What Taesu had to do right now was take over for that pressure.
“Huuup.”
Pressss.
Slowly exerting force, he pressed firmly down on both sides of the chest.
With that force, the air that had only been trapped full inside the lungs was expelled.
It was difficult to confirm with the naked eye.
But there was a way to know for certain.
Once the chest had contracted to a certain degree, he immediately spoke.
“Step on it. One... Huh?”
When Squad Leader Sam flinched in surprise, Taesu asked with a grimace.
“You felt resistance, didn’t you?”
“That’s right.”
“That’s normal. Remember that feeling... All right, Sam. Breathing again.”
Taesu withdrew his strength as he made the request.
Squad Leader Sam immediately stepped on the Ambu bag and counted again.
“One... two.”
“Stop, breath goes out... Again.”
“Going again. One... two...”
“We’ll repeat. Let the breath out...”
Taesu and Squad Leader Sam moved their hands and feet while watching each other’s reactions. It was emergency treatment forcibly continuing the patient’s breathing.
Forced respiration was a method of care that existed as a proper medical term.
But there was a problem.
They couldn’t even think of touching anything else.
If the breathing stopped now, no emergency treatment would have any meaning, so this moment was the most important.
In truth, this was the role of a ventilator.
Expecting a ventilator, one that ran on electricity, here in these snowy mountains was asking for too much.
They really were banging their heads against bare ground.
If they could save the patient even like this, it didn’t matter.
Even so, it was exhausting.
‘Safety, first, please, safety—are you listening, you bastard?’
In time with the rhythm of breathing, he cursed the patient inwardly, one broken phrase at a time.
This guy deserved to be cursed at.
He had gone out of his way to crawl into a country at war and climb a mountain, only for this accident to happen.
If it hadn’t been a matter of life and death, Taesu might have thrown the first punch.
Perhaps that was why Taesu was performing the emergency treatment with even more desperation.
He would save him.
Save him, and then...
Beat the hell out of him.
He felt like he wouldn’t be repaid for all this suffering unless he punched that handsome face until both eyes were black and swollen.
Even as he hurled every curse he could think of inwardly, the forced respiration continued.
Before long, there was a little response.
First, the air bubbles inside the catheter connected to the lung disappeared, leaving only blood to fill it.
Drip, drip.
The bleeding drained out steadily, one drop at a time.
And the heart, which had been beating like mad, began to slow little by little as well. It was evidence that the transfusion was going smoothly and that oxygen was being delivered sufficiently.
Lastly, the cyanosis on his pale skin and lips was fading.
That, too, was a good sign that the oxygen in his blood was increasing.
“Huuuh... huuuh.”
The sound of breathing could be heard faintly as well.
It was clear his body was improving enough to respond little by little.
On the other hand, Taesu was covered in sweat despite the cold.
He was bracing hard with his toes, fighting against the pain in his waist that felt as if it were about to snap.
“Hup, huuuuh.”
Tremble, tremble.
He had exerted so much strength that the muscles in his thighs were screaming.
Squad Leader Sam’s situation was absolutely no better.
Right now, he looked like a living all-purpose medical machine.
He was enduring only because he had the iron stamina forged through countless drills.
Even so, he was just as busy and just as exhausted.
They were in the middle of continuing the forced respiration like that.
From the helmet, a tangle of frantic voices suddenly came through.
— I said hold that part.
— Grrngh. I am holding it.
— Ugh. Ryan, how much longer?
— I’m doing... almost done... damn.
— Huuup. Huuup.
At the continuing shouts, Taesu’s face quickly twisted.
From the listener’s end, it was extremely painful on the ears.
He could immediately tell their situation wasn’t good, but this side wasn’t in a position to be understanding either.
In the end, Taesu shouted.
“Shut. Up.”
It was a savage shout, spat out in a surge of anger.
But over there, there were people with tempers just as fierce as Taesu’s.
— What’s this son of a broom yapping about?
— Doctor Choi, you want me to really curse you out? Should I start with India and give you a parade of curses from every country?
Jeong Minsu and Kim Hyeokgwon fired back even harder.
Taesu did not back down and responded savagely.
“If the radio’s connected, shouldn’t you shut up on your own?”
— It’s not like you got our permission before connecting the radio, so why are you making a fuss?
“Grrngh. Fuck, my waist is going to snap... Jeong Minsu, shut your mouth.”
— You bastard, am I the only easy target? Do I look that easy to you, like some easy rice cake? And haven’t you heard, watch your back day and night?
At Jeong Minsu’s rough response, Taesu’s expression crumpled even harder.
“You little—just because words come out of your mouth, you think they’re all worth saying? Don’t run your mouth when you don’t even know the situation here.”
— Do you know the situation here before flapping your own damn mouth, you bastard?
The exchange between Taesu and Jeong Minsu was extremely vicious.
Since each of them was dealing with a patient, their nerves were on edge.
In the middle of those harsh words going back and forth, Kim Hyeokgwon cut in.
— Doctor Choi, Doctor Jeong, stop for a second.
“What?”
— What?
The two shouted the exact same answer, but Kim Hyeokgwon spoke calmly.
— Doesn’t this mean we’re on radio now?
“Yes. That’s why that bastard... Huh?”
— ...
The moment Taesu voiced his doubt, no words came through.
Then the roar of helicopter rotors filled that gap.
Thudududu.
Taesu, who was bent over at the waist, couldn’t lift his head. Squad Leader Sam, who could, looked in his stead and spoke.
“The helicopter is coming down.”
At those words, Taesu’s expression twisted sharply.
