-Chirp! Pack..!!
Shaking off the thoughts about the dream, Kim Cheolsu slipped on his slippers and went down to the yard.
All living things in the world were already awake and moving.
He listened to the chirping of the wild birds perched on the tree and drank a cup of instant coffee.
Then he sat on the wooden porch, enjoying the countryside summer morning.
Though the day would get blisteringly hot later, for now it was still bearable.
After spending some time admiring the outdoors, his stomach started growling, so Kim Cheolsu headed to the kitchen and placed two slices of bread on the frying pan.
Back in Seoul, he often had breakfast like this, but recently he had been eating mainly Korean dishes.
Still, sometimes he felt too lazy to cook rice.
He mixed the fragrant butter and toast sizzling on the hot frying pan.
When the golden-brown toast was perfectly cooked, he transferred it to a plate.
Next, he fried the eggs laid by the village chief’s hen yesterday, along with some thin bacon he’d bought at the hospital PX.
His mouth was already watering.
Kim Cheolsu topped the toast with the well-cooked bacon, eggs, and finely chopped cabbage, then liberally drizzled delicious ketchup over it.
Finally, he placed a slice of square cheese on top and completed the sandwich with the upper slice of bread.
Unable to resist any longer, he grabbed the sandwich with both hands and took a big bite.
“Mm… this is delicious. It’s nice to have a Western-style breakfast after a long time. I used to make this often when I lived near S University. But there’s one difference. The scenery while eating has changed. The nature here in Hampyeong is really incredible.”
Crunching the tasty sandwich, he also gulped down the coffee he had left earlier.
It amazed him how the same meal could taste so different depending on the place.
-Bark!! Bark!!!
At that moment, Baekgu, who had been sleeping until now, got up and started barking.
It was as if saying, “I’m hungry too, why aren’t you feeding me?” and Kim Cheolsu gave a wry smile.
“I cooked yours too. Here! Bacon.”
He poured the bacon he had cooked generously on the frying pan into Baekgu’s bowl.
The dog’s eyes went wide as it panted, burying its face in the bowl.
After both of them finished eating, Baekgu scratched its half-cast leg.
Kim Cheolsu’s eyes widened as he asked,
“Oh? Feeling tight? Maybe it’s about time to take it off. Shall we try?”
He removed the half-cast bandage right there, and Baekgu excitedly ran in circles around the yard.
Thankfully, the leg seemed fully healed. Despite still being a young dog, its movements were surprisingly quick.
-Bark!! Bark!!!
Feeling great that it was fully healed, Baekgu ran around wildly before finally leaping into Kim Cheolsu’s arms and rubbing its white fur against his face.
“Haha! Feeling good? Yeah, me too! But why do you keep slobbering on my face? You haven’t brushed your teeth yet!”
The dog’s slobber smelled faintly of bacon.
Kim Cheolsu laughed in disbelief and took Baekgu to the faucet to brush its teeth.
Baekgu struggled, trying every trick to escape washing, but Kim Cheolsu squeezed some shampoo on the dog’s back and made a lather.
“While we’re at it, let’s give you a shower too. You smell these days.”
-Woof!! Woof!!!
Baekgu resisted fiercely, shaking its body and splattering foam everywhere.
Kim Cheolsu ended up soaked but enthusiastically clung on.
“You’re getting a shower today! We’re washing together, haha! No escape.”
*****
He had planned to just eat lightly and go to work, but ended up spending a lot of time bathing Baekgu.
Still, seeing the dog clean and fresh lifted his spirits.
After the wash, Baekgu looked handsome as a true Jindo dog.
Soaked from wrestling with Baekgu, Kim Cheolsu took a quick shower at the faucet and dried himself with a towel.
Since the weather was so hot, cold water was no problem.
Feeling refreshed from the morning shower, he put on his uniform, greeted Baekgu, and stepped outside.
“Stay calm. Don’t bother the villagers.”
-Bark! Bark!!
“You’ve gotten really handsome. If you’re bored, go out front and play with other animals—catch some frogs or something. Come to think of it, your life might be better than mine. You don’t even have to go to work.”
Suddenly, he chuckled, thinking that maybe his life was harder than the dog’s.
With a determined spirit for the day, Kim Cheolsu passed by the farmland where the village elders were working.
“Chief. It’s hot again today. It’s good you’re working, but don’t forget to rest in between. You know, your body’s not fully recovered yet. And you didn’t sneak any drinks yesterday, did you?”
“Kim Cheolsu, nagging again this early? Ask grandma. Since you treated me, I haven’t had a drop.”
At that moment, some friends of the chief chimed in.
“Hey, hey—look at the chief lying again! Doctor—he had a glass of makgeolli with me yesterday. But forgive him, it was just one glass!”
“You… you dare tattle? You’re asking for death, you bastard!”
Seeing the two elders suddenly bickering amid farmwork, Kim Cheolsu was taken aback.
He worried that they might collapse from fighting in the heat.
He hurried inside the field shouting,
“Elders, stop fighting! You’re too old; getting worked up isn’t good for your health. And I’m not mad about the makgeolli, really!”
*****
From the morning commute, it had been chaos.
Kim Cheolsu arrived at Orthopedics Clinic 3 with tired eyes.
As always, the lovely Shin Seyoung greeted him brightly.
“Good morning, Major. Did you have breakfast?”
“Yes… I did eat, but I’m already hungry again. I feel like I’ve exerted a lot of energy already this morning.”
“Really? Did something happen?”
She looked wide-eyed with curiosity. Kim Cheolsu shook his head.
