Nothing (5)
Choi Ki-seok and Nareka were walking in a dark cave.
Soldiers armed with guns were standing in front of and behind them with their eyes so blue that they could not even dream of running away.
“Dr. Choi. “I think I know who these guys are.”
Nareka, standing next to him, whispered.
“Do you remember the meeting a while ago?”
“yes.”
“It’s probably the Aldi gang I mentioned back then.”
[About three hours away from the hospital, a madman is gathering armed forces. The leader’s name is Aldi. He claims to be immortal and is taunting people by saying that anyone can live a happy life if they believe in him.]
Choi Ki-seok belatedly recalled what Neymar had said.
Considering that the soldier had asked to see the prophet, it was a reasonable guess.
What kind of person is Aldi?
What are your thoughts on presenting yourself as a god and appearing in front of people?
Fear and curiosity arose simultaneously in his heart.
Eventually, the group that had been wandering through the cave came outside.
Outside the cave, something like a village had formed.
People gathered and lived in tents, and women, children, and the elderly were often seen.
Among them, the most numerous were young men carrying bulletproof vests and guns.
The young men walked around the village with wide eyes, and some of them gave loud cheers as if they were training somewhere.
Even elementary school students could tell that this was not an ordinary village.
Soon, the two people were forcibly dragged into a large tent.
“Get on your knees.”
“….”
“What are you doing! “Kneel!”
The soldiers pushed the two men so roughly that they had no choice but to kneel down.
“Did you bring it with you?”
“yes. “Prophet.”
A middle-aged man appeared with a deep voice.
The man sat on the sofa and looked down at Choi Ki-seok and Nareka, who were kneeling.
The man’s face was charred, and deep wrinkles appeared on his forehead.
A look of dissatisfaction with life was evident on his face, and on his ten fingers were rings shaped like skulls.
What’s even more bloody is the necklace he wore made of bullets. When asked, ‘Can you kill people?’, he said ‘of course’ and loaded the gun with the bullets from the necklace, making it look like he was going to kill someone.
“Nice to meet you. “I am Prophet Aldi.”
“This is Ki-Seok Choi from NSF.”
Choi Ki-seok exchanged introductions with Nareka through his interpreter.
“I heard you are a thoracic surgeon known all over the world?”
“It was like that. But now I am just a doctor doing medical volunteer work.”
“Tsk tsk. The world would have been easier if I had worked as a doctor in a good country. “You opened the door to suffering yourself.”
“Eating well and living well is not my goal in life. “I just want to do something that I believe is worthwhile.”
“You’re handsome, you’re handsome.” But from my point of view, saying that sounds like a lot of stuffing. “In this land, there is not a single moment of leisure to help others.”
The subordinates around him burst into laughter at his words.
It looks like Aldi was making a joke of its own.
“Why are you doing this?”
“That’s a bold question. The answer is simple.”
In response to Choi Ki-seok’s question, Aldi drew a circle with his index finger and thumb.
“Of course it’s about money. You guys make money. If you kidnap someone and ask for a negotiation fee, they usually send you money once out of ten. “We are using that money wisely.”
“….”
“Thankfully, this time the gold nugget came in a bunch. “If a world-class thoracic surgeon is your hostage, you can make a lot of money.”
“Do you think everything will work out the way you want?”
“There doesn’t seem to be any reason not to.”
Aldi smiled, showing his yellow teeth.
He snapped his fingers and a soldier stood next to Aldi and took a picture of the two kneeling.
“Hmm… Does it seem less pitiful? “I’ll need some directing.”
“yes. “Prophet.”
Soldiers approached and tied the two men with rope. He then stepped on their backs and forced them to bend down.
“Put some dirt on your face and hold your head up high.”
The second photo shoot was completed under Aldi’s instructions, and a faint smile appeared on his face when he saw the result.
“That’s enough. Please enclose a photo in your letter and send it to NSF.”
“All right.”
“What happens to us now?”
Nareka, who had been silent, asked in a frightened voice.
“If the NSF gives you bail, you will be released without hesitation. “If you don’t give me bail…”
“What if I don’t?”
“Still, I’ll send it back. “But I won’t be able to return alive.”
Aldi, who insulted Nareka, burst out laughing, and his subordinates also laughed along with him.
“Why are you smiling? “Are you happy with this situation?”
Aldi stopped laughing and frowned.
Just now, Choi Ki-seok sent a naughty smile towards himself. This is completely different from the doctor taken hostage who is shaking and not knowing what to do.
A thought crossed my mind that I might be up to something.
“I saw it wrong.”
“Well, it must be an illusion. “Being a doctor or a president is useless in front of a gun.”
“Before I leave, let me ask you one thing.”
“good. “Special permission is given.”
“Have you never been treated by Father Lee Tae-sik?”
At his question, Aldi’s eyes fluttered for a brief moment.
“What a nostalgic name. Of course, I have received treatment. I went to see him when I suffered a gunshot wound, and he performed surgery for free and took care of me for several days and nights. How do you know Father Lee Tae-sik?”
“I came from Korea, where Father Lee Tae-sik lived.”
“He’s from the bride’s hometown…”
Aldi looked up at the ceiling of the tent and rubbed his chin.
Nareka, who was interpreting his change in attitude, found a ray of hope.
This is because Aldi seemed a bit shaken after hearing Father Lee Tae-sik’s story.
I didn’t know if a happy ending would come like this, so I put a lot of effort into my hands.
Nareka’s eyes were all focused on Aldi’s lips.
“What is the evaluation of the priest in Korea?”
“He is a great man recognized by everyone.”
