Inside was a complete mess.
And it wasn’t just Jeong Minsu, Kim Hyeokgwon, and Brad Kim.
Dr. Ozma, Dr. Maximilian, Dr. Isaacson, Catherine and Nurse Lumiere, too.
James’s entire surgical team was here.
Dr. Quentin was there as well.
The room was strewn with bottles and snacks, and they were packed into the not-so-large space until it felt full to bursting.
Taesu’s jaw dropped.
“No, all of you…”
Only after hearing his voice did everyone turn to look at Taesu, their faces flushed red.
At that moment, Jeong Minsu sprang to his feet, waving his hand as he shouted.
“Oh, it’s Taesu!”
Suddenly.
Dr. Quentin, who had risen right beside him, swayed with a sloshing bottle in his hand and said,
“Wow, samba.”
Just looking at him was enough to make one’s head spin.
Then Catherine and Nurse Lumiere, drunk and red-faced, giggled and shouted.
“Ohoho. It’s Dr. Choi. Our youngest is here.”
“Oh, my, where have you been until now? Hurry over and have a drink.”
They weren’t the end of it.
Thump, thump.
Dr. Isaacson, who had been sitting on Taesu’s bed, slapped the mattress and raised his voice.
“Dr. Choi, there’s a seat open here. What are you doing? Hurry over.”
“That’s right. Come have a drink. Let’s keep going.”
“Whiiist.”
Even Dr. Maximilian and Dr. Ozma were making a commotion.
All of it happened in a single instant.
Taesu felt dizzy.
Kim Hyeokgwon, whose nose had gone bright red, staggered over to him.
“Didja have a good trip?”
“Hyeokgwon, is your tongue not listening to you?”
“Phew. When drinking, y’gotta have the sense to give more drink.”
With even Kim Hyeokgwon acting like this, Taesu was flustered.
“Just how much alcohol did Clark give us as a gift?”
“That’s already the end. Finished.”
“But there’s alcohol left.”
“That was from the old man who’s always actin’ all solemn.”
Taesu pieced together his ridiculous explanation by intuition.
“James?”
“Exactly. Just for today, he told us to drink together and die, so we’re drinkin’ hard.”
“Until you’re this drunk?”
“But we’re not allowed to leave here. Hic, hoo.”
Even Kim Hyeokgwon’s hiccup sounded a little unusual.
Only then did Taesu understand the situation.
If James had allowed it?
There was absolutely no one in the NGO who could object. Still, just in case, it seemed he had placed the restriction that they drink only inside the room.
As his doubts faded, Taesu relaxed as well.
Alcohol?
He was already sobering up.
At the thought of replenishing the alcohol he was lacking, even his eyes changed.
“Heh heh. Then shall we begin round two?”
“Of course we should. So did Clark give permission?”
“Yes. Training starts on Monday… Hup.”
Taesu clapped a hand over his mouth in that instant, his eyes widening.
Just then, Kim Hyeokgwon stepped right up to his face and smiled deeply.
His hazy gaze turned sharp.
As though his slurred pronunciation had been an act after all, he asked in a clear and precise voice,
“Why? Did you think we wouldn’t know?”
“How… Did James perhaps…”
“That man isn’t the type to say something like that easily.”
“Then how did you know?”
Taesu was utterly curious.
Swoop.
Kim Hyeokgwon leaned in even closer and whispered in his ear.
“Because I’m standing right on top of your head, Dr. Choi.”
“Is that so?”
“But I’m not the only one who knows.”
“Yes?”
Taesu’s face filled with confusion.
At that moment, Kim Hyeokgwon quietly stepped aside.
Everyone’s faces came into view.
But the atmosphere was no longer loud and rowdy.
At some point, everyone had begun wearing faint smiles.
Among them, the most senior, Dr. Isaacson, lifted a sloshing bottle and said,
“To Dr. Choi’s reckless courage. Cheers.”
“Isaacson.”
“The moment we heard you rappelled from the helicopter, we all had a feeling it would turn out like this.”
Everyone agreed with Dr. Isaacson.
“That’s right.”
“We thought Dr. Choi would do that.”
“That is exactly… samba.”
Dr. Quentin added an absurd interjection.
It seemed they really had expected it.
At that moment, Taesu looked at Jeong Minsu.
In truth, he was the person Taesu had been most worried about.
But Jeong Minsu, who met his gaze, shouted heartily.
“What’s there to life? Let’s do it.”
“Huh, what’s gotten into you?”
“I drank. Right now, I’ve got courage to spare.”
“You agreed. Just try saying later that you don’t remember because you sobered up.”
Even if Jeong Minsu had borrowed the power of alcohol, Taesu was pleased by the fact that he had given his clean approval.
And Kim Hyeokgwon, whom he had worried about most, said nothing in particular either.
It was the moment when all the heavy burdens in his heart were lifted.
At times like this?
Of course, it was only polite to drink.
Taesu charged toward everyone waiting for him and shouted.
“Let’s drink till we drop.”
“Waaah!”
Everyone shouted and cheered.
And the drinking party that followed continued deep into the night.
They did not forget to keep their voices down so as not to disturb the other lodgings nearby.
No matter how enjoyable the time, it was only proper to observe the minimum courtesy.
Such a restriction did nothing to hinder the drinking party.
It was filled with the joy of having cast off every worry and concern.
And so, Taesu spent a long, happy drinking session surrounded by warm acquaintances for the first time in a while.
But he did not anticipate that a time as painful as the joy had been would soon arrive.
The next day.
As soon as Taesu woke up, he went straight to James.
“Thank you for yesterday. And…”
He calmly explained what had happened with Colonel Clark.
“…That’s how it turned out.”
