At the same time, Kim Hyeokgwon’s gaze turned to Taesu.
‘What’s this about?’
‘I don’t know either.’
Their eyes moved quickly back and forth.
Taesu truly didn’t know what was going on.
But Jeong Minsu’s mood didn’t feel bad.
Perhaps Kim Hyeokgwon felt the same, because he agreed readily.
“If you’re buying, no reason I can’t drink.”
“Let’s go… But is there even something like a café here?”
“You think the PKO doesn’t have a PX? Let’s go.”
Step, step.
Kim Hyeokgwon walked ahead, and Jeong Minsu followed behind him.
Taesu watched the two of them and stroked his chin.
“I’m curious.”
It wasn’t the mood to follow them, so he barely held himself back.
But only for a moment.
Taesu quickly turned around.
Because Dr. James suddenly flashed through his mind.
If he had returned to the NGO camp, it was only right that he go greet him.
Turning around, Taesu immediately walked down the corridor.
After leaving the building, Taesu headed straight for the medical camp.
The medical camp by day was completely different from night.
Bustling shouts and frantic movements immediately stimulated his eyes and ears.
“Over there, hurry.”
“This way.”
Rattle.
That was the norm here.
The patients here were at least severe trauma patients.
They had been sent in by medical teams dispatched to various regions because they lacked the capacity to treat them, so their conditions were far from ordinary.
By the same token, the skill of the medical staff at the NGO camp was not to be underestimated.
Compared to Korea, any surgeon here was at least above the level of an elite doctor at a general hospital.
And even that was considered on the lower end here.
There were also quite a few authorities who could stand shoulder to shoulder with the world’s finest hospitals.
In fact, doctors affiliated with the NGO were often invited to globally renowned medical events and seminars.
Of course, their attendance rate was embarrassingly low.
That was how indifferent the doctors here were to worldly affairs.
They had all chosen people over money and fame.
They were living lives satisfied not by material abundance, but by spiritual fulfillment.
Having thought that far, Taesu gave a bitter smile.
“I can’t even reach their toes.”
He murmured his honest thoughts.
Just as Taesu was deeply admiring them, Korean suddenly came from behind him.
“What are you doing standing there?”
“Huh? Brad.”
A bright smile spread across Taesu’s face as he turned around.
Brad Kim, the man he had first formed a team with at the NGO medical camp, was approaching with a cheerful expression.
Perhaps he had been through a lot in the meantime, because his once fair skin had turned bronze. He seemed to have lost some weight as well, his jawline sharper than before.
As soon as the two approached each other, they clasped both hands without either needing to say who should go first.
Tightly.
“You’re safe.”
“You too, Brad.”
The brief exchange of voices was filled with a warmth different from that shared with others.
Brad Kim was a second-generation Korean American.
Only his nationality was American; both of his parents were Korean.
Naturally, Korean blood flowed fully through Brad Kim as well.
Perhaps that was why he had shown favor and kindness toward Taesu from the very beginning.
Taesu felt the same.
In an unfamiliar place, Brad Kim had taken care of him like an older brother and kept him company, which Taesu had truly appreciated.
After their handshake, Brad Kim asked,
“When did you get here?”
“Last night.”
“Looks like you went through hell. Your face is a mess.”
Not to be outdone by his mischievous remark, Taesu immediately shot back.
“Did you run out of sunscreen, Brad? Your face isn’t bronze, it’s dirt-colored.”
“This feels like I gave an inch and got a mile.”
“You started it. But seriously, what happened?”
Taesu dropped the joking and showed his concern.
Brad Kim answered with a bitter expression.
“Dozens of civilian casualties were suddenly brought in.”
“Suddenly?”
“It’s been complete chaos lately. There were days when they came pouring in so fast we couldn’t even figure out what region they were from.”
“That’s awful.”
“Every single day feels like walking on thin ice.”
“Is the war getting worse?”
