There was no misunderstanding on Taesu’s part, either.
The sharp tip of the scalpel in his hand was what mattered most.
Ping!
Taesu confirmed the gleaming silver blade and moved at once.
It was the same moment he gauged the gap between the ribs with his fingertips.
“Beginning incision and drainage.”
Swish.
Taesu’s scalpel made an incision in Dr. Hanks’s side, and the procedure began.
A little over ten minutes later.
The procedure was wrapped up well enough to be satisfactory.
His teamwork with Nurse Navis was surprisingly not bad, either.
Thanks to that, drain tubes were placed in both of Dr. Hanks’s sides.
A small container was attached to the end of those tubes, allowing them to check the amount of pus that flowed out.
Beep, beep.
The ECG readings grew somewhat calmer.
Taesu’s face was drenched in sweat as he watched, removing his surgical gloves.
It had been only ten minutes.
To think that moving even that much could leave his entire body soaked in sweat.
“Whew. Ugh!”
Taesu flinched violently as he wiped the sweat from his forehead.
It seemed even the act of raising his arm strained his body.
‘Well, this is a fine mess.’
To think he’d struggle with merely this much.
Taesu found his own behavior absurd.
But Nurse Navis did not.
“See? I knew this would happen.”
“Excuse me?”
“This is exactly what I was worried about. Dr. Choi is a patient right now, too.”
Nurse Navis’s scolding voice grew stinging.
Taesu intuitively sensed that the situation was unfolding differently from his assumptions.
“You stopped me because I’m a patient?”
“Then would Dr. James tell just anyone to keep watch over a patient? Do you think I can’t even tell that much?”
“That’s not what I meant, but…”
When Taesu faltered slightly, Nurse Navis drove straight to the heart of the matter.
“I didn’t stop you because you’re a resident, Dr. Choi.”
“Ah, is that so?”
“We manage all the surgical patient charts electronically here. Did you think I wouldn’t know your skill level, Dr. Choi?”
“I didn’t know that.”
Taesu felt sheepish about the misunderstanding he himself had fostered.
But Nurse Navis’s expression grew even sharper.
“Regardless of whether you knew or not, don’t you know yourself that you shouldn’t overdo it like this?”
“The situation was…”
“I know that. But you could have checked whether there was a doctor you could call before acting, couldn’t you?”
“I told you to press the emergency bell.”
When Taesu protested quietly, Nurse Navis glanced at him sidelong.
“You rushed in without even taking the time to find anyone.”
“That’s because I was in a hurry.”
“That’s exactly why I decided to just help you, too.”
At those words, Taesu glanced at her.
“Ah, is that why you suddenly said you’d do it yourself?”
“I heard from Casey how Dr. Choi was treated in Korea.”
“Excuse me? Ah… yes.”
“That’s Korea, and this is an NGO. I don’t want to speak in such black-and-white terms.”
As Nurse Navis began speaking in a composed manner, Taesu also listened calmly.
“Please continue.”
“I didn’t know Dr. Choi back then. But now I know Dr. Choi.”
“What about now?”
When Taesu asked, Nurse Navis answered in a clear voice.
“He’s a doctor whom Dr. James trusts. And many people—from our Surgery Team 1 leader, Dr. Mario, to the Surgery Team 2 leader, the Internal Medicine Team 1 and 2 leaders, and so on—believe in you.”
“Me?”
“Or else would they leave Dr. Hanks for you to watch over alone like this?”
“That’s… no, they wouldn’t.”
Taesu hadn’t thought about it that deeply.
It had simply been James’s order, and he had merely thought it convenient to watch over him since he was in the same ward.
Hearing Nurse Navis’s words, it did seem a bit strange.
As Taesu’s gaze calmed, Nurse Navis added.
“You’re the one who keeps saying ‘resident,’ Dr. Choi. And you’re the one chaining yourself down with it.”
“Excuse me? Ah!”
“The problem isn’t performing the procedure—it’s being a little conscious that you, too, are a patient. Do you understand?”
Nurse Navis enunciated clearly, pressing in on Taesu.
Surgical nurses definitely had strong personalities.
That strong personality was founded on compassion for the patient.
Even now, contrary to her voice that berated Taesu, her eyes were filled with worry.
Taesu forced a smile at the misunderstanding he had created himself.
“I do sometimes think that I’m a patient…”
“Where do you think you’re going!”
“That’s what I’m saying. I should think about it, but it doesn’t seem to work out well.”
Taesu quickly changed the subject.
The atmosphere was such that an unnecessary remark would leave him worse off.
Even so, Nurse Navis’s voice remained sharp.
“Stay right there.”
“Why all of a sudden?”
“I’m going to administer analgesics and antibiotics.”
“Yes. I won’t move a muscle.”
Taesu sat perched on Dr. Hanks’s bed without moving an inch.
Meanwhile, Nurse Navis added medicine to Taesu’s IV while adding more nagging.
“What kind of sense does it make to perform emergency treatment while on an IV? No, everything about that is fine. But…”
Nurse Navis’s nagging did not end with just one round.
After administering the drugs, it was time to change the compression bandages wrapped around his chest.
Taesu had no time to feel refreshed before his ears began to burn again.
“Oh my, look at this. The exudate burst through completely—it’s a flood, a flood!”
Smack!
“Argh!”
“Does it hurt? I’m asking if it hurts. It hurts, and you still did this?”
“It’s nothing.”
“It doesn’t hurt? How can this not hurt!”
No matter how Taesu answered, Nurse Navis’s nagging persisted.
In that moment, Taesu recalled the nagging he had subjected his own patients to.
Especially in the Korean village, he had nagged Gang Yeonghun and many others in exactly the same way.
‘It must have been agonizing.’
