Taesu spoke out of concern for the two of them.
“It’s hard to see ahead. Please be careful on your way back.”
“We’ll watch our step and go slowly.”
“I’m sure you will.”
When Taesu teased him lightly, Lee Manseok smiled.
“Haha. Just keep your promise to come visit our home soon.”
“If you invite us to dinner, just give us the word and I’ll come running.”
“Good. Please let Teacher Jeong and Teacher Kim know as well.”
Lee Manseok referred to Kim Hyeokgwon as Teacher too.
No, every villager was the same in that regard.
And speak of the devil.
As if on cue, Kim Hyeokgwon appeared through the flurrying snow.
“Is everyone a teacher now?”
“Oh, Teacher Kim.”
“Seeing Manseok’s face, I can tell right away. Nanju, you worked hard.”
Kim Hyeokgwon’s perceptiveness was truly remarkable.
Hong Nanju only showed a soft smile.
Lee Manseok’s smile grew even deeper than hers.
“Of course. Our Nanju worked very hard.”
“That’s enough. Hurry and go.”
“Haha. Then we’ll see you soon. Nanju, let’s go. Be careful.”
Lee Manseok guided Hong Nanju as if he were escorting her with great care.
Taesu and Kim Hyeokgwon watched the two of them with gentle smiles.
Soon, the two of them returned to the hospital.
As soon as they closed the door, they brushed off the snow piled from their heads to their shoulders.
Pat, pat.
Then they quickly turned their damp bodies toward the fireplace.
Warming himself by the fire, Taesu grumbled.
“What kind of snow comes down like this again?”
“I know. It snowed quite a lot a few days ago, and today it’s coming down just as much.”
“Everyone must have gotten busy.”
At Taesu’s guess, Kim Hyeokgwon nodded.
“The smithy’s frantic trying to raise the heat, and people are going up to check the barrier… Yes.”
“Fortunately, there’s no bad news.”
Taesu slowly turned around.
Behind him was a window.
The scenery outside the window was, as expected, filled with blowing snow.
Beyond it, he could faintly see the villagers busily coming and going.
There was no longer any sign of anxiety.
Their aversion to snow had lessened that much.
As Taesu looked out the window, Kim Hyeokgwon said,
“On my way here, I saw something that made me doubt my own eyes.”
“What was it?”
“Han Juyeong was looking at the snow through the window.”
“What?”
Whoosh.
When Taesu urgently turned his head to look, Kim Hyeokgwon, drying his feet by the fireplace, spoke again.
“I said Han Juyeong was watching the snow.”
“Whoa. That’s huge.”
“What’s even bigger is that she even reaches her hand out to try to touch the snow.”
“Wow, fantastic.”
Taesu added admiration upon admiration.
That reaction was by no means excessive.
As if Kim Hyeokgwon agreed, he nodded emphatically and said,
“She’s really improved a lot. Though she’s still a little short on the courage to come outside the door.”
“Still, every day she looks out the window and exchanges greetings with people passing by.”
“So it seems she’s even gotten a nickname. Something like ‘Location Informer’?”
“What’s that?”
When Taesu asked, Kim Hyeokgwon answered with a faint smile.
“They say it’s because she knows where everyone has gone.”
“Ah, since she’s always looking outside, I guess that could happen.”
“So if anyone is looking for someone, they go to Han Juyeong first and ask.”
“All sorts of things happen.”
“It’s impressive. Honestly, it’s hard to improve that much without using a single dose of medicine.”
Since there were no listening ears nearby, Kim Hyeokgwon let the words slip.
Taesu answered with a smile.
“That’s how frightening a person’s will can be.”
“I think Korean people’s mental strength is especially frightening. I’m not trying to compare, but maybe because India is hot, people there do tend to be a bit lazy.”
“There must be geographical factors too.”
“They built a village like this with their bare hands. They really are amazing people.”
Kim Hyeokgwon praised them openly.
Listening to him, Taesu looked outside again.
The whole world was being dyed white.
It was then.
Rumble.
A low, heavy reverberation came from the mountain.
At that sound, Taesu’s instincts went sharply on edge.
“That sound?”
Tap.
Kim Hyeokgwon ran over in one stride and looked outside with him, asking,
“Where did it come from?”
“The mountain.”
“Don’t tell me it’s an avalanche?”
“Let’s go out first.”
Whoosh.
Taesu and Kim Hyeokgwon rushed out of the hospital at full speed.
It was as they expected.
The villagers were screaming and sprinting.
“Aaaah!”
“Hurry, into the houses!”
Thud, thud.
The sound of doors slamming shut rang out harshly.
In an instant, the village became as quiet as if no one were there.
No matter that the barrier had been installed, it seemed it could not defend against the fear rooted deep within them.
Taesu and Kim Hyeokgwon smiled bitterly.
“This may put us right back where we started.”
“It might be better if an avalanche actually happens and they experience that the barrier is safe.”
“I can’t say I’d recommend that.”
“I’m just saying. Tsk.”
As if displeased by this silence, Kim Hyeokgwon clicked his tongue.
But then.
Taesu’s eyes caught sight of movement.
It wasn’t just one person.
Several people were moving from different directions.
Soon, voices reached them too.
“Teacher, let me go with you.”
“Changgyu, it’s still too early for you. Go back home.”
“No. I’m not going to hide anymore.”
