Taesu, holding emergency medical supplies, discreetly showed them and asked.
"Is there somewhere you're hurt?"
"What are you talking about? You're the one who needs treatment."
"Me?"
"Yes. Right here."
Tap.
Namgung Hyeoncheol stepped closer and lightly tapped his back.
In that instant, Taesu's puzzled face contorted.
"Kuhk!"
"And you were just going to sleep like this?"
"These are painkillers......."
"Painkillers, antibiotics, anti-inflammatories....... You weren't planning to swallow them by the fistful, were you?"
At Namgung Hyeoncheol's words, Taesu glanced at him with a frown.
"You know about Western medicine too?"
"Did you think Korean medicine doctors only take herbal medicine?"
"Well, in Korea, even doctors take plenty of herbal medicine."
Taesu muttered something to convince himself.
But Namgung Hyeoncheol's attention was focused solely on Taesu.
"Stop saying things you don't understand, take off your shirt, and lie face down."
"Take it off?"
"How else would I do cupping?"
Taesu flinched at the word 'cupping.'
He didn't have good memories of it from childhood.
The pain from when he had sprained his ankle played a part too.
"I think my condition is a bit poor."
"It would be strange if your condition was good when your back hurts that much."
"That's not it. I think I have a bit of a fever too."
"Here's a doctor offering to treat you, so why so many words? And you scold patients for whining and nitpicking."
Namgung Hyeoncheol didn't seem willing to back down.
He stood with his back to the door, blocking the way.
Then Mosangdu subtly interjected.
"That's right. Didn't you say that neglecting pain makes it worse?"
"Who said that?"
"The person who just asked who said that."
Swoosh.
Mosangdu even pointed at Taesu.
Taesu's expression had become awkward before he knew it.
—Even though I'm treating you, you really don't listen.
—No matter how much you try to squirm out of it, you're only hurting yourself.
—Neglecting it for a day or two because you think it's fine is the fast track to complications.
These were all things he had said while making Mosangdu lie down when Mosangdu had tried to postpone treatment.
Now that the situation was reversed, Taesu was behaving exactly the same.
Whether Namgung Hyeoncheol remembered that or not, his words became a sharp spear that poked at Taesu's chest.
"How can someone who recklessly abuses his own body claim to treat others' bodies with care?"
"Ahem. I hear you."
"I'm saying it for you to hear, so wouldn't it be a problem if you didn't catch the hint?"
"Oh, come on."
"Hurry up and lie down. I want to finish quickly and rest too."
Tap, tap.
Namgung Hyeoncheol patted the empty bed, urging him on.
This was a four-person room, and currently three people were using it, including field team leader Gojiyong, who wasn't here right now.
So there was one bed left.
Taesu was displeased even by that.
"They should put away unused beds quickly. People are so lazy."
"If this bed weren't here, I would have offered my own bed."
"I said I'll lie face down."
In the end, Taesu couldn't withstand the nagging and took off his outer shirt.
Then he exposed his upper body and lay face down on the bed. They were clean clothes he had just bought at a nearby store.
Once Taesu was ready, Namgung Hyeoncheol brought a small handbag.
Ziiip.
When he opened the zipper, an unexpectedly diverse array of treatment tools was inside.
Looking at them, Taesu asked with a slightly surprised expression.
"You packed this in the middle of that chaos?"
"This is my alter ego. It's my personal medical equipment stained with my own hands, so of course I packed it."
"Personal medical equipment."
Taesu chewed over those words.
Quite a few surgeons had their own surgical instruments.
Usually, the hospital managed them.
It was a bit early for Taesu to be thinking about personal surgical instruments.
But someday, he would need them.
He was in the middle of such thoughts.
Clack. Clack.
Namgung Hyeoncheol began taking out uniquely shaped needles and cupping jars.
Taesu asked with a curious gaze.
"The cups look like porcelain."
"You burn away the oxygen inside with fire to create suction. It's the old way."
"The needle shape is unique too. Is it called a bloodletting needle?"
As Taesu's curiosity continued, Namgung Hyeoncheol scolded him.
"Ask later. If you keep talking and let air into your body, it's not my responsibility."
"Really?"
"Believe it or not. Now, relax your body."
Smack.
Namgung Hyeoncheol patted Taesu's bare shoulder, urging him.
Taesu furrowed his brow and released his tension.
Seeing that, Mosangdu smiled gently and said.
"Dr. Choe acts like a child when receiving treatment."
"Just because someone's a doctor doesn't mean they enjoy being treated."
As soon as Taesu spoke, Namgung Hyeoncheol's nagging followed.
"I told you to shut your mouth, but you really don't listen."
"What?"
"I'm starting. The bloodletting needle hurts a bit."
It happened simultaneously with Namgung Hyeoncheol's words.
Squelch.
A rough, excessively violent sound of piercing skin rang out.
Nevertheless, the overwhelming pain prevented Taesu from protesting.
"Ah, aghghgh......."
"I told you it would hurt."
"Not at this level!"
"This is exactly the right level. I'll continue in rapid succession."
Squelch, squelch.
Violent sounds rang out without cease.
"Kuh. Keo......."
Taesu could only lie limp with his mouth agape under the torrent of pain.
The pain of a sprained ankle was nothing compared to this.
This was the real thing.
'This bastard is really.......'
Taesu had to summon sheer grit to endure the pain.
Meanwhile, Namgung Hyeoncheol made a strange expression at the wounds on Taesu's back.
Doctors generally didn't have scars on their bodies.
