Snap, snap.
Taesu said to Pike as he quickly pulled on surgical gloves.
“First, I’m going to check how deep the affected area is, and whether there’s anything wrong with the bone. It would be best if he didn’t look.”
“Yes.”
“And I’ll treat it myself if possible, but depending on the situation, he may need a simple operation. Please tell him that.”
“Understood. Ahem. Hey. So, um…”
Pike immediately began interpreting.
In the meantime, Taesu took the Mixter and DeBakey in each hand.
At the same time, he began carefully and cautiously examining the rotting affected area.
Sssk, ssk.
He was directly touching the blackened flesh.
Perhaps because of the lidocaine, there was no distortion in the patient’s expression as he turned his head away.
A glance.
‘Local anesthesia, okay.’
Up to this point was just testing the waters.
His hands, which had grown rougher rather than his mouth, conveyed that fact instead.
Press, thunk.
He thrust the Mixter deep into the affected area to gauge the depth first.
If it had affected the bone, surgery would be difficult with Taesu’s current ability.
Naturally, he hoped it hadn’t worsened to that point.
Fortunately, there was no problem with the bone.
Next, he moved on to checking the extent of damage to the blood vessels and muscles.
“Mm, mm.”
Taesu’s expression, which had been examining the wound with careful eyes, brightened slightly.
Fortunately, perhaps because the wound was on the front of the calf, the major blood vessels had not been damaged.
It was a great blessing.
Just as he was about to move on to the next step, Jeong Minsu arrived.
“I brought everything and got it ready.”
“I can handle this side on my own, so bring in another patient.”
“That’s fine, but…”
Jeong Minsu’s voice trailed off.
Finding that strange, Taesu glanced at him and asked.
“Is there a problem?”
“Usually, when we first arrive, we proceed in order of emergency patients. I feel sorry to this patient, but he doesn’t look that urgent.”
“Look over there.”
Tick.
Taesu gave only a light jerk of his chin.
Following his gaze, Jeong Minsu opened his mouth with a subtle expression.
“Ah, looks like they concentrated the emergency patients in Tents 1 and 2.”
“They said the emergency medicine department is the main force over there.”
“Should I say it’s nice that our burden’s been reduced, or should I say our current position is pathetic?”
Jeong Minsu let out an odd complaint.
Considering their past track record, it wasn’t entirely baseless.
But Taesu’s thoughts were very simple.
“I’ve got my own hands full right now.”
“Well, just because someone hurts less doesn’t mean they’re not a patient.”
“Looks like your hands aren’t full enough yet?”
When Taesu’s voice dropped low, Jeong Minsu smiled bitterly.
“Mine are overflowing too. I’m going. Hey, please bring the patient this way.”
Swish.
Jeong Minsu widened the distance and loudly announced the start of his consultation.
Meanwhile, Taesu had already begun emergency treatment.
Scrape, scrape.
He used a curette to ruthlessly scrape away the rotting tissue.
Poured saline to clean it.
Swept away the bleeding and debris with gauze.
Stopped the bleeding with liquid hemostatic agent, checked the affected area, and repeated the insufficient treatment again.
He clearly had only two hands.
And yet they were moving at a speed that normally required a doctor and nurse to work in sync.
That was how deeply swift treatment had become ingrained in his body.
A short while later.
With a gentle expression, Taesu applied a bandage to the patient’s leg.
It ended without any particular issue.
Since the start had been good, Taesu’s expression was bright as well.
Soon, after tying a knot in the bandage, Taesu met the patient’s eyes and said.
“For now, all the treatment is finished. Once the anesthesia wears off, the pain will…”
“Uh… %&$#^*.”
Pike interpreted Taesu’s words into Hindi.
Taesu guessed by intuition and continued speaking.
“Before you go, I’ll give you an injection, and I’ll also give you medicine, so you absolutely must not forget to take it.”
“Mm. He says he will.”
“It’s truly fortunate you weren’t any later. Ah, and please make sure to come back here tomorrow, anytime is fine.”
“He’s asking why.”
“We need to disinfect the wound and see if it’s healing well.”
Taesu answered in a tone that said it was obvious, smiling softly.
It was then.
Sssk.
The patient’s two hands approached and grasped Taesu’s hand.
“……”
He said nothing.
Holding Taesu’s hand tightly, he simply gazed at him.
He just stayed like that.
But it was not a meaningless action.
Taesu, who was meeting his eyes, knew that better than anyone.
He was expressing his gratitude with his heart.
Gratitude for coming to strangers like them, people with no connection to him, and easing his pain.
Feeling it deep in his chest, Taesu placed his free hand over the back of the man’s hand.
Tap.
“……”
Taesu did not speak either.
With his eyes, with his heart, he answered that gratitude.
Soon, the first patient left.
Taesu made a chart for him and briefly recorded the symptoms and treatment.
Even that took only a short time.
After setting the chart down, Taesu glanced back.
Jeong Minsu and Nurse Ellen had teamed up and were seeing patients.
“Ellen, this patient…”
“Yes, yes. And what you said was…”
“Next…”
Their back-and-forth discussion about the patient continued.
There were no visible external injuries on the patient seated in the folding chair.
It seemed they were swiftly ordering basic medication or treatment.
Taesu’s eyes softened as he looked at Jeong Minsu.
It was because he could clearly see him fully putting to use the experience he had built up in Sahad and Makut Village.
