He was the last person Raku had brought with him.
Perhaps because of Taesu’s experience thus far, their points of contact inevitably tended to center on medical matters.
Even when Raku brought patients to him like this, Taesu never showed any displeasure.
How much help had he received from Raku?
Something like this was truly nothing at all.
But it seemed Taesu’s guess was not entirely correct.
Gu Seungheon ran a hand over his rough face and gave a bitter smile.
“I suppose I do look unwell.”
“Given your situation, Mr. Gu, that’s understandable.”
“Master Rajikumar has worried about me more than once as well.”
It was a conversation only the two of them understood.
Taesu simply looked back and forth between them.
The two seemed to feel his gaze as well. Their eyes briefly met, and then Raku suggested to Gu Seungheon,
“I think it would be best if you told him yourself.”
“Yes. Since you’ve gone so far as to arrange this meeting, the rest is up to me.”
“Then I should step away for a moment.”
“Master Rajikumar, I will never forget this kindness.”
“No solution has been found yet, so don’t let your heart get ahead of you. Well then.”
Scrape.
Raku rose from his seat.
Then he gave Taesu a light nod with his eyes and moved away.
Taesu felt a little puzzled.
It was because he could not sense any emotion in Raku’s gaze.
In Hanto and Nashu’s case, from the moment they met until they parted, his eyes had been filled with pity.
Before that, when they had met at the Korean village, Taesu had felt a solemn sense of responsibility from him.
Raku was that sort of man, rich in emotion.
Taesu did not know how he was with others, but Raku had never hidden those feelings from him.
Yet now, he showed no emotion.
This was a first for Taesu as well.
‘It’s like he wants me to judge for myself.’
Taesu could clearly read his intention not to plant any sort of prejudice in him.
The time Taesu spent thinking was only brief.
In the meantime, Gu Seungheon rummaged around below and lifted something up.
It was a thermos and a plastic cup.
“I prepared some tea.”
“I’m grateful, but there’s a PX over there…”
“I thought it would be a little easier for me to speak if I served you this.”
“Yes. If that’s the case.”
Taesu was full of confusion, unable to understand why.
He had prepared tea for their first meeting.
On top of that, a thermos was not exactly common in this neighborhood.
No matter how Taesu thought about it, the situation was hard to call ordinary.
Just then, Gu Seungheon poured the tea from the thermos into the cup.
Drip, drip.
Steam rose in wisps, and the fragrance of the tea reached Taesu’s nose.
That scent was exceedingly familiar.
It was the same tea fragrance he had tasted when Colonel Clark had given him some.
Because it had left such a strong impression, he remembered it immediately.
But he knew that this tea was sold at quite a high price in England.
‘Did he overdo it too much?’
Rather than the gentle tea fragrance, Taesu was more worried about Gu Seungheon’s wallet.
His thoughts were growing complicated on their own when—
Slide.
Gu Seungheon carefully pushed the plastic cup toward Taesu and said,
“I don’t know if it will suit your taste.”
“First, just a moment.”
“Is something wrong…?”
Gu Seungheon’s expression turned puzzled.
Meanwhile, Taesu lifted the cup and lightly took a sip of the tea.
Sip.
The first taste was a faint sweetness that stirred his favor. Then, as it lingered in his mouth, he felt a certain weight to it, and after it slid smoothly down his throat, it left him refreshed.
It was indeed the tea Colonel Clark had served him.
No, it was clearly an even higher-grade tea than that.
Tap.
After setting down the cup, Taesu saw the tense Gu Seungheon before him.
Before the misunderstanding deepened, he quickly opened his mouth.
“Mm. It’s good, just as expected.”
“As expected?”
“To be honest, I had it once not long ago.”
As if Taesu’s words were unexpected, Gu Seungheon’s expression grew complicated.
“I-is that so?”
“Yes. Someone with quite a bit of pull in the PKO gave me a cup, saying it was precious tea.”
