At the end of the open path, a man in his early forties was huddled over.
Beside him, the stout Old Man An stamped his feet anxiously.
At the sight of Taesu, Old Man An shouted and gestured roughly.
"Get over here, you good-for-nothing! You blasted brat!"
"Huff, huff... W-what is it?"
When Taesu asked, panting for breath, Old Man An replied in a trembling voice.
"It's my youngest, my youngest..."
"Elder, huff, please... huff... stay calm."
"He says his stomach hurts and he's rolling around, aargh."
Old Man An wasn't just trembling in voice; he even showed signs of convulsions.
"Krrgh. Nngh."
The man in his forties clutched his stomach and groaned.
Taesu had lived here for a whole month.
Names, ages, relationships.
He knew them all.
The man in his forties was An Hyeonguk, the late-born son Old Man An had fathered in his later years.
Tap-tap-tap.
Then, urgent footsteps were heard.
It was the sound of Jeong Minsu and Gim Hyeokgwon arriving.
Taesu immediately pointed at Old Man An and called to Jeong Minsu.
Promptly.
"Mr. Jeong."
"O-okay... huff, huff."
The moment he heard that.
In a flash.
Taesu approached the huddled An Hyeonguk and lowered his posture.
"Hyeonguk, it's me, Taesu."
"Krrgh. Ack. Choe... Mr. Choe..."
"Yes, it's me. Where does it hurt, and how?"
"My stomach... hurgh... my stomach right here... nngh."
An Hyeonguk said that, but he was curled over, concealing the painful area.
It was impossible to tell like that.
Taesu calmly persuaded him.
"Please try to straighten up a bit."
"Hnngh... hup... No... I can't."
"Then exactly where does it hurt?"
Taesu switched to an alternative examination method.
An Hyeonguk forced out an answer.
"Hurgh... Upper... upper stomach... nngh."
"Your upper stomach? Then..."
"Uh... nngh... lower... lower side... hup."
"Lower again?"
As Taesu tilted his head, An Hyeonguk forced himself to continue.
"Hup, hup... From above... pant... moving down... nngh."
"The pain moved from above to below."
Taesu quickly rummaged through the medical knowledge in his head.
Everyone reproached Taesu for that.
"Come on, he's hurting, and all you do is ask questions."
"Mr. Choe. Just put him under like when I had surgery."
"Yeah. That local... whatever it was."
Villagers who had undergone surgeries large and small offered unsolicited advice.
At that, Gim Hyeokgwon snapped open his house call bag and gave them a talking-to.
"Then why don't you all become doctors?"
"..."
"Don't set each other on edge and keep quiet, all of you."
Gim Hyeokgwon rebuked them in a rather sharp tone.
It wasn't a request to stop talking nonsense.
It was advice to the extent of being thankful for the concern but asking them not to cause confusion.
The villagers didn't argue much either.
"..."
Many chose silence.
They were that used to Gim Hyeokgwon's tone.
The surroundings grew quiet, making it much easier for Taesu to think.
Stomach pain.
It was a very simple symptom.
However, the conditions it could indicate were countless.
'Pain moving from the top down?'
That was the only clue.
"Nngh, nnng-uh."
An Hyeonguk couldn't come to his senses from the pain.
No clear diagnosis came to mind.
His mind was muddled, and his chest felt increasingly tight.
Just then, Old Man An's screams were heard.
"No... no... this won't do."
"Elder."
"Oh, that child... my youngest... he can't..."
"Please calm down. Hyeonguk will be fine, I assure you."
Jeong Minsu urgently tried to stop him.
But Old Man An collapsed toward Jeong Minsu, reaching out his hand toward An Hyeonguk.
Moisture welled up in the eyes of Old Man An, who was usually boisterous and sharp-tongued.
His outstretched hand shook violently.
That sight was so pitiful and heartrending that it seemed to wrench one's chest tight.
Taesu had an intuition.
There was a story behind this.
Old Man An knew something about An Hyeonguk's pain.
But it was better that he not be in the same space right now.
It was a situation that would only add to the confusion.
Taesu made a decision first.
"Minsu."
In a flash.
At the same time as calling him, he jerked his chin.
Jeong Minsu seemed to catch that sign immediately.
He immediately called out to the worried villagers nearby.
"Mr. Yeonghun. And Mr. Hyeonseop."
"Yes. What is it?"
"Please help support the grandfather."
"Let's do that."
Gim Hyeonseop, called together with Gang Yeonghun, approached in surprise.
It wasn't just them.
With a rush.
The villagers swarmed over to that side this time.
"Oh dear, oh dear."
"What in the world is going on?"
"Everyone quiet. Don't make a fuss, keep it down."
Village Headman Jeon Nosik, who had appeared at some point, took control of the situation.
Jeong Minsu also seemed to have an easier time with his request now that he had appeared.
"Headman, we're going to take the elder home."
"Alright. Understood. Everyone, help carry him."
"Yes. Careful now. Shine a light ahead."
Promptly.
Everyone worked together to lift and support Old Man An.
And as they headed home, Old Man An thrashed about despite having no strength.
"Let go, let go of me. You rascals... all of you."
"They're looking after him. He'll be fine."
"You... you brutes... don't you know who I am? Let go. Oh, Hyeonguk..."
"Hold him down. Let's hurry."
Promptly.
The villagers moved away, forcibly placating Old Man An.
Taesu only listened with his ears.