“In the end, Dr. Choi turned the board over. Then rest until the weekend.”
That was all James had to say in response.
Leaving the medical tent after that, Taesu looked around widely.
Among the many large medical tents, there was no place for him.
‘Soon.’
He pictured the day when he would improve his skills even further and be assigned a medical tent with confidence.
After that, Taesu and Jeong Minsu enjoyed a rest for the first time in a while.
They did not do anything in particular.
They only called home once each to ask how everyone was doing.
They also called Park Seongmin to thank him, saying the package he had sent then had been useful and appreciated.
As for anything else?
It was rest, in the truest sense.
Flop.
They became one with their beds and did not move an inch.
But one person was nowhere to be seen.
Having always moved as a group of three, Taesu felt his absence and asked,
“Where’s Hyeokgwon?”
“In India. He said he’d be back on the weekend.”
“He really is diligent. I’m just going to stay like this and do absolutely nothing.”
“Yeah. I’m already doing absolutely nothing, but I’m going to do absolutely nothing even more intensely.”
Lying side by side on their beds, all they said were silly jokes.
That time did not last even twenty-four hours.
The next afternoon.
The curtain of the ward tent opened.
Rustle.
Through the gap, Taesu and Jeong Minsu entered, wearing clean gowns.
Brad Kim approached and looked at them with an incredulous expression.
“I contacted you earlier. What took you so long?”
“Those rude bastards are really leaving today?”
“I told you they are. They said they wanted to see your faces and say goodbye.”
“Just how important are these people that we’re doing this?”
When Taesu asked in an absurd tone, Brad Kim spoke with a bitter expression.
“Do you think we’re doing this because they’re important?”
“Then why?”
“Their families must have pushed hard to bring them home by any means necessary.”
At that, Taesu asked with a sullen face,
“Do those guys know that?”
“They seemed excited to be going back.”
At Brad Kim’s ambiguous answer, Jeong Minsu pouted.
“They’re excited even in the middle of all this? What impressive people they are.”
“It’s the last time, so let’s smile. Only if we send them off smiling will we sleep comfortably.”
“Yes. For the sake of our mental health, I’ll smile. Hee.”
Jeong Minsu even made a sound as he smiled brightly.
In contrast, his eyes did not move at all.
It was a forced smile.
As though he found them ridiculous, Brad Kim simply pushed the two of them forward by the back.
Tap, tap.
“Go say goodbye. Hurry.”
“Understood. Stop pushing.”
Taesu and Jeong Minsu were pushed along by his hands and headed to their respective patients.
Soon, Taesu arrived at the sickbed.
Royce seemed to have recovered a great deal over the past two days; his complexion looked much better.
Awake, he smiled gently when he saw Taesu.
It seemed he had eaten his fill of crow meat.
Unexpectedly, he even greeted him first with an incredibly gentle smile and voice.
“Dr. Choi, I’m even happier to see that you’re looking much better.”
“Yes. I’m glad to see you looking a bit healthier, too.”
Taesu also greeted him with a face full of smiles.
No one would have imagined that he had been complaining just moments ago.
This was what social life was.
“Tsk.”
It was not that he was doing it willingly.
As time passed, he was simply growing more and more accustomed to situations like this.
People said this was how one became an adult.
He did not want to become that kind of adult, but before he knew it, hiding his true feelings had become natural.
Royce, who had been smiling back at him, first asked politely,
“I asked them to call you here. I hope it wasn’t unpleasant?”
“Rather than unpleasant, I was a little surprised.”
“When I thought about leaving, I wanted to see you once more, Dr. Choi, so I had them bring you here.”
“I’m very grateful that you thought of me.”
Swoop.
Taesu bowed his head lightly in a show of courtesy.
Then, as he lifted his head, Royce said with a soft smile,
“I will never forget that moment when I came right up to death’s door.”
“It would be a difficult moment to forget.”
“Of course. How could I possibly forget the first time in my life I got stabbed?”
“Haha.”
Taesu could only laugh awkwardly.
As expected, people did not change overnight.
How could he say something like that with a smile, right in front of the person involved?
That thought even crossed his mind.
Just then, Royce also laughed lightly.
“Hahaha… Ugh, it still hurts a bit in this lung when I laugh.”
“It isn’t an injury that will heal in just a few days.”
“When I saw your expression, Dr. Choi, I couldn’t hold back my laughter.”
At that, Taesu gave an awkward smile.
“What was my expression like for you to say that?”
“It looked as if you’d chewed a handful of bitter olives.”
“Did it?”
Taesu forced himself to respond.
Even so, Royce paid it no mind and said calmly,
“I was only bringing back yesterday’s memories.”
“I’m extremely grateful.”
“Well, honestly, I suppose I can say this because it’s me. We don’t live alone, so shouldn’t we broaden our hearts and live with understanding?”
“Those are good words.”
Taesu answered roughly, his face slightly stiff.
His patience was slowly reaching its limit.
But just then, Royce brought up something unexpected.
“I think I may want to see you again someday.”
“Me?”
“Of course. Though I get the feeling you don’t particularly want to see me, Dr. Choi.”
“Yes. I don’t particularly want to see you.”
Taesu no longer held back and spoke honestly.
If he endured this moment any longer, he felt he would end up deeply sick at heart.
Even at Taesu’s crooked response, Royce’s expression surprisingly remained smiling.
“It seems you don’t like the way I speak.”
“To tell the truth, yes.”
“That wasn’t my intention.”
“I don’t know about that. Why not just make an issue of it instead?”
Taesu was the first to bring up medical malpractice.
But Royce, unexpectedly, refused firmly.
“As someone who received help, I cannot do that.”
“No. Just do it.”
“That is absolutely out of the question.”
Royce only repeated the same words.