"That's right. Maybe you'll come to think that your existence is at least somewhat needed in this world."
"I think I've felt that before."
"Yes. I imagine everyone here has felt it at least once."
At the end of James's gaze was Kim Hyeokgwon.
As expected, the words had been directed at him.
James had put into words the fact that Kim Hyeokgwon was changing.
Only then did Kim Hyeokgwon catch on.
He frowned slightly and grumbled.
"Hey, old man. Let's not overdo it."
"I'm talking about the existence of human beings right now. What's the problem?"
"How is that..."
"Was there perhaps some part of what I said that bothered you?"
James asked with an utterly calm expression.
Kim Hyeokgwon must have decided that saying more would only put him at a disadvantage, because he turned his gaze away altogether.
"Tch."
It was Kim Hyeokgwon's complete defeat.
Taesu and Jeong Minsu looked at James in surprise and gave him a thumbs-up.
'Awesome.'
'The absolute best.'
They only mouthed the words, afraid that saying them out loud might needlessly set off someone’s temper.
James lightly shifted the mood and urged them again.
"Shouldn't you all take a proper look at your coats?"
"Properly? Then..."
Srrrk.
Taesu spread out the neatly folded coat wide.
The white coat should have unfolded long.
But it was short, as though the middle had been cut clean off.
"It's unique."
His gaze toward the coat was filled with interest.
But Kim Hyeokgwon, as if seeing his chance, immediately grumbled.
"How much does fabric even cost that they had to skimp on this?"
"It's more troublesome to alter a ready-made product like this."
When Taesu pointed it out logically, Kim Hyeokgwon objected sullenly.
"So they made it like this on purpose?"
"This way, it won't get in the way when rappelling."
"What kind of... Hm."
Kim Hyeokgwon started to say something, then stopped.
Unlike an ordinary coat, it had many pockets, and all of them had snap buttons.
It was clearly a design that emphasized convenience and mobility.
Meanwhile, Taesu was focusing on something else.
It was the NGO and PKO marks embroidered on both sides of the chest.
"Ah."
Taesu let out a small exclamation.
Jeong Minsu asked with a puzzled expression.
"Is it okay to have both of these on it?"
James answered that.
"It means you belong to the NGO and are under the protection of the PKO."
"Oh, yes."
"To put it more directly, if something happens to you, that entire area will be turned upside down."
"Hup."
Jeong Minsu was greatly startled.
It seemed he had never even considered that meaning.
James smiled gently and added an explanation.
"There will be many occasions when you have to fly into dangerous areas."
"Our very first dispatch was like that."
"Do you think we'd send you without at least that much preparation?"
"Thank you. Then this is..."
Slide.
With a curious expression, Jeong Minsu pointed at the letters embroidered under the NGO mark.
- H. M. T.
It was an abbreviation whose meaning was not easy to guess.
But Taesu seemed to know what it meant and spelled it out.
"Helicopter Medical Team."
"Huh?"
"The helicopter medical team. I think that's become our team's official name."
At Taesu's explanation, James nodded.
"That's right. A name is best when it's direct and its meaning is clear."
"Of course. It should be simple."
Holding the coat tightly, Taesu broke into a deep smile.
He had not paid much attention to the name from the beginning.
He was more moved by the fact that they were now an officially launched team.
Jeong Minsu and Kim Hyeokgwon felt the same way.
Then James spoke in a weighty voice.
"To be honest, this is the first time even for the NGO to have a medical team with only three members."
"It's shabby."
"And it's unprecedented for there not to be a single specialist among them."
"It's probably radical."
When Taesu answered, James immediately added.
"That means there are still many experimental elements to it."
"I suppose so."
They were all things everyone had already guessed.
Even so, the fact that they had been approved as a team was clearly due in large part to James's influence.
Since James refrained from giving details, they had no intention of prying.
As everyone listened closely, James added.
"Prove your worth yourselves."
"We won't disappoint you."
"It's no use showing only your aspirations to me."
"We'll keep that in mind."
Taesu and Jeong Minsu answered not merely firmly, but desperately.
It was undoubtedly a team that emergency patients needed.
Behind that lay the meaning that it was also a team for their own sake.
After the two men's solemn replies rang out, James, looking satisfied, eased the stiff atmosphere.
"Now, now. Let's stop talking about that."
"Then may we relax a little?"
Dr. Izakson asked quickly, and James extended his hand in invitation.
"As much as you like."
"Thank you. I thought I was going to suffocate. By the way, Dr. Choi. Is learning to rappel difficult?"
Dr. Izakson quickly asked Taesu what he was curious about.
At that moment, Taesu and Jeong Minsu's faces turned pale, and they waved their hands.
Whoosh, whoosh.
"Ugh, absolutely not recommended."
"I'm afraid our relationship might grow distant."
At their excessively intense reaction, Dr. Izakson was taken aback instead.
"Is it that bad?"
"Don't even get me started. So..."
Taesu stepped forward and explained the detailed training process step by step.
The expressions of James's surgical team members, who had been listening indifferently at first, gradually became absurd.
"Why hand-to-hand combat?"
"They even said they did shooting."
"Was that team training, or did they enlist?"
It was training beyond imagination and a vicious schedule.
Just listening to it seemed to wear them out, and their questions gradually shifted in another direction.
