Taesu naturally approached the operating table.
Taesu's expression as he faced Gang Songhui's fear-filled face was softness itself.
"Are you very nervous?"
"I-It's not... that it hurts... Hic."
"There, there. Don't cry. And the surgery won't hurt. It'll only hurt a little after it's over, that's all."
Taesu dabbed her tears with a surgical towel as he comforted her.
But it was difficult for such comfort to get through when they'd only met yesterday.
"Huuueeeek..."
"It's really okay. Let's get the surgery over with quickly and return to your pretty, original face."
"But it still... still hurts... I don't like pain... Even this hurt."
Tears flowed endlessly from Gang Songhui's eyes without pause.
This was referring to the IV.
It was the stinging pain of being pricked by a needle.
The fact that even that much hurt showed she definitely lacked tolerance for pain.
She was only eleven now.
That was a natural fear.
Expecting maturity from her was asking too much.
As Taesu looked at Gang Songhui, his face was filled with nothing but an endlessly gentle smile.
He himself found it quite amazing.
It was because whenever he looked at children this age, a face he longed for always overlapped with theirs.
He never mistook or confused them.
But his desire to never experience that pain from back then twice was far too strong.
Fortunately, this surgery wasn't that dangerous.
So Taesu comforted Gang Songhui in an even calmer and steadier voice.
"When you wake up from a nap, it'll all be over."
"Hic. Huuu... I'm not sleepy."
"Then that chubby doctor over there will help you with that."
It came at the same time as Taesu's honest remark.
Perhaps not expecting such words at this moment, Gang Songhui laughed before crying again.
"...Haa. ...Hic."
"He's not just chubby? He's ugly too, isn't that right?"
"Hic... Yes."
"As expected, I like how honest kids are."
It was the moment Taesu felt somewhat satisfied.
Snap.
Be that as it may.
What mattered more to Taesu was that Gang Songhui's tension had eased even a little.
Her complexion had definitely improved slightly after a few jokes.
Taesu pressed this advantage and added,
"When you wake up from a good nap, your brother Changgyu will be right beside you."
"Brother always teases me..."
"Once you have the surgery, he won't tease you anymore. He'll say you're pretty and cute. He might even ask to play with you every day, you know?"
"Really?"
"Really. I promise."
Swish.
Taesu extended his pinky toward the blanket.
But Gang Songhui seemed not to know what it meant.
In the end, Taesu took her hand himself and hooked their pinkies together as he explained.
"When you do it like this, the words spoken must absolutely be kept."
"..."
A nod.
Gang Songhui nodded awkwardly.
Still, what was certain was that she wasn't crying anymore.
She didn't even seem to realize she had stopped crying on her own. It seemed she was dreaming of the moment she would play happily with Yi Changgyu.
Now was the time to make that dream come true.
Rustle.
Taesu gestured with his hand as he spoke to Gang Songhui.
"Now let's get some good sleep. While thinking only happy and joyful thoughts."
"Okay."
"See you later, then. Good night."
"Good night."
Having said that, Gang Songhui closed her eyes on her own.
It was an inappropriate greeting for someone falling asleep alone.
But because she was a child, that sight was endearing as well.
Rustle.
The hand that had hooked pinkies was being firmly held by Taesu.
Just as the atmosphere was set like that.
"Administering anesthetic. One... Two... Three..."
It was around the time Jeong Minsu counted past "seven."
Slump.
As if strength had left Gang Songhui's neck, her head moved slightly to the side.
Looking at her sleeping peacefully, Taesu spoke a small promise.
"I'll do my best."
It was a promise that had nothing to do with the severity of the surgery.
Soon, Taesu placed Gang Songhui's hand back under the blanket.
It was after that.
From behind came Jeong Minsu's voice, gritting his teeth.
"Gnashing my teeth over here. What was that? Chubby and ugly doctor?"
"The kid can hear you."
"What would a sleeping kid hear? No, should I sing you a lullaby too? A very urgent one."
A growl.
Jeong Minsu warned in a low and savage voice.
Taesu met him with a heavy gaze.
"No more jokes."
"You leave me speechless. Alright."
Though Jeong Minsu grumbled, he immediately gathered himself.
Soon, the buoyant atmosphere settled down.
It seemed both Jeong Minsu and Gim Hyeokgwon were ready.
Taesu read that flow and gave an order.
"Let's connect the intubation first."
"Prepared already. We can push the catheter long and deep into the nasal cavity like this."
"Good preparation. I'll dilate the left nostril first."
Click.
Taesu moved a surgical tool shaped like a reduced Balfour.
It was a surgical tool they called a "small Balfour" for convenience.
He inserted that small Balfour into the right nostril and dilated it slightly wider.
Then immediately Jeong Minsu pushed in a ventilator with a thin, elongated snout.
Taesu watched the figures on the ECG and ventilator as he relayed the response.
"A little deeper... A bit more... That's it."
"I'll secure it... Secured."
"Then administer the muscle relaxant, and let's put on gloves first."
"Yessir."
Jeong Minsu answered short and firm.
Usually he whined, joked around, and bickered, but during surgery he vanished without a trace.
It was proof that he was nervous before surgery.