His eyes were fixed on An Hyeonguk.
There was something.
But he didn't think about that first.
He retraced An Hyeonguk's movements.
He had clearly been fine until lunchtime today.
He had stood together laughing when talk of moving came up on the wooden porch.
He was in such pain after just half a day?
And there were no external wounds?
He was in enough pain to break out in a cold sweat.
He hadn't lost consciousness or become dazed.
If you only looked at this much, it wasn't a major problem.
But seeing Old Man An's reaction, he couldn't think simply.
'A hereditary disease? A chronic illness?'
Taesu wracked his brain fiercely in a short time until his nose stung.
Still, there was too little information to find an answer.
In times like this, there was no other choice.
"Hyeokgwon, antipyretic analgesic."
"Ten seconds."
Rustle.
Gim Hyeokgwon quickly began preparing.
And truly, as ten seconds passed, he handed over a syringe.
"Here. And gauze."
"Yes. Next, please prepare the automatic blood pressure monitor."
"Let's do that."
Rustle.
Gim Hyeokgwon reached into his house call bag.
In the meantime, Taesu took the gauze and syringe and asked An Hyeonguk.
"Hyeonguk, can you stretch out your hand?"
"Uh... nngh... here."
Swish.
Fortunately, he stretched out his hand.
Taesu shone a headlamp on the back of his hand.
The moment blue veins were visible, he disinfected it first with gauze soaked in alcohol.
And immediately following that, administered the injectable medication with the syringe.
The antipyretic analgesic needed a bit of time to take effect.
"The injection is done for now."
"Here's the automatic blood pressure monitor."
"Got it. If you could just stay still, sir... There we go."
Beep.
Taesu pressed the button on the automatic blood pressure monitor the moment it was on.
It happened almost simultaneously.
The numbers that appeared on the automatic blood pressure monitor's LCD had nothing to do with the antipyretic analgesic.
"The pain will pass soon, sir."
"Nngh... y-yes... nngh."
An Hyeonguk barely managed to answer.
It was then.
Beep.
Seeing the numbers, Taesu's expression subtly changed.
'He has a bit of a fever, but compared to the pain, his pulse and blood pressure aren't significantly off...'
The more he learned, the more he tilted his head.
He wasn't doubting An Hyeonguk's pain.
It was merely puzzling that his vitals weren't bad compared to Old Man An's desperate, fierce reaction.
But that thought was brief.
The night wind was cold.
Even if one were healthy, staying out too long would cause problems.
Taesu supported An Hyeonguk and spoke.
"Sir, let's get you to the clinic."
"Uh... uhn... phew... alright. Let's go."
As his voice improved considerably, Taesu asked.
"Are you feeling a bit better?"
"It's bearable now."
"Then let's go and you can tell me there."
Step, step.
Taesu supported him and looked at Gim Hyeokgwon.
Gim Hyeokgwon also packed up his house call bag and moved with them.
The villagers watching didn't follow them all the way to the clinic.
That was the wise thing to do.
It wasn't wise to follow unnecessarily and create a commotion.
By now, having seen family or relatives undergo surgery, they knew how to conduct themselves.
However.
Old Man An and An Hyeonguk—
the fact that father and son had fallen ill at the same time was heartbreaking.
A short while later.
A fire was lit in the clinic's fireplace.
Whoosh.
Gim Hyeokgwon skillfully moved his hands, quickly building up the fire.
On the other side, Taesu had his eyes on An Hyeonguk.
An Hyeonguk was sitting in a fishing chair.
Perhaps because much of the pain had subsided, he was catching his breath.
"Huuuh... huuuh..."
Dab, dab.
Taesu wiped his sweat and asked.
"How are you feeling?"
"Much... phew... much better."
"That's a relief."
"What was the problem?"
When An Hyeonguk asked, Taesu gave an awkward smile.
"I haven't figured that out yet."
"I'm not in pain... was it a painkiller or something?"
"Yes. That's right."
"That... phew... is something. But I should go to my father..."
An Hyeonguk looked toward the clinic door with worry.
Taesu reassured him on that point first.
"Mr. Jeong went there, so he'll be fine."
"I'm worried because Father has such a temper."
"If he's having a hard time, we'll have him rest."
"Right. Phew. It might be better for him to sleep."
An Hyeonguk was only worried about Old Man An.
Toward him, now that stable, Taesu posed some deeper questions.
"Did it start suddenly?"
"No, I was fine until I was moving things here earlier when we were moving."
"Then after that?"
"When I was moving things, it felt somewhat heavy, but I just thought nothing of it. It gradually got worse."
An Hyeonguk answered calmly.
Hearing it directly like this, Taesu felt like he was slowly getting a sense of something.
But it was still insufficient.
Beep.
Pressing the button of the automatic blood pressure monitor, he continued to ask.
"Have you had stomach pain before this?"
"I don't think I've ever been in such unbearable pain before."
"Does it not hurt at all right now?"
Taesu, having asked, took in the numbers appearing on the automatic blood pressure monitor.
As expected, he had a bit of a fever, but overall it wasn't bad.
Taesu might have seemed a bit frantic.
But An Hyeonguk already knew how examinations went.
Perhaps because of that, An Hyeonguk felt his own stomach and flinched as he answered.
"Hmm, it feels heavy. Somewhat sore and heavy."
"Which area?"
"This side. Starting from here, like this... right around here now."
An Hyeonguk explained precisely, pointing with his fingers.