It was then.
A nod.
As if some signal had passed between him and Dr. Isakson, James gave a light nod.
Then he asked Taesu,
“You can close the spleen as it is, can’t you?”
“You mean return it to its original state?”
“Yes.”
“You want me—us—to do that?”
Taesu, of course, and Brad Kim and Jeong Minsu were more than a little flustered.
To entrust it to them at such a crucial moment was far too sudden.
James paid it no mind and added,
“Dr. Choi has been handling the spleen from the beginning, so Dr. Kim, don’t feel too disappointed.”
“No, sir. I don’t mind. But… are you really telling just us to do it?”
“Is it a difficult request?”
“N-no, it isn’t.”
Brad Kim quickly averted his gaze and backed down.
Suturing the opened spleen back into its original form was not such a difficult task.
But Taesu had the same question about James’s sudden order.
“I’m sorry, but why all of a sudden?”
“I’m human too.”
Clench, clench.
James repeatedly clenched and opened his empty hand.
There was a faint creaking stiffness to it.
Fatigue was written there.
Only then did Taesu and the other two realize.
The fatigue of the lead surgeon was several times that of the assistants.
On top of that, James’s age had long since passed middle age.
There were areas where he simply could not be compared physically to younger doctors.
Even so, they were worried.
“Really, just us…”
“I’ll be nagging you.”
“Then there’s no problem.”
The dark expressions on Taesu, Brad Kim, and Jeong Minsu’s faces brightened at once.
They immediately began suturing the spleen.
First, Taesu took hold of the needle holder.
“Beginning the suture.”
“I’ve got the bottom.”
“And the middle.”
Click, click.
The spleen was drawn back into its original shape.
Following that line, Taesu began suturing from the end.
“One stitch here, move over here for another…”
Swish. Swish.
Taesu proceeded with the suture in smooth, flexible motions.
James watched and added timely advice.
“It’s the first-layer suture. Don’t tighten it too much.”
“Yes.”
“Widen the spacing there. We need to check the blood flow when the vessel is connected.”
“Spread this part like this…”
Swish, swish.
Taesu kept his nerves taut so he could respond quickly to James’s advice.
Tap, tap-tap.
James lightly shook out his hands, relieving the muscle fatigue in preparation for what came next.
A little while later.
Taesu finished the suture.
“Suture complete.”
At the same moment he spoke,
he heard Dr. James lift his head and exchange a few words with someone.
“Still, they kept up quite well.”
“I think so too.”
That voice?
It was Dr. Ozma’s voice.
Taesu paused and hurriedly looked back.
At some point, doctors dressed in surgical gowns were standing there.
From their eyes, he could tell they were Dr. Ozma and Dr. Jonathan.
Taesu’s pupils trembled slightly.
When?
He hadn’t even heard them come in.
He even felt confused, as if they had suddenly appeared out of nowhere.
Just then, Dr. Isakson’s voice rang out.
“Doctor, alternative.”
“Dr. Choi, Dr. Kim, Dr. Jeong, good work. Step back now.”
“What?”
“Did you not hear me?”
A sharp chill.
The gentle voice turned cold in an instant.
“Ugh.”
“Hup.”
“Ah.”
Taesu, Brad Kim, and Jeong Minsu immediately moved backward.
Dr. Ozma and Dr. Jonathan filled the empty spaces.
“Doctor, give us your orders.”
“Place the spleen back in position first.”
“Yes.”
Rustle.
The spleen that had been operated on separately until just moments ago was moved into the patient’s body.
Then short, weighty exchanges followed.
“A little more to the side.”
“No. Look at the space. Lower it more.”
“Just a little slower. The length of this vessel is about right… Okay.”
The noisy signaling suddenly cut off.
At that moment, James stepped up to the lead surgeon’s position at the operating table.
A gravity completely different from before flowed from him.
The greatest challenge of autotransplantation was right now.
It was the process of inserting the excised organ back into place.
This was where the most problems occurred.
There could even be rejection, despite it being the patient’s own organ.
It was a task that had to proceed while weighing countless possibilities, so there was no choice but to become sharp.
That was by the standards of common sense.
James’s surgical team was different.
“Let’s continue immediately.”
“Yes.”
Dr. Ozma’s and Dr. Jonathan’s hands moved at once.
Their movements were far too natural.
James and Dr. Ozma worked on the blood vessels simultaneously from both sides.
Dr. Jonathan, too, naturally found his own place.
Meanwhile, Taesu, Brad Kim, and Jeong Minsu were still dazed.
“What just happened?”
“When did this…”
Another person in surgical attire approached the three confused men.
From the eyes, it was clearly Dr. Maximilian.
Smiling with his eyes, he looked over the three of them and said,
“We should finish this.”
“You said you were very exhausted.”
“Isn’t three hours enough rest?”
“Three hours?”
Whoosh.
Taesu and the two doctors’ gazes immediately turned to the digital clock.
It was true.
Three hours had passed since they had entered.
Just when?
