It was when he re-entered the village with such heavy steps.
Honk!
The blare of a truck horn struck his ears.
There was no reason for a horn to suddenly blare inside the village.
Especially if it was Raku?
This was a signal for something.
Taesu's eyes changed and he quickly looked for Raku's truck.
It was then.
Flash!
A headlight beam struck his eyes from over there.
"Ugh, damn it."
Taesu, who had locked onto the direction, ran without caring about his blurry vision.
Slosh, slosh.
Had the distance closed somewhat?
A shout close to a scream from Raku was heard.
"Mr. Jo is injured."
"Who?"
"Doctor Choe, quickly."
At that sound, strength shot into Taesu's eyes.
"What the hell kind of bullshit is this now, dammit."
His heart was already gloomy, so he spat out a rough voice as well.
Slip, slip.
His feet slipped on the snowy road.
It didn't matter.
He kicked through the snow even more and ran forward.
Taesu headed toward yesterday's work site.
In the distance, he saw the flashy truck and Raku urgently getting out of it.
But something was strange.
Raku had an urgent face, waving one hand above his head, and pointing in a direction with the other.
Seeing that, Taesu's senses kicked in.
'Over there?'
Swish.
When he changed direction, it was toward the uphill road.
That was also the place where the villagers had gathered branches yesterday.
He knew the purpose of the branches all too painfully.
It was for an avalanche barrier.
Tangled branches couldn't stop an avalanche.
It would be for reducing the damage even a little.
But Jo Jeongmin was there?
"Why."
Taesu, who had voiced the question, sharply changed direction and kicked through the snow, running.
Raku was also running in that direction.
And the village men who had followed Taesu to the grave together were also running after him.
Taesu, running ahead, was approaching the pile of branches to some extent.
Jo Jeongmin's figure was still not visible.
It was the moment he was about to think it strange.
Rustle.
Below the pile of branches, a liquid dyeing the white snow red was visible.
Blood.
Taesu's eyebrows shot up.
'If blood is flowing out from below?'
The moment he was predicting, Raku's shout was heard from nearby.
"Doctor Choe, behind."
"As expected."
The prediction was correct.
Because snow had piled here and there on the tangled branches, the back was completely invisible.
Taesu quickly went around to the side of those piles of branches.
Crunch.
The moment he arrived at the back like that, he discovered Jo Jeongmin lying face down on the snow.
His surroundings were drenched in blood.
Surprised, Taesu yelled out loudly and increased his speed.
Slosh, slosh.
"Mr. Jeongmin."
Taesu, running urgently, lowered his posture and slid right on the snow.
Shhhhk.
Sliding, Taesu quickly surveyed the situation.
The bleeding was enormous.
Touching him blindly in his current state was far too dangerous.
When he was examining with all his observational skills, a faint groan was heard.
"Hugh... uck, kugh..."
"Mr. Jeongmin, Mr. Jeongmin."
When Taesu called out loudly, Jo Jeongmin's half-lowered eyelids trembled.
"Choe... Cho..."
"Yes. It's me. I'm here."
"H-ha... snow... slipped... *cough*."
Jo Jeongmin, who had been struggling to speak, coughed.
At that moment, bloody water burst from his mouth.
It was a dark red color.
'Hematemesis.'
Taesu distinguished it with uncanny speed.
He had a painful past where he couldn't help but judge hemoptysis and hematemesis faster than any specialist.
That past wasn't important right now.
If he was vomiting blood to this extent, intra-abdominal bleeding was a certainty.
But Taesu didn't panic.
He lowered his voice too and calmly completed Jo Jeongmin's broken words.
"You slipped on the snow. Is there pain anywhere now, or do you have any sensation of where you're injured?"
"Th... none..."
"None?"
As soon as Taesu, who was listening closely, understood, Jo Jeongmin stammered the next words.
"Fell... stomach... something... deep..."
"You mean when you fell, you felt something plunge deep into your stomach?"
"...Yes. Th... below... wai..."
"And below, so your waist area was also impacted."
Taesu accepted the words and pictured the affected area in his head.
But it was a bit strange.
For something sharp enough to pierce into his stomach to be here...
Taesu, looking around, saw the rough, sharp cross-sections of the branches and felt a chill run down his spine in an instant.
It was that, the branch.
"Damn it."
It was the moment Taesu roughly pulled out his radio.
Thud, thud, thud.
Village Head Jeon Nosik and the villagers seemed to have arrived, screaming shouts filled with shrieks.
"Jeongmin!"
"Wh-what is going on?"
"Why is he like that. Why is Jeongmin like that."
It wasn't just to the point where his ears rang, but high shouts that would echo in the mountains.
To the point where even Taesu's head felt empty.
It was a situation where even using the radio was impossible.
Taesu found someone who had already arrived and was watching quietly.
"Raku."
Whoosh.
At Taesu's call, Raku really appeared like the wind.
He stood in front of Taesu.
Blocking the villagers alone, he shouted.
"Everyone step back. You mustn't gather like this."
Raku spoke in English, but few could understand.
Moreover, the atmosphere was one where they would push through right away.
Taesu looked at someone among them and shouted again.
"Mr. Manseok."
