The more he spoke, the colder his father’s voice became.
“Living comfortably all alone, I suppose your family never even crossed your mind.”
“It just means I was that busy. And doesn’t that mean your son is recognized and trusted here?”
“Talk is cheap.”
“I’m serious. Without me, Choe Taesu, your son, this place wouldn’t function.”
Taesu raised his voice, thick with bravado.
But his father did not believe those words so easily.
“Talk is cheap.”
“Wow, you don’t believe me?”
“If you’re so confident, book a flight ticket.”
At his father’s sudden remark, Taesu froze for a moment.
“What?”
“If you’re not busy, that’s that.”
“No, that’s not it. I, I’m so short on time that even if you came here, I think it would be hard to see you.”
Taesu’s mind was completely tangled, and he rambled incoherently.
The lies he had prepared with such grim resolve had already vanished into the far corners of his memory.
Just then, his father’s voice came out of nowhere.
“Your mother and Taehui still don’t know.”
“Don’t know what?”
“Taesu. I may be an ignorant man who has farmed all his life, but I know how the world works.”
At his father’s heavy words, Taesu’s eyes wavered.
“Wh-who told you such strange things, Father?”
“About the excellent resident preferential treatment?”
“Th-that… yes.”
“Even though there are only three residents in the surgery department at Dongseong Medical Center?”
“Hck.”
Struck in the vital point, Taesu unwittingly drew a hollow breath.
Logically speaking, it was impossible.
His father, having mentioned that, followed up with words that drove the nail in.
“A while back, when I went with your mother for her kidney exam, I asked. Chief Ha Seokjun told me, and said we should keep it quiet. The hospital staff also gratefully joined in on that.”
“I… I see.”
“Your mother and Taehui still believe it that way, so whatever you do, don’t slip up.”
“……”
Taesu couldn’t even easily spit out an answer.
He felt as though he were standing naked before his father.
It was that mortifying and shameful.
In the end, Taesu cast aside his lies and apologized in a quiet voice.
“Father, I’m sorry.”
“Tsk.”
“What?”
“Where’s the son of Choi Jincheol, talking with such a weak, faltering voice?”
At his father’s rebuke, Taesu’s mind snapped to attention.
“Ahem. No, sir.”
“My son, tsk.”
His father clicked his tongue, seemingly frustrated.
Taesu bit his lip repeatedly.
Of course, that moment was brief, and since things had come to this, he opened his mouth to speak honestly.
“Actually, right now, I…”
“Ah-ah.”
“……”
“You said it was excellent resident preferential treatment, didn’t you?”
His father had beaten him to the punch.
Taesu squeezed his eyes shut for a moment.
Tremble.
The hand holding his phone shook.
And he barely opened his mouth.
“Y-yes, that’s right.”
“Don’t think about anything. Don’t worry about anything, and just do your job properly.”
“Sigh… Yes, sir.”
“And if it’s hard to call, send Taehui that whatchamacallit, e-email? Anyway, write one of those internet letters and let us know you’re okay. Your mother is very curious about how you’re doing. I’m hanging up.”
Click.
The call really had ended.
Taesu, unable to even say goodbye properly, flinched greatly.
“Ah, Father.”
No matter how much he called out, no answer came.
He quickly called back.
Beep, beep, beep.
Only the sound of an impossible connection came through.
It seemed his father had unplugged the house phone cord.
Should he call the mobile phone?
But Taesu did not put it into action.
It was his father’s unique message that he did not want to talk.
In the end, Taesu set down his phone.
Tap.
Then he looked up at the ceiling.
Father, Mother, Sister. And even his brother-in-law.
The faces of his family rose in succession.
Among them, the faces of his father and mother were drawn most deeply.
As a son, he could not fathom the extent of his parents’ love.
He vowed to surely turn his current unfilial conduct into filial piety.
His resolve toward his goal was dyed increasingly with desperation.
As he was recalling his parents like that,
something flowed out from between his pressed lips.
“Forgetting all the pain of giving birth to me, raising me day and night…”
The Grace of Parents.
He savored the lyrics of that song alone.
A short while later.
Squeak.
The door opened and Taesu came out to the living room.
In the living room, Jeong Minsu alone was loafing around, sprawled messily on the sofa.
Taesu approached him, pushed Minsu’s feet aside, sat on the sofa, and asked,
“Your stomach?”
“Ugh. I don’t know. My insides smell like soju.”
“You called home in that state?”
When Taesu asked, poking at him, Jeong Minsu answered with a haggard face.
“I called. Mom asked about you too.”
“Mother, really.”
“What about you?”
“I called too. Father first, and since Mother went to Seoul, I called my sister along with her.”
Plop.
Taesu leaned his back deeply into the sofa and answered.
Just then, Jeong Minsu sprang up and asked Taesu,
“But you said no one knows. You didn’t slip up, did you?”
“I don’t know. More importantly, is everyone still asleep?”
Taesu answered evasively and changed the subject.
Jeong Minsu wasn’t the type to grill persistently either, so he let it go roughly.
“Mr. Hyeokgwon went to see someone he knows nearby since there’s an interpreter.”
“What about Brad?”
“He said he needed to move the alcohol out of his system, so he went for a walk.”
Jeong Minsu answered, groaning.
Taesu stared at Jeong Minsu like that.
“……”
Perhaps bothered by the silent Taesu, Jeong Minsu stirred and asked,
“What, what is it?”
