The two of them carefully observed Kim Hyeokgwon’s rappelling posture and calmly evaluated it.
“It certainly doesn’t look useful for dropping from the air to the ground.”
“Instead, being inserted directly into a specific location in a building would be a considerable advantage.”
“Mr. Kim has gotten a bit more agile, too.”
“He feels sturdier.”
Once the evaluation was over, Kim Hyeokgwon added a word of his own.
“At this level, how about considering a bonus for me?”
Everyone smiled at Kim Hyeokgwon’s ever-unchanging way of speaking.
Next was Taesu’s turn.
Squad Leader Sam pointed as he explained again.
“Doctor Choi is using a method called inverted rappelling.”
“A way of coming down upside down?”
“Yes. Even maintaining the posture is extremely difficult.”
Squad Leader Sam was relieved to have finished the explanation safely.
At that moment, James smiled faintly as he looked at Taesu hanging upside down.
“The blood’s rushed to his face.”
“He looks terribly excited.”
“Haha. It suits Doctor Choi’s little troublemaker side perfectly.”
James even teased him with a hearty laugh.
At that, Taesu’s smile instantly turned into a pout.
“Ugh. This is really hard, you know. Couldn’t you at least praise me a little?”
“Hurry up and come down.”
“That… ugh. The blood’s rushing to my head. I’ll see you soon.”
Zzzzip.
Taesu increased his speed slightly and descended first.
Because he had been pointed out last, he had been hanging at low speed for so long that it had worn him out.
Jeong Minsu and Kim Hyeokgwon had also descended at some point and were no longer visible.
When the demonstration ended, James looked at Squad Leader Sam and asked politely,
“Sam, in what situations would inverted rappelling be needed?”
“We judged that it could be used when rescuing an injured person from a confined space or providing emergency treatment.”
“Hmm. That would be a considerable advantage. But is only Doctor Choi capable of it?”
James asked the key question.
At the same time, pride appeared on Squad Leader Sam’s face.
“All of them can do it.”
“Was the reason their postures differed to show us?”
“That’s correct. We trained them so they could also perform all other postures.”
Squad Leader Sam’s voice was full of discipline.
It likely meant he was that confident.
As if he wanted more details, James continued asking questions.
“Can other doctors do it as well…”
“As far as I know, only they have received specialized training…”
“Then the landing time…”
“It varies depending on the helicopter’s altitude…”
Squad Leader Sam reported exactly as he had thoroughly prepared.
Seeing James’s satisfied expression, Colonel Clark squared his shoulders broadly.
A short while later.
Taesu, Jeong Minsu, and Kim Hyeokgwon could be seen coming up through the stairs.
Tap, tap, tap.
They were still in military uniforms.
Taesu waved his hand vigorously in delight and called out loudly.
“James, Colonel.”
And just as they were all approaching together,
Instructors appeared from between the pillars.
Without saying a word, they abruptly rushed at the three of them.
“Hah!”
“Hyup!”
Whoosh, whoosh.
At their swift movements, Taesu and the other two were slightly flustered.
“What the hell?”
“Why?”
Tap, tap, tap.
Despite their bewildered expressions, they blocked the hands and feet of the instructors rushing in.
A brief exchange of attacks and defenses passed between them.
It was not merely a greeting.
The movements were far too intense and aggressive.
Seeing that, James’s brow furrowed.
“Sam, what is going on?”
“My squad members and I prepared a surprise event.”
“Hmm. It seems like an excessively rough event.”
“Since this is a mock drill anyway, I wanted to show you all of their results.”
Squad Leader Sam carefully explained the purpose.
With his experience, James immediately caught on.
“It seems you didn’t only train them in rappelling.”
“I’ll explain that in more detail. So…”
Colonel Clark began explaining to James, one by one, what additional training had been conducted.
Meanwhile, Taesu and the other two were still facing off against the instructors.
The instructors did not seem inclined to let them pass quietly.
Because they had trained under many assumed scenarios, they soon got the gist.
Taesu spoke first with a bitter expression.
“With this kind of atmosphere, it looks like we’ll have to go at it properly.”
“Is this a graduation exam or something?”
“A simple, brutish event. How very soldier-like.”
Just as Jeong Minsu and Kim Hyeokgwon smiled wryly,
Squad Leader Sam shouted loudly from over there.
“The doctor and the colonel here are in danger.”
At that, Taesu immediately shouted back with a retort.
“They don’t look in danger at all.”
“Shall I take out a gun?”
“We’ll break through on our own.”
“I wish you a good fight.”
Squad Leader Sam cheered in a loud voice.
Taesu found it absurd.
“He’s the one who set this up, and now he says he hopes we do well.”
“Sam and our instructors must need to show their results too if they want something out of it.”
“Hey, instructors. If the prize is decent, buy us a drink.”
Kim Hyeokgwon winked with a relaxed smile.
On the other hand, the instructors’ expressions remained rigid.
“……”
They only radiated a fierce and hardened aura, as though they had stepped onto a battlefield.
If they backed down obediently, the event would end quickly, but their pride as soldiers would plummet to the ground.
They gave off an air that said they would never allow that.
Meanwhile, after hearing Colonel Clark’s full explanation, James nodded broadly.
“If they’ve received that sort of training, there should be no worries even at a dispatch scene.”
