The three soon arrived at the sickbed tent.
Rustle.
Drawing aside the partition curtain, Tae-su entered first, a heavy medical bag in hand and a smile on his face.
"Song-hui woke up—"
Tae-su, who had been speaking cheerfully, couldn't finish his sentence.
He even came to a halt.
Behind him, Jeong Min-su, who had been carrying a box on his shoulder, collided with him.
Thud.
Staggering, Jeong Min-su barely kept his balance and asked.
"Ugh. Ah, phew……. Why'd you stop?"
"……."
Without a word, Tae-su moved aside.
Through that gap, Jeong Min-su and Gim Hyeok-gwon, each shouldering a load, entered with puzzled looks.
"Why on earth……. Huh?"
"What……. Hmm."
Jeong Min-su and Gim Hyeok-gwon took on expressions similar to Tae-su's.
What surprised the three was that the patients' mothers were right there.
Swish.
The mothers had risen from their seats and were standing, looking this way.
It felt as though they had been waiting.
No, they had definitely been waiting.
It was completely different from how they had kept their distance as if fleeing that morning.
Then Gang Yeong-hoon stepped forward and spoke to the medical staff.
"You met briefly this morning."
"Yes. It was in front of this tent."
"They said it doesn't seem polite to keep avoiding you, so they wanted to greet you."
Gang Yeong-hoon calmly continued his role as intermediary.
The moment everyone heard those words.
Click.
At the sound from beside him, Tae-su glanced over.
Jeong Min-su and Gim Hyeok-gwon had both stepped back.
Only Tae-su had popped out to the front.
'You're the representative.'
'I'm the interpreter.'
The two who met each other's gaze conveyed that meaning with their eyes.
Resigned, Tae-su bowed his head and greeted them formally.
"This is our first formal greeting. I'm Choe Tae-su."
Bow.
The two behind him followed suit.
"I'm Jeong Min-su."
"I'm Gim Hyeok-gwon. I also work as an interpreter and a nurse."
The moment the medical staff's greetings ended.
Voices of response came from the front.
"I'm Chang-gyu's mom……. Han, Han Ju-yeong."
"I'm Gim Hyeon-gyeong."
Raising his head, he saw that both women were indeed bowing in greeting.
There was no sense of backing away or hesitating whatsoever.
Indeed, the atmosphere was quite different from the morning.
Tae-su's gaze naturally turned to Gang Yeong-hoon.
The moment their eyes met, Gang Yeong-hoon explained on his own.
"Both my sister-in-law and Song-hui's mom said they couldn't stop worrying about what happened this morning."
"There was no need for that."
"Still, it's not like we could avoid you forever, so it turned out like this."
"I see."
"And they also want to hear about the children's conditions directly."
Gang Yeong-hoon seemed pleased but also glanced around cautiously.
He looked worried that they might dislike this unannounced greeting.
Tae-su didn't think that at all.
He immediately faced the two women again and spoke.
"We too have been waiting for a day when we could meet like this."
"I-I'm… s-sorry."
Han Ju-yeong answered with a slightly awkward tone.
She could have relied on Gang Yeong-hoon or Gim Hyeon-gyeong, but she was summoning courage herself.
Seeing that, Tae-su honestly felt a twinge in his heart.
Outwardly, without showing it, he answered softly.
"There's nothing to be sorry for. I'm truly delighted to meet you face to face like this."
"Th-thank y-you. Ou-our son……."
Her voice gradually grew quieter.
She seemed to shrink from her own faltering voice.
Tae-su quickly guessed her concern and answered.
"It's thanks to Chang-gyu overcoming it well."
"I-I heard the s-surgery was d-difficult……."
"Only a little. Chang-gyu worked much harder, and we merely added a little to help him find strength."
"No. Th-thank……. you."
Bow.
Han Ju-yeong bowed her head deeply once more.
Her words and actions were awkward, but the sincerity within them was not awkward at all.
Tae-su and the other two were already wearing gentle smiles.
The greeting they had received in the morning had made them happy too, but hearing it directly like this swelled their joy several times over.
But it wasn't just greetings that were exchanged.
Each observed Han Ju-yeong with their own gaze.
They simply didn't show it outwardly.
Tae-su was particularly the quickest to notice.
To deliberately divert the attention focused on Han Ju-yeong, he spoke.
"You two, put down what you're carrying first."
"Ah, right. Hyeok-gwon-ssi."
"On it."
Jeong Min-su and Gim Hyeok-gwon set down the cardboard boxes they had been carrying on their shoulders in a corner of the ward tent.
Thud, thud.
Having seen that, Tae-su added.
"Min-su, look after Chang-gyu, and Hyeok-gwon-ssi, please explain to Yeong-hun-ssi."
"Let's do that."
Swish.
The medical staff scattered in all directions in an instant at Tae-su's order.
Among them, Tae-su headed toward Gang Song-hui's sickbed.
Seeing Tae-su approaching, Gim Hyeon-gyeong hesitated somewhat.
Tae-su realized what her question was from the way she glanced at the sickbed. However, the order of work was clear.
"You must have many questions, but may I examine Song-hui first?"
"Ah, yes."
Swish.
Gim Hyeon-gyeong quietly stepped back from the sickbed.
Having received that permission, Tae-su approached Gang Song-hui.
Gang Song-hui, whose face was wrapped tightly in bandages, had her eyes wide open.
Her left eye was open just the same.
Blink.
She closed and opened both eyes identically.
Seeing that, a pebble hanging in Tae-su's chest dropped with a thud.
