Bak Huinam had expected that reaction, and he looked satisfied.
It was because they often bickered even in the Korean village.
Naturally, most of the villagers knew how to divert Taesu and Jeong Minsu’s attention.
For that reason, even Jo Jeongmin stepped in and completely scrambled their wits.
“That’s right. Not long ago, we had the first shearing, too.”
“Did you get a lot of wool?”
“Come to think of it, I should tell you about the charcoal kiln too.”
Jo Jeongmin tossed out the bait one piece at a time.
They were such tantalizing bits of bait that Taesu and Jeong Minsu were almost out of their minds with curiosity.
“Hurry up and tell us one by one.”
“Start with the cashmere sheep first. Come on.”
The two of them urged him on in the exact same way, their eyes sparkling.
Their expressions said the quarrel itself had vanished from their minds.
Only then did Jo Jeongmin and Bak Huinam relax and begin unpacking their bundle of stories one by one.
“One day, as winter was deepening……”
Jo Jeongmin’s story even had a proper beginning, development, turn, and conclusion.
It was the same silver tongue he used when deliciously telling folk tales to children.
At that moment, Taesu and Jeong Minsu were as utterly absorbed in his story as children.
Jo Jeongmin was not the only one speaking.
Bak Huinam also delivered short bits of news here and there.
“Manseok’s wife has morning sickness.”
“Miss Nanju? Ooooh! So Manseok is finally becoming a father? Wow!”
“Hyeonguk…… You know Yeongsim, who used to live in the house at the far right?”
“Chief’s niece, Jeon Yeongsim? Don’t tell me those two? Well, what do you know!”
Slap, slap.
Taesu and Jeong Minsu even made a fuss as they reacted.
Every piece of news that came out, one by one, was more thrilling to the two of them than any drama.
And Taesu and Jeong Minsu also shared what had been happening with them.
“So we received separate training……”
“My goodness, so that’s why Doctor Jeong became half the man he was.”
“Not long ago……”
“Tsk, tsk. Wretched bastards. People pointing guns at other people. That’s the sort of thing that brings punishment. They’ll be punished!”
Bak Huinam reacted strongly, and Jo Jeongmin even frowned in sympathy.
Just like that, the light in the hospital room showed no sign of going out even as the night deepened.
The next morning.
The predicted storm swept into the peaceful hospital room.
At the center of that storm stood Nurse Navis.
Inside the hospital room, there was clearly not a single breath of wind.
Even so, sharp gusts seemed to fill the space around Nurse Navis.
Before her, radiating a menacing aura, Taesu stood with his head deeply bowed.
And he repeated his apology once more.
“I’m truly sorry.”
“I told you not to even say you’re sorry. Does this make any sense?”
“I really didn’t know.”
“That’s what doesn’t make sense. How could Doctor Choe not know that a patient admitted yesterday would be getting a detailed examination this morning!”
Nurse Navis glared at Taesu as though she would devour him.
At that moment, Jeong Minsu subtly timed it and picked up the fasting sign.
Then, putting on a face filled with genuine surprise, he read his lines stiffly.
“Oh my. Why, for what reason, did this fall here, I wonder.”
“What is that? That’s the fasting sign.”
“Exactly. I have absolutely no idea why this is lying here.”
“Doctor Jeong, why does your voice sound like that?”
Zap!
Nurse Navis’s sharp gaze turned toward Jeong Minsu.
Taesu’s gaze was the same.
‘It was my fault for trusting him.’
It was such terrible acting that it would have been stranger not to notice.
Before things could get tangled, Taesu quickly covered for him.
“Doctor Jeong must have been so surprised because it’s his first time seeing a fasting sign fall down.”
“To me, it looks like he’s acting for the first time as if he’s seeing a fasting sign fall down for the first time.”
“In any case, the fact that it’s the first time is certain.”
Taesu muddled his way through.
However, Nurse Navis was not someone that easy to handle.
“Tell me the truth. Did Doctor Choe do this?”
“I truly, really, know absolutely nothing about this.”
“For someone so extremely sensible, you’ve created something utterly senseless, and you still say you don’t know?”
“You misunderstand. I couldn’t move an inch from the bed yesterday. There’s no way I could know the department’s schedule.”
Without so much as a change in expression, Taesu displayed pure indignation.
Still, it seemed his acting was a little better than Jeong Minsu’s.
Slowly.
From over there, Jo Jeongmin and Bak Huinam secretly raised their thumbs.
Nurse Navis was still glaring only at Taesu.
She went over it again, one point at a time.
“So you held a party with snacks and drinks until four hours ago.”
“We did.”
“The examination…… is out the window.”
When Nurse Navis shot him a sidelong glare, Taesu responded with a face full of regret.
“Oh no, what should we do?”
“Phew. First, I’ll talk to the examination room. They’ll definitely throw a fit over there.”
“I’m sorry I can’t be of any help.”
That much, Taesu said with sincerity.
At the same time—
Zap!
Nurse Navis glared at him with her blue eyes and called out.
“Doctor Choe.”
“Yes, please speak.”
“This is the only time. Just this once, I’ll see what I can do.”
“As expected of the Nightingale of Surgery……”
As Taesu tried to praise her, Nurse Navis cut him off.
“Be quiet.”
“Shh.”
“When the next examination schedule is set, if something unfortunate like this happens again, then I really don’t know what I’ll do.”
“I truly don’t understand how this happened either. And it must never happen again.”
Taesu spoke firmly, even narrowing his brow.
Nurse Navis gave him a sidelong look as if he was hateful.
“How, and in a hospital room with two doctors in it no less—thinking about it again, I’m speechless.”
“I too, and Doctor Jeong too, are truly speechless.”
