Only then did Taesu realize, pointing at himself as he asked Squad Leader Sam, "Could it be me?"
"Yes. It seems they came to a tacit agreement after hearing the news that the 'Hero of Ijambakeu' was heading to Sahadeu."
"No way."
"……."
"Really?"
When Taesu asked again, Squad Leader Sam nodded.
"I'm certain."
"If it's come to this, should I tour the entire Kashmir region? Then the war would probably stop."
"Are you serious?"
Squad Leader Sam asked with a slightly flustered expression. Even so, his face still held a look of disbelief. On the other hand, Taesu's eyes flashed sharply with a determined face.
A glint.
"If I can truly stop the war, I'll do it."
"Doctor Choe……."
*Gulp.*
Squad Leader Sam swallowed his words. If it was the Taesu who had shown himself in Ijambakeu, he had more than enough of a personality to do so. Tension filled the air in an instant.
It was then.
Taesu smiled bitterly and opened his mouth again.
"But if I go poking around everywhere, I'll get shot."
"Ah, I'm relieved you know that."
"I have enough sense to know that mu—……. Huh?"
Taesu's eyes narrowed in an instant. It was because he saw villagers coming up the hill behind Squad Leader Sam.
At the forefront was Kandoreu, the village chief of Sahadeu, constantly checking behind him. In the villagers' hands was a makeshift stretcher.
It was an unusual sight.
He had no intention of simply watching until they arrived here.
"Excuse me."
*Swish.*
Taesu asked Squad Leader Sam for understanding and quickly passed by, heading that way.
Soon Taesu met the hastily approaching Kandoreu halfway. The beard covering Kandoreu's face trembled fiercely. In a voice that shook as much as that anxious face, he spoke.
"Doctor, rescue the person who was buried under the debris……. ^$#%."
Kandoreu, who had been squeezing out crude English, seemed frustrated with himself and spoke in his own language. It was impossible for Taesu to understand. But there was no need to worry.
The fact that Kandoreu was speaking in his language meant Gim Hyeokgwon had arrived. Sure enough, the quick-witted Gim Hyeokgwon's voice was heard from behind.
"He was crushed under heavy debris."
At those words, Taesu's gaze turned sharply.
"Let me check first."
*Swish.*
Taesu immediately passed Kandoreu and headed for the stretcher.
On the stretcher?
A villager in his forties lay there, covered in entangled white dust and bloodstains.
"……."
There was no groaning.
Unconscious?
Then what about his breathing?
*Slide.*
He placed the back of his hand by the patient's nose. Though faint, he felt heat and breath.
That was a relief.
But something strange was discovered. On the outside, there didn't seem to be any severe tearing or broken bones. On the other hand, his abdomen was swollen.
Given that the patient had a skinny physique, it was by no means normal. He was certain there was a serious abnormality inside the body.
Taesu quickly pointed at the medical tent.
"That way, quickly."
"@%#$.#."
From behind, Gim Hyeokgwon shouted a translation. The people quickly nodded and headed that way.
Taesu immediately spoke to Gim Hyeokgwon.
"Come with me and wash him with saline."
"Got it."
*Clatter.*
Gim Hyeokgwon followed immediately after answering.
The reason Taesu didn't head there immediately was because the situation here was important too. There were still many people needing help. He couldn't irresponsibly enter surgery. So Taesu turned around and found Squad Leader Sam.
"Sam."
"Yes, Doctor."
*Clack.*
He too sensed the strange atmosphere and approached immediately.
The moment they faced each other again, Taesu asked immediately.
"You said you received first aid training from the PKO, right?"
"I received training from both the PKO and NGO. And there's a medic over there too."
"Then please dress their wounds and give them painkillers. For those the painkillers don't work on, make a list and……."
As Taesu's worries dragged on, Squad Leader Sam cut in.
"Doctor. We have enough sense to handle that much as well."
"I'm counting on you."
"Yes."
That gave Taesu a small measure of relief. Turning around, Taesu found Jeong Minsu, who was flinching while administering emergency treatment on the other side.
"Jeong Minsu, quickly."
"M-me too?"
"Stop talking nonsense. Hurry."
*Swish, swish.*
Taesu gestured quickly and intensely. Jeong Minsu, who had been watching the situation, sprang to his feet. As it was, he had the face of someone who had just survived the ordeal of the patients' conditions.
Taesu also hurried toward the medical tent.
No, he tried to head there.
But it was then.
*Grab.*
Someone grabbed Taesu's hand.
"@^@#$%@$."
A scream-like wail was heard as well.
*Hesitation.*
Even without understanding, Taesu had an intuition about whose voice it was.
A guardian.
*Grab.*
Someone tried to pry Taesu's hand free.
However.
The guardian did not let go. She clutched desperately enough that Taesu could feel a throbbing pain in his wrist.
"……."
Taesu slowly turned his body. His opponent was an old woman past middle age. Sixties? Seventies? He couldn't tell exactly. However, her complexion pale to the point of fainting, and the endless stream of tears, gave him an acute intuition of who she was.
