Even so, Taesu smiled broadly.
“If I don’t know something, you can just knock it into me.”
“Oh, you’re a fiery one.”
“But if you don’t know something… may I knock it into you?”
“What? Hahaha.”
At Taesu’s bold suggestion, which somehow wasn’t the least bit annoying, everyone burst into laughter once more.
Taesu laughed along with them.
And as he did, he thought,
Dealing with people is the hardest thing in the world.
But.
‘Still, I really do like people.’
He was now a member of the NGO, something no one could deny.
Before they knew it, the medical volunteer work in Padum City had entered its tenth day.
Quite a few things had changed in that time.
The first change was that the patients who had undergone surgery on the first day had begun to be discharged.
But something was a little strange.
The discharged patients and the medical staff were gathered in small groups in front of the hospital, around a burning oil drum.
Each held a paper cup as they talked.
A volunteer was with them, helping interpret their conversation.
“%@#$……”
“Ah, he says he made up with Yalob yesterday evening.”
“That’s good news. When you live in the same neighborhood, small misunderstandings are…”
The conversation was truly nothing special.
It ranged from minor misunderstandings between villagers, to complaints about children causing trouble.
Some even reported how many puppies their dog had given birth to.
It felt as if they had come to a tiny neighborhood clinic.
They hadn’t been like this from the start.
Only stiff, formal conversations had passed between them, and everyone had focused solely on curing illness.
There had simply been too many patients.
More than that, they had drawn a line between those who would leave and those who would remain, keeping their distance from one another.
The medical staff, whose sense of distance had been stirred by certain people, had been the first to try narrowing that gap.
The process hadn’t been easy.
The inconvenience of always needing an interpreter.
Misunderstandings caused by cultural differences.
The awkwardness felt in a shared space, and so on.
There had been all kinds of trial and error.
Even so, the medical staff continued making the effort.
As a result, they had become close enough to talk about even the smallest matters of home life, just as they were now.
Naturally, there was no way there could be no sadness at parting.
But the medical staff and patients were acting naturally, as if they were simply spending an ordinary day together.
That was their very small consideration for one another.
The main figures who had changed the medical staff were also seeing off a patient.
They were Taesu, Jeong Minsu, and Brad Kim.
Naturally, Kim Hyeokgwon was in charge of interpreting.
The patient they were seeing off was Salena.
A flush had returned to Salena’s skin, and her complexion had grown fairer. She also seemed to have gained weight, looking much healthier.
Salena was holding an English book and Jantra’s notebook carefully in her arms.
Using the English she had studied all this time, she said,
“Thank you. All of you @$%#@%……”
Perhaps because she still hadn’t memorized enough words, she switched to the local language midway through.
Kim Hyeokgwon caught it at once and interpreted.
“She says she found a reason to keep living thanks to us.”
“You would have found it even without us. We just made it happen a little sooner.”
“%$@$.#^…… She says if she hadn’t found her daughter’s notebook that day, there would have been no next step. Use some English, would you? Ahem.”
While interpreting, Kim Hyeokgwon glanced sideways at Salena.
Even if it was already in the past, it wasn’t pleasant to hear.
Step.
Passing Kim Hyeokgwon, Taesu took one more step toward Salena.
Then, looking into her calm eyes, he said,
“Then I suppose it was a good thing you didn’t hesitate.”
“%(#$&…… She says she thinks so too.”
“To be honest, I was worried we might be rushing you.”
“&%$#^%…… She says not at all. More than that, she’s worried because her English isn’t improving.”
Kim Hyeokgwon moved back and forth, serving perfectly as a bridge so the conversation would not be interrupted.
It was a method of conversation they had become used to.
Jeong Minsu stepped up beside Taesu and spoke in his place.
“May I say something?”
“#%@#$%… She says of course. Though nobody considers what I think.”
Kim Hyeokgwon slipped in a light joke.
Since he was always relaying other people’s words, it seemed he wanted to say something of his own too.
It was an appropriate joke, and the atmosphere softened even more.
Swept up in that atmosphere, Jeong Minsu was able to speak with a smile on his lips.
“Timing is now.”
“Timing… is now?”
Salena repeated it in awkward English pronunciation.
They were simple words, but they seemed difficult for Salena.
Sensing that, Jeong Minsu trusted Kim Hyeokgwon’s interpreting ability and explained the meaning.
“It means that if you must act, the time is now.”
“#@$%#$%…… She says it sounds meaningful.”
“Yes. While I hesitated once, the opportunity that had come before me flew away.”
Jeong Minsu’s smile grew slightly heavy.
It was then.
Step.
Brad Kim put an arm around Jeong Minsu’s shoulder and said to Salena,
“Doctor Jeong is right. Don’t think it’s too late.”
“@%#$@…… She says, then?”
“You’re not starting to study only now. Now is the time for you to study.”
Wink.
Brad Kim added the explanation in a dignified manner.
As they shared such words, Salena’s heavy expression brightened a little.
“@#%#@.”
“She says her heart feels much more at ease. I’d like my mouth to feel a little at ease too.”
Kim Hyeokgwon let out a quiet groan.
It was the sort of thing he often said.
Even so, Taesu voiced that wish to Salena.
“If we come back again next time, please make it so that Mr. Kim here can get some rest.”
“Oh, that’s a good one. @^$%$#…… She says she’ll become the most wonderful English teacher.”
“Your passion is admirable, but those children are not Jantra.”
“#@%#@$%…… She says she knows. But she’ll cherish them as if they were her own children.”
After Kim Hyeokgwon interpreted that,
Salena began speaking at length.
