Now that their surroundings had grown this quiet, it was the perfect time to begin what he had planned.
“Now then, shall we start reviewing?”
Thump.
Taesu leisurely set his hand on the stack of papers that had long since been placed on the table.
They were papers listing the names and symptoms of illnesses he had learned from doctors while running around all day.
A single sheet was thin, but piled together, they made quite a thick stack.
Taesu liked that weight.
He had run around this much today, and he had learned this many new disease names and symptoms.
He intended to review them now so he would not forget.
To be honest, he was tired.
His eyes even felt a little sore.
Still, he turned his gaze to the first page.
Tomorrow, his goal was to reduce today’s work by one step.
With that resolve, he began his review.
Meanwhile, the people scattered around the lodging courtyard were considerably surprised by the sight.
The medical staff, in particular, were deeply shocked.
“Dr. Choi is the hero of Ijambak?”
“That must be why he caught Dr. James’s eye. You idiot.”
“I heard rumors that he had some connection to Dr. James, but I never thought they were true.”
“Wait, Dr. Choi. Didn’t they say he’d been to Nepal too?”
“Whew! In just a few months… Still, he’s amazing. Truly amazing.”
The voices passing back and forth did not cease.
That was how different he was from what they had imagined, and the sense of disparity struck them strongly.
On the other hand, their curiosity about the emergency treatment from earlier had somewhat eased.
“Normally, you perform pericardiocentesis while watching with an ultrasound, but to think he could do it purely by feel. That really is incredible.”
“Just distinguishing arrhythmia from cardiac tamponade is impressive in itself. And a resident did it, no less.”
“I don’t think we can call him a resident anymore. How can you call someone a resident when he performed emergency treatment that even specialists can’t do?”
“Then what should we call him?”
“Dr. Choi. And Dr. Jeong. Those names alone are enough.”
Nod.
Everyone nodded heavily.
And they looked at the two people who were still absorbed in reviewing even at this moment.
The truth was, they could not help comparing them to themselves, who were resting.
Taesu was focused on his review, unaware of what conversations were going on around him.
Jeong Minsu was the same.
Both of their legs were trembling faintly beneath the table.
How tired must they have been?
Nod, nod.
They even dozed off.
At times like this, it was a tremendous relief that the two of them were together.
If Jeong Minsu dozed off?
Taesu’s foot immediately moved to punish him.
Squeeze.
“Kkeuack!”
“Focus.”
Taesu continued reviewing indifferently.
Of course, the opposite also happened.
The moment Taesu’s head dropped downward—
Squeeze.
“Aaagh!”
“Get ahold of yourself.”
“Ugh.”
“You have to focus. Heh heh.”
Having taken his revenge, Jeong Minsu continued reviewing with a broad smile.
Taesu swallowed the pain and turned his eyes back to the text. But from time to time, he glanced sideways to check whether Jeong Minsu was dozing off.
‘Aren’t you going to sleep?’
Jeong Minsu was the same.
‘That bastard. It’s about time he nodded off.’
The way they kept sneaking glances was exactly the same.
If they did not want the tops of their feet smashed, they had to keep their wits about them.
And so, while monitoring each other for any lapse, the review continued.
Because it was their first time and there were so many cases, it went on past midnight.
The second day in Padum dawned.
Taesu and Jeong Minsu arrived at the medical tent with haggard faces.
As if their fatigue were nothing, they immediately began preparing for consultations.
“There’s a lot missing.”
“Let’s start by filling it.”
Thud, thud.
They took the lacking medical supplies from the boxes behind them and filled the medical cart.
“Ugh.”
“Egh.”
Their bodies felt as heavy as lead.
It was because they had gone through that many cases to the very end before falling asleep.
They were already tired, and on top of that they had lacked sleep, so their bodies felt as if they were sagging heavily.
Anyone would have wanted to rest, even if only for a moment.
However, there was no time to slack off.
Patients were already gathering in the waiting seats.
‘Well, they do say youth is power.’
With that thought, they mustered their strength and moved despite their fatigue.
Dr. Schmidt approached the two of them.
“Are you preparing?”
“Did you sleep well, sir?”
Bow.
Taesu and Jeong Minsu bowed their heads energetically.
Dr. Schmidt’s expression softened as he looked at them.
“I heard you reviewed until late yesterday. Aren’t you tired?”
“We’ll sleep someday.”
“That’s the right answer. Still, make sure to pace yourselves.”
“Thank you for worrying about us. But…”
Taesu trailed off.
Dr. Schmidt, who knew very well why, answered right away.
“As it happens, I’m just coming back from seeing patient Salena.”
“What did she say?”
“She’s hesitating.”
“May I ask why?”
When Taesu asked seriously, Dr. Schmidt answered with a grave expression.
“She says she hasn’t learned anything. She can speak the local language, but it seems she never learned to read or write at all.”
“The illiteracy rate must be high.”
“It’s an environment where proper education can’t take place.”
“Hmm. I suppose telling her to recite oral stories to the children would be a bit forced, wouldn’t it?”
Taesu tried to come up with an idea.
Dr. Schmidt’s reaction was exactly as expected.
“That would be education too, but how long would it last?”
“Then…”
Taesu trailed off and subtly turned his gaze.
It was to see if there was anything he could take as a hint.
Just then, Kim Hyeokgwon, who was approaching this way, entered Taesu’s eyes.
Ding!
Taesu’s eyes flashed, and he quickly raised his hand to call him.
“Mr. Hyeokgwon!”
“I’m on my way!”
“Pardon?”
