-Swallow

The sound of Ganghyuk swallowing his saliva filled the room.

Although it was not that loud, the sound was amplified as the room was completely silent. Occasionally, Yeoju’s voice would interrupt the silence.

“Are you alright?”

She was collecting blood with a syringe.

She moved very slowly.

Normally, Ganghyuk would be angry and forcefully push her away.

But Ganghyuk had already lost the strength to be angry and only nodded his head.

He was extremely careful.

He was afraid to tear the vein by moving his arm.

“Em…How much have you currently extracted?”

“We only have 100mL as of now, sir.”

“Hu…”

Ganghyuk sighed with despair.

Dolseok and Makbong laughed silently.

Ganghyuk was their master filled with confidence and he was the last man they thought to be submissive.

But now he was passive and cautious just because of such a small needle.

They felt like calling everyone who knew Ganghyuk such as Governor and Heo Jun and show them Ganghyuk’s other side.

If it were the 21st century, they would take a picture and upload it on SNS.

With the title of “Baik Ganghyuk’s True Colors”.

“How much should I extract?”

“Eum…”

Ganghyuk tried to calculate with his eyes closed.

If he was in the hospital, he would not need to calculate with such efforts.

Around three packs of blood would cure dehydration regardless of the cause.

‘I cannot extract my blood over 1 liter, that’s for sure.’

He did not want to die to save another.

Even though he was a doctor and wanted to save a patient as much as possible, he did not want to die in their stead.

‘My weight is probably around 78kg.’

From that, he calculated that he might have more than 5 liters of blood in his body.

‘I can give 1 liter without any difficulty.’

At this time, it was difficult to find a man as strong as Ganghyuk.

As a matter of fact, Ganghyuk belonged to the strong group of people in Korea in the 21st century.

Therefore, extracting a liter of blood would not make a big problem.

‘No, I can’t take a rest like this.’

There were patients queuing outside.

Their numbers seemed to surpass over 50 already. He could not leave all of them to Heo Jun or Heo Im.

Ganghyuk had to decide if they would need transfusion or IV.

If needed, he could give them rice or porridge rather than oral rehydration solutions.

To do that, his health was very important.

It is not an excuse not to give his blood but a fact…at least that was what Ganghyuk thought.

“Let’s give him 800mL. How long it will take?”

“If I relied on the instructions you gave to me… It would probably take a long time, somewhere around two hours.”

“Two hours?”

It was not a rubber tube but an iron needle that he had to pierce through his skin.

At this moment, he wanted to extract as much as he could and pull it out, but it was not possible since it might bring detrimental effects to the patient and Ganghyuk himself.

‘If I extract blood too quickly, it may lead to low blood pressure shock…’

The statement that he can give l liter of blood was half true and half false.

If he lost 1 liter of blood in an instant, it might give a big burden on his heart.

The heart should beat stronger and quicker to compensate the lost blood that made up 20% of his total blood count.

Therefore, the blood should be extracted very slowly so that the heart can adjust to the changed environment.

To do that, the method to flow away is the best, which is done in blood donation cars.

But it was impossible for Ganghyuk to make that environment, so he opted to extract as slow as possible.

‘Additionally, the patient may die with fast transfusion.’

If the speed gets faster, the strength gets stronger.

The syringe needle is not an exception.

If it extracts too fast, the cells in the blood may explode because of the pressure. Not only that, there is the risk of stroke if transfused quickly because the electrolytes in the cell have scattered.

“What’s happening outside?”

“Outside?”

“Yes. Are they doing well? Yeoni, Heo Jun and Heo Im?”

“I’ll check.”

Hearing Ganghyuk’s question, Dolseok stood up quickly. He then went to the door and opened it. Ganghyuk was surprised and stopped him quickly.

Ganghyuk felt pain in the arm because of the iron needle on it as he shouted.

“Dolseok, be careful. I don’t want them to see this sight.”

“Ah, I almost forgot.”

He did not want to show the transfusion.

It was bot because he was shy, but because of the responses of the people.

Considering the responses of Yeoju and the others, the patients would be scared to see blood being transfused.

They might want to stop being treated.

Furthermore, they might want to roll Ganghyuk in the mat.

‘It’s really difficult to change people’s perspectives.’

It is not easy to change a paradigm.

Yeoju has been with Ganghyuk for a long time and they had treated people.

But when Ganghyuk tried to give blood to the patient, she strongly objected.

Then what would the people outside say?

There’s no need to explain really.

-Squeak

Dolseok had the same thought.

He was a coward anyway.

He did not want to die being known as one of the fellows doing that bizarre thing.

Therefore, he opened the door very cautiously.

“Eh? Our patients decreased.”

“Really? By how much?”

“Half? Is it right for us to feed them? The patients on Dongpa’s side did not discharge anymore.”

Dolseok looked around the yard tilting his head.

The patients were not lying down outside any more.

The patients on Dongpa’s side were accommodated in the buildings on the left and those in Ganghyuk’s side were in the building on the right.