The eyes Taesu, Jeong Minsu, and Brad Kim turned toward each other were full of disbelief.
But their bodies were honest.
Drip, drip.
Their entire bodies were drenched in sweat.
Only now could they feel it.
To the three of them, Dr. Maximilian said calmly,
“The doctor’s magic really is something special. To the point that you don’t even know when you’ve been drawn in.”
“Magic?”
“Shall we call it ‘James’s Time’?”
“James’s Time.”
As Taesu repeated the words, Dr. Maximilian answered in a light voice.
“Yes. Once the doctor takes control of a surgery and begins leading it, you truly lose track of time.”
“Ah, no, but the patient’s condition… Is it all right for us to be this relaxed?”
“See for yourself.”
Slide.
Dr. Maximilian stepped aside.
Soon the ECG came into view, and only then did the sound prick their ears.
Beep, beep.
The sharp sound of the ECG had become much more stable.
The various readings also showed that the patient’s condition had improved greatly compared to before.
Taesu, Jeong Minsu, and Brad Kim’s mouths fell open for a moment.
Fortunately, in the midst of misfortune, they were all wearing masks, so their unsightly expressions were hidden.
Even so, their eyes and eyebrows could not conceal their shock.
“Wh-when?”
“Exactly.”
“Wow.”
In the end, voices of admiration burst out.
Hearing that, Dr. Maximilian smiled lightly with his eyes and asked,
“How is it? Doesn’t it really seem like magic?”
“It… does.”
“You’re the ones who did it.”
At that moment, the three froze.
“That’s not true.”
“Absolutely not.”
“I swear it isn’t.”
The wording differed slightly, but the answer was the same.
But Dr. Maximilian wore a faint smile.
“If not, then who on earth operated on the spleen?”
“That’s…”
“Heh. Then watch. I need to prepare for the finish now too.”
Perhaps because his stamina had recovered considerably, Dr. Maximilian turned lightly.
But just then, Taesu paused and called out to him.
“Max.”
“What?”
“Even so, I don’t think we should just stand here and watch.”
Taesu expressed his wish to participate, asking to be used as an assistant.
“That’s right.”
“Me too.”
Brad Kim and Jeong Minsu agreed as well.
They were a little tired.
That could not be denied.
But if even one more pair of hands joined in, the surgery might go even a little more smoothly.
That, too, was undeniable fact.
But Dr. Maximilian shook his head.
“Not now.”
“Still…”
“Watch calmly and you’ll see why I’m saying no. That’s…”
He was about to continue speaking.
From the other side, Nurse Catherine called for him.
“Max, you said you’d do the spinal implant, right?”
“Ah, that. I need to take a look. I’ll be right there.”
Whoosh.
Perhaps because it was related to the surgery, Dr. Maximilian hurried off.
At that moment, Taesu and the other two blinked.
“Spinal implant?”
“When did the spine move into the mouth?”
“Maybe we misheard?”
Brad Kim voiced his suspicion of his own ears. Perhaps finding it reasonable, Taesu and Jeong Minsu nodded.
“It must have been a similar pronunciation.”
“That seems to be the case.”
“Huh? The surgery… Over there.”
Slide.
Taesu raised his hand and pointed.
It was because the spleen surgery had begun to proceed in even greater detail.
Everyone’s stray thoughts from just now vanished completely.
This was not the time for that.
Right before their eyes, the world’s finest surgical team was operating.
It was also a surgical team famous even within the NGO for not allowing observation surgeries.
In other words, this was an opportunity that could not be obtained even with a fortune.
They could not miss it.
All three of them lit a fire in their eyes and stared intently at the surgery.
A little while later.
The three watching the surgery fell silent.
“…”
With their mouths firmly shut, they filled their eyes with nothing but the operation.
They had once again been drawn into “James’s Time.”
But this time, it was a little different.
It was because they were in the position of third parties.
They could view the surgery currently underway more coolly and objectively.
But for that very reason, none of their expressions looked good.
It had become a moment where they confirmed once again the enormous gap between those people’s skills and their own.
Dr. James, who held the center and led the surgery.
Dr. Ozma, an assistant who needed no words.
Dr. Jonathan, who accomplished two or more things from a single order.
Dr. Isakson, who supported the surgery so it could proceed smoothly.
And Nurse Catherine and Nurse Lumie, all-purpose team members who could cover the work of several doctors.
If the surgery now had to be defined in a single word?
“Fantastic.”
It was praise that slipped through Taesu’s lips.
They were not empty words.
He now clearly understood why Dr. Maximilian had told them to watch.
It meant to reflect on each person’s position and role.
To put it more coldly, there was no gap for them to squeeze into.
At this moment, none of them had the confidence to force their way into that space.
It was then.
A glance.
Dr. James, who had been operating, momentarily met eyes with the three of them.
“…”
Dr. James continued the surgery without a word.
But Taesu, Jeong Minsu, and Brad Kim were certain.
This observation was time he had allowed them.
It had surely been conveyed through Dr. Maximilian.