Meanwhile, the expressions on Taesu, Jeong Minsu, and Kim Hyeokgwon’s faces all stiffened at once.
What kind of emergency was this, out of the blue in the middle of the night?
And it had happened on a mountain nearby—someone had become stranded and even injured.
“……”
“……”
For a moment, none of them could speak, too busy trying to make sense of it in their heads.
Just then, Squad Leader Sam’s repeated transmission ended.
Taesu quickly pulled himself together and pressed the radio to confirm.
Crackle.
“Red Fox Baby. Emergency situation, casualties reported, is that correct?”
—Crackle. Correct. I’ll explain the details after we rendezvous at the point.
“What’s your estimated time of arrival?”
—Crackle. Nine minutes from now.
The instant he heard it, Taesu’s mind began spinning at full speed.
Nine minutes?
That was not a comfortable amount of time by any means.
Taesu quickly wrapped up the transmission first.
Crackle.
“Understood for now. We’ll prepare and stand by on our end.”
—Crackle. Keep the radio open for continued standby. Over, holding transmission.
With Squad Leader Sam’s weighty warning, the radio fell silent for the moment.
Taesu set the transmitter down as well.
Tap.
As if that sound had been the fuse, Jeong Minsu grabbed at his hair and shouted.
“What the hell is this all of a sudden?”
“What kind of lunatics go hiking in this weather, in this area?”
Kim Hyeokgwon, too, was just as dumbfounded as he shouted.
Taesu was no different.
If anything, he went one step further.
“Those goddamn bastards. Maybe I should smash their leg bones to pieces and make them lie in a hospital bed for about three years.”
“They’re already injured. Maybe their legs are broken?”
“Then I’ll smash their ribs—”
Just as Taesu’s mouth was about to get even harsher, Jeong Minsu hurriedly stopped him.
“Taesu. Let’s leave the patient’s ribs alone for now so they can stay safe. If those break and start stabbing things here and there, that’ll be a huge problem.”
“Hoo, hoo. But seriously, what kind of bastards climb a mountain at a time like this?”
After holding back and holding back, Taesu finally fired off one more remark.
Only then did it seem as though a little calm returned to him.
That was Taesu’s case, however—not Kim Hyeokgwon’s.
“I have to see with my own eyes what kind of damn bastards they are.”
“What?”
“I’m going to go up there myself and repay them properly for giving me this dogshit experience the day before my historic return.”
Grrrr.
Kim Hyeokgwon felt almost like a wolf.
That was how ferocious his eyes were, and he even had his teeth bared.
Taesu and Jeong Minsu subtly glanced at each other.
Kim Hyeokgwon in that state was not merely someone they would gain nothing from provoking.
It felt like if they made eye contact with him for no reason, his anger would transfer over to them.
For that reason, Taesu quietly checked his wristwatch.
The moment he did, he shouted in shock.
“Damn, we’ve got eight minutes left.”
“Aaaaagh. What do we need to pack? What, what are we supposed to do?”
Jeong Minsu was even worse.
He went beyond urgency and became frantic.
With time running short, it seemed his head was getting tangled.
At that moment, Kim Hyeokgwon shouted sharply.
“Shouldn’t we pack the emergency response bags first?”
“R-right. Right. I-I-I… I’ll go to the clinic and come back.”
“Doctor Jeong, freeze.”
Kim Hyeokgwon raised his voice and stopped him.
Jeong Minsu, who had just been about to turn and run, froze in place.
“Huh, why?”
“If you go all the way to the clinic, pack things, and come back, do you think you’ll make it in time?”
“We have to bring something.”
“That’s why I prepared something. Wait.”
Kim Hyeokgwon spoke with confidence and walked toward the cot.
Step, step.
Watching his back, Taesu’s face filled with puzzlement.
“He’s not the type to say things that aren’t true.”
“Then he really packed something?”
“When it comes to preparedness, he’s seriously the best.”
“Agreed, totally agreed.”
Jeong Minsu loudly chimed in.
The two of them were now watching with faces full of expectation.
Before long, Kim Hyeokgwon arrived in front of the cot.
He lowered himself, reached underneath, and pulled something out.
Slide.
Then Kim Hyeokgwon held up what was in his hands.
“So we end up using these after all.”
They were large bags.
They looked familiar.
Taesu, who had been staring at them closely, remembered first.
“Those are the bags Casey and Ellen gave us in Padum.”
“That’s right… Ah. They said they were our dedicated bags.”
Jeong Minsu added.
Kim Hyeokgwon tacked on one more comment.
“They made them easy to grab and run with in an emergency.”
“They’re fully packed inside?”
“Yes. They have the surgical instruments you two use often, and basic medical supplies as well.”
At the same time as Kim Hyeokgwon explained, Jeong Minsu spoke with moist eyes.
“I’m so grateful to Casey and Ellen.”
“I found them annoying to carry around too, but now that we’re in this situation, I’m thankful.”
Kim Hyeokgwon responded gently.
But then Taesu’s expression suddenly turned urgent.
“We have to hurry.”
“We’ve packed everything here, haven’t we?”
“Where are you planning to set the rendezvous point?”
The moment Taesu reminded him, the leisurely smile on Kim Hyeokgwon’s face twisted at once.
“Damn it. We can’t land a helicopter in the middle of the village.”
“But are we going by helicopter?”
“Then do you think a fighter jet will arrive within eight minutes?”
“I suppose not.”
When Jeong Minsu answered plainly, Kim Hyeokgwon grumbled.
“It’s strange that you’re looking for a fighter jet right now.”
“You’re right. And what doctor would ride a fighter jet?”