“I said I’m coming. Tell the old man next to you to wait too!”
A shout came from afar.
He was walking over briskly, and something was clutched in his hand.
Taesu spoke to Dr. Schmidt with a puzzled expression.
“Mr. Kim asks that you wait a moment.”
“His voice didn’t sound very friendly.”
“Korean just naturally sounds a little irritable.”
“I see.”
Dr. Schmidt nodded amiably.
In the meantime, Kim Hyeokgwon approached and showed them what he had brought.
“This is why I wanted to see you.”
“What is it?”
“Jantra’s notebook.”
“Who is Jantra?”
“Salena’s daughter.”
The moment Kim Hyeokgwon answered, Taesu, Dr. Schmidt, and even Jeong Minsu opened their eyes wide.
“A notebook?”
“Mr. Kim, explain in detail. Hurry!”
The two pressed him from both sides, but Kim Hyeokgwon remained unshaken and spoke calmly.
“It’s an English class notebook. Apparently, a friend borrowed it because of homework.”
“Could that be…”
“Yes. From the next day on, Jantra couldn’t come to school.”
“Oh no!”
Everyone’s eyes trembled faintly.
Kim Hyeokgwon continued in the same calm voice.
“I asked around in case it might be of help to Salena, and this turned up.”
“Then why didn’t they return it?”
“They didn’t want to. To that friend, it must have been the only keepsake Jantra left behind.”
“Ah…”
Everyone let out a sigh.
Clearly, what that friend had done was wrong.
But it was not something they could interrogate them over or weigh right and wrong about.
“…”
As they wore bitter smiles, Kim Hyeokgwon spoke again.
“But it seems they wavered after seeing the first page. Apparently, they agonized over it for quite a long time.”
“The first page?”
Rustle.
He opened it at once.
On the white paper, short sentences were written in crooked spelling.
- My name is Jantra.
- My mother’s name is Salena.
- We are family.
- I love my mother.
They were sentences written by children who had just begun learning English.
They were common, and the content was all too familiar.
They truly were.
Yet as they simply looked at them, their hearts ached for no reason.
Dr. Schmidt was the first to collect himself and speak.
“Hmm. I should read this to Salena.”
“No.”
When Taesu stopped him, everyone narrowed their brows and looked at him.
“Are you saying we should hide it?”
“Dr. Choi, even cruelty has its limits.”
“Taesu. That’s a bit much.”
Everyone criticized him, but Taesu spoke firmly.
“It seems Salena will have to become an English teacher after all.”
Taesu’s words were unexpected.
And yet, strangely enough, everyone understood him perfectly.
“Yes. It would be better for her to learn it herself than for us to tell her.”
“Then I should give her an introductory English textbook as a gift.”
“I want to buy her an English dictionary.”
Each of them was already specifying what gifts to give.
But it was still getting ahead of themselves.
Taesu made that part clear.
“Salena has to be willing to study first.”
“I’ll go find out right now. I’ll take this.”
Tap.
Holding Jantra’s notebook, Dr. Schmidt quickly moved away.
Watching him, Taesu blinked.
“Doesn’t it feel like we’re just ordering Dr. Schmidt around?”
“Huh? Taesu. Over there… Oliver.”
“Where? Hup!”
Following the prickling sensation, he found that, sure enough, Dr. Oliver was glaring at him.
Taesu quickly averted his gaze.
This time, it was difficult even for Taesu to meet his eyes with confidence.
As he was dodging Dr. Oliver’s gaze this way and that—
Tap, tap.
Along with the sound of footsteps, Nurse Ellen approached with a bright expression.
“Oh my, when did you come out?”
“Good morning.”
When Taesu greeted her energetically, Nurse Ellen looked around and asked.
“By the way, why are you all gathered here?”
“It just happened somehow.”
“Hmm. It’s not as if you already knew, is it?”
“Knew what? But I don’t think I’ve met the person beside you before.”
Taesu was curious about the other nurse who had approached with Nurse Ellen.
She was a white woman who appeared to be in her forties, and because she wore small-lensed, thin-framed glasses, her impression looked slightly sharp.
The nurse who met Taesu’s gaze stepped forward first and introduced herself.
“I’m Casey.”
“Yes. Nice to meet you, but…”
“I’ll be working as Dr. Choi’s dedicated assistant for the time being. I look forward to working with you.”
Nurse Casey spoke amiably, but Taesu, who was listening, could not feel the same way.
“My dedicated assistant?”
“That’s right.”
“I’m not in a position for that yet.”
Taesu’s face was filled with confusion.
He had never heard of a dedicated nurse being assigned to a resident.
At that moment, Nurse Ellen, who had been quietly listening, stepped forward slightly.
“Starting today, I’m dedicated to Dr. Jeong.”
“Me too?”
Jeong Minsu was also startled.
With his eyes widened like a rabbit’s, he looked at Taesu, showing intense doubt.
But Taesu knew nothing about it either, so he had nothing to say.
What was certain was that their treatment had changed from yesterday.
What kind of sudden fortune was this?
As Taesu thought about it, his eyes gleamed subtly.
“Was this perhaps Dr. Schmidt’s order?”
“That’s right.”
At the affirmative answer, Taesu smiled faintly.
“Ah, I knew it.”
“I really like Dr. Schmidt.”
Jeong Minsu, not wanting to lose out, was openly delighted as well.
Once again, they were deeply grateful for Dr. Schmidt’s consideration in taking care of them like this.
Whether or not they had a dedicated nurse was closely connected to the amount of time it took to see patients.