Taesu was no different.
Hss, hss.
He answered, forcing out his breath under pressure. “Once you’re up, please watch the patient’s breathing.”
“I will make absolutely sure there are no problems. However….”
“Hoo, hoo. I’ll cross over to that side. The second patient, Anthony, and Dr. Jeong will go up in the second wave.”
Taesu revealed the plan up to that point.
Everyone was listening through their helmets.
Because of that, Gim Hyeokgwon immediately snapped.
“Are you latching onto me again?”
“Dead or alive, we’re in this together, aren’t we?”
“Live together, die alone. Okay?”
“Nope.”
“Damn it. You’re so fucking decisive at a time like this.”
A gruff voice came through, but that was all.
Gim Hyeokgwon, too, understood the urgency and severity of the situation, so he no longer looked out for his own interests.
Logically, having one doctor go up was necessary to handle irregular situations.
Now they had to prepare to ascend.
Taesu immediately administered the injections.
“One more morphine, cough suppressant, expectorant, antibiotics, and….”
He set the dosages slightly generously.
This was to account for variables.
Even if they were delayed for any reason, the patient had to remain unaffected.
He also replaced the blood pack and glucose with new ones.
He didn’t neglect the manual ventilation in between either.
Even two bodies wouldn’t have been enough.
Squad Leader Sam, watching him, spoke in a heavy voice.
“If there’s a problem boarding, I’ll go down right away….”
“We can do it.”
*Wink.*
Taesu gave a light wink, reassuring him.
It wasn’t something he said merely to be considerate of Sam.
It was also something he said to himself.
Who would want to be left behind on a snowy mountain as the sun set?
He certainly didn’t.
And because he had calculated meticulously, he was projecting confidence.
A nod.
Squad Leader Sam answered with a lift of his chin.
Soon, the patient’s stretcher was hooked to the wire.
Because it was a steel frame, Squad Leader Sam and Sergeant Ryan got on together.
Taesu finished the last round of manual ventilation and stepped back.
“Phew. Once the helicopter touches down, please connect the ventilator and ECG immediately.”
“We’ll make sure of it.”
“I’ll see you up there. You too, Ryan.”
When Taesu glanced at him and looked after him, Sergeant Ryan’s expression was extremely grim.
“….”
He had much to say, but he couldn’t bring himself to; he only bit his lip.
Tap.
Taesu settled for expressing himself with a light pat on Ryan’s shoulder.
Then he opened his mouth and called for Captain Austin.
“This is Dr. Choe. Please raise the stretcher.”
“Roger.”
*Groan.*
The wire pulled taut and rose little by little.
The moment he saw that, Taesu turned around.
There was no time for leisurely waves or greetings.
*Swoosh.*
He quickly dashed toward the second patient.
‘I have to hurry.’
Now there really was no time.
Taesu urgently went to find the second patient.
It was the instant he passed the large tree that had been blocking the view.
Taesu’s expression hardened sharply.
The second patient was lying face-down on a snowy field, not in bushes.
There was significant bleeding from his back.
The hands of Jeong Minsu and Gim Hyeokgwon surrounding the patient moved faster than motorized tools.
*Whir, whir, whir.*
“Hyeokgwon, liquid hemostat.”
“Ready…. No, it’s gone. Used up.”
“Then the powder hemostat, at least.”
“Wait.”
Gim Hyeokgwon reached into his own separately packed dispatch bag.
Just then, Taesu arrived beside him and held out a liquid hemostat ampoule.
“Here.”
“Only the medicine is welcome. Dr. Jeong, liquid hemostat.”
“I’m not happy about this situation. Pass me that alcohol.”
“Who’s happy? What a pain in the ass.”
*Clack, clack.*
Taesu and Gim Hyeokgwon exchanged what they needed, exchanging brief grumbles.
Remarkably, they were facing different directions.
Even so, the medical supplies passed between them and landed in each other’s hands like magnets.
Taesu, receiving the alcohol, poured it over his hands.
*Splash, splash.*
At the same time, he asked Jeong Minsu, who was stopping the bleeding.
“Status?”
“Definitely took a hit to the spleen.”
“Splenic rupture location?”
“Given the position, the middle is most likely.”
*Clack, swish.*
Jeong Minsu reported the situation as quickly as his hands moved.
Taesu shook off his alcohol-drenched hands and answered.
“Alright. Let’s see how far we can take this.”
“How long are you going to run your mouth?”
“I’m washing my hands.”
*Splash, splash.*
He poured alcohol over his hands again, which he had just shaken off.
This was so that not a single drop of the first patient’s blood remained.
No matter how rushed, mixing one patient’s blood with another was absolutely forbidden.
More precisely, he was restoring his surgical gloves to a like-new state.
Time was so tight that he had to cut down even on the time to change gloves.
Had even thirty seconds passed?
Taesu’s two hands were stained with reddish-brown disinfectant.
It was just as the disinfection was finishing.
*Glance.*
Taesu, gauging the time on his wristwatch, shouted low and fast.
“Limit: three minutes.”
At the same time, he grabbed the surgical tools.
The surgical tools from the emergency kit Gim Hyeokgwon had laid out had no owners.
Whoever grabbed them owned them.
More important than that was that the three of them had finally come together.
