Sliiide.
As the surgical instrument went in, half of Taesu’s field of vision was already blocked.
It didn’t matter.
Taesu’s eyes still did not waver even once.
At times like this?
Whisk.
He changed the way he held the surgical instrument on the spot.
When he switched from holding it like scissors to a pinching grip, his field of vision opened up a little more.
“Minsu.”
One short word.
At that sound, Jeong Minsu reacted immediately.
The International forceps and Kelly headed into the operative field at the same time.
The way he held them had also changed, exactly like Taesu’s.
Slide.
The number of surgical instruments had doubled, but the field of vision shrank by thirty percent.
What Taesu could see now was about the size of a 100-won coin.
It was so small one might wonder if surgery was even possible.
And yet, within that space, the surgical instruments moved simultaneously.
With his vision restricted, Taesu’s orders immediately increased.
“Kelly down.”
“Down.”
“International forceps left.”
“Left.”
Tap, tap.
Jeong Minsu repeated the orders and reacted at the same time.
After giving a few more orders, Taesu called for Kim Hyeokgwon this time.
“Mr. Hyeokgwon, suction.”
“Coming.”
Gurgle, gurgle.
“Out, and three gauzes.”
“Out, gauze in.”
Rustle, rustle.
Kim Hyeokgwon, too, was nothing but serious in this surgery.
With no idle remarks, the flow continued in a heavy, earnest manner.
That did not mean the surgery was filled only with tension.
Because of the recent onslaught of surgeries, Taesu’s field of vision had widened further.
“Minsu, shake out your right hand and grip again.”
“Is it stiff?”
“You’re putting strength into your pinky.”
It was exactly as Taesu said.
But Jeong Minsu wasn’t just standing around either.
“I’m going to take the Kelly out for a moment, so I think you’d better widen the range where you use the Mixter.”
“Okay.”
“I’m taking it out.”
Slide.
Jeong Minsu withdrew the Kelly held in his right hand.
With one less surgical instrument, Taesu’s field of vision and range of movement widened.
The angle at which he could move increased by that much.
Whoosh.
The Mixter rotated widely to the side.
After the same action repeated a couple of times.
Taesu’s eyebrows twitched.
“Appendix found.”
“Should I put in the Kelly?”
“No. You cut it.”
At the same time he gave the order.
Slide.
The plump, swollen tip of the appendix poked out of the operative field.
Only by a few millimeters.
But because it had been drawn up that much, excision became markedly easier.
Seeing the swollen appendix, Kim Hyeokgwon moved first.
Sssht.
He sprayed saline from a syringe, washing it clean.
It was a part that would be cut away anyway.
Even so, they washed it to accurately judge the site of excision.
It was also to discover any other inflammation that might have arisen from possible foreign matter.
Once Kim Hyeokgwon rinsed it, the appendix’s natural color appeared more vivid.
The Metzenbaum held by Jeong Minsu approached that appendix.
Slide.
After setting the expected excision point, Jeong Minsu asked.
“About here?”
“A little lower.”
“If it’s too low, there’s a risk of ileus.”
“I’m taking that into account.”
It seemed Taesu already had the calculation set in his head.
Jeong Minsu lowered the Metzenbaum a little further without another word.
“Good?”
“Good.”
“Excision.”
Snip.
The Metzenbaum mercilessly cut off the appendix.
Kim Hyeokgwon immediately held out the metal tray.
“Here.”
Drop.
Jeong Minsu placed the excised appendix onto the tray.
Kim Hyeokgwon began rolling it this way and that with a spatula, examining it closely.
Meanwhile, Taesu’s eyes grew even more focused.
The process up to cutting out the appendix was on the easier side.
What came next was a little tricky.
They had to meticulously finish the cut surface where the appendix had been removed.
“Minsu, let’s trim it.”
“I’ll hold it.”
Click.
Jeong Minsu fixed the excision site with the International forceps.
He added the Kelly on top of that, doubling the holding force.
Now it was time for Taesu to move in earnest.
His surgical instruments had already been newly arranged into a baby Metzenbaum and a Mixter.
It was the moment when the baby Metzenbaum’s sharp, thin blades and the Mixter’s various positions would come together.
Taesu’s hands moved without delay.
Snip, snip-snip.
He turned and grasped the direction with the Mixter, then cleaned up the ragged parts with the baby Metzenbaum.
