Chapter 7 – Children Met in the Forest (1)

A few days later, a hill near the hospital.

5:00 PM.

Unfamiliar people.

Medical tools that were incomparably poor compared to modern medicine.

Having spent a hectic day in this unfamiliar environment, Kim Ji-hyuk went up the nearby hill for a walk after work and was lost in thought.

‘I don’t know for what reason, but I have returned to 1952. Traveling back in time to this place is unbelievable, but the things that have happened to me in the meantime were also utterly unbelievable.

Possessing the body of my grandfather’s best friend, Kim Ji-hyuk, and meeting the President-elect of the United States, Eisenhower, out of the blue to treat his son were all miraculous events that couldn’t be understood rationally. But this is reality! Since things have turned out this way, I must live a meaningful life!’

Kim Ji-hyuk had decided to accept the reality that was happening to him.

As he was strolling while lost in thought, the bushes rustled for a moment, and finally, a strange creature revealed itself.

‘W-what? Could it be a ghost?’

A helmet made of nickel-silver with all its paint peeled off—no, a pot.

A splendid(?) rag-like cape in red, blue, and green.

Torn rubber boots reaching up to the knees, and even military socks reaching up to the thighs that they must have picked up somewhere.

They blocked Kim Ji-hyuk’s path.

And the words that came out of their mouths.

“Hold it!”

Huh? It was an absurdly cute dialect.

“………”

Kim Ji-hyuk stared blankly at the children in the sudden situation.

“Hands up!”

‘What? Is he telling me to raise my hands?’

“…… silence/dots

Phew, just as he was biting his lips, choosing his words,

“Quick!”

The kids threatened Kim Ji-hyuk by pointing wooden sticks at him.

“O-okay.”

Then, Kim Ji-hyuk slowly raised his hands.

“Password!”

‘Password? Hehehe, they must be kids from this neighborhood. Shall I play along a bit?’

Only now did Kim Ji-hyuk roughly figure out their identity.

“Password?”

“Quick!”

The kids glared at Kim Ji-hyuk with quite sharp eyes.

“The password is… bang, bang, bang! I’m the enemy! How would the enemy know the password? Here, take this!”

Ji-hyuk quickly snapped a branch from the bushes and pointed it at the kids.

Soon, he performed a clumsy tumbling move.

Rat-a-tat-tat!

Wasn’t he snapping another branch, pretending to fire dual pistols, and making a huge scene?

“Hahaha, how’s that! The taste of my lightsaber! You guys are finished now! Take the power of the Power Rangers’ ultra-awesome power!”

Kim Ji-hyuk rolled two more times to the side, stood up abruptly, and laughed heartily.

“…… silence/dots

“…… silence/dots

The kids stared blankly at him.

“Oppa, isn’t that mister going too far?”

The cute-looking girl asked the boy.

“Yeah. He must think we are complete fools!”

“It’s not even a bit funny. But what is that ‘power’ whatever? Is he a communist?”

“I don’t know either. He must just be a crazy mister.”

Blankly-

Kim Ji-hyuk had a hollow expression.

‘W-was that not it?’

As Kim Ji-hyuk smiled awkwardly with an embarrassed face and patted the dust off his clothes, the children shook their heads and turned around.

“Kids, wait a minute!”

Kim Ji-hyuk called the two with an embarrassed expression.

“What for?”

The cute girl turned around first.

“Kid. I am the new doctor here, and by any chance……”

“Aren’t you a communist? Oppa, he is, right?”

The girl frowned immediately at the word doctor. This time too, she looked back at her older brother to confirm.

“Yeah. No way. Have you ever seen such a foolish doctor? He’s definitely a communist.”

“I really am a doctor, though?”

Kim Ji-hyuk wore an absurd expression at the conversation between the two kids.

“Then, do you have a fire shot?”

At that, the boy asked.

“Ah… I don’t carry things like that around.”

“See. He doesn’t have it. Let’s go.”

The boy turned away coldly, as if there was no need to check further. He pulled his younger sister’s arm.

‘This is driving me crazy. Did I just become a communist out of nowhere?’

Just as Kim Ji-hyuk was about to turn back in dejection.

Thud, ah!

The girl suddenly collapsed into the bushes.

‘What? Are these kids trying to play a prank again?’

A gentle smile formed on Kim Ji-hyuk’s lips.

“Hahaha, see there? The lightsaber I fired earlier is finally taking effect! Now surrender……”

However, the boy’s reaction was unusual.

“Hey girl! Get up quickly. Don’t play around!”

“Pant, pant, it’s… it’s not a joke. Gasp, gasp, Oppa! I can’t breathe. Am I dying?”

The girl’s face suddenly lost all color.

“Don’t play around! You’re going to get it from me!”

The boy shook the girl.

However, the girl’s face rapidly grew pale, and she lost consciousness in an instant.

“……Hey, mister!”

The boy called Kim Ji-hyuk as if he had lost his mind.

“Kid, what’s wrong!”

Kim Ji-hyuk immediately recognized the gravity of the situation and rushed over to the two children.

“Please save her! Please save our Mi-seon!”

The boy shouted with a face full of terror.

“The girl isn’t breathing. Please save her. Quick!”

The playful expression from earlier was nowhere to be seen.

“Kid! Can you hear me?”

Kim Ji-hyuk ran over, took off his jacket to lay it on the ground, laid the girl down comfortably, and shook her hand.

“…… silence/dots

The child did not move at all.

Losing consciousness was one thing, but her breathing was unusual.

The little girl’s breathing grew fainter and fainter. The weak breaths she was holding onto were cutting out intermittently.

‘She has a fever!’

Feeling the child’s forehead, Kim Ji-hyuk pulled a thermometer from his pocket to check the fever.

