Nngh.
Squad Leader Sam, wearing a safety harness, came into view and waved both hands urgently.
"Move, move."
"I'm going."
"Faster……. Huh?"
Squad Leader Sam, who had been waving them on, suddenly faltered.
At the same instant.
Rumble.
A low vibrating sound echoed out.
Taesu, who had been running, quickly looked around at the ominous feeling and shouted.
"What is that noise now?"
"Uh, uh, uh. Something feels off."
It seemed Jeong Minsu felt the same unease.
That was when.
Crack!
The heavily piled snow split apart like parched earth.
At the sight, even Kim Hyeokgwon—who had nerves of steel—let out a scream with a look of disgust.
"Uwaack. What the hell."
"Helicopter vibrations."
"Damn crazy, are we filming some disaster movie?"
Never had they been more serious.
Besides, a movie was staged, but this situation was real.
Rumble.
The snow's reaction grew louder, creating an atmosphere where an avalanche could start at any moment.
No, it had already begun.
Rattle.
Small fragments of snow began rolling toward the cliff.
It was now only a matter of time before the large masses started moving.
The three of them shivered down their spines at the sight of the snow fragments.
The Korean village.
To protect them, there was no choice but to escape quickly themselves.
"Uwaa, dammit."
"Hurry, hurry."
"Move it, you bastard."
They cursed and urged their own legs forward.
The helicopter arrived at the rendezvous point, risking a rollover.
It was hovering precariously over the cliff edge.
Rattle-rattle-rattle.
Inside the violently shaking helicopter, Captain Austin's urgent voice came through.
— Doctor Choi, remaining distance.
"Fifteen meters."
— Only ten seconds left. Ten seconds.
"I'm going, you bastard."
As if there was time for honorifics in this situation.
They didn't even realize they were hurling crude words at each other.
And perhaps he hadn't said ten seconds for nothing—Captain Austin started counting down in reverse.
— Ten. ……Nine. ……Eight.
"Shut up."
— Seven. ……Six.
Captain Austin's reverse countdown came through resolutely.
Its meaning was clear.
From the perspective of those running, it was now beyond urgency—they were frozen in terror.
Ten meters ahead.
Thud.
One step, nine meters.
Another step. Eight meters.
They were approaching the helicopter.
Getting closer.
Almost there.
Soon they would board.
Despair was turning into hope.
— Four. ……Three.
Five meters……. Four meters…….
'Almost there.'
A faint smile was about to cross his desperate face.
"Ugh."
Thud.
What was that sound?
Turning his head instinctively, he saw Kim Hyeokgwon sprawled on the ground.
Everyone panicked for a moment.
"Oh."
"Mr. Hyeokgwon."
"Oh, no."
Gasp.
Squad Leader Sam even covered his helmet with both hands in shock.
But then.
Shoot.
Kim Hyeokgwon sprang up like a coil and charged forward fiercely, shouting.
"I can't die like this—it's too unfair!"
Rumble.
That desperate shout was so loud that the mountain trembled.
As expected of Kim Hyeokgwon.
Taesu and Jeong Minsu ran on, relieved.
Two meters……. And then.
Thump.
His foot touched the helicopter's rear door.
At that moment, Captain Austin's countdown also ended.
"Zero……. Ascending."
Whump-whump.
The helicopter's rotors thundered as it began to lift off.
What about Kim Hyeokgwon, who had fallen behind?
Before he knew it, he was right there.
Perhaps intending to jump straight in, he shouted desperately.
"Move!"
At the same time, he leaped.
The height difference between the helicopter and the cliff edge was the size of a cardboard box. Kim Hyeokgwon's powerful stride easily cleared that much.
Thud.
One foot caught the helicopter's rear door.
Kim Hyeokgwon's expression brightened along with it.
"Almost ther—…. Ugh."
The foot he had planted slipped.
Thud.
Kim Hyeokgwon fell again, barely draping his upper body over the rear door.
"Nngh."
Thud, thud.
He reached out to pull himself up, again and again.
He mustered every last ounce of his strength.
But he was already severely exhausted, so the more he struggled, the more he slipped.
Sliiide.
The helicopter was already flying out beyond the cliff.
There was nothing below to step on.
There was only a snowfield dozens of meters below.
At that moment, Kim Hyeokgwon intuited.
It was the end.
'So this is how I go, struggling in this bitter world.'
It was unfair.
Still, there was nothing he could do about his slipping body.
Soon Kim Hyeokgwon squeezed his eyes shut.
He didn't want to see anything.
At that moment, a thought suddenly came to him.
It was a miserable, resentful thought—that all of this had happened because of one person.
He couldn't help but resent them.
"Choi Taesu, you—I'll see you in hell……."
Just as Kim Hyeokgwon's desperate cry was about to continue.
Grab.
In an instant, he felt hands gripping both his arms.
His body, which had been sliding downward, stopped dead in place.
'Hup.'
Kim Hyeokgwon's eyes snapped open and looked ahead.
Taesu and Jeong Minsu were lying side by side, each holding one of his hands.
But there was no way they were fine either.
"Gwaaaah."
"Augh, kyaa. Aaaack!"
They held on, shedding tears and snot, letting out bizarre screams.
Letting go would be easier.
