Jeong Minsu also announced that he had put on surgical gloves.
“Ready.”
“We’ll begin immediately.”
Taesu compressed his orders as much as possible.
It was because Gang Songhui was listening. But not being able to make noise was no longer a major restriction for them.
As proof, each of them moved fluidly.
Snip, snip.
Jeong Minsu cut the sutures in several places and pulled out the stitches.
Once the skin loosened, Kim Hyeokgwon grasped and pulled back the loose skin with a Senn retractor and long forceps, securing the view inside.
The surgical site, exposed by several hands, was gradually filling in with flesh.
However, the inside was not that clean.
It was because inflammation had settled in here and there, oozing fluid.
“……”
“……”
They quickly met one another’s eyes.
Nod.
The gesture meant that they had all seen it clearly and knew what had to be done.
They had worked together countless times in emergency surgeries.
This level of tacit understanding didn’t even count as being sharp.
The first things to move were the Mixter and curette held in Taesu’s hands.
He braced the surrounding area with the Mixter and boldly burst the inflammation with the curette.
Pop. Pop.
It felt as though he were popping pimples.
He did not stop there, even squeezing out the inflammation until it bled.
Jeong Minsu moved in on the area he had stirred up. With finely cut gauze, he swiftly wiped away the inflammation and discharge Taesu had squeezed out.
Swipe, swipe.
Kim Hyeokgwon took charge of cleaning up and replacing it with clean gauze.
On top of that, he sprayed saline from time to time, helping wash the affected area clean.
Although it was merely a simple removal of inflammation, the order and timing of their movements were excellent.
The time it took to clear away the inflammation was short.
Now it was time to begin checking the surgical progress in earnest.
First, they headed to the area beneath the lacrimal gland at the very top.
Since it was the end of the neurofibroma, the depression in the muscle was shallow. Accordingly, the muscle had filled in to some degree.
Taesu was not satisfied with simply looking; he touched it lightly.
Ting, ting.
The muscle’s elasticity felt firm.
Also, perhaps because blood supply to the muscle was proceeding smoothly, it had taken on a deep pink hue.
Taesu smiled faintly and nodded.
Seeing the result exactly as he had studied regarding the recovery process left him extremely satisfied.
“First, the area near the eye is recovering well.”
He deliberately slipped in a brief comment. If there was too much silence, Gang Songhui might become anxious in her own way.
After speaking, Taesu immediately moved on to the next affected area.
After moving through several spots, Taesu’s expression suddenly turned bitter.
It was the first surgery he had personally performed.
As expected, not everything could be perfect.
Fortunately, the muscle had not yet settled into place, so if he were going to correct it, now was the only time.
“Please help me here for a moment.”
“Mm? Mm… All right.”
Kim Hyeokgwon, hearing Taesu’s order, joined him.
Tap.
Taesu pointed to the area he needed to correct and called out to Gang Songhui.
“Songhui, scrunch your nose.”
“Scrunch.”
Twitch.
At Taesu’s request, Gang Songhui’s nose moved.
That movement served as a guide, clearly indicating the area to be corrected.
Taesu praised her and asked at the same time.
“Good job. Does it hurt?”
“No. It just feels like something is moving back and forth.”
“Okay. We’re almost done now, so hang in there just a little longer.”
“Yes.”
Gang Songhui answered and fell silent again.
The way she followed Taesu’s warnings exactly was admirable.
With a patient like this, a doctor naturally gained more strength.
With that strength, he immediately began the correction.
Fortunately, it was not a major problem, so he was able to resolve it quickly.
Meanwhile, Jeong Minsu examined the major blood vessels.
Most of the sutures were healing well, and the blood vessels were functioning smoothly.
‘Not bad.’
However, not everything on this side was going smoothly either.
One vein seemed to have been blocked by a thrombus and was turning dark.
There were two solutions.
To intervene directly.
Or to resolve it with medication.
Administering a thrombolytic for this one blood vessel would be a negative.
‘Let’s put hands on it.’
Having reached his conclusion, Jeong Minsu moved at once.
Jeong Minsu applied Taesu’s method and coaxed Gang Songhui.
“Songhui, stick out your tongue.”
“Bleh, hehe.”
Gang Songhui, who briefly stuck out her tongue, enjoyed it.
At that moment, Jeong Minsu’s hand had already moved.
Tap.
‘Got it.’
He had caught the problematic blood vessel the instant it protruded slightly.
He immediately continued with his next action.
“Mr. Hyeokgwon, please help me this time.”
“As much as you need.”
“Start with the loupe, please.”
“Mm. So that’s why you need it. Here.”
Slide.
Kim Hyeokgwon put the loupe on him without another word.
His field of vision immediately enlarged.
Accordingly, Jeong Minsu’s hand moved boldly.
He made an incision in the thin vessel, extracted the thrombus, and sutured it again.
It proceeded flexibly and smoothly.
Taesu also witnessed it clearly.
And he acknowledged it.
‘When it comes to suturing, you’re a cut above me.’
That much was certain.
But he was not satisfied with that.
Taesu’s competitive spirit blazed up fiercely.
“……”
“……”
In that moment, Jeong Minsu’s eyes met his.
Taesu saw it clearly.
Jeong Minsu was provoking him.
Any time.
A challenge had to be answered for it to be worthwhile.
In that way, Taesu and Jeong Minsu began to radiate heat at the same time.