He had long since surpassed the level of a first-year resident.
Was he now around third-year level?
It wasn’t something to dismiss as merely that level.
To close the gap of one year, one had to shed more than ten times the sweat and tears of others.
Jeong Minsu had been doing well so far.
Even the mental aspect Taesu had always worried and been concerned about was gradually finding stability.
Wasn’t that enough?
Taesu slowly turned his gaze away.
The time he spent observing Jeong Minsu was roughly ten seconds or so.
It was truly a short time.
Taesu could no longer afford to take it easy either.
Even now, patients were standing in a line as long as the Great Wall, waiting.
Was it daunting?
Rather, a positive feeling came first.
He had warmed up too.
Whoosh, whoosh.
“Let’s do this.”
Taesu energetically rotated his arms and burned with motivation as he waited for the next patient.
However.
That surging confidence crumbled with the very next patient.
She was a girl estimated to be around fifteen years old.
There was a fist-sized lump hanging from her neck.
Removing a lump from the neck?
This was not an area Taesu should touch.
Taesu did not force it.
He immediately made a chart.
“Name is Vanessa, cyst on the neck… Hmm.”
Taesu, who had been writing the chart, momentarily stumbled.
It was because this kind of symptom was not in Caprene’s knowledge.
Since the field was that different, Taesu had to fill in the gaps with his own knowledge.
There had been moments like this before.
Back then, Taesu had been the person in charge, but the situation here was different.
He had no intention of writing something vague because he didn’t know and shoving it off onto another doctor.
“Please wait a moment. Pike, please tell her I’m going to examine it in more detail.”
After throwing out those words, Taesu immediately went into action.
He turned it this way and that, lightly pressed the cyst, or gave it weak stimulation, continuing to check it from multiple angles.
That stimulation was expressed through the patient’s various sounds.
“Mm, ah. Aah… Ugh, hnnn…”
Taesu’s nerves were entirely focused on those sounds.
‘It hurts a little when pulled…’
He did not forget to record the reaction on the chart instead of keeping it to himself.
And soon, Taesu decided which department the patient should go to.
‘I should send her to neurosurgery. But is that right?’
He lacked certainty.
That was bitter.
Even so, he couldn’t keep holding on to this patient.
Soon, after finishing the chart, Taesu looked for Nurse Ellen.
“Ellen, for a moment.”
“Yes. Dr. Choi.”
“Here’s the chart. Please guide the patient inside.”
“Yes. I’ll do that.”
Nurse Ellen took the chart and headed into the building with the child and her guardian.
Taesu’s expression as he watched the patient was not very good.
No matter how he thought about it, it was difficult to feel confident in his own knowledge.
And Taesu’s bitter guess turned out to be exactly right.
A short time passed.
It was after Taesu had finished treating the third patient and parted with them.
“Whew.”
After letting out a short breath, Taesu began cleaning up the remnants of treatment, including the blood-red gauze.
At that moment, a voice called Taesu from behind.
“Dr. Choi.”
“Yes? Ah, Dr. Quentin. What’s the matter?”
He was the South American doctor Taesu had first seen at the lodging in the early morning, but since he had a name tag, Taesu could call him by name.
However, unlike Taesu’s innocent expression, Dr. Quentin’s expression was extremely sharp.
Thud, thud.
Dr. Quentin approached with heavy steps, roughly held out a piece of paper, and asked.
“Did you write this chart, Dr. Choi?”
“Vanessa. Yes, I did.”
“How is a cyst a case for neurosurgery? This is dermatology. Since we don’t have dermatology here, you should have sent her to ENT.”
At Dr. Quentin’s criticism, Taesu flinched.
So he had been wrong after all?
His heart dropped with a thud.
But he had not the slightest intention of denying it.
If his mistake was clear as day, it was only natural to accept any reprimand or censure.
That was why he acknowledged it even more cleanly.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t know that part well.”
“You didn’t know? Do you perhaps think you can get away with not knowing because you’re a resident, Dr. Choi?”
Dr. Quentin’s scolding went beyond sharp and became fierce.
Still, Taesu silently accepted it.
“I don’t think that.”
“Should I call that fortunate? Then what are you going to do from now on?”
“What do you mean?”
“If the medical tent writes the charts incorrectly, it becomes several times harder for us receiving the handoff inside the building.”
Dr. Quentin’s harsh reprimand continued.
There was something people with this kind of personality always said.
“It’s not that I have any personal feelings toward you, Dr. Choi…”
That was just words.
There was no way he didn’t have personal feelings.
The rumor had spread widely that Taesu was a member of James’s surgical team.
His scolding about the patient came first, but the resentment contained within it was intensifying the rebuke.
Taesu had no interest in that.
He did not want to attach other excuses to his own mistake.
So there was only one thing he could say.
“I’m sorry.”
“What is this now? Our side and the ENT side suddenly had their schedules thrown into confusion.”
“I’ll study more and make sure I don’t make mistakes.”
“What are you going to do about the very next patients?”
“……”
Taesu’s face grew heavier and heavier.
Even so, Dr. Quentin drove Taesu even further into a corner.
“For a doctor, not knowing is also a sin.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
“It’s not a matter of keeping it in mind…”
It was an atmosphere where Dr. Quentin’s nagging was about to continue again.
But then, from far away, a voice called him.
“Dr. Quentin.”
“They’re asking you to hurry over and prepare to operate on Vanessa’s cyst extirpation.”