Taesu had already torn the gauze with his mouth. At the same time, he gripped the gauze with a Mixter and carefully wiped away the clotted blood and festering pus.
Under those meticulous hands, the clots and pus were gradually washed away.
Plop.
Along with them, necrotic muscle and bone fragments fell away together.
Taesu's hand stopped dead.
"Damn it."
He even forced himself to swallow his bitter frustration.
Jeong Minsu was also seeing the reason with his own eyes, and his gaze wavered slightly.
"There's no bleeding."
"…."
Taesu clamped his mouth shut.
It was a sign of affirmation that what Jeong Minsu had seen was accurate.
Once the scabs and pus were washed away, bleeding absolutely had to occur.
The fact that it wasn't happening meant the blood vessels had already been severed.
He had fully anticipated this situation.
He knew, yet he had wanted to find hope, even if he had to force it.
That had to remain nothing more than the wishful thinking of Taesu and Jeong Minsu. The lower half of the patient's calf had already lost all function.
Having confirmed it with his own eyes, even a sliver of hope evaporated completely.
"Phew."
"Damn. Hah."
A sense of futility washed over them in that instant.
But that didn't mean they let their hands fall idle.
They couldn't wrap up the first aid like this. They had to prevent the necrosis from spreading further.
There was only one way to do that.
Taesu steeled his heart.
And.
Snap.
With cold eyes wiped clean of emotion, he looked at the patient.
"…."
The moment their eyes met.
Had the patient sensed the frigid atmosphere?
The patient's eyes opened wider and wider, and his pupils shook violently. Then he twisted his body fiercely and thrashed about.
"Uwaaack. %#$."
A piercing scream followed by a shriek.
He didn't know what it meant.
But he could guess.
They couldn't just watch like this.
Taesu and Jeong Minsu reached out simultaneously and pressed down on the patient's shoulders.
Thud.
"Calm down."
"Get a hold of yourself. Snap out of it."
Taesu and Jeong Minsu shouted in English.
Of course, those voices didn't reach the patient, who was terrified out of his mind.
"Aaaack, aack."
His terror-stricken shriek echoed out pathetically.
The villagers here were also watching the situation.
But none of them said a word.
"…."
"…."
They turned their heads away, averting their eyes from this moment.
It was because they could all see the patient's shredded calf.
To anyone who looked, it was a state beyond recovery.
Taesu and Jeong Minsu were busy restraining him as he flailed violently.
Then Squad Leader Sam approached over the patient's head and pushed down on his shoulders with both hands.
"Doctor."
His eyes were resolute.
It meant he would hold on by any means necessary.
The other PKO soldiers were also watching the situation, poised to rush over at any moment.
In any case, thanks to Squad Leader Sam, Taesu and Jeong Minsu's hands were freed.
But they didn't immediately proceed with treatment.
Watching on, Taesu's mouth opened with difficulty.
"I have to explain this properly."
"Do we really have to do it now?"
"We've already lost a lot of time. If we delay here, it'll reach the knee. Damn it."
Taesu couldn't bear to finish and spat out his irritation.
Jeong Minsu agreed with that part.
"Should we wait for Mr. Hyeokgwon anyway?"
"That would be best. But it seems impossible in this state, so I think we need to put him to sleep first."
"Then we can't wake him up right away even when Mr. Hyeokgwon arrives."
"Leave him like this?"
Taesu asked sharply.
The patient had already lost his reason.
If they left him like that, there was no telling what he might do.
Squad Leader Sam couldn't hold him down forever either. If an unexpected accident was likely, nipping it in the bud was best for everyone.
As if understanding the implication, Jeong Minsu reluctantly forced out a reply.
"I'll prepare the sedative."
"Okay."
The expression on Taesu's face as he answered was anything but good.
In the meantime, Jeong Minsu took out a syringe.
The patient thrashed even harder upon seeing it.
"^%.$, Aaaack."
Taesu and Jeong Minsu deliberately turned away from his screams.
It was while that dark atmosphere continued—
That a slightly rough voice in English cut through the patient's screams.
"Are you saying that if we're going to amputate, it has to be now?"
Taesu hesitated for a moment.
It was a familiar English accent he had always heard nearby.
Had Kim Hyeokgwon arrived?
But it wasn't Korean.
Puzzled, Taesu immediately turned his head to check who it was.
Standing there was not Kim Hyeokgwon, but a completely different person.
He was a typical Middle Eastern Asian man.
His distinguishing features were a bushy beard and neat attire.
That wasn't important.
There was only one thing Taesu was curious about.
"Can you convey those words to this person?"
"Of course. That's why I stepped forward like this."
"Um…."
Taesu hesitated slightly.
But the man was so perceptive that he immediately inferred and spoke.
"I'm called Rajikumar. You can feel free to call me 'Raku'."
"Thank you. Then, Mr. Raku. It seems this person's leg…."
As Taesu trailed off, Raku spoke with a rigid expression.
"He seems to have sensed it too, deep down. He just can't admit it, and doesn't want to admit it."
"Phew."
"Just a moment."
Raku suddenly asked for their understanding.
At the same time, Raku's broad palm flew toward the patient's face.
Smack.
It was a sudden assault.
