“Hmm…”
After a short nap, I woke up to find myself at home.
Did the village chief bring me here? Feeling apologetic, I noticed the white dog barking beside me.
“Woof! Woof!!”
“You were guarding my side? Thank you.”
July 2nd, 2001.
Because I was on duty yesterday, today was a day off from work.
Kim Cheolsu enjoyed the rare leisure.
“A hanok is nice. Lying down on wooden floorboards doesn’t feel hot at all. Haha. Maybe I’ll just laze around for a while.”
He leisurely lay down on the cool wooden floor and met eyes with the dog.
Then he held both of the dog’s front paws and played with it. The dog seemed excited and started barking even more than before.
“Woof woof!! Woof woof!!!!”
When it was dirty and skinny, he hadn’t noticed, but now the dog was quite handsome in its own way.
Kim Cheolsu slowly examined the dog’s appearance and said,
“This looks like a Jindo Dog… is that right?”
Come to think of it, Jindo, the homeland of the Jindo Dog, was nearby.
However, being ignorant about dog breeds, after checking the time on his pocket watch, he took the dog and stepped outside.
“It’s 4 PM. The village chief is probably in the fields. I should go ask him.”
*****
The village chief, still working in the fields, smiled brightly and said,
“Were you very tired? You were sleeping soundly, so I thought it’d be rude to wake you. I brought you home. Just woke up now?”
“Yes. I’m ashamed I slept until 4 PM…”
“Heh! You must have been really tired. By the way, why did you come back again? Just rest at home. Later in the evening, come over to my place and we’ll have samgyeopsal (grilled pork belly) together.”
Oh no, did he hear my sleep-talking? Kim Cheolsu’s face flushed bright red with embarrassment as he hurriedly explained,
“… Did you hear that? The samgyeopsal I had before was so delicious that I couldn’t help it. I’m sorry if I caused any burden.”
“Samgyeopsal is nothing to fuss about. Compared to how you always treat my son, it’s nothing. Did you watch the baseball game yesterday? Our son got two hits! Hahaha! He saved the team that was at the bottom of the KBO from a losing streak!”
“Is that so? It’s a relief to hear that player is doing well. It seems your injection was effective.”
“Yes! That injection you gave before the game was just perfect. My son used to always mess up at critical moments. He said when he thought he had to get a hit, his back hurt even more. But after getting the shot, he seems mentally stronger. Since it doesn’t hurt anymore, he’s full of energy! Haha! Really, thank you! Honestly, if he hadn’t performed well today, he would’ve been sent to the second team. Really grateful, doctor!”
The village chief, with whom I had recently grown closer, held my hands tightly with both of his own in deep gratitude.
And instead of calling me “doctor” like before, he now said “doctor sir” — a more respectful title used for elders.
Feeling somewhat burdened by the honorific, I waved my hand to decline.
“You don’t have to call me that. Just call me Cheolsu. ‘Doctor’ is fine too.”
“I’ll call you whatever I want! Today I’m in a good mood, so ‘doctor sir’ it is!! Anyway, thank you so much! Thanks to you, my son’s doing well. Grandma went to the market to buy the samgyeopsal you wanted, so just wait a little. We’ll eat together in the evening.”
“Going all the way to the market for me… Thank you, sir. I’ll work even harder from now on. I’m already grateful for being fed so often, but I’m sorry for ordering the menu too.”
“No, no! From now on, tell me anything you want to eat. I’ll prepare a feast with seasonal vegetables and fruits! Haha! Aren’t you my son’s primary care doctor? I want to treat you well!”
“Haha…”
Though the generous hospitality felt a little awkward, it wasn’t unpleasant. Rather, an indescribable feeling filled me inside.
Gratitude… pride… warmth… above all, the feeling of being recognized as a doctor in this village was the strongest.
There isn’t even a small clinic in this remote Ham-pyeong village. Feeling needed by the neighbors here was truly special.
I thought about wanting to help not just the village chief’s family, but many others in the future.
At that moment, a middle-aged woman with a gentle expression and a big mouth approached from the adjacent field and tossed me a pair of pants.
-Thunk!
“Why’re you yammering so much? There aren’t enough hands. Hurry up and put on these work pants and help pick corn.”
I was startled by the sudden dialect and the woman’s blunt tone.
“… Pardon?”
Taken aback, I asked the village chief,
“What did she just say? I couldn’t understand at all…”
“Haha! That woman’s name is Poongsanghui, and her dialect is pretty strong. She just said, ‘Put on those pants and come pick corn.’ That’s all. Don’t mind her. No way a precious doctor like you should be doing farm work. I’ll help you quit.”
“What’s she talking about? Everyone in the village works together. Some work, some don’t? Don’t irritate people. That young man should just work with us.”
“Oh no, that’s not it! The doctor here is planning a bright future for my son with me!”
The village chief’s face reddened as he got angry and tried to defend me.
Flustered, I quickly stepped between them and said,
“Please don’t fight on my account! I have nothing else to do anyway, so I’ll work with you in the fields. I just need to change into those work pants, right?”
“You’re a young man with a straightforward attitude. See? Village chief, you can’t just take sides blindly. Come on, put on the clothes and come this way.”
“Yes!”
*****
I changed into the floral-patterned work pants.
Now I looked like a genuine farmer.
Feeling shy, I hesitated as I approached the field, and the woman who had thrown me the pants laughed together with some neighbors.
“Oh my, it suits you so well! You could enter a work pants contest. Hohoho! Wear a sun hat too; your face will get sunburned.”
“Thank you.”
