With Jeong Minsu’s greeting, filled with sincerity, all the emergency surgeries came to an end.
Only now did it sink in how desperately everything had proceeded, frantic as though even a dog’s paws would sweat.
He had been so out of his mind that he could not remember the whole span of time in sequence. It came back to him scene by scene, like glimpses seen while galloping past on horseback.
And yet, there was still no leisurely room to catch his breath.
Jeong Minsu hurried to pick up the bundle of donated blood bags again and head out.
Grab.
“Then I’ll be back.”
Taesu caught hold of Jeong Minsu once more.
“Minsu, wait.”
“What now?”
“We’re not going to keep the factory manager here, are we?”
Taesu pointed to the makeshift operating room he had hastily put together.
It had originally been a tea-leaf storage warehouse.
Perhaps because of that, it was filled with a faint fragrance of tea.
During the emergency surgery, he had not noticed it because of his urgency and the thick smell of blood.
Only now, with the tiniest bit of breathing room, did the tea scent reach him.
The fragrance was pleasant, but the problem was that it was not a space made for people to live in.
Sniff, sniff.
Jeong Minsu wrinkled his nose and nodded.
“Right. We can’t have him stay here.”
“So, about that person who can interpret.”
“Mr. Himan.”
When Jeong Minsu supplied the name, Taesu corrected himself as well.
“Right. Whether it’s Mr. Himan or someone else, please ask them for a warm room.”
“There should be a house where they live. Anyway, got it.”
“Thanks.”
“Don’t doze off. Keep a good eye on him.”
Jeong Minsu said something unnecessary and left the tea-leaf storage warehouse.
Click.
The door closed.
At that very moment, the smile on Taesu’s face, now that he was alone, gradually stiffened.
Soon it began to twist, and at last he clutched his head with both hands.
“Ghhhhh.”
Only now did he reveal the pain he had abused himself with throughout the emergency surgery.
He could not show it while Jeong Minsu was there.
As he let out the headache he had been enduring all this time, the pain seemed to surge even more.
Thud.
Taesu’s body gave way, and he dropped to one knee.
“Too much… Ghh. I overdid it too much.”
To put it a bit severely, it felt as though his head were going to split in two.
The fact that Taesu had endured that until Jeong Minsu left was proof that he was no ordinary tough bastard.
Stagger.
Taesu struggled to his feet and took one step at a time toward the makeshift medical cart.
He could barely open his eyes properly.
Groping his way over, Taesu reached toward the pile of ampoules.
Clatter.
Looking through the tangled ampoules with one eye, he searched for a drug.
It was medication effective for tension type headache.
If he could help it, he did not want to solve this with medication.
He knew that if he slept deeply for a while, it would get much better.
But there was no choice.
‘I still have work to do…’
It was far too early to call it a day.
Alone, Taesu quietly administered the injection.
Push.
As the medicine entered his veins, thankfully, the headache quickly subsided.
His deeply distorted expression slowly relaxed.
After finally pulling out the empty syringe, Taesu gave a bitter smile.
“There’s no such thing as free in this world.”
This headache was the side effect of overusing Caprene’s knowledge.
It was one of the reasons Taesu did not blindly rely on Caprene’s knowledge.
If he overdid it, a price always came due.
He was clearly aware of that, but there was no regret on Taesu’s face.
Before he knew it, his gaze had turned toward the factory manager lying on the makeshift operating table.
On Taesu’s face as he looked at him, a calm smile was forming, as though nothing had happened.
A short while later.
Taesu was inside a house.
The materials making up the house were ones he had commonly seen in Kashmir. But the layout of the interior was typically Korean.
And closer to a hanok than an apartment, at that.
The factory manager was lying face down on a quilted floor bedding, not on a bed. With help from Himan and the others, they had been able to move him without difficulty.
Taesu sat near the factory manager’s head, adjusting the IV drip.
Unexpectedly, Taesu’s face was bright.
It was because, for the first time in a while, his backside felt nice and warm.
“As expected, a heated floor has to be ondol.”
He wondered why the people of Kashmir did not apply something this good to daily life.
He was finishing adjusting the IV when it happened.
Rumble.
The sliding door opened to the side, and a Korean woman in her mid-forties entered.
She was carrying a wide tray.
As soon as Taesu saw her, he quickly rose from his seat.
“You’re here.”
“Please don’t get up, doctor.”
“No. I should have given you reassuring news, but I couldn’t. I’m sorry, ma’am.”
Taesu offered the apology in a careful voice.
As Taesu had just addressed her, the woman who had entered was the factory manager’s wife.
Thanks to that, he had also heard the names of the factory manager and his wife.
Na Duyeong and Bong Yunju.
However, separate from their names, he addressed her as ma’am.
Bong Yunju seemed used to it and did not pay the title any mind.
Rather, at Taesu’s apology, she could not lift her head.
“We were truly so grateful that you doctors came then. So please don’t say such things.”
“That’s not what I mean…”
“I heard about my husband just now. Just seeing him lying there like that is enough. Truly.”
Bong Yunju’s sincerity felt even deeper than Taesu’s.
Perhaps because of that, Taesu felt a little embarrassed.
“Thank you for understanding.”
“No. More importantly, Dr. Jeong told me to bring this to you.”
Slide.
On the tray Bong Yunju offered were two blood transfusion bags.
Beside them was a cup of Toritina tea, steam rising from it.
Bong Yunju lowered her posture slightly and watched Taesu’s reaction.
It was clear she felt embarrassed, thinking it far too shabby and inadequate to offer as payment for her husband’s surgery.