A very comfortable and safe time would come.
But they held on until the end.
They never let go, even through tearing pain.
Not only that.
"Get……. up."
"You said we'd……. live."
They shouted encouragement and urged him on.
Kim Hyeokgwon's eyes, filled with the sight of those two, welled up with moisture.
This choked-up feeling.
It was the first time.
It was an emotion he had felt for the first time in his life.
Unaccustomed to it, Kim Hyeokgwon accepted it as a surge of emotion.
'These young brats, speaking informally to me.'
That was when.
Scrape.
Kim Hyeokgwon's body began to be slowly pulled up.
Behind Taesu and Jeong Minsu, the soldiers were adding their strength.
"Pull!"
"Nngh."
The harder the soldiers pulled, the sharper and more desperate Taesu and Jeong Minsu's screams became.
"Gwa-a-aack!"
"Ash-ra-ji-gah!"
Still, they never let go of Kim Hyeokgwon's hand until the end.
Soon Kim Hyeokgwon was fully aboard the helicopter.
Screech.
The rear door closed, blocking the terrible snowy mountain from sight.
At the same time, Squad Leader Sam's booming voice rang out.
"Mister Kim, secured."
— Escaping at full speed.
Whump-whump-whump.
The helicopter poured all its power into gaining altitude, moving away from the snowy mountain.
Taesu and Jeong Minsu collapsed right there, breathing heavily.
"Haaah, haaah."
"Kuh. Haaah, hah."
Groans of pain were heard intermittently.
Kim Hyeokgwon watched the two of them with a complicated gaze.
"……."
Then Squad Leader Sam approached and asked Kim Hyeokgwon.
"Mister Kim. You seem very shaken, are you alright?"
"Well…… Hoo. What……. what just happened?"
"It really happened in an instant. I turned to close the rear door after seeing Mister Kim jump back up, but……."
It was the moment Squad Leader Sam was about to carefully explain the situation.
Taesu groaned as he approached.
"Hff. Mm."
Thud.
Taesu immediately lowered his body and suddenly asked in a strange tone.
"Are you okay? You must have been very surprised?"
"What is that. That robotic question?"
"Have you calmed down a bit? Urgh."
When Taesu asked, flinching from the lingering pain, Kim Hyeokgwon forced a bitter smile.
"Well, more or less."
"But wasn't saying 'I'll see you in hell' a bit too much?"
At the same time as Taesu asked bluntly.
Kim Hyeokgwon felt a thousand fires raging inside.
"I almost died because of who."
"How is me slipping there my fault?"
"The problem is Doctor Choi, who brought me here in the first place."
"Wow. In the village, sir. You got on the helicopter before me, after all."
Taesu shouted, more worked up.
It wasn't a response meant just for an argument.
He was provoking him because he was worried the frightened Kim Hyeokgwon would become dispirited.
Kim Hyeokgwon was too furious to notice such a thing.
"I got on because you said to go, as if I'd get on for no reason."
"Anyone listening would think I threw a tantrum to go. I've never done that."
"What do you mean, never. You dragged me to Ijambakeu even when I said I hated it and it was dangerous."
"There was a time you said it was good because we earned a lot of money."
When Taesu retorted roughly, Kim Hyeokgwon raised his voice too.
"It's good when things are good. Do you think it's still good at a time like this? Are you sane?"
"Are you sane? What did I do?"
"Shamelessness has its limits. Haven't I been through a lot because of Doctor Choi all this time?"
"You're the one who followed, Mr. Hyeokgwon."
The two of them growled at each other without a shred of compromise.
They seemed to have completely forgotten what had just happened.
Then Jeong Minsu's sharp voice stung their ears through the helmets.
— What are you two doing right now?
"And what about you?"
— Patients.
Jeong Minsu yelled fiercely.
At that, Taesu and Kim Hyeokgwon turned their gazes simultaneously.
Jeong Minsu had positioned himself in front of Patient 2.
What about Patient 1's vitals?
Taesu's gaze moved immediately.
Beep-beep, beep-beep.
The ECG sound was barely audible, buried under the rotor noise. However, the various values filling his eyes were still not good.
Patient 2's condition was easy enough to guess just by looking at Jeong Minsu's expression.
This was not the time to fight like this.
Taesu and Kim Hyeokgwon quickly wrapped up their conversation.
"We'll talk later."
"Anytime."
Swish.
Taesu and Kim Hyeokgwon scattered in an instant, heading to their respective patients.
Taesu quickly arrived in front of Patient 1.
Thump-thump-thump. Beep-beep.
The ECG sound pierced through the helicopter's rotor noise.
The values were very bad.
It was time to perform the emergency treatment they couldn't do on the snowy mountain, right here.
No, they had to.
At the same time as his decision, Taesu's eyes shone fiercely.
'Human lives don't end easily.'
Taesu had just experienced that himself.
If there was attachment and will to live, there was nothing that couldn't be overcome.
He believed this patient would be the same.
Then Squad Leader Sam and Sergeant Ryan approached.
"Since it's an emergency transport helicopter, we have some things prepared."
"We've taken them out for now."
Swish.
With those words, they unfolded the surgical pack they had brought rolled up.
Surprisingly, it contained medical supplies necessary for emergency surgery.