“Oh my, how…”
A mixture of surprise and various other emotions appeared on Gu Seungheon’s face.
Taesu was even more surprised and continued speaking first.
“I heard it was a precious tea he’d received as a gift from an acquaintance in England. Meeting it again like this startled me too much.”
“Ah, I see. I thought perhaps it didn’t suit your palate, so I was surprised.”
“If this doesn’t suit someone’s palate, they should be sent to an ENT. Though it’s a bit funny for me to praise it to the skies without even knowing the name of the tea.”
Having said it, Taesu felt a little embarrassed himself.
But at that moment, Gu Seungheon wrapped both hands around the thermos and quietly said,
“It’s called Toritina.”
“Oh. That’s a very distinctive name. Is it British?”
“No. It’s pure Korean.”
At that answer, Taesu abruptly raised his head and asked,
“If it’s Korean… the Korean language?”
“Yes. Tori means small but sturdy and solid. Tina means that it shows a pretty and beautiful quality.”
“Then…”
“The tea tree is small, but it gives a full, solid impression. And the flavor of the tea is pretty and graceful. So I put those words together and named it that.”
Stroke. Stroke.
Perhaps embarrassed, Gu Seungheon answered while brushing the thermos.
After hearing the detailed explanation, Taesu felt something click.
“By any chance, this Toritina tea…”
“Yes. It’s a tea I cultivate.”
“Wow, wow! I’m seriously shocked. Truly.”
Taesu was not merely jolted awake; he felt goosebumps rise over his skin.
They climbed all the way up the back of his neck.
The place of origin of a tea treated as precious in England was Kashmir.
On top of that, the person cultivating it was Korean. How could he not be surprised?
He looked down at the teacup, then raised his head to look at Gu Seungheon.
He glanced back and forth several times.
As if he had read that gaze, Gu Seungheon explained a little further.
“I found it seven years ago by chance, truly by chance. It’s a native local species, but it didn’t seem to have any particular name.”
“Then why wasn’t it known in Kashmir?”
“Five years ago, I tried selling it at the market, and the first person to show interest was Master.”
It was a title referring to Rajikumar.
Taesu immediately nodded.
“He would have had more than enough reason to take interest.”
“Master said on the spot that he would buy the entire stock, and even proposed an exclusive contract.”
“Raku did that right there?”
“Yes. He said this wasn’t something to be sold here. He immediately planned to turn it into a brand and export it to England, which is called the home of tea.”
It seemed that moment still felt like a dream to Gu Seungheon.
Taesu thought that if he were in the same situation, it would surely feel that way too.
No, recalling the moment he met James, who recognized his medicine, it was exactly the same.
That was why he could understand the moved expression on Gu Seungheon’s face now.
“When someone recognizes your efforts, it really is a joy.”
“Yes. I truly was happy. But on the other hand, I was anxious too.”
“That can happen when things suddenly move forward so quickly.”
“Still, since he paid me in cash right there, it was difficult to be suspicious.”
“With Raku’s personality, that’s entirely possible.”
When Taesu agreed, Gu Seungheon nodded.
“I know that now too, but back then… Once I had cash in my hand, I couldn’t think of anything else.”
“Of course. Doesn’t it feel good when cash is moving, no matter what it is?”
“That’s true, but at the time, I didn’t really know how commercial transactions worked here.”
“Commercial transactions are cash, aren’t they? Is there anything else?”
Taesu looked puzzled.
At that, Gu Seungheon’s expression turned bitter.
“You can also trade with checks or promissory notes, like in Korea.”
“Those sound like quite troublesome terms. But I’m sorry to interrupt…”
“Not at all. Please speak.”
“Do you perhaps need a new buyer for the tea?”
Taesu voiced what seemed to him a reasonable suspicion.
If not, there would be no reason to introduce the tea like this and talk about matters related to it.
But on that point, Taesu’s prediction missed the mark.
Gu Seungheon slowly shook his head and answered,
“No. That is not why I came.”
“Then?”
“Ahem. Well… Hoo.”
