Taesu tilted his head at what was happening before his eyes.
“What’s all this, all of a sudden?”
“The wager’s been decided.”
“A wager?”
“We had differing opinions on how Dr. Choi would react.”
James kindly explained.
Taesu understood as soon as he heard it.
But it was a little absurd.
He had no intention of taking issue with friends making a small wager among themselves.
Nor did he feel hurt that he had been the subject of it.
But the circumstances under which Dr. Schmidt had lost the wager left him utterly bewildered.
“Dr. Schmidt, did you actually think I’d confront James over this?”
“Kh-hm.”
“Don’t avoid my eyes.”
When Taesu persistently pressed him, Dr. Schmidt answered with a sullen face.
“With Dr. Choi, that’s entirely possible.”
“Just what kind of image do I have in your eyes, Dr. Schmidt?”
“You do get prickly enough to crush even a medical doctor when things don’t go your way.”
At that, Taesu’s expression turned incredulous.
“Even so, how could I possibly do that to James…”
“I said there was no way you would, no matter how reckless and rough-tempered Dr. Choi may be.”
“Dr. Wallick, you’re the best.”
“Are you calling me that right now because you want me to get scolded?”
Dr. Wallick chided him while glancing at James.
No matter how renowned he was in internal medicine, in front of James, he wanted to remain nothing more than a junior.
Taesu sensed that atmosphere and quietly changed his form of address.
“It seems Dr. Wallick understands me better.”
“I think so, too. I heard you two were quite close, but it seems Dr. Schmidt was mistaken.”
“Yes. I’m strongly getting that impression as well.”
Taesu openly shot Dr. Schmidt a sideways glare.
As Dr. Schmidt found himself increasingly on the defensive, he appealed to James for help.
“Doctor, didn’t you have something to say?”
“I think this conversation is more interesting.”
“No, sir. Please go ahead first.”
Dr. Schmidt politely urged him, but his eyes were full of distress.
Their conversation had not been quiet, so everyone had heard it.
All the medical staff had their eyes wide open.
They were astonished that Taesu was speaking his mind among such formidable figures.
There was no one in the NGO who didn’t know he was acquainted with each of them.
Even so, their faces showed they had never expected him to act like that in such a public setting.
Everyone’s reaction felt far removed from the atmosphere at this table.
After the mood had been slightly refreshed,
James returned to the original topic and asked Taesu.
“You came rushing over like this because I stopped you from operating, didn’t you?”
“It wasn’t with that much force.”
“In any case, you’re dissatisfied, aren’t you?”
“To be honest, I don’t feel great about it.”
Taesu answered, slightly softening his words.
Still, the meaning was clear enough, and James responded calmly.
“If your work is done, isn’t the next step to go into maintenance?”
“It’s not that I don’t understand what you mean, but there are still many patients.”
“By tomorrow evening at the latest, the first round of treatment will be complete.”
“See? There’s still a long way to go.”
Taesu subtly revealed his disappointment.
At the same time, James’s expression hardened completely.
“Are you going to make me say it twice?”
“…No, sir.”
Taesu bent his own stubbornness.
Raising his voice now would damage James’s dignity.
If it were just the two of them, perhaps, but he couldn’t raise his voice in front of so many people.
The same went for James.
As if he had no desire to publicly embarrass Taesu, he postponed the conversation.
“Let’s talk again later.”
“Understood.”
The conversation the two needed to have in depth was delayed for the moment.
Because the exchange had been brief and immediate, the atmosphere did not sink too heavily.
Perhaps because of that, Dr. Schmidt quietly stepped in.
Looking at Taesu, he asked something he had been curious about.
“I heard Dr. Choi handled most of the patients’ initial examinations. Is that true?”
“Yes. That’s correct.”
“They said that even before Dr. Yun arrived, a considerable number of patients had already received emergency treatment.”
When he asked in a roundabout way, Taesu answered honestly.
“Those people probably won’t even amount to one percent.”
“Relatively speaking, perhaps. But in absolute numbers, it’s not insignificant.”
“But just as many passed away.”
Taesu answered, his heavy gaze lowered to the table.
As if he knew about that as well, Dr. Schmidt offered comfort.
“I know your heart must be heavy. But at times like this, it’s right to look at the patients who did receive emergency treatment.”
“I agree with Dr. Schmidt. To put it very coldly, there are a significant number of patients who survived because the Helicopter Medical Team deployed first.”
Dr. Wallick added in a somewhat firm tone.
They may have been fond of Taesu, but they were not the sort to cover up medical mistakes.
For them to say this could be taken as nothing less than high praise.
Taesu knew that, but he could not listen with an easy heart.
“Thank you for saying that.”
“It won’t be easy to put your heart in order.”
“It’s a little like that.”
Taesu readily admitted it.
Just then, Dr. Wallick took something out of his gown pocket and placed it on the table.
Rustle.
They were memo papers, crumpled beyond recognition and covered with the grime of many hands.
Dr. Wallick pointed at them and asked.
“These are the notes from Dr. Choi’s initial examinations, aren’t they?”
“Name, age… Yes, that’s right.”
“What on earth did you say to the patients that they wouldn’t let go of these even if it killed them?”
At that, Taesu blinked.
“What do you mean?”
“When we asked to see them, they literally only showed them to us, then hid them again.”
“They did?”
“Even when we said we’d give them back after a quick look, they absolutely wouldn’t let go. Our people had quite a hard time because of that, so I’m asking.”
Dr. Wallick said it that way, but he seemed curious himself.
Taesu looked at the memo papers again.
They had become rags from how tightly they had been held.
There were also many notes hardened after soaking up sweat.
