Chapter 91 – Coal Mine Accident (5)

“Doctor, what about our doctor…”

“The doctor will be safe. Please trust me!”

As Nurse Park In-seon kept looking back, still unable to feel at ease, Member Yun Tae-ho reassured her.

“He is really okay, right?”

“Of course! They say a man’s word is worth a thousand gold pieces! I am not a person who speaks with two tongues. So please trust me.”

“Yes. I only trust you, Member.”

Reassured a little by Member Yun Tae-ho’s heavy words, Nurse Park In-seon felt slightly relieved.

“Yes. Do not worry.”

“Please, I beg you! If only I hadn’t come here, this wouldn’t have happened… It feels like it is because of me, so my heart is in so much pain.”

*Sob, sob, sob—*

Nurse Park In-seon shed tears.

“That is not true. It is not your fault, Nurse. Everyone did their best in their respective fields. The accident was an act of God. So do not blame yourself.”

“Still…”

*Sniff, sniff—*

She could not stop the tears from flowing.

“We must go quickly. We have to shorten the time as much as possible so that I can return to fetch the doctor!”

“Yes. I understand.”

“The floor is covered with stones and is bumpy. Everyone, please walk as carefully as possible!”

“Yes. Understood.”

*Splash—*

The people slowly submerged their bodies in the water that had risen quite a bit.

Compared to when they entered, the water was filled slightly higher.

Even though not even an hour had passed.

* * *

*Pant, pant—*

“Doctor, I am so ashamed. You are undergoing hardships because of me for nothing. It is not too late even now, so leave a worthless human like me behind and escape quickly, Doctor. We do not know when another explosion might happen.”

Now that everyone had left, the only people remaining were Kim Ji-hyuk and the patient.

The man waved his hand toward Kim Ji-hyuk.

“*Hehehe*, indeed. Should I really do that?”

Kim Ji-hyuk, still not losing his composure to the point of joking.

He opened the first-aid kit and performed emergency treatment.

“Yes. Please do so. It does not matter for me, but a great person like you, Doctor, must not die in a ditch in a place like this!”

“Oh, it is a joke! Why are you taking a joke so seriously?”

“Documentary?”

“Ah, there is such a thing. Anyway, I get it, so from now on, you must absolutely not speak. Refrain from speaking as much as possible and breathe through your nose. That way, there will be less strain on your lungs!”

Kim Ji-hyuk placed the oxygen mask he had on the patient’s face.

“If breathing feels a bit more comfortable, just wiggle your finger.”

“…”

The man wiggled his finger with difficulty.

‘Just 30 minutes from now! If I perform emergency treatment within 30 minutes, his life won’t be in grave danger. And once we go outside and transfer him to the provincial hospital for surgery, I can save this patient!’

*Swipe, swipe—*

Kim Ji-hyuk disinfected the affected area by applying betadine to cotton wool.

While Kim Ji-hyuk calmly treated the patient like that.

‘Water has already risen a lot!’

Kim Ji-hyuk looked down at the bottom of the shaft.

Distinctly visible to the naked eye, the rate at which the water rose was gradually accelerating.

Along with it, Kim Ji-hyuk’s heart was also beating slightly faster.

‘I must be calm! Pull yourself together, Kim Ji-hyuk!’

Sigh, after Kim Ji-hyuk took a deep breath, he continued the treatment, and gradually, the patient’s condition was improving.

‘By now, has everyone escaped?’

[Doctor, are you there? Over!]

Right on cue, Member Yun Tae-ho’s radio call came in.

“Yes. Member! Go ahead!”

[Yes! All trapped personnel have evacuated safely!]

“Wow! What a relief. That is truly great. The patient has also finished emergency treatment and has passed the major crisis, but he must be moved to the hospital for surgery immediately. By any chance, have people from the provincial hospital arrived?”

[Yes! That is correct! The doctor named Shin Jeong-eun contacted them, and the hospital vehicle is on standby!]

“Good. Now, please come to pick me up. My knees are shaking so much I feel like I’m going crazy!”

Once all the situations were sorted, Kim Ji-hyuk began to complain playfully.

[Hahaha, didn’t you say you are a phoenix?]

“Ah, no. That was all a lie. You have no idea how much I regret it now! What a mess this is after I pretended to be tough. Hurry and come fetch me!”

[Hahaha, I am going shortly. Please wait just a bit.]

“Yes. Thank you!”

‘Thank goodness. Now I just need to go out with the patient and head to the hospital!’

Kim Ji-hyuk let out a sigh of relief and entered the final stage of treatment.

“Patient, how is your breathing? This time too, you just need to wiggle your finger.”

“…”

Smiling faintly, the man nodded instead of wiggling his finger. His condition definitely looked better than before.

“Good! Now, once I secure your leg with a compression bandage, you should be able to move somewhat. It will hurt a bit, so please bear with it a little longer.”

The patient, who was also injured in the leg.

Kim Ji-hyuk pulled out splints and bandages and began to compress the patient’s leg.

It was right at that moment.

*Clatter! Crash!*

Along with a tremendous roar, the sound of falling rocks echoed. Judging by the vibration felt inside the shaft, the noise was definitely from not too far away.

‘What happened?’

Kim Ji-hyuk quickly pulled out the transceiver he was carrying.

“Member Yun Tae-ho! Member Yun Tae-ho, come in, over!”

*Crackling—*

Member Yun Tae-ho offered no reply.

“A strange sound came from inside the shaft. Member! If you are there, contact me, over!”

*Crackling—*

Dead silence!