It was then.
Slide.
A surgical drape blocked the two men’s line of sight.
It was Kim Hyeokgwon’s doing.
He said nothing, but they immediately understood why he had done it.
Rustle.
The blazing flames of competition were extinguished in an instant.
Competition was a matter between the two of them.
This was not the time to raise their competitive spirit.
Kim Hyeokgwon had seen through it and reminded them.
That was why he was necessary between Taesu and Jeong Minsu.
After their competitive spirit died down.
The two immediately returned to a cooperative relationship.
“Minsu, help me for a moment.”
“I already saw it… There. Done. Mr. Hyeokgwon, clean up, please.”
“Coming.”
Swipe, swipe.
With only the bare minimum of conversation, the three of them continued checking the progress meticulously.
And a short while later.
Flutter.
Taesu came out of the operating room.
In the surgical waiting room, Gang Yeonghun and Kim Hyeongyeong were waiting.
Perhaps because they had not heard a single sound from inside this time, their eyes looked hollow.
“How did it go?”
“Is she recovering well?”
The two asked urgently.
Taesu spoke with a meaningful smile.
“Songhui will tell you herself.”
Slide.
He pulled aside the operating room screen and raised it high.
Gang Songhui was standing there.
Her face was wrapped in clean bandages.
Tap-tap.
Gang Songhui strode forward and looked back and forth between her parents as she said,
“Mom, Dad. They said I got a lot better.”
“Really?”
“They said I can become a pretty grown-up.”
“Oh, Songhui.”
Embrace.
Kim Hyeongyeong lowered her posture and gently hugged her.
“Huuuh.”
Her shoulders trembled, and a suppressed sob could be heard.
It seemed the heart she had held in suspense again and again had finally loosened.
When her mother cried, Gang Songhui cried along with her.
“Mom, don’t cry. Waaah.”
“No. I’m not crying.”
“You are crying, huuung.”
“Oh dear. I’m sorry. Mommy’s sorry.”
Kim Hyeongyeong stroked Gang Songhui’s back again and again, conveying both gratitude and apology.
Gang Yeonghun looked at that sight with aching eyes.
But only for a moment.
Whip.
He hurriedly turned his gaze toward Taesu, Jeong Minsu, and Kim Hyeokgwon.
The gaze that met them was far too intense.
It was so heated that Taesu flinched.
“Wh-why?”
“Mr. Yeonghun, don’t make this dramatic.”
“Uh-oh, I’ve got a bad feeling about this.”
As if sensing something uneasy, each of them blurted out a word.
But Gang Yeonghun paid no attention at all.
Before they knew it, his eyes had reddened.
Blindness, facial disability, and so on.
This was the moment Gang Songhui had been freed from all of those side effects.
He had been suffering inside, unable even to tell his family.
Now there was no need for that anymore.
It seemed impossible for him to express those feelings in words.
Had his emotions overwhelmed him?
Whip.
Gang Yeonghun quickly approached the three of them.
Spreading both arms wide, he embraced them all at once.
“…Thank you. Truly, thank you.”
His softly heard voice was filled with tears.
That overwhelming joy reached them intact.
Tight.
They hugged Gang Yeonghun back.
And so, they enjoyed this happy moment together.
The next morning.
Taesu, Jeong Minsu, and Kim Hyeokgwon were sitting around an outdoor table.
As always, it was time to drink a cup of tea after breakfast and discuss the day’s schedule.
Taesu spoke first.
“Today…”
“There are only two patients, so is there anything special?”
Kim Hyeokgwon cut in indifferently.
Following him, Jeong Minsu lightly swirled his teacup and added,
“We checked Songhui’s progress yesterday. We can go see her once in the morning and once in the afternoon while doing the dressing.”
“Changgyu is also maintaining a smooth recovery, so there’s no need for all of us to swarm over there.”
“There’s no reason to make it unnecessarily hectic.”
Jeong Minsu and Kim Hyeokgwon had already reached a conclusion.
Since they were right, Taesu smiled calmly and nodded.
It was then.
Crunch.
The sound of someone stepping on fallen leaves could be heard.
It seemed Taesu was not the only one who heard it, because Jeong Minsu and Kim Hyeokgwon also froze with their cups in hand.
“……”
“……”
Silence fell, as though they had all heard it together. Not stopping there, they all turned their heads toward the direction of the sound.
Crunch. Crunch.
From beyond the thicket, the sound of fallen leaves being stepped on came intermittently.
After listening quietly, Taesu seemed to get a sense of who it was and spoke in a low voice.
“He really must not sleep in.”
“I wonder if he’s eaten before coming.”
“Who knows.”
“He should come a little earlier and eat with us.”
Kim Hyeokgwon seemed to have figured it out as well.
But Jeong Minsu had not.
“You can tell who it is just by hearing that sound?”
“With footsteps spaced out this far apart, you still don’t know?”
“Couldn’t they just be approaching slowly?”
At Jeong Minsu’s reply, Kim Hyeokgwon shook his head and stood up.
“One of these days, I’ll have to give you special tutoring in reading cues. I’m going to prepare tea.”
“I’ll go out to meet him.”
Taesu also stood and headed toward the thicket.
Left alone, Jeong Minsu kept rolling his eyes.
“Isn’t it weirder to know who it is just by hearing their footsteps?”
He seemed to believe that he was far more normal.