For Kim Hyeok-kwon, who had been standing beside Jeong Min-su, it was like a bolt from the blue.
“I’m supposed to be on that side? What is going on?”
Those were only words.
Kim Hyeok-kwon quickly circled around the operating table.
The new arrangement had Jeong Min-su as the primary surgeon.
And Kim Hyeok-kwon had to handle both assisting and supporting duties.
Lastly, Tae-su was the second surgeon.
In truth, it did not carry any great significance.
The main reason was simply to make it easier to distinguish their positions around the operating table.
Thus, Tae-su and Kim Hyeok-kwon switched places.
Naturally, they also exchanged surgical instruments.
The suction was now in Kim Hyeok-kwon’s hands.
“Doctor Jeong, I’m ready.”
“Suction here, and pull here with the hook.”
“All right. Here I go.”
At the same time as he answered, Kim Hyeok-kwon immediately began following Jeong Min-su’s hands.
Gurgle, gurgle.
Not only did he move the suction naturally, but the way he manipulated the hook he had picked up was also quite smooth.
“This goes like this, and then like this……”
He could occasionally be heard muttering to himself.
The greatest characteristic of Kim Hyeok-kwon’s movements was that they resembled Tae-su’s.
Moreover, his sense for assisting was even better.
Although Jeong Min-su already knew that, it seemed to feel new to him.
Flash.
Jeong Min-su gave off the air of someone storing something away in his mind.
It seemed he was putting it off for later because assessing the affected area immediately was more important.
Swish, scrape.
The two of them moved their hands together, focusing on examining the affected area.
Tae-su was doing the same.
He stood alone with the calf in front of him.
On the surface, it looked somewhat better than the thigh.
‘I don’t know what’s inside.’
That was why he had to check.
Once he had gathered his thoughts, Tae-su’s hands moved at once.
Shhk.
As expected, cutting with the scalpel produced little bleeding.
Without even blinking, Tae-su used retractors to spread the skin apart to either side.
Soon, the inside of the calf came into view.
At the same time, Tae-su unconsciously let out a short breath.
“Phew.”
The condition of the calf was no better.
Tae-su quickly hid his emotions and began a meticulous examination.
It was not long afterward.
Jeong Min-su’s heavy voice called out to him.
“Tae-su.”
“What?”
“Take a look here.”
Jeong Min-su’s words were heavy and brief.
Tae-su’s gaze immediately turned in that direction.
It was the outer portion of the thigh.
A thick blood vessel had turned black.
It was not the femoral artery or femoral vein.
But the vessel was far too thick to offer any reassurance.
Jeong Min-su identified it.
“It’s the descending branch of the circumflex femoral artery.”
“If we follow it upward, it looks like it connects toward the pelvis with the artery around the femoral neck.”
“That’s right. And here.”
Clack.
Jeong Min-su pointed somewhere with the tip of a straight forceps.
It was around the lateral femoral cutaneous nerve.
The inflammation had developed in a particularly bad location.
Tae-su bit down hard on his lips beneath his mask.
“Damn it.”
“And the rectus femoris muscle, vastus lateralis……”
As Jeong Min-su rattled off the medical terms, Kim Hyeok-kwon’s face twisted into a deep frown.
“I told you I don’t understand it when you talk like that. I’m assisting Doctor Jeong right now. Please be considerate.”
Kim Hyeok-kwon was right.
The scope of the surgery had already gone beyond what the two of them could actively handle alone.
So Jeong Min-su corrected himself and explained in Korean terms.
“Anyway, the inflammation has taken hold quite deeply along the rectus femoris and vastus lateralis.”
“How deep?”
“Roughly sixty percent.”
Jeong Min-su’s voice was far too subdued.
That meant it was the most serious area, and it also implied that problems lurked elsewhere.
Tae-su asked in a heavy voice.
“Is there more?”
“No.”
“Then let’s move to the calf.”
At Tae-su’s call, Jeong Min-su and Kim Hyeok-kwon’s gazes simultaneously turned toward the calf.
Swish.
Feeling their attention, Tae-su pointed things out one after another as he explained.
Clack, clack, clack.
“The inflammation has properly invaded the peroneal artery, great saphenous vein, and small saphenous vein.”
“What?”
Jeong Min-su’s eyes widened.
Kim Hyeok-kwon reacted the same way.
“What the hell are we supposed to do with this?”
Even he, who had only studied the subject piecemeal, seemed utterly bleak.
But Tae-su was not finished.
“There’s also inflammation around the middle section of the deep peroneal nerve. The peroneus longus, and even the area behind the knee, are affected as well.”
Clack, clack.
Tae-su pointed out the muscles one by one, explaining as he went, though the inflammation made them difficult to distinguish.
Jeong Min-su’s eyes were on the verge of rolling back as one shock piled on another.
“What in the world……”
“Fortunately, it looks like there’s no problem below the ankle.”
“Oh, yes, what a relief.”
Jeong Min-su was overcome despite himself.
Tae-su felt little different.
“This is really too much.”
“It’s beyond too much. This is…… At this point.”
“Amputation is the right choice.”
Tae-su forced the words out.
It was something he truly did not want to say.
He did not want to extinguish the sincere determination they had shown earlier.
But this was the reality they faced.
Kim Hyeok-kwon, who had been listening while shifting his eyes from side to side, asked quietly.
“Is there really no way?”
“Hm.”
“Hey, you two. Who was it that clung to the orthopedic and neurosurgery specialists in Padum?”
“……”
Not only Tae-su, but Jeong Min-su as well, fell silent.
Perhaps unable to bear the silence, Kim Hyeok-kwon pressed them in a stronger voice.