Kim Hyeokgwon listened closely and interpreted in short segments.
“^@$#.$……”
“If she really does end up teaching children someday…”
“@#$%#@$%……”
“She’ll place one empty desk and chair in the classroom.”
Kim Hyeokgwon’s expression grew a little heavy as he interpreted.
The same was true for those listening.
Salena continued speaking with a smile on her face.
“$@#$..……”
“So that Jantra can study to her heart’s content.”
“#$%#@$.”
“And so that she can watch closely to see how well I’m doing, she said.”
As if they were not mere words, Salena’s smile was bright.
Taesu and the others smiled along with her.
“I’m sure that will happen.”
“We’ll be cheering you on.”
“It will be a happy classroom.”
They offered hopeful encouragement and imagined that scene.
Though they would not be able to see or hear each other, they believed they would feel that they were together.
They sincerely hoped that day would come soon.
A short while later.
Salena and the patients left.
They sat in the cargo bed of a military truck and headed back to their homes.
The medical staff came all the way out to the front of the medical tent and waved broadly.
Vroooom.
Soon, the sound of the truck engine disappeared completely.
“All right, then, work… What are those bags?”
When someone pointed, they saw travel suitcases lined up.
About ten of the now-familiar medical staff were dressed in ordinary clothes.
Among them was the familiar Doctor Johnson.
Perhaps sensing their gazes, Doctor Johnson approached first and held out his hand to Brad Kim.
“Brad, another farewell.”
“You said a few days ago that you were leaving. Was that today?”
“There was still a little time, but it seems the replacement staff arrived earlier than scheduled.”
Doctor Johnson showed his regret openly.
Then, looking at Taesu and Jeong Minsu, Doctor Johnson spoke again.
“Doctor Choi, Doctor Jeong.”
“Yes, Doctor Johnson.”
“You two are not small.”
It was a slightly abrupt statement.
But Taesu and Jeong Minsu understood its meaning perfectly.
“We’ll act with more confidence.”
“Only Doctor Jeong needs to do that. Doctor Choi has so much confidence it’s a problem. Haha.”
Doctor Johnson laughed in an easygoing manner.
It was not merely friendliness based on acquaintance; there was genuine warmth in it.
Still, perhaps because the time to part was near, his laughter did not sound entirely bright.
Had his guess been correct?
Vroooom.
From the distance, they saw a military truck and a minibus approaching, kicking up a cloud of dust.
“……”
Everyone looked at Doctor Johnson.
Perhaps realizing they were the vehicles that would take him away, he smiled with a wink and said,
“Let’s meet again someday, somewhere.”
“You’ve worked hard.”
Many greetings were exchanged.
Unlike when they parted from the patients, there was no deep sense of sorrow.
Farewells between NGO medical staff had always been like that.
Soon, the PKO military truck and minibus stopped over there.
Since treatment had become a little quieter, they glanced that way.
Taesu also commented with a curious expression.
“So there was a bus too.”
“Is this your first time seeing it as well?”
“Did I ever have anywhere to go riding that?”
At Taesu’s answer, Jeong Minsu nodded.
“True. Your life is completely one-track.”
“You’re no lightweight yourself.”
The two were bickering quietly when it happened.
The minibus door opened, and people got out first.
They were East Asians with black hair and flesh-colored skin.
Kim Hyeokgwon, who had been watching with interest, was the first to point and ask,
“What are those people?”
“There were additional personnel… Koreans?”
The moment Jeong Minsu expressed his doubt, Taesu immediately cut in.
“No. Look closely.”
“Hmm. They do kind of look Japanese.”
“I think that’s right too.”
Taesu, who had been observing carefully, nodded as well.
At that moment, Kim Hyeokgwon asked,
“Aren’t you on bad terms with Japan?”
“We are.”
“Then you must not like them much.”
Kim Hyeokgwon turned his guess into a certainty.
Jeong Minsu corrected him first.
“We don’t hate all Japanese people.”
“It would be more accurate to say we see them as foreigners who look similar to us.”
Taesu added.
Most Koreans did not hate someone simply because they were Japanese.
That was, so long as they were normal Japanese people.
They were not so generous toward politicians or right-wing groups who created noise with forced logic.
And so the gazes with which Taesu and Jeong Minsu looked at the Japanese medical staff were calm.
Just then, Doctor Oliver and a few mid-career doctors approached the Japanese group.
They seemed to shake hands and exchange light greetings.
As they watched, Kim Hyeokgwon’s voice beside them carried the conversation to their ears.
“Doctor Kuramoto, it’s been a long time.”
“Doctor Oliver-san, I’m glad to meet you again like this.”
At that sound, everyone’s gaze turned to Kim Hyeokgwon.
“You’re not actually hearing that, are you?”
“My ears are within the normal range, so don’t worry. I’m reading their lips.”
“Ah, lip-reading, right? I think I’ve heard of it. But you learned how to do that?”
“Interpreters don’t always do clean work. Especially in the business field.”
Kim Hyeokgwon spoke in a sullen voice.
Whenever the conversation touched on his past, he reacted curtly.
Everyone knew that, so they did not needlessly provoke him.
After watching a little longer, Kim Hyeokgwon said quietly,
“Well then, I’ll be heading back to my workplace.”
“Why don’t you stay a little longer?”
“How long am I supposed to laze around? I’ve got a mountain of colored paper to fold.”
Just thinking about it seemed to displease Kim Hyeokgwon.
It definitely did not suit his tastes.
Even so, because it was for the children, he did not put it off.