‘39.7 degrees Celsius?? It’s an incredibly high fever!’

Swiftly, Kim Ji-hyuk pulled out the stethoscope from his gown pocket to check her breathing.

Immediately, he placed his fingers around the child’s neck.

It was at that very moment.

Something rolled out of the child’s pocket onto the ground.

‘Ugh. What is this smell? It’s a terrible stench.’

It was none other than a seasoned squid tentacle that was long past its expiration date.

“Kid! By any chance, did your sister eat this?”

“Yes. She loves that stuff like crazy. Even when I asked for just one, she wouldn’t give it to me and gobbled it all up by herself.”

“When? When was the last time she ate it?”

“She ate it this morning too.”

‘She ate expired, spoiled seasoned squid?’

“Besides this, could you tell me what she ate recently? Was there anything she ate that might have made her sick?”

Kim Ji-hyuk conducted the medical inquiry step-by-step. For now, he had to rely on the words of the older brother who had been by the child’s side all along.

“I-I don’t know!”

Waaah!

But perhaps utterly terrified, the boy burst into tears instead of answering.

“Is our Mi-seon going to die?”

“No. That’s not true. I’m a doctor. I will take good care of your sister.”

“Aren’t you a communist?”

“Sigh, I said I’m not! Anyway, we’ll talk about that later, and I need to know what happened to your sister. Think carefully. Did she happen to eat fish or……”

“R-rockfish! Last night, the lady next door made rockfish stew because it was Mi-seon’s birthday, so she ate it.”

The boy fell into panic. He whimpered with a pale face.

“Rockfish means she ate fish, right? Was she okay after eating it?”

“Ah! She coughed saying a bone was stuck in her throat, so they told her to just swallow a spoonful of rice. She was fine after eating a spoonful of rice, but……”

‘If a fish bone got caught in her throat last night, and she ate spoiled seasoned squid afterward?

There is a possibility of a deep neck infection!’

Kim Ji-hyuk immediately deduced the girl’s illness.

“Kid. You see that white building over there, right!”

“Yes!”

“Let’s take your sister over there quickly.”

“The hospital?”

“Yes.”

“I… I don’t have money, though?”

“It’s okay! Didn’t I tell you I’m a doctor? First, run ahead and deliver this. To anyone wearing white clothes.”

Tear. Kim Ji-hyuk tore a page from his notebook, hastily scribbled a few words, and handed it to the boy.

“This?”

“Yeah! You must deliver it as fast as possible. I’ll carry your sister on my back and follow right behind. You can do it, right?”

“Of course. I’m the fastest runner in our neighborhood!”

“Right. I trust you. Go quickly!”

As the boy dashed off, Kim Ji-hyuk immediately slung the girl onto his back.

‘There is a strong probability of deep neck infection! A rockfish bone got stuck in her throat, causing a perforation, and bacteria from the spoiled seasoned squid invaded that perforation, creating an abscess in her neck. As time passed and the abscess grew, it blocked the airway! If I don’t clear the blocked airway, this child will die!’

And then, Kim Ji-hyuk began to run at full speed behind the child.

A moment later.

Dash, slam!

“Did you receive the boy’s note?”

Kim Ji-hyuk hurriedly opened the hospital door and walked in.

“Wh-what happened, Mi-seon!”

Then, perhaps having received the kid’s note, a woman rushed out.

She was Shin Jeong-eun.

She seemed to know the girl.

Thud!

Shin Jeong-eun stumbled over the threshold while rushing out.

“Ah!”

“Are you okay?”

Kim Ji-hyuk asked, dumbfounded.

“I’m okay. By the way, our Mi-seon… Mi-seon! What’s wrong with the child?”

She stood up at lightning speed. And seeing Mi-seon, she was at a complete loss.

“There is no time to explain right now. A bed! Please guide me to a bed.”

“Was the person who sent the note Dr. Kim Ji-hyuk?”

“Yes! It’s me. So don’t worry and please guide us to a place to lay the child down.”

“Yes, yes. Come this way. I have it prepared. Mi-seon, it’s okay! You’re going to be fine. Yes!”

Shin Jeong-eun, with tear-filled eyes, headed to the emergency room with Kim Ji-hyuk.

And, Kim Ji-hyuk laid the patient on the bed immediately.

“The patient is deep neck inf… No, there is no time to explain that now! First, the syringe……”

“Right? We must, right?”

At that, Shin Jeong-eun hurriedly prepared a sterilized glass syringe.

“…… silence/dots

‘Since it is 1952, there’s no way there is a deep understanding of deep neck infections! The condition isn’t that common either. Yet, she is handling everything with quick wits. And very calmly, too.’

“…… silence/dots

The calm appearance left no trace of her earlier fumbling.

“Here is the syringe!”

Shin Jeong-eun stripped the packaging of the syringe and handed it to Kim Ji-hyuk.

“Shall I do the disinfection?!”

“Yes. Please do so.”

Swish, swish, swish. She applied Betadine to gauze and disinfected around the child’s neck.

‘She roughly knows the site to perform the procedure on! Her medical knowledge is considerable.’

“Do you know where to insert the syringe?”

“I just estimated it by eye, did I do well??”

‘More than well!’

“Ah, yes. You did well.”

“That’s a relief. It seems you can perform the procedure now?”

Having finished the disinfection cleanly, Shin Jeong-eun stared at Kim Ji-hyuk.

‘She’s good!’

Thanks to Shin Jeong-eun, the necessary things were prepared with quick judgment, and now it was Kim Ji-hyuk’s time alone!

With a young life hanging at Kim Ji-hyuk’s fingertips, it was a situation where every split second counted.