Just then, the hospital door opened, and Jeong Minsu came out escorting someone.
“Now, now, watch your step.”
“Thank you.”
“Not at all. Please tell Seongjin congratulations for me. And Ms. Yeonhui, from now on you absolutely must take care of yourself. Understood?”
Jeong Minsu emphasized it firmly.
The person he was speaking to was Kang Yeonhui, a relative of Kang Yeonghun.
Perhaps she had heard good news, because she answered with a bright smile.
“Yes. I’ll be sure to.”
“I did tell you what you need to know, but if there’s anything you’re unsure of, come by anytime and ask.”
“I promise.”
“Good. Then take care on your way… Hey, you there. How about clearing the way?”
Jeong Minsu must have spotted Taesu, because he openly provoked him.
Taesu was dumbfounded, but he stepped aside first.
“That punk.”
Swoosh.
Then, as Kang Yeonhui approached, he greeted her with a gentle smile.
“Ms. Yeonhui, please get home safely.”
“Um, Doctor, I…”
Kang Yeonhui stopped in front of him and fidgeted with her fingers, as if trying to say something.
When she hesitated, unable to get the words out easily, Taesu urged her on with a warm smile.
“Please, feel free to tell me.”
“Um, well… I…”
After hesitating several times, Kang Yeonhui’s face flushed, and she lightly wrapped her arms around her belly.
It was a meaningful gesture.
Taesu was puzzled for a moment, then his eyes widened at the thought that flashed through his mind.
“W-wait a second… Hey, quack. Is it true?”
“Do I look like you?”
Jeong Minsu’s sharp retort was filled with certainty.
Taesu quickly looked back at Kang Yeonhui and said with a radiant expression,
“Congratulations. Truly, wow… I’m so, so happy for you.”
“It’s thanks to you. Thanks to you doctors… Hic.”
Tears suddenly welled in Kang Yeonhui’s eyes.
Taesu did not panic, instead looking at her with an affectionate gaze.
It was perfectly understandable.
It was a child conceived after three years of marriage.
All the heartache she had endured until now must have loosened at once, bringing tears to her eyes.
Taesu offered quiet words of comfort.
“Don’t cry. Hurry and go tell Seongjin. He might carry you around on his back all day today.”
“Huu… Yes.”
“If he tries to carry you, refuse and tell him no. Absolute rest.”
“I will. Thank you.”
Bow.
Kang Yeonhui bowed deeply, then walked away carefully.
Taesu watched her go and stepped over beside Jeong Minsu.
“Wow, that’s the first pregnancy news since we came here, right?”
“Yeah. I guess everyone really has gotten healthy now.”
“It feels good. Makes you proud… You punk, you worked hard.”
Thump.
Taesu lightly patted his arm in encouragement.
Jeong Minsu made the same gesture.
Thud.
“Yeah. You worked hard too.”
Jeong Minsu smiled brightly and returned the greeting.
But Taesu’s gaze turned slightly crooked.
‘This bastard.’
Compared to his own gesture, Jeong Minsu had clearly struck harder.
He was not the type to let that slide quietly.
Unlike his face, which was full of laughter, Taesu patted him with a heavy hand.
Thud.
“Haha. You worked even harder.”
At that moment, Jeong Minsu bristled while still smiling.
Whack.
“Hahaha, I said you worked harder.”
“You bastard.”
“You started it.”
“You hit harder first.”
Grrr.
Taesu and Jeong Minsu clashed as if they were about to devour each other.
It was a change that made the warm moment of encouragement seem utterly pointless.
Just then, someone arrived beside the two of them.
Step.
Then a voice asked in disbelief,
“How is it that these days, whenever you meet, you fight?”
“…”
Swoosh.
They turned their heads and saw Kim Hyeokgwon’s face.
At that moment, Taesu and Jeong Minsu pointed at each other and protested their innocence.
“This bastard hit me hard.”
“He didn’t tap me with his fist, he punched me.”
Seeing the two of them act exactly the same, Kim Hyeokgwon said with a sullen face,
“You two, go to school together.”
“Why school?”
“So you can sit with the children and sing nursery rhymes, you immature doctors.”
Kim Hyeokgwon raised his voice with a bark.
Taesu and Jeong Minsu pouted and subtly looked away from each other.
“I’m not on his level.”
“How dare you compare me to someone like Taesu? I find it deeply offensive.”
Even the way they each got in a final word was similar.
Kim Hyeokgwon outright pressed a hand to his forehead.
Thump.
“Good grief. I’ll have to kidnap a patient from somewhere.”
They were doing this because they had become idle.
He could not exactly wish for the villagers to get injured, so the wrinkles on Kim Hyeokgwon’s forehead only increased.
Even as Kim Hyeokgwon clutched the back of his neck, time flowed on.
When evening came, Taesu was sitting in front of the military radio inside the house.
It was time to report the day’s work and check for any changes.
Taesu’s work report was already finished.
Now Brad Kim’s voice was coming through the military radio.
—Crackle. …So the front line is contracting.
At those words, Taesu, who had been listening absentmindedly, suddenly let his eyes shine.
Crackle.
“Brad. Is that true?”
—Crackle. I said it is. They say the red travel warning was lifted as of today.
“Then does that mean we can return to headquarters too?”
Taesu asked, his face full of expectation.
It was then.
Rustle.
He sensed movement behind him, and voices followed.
“To headquarters?”
“What are you talking about?”
Jeong Minsu and Kim Hyeokgwon both leaned in to listen to the military radio.
Soon, Brad Kim’s voice came through.
—Crackle. They actually contacted me about that.
“What did they say?”
—Crackle. They said starting today, keep the military radio on twenty-four hours a day and have someone standing by.