“So, what happened with Mr. Hyeokgwon before going to Makut?”
“So sudden? That’s ancient history.”
“I never had a chance to ask.”
At Taesu’s words, Jeong Minsu, who had been mulling over the past, nodded.
“Well, that’s true. I just told him honestly. That I didn’t come to get in the way, and I had nowhere else to go.”
“Mm.”
“My back is to a cliff, so I have nowhere to retreat; I’ll cling on for dear life, so please don’t hate me.”
“And then?”
When Taesu asked, Jeong Minsu smiled bitterly and answered.
“He held out his hand?”
“A handshake?”
“Does he seem like the type?”
When Jeong Minsu looked at him with a faint smile, Taesu let out a short laugh.
“Then pay?”
“Yeah. He said to give him meaningful money. And since he received it, he said he would try to treat me the same as you.”
“He’s really something.”
Taesu was dumbfounded, recalling Gim Hyeokgwon who calculated and took care of things so thoroughly.
Just then, Jeong Minsu said quietly,
“I don’t think his past is ordinary either.”
“Mm.”
“I heard a bit yesterday, but even his family relationships…”
As Jeong Minsu was continuing,
Swoosh.
Taesu lightly reached out his hand and shook his head.
“Stop. There’s no need to dig too deep.”
“Well, who doesn’t have a story?”
“Anyway, it’s a good thing that two rabbits have started running in the same direction. Hup.”
As Taesu rose from his seat, Jeong Minsu immediately asked,
“Why are you getting up?”
“To eat. For a hangover, you need spicy soup and kimchi.”
“I should have some soup too. But what do you mean by two rabbits?”
“I’ll tell you later.”
Taesu moved, leaving it open.
Jeong Minsu, who followed right on his heels, asked persistently,
“Tell me now, not later.”
“My stomach hurts. I’ll tell you later.”
“You were just fine when you were the one talking. Is your stomach acting up however it pleases?”
“Of course.”
“Argh, that bastard, really. I only let it slide because you’re my classmate. If you were a senior or junior, argh, argh.”
Jeong Minsu kept grumbling from behind.
However, Taesu did not react much to those words.
Rather, he was satisfied with the fact that he would get along well with Gim Hyeokgwon going forward.
‘Let’s take it slow.’
For now, this much was just right.
The remaining vacation was, quite literally, a series of rests.
Meals were unconditionally Korean-style.
Otherwise, he spent his free time idly.
He didn’t even think of sightseeing.
Vacation was not merely a time to play and eat.
It was a time to recharge in order to run energetically once again.
True to that meaning, like a frog crouching to leap far, he refrained from activities and packed vigor tightly into his body and mind.
A few days later.
At the PKO airfield in Kashmir.
The hangar doors were wide open, and stacked boxes could be seen.
They were donation goods that had flown in from all over the world.
With bright expressions, the sight of everyone working together to unload them felt incredibly beautiful.
Among those people were Gim Hyeokgwon and Jeong Minsu.
Meanwhile, Brad Gim was checking the donation inventory list together with Dr. Schmidt.
However, Taesu was nowhere to be seen.
Taesu was seated a short distance away from the plane.
He was waiting for someone after being called.
James, the one who had called him, approached Taesu.
“Dr. Choi.”
“Dr. James.”
Squeeze.
Even though it had been a few days since they last met, the two men clasped both hands firmly.
James looked down at Taesu’s hand and said,
“Your hand is full of strength.”
“That’s how well I rested.”
“Did you only rest your body?”
James’s question was meaningful.
Knowing the underlying meaning, Taesu answered with an equally smiling face.
“No. As you said, I rested not only my body but also my mind.”
“Yes. I can tell by how much brighter your face looks.”
“Thank you. For even making a nonexistent vacation happen.”
At Taesu’s thanks, James shook his head.
“It’s not a nonexistent vacation. Dr. Choi simply couldn’t gauge when to rest on his own.”
“Having rested, I think I truly understand why you said that.”
“Then that’s enough. More importantly, what about your schedule after this?”
James’s question was a bit rushed.
Before Taesu knew it, members of James’s surgical team were gathering one by one behind him.
Sensing the situation, Taesu subtly asked.
“Are you going somewhere?”
“There is always somewhere that calls. That’s why we came.”
“Right away? Before the vacation started… You told me to come back with a strong appearance.”
At Taesu’s words, James answered with a composed smile.
“You know our schedule is always like a rugby ball.”
“I do, but…”
“No use clinging. Anyway, my schedule isn’t what’s important, is it?”
When James brought the topic back to its original place, Taesu hid his bitter feelings and answered.
“Our schedule? It’s always the same.”
“Then that’s a relief.”
“Are we going with you?”
Taesu expressed his anticipation with sparkling eyes.
However, James blew away that hope with a single word.
“Dream on.”
“You asked, so…”
“I was asking if you happen to have any special schedule.”
“There isn’t one.”
Taesu answered bitterly.
On the other hand, James’s expression had turned serious.
“Then it will be decided soon, so you won’t need to be too impatient.”
“Where?”
“I told you not to be impatient.”
“……”
Taesu flinched and closed his mouth.
Then, James asked in an even calmer voice.
“On this assignment, you will be able to find more of what each of you lacks.”
“What we lack?”
“That’s something you’ll know even without me going out of my way to explain. Isn’t that right?”
As he was answering, James suddenly threw out a question.
But that gaze was not directed at Taesu, but at something behind him.