Taesu slowly looked around the village.
It was a small village of roughly thirty households.
Behind the village, tea fields spread out in terraces along the mountain slope.
They were not enormous in scale. Judging from the traces of construction behind the tea fields, it seemed they had planned to continue expanding them.
Even the sturdy houses showed their resolve to put down deep roots here.
“Hmm.”
Just as Taesu let out a low murmur—
Crunch.
Footsteps sounded from behind him, followed by a familiar but weary voice.
“What are you doing there?”
“Brad. Are you done with the emergency surgery?”
“Yeah. Just now.”
“You worked hard.”
Taesu gave Brad Kim a light show of courtesy.
Even so, Brad Kim, his face drained of strength, grumbled.
“If you finished early, you could’ve come helped us.”
“We didn’t finish that long ago either.”
“We barely managed to wrap up on our end because we had no blood. How was it on your side?”
Brad Kim’s expression as he asked was far from good.
It must have been that close.
Taesu understood that feeling all too painfully.
“Us? We performed kidney surgery with a single blood pack.”
“You were groaning over the radio. But is the patient all right?”
“Yes. I just came out after hanging the blood pack we got from the donation. Until then, we defended the line by pouring in fluids.”
“So we were in the same boat. But a donation?”
Brad Kim’s eyes suddenly gleamed.
Taesu knew the question that would follow and answered on his own.
“Dr. Jeong is over at that house, selecting only people with type A and type O blood and taking donations.”
“I was wondering how to bring up blood donation anyway. That worked out.”
“We have to know what our team leader needs before he asks.”
Taesu slipped in a bit of cheek.
Brad Kim gave a thin smile, then asked with a hopeful look.
“There’s some for our patient too, right?”
“Of course. Dr. Jeong prepares that sort of thing thoroughly. But what about the patient?”
Taesu was looking not for Kim Hyeokgwon, but for the patient.
If Brad Kim was here, then it was only natural that Kim Hyeokgwon was taking care of the patient.
At that question, Brad Kim immediately raised a hand and pointed.
“He’s in that house over there. The one with the low wall.”
“Looks like you operated in the patient’s house.”
“There wasn’t really any place fit for surgery except the tea-leaf storage warehouse.”
“I can see that just from looking around now. More importantly, you said you needed to get a blood pack. Let’s go together.”
Just as Taesu suggested that—
He sensed someone approaching this way.
Turning his head, he saw Himan coming toward them with a blood pack in hand.
Tap, tap.
His steps were quick, but he was being careful not to fall.
Taesu spotted him first and called out.
“Himan, I hear Ritesh’s surgery has just ended too.”
“Then I should take this quickly.”
“Don’t rush too much.”
“Don’t worry.”
Whoosh.
Answering, Himan passed the two of them by.
Taesu looked at Brad Kim and said,
“The blood pack should be delivered soon.”
“The medical system here is nice. Blood pack delivery service. I like it.”
“That’s the only thing that’s nice. Just that.”
When Taesu emphasized the point, Brad Kim smiled bitterly.
“The emergency is over now, so should we focus on the problem here?”
“It looks like the sun will set soon. I’m not sure there’s any need to hurry that much.”
“We hurried on the way here.”
When Brad Kim glanced at him, Taesu answered with a subdued face.
“Because there’s been no action from either army.”
“After the mess they made today, it’d be hard for them to shamelessly show their faces.”
“Then we’ll wait until they come.”
“Is that so?”
Brad Kim wore a slightly strange expression.
It seemed he hadn’t expected Taesu, of all people, to drag things out.
That guess wasn’t wrong.
But that didn’t mean Taesu intended to rush right away either.
To avoid any misunderstanding, Taesu clearly stated his thoughts.
“These people should receive an apology and proper compensation. But if we hurry, what does that make them?”
“That’s true. If we step in now, what happened today will get buried.”
“One person died, and several people were badly injured. It can’t be buried.”
Taesu spoke with force.
Brad Kim’s voice gained strength along with his.
“We absolutely can’t let them gloss over it.”
“The villagers are still in shock.”
“I think I was only thinking about myself too much. I wanted to resolve this quickly and leave without making the problem any bigger. This makes me reflect a little.”
Brad Kim scratched the back of his head with an awkward expression as he reflected on himself.
That was one of his strengths.
He did not put off his own mistakes, but faced them head-on.
Taesu respected that side of him as well.
“To be honest, as soon as the emergency surgery was over, I was planning to go grab them by the collar too.”
“You were?”
“Yes. I held back because I didn’t have the strength to go down the mountain.”
“The Indian Army and the Pakistani Army got lucky today.”
When Brad Kim joked, Taesu played along.
“They really did…… You rotten bastards. At least sleep with your legs stretched out tonight.”
“Heh. By the way, did you contact Raku?”
When Brad Kim asked something important, Taesu shook his head.
“No. I didn’t have the presence of mind.”
“He’ll be worried, so we should let him know what’s happening here. Should I call?”
“I’ll call him.”
Taesu answered calmly.
As if he had been waiting for that answer, Brad Kim immediately accepted it.
“Then do that.”
“You’re agreeing too easily.”
“No. I’m just a little bothered that Dr. Jeong keeps suffering. I’ll head over that way.”
Thud. Thud.
Brad Kim deliberately strode forward with long steps.
Before he knew it, Taesu was smiling softly.
