It was a method he had utilized in yesterday’s emergency surgery as well, so it would have been strange if he hadn’t known.
Gim Hyeokgwon showed the same reaction.
“It probably is the faster method.”
“They’re probably estimating a maximum of three hours.”
“So we just match their standard?”
“Yes. We’ll switch from the pancreas to temporary closure and move straight to transversostomy.”
Jeong Min-su quickly took control of the situation.
Gim Hyeokgwon glanced at him.
“You said the pancreas rupture time was long, so the prognosis wasn’t good.”
“If we delay any longer here, the amount we’ll have to resect will only increase.”
“That would be bad.”
“Exactly. We’ll wrap this up as briefly as possible.”
The moment Jeong Min-su declared that with resolve, Gim Hyeokgwon’s expression shifted subtly.
“You sound like Doctor Choe.”
“I was bewildered because I realized I had the same thought while saying it.”
“What can you do? Same for me. We’re always attached at the hip, so we can’t help but resemble each other.”
“Hey, shouldn’t we finish faster than that guy who’s working alone?”
Jeong Min-su displayed fierce motivation.
Gim Hyeokgwon seemed to share that sentiment.
His hands moved first.
“Now!”
“Good. Me too—hya!”
“Then let’s g—... No, start!”
Gim Hyeokgwon forcibly bit back the phrase “let’s go” that had nearly slipped out.
Because it was what Taesu said every time he started an engine.
He tried to act as differently as possible, yet finding similarities was still quicker.
Ten minutes, and then another ten minutes.
Time gradually passed.
Taesu, along with Jeong Min-su and Gim Hyeokgwon.
Both sides moved their hands without a moment to look away.
Sergeant Ryan and Private Rachel assisted respectively, backing them up.
Rat-tat-tat. Boom!
The sounds of gunfire and explosions continued.
They waxed and waned repeatedly.
But inside this room, no one paid them any mind.
They had entrusted everything to the PKO soldiers maintaining an ironclad perimeter outside.
It was that trust which allowed the emergency surgery to continue.
They were carrying the surgery a little further.
Suddenly, Taesu’s expression turned troubled.
“Damn.”
“What’s wrong?”
When Sergeant Ryan asked, Taesu replied with his eyebrows raised high.
“There’s an important nerve severed here.”
“Then what happens?”
“As I see it now, it’s difficult to predict. I have to see the response.”
“Mm. Gibson!”
Sergeant Ryan called for Sergeant Gibson, who was guarding the entrance.
Tap-tap-tap.
Perhaps sensing something was off, he quickly came over.
Sergeant Ryan swiftly relayed what Taesu had said.
Sergeant Gibson’s expression turned rigid.
“Doctor Choe, isn’t there anything we can do?”
“If there is a way, it’s to evacuate to Malnoi as quickly as possible. There’s a very experienced neurosurgeon there.”
Taesu thought of Doctor Quentin.
There were more famous and skilled neurosurgery specialists with the NGO.
Moving that far was difficult, but with Doctor Quentin’s skill, the odds of reconnecting the nerve were high.
Sergeant Gibson’s eyes darted about before he asked Taesu,
“How much time would you need?”
“One minute.”
“Excuse me? That’s...”
Sergeant Gibson was flustered, but Taesu continued without batting an eye.
“If you’re asking how much time is needed, my answer is the same.”
“Then...”
“To avoid the worst-case scenario, it’s best to arrive within an hour. They probably don’t have much leeway either.”
Taesu spoke with heavy gravity.
That was the only leeway Taesu had assessed at this moment.
Jeong Min-su and Gim Hyeokgwon seemed to be in an even graver situation.
There had been no complaints until now.
That meant it was a situation requiring total focus on their patients.
They were far apart, but they could tell that much without even looking.
That was why he had said one hour.
He couldn’t help it even if his tone came across as coercive.
Sergeant Ryan, who knew Taesu well, stepped up to mediate.
But being on Taesu’s side, he pressed Sergeant Gibson.
“What are you doing? Contact them quickly and ask when they’ll arrive.”
“Okay.”
“It’s been almost thirty minutes since we arrived on the scene; does it make sense that they still aren’t here?”
“I said okay.”
Swish.
Sergeant Gibson picked up his radio and stepped away.
There seemed to be a dedicated channel used only between battalions.
Taesu’s expression grew truly grave.
“Nerves are especially difficult to handle in the field.”
It was an issue highlighted in various cases.
If enough time passed, it might become nothing serious.
That was for later; the problem was right now.
Short thoughts were running through his mind.
Swish.
Sergeant Gibson turned back from over there and raised his voice.
“The Battalion Commander’s message. He says he will definitely arrive within ten minutes.”
The moment those words ended.
Swish.
Taesu, Jeong Min-su, and Gim Hyeokgwon’s gazes met at once.
Taesu asked first.
“Can you do it?”
“Finishing up... It’ll be close, or a little late.”
“Same here. But factoring in travel time, we have to leave the moment they arrive.”
Taesu said, calculating even the arrival time at Malnoi.
Whether in agreement with that calculation, Jeong Min-su glanced around and said,
“I can do it if I stuff gauze in and close up.”
“Come over if you finish quickly.”
“The great Choe Taesu, going soft.”
“Stop talking nonsense and hurry. Please keep an eye on Hyeokgwon.”
Taesu cut his words short.
He really needed to save even the time spent talking.
With bridges connected here and there, securing them was necessary.
Fortunately, the needles that had dug into the blood vessels had been fixed in advance.
The other parts were the problem.
“Damn it all.”
Swish, swish.
