Just then, someone stepped up beside Nurse Casey. He thought it was Dr. Oliver, but he was completely wrong.
It was Dr. Schmidt.
Srrk.
He lowered himself and met Taesu’s eyes.
Dr. Schmidt’s expression was terrifyingly fierce and intense.
At that moment, Taesu remembered why he was lying here.
A grenade.
It seemed that burning sensation on his back hadn’t just been his imagination.
And Dr. Schmidt had opposed the dispatch until the very end.
When all those circumstances came together, it felt only natural that Dr. Schmidt was angry.
Damn it!
Perhaps Taesu’s eyes wavered, because Dr. Schmidt called to him in a heavy voice.
“Dr. Choi, you recognize me too, don’t you?”
“Uh, ugh. Ahh. All of a sudden, ugh……”
“Judging by that reaction, it seems you remember everything. Am I wrong?”
Dr. Schmidt asked sharply.
Taesu simply pretended to groan.
“Ah, ow. My head, my arms and legs, my whole body.”
“You’re Korean. If you speak in English, you’re basically telling me to hear you.”
At those words, Taesu stopped groaning at once.
Now that he thought about it, he was a pure Korean made of one hundred percent natural genes.
Feeling embarrassed, Taesu awkwardly explained why he had done it.
“……Ah. I kept hearing only English, so I spoke in English.”
“Then it’s safe to say you recognize me too.”
Dr. Schmidt’s gaze grew fierce again.
This time, Taesu groaned in Korean without making a mistake.
“Ah, ow, it hurts. I’m in pain.”
He tried to scheme his way out of it somehow.
But Dr. Schmidt’s sharp gaze did not soften.
“Casey, prepare an intramuscular injection. The most painful and potent one you have. I think we’ll need about ten shots.”
“I’ll get them ready right away.”
Nurse Casey played along.
Taesu naturally thought it was a joke, but it wasn’t.
Rip.
Beside him, she was really rustling around and preparing injections. The painful kind of intramuscular shot could make you suffer for hours.
If it was Dr. Schmidt, he might doggedly make sure Taesu received all ten shots.
Taesu realized this was not the time to keep holding out.
“Ahem. Dr. Schmidt, I’m so moved to see your face again……”
“You’d better stop while you’re still within reason.”
“……Hello.”
Taesu greeted him out of nowhere.
Even so, Dr. Schmidt’s expression remained stiff.
“Did you just ask me if I’m well right now?”
“Yes.”
“I’m well. But I don’t think you’re in any state to be asking after anyone’s well-being.”
“Was I unconscious for a long time?”
Taesu asked with his eyes wide.
At that, Dr. Schmidt’s face turned incredulous.
“Unconscious?”
“Yes. The grenade exploded behind me, and I lost consciousness.”
“You call that merely losing consciousness?”
A beast-like snort burst from Dr. Schmidt’s nose.
He looked as if he might really hit him.
Just then, a voice came from behind, stopping Dr. Schmidt.
“He’s only just woken up. Don’t push him too hard.”
“That…… Understood.”
Srrk.
After answering, Dr. Schmidt quietly moved aside.
Through the path he opened, two people walked in.
One was James, and the other was Colonel Clark.
Both of their expressions were grave.
James was the first to ask.
“How’s your condition?”
“Just so-so.”
“The pain-control anesthesia must be working well.”
At those words, Taesu’s eyes opened wide.
Pain-control anesthesia?
“Did I have surgery?”
“Dr. Choi, I have no excuse.”
“Colonel, why are you suddenly saying that?”
“Hah…… I’m sorry.”
He only repeated the same words.
In that instant, Squad Leader Sam and the squad members flashed through Taesu’s mind.
Seeing Colonel Clark’s reaction, he had a bad feeling.
There had been nothing they had done wrong in the accident that befell him.
Taesu quickly made that clear.
“Colonel. None of them did anything wrong. It wasn’t because I was careless either.”
“I heard all the circumstances from the squad leader.”
“Yes. So they did nothing wrong.”
“They shouldn’t have kept all-around security from so far away.”
The more Colonel Clark spoke, the angrier he seemed to become.
Taesu explained the reason.
“At the time, the patient’s mother patient—no, anyway, the adult patient’s voice was loud……”
“We received statements on that part as well. But one person should have stayed nearby.”
“Statements?”
Taesu was greatly flustered by the unfamiliar word.
Colonel Clark abruptly narrowed the scope of the conversation.
“We can discuss the details later.”
“You can’t change the subject like that.”
“For now, focus on recovering. Once again, as the person responsible for planning and carrying out all of this, I apologize.”
“Colonel, we were talking about Sam and the squad members.”
Taesu’s voice slowly sank.
In truth, he had felt embarrassed, and with everyone present, he had spoken a little lightly.
Now was not the time for that.
When Taesu’s voice changed, James stepped in.
“Dr. Choi, you need to rest a bit more.”
“James, first of all, I’m sorry to show you this side of me.”
“Hmm. Wasn’t this also something you had prepared yourself for?”
“I was prepared for it, but I never intended to return like this for real.”
When Taesu answered heavily, James nodded.
“I imagine so.”
“I truly apologize for that. But I must hear what happened to Sam and the squad members.”
“Was that an apology, or were you asking for understanding?”
“I’ll apologize a hundred, a thousand times. Right now, I want to hear about them first.”
Taesu calmly stated his opinion.
A faint smile appeared at the corner of James’s mouth.
“Seeing you answer back so neatly, your condition must be good.”