His words said otherwise, but his actions were completely different.
It seemed to be because Taesu was involved in the beginning of this matter.
Left alone, Taesu moved to a quiet place.
Then he discovered a small communications relay.
It stood tall in one corner of a house’s yard.
“That must be the president’s house.”
Taesu memorized the villagers’ houses by such characteristics.
And because that communications relay was there, phone calls were possible.
It was electronic equipment that required electricity, but he had no idea where the electricity came from.
It was a problem he had never paid attention to in Korea. But in Kashmir, it was something he always kept an eye on, no matter what city or village he went to.
The quality of life showed great differences in such small details.
Thinking that, he sat down on a rock.
He immediately took out his cell phone and looked at the screen, and sure enough, signal bars were showing.
Taesu called Raku right away.
Trill.
The signal tone rang, and soon Raku’s voice came through.
“Dr. Choi?”
Vrooom.
Background noise came through with it.
Taesu instinctively recognized it as the sound of a car engine and asked at once.
“Have you set off?”
“It’s been about two hours. What happened over there?”
“The emergency surgeries have all just ended, and the patients are recovering.”
“I see. One moment. Mr. Gu wants to speak with you.”
With those words, Raku’s voice grew distant.
Then President Gu Seungheon’s subdued voice came through.
“Dr. Choi. This is Gu Seungheon.”
“Are you very angry?”
“No. How could I be angry?”
That was what he said, but his voice was stiff.
Something terrible had happened in the village while he was away. And yet he had been asleep without knowing a thing. He had every reason to be furious about that.
It was impossible for him to feel nothing toward Taesu, who had led him into such a situation.
Taesu understood how President Gu Seungheon felt.
“It would be strange if you weren’t upset after hearing the news. You must have hurried Raku and set off right away.”
“That was only for a moment. Right now, I’m frustrated that I’m not there.”
“If that’s the case, I’m relieved. As for the situation here…”
“Yes. Please tell me.”
President Gu Seungheon’s voice grew louder.
It seemed he had pressed his face close to the cell phone as if to become one with it.
Taesu liked such actions from President Gu Seungheon.
So that he would not be left burning with anxiety any longer, Taesu explained the situation in the village.
“When we arrived…”
“Yes, yes. Mm…”
President Gu Seungheon’s occasional responses sank lower and lower.
In the meantime, Taesu finished his explanation.
“…And so the factory manager and Ritesh are each recovering at their own homes.”
“Thank you. Thank you so much.”
“Only the emergency surgeries are over. We can’t guarantee what changes may happen from here on.”
“Still, they survived, didn’t they? Varun… Varun…”
President Gu Seungheon’s voice trembled.
The grief and anguish in that feeling made Taesu’s own chest heave.
Taesu quickly gathered his emotions and spoke calmly.
“The reason I told you the news in detail was so you could steady your heart before coming.”
“Hooo…… Yes.”
“When do you think you’ll arrive at the village?”
“It will be night by the time we arrive.”
At his answer, Taesu roughly calculated the time.
They had left two hours ago, and yet they would arrive at night.
The travel time was enormously long.
He knew well enough that it couldn’t be helped, since not all the roads were maintained.
Taesu calmly finished the call first.
“Please tell Raku to drive carefully, and you should calm yourself a little, President Gu.”
“I understand.”
“And think about what to wring out of both armies.”
“That isn’t important right now.”
President Gu Seungheon tried to push it aside, but Taesu thought a little differently.
“I’m heartbroken too. But if we let this pass, those bastards will look down on you.”
“Hmm.”
“That could come back as another danger to the other villagers.”
“That absolutely cannot happen.”
When President Gu Seungheon answered in a firm tone, Taesu continued heavily.
“That’s why I’m telling you to think about it.”
“Hoo. Understood.”
“Then I’ll see you tonight. Please come safely.”
Wishing for his safety, Taesu hung up.
Then, taking the cell phone from his ear, Taesu murmured quietly.
“He isn’t weak-willed. He’s just too exhausted to think.”
Unexpectedly, Taesu understood President Gu Seungheon broadly.
That was because the village and tea fields he had built existed right before his eyes.
If he lacked backbone, he could never have carried out something like this in a far-off foreign land.
Taesu could guarantee at least that much.
Time passed, and the sun set.
Strangely enough, streetlights were shining throughout the village.
Taesu was walking by that light.
At his side were Jeong Minsu and Go Jiyong, the site foreman.
He had a robust build and a smiling impression.
His sociability was just as good.
That site foreman, Go Jiyong, was giving them a simple explanation about the village.
“…So we brought in a generator to clear land and study tea leaves at night as well.”
“Even a used one must have been quite expensive.”
“You saw our youngest earlier, didn’t you?”
When Site Foreman Go Jiyong asked, Jeong Minsu answered.
“Yes. Mr. Mo Sangdu.”
“Sangdu knows a bit about electricity and machines. As long as he has the materials, he can make what we need.”
“He made a generator?”
“Not that. We asked Rajkumar to get us a broken generator. That’s the cheapest option.”
Only after hearing Site Foreman Go Jiyong’s explanation did Jeong Minsu understand.
“So you brought in a broken generator, repaired it, and are using it like this.”
“Yes. Fortunately, fuel is cheap here, so it isn’t much of a burden to operate.”
It was after Site Foreman Go Jiyong finished answering.