Taesu's back was far removed from such ordinary cases.
Namgung Hyeoncheol had keen eyes and sensed these weren't ordinary wounds.
'What an interesting doctor.'
It seemed there was a reason he was close with soldiers.
Even as he thought that, he calmly pricked all over Taesu's back with the bloodletting needles.
And cupping was added on top of that.
"I'm placing it."
"Hot!"
"You won't get burned, so don't worry."
Namgung Hyeoncheol thoroughly blocked Taesu so he couldn't move.
Taesu had an unexpected moment of repentance, reflecting on the rough treatments he had inflicted on patients all this time.
A short while later.
Namgung Hyeoncheol applied disinfectant to Taesu's reddened back and spoke.
"It's finished now."
"Hah, hah....... Just kill me, man."
Exhausted from the pain, Taesu spat out bitter words without hesitation.
In surgery, there was at least some humanity in the form of local anesthesia.
But Korean medicine didn't even have that minimal consideration.
He had been so delirious he didn't know how much time had passed.
Namgung Hyeoncheol smiled and offered.
"I treated you, yet your words are too harsh."
"I said I'd never again to Hyeoncheol... ugh. I guess I'll just have to entrust my body to you after all."
Taesu raised his body with a mind to escape quickly.
But he paused.
Moving his body had become much smoother.
They say joy comes after hardship, and the current situation was exactly that.
It was an aspect of Namgung Hyeoncheol's treatment that Taesu couldn't help but acknowledge.
"Damn it."
"You heal as much as it hurts."
"That's what we say on our side."
"Your side or mine, it seems like they're much the same. Good work enduring the treatment."
Since Namgung Hyeoncheol had offered a greeting, Taesu had nothing to say.
No, the words he needed to say were clearly defined.
But the lingering pain made it difficult to get them out.
"Th....... thank you."
"Don't mention it."
"Agh."
Taesu had to suppress his slightly boiling insides with difficulty.
With a sullen face, Taesu got down from the bed and paused once more.
It was because of the blood-soaked tissues piled under the bed.
There was enough to fill both hands.
The quantity was one thing, but the blood's color was murky and dark.
There had been a reason for tormenting his back with cupping so many times.
Having drawn out so much dead blood, Namgung Hyeoncheol's hands couldn't stay still.
Swoosh.
Taesu raised his head and looked at Namgung Hyeoncheol.
He had turned away, but was wiping his forehead and face with his sleeve.
He was clearly wiping away sweat.
Taesu was a doctor too, so he instinctively knew how much energy had been spent.
He felt slightly sorry for having done nothing but groan throughout the treatment.
"Hyeoncheol....... You worked hard. Thank you."
"What's this? From the person who was going on about dying and killing?"
"My conscience pricked me."
As Taesu spoke honestly, Namgung Hyeoncheol glanced at him and smiled.
"I pricked your back to bleed it, so why is your conscience popping out?"
"I suppose my conscience is located there."
"Your body is as unique as your personality. I'll keep that in mind."
Thud.
Namgung Hyeoncheol sat down on his bed as if collapsing.
He really looked exhausted.
It was enough to remind one that everyone's physical condition was abnormal.
Taesu staggered as he cleaned up the blood-soaked tissues into the trash can and said.
"I roughly cleaned up, so lie down and rest."
"I was already planning to."
"And next time, I sincerely hope you get injured, Hyeoncheol. I'll serve you with kindness."
Taesu openly showed his spite.
Namgung Hyeoncheol smiled lightly and nodded.
"I'll try."
"You don't concede an inch until the very end. I'm going. Mr. Sangdu....... You, yes. Anyway, bye."
"Walk well. What use is a lower body that weak?"
"Worry about falling over yourself."
Slam.
Taesu finished his curt words and closed the door.
Before he knew it, a smile rather than irritation played at Taesu's lips.
His conversation with Namgung Hyeoncheol had been subtly entertaining.
Perhaps because their personalities were refreshingly straightforward, they often used somewhat aggressive words.
But he didn't feel bad at all.
It was guessed that Namgung Hyeoncheol felt similarly, not just Taesu.
If the aggressive tone had been uncomfortable, something would have already been said.
They were both that kind of personality.
Moreover, their attitudes toward medicine were subtly similar.
Only their fields were different.
As Taesu walked, chewing over these thoughts, he tilted his head slightly.
"So that's why it hurt more?"
He had often endured even more painful wounds.
It was strange that he felt more pain specifically during Namgung Hyeoncheol's treatment.
Taesu had indeed used rougher hands on people he was close to during first aid.
Thinking about it in reverse didn't seem like such a forced idea.
As he did, Taesu swung his arms and felt how much lighter his body had become.
Fwoosh. Fwoosh.
"I might as well be a quack."
While thinking that, he arrived at the lodgings.
Squeak.
When he opened the door and entered, everyone was already in the land of dreams.
Taesu also laid his body down on his bed.
"An insult is an insult, and a good thing is a good thing."
At the thought of meeting the welcome faces of the Korean village, a smile naturally formed.
Taesu fell asleep with that smile on his face.
The next day, late afternoon.
Sleek trucks and worn-out trucks ran in a line through the deep mountain forest.
The trucks stopped in front of the Seonangdang that marked the village boundary.
Clack.
Taesu got down from the passenger seat and twisted his body lightly, making a strange expression.
"I guess it was a good thing I got cupping yesterday."
Even after racing along the rough mountain road, the pain in his back wasn't severe.
As expected, endurance was bitter, but its fruit was sweet.