“okay. The priest was a really great person. We were fundamentally different from the people in volunteer organizations who treated us as inferiors. “After hearing your story, I miss you.”
“….”
“But respect for the priest has nothing to do with your treatment. “If you were trying to get past this moment by selling your bride, it would be a big mistake.”
Aldi laughed coldly.
“Take it away.”
“yes!”
Guided by soldiers who had received instructions, the two returned to prison.
“ah. We’re almost there. “I feel so sorry for Dr. Choi.”
Nareka stamped her feet.
If they had been a little more emotional, Aldi wouldn’t have ordered their release.
I kept feeling that kind of regret.
“I didn’t bring up the priest’s story to escape.”
“sure?”
“I was curious. “Do you think the priest even treated these people?”
“Now that I think about it, it would have been better for me to have died without receiving treatment. Then something like this never happened.”
Nareka snorted and huffed, but Choi Ki-seok calmly opened his mouth.
“Nareka. “Don’t worry too much.”
“Do you feel like you’re not worried now? They say I was caught in a den of madmen who kill people as if they were eating food. “If that man doesn’t get his money, he will definitely kill us!”
“There is a Korean proverb that says that even if the sky falls, there is a hole to rise from.”
“….”
“I found it. A hole that will rise.”
“under. “I don’t know if Dr. Choi really knows.”
“That’s my charm.”
Choi Ki-seok paused before continuing.
“By the way, when the next meal time comes, please hold on to the soldier serving the meal for a moment.”
“What is the reason?”
“About that…”
he continued his explanation.
* * *
That evening.
Ki-Seok Choi and Nareka wasted time while trapped in a dark cave.
‘Ha… I’m going crazy. really.’
Nareka barely restrained herself from screaming.
It was frustrating.
The space was small, there was nothing inside, and it was dark.
There was nothing else to do other than breathe.
It got to the point where I thought that even if I went to prison, I would be treated better than this.
It would have been nice to have a chat with Choi Ki-seok, but he just lay still and moved his hands as if he was mentally ill.
The hand movements were surprisingly precise, and it looked as if surgery was being performed.
Has even he who said he found a hole to rise out of gone crazy?
At that thought, despair enveloped my limbs.
Since I was in a dark cave, the concept of time disappeared.
Ten minutes felt like an hour, and an hour felt like a day.
As the boring and boring time continued, I heard familiar footsteps.
At that moment, Choi Ki-seok also finished playing surgery and stood up.
“It’s dinner.”
The soldier held out a tray through the gap at the bottom of the bars.
Dinner was chilly porridge and a few slices of bread as dry as a desert.
“Hey. “Let me ask you one question.”
“what?”
In response to Nareka’s question, the soldier who was returning stopped walking and turned his head.
“Is anyone in your family sick? Dr. Choi here is a world-renowned thoracic surgeon. “If there is a patient, bring them in and get a checkup.”
“Is that okay?”
“There’s no reason not to. “It would be better to take advantage of it when you have the opportunity.”
The soldier who fell for Nareka’s words soon returned with a child who appeared to be about ten years old.
“The child has been limping for a few days and can’t walk properly.”
“It hurts here.”
When the child pointed to the area near his index toe, the soldier illuminated the child’s foot with a flashlight.
“It’s an ingrown toenail. Did you get inflammation? how is it?”
“sick!”
When Choi Ki-seok pressed his claws, the child screamed and twisted his body.
The soldier got irritated and pointed his gun at Choi Ki-seok.
“What are you doing now? “I want to die!”
“I checked the condition. I think I need to cut my toenails. “Do you have a scalpel and disinfectant?”
“…Wait a moment.”
After some time, a returning soldier held out a small gauze bag and a small gauze container containing poppidon disinfectant through a gap in the window.
Choi Ki-seok, who was checking the treatment tools, found the Red Cross logo engraved on the wrapping paper. It was not difficult to guess that the Red Cross doctor was also captured here.
Did he really get out of here alive?
Or….
‘Stupidly.’
He shook his head and chased away distracting thoughts. And after using the Painkiller skill on the child, he released the treatment tool on the floor.
“Don’t think about doing anything foolish. “If you touch the child even slightly, I will turn you into a beehive.”
“Don’t worry, I won’t do anything to harm my skin. “What is your name?”
“Please.”
“Now your toenails are digging into your flesh. Bacteria got in and inflammation occurred. So, he’s going to cut off the toenails that are digging into his flesh. “It may hurt a little, but you can bear it well, right?”
Zabudi nodded at his explanation.
Suuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu
Choi Ki-seok disinfected the area to be treated and applied a scalpel to the inflamed area.
The pus sheath split open and yellow pus flowed out onto the floor.
The subsequent ingrown toenail surgery was a piece of cake.
I used Kelly to gently touch the toenail that had dug into the flesh, and then pulled it out in one go. Originally, the treatment required anesthesia, but Painkiller took over and completed the procedure smoothly.
“You have to be careful not to allow water to touch the wound until it heals. Understand?”
Treatment ends with wrapping gauze around the toe.
The child said thank you and left the prison with the soldier.
“By the way, Dr. Choi. Do we really have to do this? “Why are you treating these bastards?”
“A doctor’s job is to treat sick people. “I’m just doing my job here.”
“That’s amazing.”
Nareka continued speaking in a tone that made it unclear whether it was a compliment or sarcasm.
“By the way, when are we going to leave? I hope NSF negotiates properly….”
“We will be out soon. On our own, without NSF’s help.”
Choi Ki-seok’s eyes toward Nareka were full of confidence.