'Phew.'
His worry had lessened slightly, but it was too early to be relieved.
He needed to check the functional parts in more detail.
Focusing on the exposed left eye, he offered a greeting.
"Hi, Song-hui? Did you sleep well?"
*Sob.*
Gang Song-hui, who had been staring blankly, burst into tears out of nowhere.
It was a situation that occurred without any warning.
Tears welled up in both eyes in an instant.
Tears formed in her left eye just the same. Perhaps due to slight internal bleeding, the color of her tears had a faint pinkish tinge.
Functionally, there was no problem at all.
But before he could even be pleased by that, Tae-su was greatly flustered.
"What's wrong? Why are you crying?"
*Sob……. "Liar.*
"Huh? Me?"
"You said it wouldn't hurt. *Sob.* It hurts. Liar……"
Gang Song-hui spat out words between sobs.
Only upon hearing those words did Tae-su feel relieved.
The very fact that she could feel pain was a relief.
It seemed that Gang Song-hui, who had no tolerance for pain, was simply overcome with sorrow.
Before he knew it, Tae-su's smile had softened.
"Does it hurt a lot?"
*Sob-hic.*
Shake, shake.
"Then here, does the sore spot sting prick-prick?"
Tae-su touched his own left cheek instead and asked.
Seeing that, Gang Song-hui answered with a nod, her face full of tears.
"Yes. It hurts there. *Sob.* Daddy said not to touch it……. *Sob.*"
"That's right, that's right. Daddy is right. If we touch it now, it'll hurt much more later."
"But it still hurts, *hic.*"
Gang Song-hui whimpered and whined at the same time.
To Tae-su, that sight felt incredibly cute.
Wearing an avuncular smile, Tae-su had already taken out a flashlight and a speculum from his medical bag.
Click.
Tae-su turned on the flashlight and called out to Gang Song-hui.
"Song-hui, can you look here?"
"I won't. Liar, I won't do it."
Swish.
She turned her back, showing strong refusal.
"S-Song-hui."
Gim Hyeon-gyeong's flustered voice came from behind.
Rustle.
Tae-su raised his hand to lightly stop her.
At the same time, he moved his hand slightly, deliberately feigning distress.
"Hmm. I brought something Song-hui might like, but what should I do with it now."
His hand entered and exited the medical bag the moment he finished speaking.
Something was in that hand.
It was a squeezable nutrition jelly in a tube.
The flavor went without saying.
Since the NGO performed many surgeries and treatments on infants and young children, they kept a stock of such tailored food items.
Snap.
Tae-su openly opened the lid.
A sweet fragrance began to waft out.
Having tasted candy before, Gang Song-hui flinched at the familiar scent. She couldn't turn her head and was only glancing with her eyes.
She must have thought no one would notice her doing this.
But to the adults' eyes, those actions were blatantly obvious.
It was so cute that laughter could have burst out from everyone at once. Even Tae-su had to adjust his rising lips.
Having forced away his smile, Tae-su pretended to be disappointed once more.
"This tastes exactly like candy."
"Candy?"
"I brought it specially because Song-hui couldn't eat candy. But if she doesn't want it, I suppose I'll just take it back."
Tae-su stopped right there.
He had only stopped talking; he was looking at Gang Song-hui with a meaningful smile.
Then Gang Song-hui's back flinched greatly.
After flinching a few more times, she sneakily turned her head and asked.
"Wh-what is that?"
"This? Hold on, here."
Swish.
Tae-su brought the tube to Gang Song-hui's mouth and squeezed a little to let her taste it.
They say one taste is worth a hundred words.
Feeding her once had a greater effect than saying it a hundred times.
Tae-su's thinking was correct.
Gang Song-hui's eyes, which had been mulling the jelly in her mouth, widened greatly for a moment.
It was an expression that seemed to say, 'What new world is this?'
The trickling tears vanished instantly.
"Wow."
"Good, right?"
"Yes. It really tastes exactly like candy."
Gang Song-hui spoke clearly, as if she had never whined before.
Rather, she showed strong interest.
She didn't even care about the pain anymore.
In fact, it was closer to making a fuss than actual pain.
The pain was likely that mild.
Tae-su, who had already seen through it, naturally solidified his victory.
"I'll give this to you. But you have to do what I say. Got it?"
"Yes."
"Then take this first."
Plop.
Tae-su boldly tossed her the whole thing.
Showing it and then attaching conditions was a petty thing. Rather, giving it boldly and confidently asking was more at a child's eye level.
The effect appeared immediately, as expected.
Kang Song-hui, clutching it tightly with both hands, smiled with her eyes and started with a greeting.
"Thank you."
"Good. Then shall we look here?"
"Yes."
Even though the flashlight would be bright, Gang Song-hui looked straight ahead.
Indeed, sweets seemed to be the best thing for children.
Thanks to Gang Song-hui's cooperation, Tae-su was able to examine her smoothly.
The inside was covered by bandages and couldn't be seen right away.
Still, he could check the left eye's pupil response, whether she was breathing through her left nostril, and whether her left lip was moving.
Finally, he placed his hand on the bandage on her forehead and asked.
"Can you scrunch it up once?"
*Ngh…….**
A straining sound came out, as if she were furrowing her brows.
Contrary to the loud sound, her bandaged face showed no sign.
But Tae-su's hand could feel the muscles moving beneath the bandages.
'The immediate post-surgery reactions are good.'
That was certain.
He was also glad that he could set aside his worries about blindness.
Tae-su continued his examination with spirited hands.