Taesu turned his gaze away, wound tight with tension.
“Let’s hurry up and eat.”
“Y-yeah, let’s do that.”
Bread Kim also quickly looked down at his tray, avoiding Kim Hyeokgwon’s gaze at all costs.
Perhaps thanks to Kim Hyeokgwon’s irritation, the attention from those around them slipped far from his mind.
Chomp, chomp.
He devoted himself solely to eating, driven by the single-minded will to survive.
Bread Kim’s strategy was half successful, but the side effects appeared in equal measure.
In any case, they had put aside the attention and were continuing their meal.
“May I have your attention for a moment, please.”
Dr. Oliver’s booming voice rang out.
When everyone looked that way, Dr. Schmidt was standing at the entrance to the cafeteria.
Dr. Schmidt spoke with a bright expression.
“First of all, I apologize for interrupting your meal.”
“Not at all.”
“Everyone worked hard today.”
“Good work.”
Since they were in the cafeteria, everyone answered comfortably.
At that moment, several volunteers moved around, handing something out to each table.
Soon, they came to the table where Taesu was seated as well.
What they left behind was none other than beer.
“It’s beer.”
“Hmm, why beer all of a sudden?”
“Even if beer is practically a beverage, the rule is to refrain during volunteer work. What’s this about?”
Bread Kim tilted his head.
It had happened right in front of Dr. Schmidt.
That meant he had given permission, which made it all the more puzzling.
It wasn’t just their table; everyone wore slightly puzzled expressions.
Dr. Schmidt personally resolved their curiosity.
“I’m sure many of you are wondering why beer.”
“I am a little curious.”
“There’s something small to celebrate, so we prepared it.”
At Dr. Schmidt’s words, a mid-level doctor raised his hand and asked,
“Doctor, what are we celebrating?”
“I’ll tell you now.”
“……”
Everyone fell silent in accordance with the flow of the mood.
Soon, the cafeteria grew quiet.
Dr. Schmidt did not miss that moment and spoke at once.
“Today, our first day of medical volunteer work in Padum, we achieved the result of ‘zero’ deaths.”
“What?”
Everyone was startled.
Dr. Schmidt added in an even stronger voice.
“This is a proud result achieved by all of you caring for the residents with self-sacrificing devotion in your respective positions.”
“……”
“Please enjoy a light drink each, and tomorrow, let us work with the same spirit of self-sacrifice as today. Everyone, you did well.”
“G-good work!”
Clap, clap, clap.
Everyone looked bewildered, but for now, they offered their greetings.
Soon, Dr. Schmidt and Dr. Oliver left the cafeteria.
It seemed they were personally going around to other places as well.
What they left behind was not merely a can of beer.
It was a bomb disguised as beer.
That was how tremendous its impact was.
“No deaths, seriously?”
“I know. But has that ever happened before?”
“As far as I know, it’s extremely rare.”
“W-wow.”
Everyone who had only been surprised gradually began to smile as the reality sank in.
Crack!
The sound of beer cans opening rang out here and there.
“You worked hard!”
“Good work!”
The cafeteria was filled with voices greeting one another.
Among them were not only the medical staff but the volunteers as well.
It was an achievement they had all worked for, so they shared the joy together.
The table where Taesu sat was no different.
“Yes.”
Smack.
“Good job.”
Clap.
Starting with high-fives, all sorts of strange hand-slapping unfolded.
That was how miraculous the news was.
Looking back on everything that had happened so far, it felt especially moving.
The first day of medical volunteer work had always left most of the medical staff clutching aching hearts.
A patient’s death was that mentally difficult to bear.
There had been countless times when their hearts were so heavy that they could not sleep.
But today was different.
They could stretch out both legs and fall deeply asleep.
Just imagining it made their shoulders bounce with excitement.
The atmosphere in the cafeteria was so lifted it seemed the place might collapse.
Then, in the midst of it, someone said heavily,
“Wait a minute. Who was today’s last surgical patient?”
“So that patient was… Hup!”
“Why are you so surprised? That patient was in emergency earlier… Huh?”
One of the doctors who had been thinking back quickly turned his gaze somewhere.
It was toward Taesu and his group.
Among them, he was looking especially at Taesu.
They were keeping it quiet, but everyone knew.
They knew that Taesu’s accurate judgment and swift emergency treatment had saved the patient.
What if he had diagnosed the cardiac tamponade as an arrhythmia?
They would never have had the chance to share this beer together.
That was something everyone had no choice but to acknowledge.
“So he really does have something, huh?”
Someone’s voice drifted softly through the air.
The youngest member of James’s surgical team.
It seemed Taesu’s position there had not been forced after all.
Taesu could feel those gazes as well.
The stares, stronger and more intense than before, made Taesu uncomfortable.
‘It’s hard to even drink one can of beer.’
With a bitter smile, Taesu pushed his beer toward Kim Hyeokgwon.
Slide.
“Here.”
“This isn’t water. It’s alcohol. Alcohol.”
“Drink it. I’ll get going first.”
Scrape.
Taesu slowly rose from his seat.
It would be a lie to say he did not feel regret at being unable to share the moment of joy a little longer.
But right now, he wanted to escape the gazes pouring down on him.
