"Did you tell me on purpose?"
"Then do you think I told you because I wanted to see Dr. Choi clutch the back of his neck?"
"You could have simply said so."
"I try to avoid acting on nothing but hints like that. Dr. Choi needs to know exactly what the problem is so that later, he'll have something to say and can think of how to respond."
"James."
Taesu's sharp eyes softened in an instant.
But in contrast, the corners of James's eyes lifted.
"The problem is that the poisonous mushrooms growing in the dark have spread farther than I expected."
"Poisonous mushrooms?"
"They're ones that carry the poison called complacency. If medical staff like that perform surgery, an accident is bound to happen someday."
James spoke emphatically.
Taesu had heard those words several times before, and it was something he agreed with.
"I understand that complacency turns into laziness."
"That's why we have to cut off the buds."
"I suspect it won't be an easy operation."
Taesu was most worried about James's health.
James was already past his prime, so controlling his blood pressure likely wouldn't be easy.
Even now, that was the case.
Outwardly, he looked calm.
But to Taesu's eyes, James was boiling with irritation.
For that reason, Taesu first tried to calm James down.
"It probably isn't a major problem yet."
"I also see it as being in its early stages. But that's not the only problem."
"Is there another problem?"
"The fact that they knew you were the Helicopter Medical Team and still used you like that—isn't that a challenge to me?"
Ping!
James's eyes flashed coldly.
Taesu sensed the seriousness of the atmosphere.
If James truly got angry, it was impossible to predict what kind of chaos would erupt at the medical camp.
In the worst case, they could withdraw from Kashmir.
It was not a joke.
If James made up his mind and proceeded, it was entirely possible.
That was the extent of James's standing in the NGO.
Though time had diluted it considerably, James's personality was truly explosive.
Those images were recorded in Caprene's memories.
Taesu wanted to avoid the worst-case scenario, so he quickly offered an excuse.
"I'm sure that absolutely wasn't it. There's no way their thinking went that far."
"Then that means they are complacent."
"Rather than thinking of it in such binary terms..."
Taesu let the end of his sentence trail off, but he couldn't find a way to finish it.
Taesu, too, was in no position to laugh off this situation lightly.
Jeong Minsu and Kim Hyeokgwon must have kept silent so as not to create trouble.
That position was bitter, but he understood it.
But this had happened somewhere Taesu's eyes had not reached.
That made him angry.
Even so, Taesu couldn't very well go and protest to the specialists who had summoned them.
Taesu felt somewhat frustrated by his own position.
Even if he had only just become a specialist, Taesu had the kind of personality that could turn everything upside down.
He had not known the shackles of being a resident would come into play again.
With sunken eyes, Taesu revealed his true feelings to James.
"To be honest, I intended to stay at the camp until the Helicopter Medical Team resumed operations."
"I guessed as much."
"I truly wanted to, but I'm sorry. I think it would be better for us to go out on a remote-area dispatch, even if we bicker among ourselves."
With a heavy expression, Taesu asked for approval for the dispatch.
James, rather, opened his mouth heavily with an apologetic look.
"I think the same. I don't feel good, as though I've shown you the dark side of the NGO."
"It's my fault for being hospitalized too long."
"If you put it that way, then I would be the one who caused it by asking you to look after Dr. Hanks."
At James's self-reproachful words, Taesu jumped in protest.
"What are you talking about? It wasn't time spent only helping Dr. Hanks."
"Is that so?"
"Yes. It was an indescribably meaningful time for us. If you blame yourself for that, James, it truly pains me."
Thump.
Taesu struck his chest firmly.
Only after hearing those words did James's expression change to one of slight relief.
"All right. I'll keep it moderate."
"If there's a starting point to this matter, isn't it the fact that we're residents? To be honest, that's why I said I would go to Ijambak as well."
"Repeating that is a deep-rooted evil."
"And you're not someone who would know that and turn a blind eye."
Taesu subtly flattered him.
Even without that, James's eyes were already shooting lasers.
"Even if dirt gets in my eyes, this is something I have to smash apart."
"You will certainly succeed."
"If I fail, I'll perform major surgery on this place."
"Ahem!"
Taesu felt dizzy at the thought that his concern could become reality.
At that moment, James's gaze met Taesu's.
Then James promised in a low voice.
"First, I'll secure a dispatch location as quickly as possible."
"Thank you."
"And when you return, the atmosphere in the NGO will be completely different."
James boasted that much.
Taesu added words of encouragement.
"Now that you've stepped forward, James, the game is already over."
"It's better not to make hasty assurances like that. Once public opinion gathers, no one knows how the situation will unfold."
"Please don't start by worrying too much. Everyone was probably just a little tired and wanted to be comfortable."
Taesu offered another word of comfort.
It was solely for James.
Perhaps James sensed that too, because he suppressed his anger.
"Hmm. For now, I'll try to think of it in a positive light."
"Of course. You should."
"This matter will begin after you leave, so keep that in mind."
"Thank you for your consideration."
Taesu bowed his head sincerely.
A trace of bitterness passed through James's eyes.
'An opportunity that was hard to come by is slipping away like this.'
His plan to spend more time with Taesu had fallen through.
That was the decisive reason James's anger had been provoked.
Some time later.
The door to the quarters opened, and Taesu, Jeong Minsu, and Kim Hyeokgwon entered one after another.
Among them, Jeong Minsu and Kim Hyeokgwon were quite exhausted.
Thud, thud.
