"Th-the truth is……. That’s what happened."
“See? I told you to look around in every direction when working……. Tch.”
Tap, tap.
Taesu’s hands were as rough as his voice.
“Ugh.”
“Does it hurt?”
“……I-I'm fine.”
“And if you’re not fine?”
Taesu’s gaze was fearsome.
Perhaps lacking the confidence to meet that gaze, the villager’s eyes glanced sideways.
Even so, Taesu’s hands showed no mercy.
The same was true for Jeong Minsu, who was treating a patient beside him.
Having stayed in one village for so long, they had lost all sense of self-consciousness.
It was as if a new nag had appeared.
He wrapped a bandage around the patient’s arm, his mouth never resting for a moment as he scolded the man.
“What on earth did you do with your arm to get such a long wound? Sheesh.”
“Ack.”
“‘Ack’? Did you just say it hurts? If you hate pain that much, you shouldn’t get hurt in the first place. Am I wrong?”
“Ahem.”
The villager quickly withdrew his bandaged arm and averted his gaze.
Behind him, Gim Hyeokgwon passed by and said in a low voice.
“Doctor Jeong’s hands have gotten much more skillful, but his tongue has sharpened too, so don’t provoke him needlessly.”
Swish.
Gim Hyeokgwon set down the medical supplies and walked away.
Even at that moment, Jeong Minsu stared intently at the villagers whose treatment was finished and said.
“You must come every day for several days.”
“Several days?”
“It needs to be disinfected. If it festers because you didn’t disinfect it, then we’ll have to cut it open.”
“Oh my.”
“I’ve clearly warned you, so if you don’t want to come, do as you please.”
He only said that.
Jeong Minsu’s gaze was no less fierce than Taesu’s.
The villager could only nod with a sullen face.
The villagers who left the hospital often glanced back.
But there were no resentful gazes toward the medical staff.
Instead, they wore calm smiles.
“Now they just shout and all that.”
“I feel like I’m getting scolded for no reason.”
“Really heartless. If you’re going to scold us, don’t look so worried.”
“Let’s go back to work. If we get hurt, we just come back and get nagged again.”
The people who had been thoroughly scolded laughed it off and headed to their worksites.
If you went to the hospital, you got better.
The medical staff would heal you.
That belief was firmly rooted.
A good event that would bring more vitality to such a village had arrived.
It was Raku visiting the village again.
There were more trucks than before.
There was no doubt that all of the trading company’s vehicles had been mobilized.
Not only that, but people from outside the company had come along too.
Raku introduced them briefly.
“They are people who will help with the work.”
At first, they wondered what he was talking about.
But that question was answered in less than an hour.
The outsiders unloaded various things from the truck beds and headed up the mountain.
“What on earth is this work?”
“Raku just keeps smiling.”
“I can’t stand the curiosity. Let’s go.”
Rumble.
Taesu and several others, including Village Chief Jeon Nosik, followed behind.
It was when they had climbed the mountain some distance from the village.
Clack, clack.
Sounds of work already starting could be heard.
Everyone who approached nearby was so surprised their eyes went wide.
“What is that?”
“Ah…….”
Everyone was speechless.
What they were installing was a barrier.
It was a light yet sturdy structure incomparable to tree branches.
At that moment, Gim Hyeokgwon, with a serious face, quickly asked Raku, who was grinning from ear to ear.
“The cost of that structure?”
“Mr. Gim has to pay for it.”
“Me? Why me?”
“You said there was budget left over before.”
At Raku’s answer, Gim Hyeokgwon’s eyes blazed.
“Isn’t that for the food expenses?”
“I brought food as well. Cooking oil and farming tools have all been sold too.”
“Your business acumen is no joke?”
Gim Hyeokgwon looked at him with a strange gaze, but Raku was still smiling.
“We tried to prepare the funds by selling this and that, but it’s a bit insufficient.”
“So?”
“Just give me all the remaining budget.”
Snap.
Raku held out his hand without hesitation.
In that instant, Gim Hyeokgwon’s expression turned icy.
“Trying to fleece me while I’m not looking.”
“If you want to go through it one by one, I’m fine with that.”
“Hm? Hm……. Okay. I’ll give it to you as soon as we go down.”
Gim Hyeokgwon, who had been bristling, changed in an instant and tucked his tail.
Taesu and Jeong Minsu somehow had an idea why.
“Just the purchase cost of that barrier alone must be substantial.”
“And what about labor costs? Besides, if all the remaining vehicles are filled with food……. It’s definitely a deficit.”
“It’s a deficit here, but once it goes into the PKO, it’ll turn directly into a surplus.”
“He’s probably trying to indebt us firmly this time so we can’t move. Raku’s scheme is impressive too.”
Taesu glanced at Jeong Minsu as he analyzed the situation.
“Did you suddenly grow some situational awareness?”
“I can figure out at least that much.”
“Well, let’s say that’s true.”
Taesu glossed over it vaguely.
He still didn’t know what set off Jeong Minsu’s perceptiveness.
It didn’t end with installing avalanche barriers on the mountain.
Vroom. Whirrr.
Crude mechanical sounds were heard here and there.
It was the sound of chainsaws.
The workers cut down the trees around the village relentlessly with chainsaws.
They were experts who could even guide the direction the trees fell.
The trees were sliced through, each cut ringing clear, like radishes being chopped.
Raku looked on with a proud expression.
Gim Hyeokgwon, standing beside him, was busy wracking his brain.
