Only that side was in an uproar.
On the bench beside them, a serious counseling session had already begun.
Beside Brad Kim, fellow surgeons Dr. Ozma and Dr. Jonathan were helping him.
“Dr. Ozma, I’m so nervous that…”
“I understand how you feel, Dr. Kim. My first surgery with him was…”
“I had it worse than Dr. Ozma. I…”
On the opposite side, Jeong Minsu was consulting with Dr. Isaacson and Dr. Maximilian.
“To be honest, in Korea, I…”
“We have acquaintances in Korea too, so we have a rough idea…”
“Don’t hope for your skills to improve all at once…”
The atmosphere of laughing, chatting, and teasing from just moments ago had vanished as if it had never existed.
All that remained was a calmness in which they listened to every word, sincerely sought advice, and answered in earnest.
At the same time.
Taesu was walking through the medical camp.
It was the same sight he always saw.
Medical staff running here and there, stretchers carrying patients being moved about.
Time in this place always seemed to remain where it was.
“Today… there isn’t one, right?”
He looked around among the busy medical staff.
He was worried sick that another emergency patient might appear.
After meeting James, he had also thought about meeting Ohamed.
Putting it off any longer would be discourteous to someone who was waiting.
Only after thoroughly scanning his surroundings as he moved did it happen.
Before he knew it, Taesu had arrived in front of James’s treatment tent.
Tap, tap.
Taesu lightly straightened his clothes first.
Because he respected the person he was about to meet, he tidied himself up once more.
It was not merely an outward change, but also a process of calmly settling his heart.
After briefly looking himself over, Taesu wore a satisfied expression. At the same time, he stood before the screen and announced his arrival in a slightly loud voice.
“Dr. James, it’s Taesu.”
“Come in.”
James’s permission came at once.
Only then did Taesu lift the screen and step inside.
The inside of James’s treatment tent was extremely neat.
Only what was absolutely necessary had been placed there, with the addition of a metal table for receiving guests.
James was sitting in a chair.
Perhaps he had been doing paperwork, because several documents were spread out on the table.
Taesu’s brow narrowed slightly.
James’s complexion was deeply tinged with fatigue.
He was so tired that tiny beads of cold sweat had formed.
Judging from that, it was clear he had taken a short rest and then gone back to handling his schedule.
It was such a tight forced march that even young Taesu had fallen dead asleep.
Then how much harder must it be for James, who was far older?
And yet, the way he appeared on the outside did not show the slightest sign of disarray.
The sense of responsibility he was shouldering was not something Taesu, as he was now, could measure or grasp.
Because he knew that all too well, Taesu did not let it show.
Step.
Taesu approached calmly and first greeted him with a bow of his head.
“You asked for me?”
“Didn’t you wake up too early?”
As James asked, the corners of his eyes had lowered slightly. At that question full of concern, Taesu felt pleased and grateful at the same time.
So his answer came out lightly.
“I’m only telling you this, Dr. James, but the truth is, I have a secret.”
“A secret? What is it?”
“I am still young.”
As if revealing a genuine secret, Taesu even glanced around and whispered quietly.
At that, James stared blankly at him before bursting into laughter.
“What? Ahahaha.”
Slap, slap.
He found it so amusing that he even struck his knee.
Satisfied by that intense reaction, Taesu also smiled softly.
After laughing heartily, a gentle smile remained on James’s face.
“I had no idea Dr. Choi had such a great secret.”
“I told you specially.”
“Thank you. Now, have a seat first.”
“Excuse me, then.”
At James’s invitation, Taesu quietly took a seat across from him.
Clack.
Once Taesu’s eye level became roughly the same as his, James mentioned the joke once more.
“Even thinking about it again, it was witty.”
“I’m glad you enjoyed it. Truly. Ah, haha.”
Taesu, who had been answering in an easygoing manner, was flustered by the words that slipped out at the end.
James, who immediately sensed what he meant, asked casually.
“Does my face look that terrible right now?”
“A little, yes.”
“Where did you put that wit of yours, answering so dryly again?”
James applied subtle pressure with his words.
Contrary to what he said, judging by his expression, he really seemed to be enjoying this.
Taesu instantly picked up on it and quickly added some shameless humor to his reply.
“Your face right now, Dr. James? If you were a resident here, I would have hurriedly escorted you over there.”
Point.
Taesu pointed at the examination bed.
At that joke, James’s faint smile deepened again.
“Heh heh. If I lie down, who will examine me?”
“Hmm. The doctor here is… right here.”
Slowly.
Taesu pretended to ponder and pointed to himself.
At the sight, James unknowingly burst into loud laughter once more.
“Hahaha. Dr. Choi dares to examine me, James?”
“I may still be a fledgling, but when it comes to overstrain, I can diagnose it accurately.”
“Oh, is that so?”
James played along with Taesu’s joke.
Taesu had already noticed that perfectly, and since he was already in high spirits, he spoke as he pleased.
“Of course. But that’s only my current level. Who knows what will happen in the future?”
“You don’t know? What do you mean?”
“Who knows? Someday, after I’ve grown by leaps and bounds, I might end up operating on you, James.”
Taesu lifted his nose ever so slightly.
James lightly tripped him up.
