Precious Memories (2)
“This is the doctor’s feeling. I see you are putting your hand on your lower abdomen, and it looks like your stomach hurts. Isn’t it?”
“….”
“Would you like to take this opportunity to receive treatment?”
“There is no need for medical treatment. “It’s just a stomach ache.”
“It’s just a stomach ache, but you’re sweating profusely.”
“It’s because it’s hot. “Do you have any complaints?”
Aldi wrinkled his face and spoke in a nervous tone.
“You should not hide your symptoms. “A small bottle makes a big bottle.”
“Doctors often inflate pain like a balloon. is not it?”
“All right. You can’t do it if you don’t want to. But remember that sooner or later something serious could happen due to that stomachache.”
“Kkkkkk. “Are you talking about wishful thinking?”
He smiled coldly, asked for Nazir, and left the tent.
“Whew… I think I’m going to live a bit now.”
Nareka finished translating and wiped the cold sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand.
Every time I come across Aldi, my stomach tingles.
He looks as if he would beat someone to death with his bare hands.
Aldi, with the rings on her ten fingers and the bullet necklace added, looked like the Grim Reaper.
“Do you think Dr. Choi has ten lives? “How can you say everything you want to say to a person like that?”
“I think there is no need to bow down, no matter who the opponent is. Of course, this doesn’t mean you should ignore others.”
“But we are hostages. That guy’s judgment is so distorted that if he fires one shot, he could die…” “
That’s something that can’t be helped, so there’s no need to worry about it.”
“You have to have that level of distribution to become a triple board thoracic surgeon. “If it were me, no matter how many times I reincarnated, it would be impossible.”
Choi Ki-seok burst out laughing at Nareka’s joke.
“Anyway, I guess that’s the escape method that Dr. Choi mentioned. Treating Aldi.”
“you’re right. Within two days, Aldi will need surgery. If we use it well, we can leave this place on our own without any external structure.”
“I hope so.”
After a short conversation, their eyes rested on Nazir.
After completing the dangerous surgery without general anesthesia, he was fast asleep like a baby.
On the outside, it didn’t look like a patient who had been shot.
“I’m going to come get some fresh air for a moment.”
Ki-Seok Choi checked Nazir’s vitals and went outside the tent.
As the sun set, the sky and clouds turned golden.
The hot winds that had been threatening to eat away at me all afternoon now seem to have calmed down a lot and have taken on a cool vibe.
A person suddenly appears above the beautiful landscape.
That person was Jeong Seol-hwa.
“You must be worried about Seolhwa…”
Choi Ki-seok sighed as he thought of his loved one.
* * *
Obeid Hospital treatment room.
Jeong Seol-hwa was seeing the last treatment of the afternoon.
When a malnourished child was sent to a therapeutic feeding center, a man with a scar on his face came into the clinic.
The man looked around the inside of the treatment room, as if it felt awkward, and started massaging his hands.
“What brings you here?”
“I can’t sleep at all. Almost a year? “I kept falling asleep with my eyes open.”
“Do you have nightmares when you fall asleep?”
“…yes.”
The man’s explanation continued.
The man is said to have been a government soldier and participated in several battles to suppress rebels.
It is said that in the process, he overcame several life-and-death challenges and sometimes saw his colleagues die right in front of his eyes.
“Even now, when I close my eyes, I can hear my colleagues screaming. When he was captured and tortured by the rebels, how earnestly he begged for his life….” “….”
“
The fear was even greater because I was next to that friend. “Before it was my turn, there was an attack by our military and I was miraculously rescued… but I still can’t forget that incident.”
The man appeared anxious, rolling his eyes and shaking his legs, and Jeong Seol-hwa brought out his anxious feelings even more and made him continue talking.
“The patient suffers from PTSD (post-traumatic stress syndrome). An extremely stressful event left behind a deep wound in my heart. “Do you drink alcohol often?”
“yes. “If I can’t drink, I can’t sleep at all.”
The man answered without a moment of hesitation.
“I think we need to change the environment so that the patient doesn’t have to think about his painful past. “And it’s also nice if you come to the hospital and talk to me often.”
“….”
“You’ve never talked about your experiences in the military with anyone around you, have you?”
“Of course I can’t. Then everyone only worries about me.”
“Try to erase the bad memories of that time little by little through counseling with me. “First of all, today I will prescribe medication to help you sleep at night and medication commonly used for PTSD.”
“thank you sir.”
The patient bowed his head and left the treatment room.
This concludes today’s treatment. Jeong Seol-hwa glanced at the clock on the wall and checked emails on her laptop.
There was an email in my mailbox that I had been waiting for.
The sender was her father, and a short note was written saying that everything was ready.
After sending the thank-you email, she immediately went to the hospital.
“Abna. “How are you feeling?”
“It’s pretty bearable. “Except for the fact that I feel sleepy all the time.”
Abna smiled weakly.
She suffered from sleeping sickness and was now living at the hospital as a patient rather than a nurse.
Currently, only intravenous fluid treatment is in progress, but the condition is worsening as time passes.
“But wasn’t my doctor Dr. Choi? ah. “It’s not that I don’t like Dr. Jeong, it’s just that it’s strange that I haven’t seen him for the past few days.”
