Next was the seventh patient.
He had a large burn on his right leg.
Perhaps because all the heat had escaped, it was shriveled and wrinkled. Taesu, who had studied burns extensively during that time, immediately recalled the procedure.
“Minimal debridement of damaged tissue, followed by continuous management with burn ointment.”
“Okay.”
“Starting right away.”
“T-Taesu.”
Jeong Minsu called out with parched lips.
Taesu provoked him with a deadpan face.
“Are you done already?”
“Who…… ugh.”
Despite his will, raising both arms no longer came easily.
Still, Taesu showed no mercy.
“Are you going to lose to burns of this degree?”
“Which bastard would say such a thing.”
“What are you doing? Teacher Jeong, hurry up and keep up!”
“R-right.”
Jeong Minsu’s answering voice had grown noticeably quieter.
Regardless.
Taesu began the surgery immediately.
Jeong Minsu’s movements had definitely slowed.
The difference in stamina between the two was visible to the eye.
That didn’t mean Taesu’s stamina was overwhelmingly superior to Jeong Minsu’s.
An easy analogy would be the difference in fuel efficiency.
Taesu minimized unnecessary movements and acted calculatedly. In contrast, Jeong Minsu had charged forward with his eyes only on what was ahead.
So at first, Jeong Minsu may have appeared more motivated.
Now, Taesu was continuing the surgery far more motivated and aggressively.
Followed by the eighth, and then the ninth patient.
With each repeated surgery, Jeong Minsu withered.
“This is surgery hell.”
Such an expression flowed out naturally.
It was a situation where Jeong Minsu could fully feel that way.
What about Taesu?
There was no way he would be fine when Jeong Minsu was exhausted like that.
Huff. Huff.
He was catching his breath, but at least he could still control it regularly.
Not even a day had passed since they began treating the soldiers.
If he were to break at this level, he might be branded as a doctor who was all rumor and no substance.
He couldn’t stand to see himself like that.
He absolutely refused.
It wasn’t just to protect his pride.
The tea leaf harvest would soon begin.
Until enough was harvested, the medical staff had to be essential personnel to both armies.
Moreover, the soldiers’ condition was too poor.
If he didn’t know, that would be one thing, but having seen it directly like this, he didn’t want to treat even a single person carelessly.
This had nothing to do with their profession as soldiers.
It was closely related to the weight of the gown Taesu was wearing.
That was why he could say the next words.
“Only two left now.”
A resolute determination settled in Taesu’s heavy gaze.
Shortly after.
The tenth patient’s surgery began.
But Jeong Minsu was moving his hands with unfocused eyes.
Calling it a state of trance would be an overstatement.
‘He must feel like he’s dying.’
His groaning about surgery hell couldn’t have been for nothing.
It wasn’t just Jeong Minsu’s problem.
Taesu’s stamina was also gradually bottoming out. The fortunate thing was that they had performed the surgeries in order of urgency.
Thanks to that, the current patient’s symptoms weren’t serious.
That didn’t mean he intended to perform the surgery half-heartedly.
Taesu snapped at the exhausted Jeong Minsu.
“It’s not over yet!”
“Huh?”
“Get a hold of yourself. Did I provoke you just for this?”
Taesu’s rebuke was merciless.
Jeong Minsu gritted his teeth and growled.
“Yeah. Kill me, just kill me.”
“Don’t just flap your lips. Can’t you see here? Hurry, move!”
Taesu pushed Jeong Minsu to the very edge.
Even a cornered rat will bite a cat.
Jeong Minsu was exactly like that right now.
“Son of a…… you worthless bastard!”
“Cursing at me won’t end the surgery.”
“Not you, that military surgeon bastard, just let me meet him!”
“You won’t meet him, so just move.”
“Uaaaaah!”
Jeong Minsu let out a desperate scream and moved his stiffening hands again.
Even so, Taesu’s expression didn’t change one bit.
‘You grow through this.’
He knew all too well because he had experienced it many times. That didn’t mean he enjoyed Jeong Minsu’s suffering.
The rebukes now were actually words directed at himself.
You can do it.
You will do it.
He had been endlessly repeating it inwardly, shouting it, driving himself on.
If not, he couldn’t continue.
That was the extent to which he was only composed on the outside.
Swish, swish, snip, snip.
Taesu and Jeong Minsu fought endlessly against themselves and moved their hands once more.
After some time had passed.
They moved from the tenth patient to the eleventh patient’s surgery.
That surgery too was now reaching its final stage.
The operating room was a mess unlike any other.
At first, they had cleaned up neatly every time they switched patients, but at some point they couldn’t anymore.
So in the corner of the operating room, used surgical supplies were piled up.
They filled a large cardboard box to the brim and still rose like a mountain.
Having operated that much, Taesu and Jeong Minsu looked disheveled too.
Jeong Minsu in particular looked dangerous.
Hoooo. Huff.
Slip, slip.
His rough breathing never ceased.
Even so, with both hands trembling, he barely held onto the affected area.
Taesu dealt with that affected area.
Even Taesu’s hands shook slightly.
Snip, swish.
It was the moment he moved a few more times.
Taesu furrowed his brow deeply and stopped his hands.
“Ngh!”
“Cramp?”
“I-I’m fine.”
“Then hurry and continue.”
Jeong Minsu snapped mercilessly.
It was a state where clumsy comfort and encouragement were useless. If the tension broke now, they would collapse.
Neither had ever imagined the unsightly spectacle of a doctor collapsing during surgery.
That was why he was pushing.
Of course, Taesu thought the same.
