A truly unexpected savior approached Taesu.
It was Doctor Jonathan.
*Click.*
"Doctor Wolrick, Doctor Hanks says to stop picking on Doctor Choe for no reason and come say hello."
Dr. Wolrick flinched slightly at that voice.
But the cold gaze he shot at Taesu remained unchanged.
"Let's postpone talk about you for a moment."
"On your way, please tell Doctor Hanks that I deeply respect him."
"What?"
"I'll keep my head down quietly."
Taesu hunched his shoulders and gave an awkward smile.
Lowering the tips of his eyebrows, he also emphasized that he was a powerless, weak resident.
But such an act would only work on an opponent susceptible to it.
Doctor Wolrick didn't bat an eyelash.
"As much as possible, maintain that expression while chewing over your mistake a hundred times."
"Take your time talking."
"Hmph."
Dr. Wolrick turned away, frigid as ever.
The moment he headed toward Doctor Hanks.
Taesu had already returned to his usual self, as if he had never put on a pitiful expression to begin with.
"Ahem."
Doctor Jonathan was bewildered by that Taesu.
"Do you even know that your opponent is none other than Dr. Wolrick?"
"I know very well."
"And yet you smile the moment he turns around?"
"What can I do? It's a laugh I held back with effort in front of him; I should at least put it on behind his back."
At Taesu's answer, Doctor Jonathan's expression grew serious.
"Doctor Choe, that remark is such a rude utterance that even I find hard to overlook."
"What can I do? The lasers shooting from his eyes aren't stinging but warm."
"Were they?"
"Yes. Inside the expression of 'Should I hit this brat?' there is worry asking 'Is this brat okay?'"
Taesu explained point by point.
In that instant, Doctor Jonathan's serious expression melted away like a lie.
"Seems you know what kind of temperament Doctor Wolrick has."
"More than that, Jonathan."
Taesu called out unexpectedly and looked at him calmly.
This atmosphere clearly meant a summons related to Doctor Hanks.
In that moment, Doctor Jonathan's gaze shook slightly as he went off on a tangent.
"As you can see, I just got back from Malnoi."
"You seem to have heard while reporting to James."
"Well, yes. So now I have a rather shameless request to ask..."
It was the moment Doctor Jonathan was about to speak.
Taesu saw through it with uncannily crisp intuition.
"Is the problem that I'm in the way?"
"Will that be alright?"
"My quarters happen to be in the same building. I can rest there."
Taesu said with a broad grin.
That was an obvious truth.
If he were an ordinary patient, he would be in no state to even mention discharge.
But because he was Taesu—a doctor with the unique circumstance of outpatient treatment a minute away—the situation was somewhat different.
From Doctor Jonathan's perspective, he felt sorry, seeing it as pushing a patient out of his hospital bed.
"I'm sorry for asking such an unreasonable favor."
"If you're truly sorry, please promise me just one thing."
"Speak."
"Not nagging me about my injury."
Taesu played a trump card.
Doctor Jonathan hesitated briefly but soon nodded in agreement.
"Alright. I can nag a living person anytime."
"Please don't say such gloomy things."
"Ahem. Alright. Then I'll ask this of you."
"I'll enjoy the luxury of resting officially at my quarters too. Hospitals really don't suit my constitution."
Taesu blurted out an absurd remark.
For a doctor to say a hospital didn't suit his constitution was the height of nonsense.
Whether that absurd remark had worked or not, a smile rose on Doctor Jonathan's face for the first time.
"Heh, you really are amusing."
"It's the truth. Then, excuse me."
"Alright. Ah, is the scarf safe?"
At the same time as his question.
*Jolt!*
Taesu stopped violently, as if someone had grabbed him from behind.
Taesu turned around immediately and asked shortly.
"Did the kids come with you?"
"Yes. We couldn't find a guardian in the end."
"Their father too?"
"Their father was found inside a collapsed building three days later. I won't speak of how he must have felt trying to return to his family."
Doctor Jonathan held his tongue with a pitiful gaze.
Just from that gaze and voice, one could well imagine in what state the babies' father had been found.
Taesu shook his head and asked calmly.
"So where are the kids?"
"The volunteer corps office next to the HQ office. They handle war orphan adoptions there too."
"I should go there first, then."
Finishing speaking, Taesu headed toward his locker.
When he opened the locker, there was a scarf—washed soft and fluffy, folded neatly.
There was no way Taesu couldn't remember it.
And he had heard from Brad Gim before: even while unconscious from injury, Taesu had held the scarf in his arms.
"Maybe that's why I survived."
He didn't think it was wild speculation at all.
The one who had washed the scarf so clean was Taesu himself.
At first, he had tried to return it still carrying the babies' mother's scent and touch.
But unable to return the scarf stained with his own blood, he had no choice but to wash it.
He was sorry about that, but he prioritized being able to return it.
*Clack.*
Taesu, having taken out the scarf, muttered low.
"Let's go, to the place where you belong."
And Taesu left the hospital room, entrusting Dr. Hanks to the doctors with their own heavy burdens.
Here was death.
There was life.
They were intersecting once again.
Taesu did not think of it as purely painful.
There must be a beginning for there to be an end, and there must be an end for there to be a beginning.
That was why the hospital was inevitably the space where they could coexist.