At Taesu’s question, Brad Kim gave a bitter expression and lightly shrugged.
“I don’t know the details either. I close my eyes, then open them, and it’s night.”
“Mm. It would be a problem if you were dozing all day.”
Taesu made the joke with a serious face.
At that, Brad Kim looked at him in disbelief.
“Yeah. I’ve been busy lazing around and eating. Happy?”
“Haha.”
“You little… Haha.”
Brad Kim, who had been scolding him, soon laughed as well.
Meeting someone he was glad to see after so long, and in good health at that, brought them both great joy.
Then Taesu asked about the person who had suddenly come to mind.
“Brad, is Dr. James here?”
“He left for Nepal with his team members a while ago.”
“Again?”
“Apparently, an acquaintance doing medical volunteer work sent an SOS. It seems a number of people who hadn’t received medical support were found near an urban area.”
When Brad Kim answered, someone with a fiery personality instantly came to Taesu’s mind.
“Was the person who sent the SOS perhaps Dr. Toprak?”
“Mm. Yeah, that’s right. Do you know him too, Dr. Choi?”
“I met him in a village called Pokhara, the starting point of the ABC trek.”
“I see. No wonder Dr. Jonathan looked especially happy when he left. Is he that fond of him?”
Brad Kim tilted his head as if he couldn’t understand.
Taesu recalled another welcome face in his mind and replied,
“It’s probably because Dr. Toprak’s granddaughter is an astonishing beauty.”
“An astonishing beauty?”
“Every patient, men and women, young and old, was so busy looking at Dr. Derya’s face that they forgot they were in pain.”
At Taesu’s added explanation, Brad Kim blinked.
“Just how beautiful does someone have to be for people to forget their pain by looking at her face?”
“If you get the chance someday, meet her.”
“Later. Right now I don’t have the mental space to look elsewhere.”
Brad Kim spoke of reality.
Since it had been a long time since they had met, Taesu asked about that.
“You said you wanted to get into Dr. James’s surgical team. How’s that going?”
“It’s giving me a headache. I’m not the only one aiming for that spot.”
“I suppose not.”
“That’s the problem. NGO doctors all over the world are waiting with their eyes wide open for Dr. James to call.”
“Well, I’m sure there are many people who want to learn from him.”
The moment Taesu acknowledged it, Brad Kim’s expression darkened further.
“At this rate, I feel like even ten years won’t be enough.”
“That’s rough.”
“So I’m trying to use my head in every possible way. If I stand out, the chances of being chosen go up.”
It seemed Brad Kim was even prepared to use indirect methods.
Taesu couldn’t exactly say that was wrong.
Still, he carefully mentioned what worried him a little.
“You mustn’t cross the line by focusing only on the competition.”
“You think I don’t know what kind of person Dr. James is? Cowardice, pettiness, scheming. I’ll never be swayed by temptations like that.”
“Then I’m relieved.”
Taesu answered with a faint smile.
At the same time, he felt regretful that he couldn’t see James.
He soon shook off that feeling.
This wouldn’t be his only chance.
For an even more welcome reunion, he needed time to be patient.
They were in the middle of their reunion when it happened.
The entrance to one of the tents fluttered, and a Black nurse ran out. With widened eyes, she hurriedly looked left and right.
She seemed to be urgently searching for something.
“Oh, God.”
The mutter that escaped her without her realizing was filled with lament.
On the uniform she was wearing were bloodstains that had yet to dry.
Taesu and Brad Kim spotted it at the same time.
The smiles that had filled both their faces vanished immediately.
Brad Kim spoke first.
“This doesn’t feel ordinary.”
“Then we should go.”
Whoosh.
Taesu moved first as soon as he spoke.
Watching him, a faint smile formed at the corner of Brad Kim’s lips.
“This is why I like Dr. Choi. I’m coming with you.”
It was no time to stand around blankly, so Brad Kim hurried after him as well.