Taesu and Jeong Minsu froze at what happened before their eyes.
"Ah, no."
"Why. No, why?"
They weren't the only ones surprised.
The patient, struck out of nowhere, stopped screaming and his face went blank. To him, Raku shouted something in the local language.
".#^#$%#."
Swish, swish.
He spoke in a loud voice and even gestured here and there.
His momentum was fierce, too.
Perhaps overwhelmed by his force, the patient couldn't muster his spirit.
Anyone could see he was being scolded.
Taesu and Jeong Minsu found it hard to hide their bewilderment.
"What the?"
"Right. Who is that guy?"
They didn't know yet.
But what was certain was that the chaotic atmosphere had shifted slightly.
Soon, Raku asked Taesu,
"You may speak now. What should I tell him?"
"Huh?"
"I said I would deliver the message for you, didn't I?"
Raku said as if it were obvious.
Taesu looked at him with a dazed expression.
"You said you would do that. But…."
"Ah, about hitting him? What else can you do when he's screaming like that? He has to come to his senses to hear anything, doesn't he?"
Raku answered with a bitter expression.
Taesu's expression toward him changed moment by moment.
The man was too calm.
And he didn't so much as frown while looking at the horrific wound.
Above all, even knowing what was going to happen, he had laid hands on the patient and even browbeaten him.
He didn't look like someone who was simply strong-willed.
He was a man with something to him.
The speculation stopped there.
Taesu prioritized the most pressing issue.
"I'm truly sorry, but the patient's leg is…."
"$##%^."
Raku looked not at Taesu, but at the patient, and spoke.
It seemed he was interpreting in real time.
"…."
The quieted patient gazed elsewhere in silence.
The explanation of the situation continued in that quietude.
But the moment the opinion on amputation was mentioned, the patient's attitude changed.
He flinched.
As the patient tried to stir again, Squad Leader Sam quickly pressed him back down.
"Hup."
Despite his efforts, the patient shouted something.
Raku immediately interpreted.
"He's asking if you absolutely have to cut it off, if there's no other way."
"Hoo. He already can't feel anything anymore."
Taesu said something that seemed to come out of nowhere.
While everyone was puzzled, Taesu subtly shifted his gaze. That gaze was directed at the mangled calf.
Jeong Minsu had covered the ragged calf with his hand.
The patient's pupils shook violently upon seeing it with his own eyes.
He seemed to finally realize for certain that sensation had vanished to such an extent.
Taesu continued speaking to the patient, whose eyes were full of confusion.
"It's the same for everything below here."
Slide, slide.
Taesu carefully felt along the calf.
It was a gruesome sight, but Taesu's hands were as careful as if handling something precious.
Those hands soon reached the tips of the toes.
But the patient didn't flinch or frown even once. Even though he was watching with his eyes, he couldn't feel anything at all.
What must his state of mind have been like?
Surprise, bewilderment, frustration.
The patient's expression changed constantly.
Then the patient suddenly shouted in anger.
Raku, who had been listening carefully, conveyed it to Taesu.
"He's asking what the pain was until now, and even now, if he can't feel anything."
"It's because he can still feel here."
Tap.
Taesu lightly pressed a spot on the leg.
It happened at the same time.
The patient, who hadn't moved an inch until now, flinched.
He should have been writhing in agony. It was only because the morphine had dulled the pain that his reaction was limited to this.
Taesu told him without embellishment.
"For now, he still has sensation here. Of course, given time... As I mentioned earlier, I won't explain further."
"I told him, but there's no reaction."
It was exactly as Raku said.
The patient's face was already filled with helpless despair.
It was impossible to even imagine how many thoughts were running through his mind.
They were watching him like that.
"…."
Nod.
The patient nodded his head ever so slightly.
And then he bit his lip tightly and closed his eyes.
He seemed to have finally accepted this reality.
But the roles of the head and the heart were far too different.
Trickle.
Hot tears streamed down from his eyes.
In the end, the patient consented to the emergency treatment.
That didn't mean Taesu and Jeong Minsu's expressions could lighten.
They were endlessly heavy.
Even with those heavy hearts, their hands moved.
They had to proceed with the emergency treatment quickly before the patient changed his mind.
Jeong Minsu held up a transparent syringe.
"I'm ready."
"Feel for it, and once you've got the spot, inject immediately."
"Got it."
Press. Press.
Jeong Minsu carefully began locating the spot for treatment.
Then Taesu felt countless gazes fixed on them.
Men and women, young and old.
All mixed together.
It was inappropriate to perform the procedure in such an open space.
The operating room was probably empty by now, but they couldn't leave their post again.
Too many people were waiting to waste any more time.
So for now, they had to finish the first aid at a level sufficient to prevent further amputation and stop the necrosis from spreading.
Even as he thought this, he asked a waiting soldier,
"Private Anthony, do you have a wide piece of cloth?"
"Um. We have a waterproof cover. I can bring it right away, no. I'll go get it."
Rustle.
Private Anthony moved first, correcting himself. And he truly quickly returned carrying a large sheet of cloth.
As if sensing Taesu's intention, other soldiers also approached to help.
"You there, hold that."
"Careful, hurry."
They could even hear contradictory urgings.