“They wouldn’t let you on one either.”
“Of course. Haha. Even as I say it, it really is absurd. Just nonsense.”
Whoosh, whoosh.
Jeong Minsu waved his hands along with a hearty laugh.
At that easygoing attitude, which did not fit the situation, only Taesu grew frustrated.
“Read the room, will you?”
“Will rushing make it happen? It’s the dead of winter. It’s not like we’re going to charge into the mountains with nothing on.”
“Then you pack and come out.”
“That’s what I was planning to do.”
“Do whatever you want. I’m going first. Everyone, turn your radios on.”
Taesu shouted as he ran toward the front door.
Bang.
The moment he roughly flung open the front door and stepped outside, he was met by foul weather filled with thickly swirling snow.
Whooooosh.
A helicopter in this?
If visibility was unstable, the landing site had to be that much wider.
Where was he supposed to suddenly find a place like that?
How much time remained?
Seven minutes.
Time was closing in fast.
“Damn it.”
With his heart in a rush, Taesu moved his body first.
It was a village without a single signpost, but his two legs remembered it as surely as a map.
Based on that memory, Taesu sprinted off in search of an open space with enough room.
Whip.
“This won’t do.”
Whoosh.
“This place is… Shit, that tree.”
In an instant, he checked several places, but none were satisfactory.
He ran again.
“Huff, huff.”
His breathing began to grow ragged, but Taesu’s steps did not stop.
As he ran and ran, Taesu suddenly checked the time on his wristwatch.
“Damn it.”
Four minutes had already passed.
There were only three minutes left until the helicopter arrived.
This was PKO, and the time promised personally by Squad Leader Sam at that.
They would absolutely arrive at that time.
His heart grew even more urgent, and his nerves began to sharpen.
For a moment, he even wondered what the hell he was doing.
But the human heart was truly complicated.
Even in a moment like this, when he thought of the stranded patient, he felt sorry for them.
Hateful or not, they were a patient. Likable or not, they were a patient.
But still.
“Why the hell would they see this god-awful weather and still climb a mountain?”
A bitter remark burst from Taesu’s mouth.
Pity and irritation.
Both were Taesu’s feelings.
Right now, those opposing emotions coexisted within him.
At that moment, the radio hanging at his waist rang.
—Beep. Taesu, how’s it going? Did you find one?
Find one, my ass.
The corners of Taesu’s eyes shot up, and he roughly snatched up the radio and shouted.
“Am I the only one busting my ass here?”
—Beep. Huff, huff. I’m running too, you know?
“Where are you?”
—Beep. Huff, huff. This side is a palm tree grove, so there’s no suitable space. What about you?
When Jeong Minsu asked, Taesu answered in a slightly calmer voice.
“Near the ranch.”
—Beep. Wouldn’t outside the village be better? Huff, huff.
“The place where we first pitched our tent?”
—Beep. That area’s kind of wide, isn’t it?
Jeong Minsu’s suggestion was reasonable.
But after picturing it in his head, Taesu immediately shook his head first.
Beep.
“The propeller will catch on the trees.”
—Beep. Ah, right. Huff, huff. I’m heading toward the barrier now.
“Yeah. If you avoid the structures, there might be a spot.”
—Beep. Right? Huff, huff. I’ll go check and let you know.
With Jeong Minsu’s shout, the transmission ended.
It seemed he was not just moving around at random.
But there were no visible results.
That was what frustrated him.
He was standing there with the radio in his hand when it happened.
“What’s all this commotion?”
At the voice from behind him, Taesu quickly turned around.
Whip.
There stood the trio of old men and Village Chief Jeon Nosik.
They were quite close.
It seemed he had been so focused on the radio that he had not heard their footsteps.
The wrinkles on the faces of the three old men had deepened. Since Elder Wang’s passing, their bodies had been weakening rapidly.
They did not get involved in village matters at all.
They cared, but they did not show it.
Instead, without fail, they visited Elder Wang’s grave once a day.
Village Chief Jeon Nosik always accompanied them.
It seemed they had gone even though the snow was this fierce.
For a moment, Taesu hesitated.
It was an urgent situation.
But he could not simply pass them by after seeing them.
In the end, Taesu put respect for elders first.
He briefly suppressed his urgency and bowed his head in greeting.
“Are you coming back from visiting Elder Wang?”
“You know full well, so why ask?”
“The day is cold, and the weather isn’t good.”
“When Elder Brother was alive, he never cared whether the place was wet or dry. Do you think a little snow would block our path?”
Elder Jeon responded calmly.
His words were deeply imbued with respect for Elder Wang.
It was something Taesu had already heard several times.
Each time, Taesu had urged him to think of his health, but the same answer had always come back.
—I am showing Elder Brother the filial devotion I never managed to show my parents.
After hearing that, Taesu had been unable to dissuade him further.
Elder Jeon looked more gaunt with each passing day.
Elder Ahn and Elder Jo also seemed to have no energy at all.
Not long ago, they had been fiery in temperament.
But now, he could sense that they were waiting for their own end.
Because he knew their past, it hurt his heart all the more.
As Taesu was looking at them like that, Elder Jeon asked again.
“I asked what the commotion was. Why aren’t you answering and talking about something else?”
“What? Ah, well…”
“You’re usually so glib. Why can’t you speak?”
Elder Jeon pressed him.
It seemed the sound of the radio had struck them as unusual as well.
Taesu set aside his hesitation.
He decided it would be better to borrow the wisdom that came with their years of experience.
So he explained, short and to the point.
“The truth is… So we were looking for a place where the helicopter could land briefly.”
The moment Taesu’s explanation ended.