It looked almost like a hairdresser cutting hair.
Only the impression was like that; the action itself was completely different.
The small bits of cut tissue were handled by Kim Hyeokgwon’s two hands, which had approached before anyone noticed.
Sssht.
With saline, he washed away not only the cut tissue but also the inflammation flowing out with it.
Gurgle, gurgle.
Then with suction, he cleared it away cleanly along with the foreign matter.
Moving both hands like that, Kim Hyeokgwon said to Taesu,
“The appendix was cut cleanly.”
“Any other problems?”
“The inflammation is just a little deep.”
“That must be an issue of his usual health.”
At Taesu’s answer, Jeong Minsu expressed agreement.
“Right. His liver fat levels are probably high too.”
“We’ll check that later. The hemostasis wasn’t bad, was it?”
“Yeah. Just a slightly delayed response.”
Jeong Minsu answered as he recalled the moment the surgery began.
That kind of conversation was the minimum necessary exchange during surgery.
Today, there was nothing beyond that.
So much so that it even felt stiff and cold.
That feeling was correct.
That was exactly how the medical staff felt right now.
After the three of them worked together to clear away enough inflammation.
The inside of the abdominal cavity became a little cleaner than it had been at first.
Taesu spoke about that change.
“There was a lot of debris.”
“It’s a symptom found in common among several people.”
“That’s likely due to the liver as well.”
“Probably. But should we clear out a little more?”
The moment Jeong Minsu asked.
Taesu gave a brief order.
“Pull out first.”
“……”
Click.
Jeong Minsu removed the surgical instruments in his hands from the operative field.
Only Taesu’s surgical instruments remained.
Taesu kept both hands moving and once again thoroughly checked the inside.
That took a little longer.
Partly because he was examining it meticulously, but also for the next moment.
There was slight bleeding, but it was enough to stop naturally.
Other than that, no inflammation or discolored areas were found.
At the same time he finished confirming that.
He grasped the cut surface with the Mixter.
Thud.
Then, fixing the Mixter handle against the skin, Taesu said,
“Suture.”
“Beginning suture.”
Rustle.
The needle holder and International forceps appeared without a sound.
Then they began suturing the cut surface swiftly and precisely.
Jeong Minsu’s suturing had become even more stable and nimble.
Among the more than twenty recent surgeries, not once had vascular suturing been absent.
Jeong Minsu had performed most of it.
That much precision and sharpness had grown in him.
The suturing progressed, leaving neat stitch marks behind.
Like that, the surgery rushed toward its end.
A short while later.
The operative field was closed.
And Taesu and Jeong Minsu were performing the skin suture from either side.
Because it was a short five-centimeter wound, the suturing was carried out quickly as well.
Soon, they entered the final finishing stage of suturing.
Taesu and Jeong Minsu exchanged the needle holder in midair.
It didn’t happen just once.
Tap, tap.
The needle holders alternated between the two men’s hands.
What was fascinating was the stitch marks.
An X-shaped crossing pattern continued all the way to the end.
It was a suturing method the two of them had devised to bring the left and right sides of the skin closer together.
Soon, they cut off the suture knot.
Snip.
Cutting the suture thread was the final step of the surgery.
At that moment, Taesu’s gaze turned to the clock.
He was checking the surgery end time.
Then he checked the vitals as well.
Now it was time to wrap up.
Looking at Jeong Minsu and Kim Hyeokgwon, Taesu said,
“Surgery duration, forty-five minutes. Within that time, we performed the maximum surgery through the minimum operative field.”
“……”
“For the patient, we did the best we could.”
“……”
“But I’m not satisfied. Until this frustration clears, I’ll work even harder. Surgery over. Good work.”
“Good work.”
Bow.
Taesu, Jeong Minsu, and Kim Hyeokgwon bowed their heads heavily.
Leaving aside whether the surgery was simple or complicated, today’s operation continued to leave an aftertaste.
It was the same disease, yet for one person it only required a short stay at the hospital, while for another it could drive them all the way to death.
That other side of it had struck them too deeply during this surgery.
There was only one conclusion.
While they stayed here, they had to make sure no small illness grew into something serious.
No matter how tired they were, they would have to discover things early through thorough diagnoses and check everything once more with care.
Only after firmly settling that resolve in their hearts could they step away from the operating table.
