It meant he was telling him to restrain himself.
Dr. Jonathan was a member of James’s surgical team, and Dr. Warick was the best of the internists.
With those two people coming to visit, worrying any further was a luxury. Taesu and the others immediately set aside their regret at not being able to check on the villagers one more time.
And so they returned to the original topic.
Taesu continued with the questions.
The situation had left him slightly twisted up inside.
He was not the type to simply overlook something like this and move on.
He began by giving them a piece of his mind.
“Why on earth did they climb that mountain in the middle of winter?”
“It was reported as a trip for tourism purposes. We cannot know the details behind it either.”
“If it’s enough to mobilize the PKO, do they have impressive backgrounds?”
“Even if they are tourists, once a report comes in through the emergency contact network, we keep a close eye on it.”
At Squad Leader Sam’s answer, Kim Hyeokgwon slipped in a remark.
“I’m very curious whether you can really guarantee that.”
“Soldiers obey orders.”
“Of course. Naturally, that’s what you do.”
Kim Hyeokgwon spoke with a hint of sarcasm.
It was his way of expressing displeasure toward the injured people who had appeared on a snowy mountain in the dead of winter.
Squad Leader Sam and the other soldiers did not budge in the slightest.
Their positions were different, so finding a compromise looked difficult.
At that moment, Taesu, who was in the middle, stepped in again.
“I don’t think this is something we should be fighting over among ourselves.”
“Ahem. Sir.”
“I’ll keep it moderate.”
The two of them roughly smoothed over the atmosphere.
Taesu added one more sentence, as if summing things up.
“Let’s deal with the emergency first.”
Nod.
Everyone lightly nodded in the same way.
No sooner had Taesu finished speaking than an unfamiliar voice flowed from the radio.
“Approaching destination. Target sighted.”
It was assumed to be the helicopter pilot’s voice.
Since there was both a captain and a copilot, it was not clear exactly whose voice it was.
At that moment, Squad Leader Sam responded.
“Sir, Captain. What is the target’s direction?”
“North-northwest. Approximately 800 feet, about 243 meters, ahead and below.”
“Sir.”
Swish.
As Squad Leader Sam answered, he gestured to the medical team.
Taesu and the other two immediately moved with the soldiers to the west-side window of the helicopter.
Step.
The world seen through the helicopter window was completely different from a moment ago.
First, the thick snowfall that had been coming down hard enough to block their vision had disappeared.
With the dark clouds, the weather was merely gloomy.
It was fortunate that the snow had stopped.
Thanks to that, visibility was clearly clean and sharp, allowing them to see far into the distance.
Admiring the scenery could come later.
Based on the information they had heard from the captain, they shifted their gazes.
Soon, diagonally below them, red flames and thick smoke were rising.
It was a smoke signal flare.
It seemed the other party had already spotted the helicopter.
Thud-thud-thud.
The helicopter followed that red smoke.
As it did, the accident site also became clearer.
It looked as if only one part had been scooped out, like ice cream.
Everyone stared and spoke the information they had grasped one by one.
“First, I can see a cliff.”
“I estimate the height to be about 50 feet, roughly 15 meters.”
“They fell from that height, and two hours ago at that……”
“At least since it’s a snowy mountain, there should be less bleeding. Though hypothermia is a major concern. But how did only that spot get hollowed out like that?”
Jeong Minsu added his doubt in passing.
Since they were speaking in English, Private Anthony’s voice immediately came through.
“Judging by the location and terrain features, we can assume that snow had piled up over the edge of the cliff.”
“It would have been safe up to that area, but as they moved a little farther forward, their center of gravity must have shifted.”
“That is also something to watch out for during mountain training.”
Corporal Ryan and Squad Leader Sam spoke in turn.
At those words, Taesu’s and Kim Hyeokgwon’s expressions hardened in an instant.
Kim Hyeokgwon spoke first.
“It seems to have been around the same time as the avalanche sound.”
“It was definitely then.”
“So those sons of bitches not only caused an accident, they got swept up in it too?”
“That would seem to be the case.”
“Those bastards, I swear, I’ll—”
Remembering the moment when he had been needlessly tense, Kim Hyeokgwon openly ground his teeth.
It was true that Taesu did not feel particularly pleased either.
Still, taking care of the injured came first.
The helicopter seemed to have gotten fairly close to the accident site.
The captain’s voice came once more through the helmet radio.
“Squad Leader Sam.”
“Sir.”
“Do you understand the rescue operation?”
“I understand it clearly.”
The moment Squad Leader Sam answered,
the captain emphasized his words.
“Landing time is five minutes at most.”
“Sir.”
“By any means necessary, return with the injured. Over.”
“Yes, sir.”
Step.
At the same time as the reply,
Squad Leader Sam and his squad members were already approaching the rear door with a stretcher.
Meanwhile, the medical team listened to the radio while checking their medical tools.
Their medical support would have to match the progress of the operation.
But the more they examined things, the more astonishing it was.
Jeong Minsu spoke about it in Korean.
“At this level, it’s practically an emergency room.”
“The space is wide enough to care for two people at once.”
“I like that they’ve prepared plenty of transfusion packs too.”
Taesu also stated what he had checked and entered it into his mind.
Soon after, the captain’s voice came through.
“Arrived over rendezvous point.”
Sssssk.
The sensation of moving forward disappeared.
