them, spoke calmly as if he had been waiting.
“We paid a lot of attention to shock absorption, so as long as the road conditions are decent, there shouldn’t be any major problems until you arrive.”
“We packed plenty of medical supplies as well, just in case.”
Nurse Chu Gangik spoke even more bluntly than usual for no reason.
Taesu, on the other hand, smiled brightly as he said goodbye.
“You’ve worked hard. And I’m sorry you had to put up with such a foul-tempered junior.”
“Forget it. What’s there to say?”
Yoon Juseong answered curtly for no reason.
It seemed he had chosen a clean wrap-up over a lengthy conversation.
Taesu smiled faintly as well.
Then he looked at the next two people in turn.
They were Nurse Hwang Jisu and Nurse Lee Chorong.
Nurse Hwang Jisu, whose eyes met his first, spoke crisply.
“Even if something does happen, with Dr. Choi and Dr. Jeong’s emergency treatment skills, you’ll make it safely to headquarters.”
“We’ll put safety first, no matter what.”
Next was Nurse Lee Chorong.
Her expressive face showed her regret.
“I never thought we’d meet like this, or part so soon like this.”
“That’s why they say life is interesting.”
Their short, weighty exchange did not feel awkward.
Though they had only been together for a short time, they had overcome hardships together, forming a firm sense of camaraderie.
There was one more person like that.
Jo Uncheol.
His affiliation was still unclear.
An anesthesiologist.
An existence that was always needed.
So Taesu subtly tried to win him over.
“I’m telling you, come with us.”
“Later. Not now.”
“What do you mean, not now?”
“I’d get in the way.”
Jo Uncheol spoke seriously.
It seemed he had something else on his mind.
Taesu did not ask deeply.
He believed that if Jo Uncheol was going to change, he would do so on his own.
Instead, he said one thing.
“You said you’d join us later.”
“When that time comes, I won’t say anything else.”
“Then that’s enough.”
Grip.
A firm handshake added trust to the promise.
After saying goodbye, Taesu looked around at all the Korean medical staff.
This was the first time he had felt such closeness in such a short period.
He wanted to stay with them longer.
But now was not the time.
Without lingering any further, he said goodbye.
“Let’s keep walking silently.”
“Walking, huh.”
“If we do, won’t we meet somewhere again?”
“Yeah. Let’s keep walking silently.”
They finished their farewells with warm smiles.
But the farewells were not the end.
They were the beginning.
When Taesu turned around, many people were watching him.
Dr. Quentin.
They had met through trouble, but he had become the doctor closest to him.
When their eyes met, he raised both hands high and said,
“Samba.”
“Yes. Samba.”
Taesu responded in kind to the man who was always cheerful.
After him?
Dr. Talon, Dr. Hassan, and many others.
The medical staff from the medical tent were standing there.
They were also the people Taesu had tormented every day.
Apology and gratitude always coexisted in him.
“……”
“……”
Nod.
A nod to one another was enough.
There were dozens of medical staff who said goodbye that way.
Taesu suddenly thought,
Did he deserve to be treated like this?
His conscience answered, “No.”
That answer made Taesu reflect on himself once more.
‘Next time……’
Just then, Kim Hyeokgwon approached and said,
“They say everything’s ready to depart.”
“Then we should go.”
Taesu answered, then spoke loudly to everyone.
“Thank you for seeing us off.”
“Take care.”
“Yes. Until we meet again somewhere.”
Taesu answered powerfully and was just about to turn around.
Suddenly, a sharp, high voice stopped him in his tracks.
“Dr. Choi, stop.”
“Hm?”
When he turned around, Nurse Casey and Nurse Ellen were roughly pushing their way through the crowd.
Taesu smiled lightly.
He had been worried he might not be able to say goodbye because he hadn’t seen them, and now they had appeared like this.
But Nurse Casey and Nurse Ellen approached Kim Hyeokgwon first, not Taesu.
“Mr. Kim, here.”
Thump.
“And this one too.”
Thump.
The two of them placed large bags with long shoulder straps onto Kim Hyeokgwon one after another.
Kim Hyeokgwon, who received them in confusion, looked puzzled.
“Were we close enough for you to give me farewell gifts?”
“No.”
Nurse Casey’s personality, cutting him off in one stroke, was unchanged.
Kim Hyeokgwon was used to this way of speaking, so without much reaction, he looked at the bags and asked,
“Then what are these?”
“Dr. Choi’s dedicated emergency bag.”
“The one I gave you is Dr. Jeong’s dedicated emergency bag.”
At the answers that came one after another, Kim Hyeokgwon’s expression twisted sharply.
“The people who should be receiving these gifts are right next to me, so why are you giving them to me?”
“A nurse should take care of the dedicated equipment for the doctors they’re responsible for.”
“What are you talking about? Who’s a nurse? Why am I a nurse?”
Kim Hyeokgwon snapped, but Nurse Casey, with her cold personality, did not so much as flinch as she replied,
“You said the three of you are going on the next deployment together. That makes you the nurse.”
“My main job is interpreter. Medical assistance is my side job.”
“Do I have to know that too?”
At her indifferent response, Kim Hyeokgwon’s expression turned dumbfounded.
“What am I supposed to say at a time like this?”
Even as he grumbled, he did not throw the bags away.
