After paying their respects together, Taesu continued with what he wanted to say.
"But as you know, the patients before our eyes are important as well."
"That is true."
"We, too, have vividly tasted the helplessness and fear the patients must have felt in the war."
"Hmm."
"That is why my heart is heavier. While soothing and consoling them, I must be sharpening a blade inside."
Thud.
Taesu finished his biting remark and sat down.
Bread Kim, Jeong Minsu, and Kim Hyeokgwon silently nodded.
There were no saints here.
They were ordinary people with their own goals, hopes, and desires.
They had no intention of forcibly suppressing their anger.
It was a statement that clearly conveyed their hope that this incident would not end ambiguously.
This time, they harbored deep venom.
Reading that momentum, Colonel Clark and, of course, James also silently nodded.
It was after the meeting ended.
James prepared a separate place for Taesu in the treatment tent.
They sat facing each other with a four-person table between them.
Of the two, James opened the conversation first.
"You must have a lot to say about the Helicopter Medical Team's suspension."
"I was surprised, but I had expected it to some extent."
"In what way?"
When James asked curiously, Taesu spoke awkwardly.
"You said it was a children's level problem, James, but there were several issues in a short time, that's the truth."
"That influence isn't entirely absent."
"As expected, right? Haha."
Scratch scratch.
Taesu scratched even his cheek, feeling awkward.
To such a Taesu, James calmly asked.
"So what do you plan to do now?"
"Applying for a dispatch among ourselves seems difficult, so I think joining the medical volunteer team would be good."
"It's very dangerous for you to go outside right now."
"Then we'll just squeeze more blood packs and replenish medical supplies."
Taesu spoke bitterly.
The reality was that there was nothing more they could do within the medical camp.
Then James threw him a twist.
"Didn't I tell you there would be a change?"
"Ah, right. I forgot because I've been going outside constantly."
"This time, you can look forward to it a little."
"Really?"
Taesu's eyes went wide.
He hadn't even hoped for Main Assistant.
He would have been grateful for even a Second Assistant position.
He would have to open the lid to know if that was really possible.
But he was confident that James wouldn't say something groundless.
So his heart pounded.
Thump. Thump.
The thought alone of performing surgery in a regular operating room was thrilling.
There was a clear difference in the surgical process from field medicine, whose primary purpose was emergency treatment.
Regular surgery experience was essential to properly learn and master Kaprene's knowledge.
Taesu swelled with anticipation of being upgraded to the next level.
It was then.
Rustle.
The partition opened and Dr. I Jakson entered.
"Doctor, I have something to tell you for a moment."
"It's about that patient, isn't it."
"Yes. That's right."
"Just a moment... Dr. Choe, is there anything else you're curious about?"
As James tried to end the conversation, Taesu tactfully rose from his seat.
"No. I'll take my leave first."
"Yes. Relieve your fatigue today, and come here together tomorrow morning."
"Understood. Have a good night."
With a bow.
Taesu greeted James and Dr. I Jakson and came outside.
And the moment he came outside?
"Yahoo!"
He jumped in place and shouted.
Rather than keeping such happy news to himself, he had to let everyone know.
Tap tap tap!
Taesu dashed to the barracks like an arrow.
At the same time.
- Yahoo!
The sound of Taesu's energetic shout echoed inside the tent.
At that sound, Dr. I Jakson smiled broadly.
"It seems Dr. Choe's expectations are great."
"It's about time he hungered for learning."
"But did you know that the restriction of the Helicopter Medical Team's activities was the Doctor's decision?"
Dr. I Jakson asked quietly, just in case.
James smiled broadly and shook his head.
"He doesn't know. I thought he'd resist, but unexpectedly he lowered his tail obediently."
"The words you had prepared all went to waste."
"It doesn't matter. More importantly, everyone knows, right?"
"Yes. I delivered your message exactly as you said. Wasn't it, 'Let them experience the limits of surgery.'"
Dr. I Jakson gave a meaningful smile.
James did the same.
"Hehe. This is the perfect time."
Swoosh.
James replied lightly and spread his right hand, looking down at his palm.
It was an empty palm.
But within it, Taesu's face was faintly sketched.
The next morning.
The partition of James's treatment tent opened.
Rustle.
Through that gap, Taesu, Jeong Minsu, Kim Hyeokgwon, and Bread Kim entered together.
Everyone's expressions had improved considerably, perhaps because they had rested deeply after a long time.
There was no one inside the tent.
The four people quietly picked up cleaning tools and started with cleaning.
Swish swish, scrub scrub.
They seemed to get excited on their own at the thought of how surprised James would be when he entered.
The cleaning didn't take very long.
Gathering again, the four started a light conversation.
Jeong Minsu asked with a face full of anticipation.
"We're really entering the regular operating room, right?"
"I don't know the position, but it'll be better than before."
As Taesu answered, Kim Hyeokgwon glanced at him.
"Will I also participate in surgery more actively?"
"I don't know the exact details either."
At the same time as Taesu's answer, Bread Kim asked from the opposite side.
"Surely I'm not being treated as a resident, right?"
"I told you yesterday, that's all I know."
"Got it. Still, being inside the medical camp like this is nice."
"Honestly, this is the most comfortable place."
