Once they were alone, Taesu asked Jeong Minsu,
“Have you thought of anything?”
“Would moving somewhere else be out of the question?”
“Somewhere without memories of her daughter?”
“Yeah. I thought that might be one way.”
Jeong Minsu calmly explained his reasoning, but Taesu immediately shook his head.
“What meaning would that have? Memories aren’t in your eyes. They’re in your heart.”
“Tsk. That part bothered me too.”
“Still, it’s not a completely off-the-wall approach, so let’s keep it in mind.”
Taesu did not dismiss the suggestion Jeong Minsu had offered.
He had not the slightest intention of taking lightly any effort to help Salena.
And yet Taesu himself could not offer an opinion.
“……”
“……”
Silence fell again.
No one approached the two of them easily.
Some passed by nearby or glanced at them from a distance.
But that was all.
For now, it seemed they intended to keep their distance and watch.
Taesu and Jeong Minsu paid them no mind.
They had no room to concern themselves with such leisurely matters right now.
It was then.
They sensed someone approaching.
Step, step.
“So this is where you were.”
At the familiar voice, Taesu and Jeong Minsu pricked up their ears.
The two turned their heads at once to confirm who it was, then scrambled to their feet.
Scrape!
“Doctor Schmidt, you’re here.”
“Have you eaten?”
They bowed their heads and offered polite greetings.
Doctor Schmidt, who had approached alone, took a seat at the table and looked the two of them over.
“Why is the atmosphere so gloomy?”
“Hmm.”
“Did someone call you impudent?”
Doctor Schmidt probed lightly while studying their expressions.
But since the question had nothing to do with the matter, neither Taesu’s nor Jeong Minsu’s expression changed.
They had no intention of remaining silent either.
Without dragging it out any longer, Taesu opened his mouth first.
“We were thinking about patient Salena.”
“I came because of that patient myself.”
“You did?”
“Ha, you two. Were you that worried about tuberculosis?”
Doctor Schmidt asked with a look as if he had caught on.
He had missed the mark, but that news was important too, so Taesu played along.
“Thaaat’s right.”
“She is a tuberculosis carrier, but tuberculosis wasn’t the cause.”
“There are so many possible causes for cardiac tamponade, after all.”
“Right. It’s possible she showed primary symptoms for some specific reason. We’ll have to investigate further, though.”
It seemed Doctor Schmidt had come to tell them that.
As the person in charge of the medical volunteer team, his schedule must have been packed, yet he had still paid attention to it.
Taesu was deeply grateful for that.
And it could not end as mere gratitude in his mind.
If he truly felt grateful, then he needed to disclose what he had found as well so they could consider it together.
So Taesu spoke in a weighty voice.
“To be honest, I went to see patient Salena a little while ago.”
“Her prostration is rather severe.”
“I think it would be difficult to call it simple prostration.”
Taesu placed a slight restriction on the statement.
At that moment, Doctor Schmidt’s eyes flashed.
“It seems you know something.”
“Yes. The truth is……”
Taesu told Doctor Schmidt the patient history that Kim Hyeokgwon had investigated.
A patient’s private family circumstances were certainly something that had to remain confidential.
However, there were times when they needed to be shared in order to find a better method of treatment for the patient.
Jeong Minsu also added a few words here and there while Taesu spoke.
Perhaps because he had seen Doctor Schmidt several times, he was at least able to treat him somewhat more proactively.
A short while later.
After hearing the whole story, Doctor Schmidt’s expression hardened.
“Oh dear. I had completely misunderstood this.”
“You didn’t know about these circumstances.”
“That isn’t the important issue right now, so let’s think about it later.”
“Yes.”
When Taesu answered, Doctor Schmidt immediately continued with a question.
“So, have you found any clever solution?”
“No. To be honest, that’s what we were thinking about.”
“Mm. So that’s why the mood was like this.”
Doctor Schmidt seemed to have put everything together now.
Jeong Minsu carefully asked him for his opinion.
“What do you think we should do?”
“Mm. This is quite……”
Doctor Schmidt’s face was heavy and bitter.
Seeing that he could not easily speak, it seemed no clever solution had come to mind.
Taesu was also deep in thought.
‘Should I call Hyeokgwon back and have him talk to her directly?’
The very instant he had that thought.
Taesu’s eyes moved quickly, then gradually widened.
Could it work?
There was no way to know without trying.
This was not the time to mull it over alone, so Taesu quickly called Doctor Schmidt.
“Doctor.”
“I told you, Doctor Schmidt.”
“Pardon?”
“You call Doctor James comfortably, but you can’t make me feel distant.”
He said it as if admonishing him, but there was a faint hint of disappointment in his voice.
It also meant he wanted to become a little closer.
Of course, Taesu and Jeong Minsu welcomed that.
“Ahem. Doctor Schmidt.”
“Yes. What is it?”
“What do you think about suggesting school work to Salena?”
At that, Doctor Schmidt and Jeong Minsu furrowed their brows at the same time.
“Mm.”
“Hmmm.”
Both fell into deep thought alike.
As he waited, Taesu once again chewed over whether it was a sound plan.
Silence settled around them like that.
Then, all of a sudden, an uninvited guest appeared.
“Doctor. So you were here.”
Step.
It was Doctor Oliver.
Doctor Schmidt glanced at him and asked,
“What is it?”
“It’s almost time for the schedule meeting, so I came to escort you.”
“Just a moment. Hmm……”
Doctor Schmidt asked for his understanding and fell back into thought.
Meanwhile, Taesu recalled how Doctor Oliver had been watching him during the day.