Taesu couldn't say anything about that.
Because Taesu himself was unknowingly tensing his body.
Click.
With solemn eyes, he disinfected his hands and then put on surgical gloves.
Before anyone knew it, Gang Songhui's face was covered by a fenestrated surgical drape.
Above her head, a strong light illuminated the surgical site without a single shadow.
Then Taesu's gaze turned slightly to the side.
The ECG figures that filled his eyes were stable.
Because it wasn't an emergency directly linked with life, those figures were normal.
It was a procedure to check for any abnormal signs just in case.
Fortunately, there was no problem.
Soon Taesu's gaze turned to the two of them.
"It's been a while since we had a non-emergency surgery."
"This makes me more nervous. In an emergency, you just go with the flow, but in cases like this, you have to keep your wits about you."
"Minsu, well said."
"Huh?"
Just as Jeong Minsu looked puzzled.
Taesu spoke in an even weightier voice.
"I'll proceed with my wits about me. Songhui, let's make you pretty. Then let's begin the surgery."
"Please take good care of her."
A bow.
Taesu, Jeong Minsu, and Gim Hyeokgwon bowed their heads together toward the operating table.
Right as they declared the start of surgery like that.
"Scalpel."
Swish.
With Taesu's hands beginning, the first neurofibroma surgery commenced.
The scalpel deftly cleaved between Gang Songhui's left nose and cheek, which was bumpy and uneven.
Swoosh.
Seeing that, Jeong Minsu's expression hardened at once.
"I wanted to avoid that spot if possible."
"She's a child."
"If we want to minimize scarring, that is the optimal spot."
"No more complaints."
Once Taesu drew the line, Jeong Minsu followed obediently.
"I'll clear the bleeding first. Suction..."
"Suction, hold."
"Then we have to go with gauze. Hyeokgwon, more gauze please."
Gim Hyeokgwon's hand approached reflexively.
"Here."
"Next, the liquid hemostatic, and add more hemostatics."
"Let's do that."
Jeong Minsu's orders were firmer than before.
Gim Hyeokgwon's responding hand movements became swifter.
It was the result of being harshly drilled by the nurses.
Perhaps because of that, in surgery he was closer to a nurse than an interpreter.
It was after clearing the blood several times.
Something was strange.
Drip.
Blood continued to flow through the liquid hemostatic agent.
Taesu's brow narrowed sharply as he spoke.
"Why won't the bleeding stop?"
"I'll try again."
"Together. Let's do it faster."
Rustle, rustle.
Taesu and Jeong Minsu's hands devoted themselves to clearing the bleeding.
Accordingly, the bleeding quickly decreased.
It certainly seemed that way.
But then...
Trickle.
Blood flowed out again.
This was definitely not a normal case.
Taesu asked Jeong Minsu with a wondering expression.
"Did you run a hemostasis test?"
"I did when connecting the IV."
"Then why won't it stop?"
The expressions of the two, who had been voicing doubts, suddenly grew grave.
Medical terms and opposing opinions learned from various specialists tumbled back and forth.
"Could it be hemophilia?"
"But she's a girl. ...Could it be diabetes mellitus or hypertension?"
"You might as well say lupus or leukemia."
"There are so many diseases with hemostatic disorder symptoms."
They were representative diseases, but they didn't match the current situation.
They were quite different from what they had studied at the very least.
Amid such argument, Gim Hyeokgwon's hand abruptly cut in.
It was a cold, calculated gesture that broke their flow.
Clack. Tack.
He added more gauze and rebuked softly.
"If you're not writing a hemostasis paper, let's solve the bleeding first."
"We will."
"And another thing, having a lot in your head isn't unconditionally good."
It was meaningful advice.
It pointed to the core of why they were feeling confused.
Taesu and Jeong Minsu snapped to attention.
"In our heads?"
"Clear it."
Literally, they emptied their minds completely.
They turned them into a blank sheet.
They didn't have the leisure to think and analyze.
And they realized.
That learning not absorbed into the body turned into poison at the decisive moment.
Once that poison was removed, they exuded a rather refreshed atmosphere instead.
They immediately changed to be proactive.
Taesu gave the first order.
"Hyeokgwon. Add a little potassium and magnesium please."
"And lots of gauze on the way."
As Jeong Minsu added, Gim Hyeokgwon glanced at him.
"Why is it that when you two come to your senses, I get busy?"
He only said that.
Swish.
He was already moving quickly with a side step.
Taesu added another order to him.
"Reduce the glucose, and prepare one liter of saline."
"Yes. Let's do it all at once. Should we add a blood pack too?"
"Just hang it for now. The bleeding isn't at a level to connect it yet."
"Okay. Why do humans only have two hands."
Gim Hyeokgwon vented a strange frustration as he moved his hands furiously.
The moment Taesu's gaze returned to the operating table, it lingered briefly on the ECG.
Beep, beep.
The ECG showed almost no reaction.
It wasn't bleeding to that extent.
After confirming, his gaze returned to the operating table.
Clack, clack.
Jeong Minsu was sopping up the bleeding with gauze.
Taesu watched silently.
They didn't know the cause of the bleeding?
Something clicked at those words.