It was just as Taesu was about to open it.
Chief Kandor lightly pushed Taesu’s hand away and said,
“The thrill is what matters with a gift.”
“Even so…”
“May your road ahead be filled only with blessings.”
Chief Kandor quickly wished him luck.
Cut off, Taesu had no choice but to accept it.
Still, he said this much.
“There are so many things I’m sorry for.”
“It was God’s will.”
“No. We were lacking. That’s why… someday, after I’ve grown much more, after I’ve become a doctor more worthy of the name, I will definitely come back.”
Taesu spoke with all his sincerity.
It was a promise made with those who had passed away kept in his heart.
Chief Kandor put a heavy strength into their clasped hands and nodded.
“I will watch over you and wait, by sunlight in the day and by moonlight at night.”
“Thank you.”
“Be sure to come back.”
“Yes. I’ll be sure to come back.”
Tap.
Taesu and Chief Kandor lightly pressed shoulders together.
It was an embrace of parting.
At that moment, Kim Hyeokgwon shouted powerfully in the local language.
“$@%#$.”
“Waaah!”
The cheers of the villagers, having heard what was happening, rang across the hill.
And a little while later,
the military jeep carrying Taesu and his group slowly set off.
Vrooom.
Chief Kandor and the villagers waved their hands as they saw them off.
Even after they had grown quite far away, they remained standing there.
Seated in the passenger seat, Taesu watched them through the side mirror.
Before he knew it, a murmur slipped from his lips.
“Human affection really is frightening.”
One thing he regretted?
Bashu’s mother.
Just as she had said, after that first day, he had never been able to see her again.
Even so, at the very end, he had wanted to see her face.
That one thing weighed on his mind, making it hard for him to leave with an easy heart.
Vrooom.
The military jeep soon approached the village cemetery.
“…”
“…”
Everyone fell silent.
They could not be cheerful while passing this place.
Shouldn’t they at least say goodbye inwardly to Bashu and the others who had left?
With that feeling, he turned his head.
But then—
There were people standing in the cemetery.
“Huh?”
“Those people?”
Kim Hyeokgwon, who looked after him, was also startled.
Bashu’s mother stood in the center, with several people around her. They were all family members of those buried in the cemetery.
Zzzing.
He rolled down the window and looked at them.
Had they seen him too?
Rustle.
They unfurled the white cloth they had been holding.
— God Bless You
The letters drawn in black charcoal were clear even from a distance.
May God bless you.
So many meanings were contained within those words.
One thing was certain: they did not hate him.
“…Thank you.”
As Taesu gazed at them with distant eyes, a smile slowly rose on his face.
Now he could leave with a light heart.
No lingering regret remained.
Just as he felt, Taesu’s smile grew bright and radiant, without a single trace of darkness.
Whoosh, whoosh.
“I’ll come again!”
Taesu waved out the window and called out loudly in farewell.
Perhaps they heard him, because they too raised their hands above their heads and waved back.
After they finished saying goodbye like that,
vrooom.
the military jeep left Sahad completely behind.
Taesu, his face refreshed after shaking off even that last strand of regret, was leaning back deeply into his seat when—
Tap, tap.
Kim Hyeokgwon lightly nudged him.
When Taesu looked at him questioningly, Kim Hyeokgwon leaned his body far back.
Beside him sat Jeong Minsu.
But on Jeong Minsu’s face, tiny drops of dew could be seen.
Tremble.
His thinly trembling eyelids were visible at a glance.
It was not simply because he had a sentimental personality.
His own inadequacy had come crashing over him all at once in this moment of departure.
His first field village.
To Jeong Minsu, it was like a first love.
In other words, it must have been the same as Ijambak, which had settled deep in Taesu’s heart.
Because Taesu knew that well, he simply watched him in silence.
Rattle, rattle.
Leaving people’s hearts behind, the military jeep drove on and on down the endless road without lingering or hesitation.
Deep in the night.
Lights glittered in the pitch-dark NGO camp.
And the military jeep that had approached from afar stopped in front of the only building.
The car doors opened at once, and Taesu, Jeong Minsu, and Kim Hyeokgwon got out one after another.
All of them stretched their stiff bodies after the long journey.
“Ahh, ah.”
“Urgh. My back.”
“Good grief, the ride in a jeep really is damn awful.”
Their groans lasted only a moment, and before long they were looking around.
The sight of white tents lined up in rows was quite impressive. Here and there among those tents, faint lights could be seen.
That was all.
Perhaps because it was close to dawn, there were no medical staff in sight.
They had heard they would be meeting the Good Morning Earth personnel tomorrow morning.
Even so, perhaps because it had been so long, they could not easily take their eyes away.
That was when—
“See you tomorrow.”
Swish.
Kim Hyeokgwon slung a large bag over his shoulder and turned away. Since he was not officially part of the medical staff, he could not stay here.
So he headed toward the lodging separately prepared on the PKO side.
A short while later.
Taesu and Jeong Minsu arrived at the lodging they had been assigned.
Thud, clack.
After roughly setting down their luggage, the two of them stared wide-eyed.
A refrigerator, a fan, a table, and even beds.
The cutting-edge conveniences of civilization, incomparable to the field, had gathered in one place.
“W-well, I’ll be.”
“What in the world is this?”
