Kim Hyeokgwon did not believe those words.
“Doctor Choi can’t operate?”
“I can’t even lay a hand on him.”
“So up until now, you’ve only been doing the surgeries and treatments you could do?”
Kim Hyeokgwon’s question was openly provocative.
It seemed the irritation he had been bottling up through this hopeless conversation had finally burst.
It was the same for Taesu.
“Do you think saying this makes me feel any better?”
“At least you showed the will to try.”
“The problem is that I can’t even show that will.”
“Why not?”
“How am I supposed to get him out of there?”
Taesu asked coldly.
That was the most decisive problem.
Even if everything else was prepared, there was no way to extract him without causing shock.
Kim Hyeokgwon acknowledged that he had pushed too hard.
“I’m sorry.”
“No. Why should we be the ones apologizing for this?”
“It’s because I brought up something pointless.”
“We both wanted to imagine it, even if only in our heads.”
Taesu spoke bitterly.
That was why the two of them had entertained such an absurd assumption at this moment.
It had been a futile conversation, but that was how much lingering attachment still remained.
“Damn it.”
“Hoo!”
Each of them let out a bitter breath and turned their gaze far into the distance.
It was then.
Suddenly, both men’s eyes turned cold.
At the end of their gazes, the Indian Army’s flag fluttered high in the air.
“Those sons of bitches.”
“Bastards I’d chew to pieces.”
Curses slipped out of their mouths on their own.
The root cause of this tragic reality was none other than the Indian Army and the Pakistani Army.
And yet they had not even shown their noses.
They had created this horrific scene and were now acting as if it had nothing to do with them.
Grind.
Taesu and Kim Hyeokgwon gnashed their teeth.
Their war had continued for decades.
And the ones forced to sacrifice within it were ordinary people living day by day.
A short while later.
Apsalaman passed away.
Even after drawing his final breath, he could not escape the rubble.
Taesu pronounced Apsalaman dead.
“Time of death…”
Rustle.
Kim Hyeokgwon covered Apsalaman’s face with a white cloth.
Then, for the last time, Taesu and Kim Hyeokgwon bowed their heads side by side.
“…”
“…”
The two men could not easily raise their heads.
Apsalaman’s cries begging to be saved still rang vividly in their ears.
In the end, Apsalaman’s wife led the two of them away.
“@%#%$#.”
“She says he left everything behind lightly when he departed.”
“$#%#$%.”
“She also says thank you for letting him go without pain. She says not to worry about this side and to look after the others.”
Kim Hyeokgwon carefully relayed Apsalaman’s wife’s words.
But she herself did not meet their eyes.
She probably did not want to look at them.
Even so, they bowed deeply to her profile and turned away.
Taesu and Kim Hyeokgwon headed back toward the medical area.
Thud, thud.
Their steps could not be light.
It felt as if a lump of lead had settled in their chests, making them stiflingly heavy.
But they walked.
There were still patients waiting even now.
Many medical staff were continuing emergency treatment without rest.
Even if they had to hide their own feelings for a moment, they had to hurry back to the patients and their colleagues.
It was around the time the medical tent came into view in the distance.
Vehicles were stopped around it.
Military jeeps and military Dodges.
The vehicle Yun Juseong had arrived in had definitely been a white NGO vehicle.
Then another organization came to mind.
“Has the PKO arrived?”
“I hope it’s Sam’s group.”
“Wait. What are those uniforms?”
“What uniforms… Huh?”
Kim Hyeokgwon noticed the two officers standing in the distance a beat late.
Their uniforms, skin color, and so on were not unfamiliar.
They were definitely Indian soldiers.
Flash!
For an instant, a murderous glint flashed through Taesu’s eyes.
“How damn nice to see them.”
A chilling murmur hovered quietly at his lips.
Kim Hyeokgwon, standing right beside him, heard it.
In that instant, his blood ran cold.
A red emergency light flashed in his head.
‘Waaah!’
Even the sound of a siren seemed to ring as an auditory hallucination.
There was a reason he reacted like this.
Taesu’s expression had vanished.
Through many experiences, Kim Hyeokgwon knew it for certain.
It was then.
Thud!
The sound of Taesu’s steps changed roughly.
His reaction was faster than expected.
Noticing it, Kim Hyeokgwon reflexively grabbed Taesu by the shoulder.
“Doctor Choi, stop.”
“Let go.”
“You’re going to beat them to death.”
“They walked in here to die. I can’t send them out nicely.”
Taesu’s voice was icy.
Kim Hyeokgwon immediately took issue with that.
“You said you wouldn’t make any patients.”
“If I kill them, they’re not patients.”
“Come on, seriously. Let’s not make the situation complicated.”
“People died like that. Is there anything more complicated than that?”
Taesu asked coldly.
Kim Hyeokgwon naturally agreed with those words.
“Fine. I’m angry too. I hate those bastards too.”
“Then we should get them out of our sight.”
“That’s why I’m saying this. Give me a little time.”
“I’ll give it to you later.”
Taesu refused firmly.
It was the first time Kim Hyeokgwon had heard such a cold refusal.
He instinctively realized that this was the moment to use even his last resort.
Quickly pulling back on the shoulder he was holding, he said,
“Doctor Choi, let me ask you one favor.”
“You want me to let them off?”
“Do you think I’d waste a favor on something that wouldn’t work in a million years?”
“Then what?”
When Taesu showed interest, Kim Hyeokgwon got straight to the point.
“From here on, walk at your usual pace. Exactly the same as always. That’s my favor.”
“You’re going to send them away in the meantime?”
