It wasn't that he was trying to protect Sarubia.
He had been subtly pulling her back after seeing everyone's reactions. It was full of meaning, telling them not to refuse but to accept.
The meaning could be conveyed sufficiently through actions alone.
Taesu immediately gave up on the idea of returning them.
He stood up from his seat and distributed them one by one to his colleagues.
He just needed to give the largest one to Jeong Minsu, and the other three were roughly the same size.
When he spread it out with both hands, it seemed to ripple like lustrous, rich hair.
On top of that, it was light.
The garment made of such high-quality material was a vest.
Taesu put it on right over his clothes.
Swish.
The moment he put it on, the warmth was different.
Moreover, because it was thin, he felt there would be no discomfort in movement even if he wore a gown over it.
The parts that didn't fit quite right would be fine with some minor alterations.
It was the perfect gift for the coming winter.
"This is the best. The best."
Taesu murmured quietly.
In the meantime, Jeong Minsu, Bread Kim, and Kim Hyeokgwon had also put on their vests.
Everyone began exclaiming in admiration.
"Wow, this is incredible."
"Silk? It's beyond that level."
"Oh my, how much is this? To think I'd get to wear something so precious in my lifetime."
Kim Hyeokgwon couldn't contain his emotion, stroking it repeatedly with his hand.
In the meantime, Taesu approached Karhavan, who was holding Sarubia.
Clack.
The moment he reached them, Taesu spread his arms toward Sarubia.
"……."
He didn't say a word.
Sarubia stared at him, then soon turned her body.
And spreading her arms wide, she moved into Taesu's embrace.
Taesu held Sarubia closely in a warm embrace.
Perhaps feeling his embrace, the tension left Sarubia's face and a sob caught in her throat.
"Hic."
She was on the verge of bursting into tears.
Taesu hugged Sarubia even tighter.
"……."
Still, he didn't speak.
He simply held her dearly with all his heart, and that was all.
Soon, Sarubia's trembling body found calm.
Feeling that she had settled down, Taesu gently put some distance between them and met her gaze.
Sarubia's tear-filled face was already full of smiles.
Taesu saw Sabi's face fleetingly in that smile.
It was the same innocent smile she had always shown.
Swish.
The corners of Taesu's mouth moved, imitating that smile.
That smile wasn't directed at Sabi.
It was directed at the young girl facing him in this very moment—Sarubia.
A short while later.
The PKO trucks and jeeps, finished with withdrawal preparations, began to move.
Rumble.
They were gradually heading outside the village.
Taesu, seated in the back seat of the jeep, glanced behind him.
The villagers were standing in the square.
That sight was the same as every village they had visited so far.
Ijambak, Sahad, the villages of Nepal ABC. They all looked the same.
But the gratitude and emotion grew each time.
This time too, they had been lacking.
Though he had done his best in that moment, turning away brought a tsunami-like wave of immense regret.
Clench.
Taesu secretly clenched his fist.
'I could have done better.'
The regret that always surged at the moment of departure was bitter.
Then, the calm voice of James, seated beside him, was heard.
"What you received isn't a gift. It's their hearts and gratitude."
"……."
"They don't give that to just anyone, nor can just anyone receive it. It's only possible because your efforts and passion reached them."
"……."
Taesu listened in silence.
Then one more word from James was heard.
"That's the true art of medicine. It was good that you came. Really good."
He chewed over the last words quietly, murmuring them.
He hadn't come to check how much Taesu had grown.
He had come to see if there had been a change in that heart of his from back then.
Having confirmed that it was no different, James's face was full of a satisfied smile.
A few hours after leaving Makut.
The convoy of PKO military trucks had left the long, winding mountain path and was racing across flatland.
A single jeep could be seen among those trucks.
Squad Leader Sam was driving the jeep, and the passenger seat was empty.
Instead, two people were seated in the back.
It was Taesu and James.
Jeong Minsu, Kim Hyeokgwon, and Bread Kim had scattered to different trucks. They seemed uncomfortable returning together with James.
Still, the atmosphere inside the jeep was harmonious.
Especially Taesu, with an excited face, was telling James about everything that had happened during that time.
"……And so, after finishing the schedule in Sahad and returning……."
"Mm. Yes. I see."
James chimed in occasionally, responding.
Taesu didn't just speak of what had happened.
He also spat out without hiding what he had experienced and felt during that journey.
"What Doctor Schmidt said at that time……."
"Yes. No one owns a surgery."
"Actually, I used it during Patient Ohamed's emergency as well."
At those words, James glanced over and asked.
"What was the reaction?"
"It ended in one sentence."
"Hoo-hoo, I see."
James listened to the end of Taesu's long story.
At times, conversely, James gave Taesu advice.
"Karhavan, if he's in that position, it would be hard to unconditionally see that as force."
"I felt so sorry later too. At the time, I was just so angry at his actions right before my eyes."
"People only know the world they see with their own eyes."