It was the result of advice Kim Hyeokgwon had given.
Taesu answered with a gentle smile.
“I think it was because of something Mr. Kim said, not me.”
“What did he say?”
“He told them it was their patient information, and that they should hold onto it tightly until they weren’t in pain anymore.”
Taesu spoke proudly.
Kim Hyeokgwon’s handling of the situation had been that proper.
If they had carelessly dropped the notes somewhere, the effort put into the initial examinations would have gone to waste.
It had been advice meant to prevent that.
It seemed the patients had believed those words and held onto them until the very end.
Taesu recalled that moment with a faint smile.
But Dr. Wallick was different.
His eyes flashed lightly, and he quickly picked up the radio.
“Dr. Gallion. It’s Wallick.”
— Yes, Doctor.
“The patients still holding their initial examination notes—take interpreters with you and check them again. They may be uncomfortable or in pain somewhere.”
— We’ll split up the personnel and make the rounds immediately.
Dr. Gallion answered like lightning.
Dr. Wallick set the radio down and said,
“Two or three out of every ten absolutely wouldn’t let go. I thought that was strange, and sure enough, there was a reason.”
“We should check our side again too.”
Click.
Dr. Schmidt picked up his radio again.
At that moment, James checked the time, stood up, and said,
“I’ll move first.”
“Yes. I’ll see you later.”
“Keep up the good work. And Dr. Choi.”
Swoosh.
James lightly jerked his chin.
Immediately understanding what he meant, Taesu stood up after him and gave a slight greeting to the remaining doctors.
“I’ll be going as well.”
“You might get seriously chewed out by the doctor.”
“I’m a bit worried that I might.”
“In any case, you worked hard. Go on.”
Dr. Wallick accepted his farewell.
Dr. Schmidt was contacting the surgical side over the radio, so he only waved a hand.
Taesu and James left the rest tent together.
Step, step.
The two of them were walking quietly.
In a low voice, James brought up the topic he had put off.
“You want to ask why I pushed you out of participating in the surgeries?”
“You said it was because of deployment preparations.”
“Do you accept that reasoning?”
“To be honest, I was upset earlier, but now I think I understand a little.”
Taesu answered unexpectedly obediently.
Perhaps finding that odd, James cast him a brief glance and asked,
“What sort of understanding did you reach?”
“I thought you might mean I should stay ready to fly out at any time.”
“That’s part of it. There’s another meaning too.”
When James left room for more, Taesu quickly seized on it.
“What meaning?”
“Harmony.”
“Harmony?”
“They need to have work to do as well.”
At that, Taesu nearly jumped.
“It’s not as if I can do everything. I’m not so ambitious that I want to operate to that extent.”
“That’s what Dr. Choi thinks. What if you broadened that thought a little?”
“You seem to be talking about another perspective… It could give the impression that I’m doing everything alone.”
Taesu thought from several angles and answered carefully.
As if that was the answer James wanted, he gave a weighty nod.
“Right. They would gradually grow anxious and uneasy.”
“Would they really?”
“A newly established medical team is performing quite well. How could they not pay attention?”
James sounded as if he were scolding him, but the praise was subtly there.
Taesu pretended not to notice and focused more on the point at hand.
“Would that produce a negative effect?”
“The pressure that they might have to learn rappelling themselves, and the burden of field medicine, would be added on as well.”
“What are you saying? Their skills are a hundred times better than mine.”
“Only in a situation this well-equipped.”
James answered bluntly.
Taesu could not deny that part either.
“Well, that’s true…”
“Even if there are many stones in a pocket, the sharp awl is what catches the eye first.”
“Kh-hm.”
Hearing such high praise only made Taesu embarrassed.
But without the slightest change in expression, James continued.
“I’m not saying Dr. Choi is exceptional. I’m saying that is how specialized the Helicopter Medical Team is.”
“Now that I’ve actually deployed like this, I understand what you told me before even better.”
“If Dr. Choi also takes part in regular surgeries, anyone would naturally become wary.”
“I see.”
Taesu felt the vague thoughts drifting through his head begin to settle into place.
James made it even clearer for him.
“You have to leave them a place to stand. That’s how everyone can be at ease.”
“After handing patients over, I should stay quiet.”
“Respecting the other person’s place like that is the beginning of achieving harmony.”
James gave the advice in a grave voice.
Those words filled Taesu’s mind.
“Respect the other person’s place.”
Looking back over the past through those words, Taesu gave a bitter smile.
“I think I acted like a thorn in everyone’s side back in Korea.”
“Did you?”
“I pushed aside seniors, pushed aside specialists… If you only look at the core of it, that’s what it comes down to.”
“Do you regret it?”
At James’s question, Taesu unexpectedly shook his head.
“No.”
“You reflect on it, but you don’t regret it.”
“If I regretted it, that would mean it would have been right to stand by and let those patients’ conditions worsen at the time.”
“That would be a problem.”
Because James knew Taesu’s past, he immediately agreed.
Taesu continued with a faint smile.
“Even when I return to Korea later, there’s no guarantee something like that won’t happen again.”
“I feel like you’d do the same thing.”
“Wouldn’t it be a little different?”
When Taesu slightly lifted the end of his sentence, James became curious as well.
“What different method do you mean?”
“I’ll have to find a way, each time, so no one’s feelings are hurt.”
“That won’t be so easy.”
At James’s advice, Taesu gave a bitter smile.
“Even if it’s difficult, I’ll have to find that path to achieve harmony.”
“An admirable conclusion.”
“I’ve found that in medicine, there aren’t many things that can be solved by one person charging around alone.”
At Taesu’s answer, James nodded.