Two hours later.
The medical staff were resting in various parts of the operating room.
Appendicitis surgery was a simple operation.
But this surgery had been different.
In the short time of forty-five minutes, they had poured out everything they had.
It had been a quiet, heavy surgery.
But the mental exhaustion was greater than that of most emergency surgeries.
They were recovering from the fatigue that had been consumed.
An Hyeong-uk was still lying on the operating table, waiting to wake up.
As they rested a little longer like that.
“Mmm…”
A faint groan sounded.
At the same time.
Springing up.
The three of them rose like springs and headed to the operating table.
When they arrived and looked, An Hyeong-uk’s brow was furrowed.
Taesu called to him carefully.
“Hyung-nim. Hyeong-uk hyung-nim.”
“Mm. Mmm…”
“Try opening your eyes.”
As Taesu gently guided him, An Hyeong-uk slowly opened his eyes.
“Mmm. Whe… where……”
“Hyung-nim.”
Taesu called once more.
At that sound, An Hyeong-uk’s eyes moved reflexively.
Then he put strength into them.
It seemed his focus had not yet returned.
That resolved naturally after a brief moment passed.
“Dr. Choi.”
“And me?”
“Dr. Jeong. And… Dr. Prickly.”
An Hyeong-uk added Kim Hyeokgwon as well.
With that one word, they could tell he had awakened without issue.
But Kim Hyeokgwon couldn’t be entirely satisfied.
As if the title displeased him, he slightly raised his fist.
“Mr. Hyeong-uk, is the problem your head, or is it your mouth? Just say the word.”
“I think… I’m fine.”
“No. There’s definitely a problem.”
Kim Hyeokgwon openly growled.
At that, An Hyeong-uk let out a faint laugh.
“Heh, hehe.”
“Hyung-nim, how do you feel?”
“Dazed… Ah, the surgery?”
When An Hyeong-uk asked first, Jeong Minsu answered.
“It ended well.”
“It didn’t even take an hour.”
“We told you, it’s nothing difficult for us.”
Taesu and Kim Hyeokgwon each added a word.
Seeing their confident appearances, An Hyeong-uk’s smile deepened a little.
“You went through a lot.”
“Not at all. More importantly, hyung-nim, are your senses coming back?”
“Hm? Why?”
“You should go see the elder.”
When Taesu suggested it, An Hyeong-uk’s eyes trembled slightly.
“Can I… move right away?”
“It’s possible after appendicitis surgery.”
“I see.”
After answering, An Hyeong-uk’s expression turned complicated.
He must have been thinking of the older sister he had no memory of.
Taesu had expected that situation too.
When Elder An woke up, he wanted An Hyeong-uk to be by her side.
That would be good for both An Hyeong-uk and Elder An.
An Hyeong-uk seemed to want to face that moment as well.
Twitch, twitch.
He kept moving his fingertips without rest, trying to awaken his senses.
Late at night.
An Hyeong-uk returned to his home.
Elder An had fallen asleep without realizing it, worn out by severe emotional fatigue.
An Hyeong-uk simply watched over her for a long while, thick tears flowing.
At that moment, Village Chief Jeon Nosik, who had been watching quietly, approached Taesu.
“It’s all right for Hyeong-uk to move like that?”
“Yes. We’ll be checking on him frequently, so as long as he doesn’t move too much, it’s fine.”
“You said he can’t eat, right?”
“He just needs to fast until he passes gas. Once he does, he can eat anything right away.”
Taesu explained briefly.
After committing it to memory, Village Chief Jeon Nosik bowed politely.
“Thank you for operating on Hyeong-uk.”
“There’s nothing to thank us for. It’s fortunate we found it quickly.”
“Right. You probably heard from Dr. Jeong, but because something like that happened before, I was a bit sensitive.”
Taesu and Kim Hyeokgwon had nothing to say, so they only smiled.
At that moment, Jeong Minsu approached.
“The elder has stabilized a lot. It isn’t the medicine anymore; she’s really sleeping now.”
“So we don’t know when she’ll wake up.”
“That’s right.”
“Then let’s move first.”
At the same time Taesu suggested it.
Village Chief Jeon Nosik gently tried to stop them.
“After all the trouble you went through, you should at least have a cup of tea before you go.”