“You kept ignoring our warnings, so we used a shortcut.”
“I am grateful for your concern. But…”
Just as James was about to say something,
Tiriring.
A phone rang from his pocket.
But not only James’s phone—Colonel Clark’s phone rang at the same time.
Ring.
The atmosphere around James and Colonel Clark immediately sank.
They both took out their phones and began their respective calls at the same time.
Taesu, the other two, and the instructors all heard it.
Since they were just about to clash, Taesu called out in a low voice.
“Freeze.”
“……”
A total of six people on both sides stopped moving at once.
In particular, it was astonishing that Jeong Minsu maintained his balance in that state while about to throw a kick.
But they seemed used to it and paid no attention to each other.
Instead, they remained frozen and looked over there.
“Calls came in from both sides at the same time?”
“That’s not easy to happen.”
The same疑惑 as Taesu’s appeared on Jeong Minsu’s face.
At that moment, Kim Hyeokgwon narrowed his brow slightly and said,
“In most cases, this kind of thing means an emergency.”
“Does it make sense for contact to come exactly at this moment, timed like this?”
“That’s how it’s been until now.”
“Still, surely not.”
Taesu waved his hand and strongly denied it.
But then James hurriedly lowered his phone and shouted,
“Doctor Choi, prepare for dispatch.”
Right beside him, Colonel Clark’s voice followed as he spoke to someone else on the phone.
“This is Colonel Clark. Secure an emergency transport helicopter right now and send it to the training ground.”
Hearing that, Kim Hyeokgwon glanced at Taesu and said,
“See? It’s an emergency.”
“Why now?”
“That’s been our pattern so far. Just as something is about to wrap up, a situation breaks out.”
“You don’t think it’s a coincidence?”
“In my opinion, it may keep repeating from now on. Continuously.”
Kim Hyeokgwon openly made a prediction filled with certainty.
At that moment, unexpectedly, Jeong Minsu was the first to raise his voice.
“This isn’t the time to stand around. We need to prepare first.”
“We don’t know the situation.”
“You go and listen.”
“Got it.”
Tap.
Taesu immediately ran toward James.
Meanwhile, Jeong Minsu asked Sergeant Ryan,
“Ryan, can you arrange a vehicle?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Then let’s go to the NGO lodging first. Bringing the dispatch bags is our priority.”
Jeong Minsu made the request in his own systematic way.
What was surprising was that there was not the slightest hesitation in him.
Proactive?
No, it felt more like he was charging forward.
His personality had changed that much from before.
If there was a problem, it was that when he hurried, his field of vision narrowed.
Kim Hyeokgwon controlled that part well from the middle.
“If we’re going all the way to the lodging, the military hospital is closer.”
“That’s true.”
“Let’s borrow what we need from there first.”
“Let’s go raid the military hospital right away.”
Jeong Minsu acknowledged it immediately and adapted at once to the changed plan.
His once-negative personality had also become considerably more positive.
Taesu was heading toward James.
He paid no attention to whatever conversation was taking place behind him.
Jeong Minsu, Kim Hyeokgwon.
They had endured harsh training together.
The trust built that way had a bond different from that of medicine.
That was why he could say it proudly to anyone.
—We are a team.
It meant they could entrust their backs to one another.
He had to quickly find out where their first dispatch scene would be.
Tap, tap.
Taesu soon arrived in front of them.
Before he could ask, James spoke first.
“They say a bus terror attack occurred.”
“A terror attack?”
“Specifically…”
Tiriring.
When the phone rang again, James’s voice stopped. After glancing at the caller, James’s expression turned slightly troubled.
As if he had seen that, Colonel Clark intervened with a respectful attitude.
“I will explain.”
“Please do.”
Accepting the favor, James placed the phone to his ear and stepped away.
“Doctor Schmidt, it’s me…”
His voice grew increasingly faint, and Taesu could no longer hear the rest.
If the call was from Doctor Schmidt, he could guess it concerned the composition of the dispatched personnel.
In the meantime, Colonel Clark’s briefing on the incident began.
“It is a terror incident that occurred in Mohar, a small to mid-sized city fifty kilometers south of here.”
“Mohar. That’s about ten minutes by helicopter.”
“That’s correct. And a foreign tourist tour vehicle was hit.”
“You mean they targeted tourists?”
Taesu’s expression crumpled at once.
Tourists were outsiders with no connection whatsoever to the circumstances here.
Colonel Clark’s atmosphere was as cold as Taesu’s.
“We do not yet know for certain whether they were targeted.”
“If only that bus was hit, isn’t that highly likely?”
“We are also giving weight to that possibility.”
Colonel Clark’s gaze had sunk deeply.
Taesu noticed the reason and spoke first.
“Are you saying the thing you were worried about has happened?”
“This may not end here. There is also the possibility of secondary damage.”
“That is ultimately a matter of probability, isn’t it?”
When Taesu sharply pointed that out, Colonel Clark hesitated.
“That is true, but…”
“We’re not children.”
“Are you saying we should think about the practical issues first?”
“That’s why we endured that brutal training.”
Taesu spoke firmly.
Colonel Clark soon nodded.
“Yes. It is time to see the results with our own eyes.”
“We’ll show you clearly.”
“May I take that to mean I can look forward to it?”
“Of course. We trained with the resolve that we might never return.”
Taesu smiled lightly.