It was too unfair to let go of the tension right before the end. With that spite, he forcibly shook out his stiff hands.
Shake, shake.
“Nngh.”
“Shake gently. You’ll lose strength.”
“Shut up. Just hold it properly.”
When Taesu retorted, Jeong Minsu pouted.
“A guy whose mouth is the only thing alive even when he’s about to die.”
“Ditto. Still, we’re almost there now. Ngh!”
Swish. Swish.
Taesu forcibly moved his tingling hands and continued the surgery.
No matter how dark and long a tunnel, it eventually ended.
A little more time passed.
They entered the final stage of the surgery with skin suturing.
The two were performing the suture together, and their appearance was truly peculiar.
Jeong Minsu was holding the needle holder with both hands.
Piercing the skin with the suture needle, he looked for Taesu.
“Nngh. Here.”
“Hup!”
Taesu took a desperate breath and grasped the suture needle. That surgical instrument was also a needle holder, and just like Jeong Minsu, he held it with both hands and moved it.
They were both in such a state that they couldn’t move surgical instruments with one hand.
Still, they were finishing through makeshift means.
They had already made considerable progress; it was a matter of a few more stitches.
One last step remained. Compared to the surgeries until now, it was nothing.
But that one step felt farther and longer.
That was just a thought.
Reality was right before their eyes.
Though slow, they proceeded unwaveringly without stopping.
Finally, it was over.
Snip.
Cutting the suture thread, they put a grand finale on eleven consecutive surgeries.
Taesu spoke with a pale face, faltering.
“S-surgery’s over. Good…… good work.”
“Good…… good…… work.”
Thud.
Jeong Minsu sat down right there the moment the greeting ended.
Now he didn’t even have the strength to stand.
Taesu wasn’t much different.
Stagger.
He braced himself on the operating table with both hands and barely maintained his balance.
The rough, ragged breaths bursting out were inevitable.
“Huff, huff. It’s over.”
“Is it really over? Now…… no…… none…… more, right?”
“Probably.”
Taesu didn’t answer clearly.
Because he hadn’t been able to budge from the operating room all this time, he couldn’t know the situation outside.
It was then.
Shuffle.
Jeong Minsu, who had been leaning on the operating table, forcibly pulled himself up.
Jeong Minsu, having barely managed to stand, suddenly scolded Taesu.
“Did you really push me to the very end? Are you even human?”
“You should know you aren’t either. If you can’t do it, you should give up and say so. Then we’d both be comfortable.”
“As if I’d do it for someone else’s sake. Absolutely not. I absolutely won’t give up.”
“Creepy bastard.”
“Ditto.”
Taesu and Jeong Minsu growled at each other.
Contrary to their appearance, the gazes exchanged between them were remarkably tenacious.
They knew that if it hadn’t been for each other, they couldn’t have reached this end.
They had been able to come this far by provoking, snapping at, angering, and encouraging each other.
Perhaps because of that, before they knew it, they were sporting faint smiles.
After catching their breath, Taesu picked up the radio.
“Doctor Sam. Surgery is over.”
Click.
The moment he dropped the radio helplessly.
The operating room door opened, and Squad Leader Sam and Private Anthony entered carrying a stretcher.
They were already sick and tired of Taesu and Jeong Minsu.
“You actually did it.”
“Are they a bit tough?”
“They’re extremely vicious.”
Both Squad Leader Sam and Private Anthony shuddered.
Even they, who had received extreme training, acknowledged Taesu and Jeong Minsu’s tenacity.
Taesu hadn’t called them to hear such praise, so he got to the main point.
“Let’s take care of the patient first.”
“That way we can clean up and get some rest too,” Jeong Minsu added.
At that moment, Squad Leader Sam and Private Anthony exchanged glances.
After some kind of signal passed between them, Private Anthony spoke.
“We’ll clean up, so please just go out.”
“What about the patient…….”
“We’ll move him first and come back to clean up.”
As Private Anthony finished speaking, Squad Leader Sam chimed in.
“That would be best. Don’t touch anything and just go out as you are.”
“But still…….”
“You’re on the verge of collapsing, what stubbornness is this? Please go out.”
Nudge.
Squad Leader Sam, standing close, pushed Taesu.
It was a light push, but Taesu couldn’t even withstand that.
“Ugh. I’m going. I’m going, I said.”
“Doctor Jeong, you too, hurry.”
Flick, flick.
Squad Leader Sam even gestured.
Jeong Minsu nodded in reply and moved.
And so Taesu and Jeong Minsu took off only their surgical gowns and came out of the operating room.
They couldn’t gauge how long it had been since they had come out.
What was certain was that the sun had set and night had come.
And it was deep into the night.
Taesu checked the time on his watch and forced an awkward smile.
“It’s almost midnight.”
“What.”
Jeong Minsu opened his eyes wide, dumbfounded.
Taesu had the same reaction.
“Seriously, what the hell.”
“But it’s gotten quiet,” Jeong Minsu said, looking around the yard.
No one was visible to Taesu’s eyes either.
There should have been more patients, but they had vanished without a trace.
It was when their expressions were turning puzzled.
“Mind the threshold.”
The sound of a patient coming out of the operating room was heard.
Taesu and Jeong Minsu immediately stepped aside.
Rustle.
The moment they tried to ask, Squad Leader Sam answered first.
“When you were performing the eighth patient’s surgery, I sent them back at my own discretion.”
“What about the remaining patients?”
“You already treated them briefly, didn’t you? They all said they were fine and that they’d come back in the morning.”
“I see.”
“Excuse us, then.”
Swish.
Squad Leader Sam and Private Anthony headed next door with the patient.