Noticing it, Taesu received the entire tray with both hands.
“The blood has arrived. And this tea… I don’t think the factory manager will be able to drink it yet. May I have it?”
“Yes. Of course. No, I brought it for you to drink.”
“I was feeling a little thirsty. How did you know? Thank you.”
Taesu naturally let the situation pass.
Then he set the tray down and hung the blood bag first.
Drip.
Red blood flowed down the transparent IV line. He made sure every drop of that blood seeped into Factory Manager Na Duyeong’s body without spilling a single one.
Watching the transfusion like that, he finally picked up the teacup.
Sip.
It had a slightly astringent taste, so it was not suitable as a product. But when he thought of it as something stored away and drunk over time, he understood.
Taesu had grown up watching his farmer father, so he knew the characteristics of farming households well.
“Mm. It’s good.”
“You heard about our tea from the president, didn’t you?”
“Yes. A lot of things were steeped into this one cup of tea.”
Taesu expressed it somewhat metaphorically.
Perhaps because he had softened the words to make them pleasant to hear, Bong Yunju gave an awkward smile.
“I suppose so.”
“More importantly, is the senior madam still at that house?”
The senior madam Taesu referred to was President Gu Seungheon’s wife.
Kim Yeongseon.
He had heard her name as well, but used a title instead.
Bong Yunju understood immediately and nodded with a dark expression.
“Yes. With Mr. Barun ending up like that… she said she should stay beside the family, comfort them, and watch over them so they don’t get any strange ideas.”
“I saw them briefly when we were heading to the tea-leaf storehouse. For the family, what a bolt from the blue it must be.”
“Whew. Yes.”
Bong Yunju seemed troubled as well.
In truth, Taesu had several things he was curious about.
But now was not the time to ask.
They had only just become acquainted and begun speaking, so it was awkward to ask about matters buried deep.
Above all, Bong Yunju’s complexion was terrible.
He dared to guess just how much she must have worried all this time.
Her appearance gave off a slightly tough, tenacious impression, but her eyes were gentle.
Most of all, her hands were rough.
In many ways, one could see that the life Bong Yunju had shared with Factory Manager Na Duyeong had not been smooth.
That same Bong Yunju’s gaze toward Taesu gradually grew intense.
“……”
She said nothing.
But a powerful yearning could be felt in her eyes.
He was the benefactor who had saved Factory Manager Na Duyeong.
And the person who would tell them of the joy of the harvest they had long wished for.
And one more thing—the person who could allow them to keep living in this place where they had struggled so hard to settle down.
That person was the doctor named Taesu.
With all of her heart contained in them, she simply looked only at Taesu.
The moment he met that gaze, Taesu instinctively sensed it.
It was far too burdensome.
‘I’m just a lowly doctor, ma’am.’
No matter how much he shouted it inwardly, Bong Yunju would not be able to hear.
So Taesu made a decision.
He judged that there would be nothing good about staying in this house for long.
Slide.
First, he turned his head and avoided her gaze.
He could not immediately spring up and leave.
He had to check how Factory Manager Na Duyeong’s condition changed during the transfusion.
He had wanted to allow himself a little more time, but not anymore.
He immediately pressed the button on the automatic blood pressure monitor.
Beep.
Perhaps because the transfusion had begun, there was some movement in the blood pressure.
The pulse was slowly rising.
It was a good sign.
Confirming it with his own eyes, he hurriedly drank the hot tea.
Sip.
‘Hot, hot.’
Sip.
‘Ow, hot.’
Trying to drink hot tea quickly made it feel as though his insides were burning.
Even so, he could not leave behind tea prepared with such care.
Bong Yunju was startled when she saw Taesu’s actions.
“Please, drink slowly.”
“I must have been very thirsty.”
“Shall I bring you more?”
Bong Yunju looked ready to get up at once.
Taesu quickly stopped her and said,
“No. I should be going out now.”
“I suppose you should.”
“Yes. So I’d like to ask you something. Could you watch over the factory manager for me, ma’am?”
When Taesu asked, Bong Yunju answered immediately.
“Of course. I should naturally be by his side.”
“If not me, then a member of the medical staff will come in when they have time, but just in case…”
“If anything seems strange, I’ll go out and tell you right away.”
Because Bong Yunju answered so perceptively, Taesu’s mind eased as well.
“He’s stabilized quite a bit, so you don’t have to keep watching him the whole time. To be honest, I’d like to advise you to get a little sleep too, ma’am.”
“How could I, when the village is in this state?”
“Then just think of it as resting. I’ll excuse myself now.”
Rustle.
When Taesu got up, Bong Yunju rose along with him.
Taesu quickly gestured for her not to come out and moved.
After hurriedly leaving the factory manager’s house like that…
When Taesu felt the outside air, only then did it seem he could finally take a full breath.
“How am I supposed to live with this kind of pressure?”
Bong Yunju’s earnest gaze was still vivid before his eyes.
She was one step beyond President Gu Seungheon.
She wanted to protect their home and livelihood.
Even without words, her eyes had said so.
She surely did not want to easily abandon the tea fields and village they had cultivated and tended with such difficulty until now.
Taesu fully understood Bong Yunju’s position.
The problem was what came next.
She firmly believed that only Taesu could solve everything.
Right now, there was an elephant sitting on Taesu’s shoulders.
It had far surpassed a burden on the level of a polar bear.
To exaggerate a little, it felt as though his shoulders would fall off.
That was his honest feeling.
Still, what could he do? Taesu was standing here because he had been moved by President Gu Seungheon’s sense of responsibility.
He had no intention of avoiding responsibility for his choice.