Therefore, life could not be taken lightly.
Shortly after.
Taesu opened the volunteer office door.
He entered with a heart swelling with joy.
And without difficulty, he was able to meet Libero and Rebecca again.
"There, there, my little ones."
*Thump, thump.*
He received them one by one from the adoption staff member.
The babies wrapped in swaddling sniffled their noses, then suddenly whimpered.
"Hueee."
"Hnnn."
Taesu was quite flustered at that reaction.
"H-hey, you guys. It's not like I expected you to welcome me with open arms, but isn't this a bit much?"
"Hoho. The babies are saying they're glad by smelling you."
"Really?"
As Taesu's disappointment vanished in an instant, the staff member added.
"Yes. They are sensitive babies. When held in a stranger's arms, they start crying immediately."
"They aren't crying now?"
"Not at all. This is the first time the babies have been so happy to see someone."
"That's what I'm saying. These little ones have some loyalty."
Before he knew it, an uncle's affectionate smile filled Taesu's face.
They hadn't forgotten the fact that they had been together, even if briefly; he couldn't help but adore them for that.
Even though he wanted to prolong that meeting, he couldn't.
It was because the staff member told him the next schedule.
"They will move once more to the India branch this evening."
"They've come a long way."
"It's safer there, and there are more flights."
"That's true. It'll be convenient for whoever is coming to get them too."
As Taesu showed understanding, the staff member nodded and then asked an unexpected question.
"So Doctor Choe, what kind of family do you hope the babies will be adopted into?"
"Why are you asking me that?"
"Dr. James said that Doctor Choe would come, and told us to respect your opinion."
Taesu paused at those words.
James seemed to have clearly foreseen how Taesu would act.
"Keh. James."
Emotion surged in like a tidal wave.
What Taesu wished for the babies was not much.
Laying the babies back in the cradle, he muttered quietly.
"I hope they can be adopted together, and by people who will love them enough rather than wealthy people."
"Yes. We'll do that."
"And I don't know about other things, but I hope they are people who won't throw away this scarf."
*Swish.*
Taesu spread the scarf out long and wrapped the babies snugly.
It was a scarf commonly seen in Kashmir.
But to these babies, it was the only one in the world.
He didn't want them to forget that.
The staff member diligently recorded Taesu's wish while nodding. The staff member seemed to want to keep that meaning as well.
*Scratch, scratch.*
While the staff member recorded, Taesu looked at the babies once more each.
It was a brief meeting.
But they were babies he had held in his heart, even if only for a moment.
It was hard to easily tear his eyes away from that affection.
*Rustle.*
He brushed the babies' cheeks with the back of his hand.
A smile rose on the whimpering babies' faces.
"Gaa."
"Haa."
It was an endlessly innocent smile.
They didn't know this moment would be their last meeting.
Taesu's heart ached terribly at that.
"You little brats, this fool here is just putting on airs to say his last goodbye."
"Gaa."
"Yes. Live smiling like that. Definitely—no, people who will surely do so will come find you. They definitely will."
"Haa."
"Let's part while smiling like this. It's a hundred times better than parting while crying, isn't it?"
*Rustle, rustle.*
Taesu gently smiled as he caressed the babies' jelly-like cheeks once more.
And he sincerely wished for the babies' future to be filled with happiness.
That was the best Taesu could do.
After caressing their cheeks a few more times, Taesu rose from his seat.
His steps were heavy, but he had to be the one to move first.
"Then, I leave them in your good care."
"We will strive to connect them with people matching the aspects you mentioned."
"Thank you. Then."
Taesu bowed and took his leave.
"Hueung."
"Hiiing."
The sound of whimpering babies came from behind.
They were already longing for Taesu's touch.
But he didn't look back.
He didn't want to show lingering attachment when it was time to part.
It was just for a moment.
It was a moment the babies wouldn't remember.
So it was right for Taesu, as the adult, to act on it.
*Creak.*
Taesu didn't stop his steps even amid the babies' whimpering.
It felt like something inside his chest was dropping with a thud.
But he walked.
What was falling now was merely lingering attachment.
He was certain that if he looked back, that lingering attachment would cling to him even more.
So Taesu moved silently.
Having come outside, Taesu wanted to cover his head with different thoughts quickly.
At that moment, the HQ office nameplate squarely caught his eye.
"Right. Hakuna is pretty cheerful."
It seemed enough to divert his thoughts.
Since he had to meet anyway, he chose to stop by briefly.
*Rattle, rattle.*
Taesu pushed the IV stand and entered the HQ office.
An hour later.
The place Taesu showed himself again was in front of his quarters.
Whether the timing of the conversation with Hakuna was appropriate, his expression had become much more relaxed.
To be exact, he had no room for other thoughts due to Hakuna's incessant worrying.
Meanwhile, Taesu also found out about various situations and pieces of information.
And then he arrived at his quarters.
He wanted to rest a bit while organizing his thoughts too.
*Groan.*
He slowly opened the door and went in.
It was a home he was visiting after a long time, but as expected, everything was the same.
However, Taesu found one thing that made him frown.
"Who left the lights on like this just because electricity is free?"
"Well, if there's a person here, shouldn't the lights be on?"
"Aack!"
Taesu let out a startled scream and quickly looked that way.