Then came the feeling of descending, and the captain’s voice continued.
“Aircraft descending. Height from target, 700 feet, about 213 meters. 650 feet, about 198 meters……”
As the number gradually lowered, Taesu and the medical team also slowly raised their tension.
In the meantime, the inside of the aircraft grew a little darker.
Taesu’s gaze turned out the window.
It seemed they had entered an area covered by the mountain’s shadow, making it darker.
Something entered Taesu’s sight.
As he narrowed his eyes and looked closely, his expression hardened in an instant.
The snow piled up outside was reacting to the vibration of the propellers.
Thud-thud-thud.
The closer they drew, the stronger the vibration became.
As if affected by that vibration, a lump of snow piled above the cliff suddenly broke loose.
Rumble.
The sound of the snow lump striking the slope pierced through the rotor noise and reached them.
It did not end there; the snowball rolled downward and swelled in size in the blink of an eye.
“Uh, uh—”
“Th-that……”
Jeong Minsu and Kim Hyeokgwon also gestured with startled faces.
Fortunately, the snowball, which had doubled in size in an instant, smashed into a tree and shattered to pieces.
That was fortunate.
But what if there had been no tree there?
What if the snowball had swept up other snow and grown stronger?
That would soon turn into an avalanche.
The problem was that a Korean village was situated below.
The barrier would block it.
But what if a moment came when even that became useless?
A chill ran down the three men’s spines at once.
“……”
“……”
Their gazes quickly passed between one another.
They were eyes confirming whether their own guesses were correct.
All of them had the same look.
At that moment, the captain’s voice continued.
“400 feet, about 121 meters……”
The lower the number fell, the more the vibration inflicted on the piled snow would increase exponentially.
As if to prove that, cracks began to form across the snow filling the window.
Crack.
Taesu and the medical team, seeing it with their own eyes, had their pupils shake rapidly.
If they descended any further like this, an avalanche would occur.
All the efforts they had made so far would be rendered meaningless.
That absolutely could not be allowed to happen.
Taesu’s gaze hardened sharply as he shouted.
“Captain, up, up!”
“Dr. Choi, there’s no problem with the descent. Why are you saying that?”
“If we go down any farther, an avalanche will occur.”
“The helicopter has no problem. We will continue descending.”
Their perspectives were different from the start.
To correct that first, Kim Hyeokgwon shouted.
“Hey, Cap. The village below is in danger!”
“It is not in danger.”
“Look over there. Look over there. The snow is cracking right now!”
“Since you are concerned about safety, we will proceed.”
Whooong.
The helicopter’s descent speed increased in an instant.
The vibration grew even stronger.
They could see the cracked snow heaving.
Rattle.
Fragments were already sliding down.
That itself was the problem.
“That crazy bastard.”
“Is he out of his mind?”
They roared in Korean.
But this was not something that could be solved by shouting alone.
“Taesu.”
“Dr. Choi.”
Jeong Minsu and Kim Hyeokgwon hurriedly called for Taesu.
It was urging him to do something.
In truth, there was nothing Taesu could do either.
But he also could not stand by and watch.
Had he seen that difficulty?
Squad Leader Sam spoke to the captain first.
“Captain, Dr. Choi’s opinion……”
“Is a mere noncommissioned officer daring to interfere with my operation?”
“You heard the Director of External Cooperation’s order to actively accept the medical team’s opinions, did you not?”
“And what has happened now because of it?”
The captain’s irritated question came through.
Squad Leader Sam bit his lip hard.
The military moved by obedience to the chain of command.
Judging right and wrong was at the discretion of the commander on site.
Squad Leader Sam could not step outside that.
He forced his mouth open and answered.
“Nothing has happened.”
“Then why should I follow it?”
“……”
Squad Leader Sam delayed his answer as long as possible.
That was the greatest resistance he could manage right now.
But Taesu was different.
Obedience to the chain of command?
Taesu had no such problem.
They were merely in a cooperative relationship.
He could say everything he wanted to say.
So he quickly voiced the same opinion as Squad Leader Sam.
“Captain, just because there’s no immediate problem doesn’t mean an avalanche won’t happen.”
“That’s why I said we would carry out the operation as quickly as possible.”
“Look around you before saying that.”
“We don’t have the capacity. At the landing point…… Ngh. Stop saying unnecessary things.”
The captain’s voice mixed irritation with a groan.
Vibration could also be felt through the helicopter’s fuselage.
There was no doubt that he was pushing it recklessly.
Forcing things invited disaster.
Taesu’s voice grew even sharper.
“Are you only going to pick up a gun after a war breaks out?”
“What are you talking about?”
“I’m asking whether you have no intention of picking up the gun in advance to deter it before war breaks out.”
Taesu challenged him, mixing in military terminology.
They were words from the heroic stories his hometown friends, who had finished their military service early, had told him until his ears hurt.
He had thought they were the most useless stories in the world, but now they were helpful.
But that was only what Taesu thought.
In the captain’s suppressed voice, he could feel not only irritation but even a chill.
“Dr. Choi, the one being unreasonable, hrrrk, the one being unreasonable is you.”
“Unreasonable?”
“The ones piloting this helicopter are me and the copilot. Ngh. Damn, we’re busy just controlling it, so any further commotion will be difficult.”
The captain’s voice was as cold as Taesu’s.