"Ahem. What condition was the burn patient in?"
"At first, we didn't even know he existed..."
"Hm. To think the burns were that severe..."
"I combined the burn treatment methods and related cases I learned in Padum..."
Taesu mainly conversed with Dr. Ozma and Dr. Izakson.
Since it was a case of a severe burn patient, the surgery and anesthesiology-pain medicine departments naturally showed interest.
On the other hand, Dr. Jonathan and Dr. Maximilian were listening to Jeong Minsu.
Perhaps because it had been a long time since Jeong Minsu had explained the treatment he had performed, there was strength in his voice.
"A brick—not a chunk of rock, but a real brick—was stuck right here with a smack."
"Goodness."
"When I pulled it out, blood came gushing out."
"That's only natural."
"Ahem. So I had to hold out without Dr. Choi there..."
Setting his embarrassment subtly aside, Jeong Minsu explained exactly what emergency treatment he had performed.
However, it was not a time for Jeong Minsu to boast of his exploits.
It was a time to explain things as they were and seek advice on the parts where he had been lacking.
Dr. Jonathan and Dr. Maximilian also had considerable experience in field treatment, so they pointed things out one by one.
"In times like that, first..."
"This time, you were lucky. There are limits to simply holding out. So..."
The two doctors' explanations became more detailed than before.
That was because of the change in Jeong Minsu's attitude.
When he had been passive, he often hesitated.
Since the meaning and intent of the conversation had not been properly conveyed, communication could not flow smoothly.
Now he was speaking to the point, clearly and honestly.
Since it was easy for the listeners to understand, they could give feedback quickly as well.
The atmosphere among the doctors continued in such a warm and lively manner.
On the other hand, the air between Kim Hyeokgwon and the nurses was not so warm.
Nurse Catherine glared and scolded him.
"So what did you do, Mr. Kim?"
"I did well."
"What exactly?"
"Assisting. It ended well because I did well."
He answered, but his tone felt quite indifferent.
At the same time, he kept looking at the white coat again and again, and his hands never stopped fiddling with it.
It seemed he was thoroughly pleased with the white coat he had been given for the first time and the meaning behind it.
Because he was focused on that, his answers were halfhearted.
The more Kim Hyeokgwon's insincere replies continued, the colder Catherine and Nurse Lumiere's eyes became.
Then Nurse Lumiere called him with a venomous gaze.
"Mr. Kim."
"What is it now?"
"Shall we discuss, after so long, the role of nurses and the path we ought to pursue?"
At those words, Kim Hyeokgwon, who had been looking at the coat, froze.
In that instant, he sensed that the atmosphere was unusual.
Slip.
He quickly lowered the coat and faced them properly.
"Ahem. Where should I begin?"
"From beginning to end."
"I'll start right away. Yesterday morning, we..."
Kim Hyeokgwon continued a clear, orderly explanation, cutting it off by time period as though giving a briefing.
Physically, it was not frightening at all.
But in every other way, it was extremely terrifying.
Only someone who had experienced surround-sound nagging from both sides could understand.
If you could avoid it, avoiding it was the correct answer.
Kim Hyeokgwon threw all thoughts of annoyance far away.
In order to avoid that nagging, he shook out every detail and explained the entire process.
However, the nurses were not satisfied with simply listening.
Perhaps because the first button had been fastened wrong, their cold gazes and tones did not change.
"Mr. Kim. Is that how a nurse should act?"
"What are you..."
"In that situation, you should first go beside the doctor and..."
"I told you I'm not a nurse in the first place, and here you go again."
At the continued criticism, Kim Hyeokgwon finally snapped back sharply.
At that moment, the eyes of Nurse Catherine and Nurse Lumiere gleamed equally sharp.
"What did you say?"
"I said I'll listen diligently. Hurry up and tell me."
Kim Hyeokgwon had no choice but to quickly lower his tail and listen again.
If he kept his neck stiff for no reason, it might end up getting broken.
Meanwhile, James looked around the noisy room with a pleased smile.
'This is what it means to live among people.'
Just because they were medical personnel did not mean life consisted entirely of fighting desperately against death with patients every day, every moment.
At times, moments like this, conversing in an easygoing manner, were also part of life.
No matter what one did, one had to take a breather to gain more strength.
As James watched everyone happily mingle, he briefly pictured himself from long ago.
In that past, Caprene was always there with him.
At moments like this, he missed him all the more.
'If anything, we were even worse, weren't we?'
He asked quietly in his heart.
No answer came.
He did not mind.
He was satisfied simply reminiscing about those moments from his youth when they fiercely exchanged opinions and clashed with each other.
A few days later.
Thudududu.
High above Kashmir, a white helicopter was flying.
The PKO mark was emblazoned on it, and beside it, the NGO mark was drawn side by side.
As those distinctive features indicated, it was a medium-sized helicopter assigned to the Helicopter Medical Team.
Now, flying north, was their second dispatch.
Tadadada.
Soon, Captain Austin's voice came through inside their helmets.
- I'll give the briefing. Our current destination is the border area between Jammu and Azid.
"Yes. The border area."
- A large-scale urban battle took place in a city called Malnoi, and the Indian army is said to have won an hour ago.
"An urban battle?"
Not only Taesu, but Jeong Minsu and Kim Hyeokgwon's expressions all stiffened at once.