“Already?”
— Damn it. How many minutes has it been?
— Approximately twenty-eight minutes.
Jeong Minsu asked, and Corporal Ryan’s answer followed.
But this radio transmission wasn’t something only those on the ground could hear.
Soon, Captain Austin’s voice echoed inside the helmet.
— Are you still not ready for transport?
His voice was full of concern.
But to be honest, it was an irritating question to hear.
Still, they had to answer.
“This is Doctor Choi. Patient One isn’t ready yet.”
— This is Doctor Jeong. Patient Two isn’t ready either.
Once they reported the situation in order, Captain Austin’s voice came through low.
— I told you we don’t have time.
At that reproachful voice, flames seemed to surge in Taesu’s eyes for an instant.
He was already worked up, and he couldn’t hold back a second time as he snapped.
“Then are we supposed to just wrap up a patient with a ruptured diaphragm and take him?”
— This patient has brambles driven into him all over. If we just pull them out, it looks like chunks of flesh will come off with them. What do you expect us to do?
Jeong Minsu’s shout was no less fierce.
After those savage answers passed, Captain Austin’s subdued voice came through.
— I understand that the patients are in serious condition. But our time to remain here is tight.
“...”
The radio was quiet, as if Taesu and everyone else were only listening.
Unfazed by that, Captain Austin continued.
— Fuel is one issue, but the upper air currents don’t look normal.
“What do you mean, not normal?”
— The sun is setting, and there are signs of mountain wind. If the helicopter gets caught in it, we won’t be able to get out.
“Mm.”
Taesu’s distorted expression turned cold in an instant.
His mind cleared sharply, as if ice had been pressed against his head.
If the helicopter crashed, not only those on the mountain but even the Korean village living below could be put in danger.
That was absolutely unacceptable.
In a subdued voice, Taesu called for Jeong Minsu.
“Doctor Jeong.”
— Five minutes. Just give me five minutes.
“I need about that much too... Captain. Is that possible?”
Since the radio was connected to everyone, Taesu called him and asked at the same time.
Captain Austin’s voice came through immediately, but it didn’t sound very good.
— Landing itself is possible any time, but the snow hasn’t frozen solid.
“If you land, about how many minutes can you hold?”
— It’s difficult to predict.
It was a pessimistic answer.
But he couldn’t blame him for that.
Taesu was grateful enough that the man wasn’t simply saying he would refuse to force the helicopter down.
That was that, and they needed to come up with a plan first.
Just then, Kim Hyeokgwon’s voice came through.
— Hey, Cap. From that position, can you lower the wire to the ground?
— If I lower a little more, it’s possible.
— Stand by a moment... Doctor Choi, you said you got the patient onto a stretcher. But you’re doing forced respiration?
Because it was an important radio exchange in a tense situation, no one made even the sound of breathing.
Amid that, when Kim Hyeokgwon called for him, Taesu answered immediately.
“His diaphragm is ruptured, so spontaneous respiration is completely impossible.”
— On our side, the last one is near the spleen, so it’s a bastard to pull out. We can’t bring him up right away.
“If it’s near the spleen, you’ll have to stop the bleeding after pulling it out too.”
— Obviously... So what do we do now?
After throwing out several hints, Kim Hyeokgwon naturally handed the decision over to Taesu.
— ...
— ...
Captain Austin, as well as the soldiers including Squad Leader Sam, said nothing.
Now that they were face-to-face with the patients, all authority to decide lay with Taesu.
Taesu had no room to pay attention to the silent radio.
He was busy putting together all the hints Kim Hyeokgwon had laid out.
Taesu asked Captain Austin for additional information.
“Captain, if you lower the helicopter a little more, the wire will reach the ground?”
— That’s right.
“How high would that be, and how long would it take to pull it up?”
Taesu asked in succession.
Perhaps he took a moment to estimate, because Captain Austin’s voice came through after a brief pause.
— Approximately 164 feet, about 50 meters, and wire retrieval would be around two minutes.
“And you can do it without harming the village?”
— No problem.
Captain Austin answered firmly.
It seemed he had that much experience with tactical flight.
Taesu did not think too deeply.
Sometimes, there were moments when you had to push forward.
“Everyone, listen. We send up Patient One first, then Patient Two.”
— Copy.
“We’ll secure the position first. Ryan, come this way. Helicopter, lower the wire.”
Taesu gave the requests in order.
Now they had entered the phase of escaping.
The helicopter reacted quickly.
Thudududu.
From the helicopter stopped high in the air, the wire descended rapidly.
And soon, Corporal Ryan approached.
“Huff, huff.”
His complexion was deathly pale.
Press, press.
Taesu continued the forced respiration as he examined him.
In the meantime, the wire had come down nearby.
Once preparations were complete, Taesu immediately spoke to Squad Leader Sam.
“The patient first.”
“Sir.”
“And Sam, you and Ryan go up together.”
“Please continue.”
Squad Leader Sam suppressed what he wanted to say and urged him on with effort.
Taesu, sensing what he was about to say, explained first.
“Sam knows how to do the forced respiration. And Ryan still shouldn’t be staying in a place this cold for long.”
“Doctor Choi, I’m fully recovered.”
Corporal Ryan’s protesting voice immediately came through.
At that moment, Squad Leader Sam said a single word with an icy gaze.
“Ryan, shut up.”
“Sir.”
“Doctor Choi, what’s next?”
Having silenced him with one sentence, Squad Leader Sam urged him again.
Even in the middle of this, he was stepping on the Ambu bag with his foot and squeezing the blood pack and glucose with his hands.