“Hmph.”
Nurse Casey seemed to have no intention of arguing further either, and turned to face Taesu.
Nurse Ellen acted exactly the same, as if she were a copy.
Taesu had been watching the whole time, so he spoke to the two of them first.
“Casey, and Ellen. Thanks to you two……”
Before Taesu could properly begin his farewell,
Squeeze.
Nurse Casey and Nurse Ellen hugged Taesu tightly at the same time.
Taesu was flustered by the unexpected action.
“Huh?”
But as if Taesu’s surprise did not matter, the two quietly continued with what they wanted to say first.
“Oliver will be jealous, but our relationship is special, so he’ll forgive me.”
“No, Casey.”
“I wanted to hug Dr. Jeong, but he has an important mission, so I’m hugging you instead. Please return it to Dr. Jeong later.”
“What? Ellen.”
At the string of sudden remarks, Taesu’s bewilderment only deepened.
Meanwhile, Nurse Casey and Nurse Ellen laughed as they looked at Taesu, whose face had turned bright red in surprise.
“Hoho. Why is your face so red?”
“Oh my, a hug is just a greeting.”
“Ellen, do you think Dr. Choi has never even held a woman’s hand?”
“Casey, surely not. Dr. Choi may be a little slow, but he can’t be that innocent.”
The two seemed to have discovered the fun of teasing Taesu.
Taesu, who had been flustered, soon shook it off and responded mischievously.
“Well, it wasn’t bad.”
“Your malar flush is no joke.”
“……”
Taesu’s mouth clamped shut.
He felt as if he had said one unnecessary word and failed to even break even.
Just then, Nurse Casey erased the teasing from her face and said with a gentle smile,
“I was glad I could be with you, even if only for a short while, Dr. Choi.”
“I was happy too.”
“Return safely.”
“I’ll see you again.”
With those words as the last, Taesu turned around.
The departure had already been delayed too much by the farewells.
And it was better for everyone to wrap it up around here.
Soon, Taesu and Kim Hyeokgwon climbed into the back seat.
Vroom.
The vehicle slowly began to move.
As they soon passed the school, they saw Raku already organizing the truck. Kang Yeonghun was also lending a hand.
Only after seeing that did Kim Hyeokgwon’s sullen expression loosen a little.
“They’re in a hurry.”
“It must be an important matter for both of them.”
“I don’t know about that. And why are they still standing there?”
Kim Hyeokgwon glanced back and grumbled.
Taesu looked in the same direction.
Beyond the rear window, he could see the people who had come to see them off still standing there.
‘Honestly.’
Just as Taesu swallowed his troubled feelings inwardly,
Kim Hyeokgwon suddenly tapped him.
Tap, tap.
“Dr. Choi.”
“What is it? Huh?”
The moment he looked out the window, Taesu’s firm expression turned puzzled.
Each house had a “smile” mark drawn on it.
Not knowing what it meant, Taesu tilted his head.
“What are those?”
“They’re gifts from the volunteers.”
“Gifts?”
“They told them to hang them somewhere visible when happiness came to their homes. They said one smile I make affects others as well.”
Was that why?
There were smiles on the faces of the people passing by too.
They were not smiling simply because someone told them to.
It was surely the influence of the happy virus that had spread among the people here, who had regained their health and realized joy.
The happiness that had come to fill Padum City could be seen like this.
Before they knew it, smiles had appeared on the faces of Taesu, Jeong Minsu, and Kim Hyeokgwon as well.
It was after they had left the city.
Jeong Minsu, sitting in the cargo area and squeezing the Ambu bag, muttered quietly,
“The medical staff are pretty funny.”
“Why?”
When Kim Hyeokgwon asked, Jeong Minsu grumbled with a sullen face.
“At first, they treated us coldly, but because it was the end, they saw us off all the way to the last moment.”
“Is that a bad thing?”
“No. I’m saying we’re amazing for making them so inconsistent.”
Pride was contained in Jeong Minsu’s voice.
For a moment, Kim Hyeokgwon looked dumbfounded.
“What am I supposed to do with that self-importance?”
“A fact is a fact.”
“Just squeeze the Ambu bag. Damn it. What was this deployment? Does it make any sense that these bags that don’t even make money are the bonus?”
Flop.
Kim Hyeokgwon pushed the emergency bags he had been given off to one side for no reason and closed his eyes completely.
Just then, Taesu, who had been watching the two bicker, let out a light laugh.
“Heh.”
“Hey, what’s so funny?”
“It feels like we’ve returned to where we belong.”
“……”
Jeong Minsu seemed to instinctively understand what he meant and closed his mouth.
Taesu paid it no mind and spoke so everyone could hear.
“Our detour is over, and now we’ve returned to the proper path.”
“And we even upgraded.”
“Of course. So we’ll be able to help even more people.”
“……”
Nod.
Jeong Minsu answered only with a nod. But Kim Hyeokgwon, who had been sitting with his eyes closed without moving, also nodded along.
Taesu did not say anything more either.
Anything else he added would only be superfluous.
Let’s go back.
Lee Changgyu comes first.
For now, he thought only of that.
At sunset,
the transport vehicle that had departed from Padum City entered the NGO headquarters.
Vroom.
They had left after finishing treatment, so it had taken a full day.