Taesu quickly took out sutures and tied them around the overlapping parts of the bridges.
The crudely connected bridges had to be secured enough not to cause problems during movement.
Tying them with sutures alone was still unsatisfactory.
The next thing he thought of was a compression bandage.
While quickly removing the surgical instruments first, he asked Sergeant Ryan,
“How much time is left?”
“Roughly about eight minutes.”
“I’m really pressed for time every single time.”
Taesu complained of his urgent heart to Sergeant Ryan.
Sergeant Ryan smiled bitterly.
Rather than just watching, he cautiously asked,
“What can I do to help?”
“I’ll bend the knee. Hold the ankle, the ankle.”
“Understood.”
“Slowly, slowly.”
Rustle, rustle.
Taesu moved so slowly that it was absurd given how rushed he claimed to be.
He couldn’t afford to move recklessly just because he was in a hurry.
He was in the middle of moving carefully.
Twitch.
The knee moved slightly on its own.
It was when he wasn’t applying any force.
Had the nerve problem spread to the knee?
Taesu’s expression darkened.
Then, a voice came from beside him.
“How much... do I need to bend it more?”
“Aiden?”
“I can... do—... ugh. I can.”
Corporal Aiden strained until his face was flushed red.
Thanks to the administered morphine and even bupivacaine, most of the pain should have subsided. However, a weak muscle relaxant had also been administered.
Right now, Corporal Aiden was trying to move his half-relaxed muscles.
And that with a body exhausted to the point of dehydration.
Nevertheless, the fact that there was even slight movement in his knee was remarkable.
It must have been desperate tenacity he displayed for himself.
There was also consideration of wanting to be of even a little help to Taesu.
Taesu smiled faintly.
With that kind of tenacity, he would surely overcome the full-scale surgery that would begin at Malnoi.
Taesu liked situations where the patient fought against their symptoms.
When a patient showed effort, he wanted to help even more.
Now was exactly such a moment.
“Corporal Aiden. You can relax.”
“But still, ugh. Even if it’s just... just this...”
“It’s enough. If you keep straining, blood will rush and make it worse.”
“Oh. That can’t happen.”
Tap.
Corporal Aiden quickly relaxed his strength.
Taesu had anticipated that and waited, then caught the knee gently to minimize the impact.
“Stay just like that.”
“Yes. Understood.”
“Let’s finish this brilliantly. Ryan!”
When Taesu called, Sergeant Ryan too had his eyes brimming with focus.
And he snapped the compression bandage taut as he spoke.
Snap, snap.
“I’m ready.”
“From here!”
“Wrapping!”
Swish.
“Hand me that, and lift the muscle below here upward a bit!”
“Like this?”
“Hold it right there!”
Swish-swish-swish.
Taesu wrapped the calf frantically.
His hands were fast, yet meticulously precise.
The compression bandage, started from the middle of the wound, soon moved freely between knee and ankle.
Taesu’s bandaging skill was that outstanding.
A specialist?
It was beyond that.
If there were a medical field called “Bandaging,” he would have been acclaimed as an authority on par with James.
If you unrolled all the compression bandages he had used until now, there would be enough for a round trip to Korea and then some.
A short while later.
Thud-thud-thud.
Mixed footsteps rang out up to the second floor.
The battalion troops seemed to have arrived.
Those on the second floor hadn’t heard that sound.
They were still in the middle of finishing up.
It wasn’t long after.
Taesu and Sergeant Ryan lightly raised their hands and shouted,
“Done on this side!”
The moment those words ended, Jeong Min-su, Gim Hyeokgwon, and Private Rachel spoke simultaneously from beside them.
“Finished!”
“Phew!”
Only now did they catch their breaths.
It was then.
Clack. Clack.
The sound of someone coming up the stairs was heard, timed perfectly.
Jeong Min-su smiled as he wiped his hands.
“Is this us being amazing, or them being amazing?”
“Anyway, the timing worked out, so it’s fine.”
“Yeah. By the way, how many came... Huh?”
Jeong Min-su froze in his tracks.
Because Battalion Commander Valentino was entering the room first.
Behind him, soldiers carrying military stretchers poured in.
Swiftly.
Whether because it had been arranged in advance, they split toward Corporal Aiden and Private Black.
Some soldiers arrived right in front of Taesu.
Taesu stepped aside.
“Lower it. Prepare the fixation devices!”
“Everyone to your positions...”
Clack, clack-clack.
The soldiers busily moved and began loading Corporal Aiden onto the stretcher.
Battalion Commander Valentino approached Taesu, who was watching that.
His uniform was a mess, perhaps from frequent combat participation.
It gave him a much wilder feel.
“Doctor Choe, first of all, thank you for your hard work.”
“Not at all. Rather, I apologize for my disheveled appearance, as I didn’t know the Battalion Commander would come.”
“I came like this too for now. So, how is Aiden’s condition?”
Battalion Commander Valentino asked with a gaze that seemed ready to devour Taesu.
He was urging an answer with impatience.
Taesu told him exactly as it was.
“Corporal Aiden’s current condition is...”
“Mm. Mm.”
“...that kind of situation. And Private Black will be explained by Doctor Jeong.”
Taesu continued speaking.
Jeong Min-su, who had arrived at his side in the meantime, took the baton and said,
“Private Black suffered a severe shock...”
“Hmm.”
“...and we wrapped it up like that.”
Taesu and Jeong Min-su spent just over a minute explaining.
It was possible because they told the truth but condensed it briefly due to time constraints.
They also made it clear that they had delayed the deterioration of the wound, not performed definitive surgery.