Conversation in Korean.
Their breathing was in sync, needless to say.
It was a moment that required swift action to back it all up.
Taesu did not get greedy.
He trusted Jeong Minsu’s judgment from tending to the patient until now.
“Minsu, give the orders.”
“What? Your gloves…”
“They’re clean. And we only have three minutes.”
“Get in here quickly, first.”
*Clack.*
Jeong Minsu opened up space, urging him on.
He had shifted his hands to make it easy for Taesu to slip in.
Taesu’s two hands quickly penetrated that space.
“Here?”
“A little more to the side.”
“……There?”
“Yeah. Hold the spleen in place there.”
Jeong Minsu’s orders continued clearly.
His voice was more confident than before entering the Korean village.
And his orders were accurate.
It was the result of cutting into sleep to study.
Because Taesu had watched from beside him, he could trust him like this.
‘As much as you need.’
*Swish, swish.*
Taesu focused on immobilizing the spleen in the narrow wound as ordered.
His hand movements were agile.
It felt as if the heavy bear that had always sat on his shoulders under pressure had shed a few pounds.
In the meantime, Jeong Minsu’s orders continued.
The targets weren’t just Taesu; Gim Hyeokgwon was included too.
“Hyeokgwon, bleeding here.”
“I see it.”
“Why are you only giving gauze? Where’s the saline and disinfectant?”
When Jeong Minsu demanded, Gim Hyeokgwon shot back.
“You’re the one who used it all.”
“What?”
“Can’t you see it strewn everywhere?”
*Clack.*
Gim Hyeokgwon pointed around them.
Blood-soaked gauze was scattered everywhere.
Jeong Minsu knew, but what nagged at him was the shortage of medical supplies.
“Damn.”
Just as he was at a loss, Taesu spoke.
“Hyeokgwon, my bag.”
“What? Why is this bag so well-stocked?”
Gim Hyeokgwon looked through Taesu’s dispatch bag, dumbfounded.
Taesu answered while moving his hands.
“I saw everything there was to see while getting the breathing under control.”
“Somehow it doesn’t feel like this will end here. Anyway, spreading gauze. Saline next.”
*Rustle, splash.*
White gauze and clear saline were poured.
Taesu quickly accepted them and spoke to Jeong Minsu.
*Clack, clack.*
“Minsu, don’t think about anything else and just catch the bleeding points.”
“Got it.”
“Then I should move a little this way.”
*Swish.*
Taesu moved his body to the side the moment he judged.
At the same time—
Suddenly, Taesu’s face twisted violently.
“Urk.”
“What? Why are you slowing down?”
“Just do it.”
“……Your back. I told you to be careful.”
“Now’s not the time to talk.”
Taesu quickly brought the topic back to the patient.
But each time his movements grew intense, he slightly furrowed his brow.
They were performing emergency treatment noisily like that.
Private Anthony couldn’t dare intervene and simply watched.
Realizing that wouldn’t do, he cautiously asked.
“What should I do?”
Taesu and Jeong Minsu were startled by the voice.
“Huh, Anthony?”
“Hah. You were here?”
They had apparently forgotten his very existence.
Private Anthony gave an awkward smile without showing any hurt.
“Yes. I’ve been here the whole time.”
“Good to see you.”
“More importantly, I want to help with something….”
“Then please set up the stretcher.”
“Roger.”
The moment he had work, Private Anthony’s face brightened.
Taesu added one more request.
“And please count 120 seconds.”
“Two minutes? One moment.”
Private Anthony began setting his digital watch, puzzled.
Unlike him, Jeong Minsu and Gim Hyeokgwon knew exactly what it meant.
“You’re saying we finish this within two minutes?”
“That doesn’t mean stopping the bleeding. It means shoving everything in there.”
“It’s a situation where that’s actually better.”
Jeong Minsu nodded with cold eyes.
Then Taesu spoke to Gim Hyeokgwon.
“We have to do this together.”
“You really latch on until the very end. Fine.”
*Clack.*
Gim Hyeokgwon lifted the retractors and got ready to add his hands.
Then Private Anthony spoke.
“Set to zero.”
“Start now.”
“Timer start.”
*Beep.*
A small electronic sound rang out.
At that moment, Taesu and the other two gritted their teeth.
“Urp.”
“Hahp.”
“Kup.”
Sparks flew in their eyes.
Steeling their resolve?
That expression was insufficient.
They moved at a speed that showed no regard for consequences, as if determined to collapse right then and there.
*Swish, swish. Whoosh, whoosh.*
“Skip the saline.”
“The bleeding point is near here.”
“Stop arguing and shove it all in.”
Matching the stinging exchanges, everything was pushed inside.
Reckless to the point of violence, the hand movements continued.
But it was wise.
Without such a method, stopping the bleeding on a snowy mountain within two minutes was impossible.
Their hand movements gradually grew faster.
They were like fish in water.
Only what was visible seemed that way; inside, they were enduring tremendous pressure.
Yet they weren’t reckless hands.
Their accuracy had increased, and conflicts over positioning had decreased.
A somewhat more mature appearance was visible compared to before.
It wasn’t a tremendous change, but a subtle, minuscule difference.
Yet in emergency treatment like this, it showed a stark gap.