They were so shocked that awkward bits of dialect kept popping out. It was fortunate no one was listening; their intonation was terribly unnatural.
Of the two who were so stunned their souls nearly left their bodies, Taesu’s eyes suddenly gleamed.
“Refrigerator.”
With that cry, Taesu headed straight for the refrigerator.
Fling.
When he opened the refrigerator door, the cool air powerfully struck his heated face.
At that coolness, Taesu’s face melted into softness.
“Ah, I’m melting. No, I’m freezing. Aaaah.”
It was a blissful moment in which every worry and concern disappeared.
Jeong Minsu, on the other hand, was different.
Having recovered from his surprise, he stood with his arms crossed, glaring at Taesu’s back.
“Don’t we have something to talk about?”
“Wait.”
“You’re really going to be like this?”
“Just give me a second. Haaa.”
Whoosh, whoosh.
Taesu even waved one hand behind him as he immersed himself fully in the refrigerator’s coolness.
Jeong Minsu only watched him with a sullen face.
It felt as though he had a lot to say and was forcibly holding it all in.
Whether he did or not, nothing else mattered to Taesu right now.
The coolness of the refrigerator was supreme.
That time lasted only a short while.
Clack.
When he closed the refrigerator door and turned around, sure enough, Jeong Minsu was still staring at him with a sullen face.
Taesu subtly raised his hand.
In that hand were two cans of beer.
Taesu immediately asked,
“Beer. You in?”
“There’s b-beer?”
“Of course. So you don’t want it?”
“No. I do. I really do.”
Jeong Minsu’s sullen expression instantly transformed into excitement and anticipation.
He truly had an easy-to-read personality.
Satisfied with the reaction, which was as strong as he had expected, Taesu headed to the table. Jeong Minsu had already come closer and was waiting.
They each took one can.
Then they opened them at the same time.
Chik.
The refreshing sound of carbonation bursting.
As it filled their ears, both of them shuddered without anyone needing to say who went first.
“Keuuu, that sound.”
“Ahh. It’s bliss.”
“Let’s drink first.”
Gulp.
Without weighing or considering anything, they immediately brought the cans to their mouths.
Glug, glug.
Their Adam’s apples danced violently as the beer went down in great swallows.
Then, the moment they lowered the cans, deep exclamations burst simultaneously from Taesu and Jeong Minsu’s mouths.
“Kaaah. That’s the taste.”
“Ahh, damn. Whew. This is killer.”
The taste of beer after so long was incredibly sweet.
Before they knew it, beer cans were piling up on the table.
That was how generously the refrigerator had been stocked with beer.
Medical personnel were people too.
After work was over and before going to sleep, they wanted to enjoy at least the leisure of a glass of beer.
After quenching his thirst to some extent, Taesu was beginning to savor the original bitter taste when—
Jeong Minsu’s voice suddenly came from across from him.
“Is that person more important than me?”
“What kind of extreme question is that?”
“Answer me.”
Thud.
Jeong Minsu roughly slammed his beer can onto the table.
It seemed his hurt feelings had surged up all at once.
Taesu had had a drink too.
But fatigue was also washing over him.
“Let’s end this short and decisive.”
“Tell me.”
Jeong Minsu was glaring fiercely.
But Taesu did not flinch and spoke only the essential point.
“If we had to leave again tomorrow and I could only take one person, I’d choose Hyeokgwon.”
“Hey.”
“Are you hurt?”
“You call that something to say?”
Jeong Minsu’s face turned bright red.
It likely was not simply a matter of a few cans of beer.
However, Taesu’s eyes, facing him, did not waver in the slightest.
“Then let me ask you. Between you and Hyeokgwon right now, who would be more helpful?”
“Th-that…”
Jeong Minsu flared up and tried to answer, but in the end, he could not continue.
The atmosphere suddenly turned awkward.
Taesu had no intention of turning it back.
It was an issue they needed to address at least once.
In truth, he had to pull it out by the roots this time so that the same situation would never happen again.
Taesu did not find this situation pleasant either.
So he downed the remaining beer.
Clack.
After setting down the empty can, Taesu spoke coldly.
“We didn’t come here to play.”
“I know that too.”
“Then you must know what it’ll be like if we stay in this camp right away.”
At Taesu’s question, Jeong Minsu flinched.
“It… it’ll be similar to Korea, won’t it?”
“Don’t fool yourself. It’s far more intense here. Here, people are evaluated purely by their skill.”
“I’ve… heard that.”
Jeong Minsu barely managed to finish his words.
Taesu shook his head and pressed on even more coldly.
“Reality is harsh enough to be cruel.”
“Even more?”
“There are plenty of doctors who’ve worked for over ten years and have never once held a scalpel. Nurses can’t even enter the operating room unless they’re above a certain level.”
“R-really?”
Jeong Minsu’s eyes wavered.
It seemed he had not heard that much.
Taesu did not pause before continuing.
“Among people like that, what can we possibly do right now? Do you think we could even properly assist in an operating room?”
“It’d be… difficult.”
“Difficult? Don’t fool yourself. It’s impossible.”
“…”
When faced with the cold reality, Jeong Minsu shut his mouth.
Taesu did not.
If he had intended to stop at this much, he would not have brought it up in the first place.
Perhaps because of that, he pointed out an even more cold and frigid reality.