“No, thank you. The village chief said he’d keep watching us, so we’re making a quick escape.”
“If that’s what you think, I can’t stop you.”
“Please help the elder and Brother Hyeonguk sleep as much as possible. Then we’ll be going first.”
A bow.
When Taesu lowered his head, the other two bowed along with him at just the right timing.
And as they headed for the front door, his eyes met An Hyeonguk’s.
Taesu smiled first.
Then, with both hands, he gestured toward Elder An.
It meant to take care of his father first.
An Hyeonguk seemed to understand as well, and a smile spread across his face.
After finishing their farewells, Taesu, Jeong Minsu, and Kim Hyeokgwon stepped outside.
The cold air struck their entire bodies.
For a moment, that air slowly lightened the heaviness in their hearts.
The other two must have felt the same, because they did not hurry him.
“Whooo. Haaa.”
He drew in a long breath and let it out in one steady stream.
The stuffiness in his chest was diluted by the chill.
There was only one reason for doing this.
He could not keep living while carrying that heaviness.
If he did, there would be no end to it.
So he was letting it go.
It was time needed so that, when day broke tomorrow, he could meet everyone with a smile.
After taking several more deep breaths.
His heart had grown so light that he was starting to feel cold.
Taesu quickly wrapped both arms around himself and made a fuss.
“Ugh. I’m going to freeze.”
“Seriously. Mr. Hyeokgwon, let’s get going.”
Jeong Minsu chimed in.
Just as the three of them were about to move.
“Father, are you awake?”
An Hyeonguk’s bright greeting rang out from inside the house.
Just as the greeting suggested, Elder An seemed to have woken up.
Soon, Elder An’s trembling voice could be heard.
“You, Hyeonguk, Hyeonguk, it’s you, isn’t it?”
“Oh, Father. Come on. It’s me, your late-born son Hyeonguk.”
“Ah, oh my child. Oh my.”
Elder An’s deeply moved voice rang out.
They could also hear sobs that seemed to shake loose the weight lodged in their chests.
With faces full of proud smiles, the three headed home.
The three of them arrived home that way, but they could not relax.
There was still work left to do.
That was the blood test.
It would be easy to put it off until tomorrow.
Once you put something off once, putting it off a second time became even easier.
Everyone had experienced that at least once.
For that reason, Taesu said in a heavy voice,
“Now then, let’s have a snack and get to it.”
“Yeah. Let’s eat something.”
“I wonder when you’ll stop draining the life out of people.”
Kim Hyeokgwon gave him a sideways glare, but Taesu was smiling brightly.
As befitted a snack, the preparation time was short.
The menu was dessert biscuits from American military rations and coffee.
The biscuits, which were closer to bread, had no flavor and were only high in calories.
That was definitely true, yet their evaluation was quite different.
“Mmm. This hard, floury taste.”
“And the cheap butter that doesn’t blend with it at all is charming too.”
“There’s also this blandness that’s neither sweet nor salty.”
It was a conversation that made it hard to tell whether they were evaluating the taste or dissing it.
They were replenishing their strength with snacks like that when Kim Hyeokgwon suddenly wore a look of realization and spoke bitterly.
“Ah, we really are staying up all night today.”
“We can rest a bit tomorrow.”
“It’s going to be noisy from morning.”
At Kim Hyeokgwon’s words, Taesu and Jeong Minsu asked with puzzled expressions.
“Why?”
“Because they’re going to build the fence and livestock shed where the sheep will rest.”
Kim Hyeokgwon answered calmly.
Taesu had clearly heard the answer, but his questions only deepened.
“We barely have any firewood, so where in the world are they going to get all that wood they need?”
“Raku’s caravan agreed to help.”
“Help how?”
“Apparently, they’re going to tie ropes to the trucks and pull the trees down.”
At those words, Taesu’s eyes widened.
If they were trucks that could climb rough mountain roads with ease, then it would certainly be possible.
“Wow, that’s a brilliant idea.”
“It was Raku’s idea. He said if he couldn’t provide food, he should at least help.”
“That’s not Raku’s fault, though.”
Taesu’s expression turned slightly bitter.
Kim Hyeokgwon seemed to think the same.
“They say it’s chaos outside. Where would he get food?”
“I know that, and yet he’s still helping us. This is really…”
Taesu felt grateful and sorry at the same time.
