It was then.
"Got you."
"Haaah, I hate you, Teacher. Daddy."
Teacher?
Then it must have been Jo Jeongmin.
Thud, thud.
The three of them, having arrived right in front of the curtain, all heaved identical sighs.
"Huuuuh."
"Hoo, hoo. I'm shaking."
"I'm going crazy. Ugh, please tell me there's no one else?"
Kim Hyeokgwon asked roughly.
Right after, Taesu also pressed Jeong Minsu.
"Are you sure there are only two kids in that house? It's not three?"
"No. It's two. Really, it's two."
"Argh, hell. Really… Hoo."
Taesu's heart was pounding from experiencing two consecutive moments of near cardiac arrest.
Jeong Minsu and Kim Hyeokgwon were the same.
"Ahoo… Ah, aah, my ribs near my heart feel tight."
"I feel like someone just poured cold water over my head."
He was scrunching up his face severely, as if it wasn't just an idle remark.
But 'surely not' had claimed a victim.
There really was someone else left.
This time, it was a mature woman's voice.
"Honey."
It seemed to be the wife of patient Park Huinam.
Taesu, Jeong Minsu, and Kim Hyeokgwon scrunched their faces up at that sound.
"Ah, they're going too far."
The lament was brief.
"Don't open it."
"Absolutely not."
All they could do from inside was shout.
Then, a dignified roar was heard.
"You rascals, what are you doing here?"
That voice was quite familiar.
Taesu muttered in a low, confident voice.
"It's Elder Wang's entrance."
"How did someone in poor health get here?"
"It seems he came nearby after hearing about the surgery."
Kim Hyeokgwon offered a guess, and it was highly likely.
Everyone was gradually flustered by the unexpected situation.
Elder Wang's scolding could be heard loudly from outside.
"Young and old, what in the world is all this commotion?"
"Elder Wang."
"Ahem. Kim Jeongsun, what good is it if you act so frivolously?"
"So much time has passed, and he hasn't come out, and we don't know what's happening…"
An excuse was heard, presumably from Kim Jeongsun, wife of Park Huinam.
But Elder Wang was firm.
"If you make such a racket outside, will the task at hand be done properly?"
"Still…"
"Get lost at once."
Elder Wang's agitated voice was so intense that one could feel the veins bulging in his neck.
Since they were blocked by the curtain and couldn't see, they could only guess.
Even so, Taesu smiled faintly.
"Thank you."
"But does Elder Wang know about the surgery?"
"He's old, so he must know to some extent."
At the guess Kim Hyeokgwon offered, Taesu and Jeong Minsu nodded impassively.
They thought things might finally be settling down.
But then another voice was heard.
"Kids."
This voice?
It was a familiar girl's voice.
Everyone's eyes went wide.
Among them, Taesu muttered that name in a low voice.
"It's Songhui."
"Why did she come again? Why is she doing this when she's had surgery herself?"
"We're going to have a neighborhood festival right in front of us."
Kim Hyeokgwon now wore an expression of someone who had given up on everything.
Taesu and Jeong Minsu also felt nothing but despair at the growing number of voices.
They had to perform surgery.
But in this atmosphere, they didn't know when the curtain would open.
They wouldn't be able to concentrate on surgery with this anxiety.
It was gnawing at their insides.
Then Gang Songhui's voice was heard once more.
"Seonggu, Solji. See? I told you not to come."
"Sis. Sniff, sniff."
"Unnie. Sniff, sniff."
The children's sobs were heard one after another.
As if comforting them, Gang Songhui's calm voice was heard.
"The teachers promised, I told you before. You know about promises, right?"
"Pinky, sniff. Pinky promise."
"Yes. That. When you make a promise like that, you absolutely keep it."
"Sniff, sniff. Really?"
"I made a promise too and got surgery, and see how much better I'm getting."
Gang Songhui spoke quite maturely.
However, the children seemed to find it hard to fully believe.
"Still."
"The head doctor promised me he'd make everyone healthy."
"Mm."
"So you don't need to worry."
Gang Songhui's eloquence in comforting her younger siblings was remarkable.
It was hard to believe she was only eleven years old, and that bright smile she usually wore.
Taesu smiled in satisfaction.
"That kid, she's different from when she's with us."
But Taesu's smile didn't last long.
Zing.
It was because of the sharp gazes he felt from left and right—Jeong Minsu and Kim Hyeokgwon.
"Damn it. That blasted promise."
"I had a feeling something was off, and Songhui is using it right away."
Growl.
The two people's cold voices pressed down on Taesu.
Only then did Taesu recall the promise he made to Gang Songhui.
—To make all the village people pretty and healthy.
The point there was 'pretty.'
It literally meant aesthetic beauty.
He wouldn't be able to call amputating a leg 'pretty.'
Reflecting on the meaning, Taesu felt momentarily dizzy.
"This snout."
At his muttering, Jeong Minsu and Kim Hyeokgwon growled once more.
"Yeah, that snout."
