Taesu called out in surprise.
"Sam, where did you get that?"
"It was there, so I brought it. Please wait a moment."
Squad Leader Sam answered briefly and moved quickly.
All at once.
He pulled a broad tent out of the cart.
Taesu’s eyebrows shot up when he saw it.
'A tent?'
Perhaps because it was a mid-sized city where tourists came and went, there were all sorts of things.
It was a stroke of luck.
As Taesu watched, Squad Leader Sam moved nimbly.
Rustle, rustle.
He spread the tent wide and, together with the local police, draped it over the cart on the opposite side.
In an instant, an improvised tent was complete.
From the call to its completion, it had literally taken the blink of an eye.
Though it was only covered by a single thin layer, the atmosphere inside the tent was entirely different.
The space was not large, which made it good for focusing on the patient.
Most of all, it effectively blocked the gazes from outside.
Squad Leader Sam suddenly stuck his head in and asked,
"Will this do?"
"Sam, thank you so, so much."
"If you need anything else, just tell me."
Snap.
Squad Leader Sam gave him a thumbs-up and even flashed a wink and a smile.
The sight of him was incredibly reassuring.
At that moment, a thought occurred to Taesu, and he asked worriedly,
"How is the bus fire coming along?"
"The firefighting facilities are a complete mess. The city infrastructure is barely in place, too."
"Will it take long?"
When Taesu asked again, Squad Leader Sam quickly rolled his eyes in thought and answered,
"They’ve gone to fetch water, so it should be put out soon."
"If you have time, could you look for any other patients as well?"
"I’ll do that first."
"Thank you, really."
Taesu said it with sincerity, the corners of his eyes drooping.
At that moment, Squad Leader Sam lifted his head stiffly and shifted into an instructor’s tone.
"Trainee Choi does not say such things to this instructor."
"I graduated today."
"Once a trainee, always a trainee. This instructor takes responsibility for his trainees to the end."
"Thank you, sir."
Snap.
Taesu gave him a sloppy salute.
Squad Leader Sam smiled broadly again and said,
"Then I’ll contact you by radio."
Whoosh.
The moment he finished speaking, he swiftly disappeared.
At that moment, the air inside the tent changed.
Gratitude could come later.
Right now, beginning emergency treatment came first.
With their line of sight blocked off, they now had an environment where they could focus more fully on the patient.
For the moment, it was the best space they could ask for.
They had not wasted the time until now.
After administering the medication, time was needed for the drug to take effect.
During that interval, this space had been completed.
Taesu checked the time on his wristwatch and said,
"Five more minutes."
"Isn’t that too long?"
Squeeze, squeeze.
Jeong Minsu, who was gripping and squeezing the blood transfusion pack and glucose solution respectively, asked with a frown.
At that moment, Taesu lightly pinched the patient’s arm.
Press.
It was a rough way to check how far the muscle relaxant had spread.
The muscles were still pushing back strongly.
Taesu rolled his eyes, estimated the timing, and answered,
"At least four minutes. We can’t do it any faster."
"Fine. Then we should push in more blood during that time."
Squeeze, squeeze.
Jeong Minsu firmly clenched the IV fluid and blood transfusion pack he held in each hand.
His expression was quite stiff.
Part of it was because the vital signs were poor.
But the condition of the wound was the bigger problem.
A brick was lodged in the patient’s side, close to the abdomen.
From the bleeding, patches here and there had turned dark red as if they had been painted.
The problem now was that they could not tell what shape the brick had taken as it penetrated the body.
So they could not even guess what organs it was affecting.
What was certain was that it was near the spleen.
Taesu was looking at the wound and making his assessment.
When Taesu stayed still, Kim Hyeokgwon glanced at him and said,
"Let’s think while disinfecting, at least."
"Pardon?"
"I’m telling you not to get frantic later and start making a mess with your bare hands again."
At Kim Hyeokgwon’s jab, Taesu showed him his wristwatch and answered,
"I’m timing it."
"Then at least put this beside you."
Thud.
Kim Hyeokgwon held out a tray.
It was full of surgical instruments submerged in disinfectant.
Surgical tools could be seen through the reddish-brown liquid as it sloshed and rippled.
They were outdoors.
They had put up a tent, but it could not block dust.
Since they could not protect the surgical instruments from dust, they had left them soaking in disinfectant.
It was a makeshift measure they had learned while being wary of sepsis.
After looking over those surgical instruments, Taesu’s expression darkened slightly.
"There isn’t much variety."
"I guess the military hospital doesn’t invest much in the emergency room."
"Maybe it’s because there’s an NGO next door."
"What a damn useless military hospital."
Kim Hyeokgwon’s criticism grew sharper.
He seemed irritated that the types of surgical instruments they had caused such a commotion to bring were limited.
Taesu did not join in and responded calmly.
"A PKO military hospital is absolutely necessary."
"Why?"
"Because there aren’t any doctors who will follow them all the way to the battlefield."
Even after Taesu’s answer, Kim Hyeokgwon’s expression remained sullen.
"If they pay enough, everyone will follow."
"Let’s look into that another time."
"Is it time?"
"Yes. Time to disinfect."
