Those disease names must have refused to leave his mind.
Taesu did not understand his feelings one hundred percent.
But he knew what denial was.
When he thought of his father, he could make a rough guess.
So first, he tried to soothe that tense face.
“I think you should take a sip of tea first.”
“No. Just tell me.”
His gaze was desperate.
It was the very look that made Taesu the weakest.
So he did not urge him a second time and went straight to the point.
“First, I told you it was not salivary gland cancer. The reason is…”
Taesu explained by giving examples of several symptoms.
Nod, nod.
Afraid he might miss a single word, Gang Yeonghun stared wide-eyed and responded with nods.
Taesu’s explanation continued for quite some time.
The longer it went on, the more Gang Yeonghun’s hardened expression slowly eased.
Soon, Taesu’s explanation came to an end as well.
“…That is why I said it is likely not salivary gland cancer.”
“I’m sorry, and I know this is terribly rude, but are you certain?”
“It must be difficult to trust when I’m saying this after only looking with my eyes.”
“To be honest… yes.”
Gang Yeonghun admitted it cleanly.
That was what Taesu wanted, so he added,
“I’m also not one hundred percent certain, since I’m only comparing the most common symptoms.”
“Mm.”
“To get more accurate results…”
“You’re saying we have to go to headquarters.”
When he said it first, Taesu nodded.
“That’s right.”
“Hmm.”
“That will probably be somewhat difficult. But you can trust my words to some extent.”
When Taesu showed that ambiguous confidence, Gang Yeonghun glanced at him.
“What do you mean…”
Jeong Minsu answered in his stead.
“You know we showed Songhui’s photos to ENT Teams Two and Three at headquarters, don’t you?”
“Yes, and you told me why.”
“Several specialists helped us.”
“I see.”
Just as Gang Yeonghun’s expression was about to brighten slightly, Jeong Minsu added one more thing.
“Dr. Choe went through a lot, running all over the place.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t know and kept doubting you.”
Gang Yeonghun immediately apologized.
In matters like this, he was quite straightforward.
Taesu, on the other hand, was not pleased to be credited.
He quickly waved his hands and reassured Gang Yeonghun.
“It was completely understandable for you to ask.”
“Even so, it’s true that I asked you for something outside your specialty.”
“It all falls under surgery. Thanks to that, we were able to look into it from various angles too.”
“Thank you.”
Gang Yeonghun expressed his gratitude once again.
At that moment, Gim Hyeokgwon, who had been listening the whole time, finally said something.
“Sorry, then thank you—what are you doing?”
“…”
“Save it up and do it all at once later.”
“I will.”
Gang Yeonghun accepted it without any objection.
Perhaps that pricked his conscience for no reason, because Gim Hyeokgwon added,
“I know you’re sensitive because it’s about your child, but I’m telling you to calm down a little.”
“I know.”
“My way of speaking is just like this, so I can’t help it even if it sounds unpleasant.”
“It’s not that. More importantly, Dr. Choe.”
When he called for him again, Taesu spoke as if he had been waiting.
“It is most likely a neurofibroma. That is based on the way the tumor has grown, its location, and the symptoms so far, especially the fact that there has been little pain.”
“Mm. Can that be controlled with medicine?”
“Unfortunately, that would be difficult.”
“Hmm.”
A heavy sigh escaped Gang Yeonghun.
It was something everyone had already suspected.
Taesu felt bitter as well, but he still continued with what he had to say.
“In most cases, neurofibromas have a family history. Did you, by any chance, have any particular symptoms, Mr. Gang Yeonghun?”
“No. Neither I nor Songhui’s mother had anything at all.”
“Mm. There are cases where it lies dormant and appears in a later generation.”
“Ha.”
It did not seem to be much comfort to Gang Yeonghun.
Taesu clearly addressed that point again.
“This is no one’s fault. Even if you were to ask whose fault it is, how would you ask?”
“That’s true.”
“No illness comes because someone wants it to.”
When Taesu spoke firmly, Gang Yeonghun finally nodded.
“Yes. Even the common cold doesn’t come because we want it to.”
“Exactly. So Songhui’s case is the same.”
“Ahem. Yes. I understand.”
Only after seeing Gang Yeonghun steady himself did Taesu bring up the next thing.
“That neurofibroma will ultimately have to be removed through surgery.”
“Ah… Yes, I suppose so.”
“I have participated in such a surgery once, and Dr. Jeong here has no experience with it.”
At those words, Gang Yeonghun’s eyes wavered greatly.
“What?”
“You saw us in Padum, didn’t you? What kind of position we are in.”
“Th-that… Ah.”
Gang Yeonghun could not easily shake off his confusion.
As if adding more fuel to it, Taesu spoke about other problems as well.
“It is a surgery where considerable bleeding is expected. There is a high possibility we will need more than the blood packs we brought.”
“Take all of my blood.”
“And after that?”
When Taesu asked bluntly, Gang Yeonghun flinched.
A person could not live without blood.
That was a fact everyone knew, even without medical knowledge.
That made Gang Yeonghun’s expression darken further.
“Th-then what should we do?”
“We would have to ask the villagers for help. If possible.”
“Hmm.”
“And before that, there is another problem.”
At Taesu’s words, Gang Yeonghun asked with slightly shaken eyes,
“What else is there?”
“The eyes, nose, and mouth are all within the surgical range. They all have nerves, so if something goes wrong, there may be side effects.”
“What kind of side effects?”
