Jeong Minsu’s expression did not brighten; it only grew darker.
“That’s true. But whether Taesu has one or not, I don’t know if I have a hospital to go back to.”
“You said you received funding from Dongseong. Then aren’t you going there?”
“Well. I’d be happy if that were the case, but nothing’s been decided for certain yet. My skills might not meet their expectations.”
The more Jeong Minsu spoke, the more his shoulders seemed to shrink.
So much for confidence.
Taesu was absolutely not the sort of person to sit by and watch that.
Smack.
He landed a solid slap squarely on Jeong Minsu’s back.
“Ugh, hey.”
“You’re built like a mountain, but your liver’s the size of a booger.”
“Have you seen my liver?”
“Want me to take a look now? Should I really bring a scalpel?”
When Taesu raised the edge of his hand and went one step further, Jeong Minsu’s eyes immediately wavered.
“Hey, hey, why are you trying to confirm it? My liver’s perfectly fine, so I sincerely hope you’ll lose interest.”
“Denied.”
“You bastard. Think before you answer.”
When Jeong Minsu flared up for a moment, Taesu was dumbfounded.
“I’m the one you think is easy to push around, huh?”
“Of course.”
“Good for you. All right, if we’ve rested enough, let’s start getting up.”
Taesu naturally changed the subject and rose.
Everyone seemed to agree with that opinion, as no one raised any objections.
The place they headed to together was the cafeteria.
Perhaps because it was the first meal on the first day of the medical volunteer service, it felt abundant.
Jeong Minsu showed the most enthusiasm for that hearty meal.
“Hehe, hamburgers first thing in the morning. And with fresh vegetables on top of that.”
“Honestly, when it comes to food…”
“If there’s no joy in eating in life, that’s a problem too. Waah.”
Crunch.
As Jeong Minsu took a huge bite of the handmade hamburger, a crisp sound rang out.
That was how fresh the ingredients supplied by the NGO headquarters were. And in the hands of the volunteers, they had been reborn as wonderful food.
Taesu was not only scolding him either.
In truth, he was happy.
“We’ll be staying away from combat rations for a while.”
Holding a hamburger, Taesu smiled deeply.
They were in the middle of continuing their meal.
Something felt strange.
Should he say the flow of air around them had changed?
It felt as though people’s movements had become a little busier.
Just then, an unfamiliar foreigner hurriedly came looking for Kim Hyeokgwon.
“Mr. Kim, what are you doing still eating? Get up quickly. Quickly.”
“What is it? They say even a dog isn’t bothered when it’s eating.”
“Because dogs bite.”
“I bite too.”
Kim Hyeokgwon flared up, but the other man pushed ahead as if he didn’t care.
“Eat plenty at lunch later, and for now, let’s get up.”
“What’s going on? Did a crowd of people swarm in here or something?”
“That’s right.”
“What?”
“I told you, there’s no time for this. You need to hurry and interpret, and we have to finish what we were preparing yesterday. Let’s go, quickly.”
Whoosh.
Perhaps realizing that arguing would not work, the man simply pulled Kim Hyeokgwon along.
Dragged by the hand of someone with a sturdy build, Kim Hyeokgwon had no choice but to follow in a daze.
“Huh? Damn it, Doctor Jeong. Take care of my tray for me— Ah, damn it, I’ll walk on my own, so stop pulling.”
“We have to go quickly.”
“Why on earth do I always have to go in such a hurry? Why, damn it?”
Kim Hyeokgwon grumbled irritably, but still matched the man’s pace as they moved away.
Kim Hyeokgwon had really left.
The fact that he would not be assisting in the medical tent became a reality.
But that was not what mattered.
Taesu’s expression began to harden rapidly.
The role of the medical tent was like that of a forward base.
Its job was to meet patients first, identify their symptoms, and administer emergency treatment.
They had just heard that a tremendous number of people had come.
If so?
Flash.
Taesu’s gaze sharpened in an instant.
Perhaps seeing that, Brad Kim spoke first.
“Leave Hyeokgwon’s tray here. I’m doing consultations, so I have some leeway.”
“Thank you. Then… Hey, Jeong Minsu.”
Taesu barked at Jeong Minsu, whose cheeks were still puffed out. But Jeong Minsu had not been focused only on the food either.
Chomp, chomp.
Forcing the rest of the hamburger into his mouth, he immediately sprang up from his seat.
“Mmph, mmmph.”
“Chew before you talk. Anyway, let’s go.”
Whoosh.
At the same time he spoke, Taesu picked up his tray and moved.
“Mmm, mmm, mmm.”
Right behind him, Jeong Minsu, cheeks bulging, gave Brad Kim a rough farewell and moved away.
After leaving the cafeteria, Taesu and Jeong Minsu headed straight for the hospital building in front of them.
Because it was a long two-story building, they could not see the situation at the front.
So they quickened their steps even more.
Tap, tap, tap.
At last, they rounded the corner of the building.
At the same time, the scene in front of the hospital building entered their eyes.
Taesu and Jeong Minsu stopped dead without even realizing it.
Of the two, Jeong Minsu’s expression was something to behold.
“Gasp, how many people are there?”
It was a question that burst out in genuine astonishment.
Taesu was feeling exactly the same way.
Packed.
In that moment, he clearly understood why the phrase “a sea of people” had come into being.
No more, no less, it was like a Korean subway at rush hour—no, a hell train.
The waiting chairs were already full.
And that was only the tip of the iceberg. Along the road, a line of people continued on endlessly.
Men and women, young and old, were all mixed together.
“They said it was a big city.”
“I guess we really had only been going around to rural areas—no, backwater villages.”
Jeong Minsu’s hollow voice followed.