Unlike before, Gu Seungheon let out a long breath and hesitated.
It felt as though he was gathering his thoughts.
Taesu could not understand why he was hesitating this much over a matter of tea.
“If it’s something difficult to say, I don’t think you need to force yourself.”
“No. It’s not that.”
“Then please take your time. I’ll drink some tea.”
Taesu calmly urged him and lifted the teacup.
Sip.
‘The tea tastes incredible.’
It was enough to make him stay put just to drink this.
It was that charming, even though he did not particularly enjoy tea.
After Taesu drank two more sips of tea—
Gu Seungheon, who had been exhaling over and over, finally opened his mouth.
“Until last year, I was propagating the tea trees, and from this year on, I’m expecting a proper harvest.”
“Oh, if mass production becomes possible, that’s something to celebrate.”
“With spring, new shoots have come up, and the harvest season will soon begin.”
“That’s even better news.”
Taesu replied without much feeling.
It was because he felt they were somehow continuing to drift away from the point.
But every one of Gu Seungheon’s answers had been the point.
Taesu simply did not know the circumstances, so he could not understand what meaning was contained in those answers.
As if Gu Seungheon knew that too, he mentioned the cause.
“Last week, both the Indian army and the Pakistani army sent me notices.”
“Mm. The sudden appearance of armies. Do they want some tea?”
“No. They notified me that they would give me a two-week grace period, and that I should relocate to another area.”
“From both sides?”
When Taesu asked again, Gu Seungheon nodded.
“Yes. They came on the same day, at different times.”
“Hold on. It’s not as if both armies are going to wage war because they covet a tea field.”
“There is indeed another reason.”
“So why, all of a sudden?”
Taesu could not understand the situation as it veered in an absurd direction.
As if he had been waiting for those words, Gu Seungheon took a neatly folded sheet of paper from his pocket.
Rustle.
When he unfolded it, there was a very simplified sketch of the terrain drawn on it.
Pointing at the map, Gu Seungheon explained.
“This is our tea field, and it connects to the river like this.”
“It’s near the upstream area. But why is the bridge in the middle reaches marked with an X?”
“They had an extremely large clash at the end of last year, didn’t they?”
“Yes. It was tremendous then.”
It had been when he was isolated in the Korean village, so it was impossible to forget.
It seemed that time had been the problem for Gu Seungheon as well.
Tap.
Pointing to the bridge marked with an X, he said,
“During that clash, this bridge collapsed from the bombardment. The main road connecting east and west across the river disappeared.”
“Those bastards were blasting away without caring what was in front of them or behind them. So?”
“They’re in confrontation, so they won’t be able to rebuild the bridge.”
“Of course. If they carelessly let the bridge be seized, it would be like cooking porridge only to feed it to the dog. It’s not as if the enemy will protect them and let them build it safely.”
Taesu criticized them in a tone sharp enough to be almost vicious.
From then on, Gu Seungheon’s expression darkened rapidly.
“As an alternative, the point of contact… moved here.”
Slide.
His finger moved up along the river.
When Taesu saw the place where it finally stopped, he furrowed his brow without realizing it.
“The tea field?”
“Yes. For an upstream area, the current is weak, and the river is narrow, so it’s easy to move across.”
“So they’re saying they’re going to have a fight there, and they notified you first to run away?”
“That’s right.”
When Gu Seungheon answered, Taesu’s expression turned dumbfounded.
“How humane of them. They even let you know in advance.”
“They say that’s because I’m Korean. And that was when I first heard about Doctor Choi as well.”
“Me?”
Tap.
When Taesu pointed at himself, Gu Seungheon nodded.
“Yes. I don’t know if I have the place name right, but do you know a place called Malnoi?”
“I do. It’s a border city that was swept through by war two months ago. My team and I were the first to go there on a medical dispatch.”
“So it was true. The Doctor Choi they spoke of is the person sitting in front of me.”
For an instant, Gu Seungheon’s lips trembled.