Kim Hyeokgwon added one more thing to that.
“Since they were moving anyway, they said they’d work on firewood as well.”
“Are they all right on fuel?”
“They say they’ve got plenty. And with three trucks working, it’ll be over in no time.”
The more Kim Hyeokgwon explained in detail, the more the corners of Taesu’s eyes drooped.
“There’s nothing we can do for them.”
“That’s why I didn’t take any discount and paid them a little extra on top.”
“What?”
“I gave them extra. Plus alpha.”
Kim Hyeokgwon said it again, but Taesu found it even harder to believe.
“You did, Mr. Hyeokgwon?”
“I’m the one holding the money pouch, so it’s my choice.”
“Wow.”
Taesu let out an exclamation of surprise without realizing it.
“Whoa.”
Jeong Minsu’s reaction was similar to Taesu’s.
But the nuance was decisively different.
Taesu’s was an exclamation of admiration, as if he found it impressive.
Jeong Minsu, on the other hand, looked as though something impossible had happened.
Kim Hyeokgwon caught that and said, glaring at Jeong Minsu,
“You don’t know how to spend money. I may be a miser, but blindly saving everything isn’t always good.”
“But you have been saving it.”
“That’s separate. At times like this, you have to pay for labor and vehicle use.”
“Raku was the one who offered to volunteer for free first.”
Jeong Minsu did not understand easily.
As if frustrated by that, Kim Hyeokgwon’s expression stiffened slightly as he said,
“In a word, this is a matter of feelings.”
“He’s right, Hyeokgwon is. Because he feels sorry, Raku will try one more time to procure food, won’t he?”
“As expected, Doctor Choi understands a bit. Raku did say he’d ended up owing us a debt.”
Kim Hyeokgwon even explained the behind-the-scenes details.
Only after rolling his eyes this way and that did Jeong Minsu’s expression change as he understood.
“Oh. Mutual aid, then.”
“That’s right. If you hide your money because you think what’s going out right now is a waste, you end up losing something bigger.”
“Mr. Hyeokgwon, you’re like an elite miser.”
At Jeong Minsu’s strange compliment, Kim Hyeokgwon looked dumbfounded and said,
“Don’t make up weird phrases. When are we starting?”
“We should start soon.”
“Let’s hurry. The sooner we start even one thing, the sooner it ends.”
Whoosh, whoosh.
Kim Hyeokgwon spoke while lightly rotating his shoulders.
Taesu felt the same.
“The early bird goes to sleep early.”
“Stop saying weird things and take these.”
Jeong Minsu took two blood samples from inside his clothes.
It seemed he had warmed them with his body.
“These two have thawed properly for now, so start with them right away.”
Thud.
Jeong Minsu put the blood samples down and headed straight for the fireplace.
Now that work had appeared right in front of him, Taesu’s eyes sparkled.
“Now then, shall we stop talking and begin?”
“How do we do it?”
“Watch what I do and follow along.”
“Let’s do that.”
When Kim Hyeokgwon answered amiably, Taesu explained one precaution.
“If the samples get mixed together in the middle, it’ll be a headache, so please be careful.”
“You think I don’t have even that much sense? Just hurry up and start.”
“Then first, you fill both sides of the string-spinner tube completely with blood…”
Taesu moved slowly and explained each step one by one.
As for Kim Hyeokgwon, once he was taught something, there was no need to explain it again.
Soon, the blood test began in earnest.
Whirr, whirr.
All night long, the sound of the hand spinner did not cease inside the house.
They also examined the problems within the magnified blood through the paper microscope until their eyes felt as if they would fall out.
Early the next morning.
It was just after the sun had risen.
Taesu and the other two were asleep on the camp beds inside the house.
The firewood in the fireplace looked far too intact.
It seemed it had not been long since the last piece had been put in.
On the table, the remnants of the blood test remained vividly scattered about.
It seemed they had not been asleep for long.
They looked so deeply immersed in morning sleep that they might not wake until afternoon.
However, the morning silence did not last long.
Crack, boom.
A tremendous sound and vibration that seemed to shake the ground rang out at the same time.
At that sound, the three snapped their eyes open.
“Uwaaak!”
“What, what is it?”
“What’s going on?”
It was the moment they shouted in surprise.
Boom, boom.
Two more consecutive tremors further scrambled their already muddled minds.