There was one difference though.

Ganghyuk’s patients were busy going to the toilet while the patients on Dongpa’s side seem to be peaceful.

“If we go inside, we can see different things.”

“Really? Anyway… Our Heos and Yeoni are really busy. They are busy feeding patients while patients are busy going to the toilet.”

“Is there anyone who has a fit?”

“I don’t know. I’ll go and ask.”

“Yes, you should do that. What are you waiting for? If I don’t have this, you might have been dead already.”

Ganghyuk pointed at the needle on his arm.

Dolseok went out of the room like a fly.

He did not want to be beaten.

“Ah… it is too hard.”

“Yes, I guess so. Can we make it like this one on the patient’s arm?”

Yeoju asked a question as she looked at Ganghyuk with pity.

He looked very different than usual.

Ganghyuk answered while looking at the IV line that Yeoju pointed.

“What? Do you mean that?”

“Yes.”

“No, impossible.”

Ganghyuk shook his head with a bitter smile.

He had tried as much as he could.

If he could make the IV set in Joseon, he could do many things.

But it was impossible.

‘There is no rubber… Of course there is no plastic here in Joseon.’

What he could use in Joseon was only iron.

It was not an alloy like stainless steel but pure iron.

‘I cannot let it penetrate into the vein.’

Iron easily rusts, and patients would die because of iron contaminating the blood.

‘It cannot be shaped like this. And furthermore, it’ll be uncomfortable.’

He had to give it up with many different reasons.

He neither had good subject material nor sufficient technology.

“Those who Dr. Heo Jun introduced are all good craftsmen working in the palace. Thus, if they could not do it, maybe it would be impossible. Right?”

“Yes, you are right.”

While they were talking like that, the blood collected exceeded 400 mL.

It was nothing to Ganghyuk who was very healthy.

But for the patient, it made a big difference.

He opened his eyes a little which had been tightly closed.

“Ah, it seems that he’s waking up.”

Makbong came closer to the patient.

As Makbong came closer, the patient was frightened and tried to move his head back.

As he laid his head on the pillow, he could not retreat his head though.

“Who are you?”

“Ah, you are in Bojewon. You are being treated. Don’t be startled.”

“Boje…? Ah, yes, I came here. Was I sleeping?”

The patient did not remember what happened to him including him falling unconscious or him getting a seizure.

He lied there and tried to remember what happened to him, but he seemed to be not that sane.

‘It’s for the better. He doesn’t know he’s receiving a transfusion.’

Nobody knows what will happen when the patient recognizes his status.

He may take out the needle and make a scene.

“Makbong.”

Makbong knew what Ganghyuk wanted him to do. He changed his position to block the patient’s sight.

Then the blood bag was out of the patient’s sight.

He could see the IV line on his arm but they had already covered it with a cloth.

“Anyways, you are not completely treated. Please lie there.”

“Eo… Yes… Is he a patient, too?”

The patient pointed at Ganghyuk.

Ganghyuk could not find any excuse.

He could not say that he extracted his blood to give to the patient.

They would not understand the transfusion and might make a scene.

Therefore, Ganghyuk nodded his head.

“Yes. The disease is epidemic and all the areas near here are affected.”

“Heo… It is really fearful. I had nothing, but I was discharging constantly. It is really…”

Ganghyuk observed the patient talking about his status.

He watched his lips, tongue, eyes, vibration of hands and feet, movement of lips, eyelids, and so on.

‘There is no more vibration of lips and eyelids.’

That means his electrolyte abnormality is rectified.

He became conscious probably because his electrolyte status became normal.

However, he could observe some symptoms of dehydration here and there.

‘His lips and tongue are dry… But his eyebags look a lot better.’

It was true that the best IV liquid was blood.

With only 400mL of blood, the patient was revived.

Blood was more effective than any other liquid.

‘It is truly worthwhile.’

Ganghyuk kept extracting his blood as he felt tired.

When Ganghyuk looked out of the door, he could see Dolseok looking around busily.

It seems that there was no emergency case.

They were moving busily but there was no panic.

‘Ok, you do the work and I take the rest.’

Ganghyuk turned his head away from the scene.

He wanted to take a rest as he was lying on the floor, but it was not comfortable to lie on the floor with a needle on his arm.

But he thought he was happier than those who boiled water, cooled it down, and tended to the patients constantly.

‘Eum.’

While extracting blood, he unexpectedly fell asleep.

While he was lying idle on the floor, somebody woke him up.

When Ganghyuk looked up, he could see Heo Jun.

“Scholar Baik. Please…”

“Ah, yes. Is it over?”

Ganghyuk checked his arm first.

If he moved with the needle on the arm, it could rupture his vein.

But the needle was removed and the area of injection was covered with gauze.

He asked Heo Jun as he tried to get up.

“Why? Is there something wrong?”

“Yes, people are complaining. They want to go to Dongpa. Dolseok, Yeoni and Makbong are trying to stop them.”

“Really? Then let’s go there.”