That was how terrifyingly many people were waiting.
It was then.
Tap, tap, tap!
They faintly heard the conversation of volunteers rushing past beside them.
“Didn’t you tell them there’s a limit of five hundred people a day?”
“I did. I even handed out all the waiting tickets. I told them to go back again and again, but they won’t budge.”
“We can’t just leave them out in the blazing sun either. So how many spare tents do we have?”
“Not many. I’ll keep trying to persuade them, but since it’s been a long time since medical volunteers came, I don’t think they’ll leave.”
“Did every resident in town show up or what? Damn it. Let’s hurry.”
Clatter, clatter.
Their footsteps were relentless, as if powered by motors.
Taesu and Jeong Minsu heard it clearly.
Their hearts grew urgent.
This was no time to stand around.
“Let’s hurry.”
“Yeah.”
Taesu and Jeong Minsu raced each other toward Medical Tent 3, which they were in charge of.
The distance they had to move was not actually that far.
The place where the tents were lined up was plainly visible from anywhere.
Moreover, since they had set up the tent themselves, there was no need to ask where it was.
Soon, Taesu and Jeong Minsu entered the medical tent at the same time.
For convenience, it was called a medical tent, but in practical terms, its structure was simply a large tent.
Inside it were boxes of medicine that had been prepared only a few hours ago.
There were field cots for simple emergency treatment, as well as tables and chairs.
Inside that tent was a nurse who had already arrived.
Seeing the black woman’s features, Taesu brightened.
“Ellen.”
“Doctor Choi, you came at just the right time. I’m mainly preparing antibiotics and analgesics right now.”
“Please keep going. Minsu, let’s fill in the missing parts together.”
At the same time Taesu made the suggestion—
Thud.
Jeong Minsu suddenly raised a hand and blocked his path. Then, with eyes far more serious than before, he proposed,
“I’ll help Ellen. You start seeing patients right away.”
“Will you be all right?”
“Don’t worry and just start.”
Jeong Minsu sharply pressed Taesu.
Indeed, when a patient was before him, he exuded an intensity no less than Taesu’s.
Taesu did not argue any further and changed his mind.
“Got it. Get ready quickly and start too.”
“Don’t worry.”
Tap, tap, tap.
As he answered, Jeong Minsu rushed toward the back of the tent.
Before long, Taesu also turned around.
He saw the volunteer assigned to ensure the smooth operation of the medical service.
Taesu’s gaze was directed not at his face, but around his chest.
Around his neck hung a large name tag, just like Taesu’s.
Taking it in, Taesu immediately called him by name and asked,
“Mr. Pike. Please let them in one at a time, in order.”
“Yes, Doctor Choi.”
The volunteer called Pike quickly headed toward the waiting area.
Since things had begun so abruptly, he must have been flustered as well. But with so many people waiting, he responded to Taesu’s voice without a word of objection.
Taesu was not simply waiting idly either.
He quickly scanned the medical supplies that were currently prepared and took them in.
‘Good. Mm. That will be prepared… Okay.’
He finished assessing everything in an instant.
There was only the slightest gap before the first patient arrived.
Taesu did not let even that moment go to waste.
Thud.
He placed his right hand on his chest and thought of someone in his heart.
‘Caprene.’
May the knowledge he had passed down help many people today as well.
May cries of joy ring louder than cries of sorrow.
And may he himself also take one more step forward than yesterday.
It was only a brief moment, but he prayed with all his heart.
That moment of wishing passed in an instant.
“The first patient.”
Pike’s voice rang out loudly.
He was approaching while supporting someone.
Taesu did not wait. He quickly moved toward the patient and asked,
“Pike, please ask where it hurts and how it hurts, in detail.”
“Understood. Uh…”
Pike answered in English, then immediately began asking the patient in Hindi.
At the same time, he interpreted the patient’s answer right away.
“He says he injured his leg some time ago.”
“Please show me your leg, and keep talking.”
Taesu spoke while looking not at Pike, but into the patient’s eyes.
What was strange was the patient’s reaction.
As if he had understood Taesu’s words, he rolled up the right leg of his pants, whose fabric was completely worn out.
Rustle.
The moment the wound near the calf was revealed, Taesu’s brow furrowed sharply.
It was clearly rotting.
The wound was only about three centimeters long.
In addition, the cross-section was uneven, as though it had been struck by something, but that did not matter.
The black scab mixed with dirt was far too pitiful.
One dose of antibiotics, or even one application of disinfectant.
That much would have been enough.
If even the most basic emergency treatment had been done, it likely would not have worsened to this extent.
He could not blame the patient for that.
In this place, even a single bottle of disinfectant was not easy to obtain.
He could tell from the wound.
And from that sight alone, he could roughly guess the economic circumstances of the city of Padum.
But he had not come here to discuss Padum’s economy.
First, he had to deal with the rotting wound.
At the same time as he thought that—
Whoosh.
Taesu reflexively reached to the side and called out in a low voice.
“Saline.”
“…”
“Mr. Hyeokgwon.”
“…”
There was no answer at all.
In that instant, Taesu realized his mistake.
Kim Hyeokgwon was not here.
He had been precious even when he was present, and now that he was absent, the empty space he left behind felt far too large.
But this was not a situation where he could drag Kim Hyeokgwon over right away.
Taesu quickly reached for the medical cart he had pulled over earlier.
First, saline.
Splash.
He poured a generous amount to remove foreign matter from the wound.
Next, disinfectant.
Swipe, swipe.
He applied the brown-soaked cotton broadly around the affected area.
Then, local anesthetic.
Nurse Ellen had already prepared it, so he was able to administer it immediately.
Up to this point, it had only been the prelude.
The true emergency treatment began now.