The official notice arrived by fax.Issued jointly under the names of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety,the Ministry of Health and Welfare, and local governments.
Title:Administrative Measures Regarding the Operation of Mobile Medical Facilities(commonly known as "Doctor Truck")
The message was simple.
Unclear legal definition of a hospital under the Medical Act.Concerns over disruption of the emergency medical system.Unclear lines of responsibility.Growing media controversy.
The final sentence was printed in unusually bold type.
"All on-site deployments are to be suspended until further notice."
Doyoon stared at the paper for a long time before asking quietly,"What is the legal basis for this?"
On the other end of the phone, the official took a breath."CEO… right now, it's safer not to act."
"Safer for whom?"
There was no answer.
Internal Meeting
The conference room.Hands holding ignition keys rested on the table.
Song Jaemin spoke first."If we don't go out, people will die."
Someone replied,"If we do go out, we die."
Silence.
Park Haeyoon closed the documents."An order is an order."
He didn't look at Doyoon.
"This is the phase where we endure."
Doyoon nodded.
That night, not a single Doctor Truck moved.
Comments
Headline:"Mobile Hospital? Just a Medical Show?"
Comments piled up rapidly.
Waste of tax money.Do doctors think they're gods?Who takes responsibility if something goes wrong?Stop the show already.
One comment stood out with an unusually high number of likes.
ID: realfather79"This kind of thing destroys the real emergency system.A scam that only gives people false hope."👍 312
Doyoon didn't remember the ID.He thought it was just another voice among many.
That Night
Rain. An apartment complex.A middle school boy slipped on the stairs.He struck his head head-on.
His father shouted,"119! Hurry!"
The ambulance arrived.Decreased consciousness.Sluggish pupil response.
The paramedic said,"In this condition, he needs immediate on-site treatment…"
The father pulled out his phone."That truck—can't we call it?"
Radio silence.Then the reply:
"Deployment is suspended."
The boy's breathing grew weaker.
The father screamed,"Then why did you even make it, you—!"
The boy began to convulse in the ambulance.Cardiac arrest before reaching the hospital.Dead.
The Next Day
In the hospital corridor, the father recalled something he couldn't quite place.
His phone.Recent comments.
realfather79
He stared at the screen and reread the article for the first time.
"Controversy Over Mobile Hospitals…"
Below it—his own comment.
ID: realfather79"This kind of thing destroys the real emergency system.A scam that only gives people false hope."👍 312
He couldn't say a word.
Record
Administrative report.
Reason for non-deployment:Suspension due to administrative order.
Cause of death:"Traumatic brain injury."
Nowhere in the document was there a category for"Could have arrived."
Night
The garage.Doctor Trucks lined up with their warning lights off.
Doyoon sat in the driver's seat without starting the engine.He set down the radio and muttered to himself,
"Now only the people who cursed us are left."
No one answered.
The city kept asking that night as well.
"Why didn't you come?"
And the unanswered questions kept piling up.
Records of Non-Deployment 1. Dawn in an Alley
1:48 a.m.A residential alley.
A drunk man fell down the stairs.Head injury. Uncontrolled bleeding.
119 arrived."Decreased consciousness. Suspected head trauma."
Three hospitals contacted."No neurosurgeon on duty."
A paramedic asked,"…Doctor Truck?"
Situation room response:"Deployment ban remains in effect."
The patient began vomiting in the ambulance.Waited 30 minutes in front of the ER.Respiratory arrest before CT scan.Dead.
Record states:"Condition worsened during transport."
2. Afternoon at the Industrial Complex
2:21 p.m.A small metal factory.
A hand caught in a press machine.Wrist severed.Tourniquet applied. Severe bleeding.
The manager shouted,"Isn't there that mobile hospital? Can't we call it?"
The paramedic shook his head."That thing's controversial these days."
The severed hand was placed in a cooling pack.Transport time: 47 minutes.
Reattachment impossible.The hand was transferred in a medical waste bag.
No news article followed.
3. Nursing Home
6:03 a.m.Second floor of a nursing home.
Woman in her 80s.Respiratory distress.Oxygen saturation: 78%.
A nurse called."If we transfer her, it'll take too long."
Situation room response:"Doctor Truck is currently under controversy."
The ambulance arrived.
As she was lifted onto the stretcher,the woman clutched someone's hand.
"At home…"
She couldn't finish the sentence.
Dead.
Cause of death classified as"Natural causes."
4. A Child
5:37 p.m.Playground.
Elementary school student.Bicycle accident.Blunt abdominal trauma. Severe pain.
The parents cried,"That truck… will they see a child too?"
The paramedic hesitated.Radio check.
"Deployment suspended."
ER waiting list: 26 patients.
The child grew pale.
Ruptured spleen.Shock before surgery.
He survived.
But his spleen was removed.
Outside the operating room, the father muttered,"If they'd opened him right away…"
No one answered.
5. Only Records Remain
On Doyoon's desk:Deployment log.
Deployments: 0
Non-deployment cases involving death or severe disability: 27
Next to each record, the same reason:
Social controversy.System under review.Unclear responsibility — Deployment Suspension Order.
Doyoon closed the file.
He knew.
This wasn't a mistake.It was a choice.
Night
The Doctor Truck garage again.The engines were still cold.
The radio was silent.But elsewhere, the phones kept ringing.
Call after call.No one answered.
The city kept asking.
"Why didn't you come?"
And still, no one could answer.