"If you're a doctor, use your hands. Leave your mouth alone."
At the relentless scolding, Taesu quickly apologized.
"I'm sorry."
"Do you think apologizing makes the promise disappear?"
"……"
"Yeah. You'd better not speak."
Jeong Minsu advised coldly.
Taesu wouldn't have had anything to say even if he had ten mouths.
Meanwhile, the outside noise had died down considerably.
The three people straining their ears were frustrated that they couldn't see.
It was then.
Thud.
A footstep was heard near the curtain.
"Uh."
"Hup."
Everyone flinched, wondering if it might open.
From outside the curtain, Elder Wang's dignified voice sought out Taesu.
"Teacher Choi, are you there?"
A searching voice was heard.
With the thin curtain between them, Taesu answered immediately.
"Yes. Elder. I'm here."
"You must have run here surprised by the commotion."
"My heart is about to burst."
Taesu spoke the truth, but it seemed to sound light to Elder Wang.
"You can rest easy now, as this won't happen again."
"Hooo. Thank you very much."
"Save such greetings. You must know why they're acting like this without me saying."
"……"
Taesu, and of course Jeong Minsu and Kim Hyeokgwon, froze.
Elder Wang continued without minding the lack of response.
"The children may not know about the surgery, but do they really not know?"
"They must have some intuition."
"As you just heard, the dependents are so worried and frightened."
"Yes. Just hearing their voices weighs heavily on my heart."
Taesu answered, pushing through the bitterness.
In this situation, he couldn't honestly inform them of the patient's condition.
No, he couldn't bear to say it.
Moreover, having heard the children's desperate voices directly, his heart grew heavy.
"……"
All three of their expressions were equally subdued.
Then Elder Wang's voice continued once more.
"I'm not saying to rush."
"Yes."
"But I hope you don't take away from the children the strongest, most wonderful father in the world."
For some reason, Elder Wang's advice was felt deeply in their hearts.
The moment they recalled his physical characteristics, everyone froze.
"Could it be……"
"Yes. Having lived without one leg, I know well what that sense of loss is like."
Elder Wang was speaking by comparing it to himself.
Naturally, the words didn't come easily from Taesu's mouth.
"Th-that is, hoo. So……"
"What greed could we who live here have? Is there any wish greater than keeping our own bodies safe and healthy?"
"Health, a wish."
As Taesu chewed on the words, Elder Wang continued heavily.
"Only when I am healthy can my family be healthy."
"I understand what you mean."
"Anyway, I won't disturb you any further and will step back, so don't worry and do your work."
Tok, tok.
The sound of crutch-steps faded away.
Taesu, Jeong Minsu, and Kim Hyeokgwon couldn't easily leave that spot.
Who doesn't know?
At this point, talking about the importance of having a whole body was absurd.
That's why they were trying so hard.
They definitely were.
"……"
There was nothing to say.
Then Kim Hyeokgwon asked the two in a low voice.
"So, what was the possibility?"
It was a voice devoid of emotion.
Taesu also answered coldly.
"I forgot."
"Didn't we come running here because we were startled during a short break?"
Jeong Minsu added casually.
Swish.
Their gazes met.
Their eyes were definitely vividly alive.
They looked at each other to confirm if they felt the same way.
It was the same.
If they were the father, and if they were the child.
No matter which side they stood on, there was only one desired result.
Then they shouldn't be standing in front of the curtain.
"To the operating table."
Thud. Thud.
The three headed toward the operating table side by side.
Their steps and gazes were by no means ordinary.
It felt like something was about to go down.
That was precisely their mindset.
'Let's go wild.'
Soon Taesu checked the surgery time and spoke.
"We're going back into surgery now."
"What's the method?"
"There isn't one."
Taesu answered firmly.
For a moment, Jeong Minsu and Kim Hyeokgwon's eyes narrowed.
"There isn't one?"
"We just have to fix everything we see."
It was an outrageous order.
But right now, that order was the best.
Nod.
Jeong Minsu responded with eyes burning even hotter.
Then Taesu's gaze turned to Kim Hyeokgwon.
"Mr. Hyeokgwon. Show me a proper display of your skills for the first time in a while."
"Hmm."
"I won't take no for an answer."
Taesu cut off with a firm order.
Kim Hyeokgwon unexpectedly complied readily.
"Very well. I did say it myself, after all."
"From here on, each of you handles your own surgical instrument changes and supplies."
"Okay."
"Pick up your instruments."
Clink.
"Pick up."
The two each picked up their surgical instruments and repeated.
It was at the same time.
Taesu shouted heavily, his eyes gleaming with strange light.
"Like this, all the way."
"Run."
Swish.
The three scattered respectively.
Without a single word of discussion, their positions were each different.
Jeong Minsu took charge of the uppermost part of the affected area.
He seemed to be planning to resolve the inflammation that had spread down to the middle of the thigh from the top down.
"Woooooh."
The bizarre sound he let out with his mouth was rather unique.