Chapter 93: An Old Acquaintance

….

In all these years if there is one thing she learned, it was to lock away her feelings when she dealt with traumatic experiences. That was the only way she could protect herself and not let this affect her in the long term.

Turning towards Ryan, she said "I'm going to go there and help them. I need you to stay right here. Do you understand me?"

Despite the firmness in her voice, Soo Min knew she was fighting a losing battle when she saw a smug look on his devilishly handsome face.

Her head drops and a small sigh escapes her lips. The two of them walk towards the yellow markings with black letters spelling out the world 'caution' and stop by the ambulance next to it.

"Sign in here." The older woman speaks before going to the back of the ambulance to look for something.

Just as Soo Min puts her name down, the older woman returns looking even more annoyed.

"The safety jackets seem to have run out. I've called someone to supply us with some more, but it's going to take ten minutes."

Ryan nods.

"That's fine, I'll manage without one." Soo Min said, making his eye pop out.

"Are you out of your mind? What if something happens to you out there?" He hissed as his eyes narrow at her.

"It'll be fine, alright? It's not my first time in a situation like this and it's perfect since you can wait here for the jackets, while I go help out."

With a quick pat on his shoulder to assure him, Soo Min crossed the markings disappearing amongst the destruction and people, not giving Ryan a chance to say anything.

…..

"Get the oxygen masks!" Soo Min yells out as she pushes the stretcher with two others towards the line of parked ambulances.

A nurse quickly heads in their direction and hands her the mask, before asking her for the stats.

Grabbing the elastic, she tugs on it before hovering it over the barely conscious man's face and another man comes over with the mobile tank to hook it up to the mask.

"From what I saw and heard from the fire department, this man was trapped inside on of the cars that had toppled over from the impact of the landslide. There was an engine leak and he must've breathed in that toxic air." Soo Min explains the situation all in one breath.

"Please book a bed for him in the hospital as well as a spirometry test because I'm suspecting damage to his lungs."

The nurse carefully jotted down some quick notes and nodded at Soo Min, before taking her place and pulling the stretcher away.

Stepping over the burning pieces of what looks like used to be the bumper of a car, Soo Min did a quick scan of the area as her way of grasping the situation.

The rainfall made her vision hazy and it was hard to tell anything. Her skin felt numb from the countless water needles that pricked at her skin.

"Damn this smoke! I feel like I'm going to choke my lungs out!" Soo Min frowned while patting her chest, stifling the constant coughs.

The clouds rumbled as lightning flashed through them. A gush of wind ran across, making Soo Min's already dampened white coat sway in the air.

Just as she was about to turn around, Soo Min felt something around her foot. Looking down, her eyes widened as frail fingers wrapped around her ankle.

Immediately, she crouched down next to the large pile of metal scraps of what looks like used to be parts of a car. A woman was lying there unconscious, her blond strands splayed across the discarded airbags.

"Oh my god." Soo Min reached through the broken glass pieces and slowly gripped the woman's arms before carefully pulling her out.

It wasn't an easy task, the pile of metal scraps created some sort of blockade which prevented anyone from outside trying to get inside. In the midst of this process, Soo Min's arm grazed passed a sharp corner of one of the many glass shards.

Sucking in a cold lump of air, she continued her task bracing against the tiny pieces of glass that attacked her arms.

"I.. need… another… stretcher back here." Soo Min spoke into her walkie-talkie, heaving from the tedious process.