Taesu was gripping alcohol-soaked cotton in both hands.
Kim Hyeokgwon absentmindedly held out an alcohol swab toward the IV side.
It was practically the original no-look pass.
But there was no hand to receive it.
"Huh? Where did Doctor Jeong go?"
Seeing the IV side empty, Kim Hyeokgwon asked with a puzzled expression.
Taesu had no idea either.
"Where did he go?"
"We should tie his feet down or something."
Perhaps because his nerves were already on edge, Kim Hyeokgwon reacted harshly.
Just then, Taesu looked outside the tent and immediately gestured.
Point.
"Minsu is over there. With Tyler and Fabian."
"Why did he go there now?"
"Hm? The mood looks pretty bad."
At the unusual feeling, Taesu’s expression hardened slightly.
At the same time.
Jeong Minsu’s gaze had sunk coldly.
The faces of Tyler and Fabian, who stood opposite him, were also filled with displeasure.
Jeong Minsu asked sharply,
"What did you just say?"
"I asked why you’re treating that thing before us."
"What?"
Flash.
A blue chill seemed to flicker in Jeong Minsu’s eyes.
The way he spoke, as if looking down on a person like an object, struck a nerve.
At that gaze, Fabian flared up even more.
"Look. We’re tourists. We were attacked by terrorists."
"I know."
"And knowing that, you’re saying that woman comes first?"
"She’s on the verge of life and death."
Jeong Minsu spoke firmly, his face bitter.
But Fabian’s expression was cold and frosty.
"Speaking frankly, who knows if that woman isn’t in league with those bastards?"
"What?"
"And even by common sense, we came here to spend money. We should be treated first."
Fabian put only his own claims and rights forward.
Staring straight at him, Jeong Minsu clenched his fist.
He looked ready to hit him in a surge of anger.
But he forced himself to endure it and said coldly,
"You people seem rather far removed from common sense."
"Look here."
"Excuse me."
Whoosh.
Jeong Minsu openly showed his displeasure and turned away coldly.
In his hand was another duffel bag.
It seemed he had received what Squad Leader Sam had prepared.
In that brief interval, Fabian had apparently protested that it was unfair.
Watching them, Taesu was smiling faintly.
"I thought he was just reckless, but his patience has grown too."
"Tell him to hurry up and come back."
Kim Hyeokgwon snapped gruffly.
But there was a faint note of pride in his voice.
Now the emergency treatment could begin.
Taesu had just finished with the alcohol swab and was about to disinfect his hands a second time with disinfectant.
Jeong Minsu, who had been approaching, suddenly stopped dead.
Taesu grumbled with an incredulous expression.
"What’s with him now?"
"Looks like he’s heading back to those guys."
"That punk, he should just let it slide."
"Huh? Uh… hm. Doctor Choi. Let’s move first."
Kim Hyeokgwon, who had been frowning, suddenly changed his reaction.
Taesu recalled his particular skill and asked,
"What did Fabian run his mouth about?"
"I said let’s not get worked up and start."
"We still have time."
Taesu even showed him his wristwatch.
There really was about a minute left.
Kim Hyeokgwon looked at it, dumbfounded.
"Damn it. How does so much happen in just five lousy minutes?"
This was not the only time something like this had happened.
In places where many patients appeared at once, for some strange reason, the noise never ceased.
Taesu also felt bitter.
"I don’t know whether people are inherently selfish, or whether situations make them selfish."
"Everyone is selfish."
"That’s true. The standards are just different. We’re selfish too."
Taesu found it even more absurd that he was realizing such a thing in this heart-pounding moment.
Meanwhile.
Jeong Minsu, who had turned around, approached the patients again.
Even his expression had vanished.
"I think I may have misheard something."
"Ha. You heard that too?"
"Apologize."
"Ptooey."
Instead of answering, Fabian openly spat.
Though it did not hit Jeong Minsu, the meaning was painfully clear.
He clearly had no damn manners.
He was worse than the bastards they had saved on the snowy mountain.
Snap.
Jeong Minsu’s patience finally broke.
He lowered his posture and met Fabian’s eyes.
Fabian spread an even more sneering smile and challenged him.
"What, what are you going to do?"
"Apologize."
"Get lost."
"Just apologize while I’m giving you the chance."
With superhuman patience, Jeong Minsu barely managed to give him an opportunity.
But Fabian punted it away with all his might.
He added more provocation with a tone laced with mockery and ridicule.
"Heh heh. Seeing you get worked up, I guess it really is true?"
"Last warning. Shut your mouth."
"What a joke. Who the hell are you to tell me what I can say as I please—"
It was the moment Fabian was sneering.
Jeong Minsu’s hand, which had been glaring coldly at him, suddenly moved like lightning.
That hand went precisely for Fabian’s neck.
Thwack.
"…Kgh."
Fabian let out a short cry, his eyes rolling back.
Slide. Thud.
The unconscious Fabian eventually collapsed to the side.
It was one clean blow.
The moment his friend fell, Tyler cried out in shock.
"Ah!"
"His leg must hurt a lot."
"What?"
"I said, it must hurt a lot."
Jeong Minsu repeated in a cold voice.