“Nothing much. On my way here, the chief and his friend were fighting. I had to break it up, so now my breakfast’s already digested. I’m hungry. Got anything to eat?”
“I brought some rice balls to eat when you get hungry. Want one?”
“Sounds good.”
Honestly, the rice balls Seyoung brought weren’t the prettiest, but they tasted great.
The salt seasoning was just right. He complimented,
“Nursing officer, you’re good at cooking. The seasoning is perfect.”
“Thank you. Would you like some green tea? You look thirsty.”
“That would be great. My throat’s dry anyway.”
It was amusing, the two of them eating rice balls together inside the clinic.
They both had bits of rice stuck to their mouths, and when their eyes met, they chuckled, realizing how funny the situation was.
After they felt somewhat full, the 9 a.m. clinic began.
After nearly two hours of seeing patients, it was 11 a.m.
Exhausted, Kim Cheolsu stepped out and watched patients entering the orthopedic department.
But the scene was strange.
A sergeant was leading several soldiers up to the clinic door.
It was a familiar sight when privates and corporals came to the hospital, but the atmosphere was different.
The soldiers looked guilty, heads down, afraid of the sergeant escorting them.
Kim Cheolsu’s eyes blazed as he rushed out.
“What’s going on here? Doesn’t the escort know they’re supposed to wait outside?”
“Ah! Major, sir. Those are regular soldiers, but these guys are raw recruits who haven’t even been weaned off the breast yet. They don’t know what kind of trouble they might cause. Please understand.”
The sergeant’s tone was quite condescending. Considering Kim Cheolsu’s rank as major, it was almost insubordination.
Angered, Kim Cheolsu said,
“Soldiers already have a hard time telling a doctor they’re in pain. If the escort stays, they won’t honestly report their injuries. You need to leave.”
“Haha, Major, you don’t seem to know the training camp rules yet. No matter how hard you push, rules are rules. Recruits haven’t adapted to army life, so there’s a high chance of desertion anytime…”
The sergeant deliberately provoked Kim Cheolsu.
Furious to the core, Kim Cheolsu cut him off.
“Desertion? Did you just say desertion? These soldiers voluntarily joined to fulfill their sacred duty of national defense. Yet you treat them like prison inmates. Now get lost!”
“… What did you say? No matter your rank, treating another unit’s personnel like this is a serious issue. I’ll report this unpleasant matter to the training camp higher-ups.”
The stubborn non-commissioned officer showed no signs of backing down.
If the recruits feared the sergeant, they wouldn’t be able to get proper treatment.
Kim Cheolsu, beyond patience, grabbed the sergeant by the collar and dragged him out of orthopedics.
“Wha… wha…? What… what are you doing? This is assault…! Ouch!”
In front of all the soldiers, he threw the sergeant out of the clinic.
The sergeant, lying face down with glaring eyes, looked furious, but Kim Cheolsu paid no mind.
“Assault or not, report me if you want. Who does this sergeant think he is, infringing on patients’ rights to treatment? Say that nonsense again and next time I’ll throw you out of the hospital.”
“Ugh…!!”
The enraged sergeant had no recourse inside the hospital.
He glared daggers at the recruits as he left, thinking, “We’ll settle this back at the training camp.”
Kim Cheolsu taunted him,
“Hey? Can’t open your eyes properly? You really want to cause a scene today, huh? Try telling the recruits anything once you’re back. Next time soldiers from your camp come, I’ll hospitalize every one of them. Got it?”
“Th-That’s…”
If such a situation occurred, the training camp commanders would certainly take notice.
And if they found out Kim Cheolsu was doing this because of one sergeant, they would severely reprimand the man.
No matter the unit, military hierarchy is absolute.
Besides, ordering escorts to wait outside during treatment is perfectly reasonable.
The sergeant lost the battle of wills and was caught off guard.
Realizing he crossed a line, the sergeant bowed his head and apologized in front of the watching recruits.
“I’m… sorry, Major. I overstepped. I’ll stay at the PX and let you freely treat the recruits.”
He quickly fled, not wanting to cause any more trouble.
Kim Cheolsu finally saw the recruits’ relaxed faces freed from the escort’s presence.
He led the first patient inside the clinic.
Looking at the strangely swollen elbow, he examined it with his eyes and the X-ray machine.
“The elbow’s dislocated. No fractures, just a dislocation. It’s a straightforward posterior dislocation, and since there’s no radial head fracture, treatment should be easy. I’ll perform a reduction right away.”
Without even taking an X-ray image, he saw through the injury with his own eyes.
Thanks to this, he saved time and could start reducing the dislocated elbow much faster.
After injecting a muscle relaxant to ease the spasm, Kim Cheolsu pressed the patient’s upper arm with his elbow while clasping the patient’s hand.
With his other hand, he pushed the back of the patient’s hand.
-Pop!!
“Ahh!!”
“Did it hurt? Luckily, the ulna and humerus fit well. From what I see, the radial head is also back in place, aligned with the capitulum, and there’s no nerve or blood vessel damage. You’re lucky. If there had been a radial head fracture, the dislocation wouldn’t have been this easy to fix. Now we’ll do an L-shaped half cast for about three weeks, and you’ll heal.”
“Haha… yes, thank you, Major.”
He applied a splint and wrapped the bandage around the patient’s arm.
But the recruit didn’t look very happy. He seemed oddly downcast.
Kim Cheolsu had never seen this before—most recruits were usually relieved.
He unconsciously scanned the patient’s body with the X-ray and said, surprised,
“Hm? What’s this? Why are there bruises on your body? Were you beaten?”