Only loud static noise came from the transceiver, and no one answered Kim Ji-hyuk’s question.

‘Damn it! Even the transceiver is acting up!’

Kim Ji-hyuk tapped the transceiver roughly, but as expected, it did not work properly.

At that moment.

[Doctor! Doctor! If you hear me, reply, over!]

It was the voice of Rescue Chief Hwang Eui-seong, not Member Yun Tae-ho.

“Yes? Is that you, Chief?”

[Yes.]

“But why is the chief calling?”

The radio call that Member Yun Tae-ho should have taken. However, hearing the rescue chief’s voice, anxiety washed over Kim Ji-hyuk.

“Chief! I just heard a loud roar inside the shaft, what is going on?”

[Well, a minor problem has arisen, but it is not a major issue. It will be resolved soon, so please bear with it and wait a little longer.]

“Are you sure?”

[Yes.]

“What about the people?”

[They have safely ascended to the surface and are being transported. Do not worry.]

“Are you really okay?”

Kim Ji-hyuk could not hide his anxiety.

[Of course! Do not worry about a…]

*Crackling—*

In an instant, the radio connection cut off again.

And then.

*Clatter! Crash!*

The same roar from earlier echoed once more.

“Doctor, did the radio cut off?”

The man asked with a serious expression.

“Yes. It was fine just a moment ago, but something seems to have gone wrong. What was that roar just now?”

Kim Ji-hyuk let out a deep sigh, looking perplexed.

“The ground is likely weak, so the wall probably collapsed. The sound of rolling rocks must be falling rocks dislodged from the wall.”

“Falling rocks?”

“Yes. Recently, cracks appeared on the wall, and I thought it might collapse. The miners requested repair work from the mining office, but they kept putting it off day after day, and in the end, this disaster happened.”

Sigh, the man let out a long sigh in hollow resignation.

“Damn it, is that why the radio is not working?”

“That is probably not the case. A transceiver like that wouldn’t go dead just from this. The machine itself must have a problem. That is a CTO8600 machine used by the US military during the last war. The US military left it behind, and the fire station probably took it to use.”

The man seemed to know the transceiver well.

“By any chance?”

Seeing the man like that, Kim Ji-hyuk harbored a sliver of hope.

“Let me take a look. Could you give it to me?”

“Do you know a bit about transceivers?”

“I served as a signal soldier during the last war. I cannot guarantee it, but let me tinker with it!”

Fortunately, the man was a former soldier who knew how to handle transceivers.

* * *

At the same time, the entrance of the accident site.

Just as the man predicted, the weak wall of the shaft had collapsed. The two roars were the sounds made when the shaft wall crumbled and falling rocks rolled down.

“Chief! I will enter!”

Member Yun Tae-ho tried recklessly to approach the entrance of the shaft.

“Stop! Going inside right now is a suicide mission.”

At that, Rescue Chief Hwang Eui-seong stubbornly blocked his entry.

“No! There are two people inside right now! They must be believing that I will come to rescue them. I must go down no matter what!”

“Is this bastard crazy right now? Additional manpower will arrive, so shouldn’t we clear the blocked entrance first before we can go in or not?”

“There is no time for that. Since only one wall collapsed, a minimal passage should remain. So I will go in.”

Member Yun Tae-ho still did not bend his will.

“You crazy fool. Do you think we are filming a movie right now? Do you want to go in together and get drowned?”

“Drowned? Chief! Pull yourself together! Have you forgotten why we came here?”

At that, Member Yun Tae-ho strained his neck.

“Honestly, the people inside… it is too late to rescue them! The shaft itself is unstable, so we do not know when an additional collapse might happen. If you go inside, you will die too!”

“Wh-who is dying right now? Say that again. Who is dying right now?!”

At that moment, Nurse Park In-seon rushed over and grabbed the rescue chief’s arm.

“Ah, no. It is not that.”

The rescue chief wore a perplexed expression.

“Stop talking nonsense and send the rescue team down quickly! Hurry!”

Park In-seon pressed him with a half-crazed expression.

“Nurse, calm down…”

“Cut the crap! Would you act this way even if your family was inside, Chief? Do you not know why you came here? Stop making excuses and send the rescue team down immediately!”

Nurse Park In-seon grabbed the rescue chief by the collar as if she had lost her mind.

“Sigh, what can we do when it is beyond our control? We do not have the equipment…”

“Then I will go in myself! I cannot give up on our doctor like that!”

“Ah! Seriously, why are you doing this? This isn’t going to solve anything. Please think rationally.”

Rescue Chief Hwang Eui-seong barely stopped Park In-seon, who was heading toward the shaft recklessly.

“To hell with rationality! I must go to save our doctor!”

“Hey! Hey! Member Han! Member Kang! Grab that woman! If she goes inside, all of you are dead meat!”

When Park In-seon shook off his hand and tried to enter the shaft, Hwang Eui-seong shouted.

“Ah, you cannot. I understand how you feel, Nurse, but you shouldn’t act unreasonably like this!”

The members ran over, grabbed Park In-seon by the waist, and pulled her back.

“Chief, when is the additional manpower arriving? Are they even coming? As far as I know, the personnel present here is all there is.”

At that, Member Yun Tae-ho questioned the rescue chief.

“Ahem, wait!”

“There isn’t, right? We do not have the capacity to deploy additional manpower or equipment, do we?”

“Be quiet! Just keep your mouth…”

It was right at that moment.

“Chief! The people from Mirae Construction are coming this way!”

At that moment, a rescue member ran to the rescue chief out of breath.