Taesu was looking over the records of the medical volunteer work in Africa.
“Ghana, Uganda, Zambia… You practically made a grand tour of Africa, didn’t you?”
“It seems he wandered around for about thirteen years. He met Dr. Jonathan in Zambia. And Dr. Wallik, apparently, he met in Ghana.”
“So he did.”
“Besides that, two years in Chile, five years in Kashmir.”
“Let’s put that aside for now… Whew.”
Rustle, rustle.
The more pages Taesu turned, the more astonished he became.
There were largely two reasons for that astonishment.
One was Dr. Hanks’s trail of activity.
“It’s one volunteer post after another.”
“The medical staff who went on volunteer missions with him all gave him a thumbs-up first thing.”
“You met them too?”
“Of course. What surprised me was that there were more doctors than I expected who think like you, Dr. Choi.”
At his casual remark, Taesu looked at him quietly.
“More than you expected?”
“Field medical volunteer work. Though cases like yours, Dr. Choi, where someone recklessly pushes ahead with surgery, are truly rare.”
“Let’s say that’s true.”
Taesu brushed it off, seeing it wasn’t a topic worth dragging out.
Kim Hyeokgwon didn’t particularly object either.
“Other than that, there didn’t seem to be anything special.”
“No. It feels like something’s missing.”
“What do you mean, missing!”
Kim Hyeokgwon suddenly flared up.
The outburst was more intense than expected.
Taesu instantly noticed and glanced at him sideways.
“You said we should keep the transaction clean.”
“Isn’t that only natural?”
“Where’s his family information?”
“Ahem, ehem. You see, customer, personal information is, by nature, the trickiest to investigate, and because the risks involved are considerable…”
Kim Hyeokgwon launched into a long-winded explanation.
Taesu immediately sensed the reason.
“There must be a problem with his family relations.”
“Uh, ahem! Customer. That matter is…”
“The joking ended a moment ago.”
When Taesu drew the line firmly, Kim Hyeokgwon’s face turned sullen.
“You really have no warmth to you.”
“That’s why things are like this.”
“Bingo. Since you got the answer right, I should give you a prize. Here.”
Whish.
Along with his words, a thin bundle of papers flew over.
Taesu caught it lightly and unfolded it.
As he read it with his eyes, Kim Hyeokgwon spoke in a low voice.
“He did get married while volunteering. Instead of doing the medical volunteer work he was supposed to, he went and fell in love.”
“But this is…”
“Yeah. They had children too, and lived all cozy while volunteering together and all that. But the second child got seriously sick.”
“And then?”
Taesu set the documents down and faced him fully.
It meant he should just talk.
Perhaps Kim Hyeokgwon had intended to do so as well, because he spoke in a bitter voice.
“It’s not that the child died. Instead, his wife and children left.”
“They probably couldn’t disregard the environmental factors.”
“Education too. Anyway, it seems he barely saw them after that. Maybe they exchanged a letter once in a while.”
“That was well over ten years ago.”
When Taesu added the approximate span he had gleaned from the documents, Kim Hyeokgwon nodded.
“Still, it seems his wife understood him. I don’t know if NGOs offer many family benefits, though.”
“They might.”
“The problem seems to be the children. They say they don’t even think they have a father. Someone who exists but doesn’t, something like that?”
Kim Hyeokgwon didn’t seem able to define it clearly either.
Taesu could roughly understand what that meant just from hearing it.
Then, as if something had occurred to him, Taesu’s eyes shifted widely from side to side.
And he immediately asked Kim Hyeokgwon.
“By any chance, did you look into the contents of the letters too?”
“Does that make sense? How could I possibly find that out?”
“I’m being serious.”
Taesu’s gaze settled heavily.
Kim Hyeokgwon glanced at him, then answered obediently.
“I looked into it. Letters with no sense of closeness at all, like they were being sent to some uncle worse than a stranger?”
“Hmm.”
“It makes sense. If they have not a shred of memories with their father, it’d be awkward to look for love or whatever.”