She was the patient's mother. Another villager tried to pull her away, but she didn't budge an inch. She was ignoring the difference in their physiques.
That was meaningless. A parent's heart toward a child in danger could not be measured by weight.
In truth, there was no time to delay like this. But he couldn't ignore the guardian's crushing heart either.
Taesu decided quickly and acted fast.
What was his action?
*Swish.*
He strode right up to the guardian.
In an instant, he closed the distance and stood face-to-face with the guardian. The guardian's eyes grew even more piteous and despairing.
*Clasp.*
"@#$%@."
She wrapped both hands around Taesu's hand that she was holding and shouted endlessly in the local language.
Even without understanding, it was a plea impossible to mistake.
—Please save my son.
That desperate gaze and tone, as if the world were collapsing, left no room for any other interpretation.
Taesu's gaze toward such a guardian wavered slightly.
That patient sent to the operating room. The emergency surgery hadn't been decided for no reason. It far exceeded a level that was simply not good.
Neither could he tell her to give up. On the contrary, he couldn't give her unconditional reassurance to set her mind at ease.
There were truly no words he could easily say.
But this much was certain.
*Thud.*
Taesu placed his own hand over the guardian's.
And facing her sorrowful gaze, he spoke with a firm look in his eyes.
"I will do my best."
"!^$#@^@#$%……."
The guardian repeated the same words without understanding. Unfortunately, Taesu's consideration ended here. Even if he seemed cold-hearted for the patient's sake, he had to move now.
*Rustle.*
"I will definitely do my best. I will never give up first."
Expressing his urgent feelings as they were, he pulled his body back.
As if noticing his gesture, the people around them held onto the guardian.
*Grab.*
"……."
Everyone nodded toward Taesu with the same expression, the same gaze.
"I'm sorry. Excuse me."
Having urgently begged the guardian's pardon, Taesu forcibly removed his hand from hers.
And he turned and ran.
*Clatter.*
From behind?
"Uwaaaah, ^#%29%@$%!!"
The guardian's heart-wrenching screams filled Taesu's ears.
*Flap.*
Taesu came rushing in after roughly flipping open the partition.
At the same time, Gim Hyeokgwon's voice was heard.
"%#$%."
He was shouting, and Kandoreu and the people were moving together.
They were pouring saline onto the patient lying on the operating table with awkward hands and wiping him clean with clean gauze.
Under Gim Hyeokgwon's direction, everyone seemed to be lending a hand.
But Gim Hyeokgwon himself was not at the operating table.
*Clatter.*
He was pouring surgical tools into a large basin—a steel bowl—beside it.
Anyone could see he was preparing as best he could.
Taesu also quickly approached. Clumsy baskets were lined up in a row on the steel shelves above and below.
The moment he arrived, Gim Hyeokgwon spoke quickly.
"I'll take care of things here. You said we need to connect the ECG or ECZ or whatever."
"I'm going."
*Swish.*
Without stopping, Taesu passed right through.
Had Gim Hyeokgwon turned on the power? The ECG lights were on. The electricity produced through the portable generator was only enough to be used for the surgery.
That was something to worry about when they had free time.
Taesu immediately picked up the ECG pads and approached the patient.
His clothes were completely torn. The dust had cleanly disappeared, showing just how much saline had been poured.
Naturally, the patient was drenched. It didn't matter at all.
*Tak, tak.*
Taesu quickly attached the ECG.
At the same time, he gestured outward to Chief Kandoreu.
"We'll take it from here. Hurry."
"O-okay."
Chief Kandoreu answered in forced English and said something to the villagers.
Then the villagers each said something as they moved their reluctant steps.
It was a language he couldn't understand. But sometimes, one could perceive what feelings lay within it without needing the language itself.
'Please save him.'
'I'm begging you.'
'I'll pray for you.'
That was definitely what they meant.
He could tell well enough just by the fact that Gim Hyeokgwon didn't bother translating.
It was then.
Jeong Minsu entered through the partition that the villagers had just exited.
His face was full of bewilderment.
"No, how am I supposed to do surgery."
Extreme nervousness was written all over Jeong Minsu's face. He had rarely had the experience of standing properly in an operating room until now. Perhaps it was only natural given the characteristics of Korean hospitals.
Taesu had no leisure to accommodate such things.
Once he connected the ECG?
*Beep-beep-beep.*
The graphs and numbers were going wild on their own. To the point that an average couldn't possibly be calculated. It was a super-emergency situation even among emergencies.
This was not a situation to leisurely disinfect and whatnot.
He had to open him up first.
His experience until now stimulated him like instinct. Kaprene's knowledge led him in the exact same way.
Deliberation, thought?
They weren't needed.
*Flash.*
His eyes sharpening, Taesu quickly stripped off his gown and shouted.
"Mr. Hyeokgwon, surgical gloves. Minsu, what are you doing."
"The surgical gloves are here."
*Swish.*
Gim Hyeokgwon's reaction was fast.
On the other hand, Jeong Minsu?
"……."
He just stood there blankly.