With drained steps, the two reached the long sofa and simply gave themselves over to it.
"Sigh."
"Ugh."
Flop.
It was plain to see that the surgery had been anything but easy.
Meanwhile, Taesu set some drinks down on the table.
Tap.
He had already told them everything about his conversation with James on the way back.
Perhaps because of that, Taesu brought up what the two had hidden from him.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"Do we really have to get into that right now? Can't you see I'm practically dying?"
Kim Hyeokgwon grumbled with a face full of fatigue.
Jeong Minsu was the same.
"We can talk after we catch our breath, can't we?"
"Exactly. A person should have at least some compassion."
"Taesu isn't great in general, but that lack of social sense is especially bad."
Jeong Minsu openly needled Taesu.
But Taesu's reaction was a little different from other days.
He should have immediately refuted or snapped back, but he was strangely calm.
Soon, Taesu spoke in a deeply settled voice.
"You can both set aside the excuse that you're tired."
"Taesu. I'm telling you, I'm really tired."
"Jeong Minsu, do you think I don't know you? Or that I don't know Mr. Hyeokgwon?"
Taesu asked coldly.
At that question, Jeong Minsu and Kim Hyeokgwon subtly met each other's eyes.
It seemed they were discussing again how to respond.
Before long, Kim Hyeokgwon's face turned sullen.
"We've been living pressed up against each other every day, so there's no way that kind of vague evasion would work, is there?"
"All I need is the answer to why you did it."
"We were called in, went in as helpers, and did what we were told inside. That's all."
Kim Hyeokgwon summarized only the essentials.
But it was quite different from the answer Taesu wanted.
"That's not the key point."
"Then should we have protested, asking if they were telling people of our skill to do nothing but chores like this?"
"Hm. I suppose that would have been difficult."
Taesu replied with a bitter, displeased expression.
Jeong Minsu added a word to him.
"We went into the OR every day, so it seems our feel for it didn't fade."
"I suppose not."
"And wouldn't it be even stranger to make a fuss just because we were called helpers?"
Jeong Minsu calmly pointed it out with a serious expression.
It was clearly correct.
Even knowing that, Taesu was still not satisfied.
That crooked feeling of his turned toward Jeong Minsu for no reason.
"Minsu, upgrade yourself a little."
"If you suddenly tell me to develop, am I supposed to shoot up like bean sprouts?"
"Just answer me."
"Fine. I'll grow nice and tall and stretch all the way to the sky like 'Jack and the Bean Sprouts.'"
Jeong Minsu replied in a thoroughly argumentative voice.
Taesu corrected the minor but difficult-to-ignore error in it.
"It's Jack and the Beanstalk."
"Aren't you impressive. Happy now?"
"No. I have to grit my teeth with you."
Taesu's eyes held a distinctly challenging light.
Sensing something ominous, Kim Hyeokgwon quietly asked.
"Me too?"
"Isn't that obvious?"
"I'm perfectly satisfied as I am."
"I'm not satisfied."
Taesu's eyes blazed as he made up his mind.
His will to be acknowledged through skill was intensely strong.
It was a longing not to be some nobody, but to become someone absolutely necessary in emergencies.
The next day.
Taesu, Jeong Minsu, and Kim Hyeokgwon kept their movements to a minimum.
They went to the central cafeteria for meals, and briefly met Yun Juseong and the other Korean medical staff to exchange proper greetings.
And going to Hakuna to check on the dispatch schedule or plans was all they did.
Aside from that, they waited in their quarters.
Their cell phones were quieter than expected.
It seemed James had already given the medical staff a hint.
Meanwhile.
It was afternoon, after lunchtime had ended.
A PKO soldier suddenly came to the surgical nurses' station at headquarters.
He set down a large cardboard box and said,
"It's from the PX. Please confirm delivery completion."
"Delivery?"
"Here it is. You just need to sign."
Rustle.
The soldier unfolded a paper and held it out.
Among the nurses, Nurse Navis approached with a puzzled expression and looked it over.
And soon, surprise filled her face.
"Dr. Choi sent this?"
"Yes. If you could sign..."
"I will... There, all right?"
"Then take care."
Once the soldier received the signature, he immediately left.
Before anyone knew it, the nurses had gathered in front of the cardboard box.
"What's with the sudden delivery?"
"He said Dr. Choi sent it?"
"Could he have found out we badmouthed him yesterday and sent something weird?"
His image as a troublemaking patient remained, so even a gift did not seem innocent to them.
Meanwhile, Nurse Navis opened the cardboard box.
It was packed full inside.
As the nurses took items out one by one, their eyes instantly sparkled.
"There are so many stockings!"
"There are chocolates and candies too."
"What's this, hair ties?"
The more they took out, the more surprised they were by the practical items, and surprised again by the quantity.
It was impossible to feel bad when receiving gifts like this.
The nurses' eyes gradually curved more and more like crescent moons.
"Our Dr. Choi has good sense."
"Actually, it's not like Dr. Choi caused that much trouble."
"Right. And he filled out charts for us when it was time, checked IVs for us, and all that."
"There were times I got a little angry, but that was because the situation couldn't be helped."
Praise for Taesu poured out like a waterfall.
It was hard to believe these were the same nurses who had cheered in joy at the news of his discharge yesterday.
What was certain was that Taesu's evaluation had changed.
From "the worst troublemaking patient" to "a gentle and sweet patient."
It was an extremely drastic reevaluation, but the power of gifts was that great.