Jo Jeongmin and Lee Changgyu?
As Taesu listened closely, another voice came through.
“Yeonghun, hurry.”
“Gwanghyeon, we’re going to put the sheep in. Why are you bringing a gun?”
“Wild animals prowl around at times like this. The falling snow erases scents and tracks.”
“Damn it. Seungji, Seongjin, you two open the barn doors and check around the area.”
Rustle.
Faint sounds of wet footsteps could be heard as well.
Among them, Village Chief Jeon Nosik’s voice was the most booming.
“Everyone, secure the doors first. And comfort the children so they don’t get scared.”
“……”
No answer came back.
As if it didn’t matter, Village Chief Jeon Nosik pushed through the snow, visiting each house one by one and checking the door handles.
He wasn’t the only one.
The distance was too great for one man to go door to door alone.
Far off, dimly visible, Lee Manseok and An Hyeonguk were doing the same.
“Brother Hyeonguk, go that way.”
“Manseok. Get your wife inside first before you move.”
“I sent Nanju into Yeonhui’s place for a bit.”
“Then let’s hurry and check.”
They did not merely raise their voices.
Tug, tug.
Even the sounds of them pulling on each front door to check could be heard.
Their resolve not to repeat the tragedy was no different from anyone else’s.
Because of the flurrying snow, it was impossible to see in detail.
But compared to when the first snow had fallen, they were clearly responding calmly.
Taesu and Kim Hyeokgwon smiled softly.
“With any ordinary avalanche, it won’t even be enough anymore.”
“It absolutely must not happen. That’s how it has to be.”
Now, it truly felt as though their work here was over.
Ten minutes later.
Contrary to their thorough preparations, no avalanche occurred.
Or perhaps only a small avalanche had occurred and had not reached the village.
Either way, it didn’t matter.
It was enough to have confirmed the villagers’ calm and safe response.
Taesu and Kim Hyeokgwon were outside again.
“It seems they’ve calmed down a bit now.”
“That eerie tension seems to be lifting too.”
It was exactly as the two of them felt.
The razor-sharp tension that had filled the village was slowly dulling.
But then.
Dadadak.
Someone was running through the falling snow.
As they watched silently, a large silhouette came into view.
Aside from Lee Manseok, there was only one person in the village with that kind of build.
“Minsu?”
“Taesu, Mr. Hyeokgwon!”
It was definitely Jeong Minsu’s voice.
Hearing that voice, Kim Hyeokgwon asked with a puzzled expression,
“What could be making Doctor Jeong so happy at a moment like this?”
“Sometimes that guy has a screw come loose, and I guess this is one of those times.”
“Tell him to tighten it properly. Everyone’s still tense, so what’s he doing getting excited all by himself?”
“That’s exactly what I’m saying.”
They openly badmouthed Jeong Minsu as he approached from afar.
Jeong Minsu, unable to hear them, was running over with a bright expression.
Once he was close enough, Jeong Minsu shouted the news loudly.
“They said a vehicle left from the PKO.”
“What?”
“The vehicle to pick us up has departed. We’re leaving by dawn tomorrow. Huff, huff.”
Even while panting for breath, Jeong Minsu was smiling brightly.
Taesu and Kim Hyeokgwon were the same.
“Good. Let’s get out of here now.”
“The timing is perfect.”
They were greatly pleased, as it was the moment when the last lingering unease had been completely washed away.
Two hours later.
The three of them entered the house side by side.
Pat, pat.
Brushing the snow from his shoulders at the door, Taesu asked,
“Then the hospital is more or less sorted out, right?”
“We brought the injectables here, so that’s done.”
Clink.
Jeong Minsu lifted the pouch containing ampoules and looked at Kim Hyeokgwon.
As if he had been waiting, Kim Hyeokgwon continued,
“The basic first-aid medicines have been properly organized.”
“And the installed machines can be collected later with the PKO. Then we’re ready to leave too.”
Taesu smiled gently.
But then.
A sharp voice came from the military radio.
—Chzzzt, this is Red Fox Baby. Doctor Choi, Doctor Jeong, respond. Repeating…
Whoosh.
The three of them turned their gazes to the military radio at the same time.
Red Fox Baby?
It was Squad Leader Sam.
They were supposed to meet tomorrow.
But the voice calling them sounded urgent.
That was strange.
It was not a situation to brush off as mere intuition.
Tap.
Taesu quickly approached and pressed the radio button as he answered.
Chzzzt.
“This is Doctor Choi Taesu.”
—Chzzzt. Did I not ask you to stand by on the radio?
It was a sharp shout, as if the military radio might burst.
Such an intense reaction was strange.
Taesu immediately pressed the radio and apologized first.
Chzzzt.
“We were preparing to withdraw.”
—Chzzzt. The plan has changed. I repeat. The plan has changed.
What was this now?
Taesu tilted his head.
Rustle.
Before he knew it, Kim Hyeokgwon and Jeong Minsu had approached Taesu’s side.
“……”
“……”
As everyone focused, Taesu spoke into the radio.
Chzzzt.
“How has it changed?”
—Chzzzt. We are scheduled to arrive over the point in ten minutes. Be waiting in advance at a location where a helicopter can land.
“Ten minutes?”
—Chzzzt. Emergency, emergency. There are stranded people and injured around the point. I repeat. Emergency…