“Something came up, so I’m always away.”
Amid a moment of silence, Abna was the first to speak.
“Dr. Jeong.”
“yes. Abna.”
“Can’t I just treat it with Melasopro? The disease is deepening, but I keep neglecting it…”
Jeong Seol-hwa could not easily reply to Abna’s words.
Choi Ki-seok wants to give her a new drug for sleeping sickness that has no toxicity or side effects.
A plan has been prepared to achieve this.
Because I knew all of that, I couldn’t readily nod to her suggestion.
Once Melasopro is administered, treatment with new drugs is a breeze.
“Abna. “I know this may sound mean, but let’s just wait a little longer.”
“….”
“Kiseok is trying hard for Abna. “If everything goes well, I won’t have to use Melasov.”
“Then I’ll believe it. “Dr. Choi.”
Abna gently wrapped Jeong Seol-hwa’s hand.
Her eyes as she looked at Jeong Seol-hwa were full of trust.
“Rest well and call me anytime if you feel uncomfortable. “Okay?”
“yes.”
Jeong Seol-hwa, who left the hospital room, ran into Neymar approaching from across the hallway.
Neymar suggested that they go to the hospital director’s office together, saying he had something to say, and Jeong Seol-hwa obediently complied.
“….”
“….”
The two sat on the sofa and faced each other.
Both of them were silent for a long time, as if their mouths were locked.
“There is good news and bad news, which do you want to hear first?”
“I’ll hear the bad news first.”
“You may remember that the NSF said they were considering how to rescue Mr. Choi. “I just got a phone call and they said they had decided not to give money to the kidnapping group.”
Neymar continued speaking, avoiding Jeong Seol-hwa’s eyes.
“Instead of giving negotiation money, they plan to condemn the kidnapping group and put pressure on them.”
“Didn’t you say that that group is famous for killing people if they don’t give them their negotiating money?”
“…It was like that.”
“It means you actually gave up on Kiseok.”
A bitter smile appeared on Jeong Seol-hwa’s lips.
I was assuming the worst, so the news from Neymar wasn’t that surprising.
“Now it’s my turn to tell you the good news.”
“….”
“The Sudanese government has decided to take part in this matter. “It appears that the Minister of Health, who visited Mr. Choi for coronary artery bypass surgery, exerted influence on the military.”
“Ah…”
“They say the government was trying hard to find that group. I know it’s hard for you, Miss Jeong, but I wish you could endure it just a little longer. “I’m sure it will be good news.”
“But there are only two days left until the negotiation date. If the government cannot find the organization, Kiseok…”
Neymar was unable to say anything to Jeong Seol-hwa’s point.
In the prolonged silence, Jeong Seol-hwa began to cry.
“Actually, I also have something to tell you. I made the negotiating money with the money I had saved in Korea and the money I had borrowed. “If the government says they can’t find Ki-seok, I will negotiate with them.”
“Are you serious?”
“yes.”
Jeong Seol-hwa nodded vigorously.
I couldn’t lose my loved one in vain in a foreign country.
So, I asked my father in Korea to raise a lump sum of money to save Choi Ki-seok.
She was willing to sell her soul if she could see Choi Ki-seok again.
“If Miss Jeong had prepared the negotiating money, things might have worked out better.”
Neymar and Jeong Seol-hwa continued their conversation.
This happened when the deadline set by the kidnapping group was two days away.
* * *
“Prophet.”
After coming to consciousness, Nazir called Aldi, who was looking down at him with concern. Even though they were brothers, here they had to strictly follow the hierarchy.
“You’re awake now. “How are you feeling?”
“The wound area hurts, but it’s okay.”
“thank god.”
Aldi held Nazir’s hand tightly.
His seemingly heartless eyes began to turn red.
“I told you. “I’m sure you will survive.”
“thank you. “I was able to save my life thanks to the prophet’s insight.”
“From now on, I cannot forgive anyone who dies without my permission. okay?”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
After a short conversation, Nazir looked at Aldi and sighed.
“Prophet. “I know it’s very rude to say this, but… How about releasing Dr. Choi and the engineer who were kidnapped by NSF?”
“Why now?”
“Dr. Choi is a great person. “It’s too bad to be detained here.”
Nazir’s explanation continued.
Choi Ki-seok’s actions were 180 degrees different from other doctors who had been kidnapped so far.
Even while in prison, he treated people in the village.
At a time when the fear of being killed wasn’t enough, he treated someone who was like his enemy.
“That’s something I had no idea about.”
Aldi’s eyebrows rose to the sky.
“I’m sorry for telling you now. But I had no intention of deceiving the Prophet.”
“….”
“I realized something while watching Dr. Choi. The fact that even just one person can give hope to countless people. We can’t keep him here any longer. “He is different from other medical volunteers.”
Aldi rubbed his chin without responding to Nazir’s words.
Choi Ki-seok was certainly no ordinary doctor.
Even he could feel the spirit with which he fired his gun and his sincere feelings for the patient.
As I continued to look at him, images of Father Lee Tae-sik, whom I admired in the past, overlapped.
“Prophet, no, brother. Now let’s stop…”
Nazir was unable to continue speaking.
dump!
Aldi collapsed on the spot, clutching his stomach.