Thud.
The Deputy Commander greeted him with a serene smile.
"So you are the hero of Ijambak of whom I've only heard in rumors. I am the Deputy Commander…."
He was in the middle of introducing himself.
Taesu turned away and asked Yun Juseong instead.
"What is this?"
"Shouldn't you greet him?"
"Don't you know either, Mr. Yun?"
There was no inflection in Taesu's voice as he asked back.
Yun Juseong also had a gut feeling that something was off.
Meanwhile, the Deputy Commander's eyebrows quivered at being ignored.
"This insolent…."
"Deputy Commander."
"Adjutant, are you calling me now?"
It was a ferocious question.
It was pressure implying that the fault lay with Taesu.
In an army where rank was king, the adjutant's expression turned bitter.
If one looked only at the present moment, it was indeed Taesu's fault.
However, the more fundamental mistake lay with themselves for coming here.
The Deputy Commander was concerned only with saving his own face.
Rank was also absolute in the Indian Army.
The adjutant had no choice but to step in front of Taesu.
"Dr. Choe, long time no see."
"Who?"
"Ijambak. Does that ring a bell? Mr. Kim remembered me, at least."
At those words, Taesu soon recalled the memory.
The problem was that Taesu was in a very bad mood right now.
Good memories would be hazy at best; bad memories had no chance of being recalled fondly.
"Ah, the guy who threatened me with a gun and then pissed himself at the sight of an Apache."
"Hmm, not a particularly pleasant memory."
"Right now, I wish I hadn't seen you."
Taesu openly picked a fight with him.
It was an extremely honest and sincere sentiment.
The adjutant could no longer simply laugh off Taesu's continued provocations.
"I heard what happened, but it wasn't us."
"Did the Indian Army not fire a single shot?"
"I suppose not."
"I'll let it slide once since you're a familiar face. So take that pig and get lost right now."
Swish.
Taesu pointed at the Deputy Commander with a jerk of his chin.
The Deputy Commander was furious at his dignity and authority having fallen to the ground.
"Have you ever seen such crude, worthless bastards?"
"Pig. Shut your mouth."
"Nevertheless, I came here in person to request treatment for my soldiers with courtesy!"
Tremble!
The Deputy Commander shook his cheeks violently to display his anger.
But it was then.
Taesu's fist was already right before his nose.
"Treatment? This is medicine for you bastards."
Taesu spat out coldly and mercilessly drove his fist down into the Deputy Commander's face.
Thwack!
"Guh-urk!"
The Deputy Commander staggered back and fell flat on his rear.
Thud!
In that moment, everyone was shocked.
"Gasp!"
"Ack!"
"Huhk!"
It was an incident of assault on an Indian Army Deputy Commander.
This was beyond an issue; if the Indian Army found out, all hell would break loose.
Shock was the only normal reaction.
On the other hand, there were two people who were not surprised.
Gim Hyeokgwon and Jeong Minsu.
Gim Hyeokgwon pressed his forehead and sighed.
Smack.
"Ah, he went and did it after all."
"That guy is already swamped as it is; what's he going to do by turning them into patients?"
"Is that the problem?"
"Ah. We should get into trouble together. If he does it alone, what are we supposed to do… Is that it?"
Jeong Minsu glanced around, unsure of himself.
At that moment, Gim Hyeokgwon seemed to feel a throbbing in his head.
"Someone please find Dr. Jeong's common sense that ran away from home. It's been gone too long."
Yet even from Gim Hyeokgwon, no tension could be felt.
Meanwhile, the atmosphere around Taesu turned savage in an instant.
Clack-clack!
The security detail simultaneously chambered rounds and aimed their muzzles at Taesu.
The adjutant was no different.
Click!
He drew his pistol and aimed at Taesu, speaking grimly.
"Dr. Choe, this is going too far."
"You're pointing a gun at me again?"
"My direct superior was assaulted; I can't just stand idly by."
"Put that away before you regret it."
As Taesu spoke with a gesture of his hand, the adjutant sneered coldly.
"Do you think an Apache will fly in this time too?"
"Is it a taxi? Calling it every time."
Taesu retorted with a dumbfounded expression.
At that moment, the adjutant's eyes sank chillingly.
"I thought you were someone worthy of respect, but was I mistaken?"
"And here you are talking about respect like a joke."
"This can't be resolved with words. Dr. Choe, I am arresting you for assaulting the Deputy Commander."
The adjutant walked toward Taesu.
Some of the scattered security detail aimed at Taesu, while others aimed at the surroundings.
Only they had guns.
Perhaps for that reason, they seemed considerably relieved.
Meanwhile, the mood turned grave for Yun Juseong and Nurse Chu Gangik.
"Yun, what should we do?"
"We can't just watch him get dragged away."
"Rush in?"
"If being a bullet shield is your dream, you can achieve it today."
Yun Juseong spoke as if joking, but his face was full of tension.
And he racked his brains for a way out while keeping watch on their surroundings.
Neither of them could move easily, paying special attention to their rear.
Behind them were Nurse I Chorong and Nurse Hwang Jisu, who were quick-tempered.
Their eyes were already blazing with fire.
"Just try touching our Dr. Choi!"
"Do you think having guns makes you everything? How dare you point guns at an NGO!"
They looked ready to leap out at any moment.
Had Yun Juseong and Nurse Chu Gangik not been holding onto their clothes, they were the type to have done exactly that.