At those weighty words, Taesu nodded vigorously in agreement.
"I'm gradually realizing it. Everyone has their own circumstances, and there's a world I can't dare imagine."
"There's no need to be discouraged."
"It doesn't shake off easily."
"They say failure is the mother of success."
James drew a comparison to a proverb, but Taesu couldn't understand right away.
"What do you mean?"
"From now on, you'll meet more people and see yet different worlds."
"Yes. That's right."
As Taesu answered calmly, James added with a gentle face.
"You just have to avoid repeating the same mistakes then."
"Hmm. How?"
"Don't try to fit yourself into any one mold. If you focus on only one thing, you can't see anything else."
Taesu's expression brightened a little upon hearing James's advice.
"I'll keep that in mind."
"Yes. You can trust the words of someone who once lived a narrow-minded life."
James nonchalantly mentioned his own past.
But Taesu couldn't just listen lightly and let it pass.
"Doctor James."
"It hasn't been that long since I realized my own gaze was narrow and shallow."
"……."
Taesu listened quietly.
Then James opened his mouth again in a low voice.
"It was only after coming to the NGO that I learned the life I had lived wasn't everything."
"I see."
"But Doctor Choi, do you know why I came to the NGO?"
James asked out of the blue.
Taesu was quite bewildered.
'How would I know that... Ugh.'
In that moment, one side of Taesu's head throbbed.
Pop.
He even felt something like a blocked dam breaking.
At the same time, unfamiliar memories fluttered up in Taesu's mind.
Those pictures began with Kaprene and James in their youth.
Were they memories?
No, were they reminiscences?
No.
These were fragments of a shared past and of the life they had lived.
The day the fresh-faced two first met on a college campus.
Them laughing, fighting, getting dead drunk.
Kaprene's wedding, James's wedding.
Their appearances holding their respective children, and the daily happiness shared as those children grew.
And the sight of them watching their children play with pleasure.
Hundreds, thousands of photos that couldn't all be listed filled his head in an instant.
It was brief.
The photos that had gathered in an instant scattered.
And only one photo remained.
It was of James wailing in front of a grave in America.
Behind that James, Kaprene and Kaprene's wife were watching with gloomy faces.
The name written on the grave was?
- James Jr.
'Jr.' means junior, generally used to pass down a name to the first child.
It also meant a child who was James's other half and most beloved.
It was the moment he recalled that name.
"Junior. Hh."
Having murmured faintly, Taesu surprised himself and shut his mouth tight.
At that same moment.
Snap.
James's gaze sharpened.
The warm atmosphere inside the jeep turned cold in an instant.
James immediately asked Taesu.
"What did you just say?"
"Me?"
Thud.
Taesu felt his heart plummet straight to his bladder.
For a moment, his vision went dark.
What excuse was he supposed to make for this?
Taesu was in despair.
It wasn't the first time this had happened.
'Why does this keep happening?'
He resented himself.
He wanted to grab his head in frustration.
As expected, whenever he was with James, something like this happened at least once.
It must be because he was the one who had maintained the longest friendship with Kaprene.
But that didn't mean he could tell the truth.
What would he even say?
- Kaprene left me knowledge and memories as a gift as he departed this world.
If he said that?
Taesu was certain that he would immediately be dragged off to a white hospital.
Especially James, who was a prime target for caution.
He had lived his whole life disbelieving all supernatural phenomena.
So he couldn't tell him.
This matter was separate from trusting James.
Rather, he had to hide this matter in order not to break that trust.
The person Taesu trusted most right now was James, but the reason he had hidden things about Kaprene was the same. Right when Taesu's mind was completely tangled—
James looked at him with a sharp gaze and spoke.
"Yes. What did Doctor Choi mutter just now?"
"I don't really know."
"No. It wasn't clear because it was Korean pronunciation, but... you said something like 'eo.'"
The moment James spoke, Taesu's insides flipped.
'Damn. His ears are sharp too.'
At times like this, his excellent hearing was hateful.
It couldn't be helped.
Taesu steeled his heart.
It was a denial strategy.
Taesu forced a smile and consistently played dumb.
"Ha, ha. Couldn't you have misheard?"
"We've been conversing all this time, and I misheard only those words?"
"It's not just me and Doctor James here, either."
Taesu needlessly threw Squad Leader Sam, who was driving, under the bus.
'Sorry.'
Inwardly, he prayed with his hands together.
But he had to get past this moment of crisis first.
Facing this life-or-death crisis that had come unexpectedly, Taesu burned with anxiety inside.
But the problem was that James wasn't someone who would fall for such an obvious trick.
James definitely had a thorough personality.
He tried not to allow Taesu any hole to escape through.
So, without taking his eyes off Taesu, he raised his voice a little louder.
"Squad Leader Sam."
"Y-yes, Doctor."
"Did you happen to say something to yourself?"
James clearly asked Squad Leader Sam.
But his gaze remained fixed on Taesu.