Taesu, who had gone ahead, soon arrived in front of the nurse.
“What’s— Damn, Korean… Ahem. What’s going on?”
Perhaps because he had been speaking with Brad Kim, Korean had come out first.
When he quickly corrected himself and asked again in English, the nurse rapidly looked Taesu up and down. Since he was dressed in ordinary clothes, suspicion showed first.
“Doctor?”
“I’m Dr. Choi Taesu.”
“Dr. Choi?”
The nurse tilted her head.
It seemed difficult for her to easily believe that a black-haired Asian had suddenly approached and claimed to be a doctor.
Just then, another black-haired Asian approached.
It was Brad Kim.
Since he seemed to know the nurse, he asked right away,
“Ellen, you don’t know Dr. Choi?”
“I think this is my first time meeting him.”
“In any case, he’s a doctor, so there’s no issue. Let’s go in together.”
“Um…”
When she blocked them again, Brad Kim’s face crumpled in frustration.
“Isn’t this an emergency?”
“It is an emergency. But there’s a rule that if his department is unclear, he can’t participate in surgery.”
“He’s a doctor who specializes in dispatch work. What department would he belong to?”
“Even so…”
Nurse Ellen looked troubled.
As if frustrated by her, Brad Kim suddenly shouted,
“You don’t know the hero of Ijambakeu?”
“Karhim?”
She asked back cautiously.
At that, Taesu’s eyes widened.
Karhim.
Sabi’s older brother.
Taesu quickly asked,
“You know Karhim?”
“I participated in that surgery too… Huh? Wait? That’s right. Karhim said so. That he looked stubborn at a glance. Are you really that Dr. Choi?”
“Well. Ah, this.”
Taesu quickly rummaged through his pocket and held out a small ID card.
It was his NGO membership card.
James had made it for him when his dispatch to Nepal was decided.
He had never had a reason to take it out, so he only remembered it now.
But Nurse Ellen was different.
The moment she checked Taesu’s ID, the nurse’s eyes opened as wide as they could go.
So shocked, Nurse Ellen cried out without realizing it.
“Eek, really?”
“If you mean the doctor who was a little stubborn in Ijambakeu, then yes, that’s me.”
Taesu answered with a hint of lingering resentment.
But Nurse Ellen didn’t seem to care and quickly pointed to the tent entrance.
“Go in. Hurry.”
“What? Uh, uh.”
“Go in quickly. Quickly.”
Thump, thump.
Nurse Ellen even shoved Taesu roughly.
Taesu was dumbfounded, but the fact that he had been granted permission to enter was more important.
Together with Brad Kim, he hurried into the tent.
The inside of the tent had a double-layered structure.
Simply put, this area was like a surgical preparation room.
The real operating room was beyond the second curtain visible over there.
But neither of them could enter the operating room right away.
Taesu was in ordinary clothes, and Brad Kim was also wearing ordinary clothes with only a gown over them.
The reason Nurse Ellen had first asked Taesu if he was a doctor was probably because of his clothes.
In any case, they needed to prepare before entering surgery.
Just then, Nurse Ellen shouted toward the operating room.
“I’ve brought Dr. Brad Kim from Surgical Team Three and Dr. Choi.”
“Brad and who?”
“The hero of Ijambakeu.”
Taesu’s nickname rang throughout the tent.
Before Taesu even had time to feel embarrassed, a loud reply came from inside.
“Dr. Choi is here?”
It seemed they knew Taesu.
That reaction made Taesu feel puzzled instead.
It was a voice he had heard before, but no face immediately came to mind.
“Who is it?”
Before that murmur had even ended,
Nurse Ellen answered the question that had come from inside.
“Yes, that person.”
“Oh. Get both of them ready and send them in quickly. Hurry.”
“Got it.”
Nurse Ellen answered loudly.
Then, with the same rough hands that had shoved Taesu earlier, she handed them surgical scrubs and urged them on.