“The worst would be facial paralysis. Blindness could occur as well. There are quite a few others too.”
“…You’re telling me to entrust that kind of surgery… to all of you?”
Tremble.
Both of his arms shook violently as he asked.
Taesu fully understood how he felt and answered,
“It will be difficult for you to trust us. No, I think it would be impossible.”
“…”
“We will understand whatever decision you give us.”
The moment Taesu finished speaking, Jeong Minsu, who had been listening to the conversation, spoke cautiously.
“We will not ask you to give us a chance.”
“…”
“We are not shameless enough to boast that we can do the surgery.”
“…”
Gang Yeonghun remained silent.
His eyes had become terribly complicated.
Watching him, Taesu added one more thing.
“You need to make a decision as quickly as possible. If you decide to have her operated on by the NGO, we will find some means of transportation no matter what.”
“What if she doesn’t… have the surgery?”
“It will proceed exactly as I told you in Tamer. It is unfortunate, but it is the truth.”
Taesu spoke heavily.
As the disease worsened, it could lead not only to facial deformity, but also blindness, and in severe cases, even spread into a brain tumor.
Gang Yeonghun seemed to remember that clearly.
Was that why?
Drop.
Gang Yeonghun lowered his gaze to the ground and sank into deep thought.
“…”
“…”
It was a time no one could interrupt.
A heavy silence continued.
Unexpectedly, it was Gim Hyeokgwon who broke that silence.
Poke, poke.
He prodded the campfire with a poker and spoke in an indifferent voice.
“They say the chance of those side effects happening is under ten percent.”
“What?”
Gang Yeonghun lifted his head sharply and looked at him.
Still with an indifferent expression, Gim Hyeokgwon tended the embers and added,
“Songhui isn’t in pain, is she?”
“That’s right.”
“Then that means the neurofibroma is small.”
“Is… that so?”
Gang Yeonghun looked somewhat bewildered.
Gim Hyeokgwon looked at him and continued,
“If the tumor is small, of course the surgery is easier, and wouldn’t the chance of side effects drop significantly too?”
Gim Hyeokgwon’s words ended as a question.
At that instant, Gang Yeonghun’s gaze turned to Taesu.
“Dr. Choe. What this man just said…”
“That is also true.”
“It sounds too different from what you just said…”
When Gang Yeonghun asked, unable to find his bearings, Taesu answered calmly.
“If we look only at probability, there is no problem with doing the surgery.”
“But?”
“We did not come here to practice surgery.”
Taesu conveyed those words firmly.
Jeong Minsu immediately added a word.
“The surgery may be easy, but whatever the result, Songhui will have to live with it for the rest of her life.”
“If you are still fine with us, then we can operate as early as tomorrow.”
“We understand you may feel uneasy because it is not our specialty department.”
“And if that is the case, there is also the option of requesting help from headquarters, so please think carefully.”
After finishing those words, Taesu brought his coffee to his mouth.
Jeong Minsu and Gim Hyeokgwon did the same.
That action signified the end of the conversation.
Soon, Gang Yeonghun said he would think about it and left.
Jeong Minsu headed to the ward tent for a while to check on I Changgyu’s progress.
The only ones left were Taesu and Gim Hyeokgwon.
Poke, poke.
Scattering the embers with the poker, Gim Hyeokgwon asked in a listless voice,
“What decision do you think he’ll make?”
“Who knows.”
“Still, you must have a guess.”
When Gim Hyeokgwon pressed a little persistently, Taesu smiled bitterly.
“When I looked at the stream during the day, it was so clear I could see right through it.”
“But you can’t see through a person’s heart?”
“Bingo.”
“You say things in such a roundabout way.”
Gim Hyeokgwon replied bluntly.
At that moment, Taesu looked at the scattering embers and murmured quietly,
“I want to boast loudly too, saying there’s nothing to worry about with a surgery like this.”
“…”
Gim Hyeokgwon had clearly heard it, but he pretended he had not.
Since they had spent so much time together, he could roughly guess just how heavy the weight pressing down on Taesu’s shoulders was right now.
The two of them simply watched the dying embers like that until Jeong Minsu returned.
The next day.
It was still dawn, too early to call it morning.
Taesu put on thick clothes and came outside.
“I barely slept.”
He muttered bitterly with a swollen face.
But that lasted only a moment.
Taesu flinched and quickly wrapped both arms around himself. It was because of the cold he could feel even though he was wearing a thick outer garment.
“Ugh, just how many degrees is it?”
When he looked at the thermometer hanging near the tent entrance, it was ten degrees Celsius.
It was weather that could now be called full-on early winter. Perhaps because of that, the branches of the trees in the mountains were growing bare.
They seemed to be preparing for winter.
At the peaceful scenery spread out before his eyes, Taesu formed a strange smile.
“Heh. This is a battlefield, right?”
It was so far removed from the world that he almost doubted it.
But this was also a battlefield.
Life was a battlefield in another sense.
The farther one was from civilization, the more the very act of maintaining life must be a war.
His pointless thoughts had needlessly grown long.
Shake, shake.
Taesu shook his head and headed toward the ward tent.
Since he was already up, he wanted to check on I Changgyu’s condition one more time.
Soon, as he was approaching the ward tent, he heard voices talking inside.
—So you’re saying we should let those people operate on Songhui?
It was a sharp, piercing woman’s voice.
It was an unfamiliar voice Taesu was hearing for the first time.