Environmentally speaking, the field was incomparable.
They were re-acclimating to the atmosphere of the place in the treatment tent after a long time.
Shortly after.
Flap!
The partition flapped open urgently.
They thought it was James's entrance, but it wasn't.
Thoracic surgeon Dr. Benedict entered halfway and quickly beckoned to Jeong Minsu.
"Dr. Jeong, come!"
"Me? I'm waiting for Dr. James right now."
"I know. I told him, so come quickly. Hurry!"
"I'm going. I'm going. W-why so suddenly."
As Jeong Minsu flinched and approached, Dr. Benedict snatched his hand and shouted.
"It's a pulmonary insufficiency patient, arrived thirty minutes ago..."
Tappity-tap.
Dr. Benedict's voice faded as quickly as his footsteps.
Silence like a storm had passed came to the treatment tent.
"What just happened?"
"Dr. Jeong was publicly kidnapped."
"This feels like survival. Suddenly thrilling."
Bread Kim needlessly stretched his shirt collar, his eyes sparkling.
Usually when you act and speak like this, you become the next target.
It seemed that rule applied everywhere.
Flap!
"Bread, it's a hemolytic splenomegaly emergency!"
"Speak of the devil. I'm going!"
Bread Kim jumped out at the same time as his answer.
Tappity-tap!
Those footsteps also quickly faded away.
Now only Taesu and Kim Hyeokgwon remained in the treatment tent.
They looked at each other quietly.
Then suddenly Kim Hyeokgwon scrunched up his face.
"Damn. I'm next."
"It could be me first, or we could be called together. Or, it could be the end."
"I don't think it ends like this, but anyway, that's the feeling."
Kim Hyeokgwon trusted his uncertain premonition to a strange degree.
It was then.
Flap!
The partition opened and Nurse Ellen entered.
Nurse Ellen looked around at the two people and pointed at someone.
There!
"Quickly!"
The person pointed at was, as expected, Kim Hyeokgwon.
"See? I was right."
"Figure out who's right later, just come quickly. Ulcerative colitis has ruptured and the abdomen is a mess!"
"Why do I start with something so unhygienic?"
Kim Hyeokgwon grumbled as he went outside the treatment tent.
As if reading his reluctance, Nurse Ellen said something else.
"Right. They say participating in surgeries inside the camp is paid as special duty pay."
"Why are you telling me that now? Go, I'm going!"
"Aack, my hand, let go of my hand and go!"
"Eiit!"
"Kyaa! Let go of my... Who's picking me up..."
When the noisy conversation sounds disappeared, silence returned.
Taesu, sitting alone, pondered the current situation and paused.
Because he had experienced a similar situation in Korea.
"A labor office?"
No matter how much he thought about it, it was similar to the scene of a labor office he had gone to at dawn to earn tuition during winter break of his senior year of high school.
So now, would someone come to get him too?
It was at that moment when he was thinking that.
Ring ring.
His cell phone rang in his pocket.
He took it out and checked; it seemed to be the NGO headquarters number.
Puzzled, Taesu answered the phone first.
"Yes. This is Dr. Choe Taesu."
"Where are you now!"
The scolding voice was clearly Nurse Navis of Surgical Team 1.
Taesu answered first for now.
"I'm in Dr. James's treatment tent right now."
"What are you doing there? Team 1 Leader is extremely angry!"
"Why?"
"Why, you ask why? How could he not be angry when the Second Assistant doesn't show his nose before surgery?"
Nurse Navis's voice was so sharp that Taesu's ears hurt.
But the absurdity was greater than the pain.
"Who is the Second Assistant... Me?"
"Then do you think I called to vent my anger at Dr. Choe? Right now—"
Rat-tat-tat!
Nurse Navis's nagging came like a machine gun.
Taesu was on the verge of losing his mind.
Then the partition opened and Dr. I Jakson urgently entered.
Tap.
"Ah. Dr. Choe. I forgot yesterday, but you have to go into Team Leader Mario's surgery."
"This phone call seems to be that phone call?"
"It's a relief to hear you got the news."
"Where on earth do I go. Hey, I'll settle the score with you later, I Jakson... No. Nurse Navis, I'm going now!"
Tappity-tap!
Taesu, furrowing his brow, hurried past Dr. I Jakson while holding his phone.
After Taesu disappeared like that.
Dr. I Jakson's bright smile changed mischievously.
"Hehe, see? Who told you to worry them?"
This much lingering resentment was only natural.
Of course, it was done after obtaining prior understanding from Mario, the Surgery Team 1 Leader.
Dr. I Jakson, smiling mischievously, traced his memory for a moment.
When he conveyed James's intentions, Surgery Team 1 Leader Mario's eyes sparkled.
And it didn't end there; he immediately called James and asked him to yield Taesu's first surgery.
"He was quite prickly... Well, would they really kill him?"
Dr. I Jakson was strange in many ways but didn't pay much attention to it.
He needed to trust his own intuition a little more.
NGO Headquarters Operating Room 3.
Groan.
The operating room opened, and Taesu, dressed in surgical scrubs, entered with both hands raised.
It was the moment of his first entry.
He had no time for such emotion.
Because the surgery had already begun.