Unlike them, Jeong Minsu and Gim Hyeokgwon were in the middle of emergency treatment for a patient.
"Hey, some gauze over here."
"Here. What about the compression bandage?"
"I need it now."
Rustle, rustle.
As he wrapped the compression bandage, he showed no concern for the surrounding situation, let alone Taesu's safety.
Jo Uncheol approached to the point of chiding them.
"Dr. Jeong, now is not the time for this."
"Has it started?"
"Started what? He's about to be dragged away, and you're just going to watch?"
"We can move once it's started. You've come at just the right time. Please hold this."
At Jeong Minsu's laid-back request, Jo Uncheol felt like beating his chest in frustration.
He eventually asked Gim Hyeokgwon for help.
"Hyeokgwon-ssi."
"He told you to hold that."
"Don't you see what's happening to Dr. Choe right now?"
"Why is he dragging it out and giving them chances? He should just wrap it up quickly."
At Gim Hyeokgwon's annoyed reaction, Jo Uncheol was now dumbfounded.
"What?"
"Dr. Jeong told you to hold that."
"F-fine, I've got it."
"Why has someone who used to catch on so quickly become so dense?"
Gim Hyeokgwon was rather worried about Jo Uncheol.
At the same time.
The adjutant approached Taesu with his gun aimed.
Taesu stared at him and spoke.
"I didn't think you'd step up personally."
"Call it courtesy from someone who once respected you."
"I never asked for your respect, but anyway, tell that pig bastard to watch himself."
"Do you find this situation amusing? Are you an idiot who can't even fathom how big of a fallout this will cause?"
It was full of raw criticism.
Taesu spoke to him in a low voice.
"You're the idiot."
"What?"
"I'll put this gun to good use."
At the same time as those words, Taesu reached his hand toward the adjutant's gun.
Military officer pistols are invariably semi-automatic.
Taesu's hand gripped the slide.
The startled adjutant's fingers tensed.
Click.
He pulled the trigger, but the gun did not fire.
In that moment, the adjutant's eyes went wide.
"Why did the gun suddenly—?"
"Hand it over."
Shhk.
Gripping the slide, Taesu turned his body and dove into the adjutant's chest.
And he struck the abdomen with his elbow, then raised his fist and struck the nose in succession.
Crunch!
"Kuh, ack!"
The adjutant recoiled from the heavy, dizzying impact.
But it was then.
Clack.
Taesu aimed the muzzle at him.
Only then did the adjutant realize his gun had been snatched away, forgetting his pain in bewilderment.
"When did you…."
"This is much faster than calling an Apache, right?"
It happened at the same time as the question.
Swish.
Taesu moved the muzzle to the side.
At its end, the Deputy Commander, who still couldn't get up, was squarely targeted.
"If hitting him is a problem, then killing him should shut everyone up."
"Dr. Choe, stop this now."
"Is there still a mouth left to flap?"
When Taesu asked grimly, the adjutant was rather dumbfounded.
"Don't you see the squad armed with rifles?"
"Subtract two from that squad."
"What?"
"Over there… Ah, we should subtract three."
Taesu looked somewhere and corrected himself in that instant.
The adjutant's gaze followed.
Three squad members who had been gathered in one place were collapsed on the ground.
Jeong Minsu, Gim Hyeokgwon, and Jo Uncheol were holding their rifles.
Jeong Minsu glanced at the rifle and made a remark.
"Still using AKs?"
"Be quiet."
"I feel sorry for them since they're broke and their skills are a mess."
"That's why they swarm around like beggars making threats. What can you do when that's all they're good at?"
Gim Hyeokgwon pretended to stop Jeong Minsu while adding fuel to the fire with a blatant diss.
On the other hand, Jo Uncheol's face was extremely tense, and his muzzle was shaking uncontrollably.
Rattle, rattle.
"Wh-why is this in my hand. Why."
He voiced his grievance, but the water had already been spilled.
Taesu showed him that situation and spoke to the adjutant.
"I think it's about time the kids are set loose."
"Impressive, but we have superior firepower."
"Good for you. But that pig dies right here."
It happened at the same time Taesu spoke coldly.
Now free from pain, the Deputy Commander shouted, his face swollen, driven by spite.
"You don't even know how to shoot a gun! How dare you threaten me!"
At the same time as those words.
Taesu fired the gun at the Deputy Commander without emotion.
Bang, thump!
The ground where the bullet struck cratered deeply.
"Huuaaagh!"
The Deputy Commander was so startled by what happened right beside him that he couldn't even flinch.
The security detail was the same.
And the adjutant's face was also full of surprise.
"D-did he really shoot?"
"The zeroing is spot on."
"Dr. Choe, I can't tolerate this any further. Stopping here would be for the best."
"If all of you die here, who will know what happened?"
Flash!
Taesu spoke softly and looked at him indifferently.
That emotionless expression was even more horrifying.
The adjutant intuited in that moment.
He was certain that Taesu had received professional training.
Tension began to creep over his face.
Drip, drip.
Sweat beaded from tension and ran down his jaw.
In that instant, he resented the Deputy Commander.
The Deputy Commander, who had claimed he would take responsibility, couldn't even make a peep.
Taesu also judged that it was time to wrap things up.
Further delay would not be good for the patients.
But the surroundings were quiet.
Everyone was looking this way, cheering Taesu on.
To the Malnoi people now, the soldiers were the enemy.
It was only natural that Taesu, who dealt with that enemy so satisfyingly, looked good to them.