He reflected deeply, putting himself in their shoes.
Squeeze!
He could feel her deliberately rough hands during treatment.
Taesu’s face was completely contorted, but he didn’t feel upset.
While feeling the pain, his mind was busy working on another level.
Even then, Taesu’s eyes were fixed on Dr. Hanks’s vitals.
It was around the time Taesu’s emergency treatment was nearing its end.
“Huuuh.”
A change was felt in Dr. Hanks’s breathing.
Taesu’s scrunched expression had already turned serious as he looked toward Dr. Hanks.
“Dr. Hanks, are you conscious?”
“…In the end, whew. It seems… my lungs have caused trouble.”
Dr. Hanks immediately recognized his own condition.
He had surely intuited it from the respirator covering his mouth and the strange sensation in his side.
Taesu answered immediately without denying it.
“Yes. We are draining the abscess.”
“I thought… I was merely tired… It seems that wasn’t all.”
“Did you truly think it was only that?”
Taesu’s question was extremely sharp.
Nurse Navis was startled by such a ruthless question.
“Dr. Choi.”
Despite her call, Taesu kept his eyes on Dr. Hanks.
Perhaps feeling that gaze, Dr. Hanks’s lips inside the respirator formed a bitter smile.
“No. The fatigue… Growing accustomed to it… had begun to frighten me.”
“Do you feel fear now?”
“Because it was… someone else’s affair… Because even my own affairs… felt like someone else’s.”
Dr. Hanks’s answer came across as quite calm, yet natural.
The sound of that answer struck a nerve in Taesu.
‘This isn’t right.’
There was no strength in Dr. Hanks’s voice.
He gave off a strong feeling of having let everything go.
Taesu intuitively knew this was not the time for a leisurely conversation.
Now, pressing him wouldn’t even be enough.
So he just charged straight ahead.
“Dr. Hanks, didn’t you say you wanted to live three more months?”
“I… did. But… I find myself wondering… if that holds any meaning.”
“Why would it hold no meaning? No, how could it hold no meaning?”
Taesu asked resolutely.
In that instant, Dr. Hanks’s gaze turned toward Taesu.
Swish.
“Did I… ever say… something?”
“No. You did not.”
“And yet… you speak… as if you know.”
Simultaneously with those words.
Taesu looked at Nurse Navis.
“Please call Mr. Kim and Dr. Jeong.”
“Excuse me? Ah, yes. I’ll do that.”
Nurse Navis also intuitively sensed this was no place for her and quickly turned around.
Clack.
When Taesu gripped the medical cart, Nurse Navis immediately caught on and went outside empty-handed.
Only Taesu and Dr. Hanks remained in the hospital room.
Only then did Taesu speak in a low voice.
“First, I apologize. I took the liberty of tracing your record all this time.”
“To apologize for… receiving a single sheet of paper… from the administration office…”
“I traced it in quite some detail.”
As Taesu added, Dr. Hanks’s eyebrows trembled faintly.
That, too, was brief; soon, he formed a bitter smile.
“The African tribes… truly kind and dearly missed people… I’ve thought… it would be nice to see them again.”
“But you didn’t ask for three months in order to see them.”
“Just what do you know… to say such things?”
Dr. Hanks’s voice gradually lowered.
His gaze was so heavy that one wouldn’t sense him as a patient stricken with severe illness.
Taesu met that gaze and opened his mouth.
“The vacation Dr. Hanks spoke of… wasn’t it the embrace of family?”
“Nngh.”
“Time you wanted to hold your children’s hands at least once, to take a walk—that’s what I’m saying.”
Taesu provoked him with expressions so direct they were downright blunt.
The effect produced a visibly noticeable reaction.
A deep trembling arose from Dr. Hanks’s fingertips.
He was even flustered like a child caught with his inner feelings exposed.
“How… did you… who, from whom…”
“It was a conclusion I reached while compiling the investigation results.”
“Inv… investigation…”
“I know that shortly after your third child was born, your second child fell gravely ill, and because of that, your wife and children moved to your home in England.”
The more Taesu’s words continued, the more Dr. Hanks’s gaze shook.
“How could Dr. Choi… no matter how much you investigated…”
“I didn’t expect to find out in such detail, either. But that’s not what’s important right now.”
“…You’re right. I’m sorry… that your hard work… has become… rather useless.”
There was something strange about Dr. Hanks’s words.
Taesu couldn’t process them and asked again.
“What do you mean, you’re sorry?”
“Dr. Maximilian… is in England right now… Through him. I contacted… home.”
Dr. Hanks’s voice was dark.
In that moment, Taesu felt a numb tingling in the back of his head.
“So Max—no, Dr. Maximilian met your wife and children in person and informed them about your current condition?”
“Yes… The children… apparently asked if it was true.”
“Th-that’s it?”
Taesu stammered, so bewildered.
The news he had been desperately waiting for was now in danger of becoming useless.
No, perhaps it had already become a wasted effort.
Then Dr. Hanks added in a low voice.
“They asked… if they had to miss… a father… who never once… celebrated their birthdays.”
“Ah, so… so that’s why your body weakened so rapidly?”
“Hearing those words… I realized… all this time… I had been living… inside delusions.”
“Delusions? That’s not true.”
Taesu shouted a denial to keep Dr. Hanks from crumbling.
But Dr. Hanks’s face showed that he had let go of many things.
“I do not regret… having wandered Africa… Those moments were surely… worthwhile.”
“Exactly. Yes. You must think of that.”
“But… I am not their father… I am my own children’s… father.”
“Th… that is also correct, of course.”
Taesu’s answering voice was deeply uncomfortable.
He shouldn’t get entangled in this situation, yet he couldn’t avoid answering.