Kim Hyeokgwon spoke with complete calm.
At that moment, Taesu asked.
“Let’s say you got married, Hyeokgwon.”
“Me, married? You mean doing something that costs money, and not just once, but something that costs money for the rest of my life?”
“You won’t?”
“I’m telling you, it’s a world where I’m too busy feeding myself.”
Kim Hyeokgwon expressed his refusal with utter firmness and stubbornness.
Even so, Taesu gave an example.
“Anyway, let’s say you got married. But if you spent your whole life knowing only money, you wouldn’t have had any contact, would you?”
“Of course not. Seeing them one more time would cost money too.”
“But if the time came for you to die, how would you feel?”
“Now that I’ve listened this far, are you looking down on me like I’m some nobody?”
Kim Hyeokgwon bristled, but Taesu gestured for him to calm down and guided him toward an answer.
Wave, wave.
“Calm down. I’m just giving an example.”
“What kind of example is that?”
“Come on, you said there’s such a thing as business ethics in this neighborhood too. If I paid that much for information, let’s get a little after-service out of it.”
When Taesu pressed him hard, Kim Hyeokgwon flinched.
It was true that a slightly excessive amount of money had changed hands.
Taesu had known it and let it slide, but when he pinpointed that fact, Kim Hyeokgwon answered as if he had no choice.
“If I realized that I was about to die, then I’d have to write.”
“What would you write, all alone with no one around you?”
“Why would there be no one? You said there’s a wife and children.”
“If you spent your whole life gripping your money and never letting go, who would be around you?”
“Then I’d be angry. They lived off my money, so they shouldn’t do that!”
The moment Kim Hyeokgwon flared up and shouted.
Snap!
Taesu snapped his fingers sharply.
“That’s it. That’s what it was.”
“Is that how it is with Dr. Hanks’s family too?”
“Just replace money with medical volunteer work.”
“Oh, from that perspective, I get it. A life my family doesn’t recognize. That could feel empty.”
“Then if we fix that, will this become easier?”
At Taesu’s question, Kim Hyeokgwon thought for a moment before answering.
“I have a feeling it’ll become very easy.”
“Then…”
“Should we bring his family over here?”
“No. You should write some letters.”
At Taesu’s unexpected words, Kim Hyeokgwon tilted his head.
“What letters all of a sudden? We can just call his family and tell them.”
“What good would it do for us to call?”
“True. To the family, we’d just be the same greens and the same dessert.”
“It’s the same greens and the same side dishes. And the family can change only if people other than us move.”
Taesu spoke with conviction.
But Kim Hyeokgwon’s mind seemed too tangled to understand right away.
“So who, then?”
“The African tribes.”
“Whoa. You want to find each country’s language, translate everything, and have those people write handwritten letters one by one?”
When Kim Hyeokgwon looked dumbfounded, Taesu shook his head.
“Why would we do something so troublesome?”
“Then what are you suggesting?”
“We write an email in English to each branch and send it, then receive their replies as emails written in English as well. We gather those together and deliver them. Done.”
When Taesu summed it up neatly, Kim Hyeokgwon suddenly looked embarrassed.
“Ah, right. There’s a good method like that.”
“You need to get friendlier with modern civilization too, Hyeokgwon.”
“I don’t think someone who, until recently, forgot to even turn on his cell phone has any right to say that.”
“That was right after I came back from the middle of nowhere. Here, my phone gets full bars, so my Korean style is coming back.”
Taesu smiled deeply.
He felt proud of himself for applying the knack he had gained from living amid a flood of data so early on.
As if another thought had occurred to him, Kim Hyeokgwon threw cold water on that Taesu.
“But who at each African branch are you planning to email, and how?”
“We have Hakuna, don’t we?”
“Ah, right. Our person in charge is from Africa.”
“I’ll write the draft of the letter.”
Taesu had already laid out a pen and paper on the sofa table.