“You’ll acknowledge it if I get them gone before you arrive, right?”
Kim Hyeokgwon subtly persuaded him.
At that moment, Taesu set a condition.
“And if not, you’re saying I can do whatever I want?”
“Yes. I won’t stop you that far.”
“Fine. And I mean this sincerely—get those bastards out of here before I arrive.”
“I’m doing this shit because I sincerely intend to. If possible, count to three before you move, damn it!”
Tatadak!
Kim Hyeokgwon grumbled as he quickly ran ahead.
“Why the hell don’t those bastards know their lives are precious?”
Of all times, why did they have to show up now and make people busy?
As Kim Hyeokgwon ran over, he saw Yun Juseong standing face-to-face with the soldiers.
Both soldiers appeared to be officers.
And a squad’s worth of troops carrying personal firearms were spread out, providing security.
Kim Hyeokgwon had no interest in those firearms.
Closing the distance quickly, he shouted to Yun Juseong in Korean.
“Doctor Yun, hide those soldier bastards, quickly!”
“Hide them?”
“Send them away—no, huff, huff. Get out, now!”
Kim Hyeokgwon even waved his hands at the soldiers as he shouted.
Everyone looked as if they had no idea what Kim Hyeokgwon meant.
Meanwhile, Taesu was keeping his promise to Kim Hyeokgwon.
Step. Step.
He was neither leisurely nor hurried.
It was the exact pace at which he always walked.
And he did not stop.
He simply walked straight toward the Indian soldiers.
Kim Hyeokgwon had already arrived in front of Yun Juseong and the Indian soldiers.
Glance.
Seeing Taesu walking toward them, Kim Hyeokgwon grew even more frantic.
“Hey, you people, get out of here right now!”
“Get out? And who are you to say such a thing so carelessly?”
A middle-aged Indian soldier asked in heavy English.
At a glance, he gave off the air of someone of considerable rank.
Kim Hyeokgwon glared at him and immediately asked,
“Commander?”
“He is the deputy commander!”
Tap, tap!
The middle-aged deputy commander struck the ground with his baton and roared.
But to Kim Hyeokgwon, who was in a hurry, such intimidation did not even register.
“That’s none of my business. Anyway, you people are the problem.”
“What problem are you talking about?”
“Just get out quietly, and fast. You don’t have to thank me, so gather your boys and get out already!”
Kim Hyeokgwon pressed him harshly.
Then a young officer stepped in front of him.
Step.
“It’s been a while, but that temper of yours hasn’t changed.”
The Indian soldier, who seemed to be an adjutant, began in a tone suggesting they knew each other.
Kim Hyeokgwon tilted his head for a moment.
Then, soon remembering where he had seen him, he muttered lowly,
“That prick from Ijambak.”
“I didn’t know you remembered me that way.”
“If it’s you, then we can talk. Get out of here, quick. Doctor Choi’s lid has blown, so get out already!”
Kim Hyeokgwon urged him.
At that moment, the adjutant’s previously confident expression sank heavily.
“The hero of Ijambak is angry?”
“A man trapped under the rubble from a shell just died. Right in front of Doctor Choi.”
“An unfortunate matter, but can you say for certain we did it?”
The adjutant asked shamelessly.
Kim Hyeokgwon rebuked the adjutant for failing to grasp the core of the situation.
“Do you think Doctor Choi cares who fired it?”
“He’s not that sort of man.”
“And you damn bastard. You turn this place upside down and then have the nerve to come here?”
Kim Hyeokgwon growled as if he might grab the adjutant by the collar at any moment.
Then the deputy commander flew into a rage.
“Listening to you, it seems you are treating an officer of the great Indian Army with disrespect.”
“Why has this pig bastard been picking a fight since earlier?”
“Did you just call me a pig?”
The deputy commander’s eyes shot up to the heavens.
It might have been a frightening sight to the Indian soldiers.
But to Kim Hyeokgwon, it did not stir much emotion.
“A proud pig that can even talk, sure. But the situation isn’t good, so get out fast. I’m doing this to save your life.”
“Judging from your way of speaking, you must be lowborn.”
“There’s no rank on the road to the afterlife, so watch your mouth.”
Kim Hyeokgwon warned coldly.
But the deputy commander hid behind his rank and ignored Kim Hyeokgwon.
“There is no need to deal with a lowborn thing. More importantly, is that man over there the hero of Ijambak?”
“Yes, that’s right. However, perhaps you should step away for a moment and get some air.”
“Is there any reason I must do so?”
When the deputy commander asked with a sidelong glance, the adjutant answered carefully.
“As I reported to you before, he is an opponent you gain nothing by clashing with when his temper has flared.”
“Adjutant, do you think I would be pushed around by that mere young man?”
“That is not what I mean, but his actions are impossible to predict.”
“Surely I am capable of taking responsibility for my own body.”
The deputy commander put on an air of dignity and brushed aside the sincere, genuine advice.
The adjutant did not inflate his worries any further either.
A full squad had come with them to guard the deputy commander.
‘He heard the man had a bit of a name and immediately wanted to show his face.’
It seemed the deputy commander’s personal greed was not particularly welcome.
There was another reason the adjutant felt reassured.
Right now, neither the PKO nor the Pakistani Army was here.
There were only NGOs, so he judged that there would be no major problem as long as they avoided direct friction.
He did not even entertain the assumption that force might be used.
That was his tremendous miscalculation.
Kim Hyeokgwon had tried to push them away like that, but in the end, he failed.
Before anyone knew it, Taesu had arrived near them.