Their relationship was already not particularly good, and now Doctor Oliver had come like this.
Still, since they had met face-to-face, greeting him was only natural for someone from the Eastern nation of etiquette.
“You’re here.”
“Hello.”
Jeong Minsu followed up with a light greeting as well.
That was the end of it.
As if he did not want to face him either, Jeong Minsu subtly turned his head and sank into thought.
Sensing the heavy atmosphere, Doctor Oliver asked Taesu,
“What happened?”
“Ah, well……”
“Did you cause trouble again and offend the Doctor?”
Doctor Oliver pressed him in rapid-fire fashion.
The tone struck exactly on Taesu’s nerves, and his eyebrows twitched reflexively.
He had endured a great deal until now.
But with his heart already heavy, being provoked like this made a sense of defiance surge up in Taesu as well.
“Have I ever done something unpleasant enough to offend Doctor Schmidt?”
“Does the Doctor look like your friend to you?”
“He told me to call him that, so that is what I’m doing.”
“What?”
Doctor Oliver’s expression distorted slightly.
Displeasure?
Taesu was no less displeased.
“And you keep watching me from afar. Is there something you want to say to me?”
“Now, wait……”
“If not, I’m doing fine, so I think you can stop observing me.”
Taesu spoke indirectly with a euphemistic expression.
But the meaning contained within was clear.
Perhaps because he had not expected Taesu to come out so strongly, Doctor Oliver was slightly flustered.
“You think I’m monitoring you?”
“Are you not?”
“Do I look that idle to you?”
“Then why were you watching me during the day?”
Taesu sharply shot back.
He did not have the kind of personality that could live forever suppressing himself.
He was already drawing attention from all sides anyway.
Even if conflict with Doctor Oliver were added to that, nothing would change.
Taesu looked at him with strength in his eyes.
Doctor Oliver’s calm expression gradually hardened as well.
Soon, his mouth opened.
“Doctor Choi. That was……”
“Oliver.”
When Doctor Schmidt called him, Doctor Oliver flinched and answered.
“Yes, Doctor.”
“There are many eyes on us.”
“……Understood.”
Doctor Oliver accepted it without another word.
But Doctor Schmidt’s arrow was not aimed only at him.
Looking at Taesu, Doctor Schmidt spoke in a low voice.
“Doctor Choi, you should also avoid acting rashly.”
“Yes.”
“I know you both have things to say to each other. But if you raise your voices here, who does that help?”
“It helps…… no one.”
Taesu forced himself to answer.
Thinking calmly, Doctor Schmidt’s mediation was right.
Once Taesu accepted it as well, Doctor Schmidt said,
“As for that matter, I will actively take Doctor Choi’s opinion into consideration.”
“Thank you.”
“Let’s talk again tomorrow morning. For now, I’ll excuse myself first because of the meeting.”
“I apologize for causing you concern.”
Taesu bowed his head in apology.
At that moment, Doctor Schmidt’s thick hand came to rest on Taesu’s shoulder.
Slide.
“I’ve clearly understood why Doctor James sent Doctor Choi here.”
“Pardon?”
“But the matter with Oliver is separate. Let’s talk about that later too. Then, get some rest.”
Pat, pat.
Doctor Schmidt lightly patted his shoulder, then walked away with Doctor Oliver.
Jeong Minsu, who had bowed after them, slowly raised his head.
Then, gauging the distance as they moved away, he whispered,
“What kind of development is this?”
“No idea.”
“Still, it’s fortunate that Doctor Schmidt knows there’s a problem between you and Doctor Oliver…… or should I say it is?”
Jeong Minsu seemed confused too, his words tangling.
Taesu shook his head.
“Let’s think about that later.”
“Right. Salena is more important.”
“I hope she accepts the suggestion and gets a little of her vitality back.”
“That’s exactly what I’m saying.”
Jeong Minsu nodded in a bitter voice.
Taesu looked for a moment at Doctor Oliver walking off in the distance.
‘My temper, seriously.’
The situation had made him sensitive, so he had simply charged straight in.
But he did not regret it.
He was only a little disappointed that he had not been able to tie up the matter right away.
There was no rush.
Problems between doctors could be resolved anytime, anywhere.
But a patient’s problems were entirely different in nature.
If they missed the right moment, they might have to wait endlessly for the next chance to come.
And there was no guarantee that chance would come at all.
That was why he always placed a patient’s problems above everything else.
It was only natural.
The surroundings grew quiet again.
Only now did it feel as though the day was finally coming to an end.
But then, Jeong Minsu’s eyebrow suddenly twitched.
“Who is that?”
“Someone’s coming?”
“Mm, huh? That person……”
“Who…… Huh?”
Taesu turned his head and was startled.
Just as Jeong Minsu’s eyes had gone wide, an entirely unexpected person was approaching Taesu.
“Doctor Quentin.”
It was the South American doctor who had harshly embarrassed Taesu during the day.
Perhaps feeling somewhat awkward, he approached with an exaggerated, swaggering gait, as if trying to overdo it on purpose.
“Hey, Doctor Choi. And Doctor Jeong. Did you enjoy your meal?”
“We ate well.”
“Oh, come on. Why dress it up like that? You just up and left earlier. Ahem.”
Slide.
Doctor Quentin quietly sat down in an empty seat.
It was a table with no owner, so they could not stop him.
Moreover, from the way he was fidgeting and everything else about him, his entire body seemed to be saying that he had something to say.
Across from him, Jeong Minsu was practically advertising the dissatisfaction on his face.