And there was another reason as well.
Even after he left the cafeteria, the back of Taesu’s head prickled.
“Why are they staring so much?”
Scratch.
He only grumbled, but in truth, he felt embarrassed.
It was then.
“Let’s go together.”
“Ugh, damn it. The spaghetti was good, too.”
“They could at least do it in moderation.”
The voices of his companions came one after another.
Taesu turned around in surprise.
As expected, Kim Hyeokgwon, Jeong Minsu, and Bread Kim were approaching.
Taesu quickly asked,
“Why are you coming out?”
“What, are our stomachs made of steel?”
“I suppose not. Sorry you had to leave your meal unfinished.”
“I’m more disappointed about the beer than that. Pay me back later with a hefty interest.”
Kim Hyeokgwon calculated in his particular way of speaking.
Taesu smiled faintly.
“Beer, as much as you want.”
“By the way, do you have somewhere to go?”
“Yes. There’s somewhere I need to stop by right now.”
“Then go ahead.”
Kim Hyeokgwon urged him casually.
But Taesu’s smile deepened.
“It’s boring to go alone.”
Flash!
For a moment, a peculiar light passed through Taesu’s eyes as he looked at his companions.
A little while later.
Taesu and the three others arrived in front of a certain door.
Creak.
They carefully opened the door and looked inside.
Inside, hospital beds were visible, as if it were a ward.
A nurse was moving around, taking care of the patients. It seemed the guardians had also been sent back out of concern for their health.
Among them was one patient with a somewhat distinctive atmosphere.
She was a female patient lying in a bed by the window.
She was staring only out the window with hollow eyes.
Taesu’s gaze was fixed on that patient.
She was the patient he had treated in the emergency earlier that day.
Perhaps because he had heard her heartbreaking story, she looked utterly drained.
“Hmm.”
Taesu let out a heavy sound.
It was then.
Tap, tap.
Along with a signal tapping his shoulder, Jeong Minsu’s voice came.
“I don’t think now’s the time.”
“You’re right.”
Though bitter, Taesu did not linger and quietly closed the door.
When he turned around, everyone wore bitter expressions.
Kim Hyeokgwon spoke to Taesu.
“Salena.”
“What are you suddenly trying to save?”
“That’s the patient’s name.”
Tap.
He pointed to the patient list hanging on the wall of the ward.
The ward was drawn in a simplified diagram, and inside the square boxes that represented the beds were the patients’ names.
‘Salena.’
After repeating it to himself, Taesu spoke in a bitter voice.
“Her name sounds like she wants to live, but the patient herself doesn’t.”
“We saved her with emergency treatment, but……”
Jeong Minsu’s voice gradually grew smaller, as though his heart was heavy too.
Bread Kim added a word to that.
“We definitely saved her. Only her body.”
“Dr. Kim is right. Only her body is alive.”
Kim Hyeokgwon also chimed in, his voice far from comfortable.
At that moment, Taesu murmured in a heavy tone.
“And yet, can we really say that we saved her?”
“That’s difficult.”
“What does it really mean to live? Everyone says it’s enough as long as the body is healthy, but is it really enough for only the body to be healthy?”
The meaning behind Taesu’s words grew deeper and deeper.
No one could easily offer an answer.
To live.
It could not simply be opening one’s eyes, thinking, and breathing.
Salena’s hollow gaze would not leave their minds.
Their worries did not shake off like dust.
Their sunken mood continued as well.
They sat around a table set out in the lodging courtyard, but only silence lingered.
“……”
“……”
The heaviness continued.
Scrape.
Kim Hyeokgwon rose from his seat and said,
“I’ll go first. Don’t overdo it and get some rest.”
“Yes. You worked hard.”
“All I did was play with the kids… Damn, this feels awful.”
Scratch, scratch.
Kim Hyeokgwon roughly scratched his head as he walked away.
Just then, a voice from the other side called for Bread Kim.
“Huh? Bread.”
“Who… Dr. Johnson.”
“Mm. If you’re not busy, shall we have a cup of tea?”
Dr. Johnson subtly drew Bread Kim over.
Several medical staff were waiting together around him.
Seeing that, Bread Kim gave a bitter smile.
Scrape.
Soon, he slowly stood and muttered a quiet complaint.
“Seems like they’re more interested in something else than in me.”
“Should I go?”
When Taesu asked, Bread Kim shook his head.
“There’s no need for you to make yourself that easy to move.”
“It looks like you’re going to be under concentrated fire.”
“Those guys, against me? Tell them not to make me laugh.”
Bread Kim straightened his shoulders and showed his confidence.
Taesu still felt somewhat reluctant.
“If they’re asking questions about me, I think it would be better for me to go.”
“That’s not what’s important right now.”
“Ah, right.”
“Think about that problem first. Salena is still an emergency patient. Then I’ll see you at the lodging.”
Step, step.
Bread Kim threw out that heavy topic and walked away.
But his words were right.
Salena was an emergency patient.
Not in body, but in heart.
Unfortunately, psychiatry was not included in this medical volunteer team.
Even if there had been a psychiatrist, it would not have mattered.
To them, it was only natural to take responsibility until the end for a patient with whom they had once formed a connection.