“You said you’d show Kkuti Soul. I’m sure Kkuti would be thrilled to hear what you’re saying now. Right?”
“Phew.”
“What are you sighing for? Don’t breathe until you come up with a solution.”
It was an unreasonable demand.
Kim Hyeok-kwon knew that, but he was just as frustrated.
Then Tae-su spoke in a bitter voice.
“There is a theoretical way. But……”
“But what?”
“I can’t guarantee the result. This isn’t merely a matter of probability.”
Tae-su answered as calmly as he could.
Yet he could not meet Kim Hyeok-kwon’s gaze.
To the point that even the usually confident Tae-su was avoiding his eyes?
A slight tremor passed through Kim Hyeok-kwon’s gaze.
It seemed he was only now beginning to grasp how serious the situation was.
Then Jeong Min-su asked in a dejected voice.
“Should I go ask the family?”
“What are you going to say? ‘We’re thinking of cutting off your husband’s leg. Do we have your permission?’”
“I’ll explain the situation accurately and ask what choice they want to make……”
Jeong Min-su tried to speak, but Tae-su cut him off.
“What choice? You think they’ll gladly ask us to cut it off? Would you say that if you were in their place?”
“Damn it. Then what are we supposed to do?”
“Exactly. Hyeok-kwon, I’m going to rinse everything with saline. Then let’s rest for exactly five minutes.”
After speaking, Tae-su picked up a syringe filled with saline.
Sssshh.
Saline streamed in a thick spray from the needleless syringe, concentrated around the calf.
Kim Hyeok-kwon sprayed saline over the thigh until it was thoroughly soaked.
Lastly, Jeong Min-su spread out a surgical drape and covered everything from the thigh to the tips of the toes.
It was a remarkably busy scene for such a brief rest.
However, since this was not a regular operating room, that much was the bare minimum to protect the wound from infection.
Soon, the three of them gathered below the operating table.
They lowered their masks slightly and took small sips of water.
Just enough to soothe their parched throats.
“……”
“……”
None of the three spoke.
They knew too well that opening their mouths now would only lead to a repetition of the same conversation.
The atmosphere was suffocating.
Kim Hyeok-kwon said with a grim expression,
“I’ll go replenish whatever’s lacking.”
Swish.
Kim Hyeok-kwon passed the two of them and walked toward the shelves.
Since his field was different, he was going to find something useful to do.
Tae-su and Jeong Min-su knew that better than anyone.
So neither of them said anything.
Breaking the heavy silence, Tae-su spoke.
“There’s definitely a way to save it, at least theoretically.”
“That…… Phew.”
Jeong Min-su began to speak, then stopped.
His habitual negative opinion had come to mind, but he seemed to have deliberately held his tongue.
Tae-su actually encouraged him.
“Object.”
“Huh?”
“Object properly. That’s how we’ll find problems we didn’t think of.”
Tae-su was being sincere.
Someone had to point out the advantages, and someone else had to argue against them.
He had no intention of wasting this spare time.
Every minute and every second mattered.
Perhaps understanding, Jeong Min-su immediately opened his mouth.
“First of all, the muscle loss is too extensive.”
“If we’re careful about stenosis, the muscles will grow back.”
“What about complications?”
“They’re only probabilities. It’s not as if we’ll leave him unattended once the surgery is over.”
They exchanged short, forceful statements, rapidly getting straight to the point.
But even that covered too broad a range, and the conversation gradually grew longer.
“Then what about the nerves……”
“That part is actually favorable, and earlier the nerve had become necrotic……”
“You’re only looking at the worst-case scenario. Rather……”
The conversation grew increasingly heated.
Their faces were tightly contorted, reflecting the urgency they felt.
Whip, whip.
Their hands moved along with their words.
It almost felt like they were fighting.
Kim Hyeok-kwon, who had been watching while preparing supplies, made a strange face.
“Is this a rap battle? It looks like that thing where people fight while muttering to each other.”
He said it because he had no knowledge with which to join the exchange.
Kim Hyeok-kwon clearly understood how important this time was as well.
It was then, as Tae-su and Jeong Min-su continued arguing heatedly.
From outside the operating room came the voice of a young boy.
“Dad.”
It was an unfamiliar child’s voice.
Tae-su and Jeong Min-su’s gazes simultaneously turned toward the partition.
With horrified expressions, they shouted sharply.
“Son, step back.”
“Don’t open that.”
The partition was the last line of defense keeping outside air from entering.
The problem was that it had no safety mechanism whatsoever.
They had to stop him.
There was no other option.
Tae-su, Jeong Min-su, and even Kim Hyeok-kwon all tried to rush toward the partition at once.
But then—
“Seong-gu, you little rascal.”
“Waaah! Let me go! Dad, Dad!”
From the sound of it, the child had been caught.
Fortunately, the adult’s voice was familiar.
“Mr. Kang.”
“Hah. Nice shot, Song-hee’s dad.”
“Phew……”
The three of them finally released the breath they had been holding.
But only for a moment.
“Dad.”
This time, it was a girl’s voice.
Worse still, Kang Yeong-hun’s voice followed immediately.
“Seol-ji, come here. You can’t go there.”
The near-screaming shout meant Kang Yeong-hun had failed to stop the other child as well.
“Dad.”
“Seol-ji, no. You really can’t open that.”
The voice tightened their already frantic hearts even further.
The expressions of the three men once again hardened with tension.
“There’s another child?”
“There are two.”
“What the hell was everyone doing instead of watching the children?”
Pat-pat-pat.
They dashed toward the operating room entrance, venting their irritation.
Just a little farther.
Faster.
They had to stop them somehow.
With that resolve, they ran with all their might.