“It is.”
Taesu acknowledged what had to be acknowledged.
But his gaze was once again fixed on Colonel Clark.
As he looked at him with a heavy gaze, James advised Colonel Clark.
“If this goes on, he’ll cause a fuss about getting out of bed.”
“That would be troublesome.”
“I think it would be better to simply give him an answer.”
James suggested politely.
Only then did Colonel Clark open his mouth.
“They are currently on standby in the barracks.”
“You don’t mean they’re waiting for punishment, do you?”
“Ahem.”
When he answered with a cough instead, Taesu immediately protested.
“I never asked for punishment. I’m the person involved, and I’m saying I’m fine, so what’s the problem?”
“If this were only a matter concerning you, Dr. Choi, we could accept that. But it isn’t.”
“Don’t tell me Aiden and who was it…… Ah, Black and the wounded soldiers’ rescue was delayed?”
Taesu’s eyes shook violently.
First, he worried about the patients and felt pained for them.
And at the same time, another problem came to mind.
If he was lying here after being caught in a grenade blast, and the patients had not received emergency treatment either, the Helicopter Medical Team itself could disappear.
With worries exploding in every direction like fireworks, the corners of Taesu’s eyes drooped.
Seeing that, Colonel Clark shook his head.
“First, the wounded soldiers were rescued and received emergency surgery in time, and they are currently recovering at the PKO military hospital.”
“Then what’s the problem?”
“The people who should be here with you are not here.”
At those words, Taesu froze.
Jeong Minsu and Kim Hyeokgwon really were nowhere to be seen.
When those two were mentioned, the atmosphere settled heavily.
Taesu’s gaze trembled violently.
Pressing down all his anxiety, he tried to speak optimistically.
“You’re joking, right?”
“……”
“They’re behind you right now, aren’t they? Minsu, Hyeokgwon. This isn’t funny, so come out.”
“……”
No one answered.
Aside from the other medical staff, even James said nothing.
Taesu’s eyes shook even more violently.
“James, why aren’t you saying anything?”
“Ahem. The two of them, you see.”
“Ah, seriously, this joke has gone too far. You can just tell me straight.”
Taesu emptied his mind and dismissed it as nothing but a joke.
But James’s expression as he looked at Taesu was far too serious.
“Dr. Choi, listen carefully. The two of them……”
“Yes. The two of them?”
“They’ve been hospitalized.”
James answered in a serious voice.
At those words, Taesu, whose heart had been tearing apart, flinched.
“Hospitalized?”
“Yes. The two of them were injured during the escape.”
“Are the injuries serious?”
“They’ll be able to get up in a few days.”
Only after hearing that did Taesu realize he had been teased.
“See? I told you it was a joke.”
“It wasn’t that kind of atmosphere.”
“Even if no one else, James, shouldn’t you not do that?”
Taesu immediately grumbled.
“Haha.”
“Hoho.”
Only then did everyone’s laughter ring out.
James also showed a warm smile and said,
“When I’m with you all, it seems I want to become young again too.”
“That was really too much.”
“Heh heh. You were so serious just now that I did it on purpose, in part.”
When James reminded him, Taesu realized his mistake.
Whoosh.
He looked again at Colonel Clark, who alone could not smile, and asked,
“Anyway, everyone is safe, so what’s the problem?”
“The entire Helicopter Medical Team is down. Is that a light matter?”
“It isn’t an enormously heavy matter either. People can get hurt. That happens.”
“There is such a thing as military law. We made the request, and we were responsible for your escort, so military law will apply.”
Colonel Clark pushed back quite firmly.
Taesu’s expression also began to stiffen again.
In the end, James stepped in.
“I will allow it only up to here.”
“Ahem. I apologize.”
“I’ll stay quiet.”
Colonel Clark and Taesu immediately apologized.
Between the two of them, James spoke to Colonel Clark.
“Dr. Choi feels the same way as everyone else. Please consider it.”
“……For now, I’ll process it as confinement, and once Dr. Choi is better, we’ll discuss it again.”
“Thank you for compromising.”
Srrk.
James discreetly sent Taesu a hand signal.
Taesu followed it and bowed his head to Colonel Clark.
“Thank you.”
“Not at all. It’s difficult to visit a patient with a smile right now, so I’ll come again later.”
“Take care on your way.”
Taesu did not stop him from leaving.
No matter what other topic they spoke about, they would eventually return to the same place.
Since this was not a relationship where emotions should flare, he judged that it would be better to take some time.
After Colonel Clark left,
James, Dr. Schmidt, and Nurse Casey also departed.
Instead, Brad Kim stayed behind.
“Seeing you lying here like this, Dr. Choi, is refreshing.”
“Ahem. Well, there are days like this.”
“Heh heh. More importantly, I think this is what you’ll want to see most.”
Thud.
What he showed him was none other than a chart.
Taesu’s eyes sparkled.
He had never imagined he would experience looking at his own chart.
There were many things he was truly curious about.
But since he was lying on his side, it was a little awkward.
“Brad, could you help me a bit?”
“You want me to hold up the chart? This is probably my first time nursing a patient like this.”
“It’s good to have many refreshing experiences.”
“Look quietly before I take it away.”
When Brad Kim warned him, Taesu immediately accepted.
“Shh.”
“Read it, and tell me when I should turn the page.”
“Yes.”
Taesu, whose gaze was already fixed on the chart, answered half-heartedly.
After looking at the chart, Taesu finally realized that this place was the NGO headquarters.
And there was one more thing that surprised him.