It was I Manseok.
They said the name Manseok meant a strongman who could lift ten thousand seok of rice.
And he was built like Im Kkeokjeong.
That very man immediately turned his body and joined Raku.
"Nngh."
"Manseok, you rascal."
"Our Nanju... I'm sorry."
I Manseok clenched his eyes shut and held out.
And there were others.
Gang Yeonghun and Gim Gwanghyeon.
Swish.
They quickly turned around and confronted Village Head Jeon Nosik and the other villagers.
"Village Head, uncles, stop. Stop."
"Step back. Teacher Choe is looking at Jeongmin. Hurry."
The two of them persuaded with pleading tones.
On the other hand, Village Head Jeon Nosik and the villagers' sorrow was no less.
"Get out of the way, you bastards."
"Jeongmin is... I have to see him. I have to see him."
"What do you think you're doing grabbing me, let go right now."
Stomp.
Raku, I Manseok, Gang Yeonghun, and Gim Gwanghyeon.
The four of them were desperately blocking the other villagers with their whole bodies.
Numerically, they were at an overwhelming disadvantage.
But a fierce stalemate continued.
At the endless back-and-forth shouting, Taesu's brow was furrowed.
But he didn't even have the luxury to ask for quiet.
Already, Taesu's right hand was on Jo Jeongmin's nape.
It was cold.
The pulse was weak and fast.
It was a typical symptom of excessive bleeding.
Taesu pressed the radio button in his left hand and called the two like a machine gun.
"Minsu, Mr. Hyeokgwon. Only one of you answer."
*Click.* It's me, Minsu. What's going on there?
"Mr. Jeongmin is injured. He seems to have sustained a nonpenetrating injury to his abdomen and is showing signs of excessive bleeding."
Taesu only reported the biggest injury.
At the same time, Jeong Minsu's surprised voice came through the radio.
*Click.* Did he run into a mountain animal?
"Branches. Looks like he slipped on the snow. His consciousness level is low, so conversation is almost impossible."
*Click.* Damn, this is driving me crazy.
"Long story short, Mr. Hyeokgwon, prepare for emergency surgery. Minsu, bring whatever you can quickly."
Taesu ended the radio transmission shouting.
That was how unstable Taesu's state of mind was.
He had nothing in both hands.
He was even without his gown.
It was exactly like coming out to a battlefield empty-handed.
But the gazes shooting from around him stung his skin.
That wasn't even the problem.
He couldn't leave Jo Jeongmin like this.
He had to do something.
Taesu's face settled coldly.
Eyes swiftly, hands carefully.
It was an ironclad rule on the battlefield.
Rather than just quick hands, calm judgment had to underlie everything.
Jo Jeongmin was currently lying face down.
Fortunately, his back seemed to have no problems.
Still, one never knew.
Taesu held the radio in his mouth.
Chomp.
He then spread both hands wide and carefully swept from head to toe.
He was palpating.
Right now, with no emergency medical equipment.
It was also the most realistic diagnostic method.
As Taesu's hands went back and forth a few times, a small flicker of something passed through his eyes.
'At least there are no problems with his arms and legs.'
It was just abrasions and bruises.
In the current situation, the fact that there were no fractures was fortunate in itself.
On the other hand, to those watching, Taesu's actions must have looked absurd.
The voices that had quieted for a moment rang out thunderously again.
"Teacher Choe, why are you sweeping his back?"
"What are you doing?"
"Hey you, try doing something."
They were voices that sounded like they would devour Taesu at any moment.
The voices of those confronting and dissuading them were no less loud.
"Please don't do this."
"Don't push. Just watch for a bit."
"Doctor Choe, very nice. Wait, please."
His head was chaotic from the back-and-forth shouting.
In the end, Taesu couldn't hold back and shouted fiercely.
"Quiet."
The vibration of the voice was so great that the mountain responded.
Rumble.
Everyone clamped their mouths shut.
"..."
"..."
As everyone paused and fell silent, Taesu added in a low, frigid voice.
"Please be quiet. The situation is not good."
"Choe, Teacher Choe, what on earth..."
"I asked you."
Growl.
Taesu's voice and gaze were fierce.
Gim Gwanghyeon, seeing that, opened his eyes wide and muttered without realizing.
"A wild beast."
It was a hunter's instinct.
Taesu had become so sharp that he felt that way.
Before they knew it, everyone had relaxed the strength in their bodies that had been struggling and were watching in silence.
Taesu looked at Jo Jeongmin again.
He began to carefully push his hand in below the abdomen.
The cold of the snow?
He didn't even pay it mind.
He focused solely on slowly and carefully pushing inward.
It was while he was doing so.
Something cold and squishy...
'Belly fat?'
Jo Jeongmin was surely wearing thick winter clothes.
But belly fat?
Had it rolled up when he fell?
There was no way to know.
Adding speculation to speculation, he tried pushing his hand in a bit further.
Tap.
Something hard had caught.
It was likely a branch.
'As expected.'
His clothes had ridden up, and he'd been stabbed.
Because it was a tree cut down yesterday, it had frozen while retaining moisture.
That must have given it the sharpness of a spear.
Having grasped that much, he moved on.