“How am I supposed to calculate that…….”
“It’s a service.”
“Really? Oh, thank you. Very thank you so much.”
Clasp.
Gim Hyeokgwon seized Raku’s hand and gave him a deep show of gratitude.
Witnessing this scene for the second time, Taesu and Jeong Minsu were, as expected, amazed.
“He likes it because it’s a service.”
“No doubt.”
“He’s looking this way, look elsewhere, elsewhere.”
“Ahem.”
The two, who had been whispering, had to quickly avoid Gim Hyeokgwon’s sharp gaze.
To them, Gim Hyeokgwon was prickly, but to Raku, he was different.
“Raku. Let’s have a warm cup of tea together and settle the accounts too.”
“I didn’t know I would receive Mr. Gim’s kindness.”
“I’m actually quite a warm and kind person, more than you’d think. Haha. This way…….”
Gim Hyeokgwon guided Raku respectfully, as if serving a master.
His constantly changing demeanor was natural.
Taesu and Jeong Minsu quietly gave a thumbs up.
The surprises didn’t end there.
At the food Raku had brought, their jaws dropped once again.
They had expected emergency rations or combat rations.
Besides those, there were grains like rice and wheat.
There was a wide variety, from dried meat to pickled foods.
There was also a considerable amount of relief crops like potatoes and corn.
Raku pointed at those foods and spoke confidently.
“This winter, there will be no problem.”
That boast was by no means an exaggeration.
Gang Yeonghun, who understood English, informed the villagers with an excited face.
“We’ll have enough to get through the winter.”
“Waaah!”
The villagers all cheered loudly and rejoiced.
Merrily.
There were people dancing too.
It was a dance that naturally burst forth in the joy of being able to survive a warm winter.
Taesu and Jeong Minsu were watching that sight.
Before they knew it, smiles had quietly settled at the corners of their mouths.
“Good. Since they’re happy, I’m happy too.”
“Taesu.”
“What?”
“To be honest……. Since coming to Kashmir, I regretted it a lot.”
Taesu glanced at him at the sudden confession.
“Regret?”
“Yeah. I told you I’d survive bravely……. I thought I’d already reached the end of the road, having come this far alone.”
“But?”
When Taesu asked quietly, Jeong Minsu set up a slight twist.
“Being here with these people, I don’t think I came here for nothing.”
“Really?”
“I don’t know anything grand like fate or connections, but what I do know is that I’m seeing hope in my life.”
“Hope.”
As Taesu chewed on the word, Jeong Minsu explained more.
“The hope that I can become a doctor who changes someone’s life.”
“That’s a good thought.”
“I think I’ll remember that sight whenever I waver.”
Jeong Minsu looked at the rejoicing villagers with warm eyes.
Taesu also smiled gently.
Because it wasn’t an emotion only Jeong Minsu felt.
Taesu also felt that this dispatch was not a simple one.
*Hope.*
It was one of the words he often said.
Now, it felt like it was settling much deeper in his heart.
Raku and the trading company left two days later.
Apparently, they had held extensive discussions with Village Chief Jeon Nosik and the village’s key figures during that time.
They only knew that it involved matters related to trade afterward.
Truthfully, they weren’t very interested.
Taesu and Jeong Minsu’s interest was, as always, the patients.
Gim Hyeokgwon had surprisingly become a bit less talkative.
They were puzzled, but since he was the type to speak up when the time was right, they didn’t press him.
It was a day when stability was beginning to take root in the village.
The day came for Jo Jeongmin to leave his sickbed.
Thud.
Jo Jeongmin planted both legs and stood on the ground.
It had been almost half a month since the accident.
Perhaps because he had eaten nutritious porridge every day, his face was glowing.
His liver had recovered enough.
His previously emaciated body had filled out nicely.
Jo Jeongmin, quietly looking down at himself standing on the ground, looked at Taesu and the other two with an awkward smile.
“As expected, it’s good to be standing.”
“You endured well.”
“With the three of you taking turns keeping watch over me, how could I get up?”
“That’s why you recovered quickly.”
Jo Jeongmin smiled faintly at Taesu’s not-so-annoying nagging.
He moved step by step and came out of the hospital.
Swish.
Jo Jeongmin looked around widely and smiled broadly.
“O sky, o earth, o sun, o wind. You’re all just as you were.”
“Are you going to write a poem?”
“Shall I?”
“That would be nice. Ah, the elder is coming over there.”
Just as Taesu said, Old Man Jo was coming this way.
Jeong Minsu quietly spoke to Jo Jeongmin.
“You should go first.”
“Oh. That’s a good idea.”
Gim Hyeokgwon also recommended it.
Jo Jeongmin greeted the medical staff first.
“Then I’ll be going.”
“Congratulations on your discharge.”
“I’ll come over for tea with a healthy body.”
“You’re welcome anytime. But if you get sick, I’ll nag you endlessly.”
“You’ve worked hard. Well then.”
Step. Step.
Jo Jeongmin slowly took slightly awkward steps.
Before long, Old Man Jo met up with him.
“My child. You’ve suffered.”
“Grandpa. I won’t cause you worry anymore.”
“Yes, you should.”
At Jo Jeongmin’s smile, Old Man Jo smiled back.
The medical staff watching this wore smiles full of warmth and pride.
That evening.
Taesu, Gim Hyeokgwon, and Jeong Minsu, still fully dressed, sat side by side submerged up to their necks in a jar.