“Ohhh.”
—Crackle. Once the urgent situation is over, they plan to send a vehicle your way.
At that answer, Taesu’s eyes gleamed.
Crackle.
“Really?”
—Crackle. Yeah. You don’t know when they’ll contact you, so keep waiting.
“Even if we have to take shifts through the night, we’ll make sure to do that.”
—Crackle. That’s all the news for now. See you soon. Radio out.
Brad Kim’s transmission ended.
At the same time, Taesu’s hand unconsciously moved toward the military radio.
And at that exact moment—
Tap.
Kim Hyeokgwon immediately stopped Taesu’s hand.
“Hey, now.”
“It’s a habit. A habit.”
Taesu made an awkward excuse.
But that kind of excuse did not work on Jeong Minsu.
“Hey, you. Move over.”
Thump.
Jeong Minsu shoved Taesu aside and took the spot in front of the radio.
Taesu, having been pushed away, stared at him with an incredulous expression.
“You want to go back that badly?”
“What’s the point of doctors being here when there are no patients?”
“Well, that’s true too.”
Taesu stopped scolding him and agreed.
Then Kim Hyeokgwon suddenly leaned his face in front of Taesu and urged him,
“Say it again.”
“You heard it, didn’t you?”
“Would I listen from the beginning if it was obvious?”
When Kim Hyeokgwon asked back confidently, Taesu smiled lightly.
“As expected, their firepower seems to be dropping.”
“They’re not bastards who can print money, so I suppose they have no choice. And?”
“It looks like they’re switching to small-scale guerrilla tactics and targeting key strike points.”
At Taesu’s words, Kim Hyeokgwon’s face twisted deeply.
“In any case, that means they’re still going to keep fighting. Sons of bitches.”
“Still, the red travel warning being lifted is good news.”
“Isn’t it more surprising that there are lunatics who travel to a country like this?”
“We should take comfort in the fact that people who’ve been stranded all this time can go home.”
At Taesu’s words, Kim Hyeokgwon nodded lightly.
“That part is good. From now on, someone definitely needs to stay home.”
“We’ll need to stand watch at night too. Looks like Minsu will be staying up all night today.”
Taesu threw the words out casually.
Jeong Minsu showed the same eagerness with which he had pushed Taesu away.
“Yeah. I’ll stay up tonight.”
Wave, wave.
He even waved his hand.
Kim Hyeokgwon immediately looked delighted.
“That works for us.”
“I’ll sleep comfortably.”
“But Doctor Choi, shouldn’t we inform the village chief?”
When Kim Hyeokgwon asked, Taesu shook his head.
“The date hasn’t been set yet. Let’s wait a little longer.”
“True. If word gets out, they’ll make a fuss and all that… That would be more of a burden.”
“We heard good news, so let’s take it easy and rest.”
“Let’s do that.”
Having reached an agreement, Taesu and Kim Hyeokgwon immediately returned to the table.
Saying they would take it easy and rest was only talk.
The table was piled high with medical notes. Each of them took a seat and began going through them one by one.
After the village had stabilized, they had resumed their studies.
At some point, Jeong Minsu had also returned and was studying medicine in front of the military radio.
There were so many different symptoms and disease names that no matter how much they studied, there was no end.
It was enough to make Jeong Minsu grumble.
“If I’d studied like this from the beginning, I would’ve gone to Harvard Medical School.”
“Back then, you were forced to do it. Now you’re doing it because you need to. Is that the same?”
“Of course it’s different. I’ll shut up and study.”
Scratch, scratch.
Jeong Minsu focused so quickly that it was hard to believe he had just been complaining.
Taesu and Kim Hyeokgwon were already focused.
Even though they had gained some breathing room, the medical team tightened the reins on themselves.
They did not know when such a quiet moment would come again.
For that reason, they devoted themselves to their respective studies without even realizing the night was deepening.
Crackle.
Only the sound of the military radio echoed through the house.
A few days had passed since they entered twenty-four-hour radio standby.
Inside the hospital.
Hong Nanju had her back turned to Taesu, who held a stethoscope.
Tap, tap.
As Taesu listened to her chest, Lee Manseok stood beside them, tense in spite of his large build.
After moving the stethoscope several times—
Swoosh.
Taesu lowered the stethoscope and smiled.
“It’s good.”
“Doctor, really?”
Swish.
Hong Nanju quickly turned to face him and asked.
Taesu answered once more with a firm expression.
“Yes. The rough sounds in both lungs and the bronchi are all gone. You can feel it too, can’t you?”
“That’s right. Even when I breathe, it feels so much easier.”
“That doesn’t mean you can overdo it right away. Please rest as much as possible until spring.”
When Taesu added that, Hong Nanju answered brightly,
“Yes. I’ll do that.”
“Then you don’t need to come anymore. You’ve worked hard coming in for treatment all this time.”
For the first time in a while, Taesu happily announced the end of treatment.
At those words, Lee Manseok quickly stepped forward.
“Doctor Choi, she really doesn’t need to come anymore?”
“Yes. As long as she rests until spring, her ribs should heal without any problem too.”
“Thank you. You’ve worked so hard.”
Thump.
Lee Manseok clasped Taesu’s hand tightly with his thick hand.
His face was filled with joy that Hong Nanju’s treatment was over.
On the outside, they were Beauty and the Beast.
But on the inside, they were Fool Ondal and Princess Pyeonggang.
In every single way Lee Manseok treated Hong Nanju, one could feel respect and love.
Hong Nanju was the same.
They were such an affectionate couple that even Taesu secretly envied them.
Taesu saw the couple off to the entrance.
Creak.
When he opened the door, white snowflakes were swirling through the air.