“Then does that mean I’ll have to be seriously ill somewhere?”
“What?”
“You wouldn’t operate on a perfectly healthy person, would you?”
At his following words, Taesu realized his mistake.
He quickly calmed his excitement and waved his hands in denial.
Wave, wave.
“That is absolutely not what I meant.”
“A joke is a joke. What is there to get so serious about?”
“There’s a Korean proverb that says words can become seeds. I’m sorry. That was truly a slip of the tongue.”
Taesu apologized sincerely.
Even as a joke, there were things one could say, and things one should not say.
Even if he had been carried away, crossing that line was clearly his mistake.
However, not even the slightest trace of displeasure could be found on James’s face.
Rather, he mulled over Taesu’s slip of the tongue.
“To entrust myself to Dr. Choi, is it?”
“I’m sorry.”
“No, I’m not nitpicking. There’s no guarantee I’ll never be sick for the rest of my life.”
“Oh.”
Taesu quietly reproached himself.
As expected, his slip of the tongue had caught him.
James’s expression toward him, however, remained warm.
Soon, he called to him softly.
“Dr. Choi.”
“Yes, Dr. James.”
“When would it be all right for me to fall ill without worry?”
James’s question was meaningful.
He was smiling, but Taesu was not.
Tingle.
From the nape of his neck down along his spine, the fine hairs on his body stood on end.
James would entrust his life to him?
He had never thought of it, not even for a single moment.
Nor should such a thing ever happen.
Taesu quickly denied it.
“I told you, it was my slip of the tongue.”
“I’m asking sincerely.”
“What?”
“…”
James did not answer.
But the gaze he directed at Taesu was calm and solemn.
It was full of a desire to hear an answer.
On the other hand, Taesu could not easily give any answer at all.
So he remained silent.
“…”
To Taesu, James spoke meaningfully.
“Oh dear. If such a moment comes, I suppose I’ll end up following in Caprene’s footsteps after all.”
“What?”
“Am I wrong?”
“No. Absolutely not.”
Taesu shouted, overcome by a surge of emotion.
It was too much.
No matter what, he had not expected James to prod at that Achilles’ heel.
But perhaps James found Taesu’s resistance pleasing, because he wore a faint smile.
Then he asked again.
“Then when would it be all right for me to fall ill without worry?”
“Must I set a deadline?”
“Like everyone else, my time is limited. I can’t simply wait forever.”
James pressed him for an answer without yielding.
He seemed intensely curious what answer Taesu would give.
Taesu sensed that as well.
But no matter how much he thought about it, he did not want to set a deadline.
His mind was complicated.
It was then.
Thump.
In the stillness, he felt the sound of his heartbeat.
His chest.
In other words, his heart.
That heart stirred.
What was there to think about?
Those were idle thoughts.
The truth was inside his chest.
Taesu immediately shook his mind clean and opened his mouth.
Almost at the same time, the words his heart wanted to say poured out unfiltered.
“When that time comes, you can decide, Dr. James.”
“Do you lack so much self-esteem that you can’t even make that kind of decision?”
“No.”
“Then?”
James narrowed his eyes and watched closely to see what answer he would give.
Taesu met that gaze squarely and answered.
“No matter what patient comes to me, I will not run away. I swore it myself before Dr. Caprene closed his eyes.”
“But if I have one wish, it is that you give me time until the moment you see me and think, ‘At this level, I can allow myself to be ill.’”
Taesu’s answer ended with a heavy weight.
James, who had been quietly looking at him, asked.
“Then are you telling me not to fall ill until I acknowledge Dr. Choi’s skills?”
“Yes.”
“Hah. That answer is quite bold. But what if I were to fall ill right now?”
He threw in a reversal.
At that, Taesu’s eyes widened.
“Surely not?”
“It’s a joke, a joke. Aside from being tired, I’m fine. It was only a hypothetical.”
“Whew.”
Taesu swept a hand over his sinking chest.
If James said he was not ill, then he was not.
There was no room for any other conjecture.
But James gave him no opening and wanted an answer.
“So your answer?”
“There are many excellent doctors here, so there’s no need to worry.”
“What if it has to be Dr. Choi?”
“…”
“Your answer?”
James poured out questions without even giving him time to think.
Taesu did not know why he was acting this way.
But because he knew James was not someone who would speak nonsense, he first revealed his honest feelings.
“I will never step back.”
“And the reason?”
“Because I’m a coward.”
“A coward?”
It was an expression that did not make sense.
No matter how James thought about it, his expression showed he could not understand.
Taesu paid it no mind and explained why he had used such an expression.
“I’m a coward who has neither the courage nor the nerve to betray the belief and trust a patient gives me.”
“…”
“What if I lose another patient? What if I let another one slip away?”
“…”
“I’m the sort of coward who agonizes like that every single moment.”
After finishing his answer, Taesu turned his head.
That answer was exactly the heart Taesu currently held. That was why he needed a moment to calm his surging emotions.
A brief silence flowed through the treatment tent.
That time was not long.
While Taesu was composing his heart, James’s voice reached him.
“Dr. Choi.”
“Ahem. Yes.”
Taesu answered and met his gaze again.
On James’s face was a calm and gentle smile unlike any before.