Seeing that, Kim Hyeokgwon wore a needlessly awkward expression.
“Looks like you have everything planned, Dr. Choi.”
“Sometimes improvisation is better than planning.”
“That’s what amazes me. I’m the type to make a plan and then move.”
Kim Hyeokgwon himself mentioned the difference between him and Taesu.
Avoiding any pointless comparison, Taesu recommended with an easygoing face.
“You’ve already done plenty, Hyeokgwon, so you can sleep comfortably.”
“Do I deserve to sleep?”
“You absolutely deserve to sleep soundly.”
When Taesu answered clearly, Kim Hyeokgwon seemed to feel a little less awkward.
“Then I’ll get some sleep.”
“Sleep well.”
Taesu greeted him briskly and turned his gaze back to the paper.
His mind was as blank as the white sheet before him.
‘How should I begin?’
Just as he was calmly settling his thoughts.
“Snore, snore.”
He heard the sound of Kim Hyeokgwon sleeping.
Taesu looked that way and smiled faintly.
“You worked hard.”
A sincere murmur slipped out.
The information fee he had paid Kim Hyeokgwon wasn’t in his mind at all. No, even if he thought about the fee, the man’s effort had certainly been impressive.
It had been barely close to twenty-four hours since he made the request.
This was information gathered in less than a single day.
He couldn’t help but value that ability highly.
‘Hyeokgwon shouldn’t be saying I’m the one wrapped in a veil.’
Kim Hyeokgwon was no pushover either.
It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say they were in the same boat.
Taesu put aside deeper thoughts.
There was work he had to do right in front of him.
To hell with it.
Taesu dismissed his worries about the contents of the letter.
The answer was to tell the truth and properly ask for help.
Once he thought that, the pen that had not budged began moving on its own.
Clearing his mind, Taesu continued writing letters to the various tribes, explaining Dr. Hanks’s circumstances and asking for their help.
The next morning.
Taesu and Jeong Minsu stood facing each other in front of the hospital room.
After hearing what had happened overnight, Jeong Minsu was quite surprised.
“So you’re saying you just came back from asking Hakuna to send the emails?”
“Yeah. Hakuna’s eyes lit up, and he asked me to give him one day.”
“I’m really grateful that man is so full of passion.”
“Tell me about it. More importantly, nothing happened with Dr. Hanks?”
Taesu shifted to the more important subject.
Since this time also served as a handover, Jeong Minsu answered immediately.
“He woke up a few times during the night, but he slept for most of it.”
“He must not have had any strength either.”
“Yeah. And James stopped by in the middle of the night.”
At that, Taesu’s ears seemed to perk slightly.
“James did?”
“He looked at Dr. Hanks while he was asleep and said something.”
“What did he say?”
“Why is everyone in such a hurry to rush off? That’s what he said.”
Jeong Minsu deliberately imitated James.
His voice was completely different, but he seemed to capture the atmosphere well enough.
Well enough that Taesu understood immediately what it meant.
“I see. So that’s how it is.”
“James must have experienced many farewells too. That must be why he said that, right?”
“Probably. Anyway, you worked hard.”
“What work? You’re the one who shouldn’t overdo it too much. Your face looks like it’s about to give out.”
Jeong Minsu was worried about Taesu instead.
By now, they knew what kind of injuries each of them had suffered.
The two of them had fairly serious injuries as well, but compared to Taesu’s, theirs were on the lighter side.
That was why he was worried.
Taesu lightly raised both arms and smiled.
“I’m recovering bravely, so don’t worry.”
“I’m worried because you’re a patient, yet you keep scurrying around everywhere.”
“It’s not like I can deploy right now anyway, so overdoing it a little is fine.”
At Taesu’s bitter words, Jeong Minsu’s expression darkened as well.
“They said the future of the Helicopter Medical Team is bleak.”
“Nothing’s been decided yet.”
“Are our soldier friends all right?”
“Ah, they’re a problem too.”
Scratch, scratch.
Taesu scratched his head hard.