“We’ll talk about this again later. For now, rest.”
Whoosh!
When Nurse Navis turned around, a chill swept over them.
Even so, Taesu bowed deeply in greeting, his posture neat.
“May you have a pleasant and cheerful day today as well.”
“If it weren’t for Doctor Choe, my days would always be cheerful!”
“I’ll try harder.”
“Hmph!”
Slide. Bang!
The hospital room door closed as though it might break.
At the same time, Taesu turned to everyone and flashed a V sign.
“Success.”
“Our Taesu’s acting keeps getting better.”
Clap, clap.
Jeong Minsu even applauded as he praised him.
On the other hand, Bak Huinam was worried about Taesu.
“Will this cause problems later?”
“What problems? There’s nothing to worry about at all.”
“But when did you hide that sign?”
“Heh heh. Originally, even stealing is best done by someone who’s done it before.”
Wink.
Taesu even gave a vigorous wink.
The saying that those who know better are worse suited him perfectly.
No one would have imagined that Taesu would copy the tricks of patients exactly.
Of course, even for Taesu, this was an exception just for this time.
‘We need to catch up too, after all.’
It would never happen again.
Thanks to it, they had spent an enjoyable time, so even Nurse Navis’s scolding did not bother him at all.
And two days passed.
As time had passed, they had finished catching up on all the conversations they had owed one another.
After several days, Taesu came out of the hospital room.
The area around Taesu, which was always crowded, was quiet today.
Bak Huinam had gone to the examination room to receive a detailed examination.
From last night until dawn, Nurse Navis had popped in and out of the hospital room from time to time, thoroughly monitoring his fasting.
Taesu had woken up every time he heard the sound of the door, like a thief whose own feet were numb with guilt.
‘I told her she could trust me just once.’
He had suggested it seriously, but trust once lost was difficult to recover right away.
And Jeong Minsu and Kim Hyeokgwon had gone off after being summoned by Doctor Jonathan.
Ever since the incident with Doctor Hanks, he had been taking even more care of Taesu and those around him.
That was something to be extremely grateful for.
Most of all, Taesu had finally been freed from the IV that had felt like shackles for so long.
He had also received confirmation that he would be discharged no matter what within the week.
And that was a decision made after none other than Mario, the head of Surgical Team One, personally examined him.
“If Doctor Choe is hospitalized again, the nurses are protesting that they’ll take leave, so make sure you absolutely don’t get sick from now on.”
He had even received a warning that was not quite a warning.
That was how famous Taesu had become in surgery as a mischievous patient.
As Taesu walked alone in thought, he gave a faint smile.
“A lot happened.”
He had never dreamed that so much would happen to him while he was hospitalized.
Some people said they rested comfortably and were discharged.
For Taesu, that was simply someone else’s story.
While thinking such thoughts, he had already drawn near the integrated cafeteria.
Taesu’s gaze turned toward the rest area.
Flashy trucks had their doors wide open and were doing business.
The only ones who could do business like that inside the PKO garrison were Raku’s trading group.
The customers were soldiers and medical staff, and he could even see patients and guardians.
“That’s a huge hit.”
It was the right expression, considering so many customers had gathered that the trucks’ wheels could not be seen.
Raku’s bright smile atop the first truck was the decisive proof.
Then there was a place that drew Taesu’s gaze.
It was in front of Raku’s truck.
A large table had been set up in front of the truck.
Goods were laid out as well, but that place alone had particularly few customers.
“What is that?”
Step, step.
Since he was the type who could not endure curiosity, his feet moved first.
As he approached a little closer, he saw Jo Jeongmin’s face.
With a bright face, he was selling to the few people who had gathered.
“Please take a look at this. There are many interesting items.”
He said he had studied English for quite a long time, and his command of vocabulary was fairly good.
Perhaps Raku had given him an intensive tutoring session, because he gave off the air of a merchant, however clumsily.
A genial impression and a kind tone.
He was certainly the sort of person people might take an interest in at least once.
Compared to that, there were far too few people gathered.
Taesu watched from a short distance away.
And soon he was able to find the reason.
“Who’s going to buy a homi and a hoe here?”
He could not very well tell soldiers to go to the battlefield carrying a homi, nor could he tell medical staff to operate on patients with a hoe.
Even if patients and guardians needed them, they were awkward items to equip oneself with right away.
And there was another problem.
Winter had passed and spring had come close, but the surroundings were full of dust.
Since the garrison had been built on dry grassland, not much grass grew there.
“It’s not as if there’s any environmental beautification work to do.”
The handicap of being an area even indomitable weeds had turned their backs on was working as a considerable minus.
The bigger problem, however, was clearly Jo Jeongmin.
He was too rigid.
Unable to keep watching, Taesu headed over to him.
“Jeongmin.”
“Oh, Doctor Choe. Is it all right for you to come out this far?”
“The puppet play is over, isn’t it?”
Taesu showed that he had been freed from the IV.
Since Jo Jeongmin knew that too, he nodded with a smile.
“That’s true. Since they said you can go anywhere now, we even meet like this.”
“But it looks like you’re doing business.”
“Yes. Since I was coming here, the villagers prepared all this for me.”
Slide.
He pushed forward the wooden crate under the table.
Inside the large wooden crate were quite a few homi and hoes.
They were farming tools whose production process Taesu had personally watched, so he was startled.
“If you include extracting the iron, they must not have been able to rest for three weeks.”
“You told us we had to give the impression that we’re living well, Doctor Choe.”
“Since about two days have passed, there must have been more than this…… It took a month, didn’t it?”
Taesu deliberately guessed that some had been sold.
Of course, it was bait.
In matters like worldly experience, Jo Jeongmin was no match for Taesu.