“Let’s split the work — I’ll pick this field; you pick the corn in that field over there.”
She pointed to a wide field of glutinous corn, easily over 100 pyeong (about 3,300 square feet).
Shocked, I asked awkwardly,
“Th-This whole field? Surely you don’t expect me to pick it all today?”
“Why would a young man be so scared? It’s a small patch, palm-sized. If you work fast, you’ll be done in two hours.”
“… Two hours? I’ll give it a try.”
The legendary old man from before had also harvested potatoes really fast. I vowed not to be a burden to Poongsanghui.
Moving my hands as quickly as I could, I filled the rustic red basket with glutinous corn.
The yellow, ripe ears looked delicious.
If I boiled them well and bit into the kernels, they’d pop into my mouth with a satisfying chew.
Just thinking about eating made me hungry again.
‘I want to boil this quickly and eat it. Glutinous corn is really chewy and nutty! And freshly harvested, it’ll taste even better.’
Poongsanghui laughed and praised me,
“Hoho! You’re good! You’ve got a farmer’s talent.”
“Really? Thank you! I’ll do my best.”
After working together for nearly two hours, I became much closer to Poongsanghui.
Rural folks tend to be wary of outsiders, but this village didn’t seem that way.
Since I wanted to befriend not just the village chief but also the other villagers, I helped Poongsanghui as much as possible.
“Phew… this is hard. Farming is no joke. I really have to appreciate the farmers who do this work for us.”
Sweating profusely until my whole body was soaked, I stretched my back straight and looked up at the sky.
Above me was a vast, clear blue sky that seemed to open my chest wide, and in the west, the red sunset was slowly setting beyond the mountains.
At the foot of the mountain, the crape myrtles were in full bloom with red petals scattered everywhere.
I smiled softly, remembering the first time I arrived at Ham-pyeong Hospital 18 years ago.
“Coming back here was really the right choice. It’s like a paradise here. Few people around and the nature is so beautiful. Maybe because it’s deep in the mountains… It’s truly healing… Haah… The air is good, and it’s peaceful.”
Taking a deep breath, fresh air filled my lungs.
I thought to myself that this was a luxury I could never experience in the city and felt content.
“Now that I’ve rested a bit, let’s get back to work. I really feel like a farmer now. I like it!”
Thanks to the short break, my stamina recovered.
I went back to picking corn diligently.
*****
An hour later, the sun that had dyed the sky red disappeared, and the farm work was done.
The amount of glutinous corn I harvested was more than I expected.
Poongsanghui, the owner of the cornfield, sincerely thanked me and invited me to her home for a meal.
“I have a prior appointment at the village chief’s house tonight. They promised to grill samgyeopsal, which I really love.”
“Then come to my place afterward. I’ll make delicious galbijjim (braised short ribs). Actually, we raise cattle at home. So, whenever we go to the city butcher, we always get good meat. Everyone around here is friendly.”
“Hanwoo…?”
-Swish-
Just hearing the word made my mouth water. Among meats, beef is the best, and Hanwoo is the finest ingredient.
Having become friends with someone who raises cattle, I was very much looking forward to it.
“Hoho, doctor sir, let’s have a Hanwoo party at our place. I’ll prepare delicious galbijjim… or maybe we’ll just grill raw meat together? That would be great — and boil some glutinous corn to eat with it!”
-Swish…!-
The sound of swallowing saliva grew louder, and just thinking about it made me drool.
I was glad I came out to the fields today.
At that moment, the dog barked.
“Woof!! Woof!!!”
Is it saying it wants to eat too?
I had forgotten that the dog had followed me here. I was too engrossed in the farm work.
“Is that your dog?”
The woman asked, and I replied sheepishly,
“Yes. It came to be like that. But is that really a Jindo Dog? I’m not very familiar with dog breeds.”
“Oh yes! It is! It’s a purebred Jindo Dog, which is hard to find. How did it end up here? If you raise it well, it’s good for guarding the house later. Jindos never betray you. As they get older, they become even more handsome. Have you named it yet?”
“Not yet… Since it’s white, can I just call it Baekgu (White Dog)?”
“Baekgu is a good name! Haha, you’re good at naming — good at farming — I hear you’re good at medical treatment too? The whole village already knows. You treated the village chief’s son all by yourself. The player is doing well these days. Hitting those powerful hits! You truly are a great doctor… Uh… uh…?!”
-Thud!-
Excited, Poongsanghui rushed toward me but tripped and fell on her own.
I hoped it wasn’t serious, but the loud noise made me hurry over to check her injuries.
“Ouch…! That hurt. I foolishly fell. It’s nothing serious, I can get up by myself. Ah! It hurts too much to stand. What should I do?”
She tried to stand but fell again, clutching her knee in pain. It looked like something was wrong.
“Wait a moment. It seems your knee is injured. Let me take a look.”
Carefully examining it, I saw that she must have hit her knee on a hard stone when she fell.
Her knee had swollen about three centimeters, and I could feel something soft and mushy in my hand.
“Can’t you just go home? It looks like it’ll get better soon.”
She kept trying to pull her hand away, but I was firm.
“No! Due to the impact, you have traumatic prepatellar bursitis inside your knee joint. In simple terms, blood has accumulated inside the knee. That’s why the knee skin has swollen like a balloon. It’s not very pleasant to look at, is it?”
“Yes, my knee looks strangely big. Is it serious?”
“Of course it will hurt when you move. Does it hurt when I press here?”
I carefully pressed the swollen knee.
“Ouch! That hurts when you press there.”
“Traumatic bursitis caused by external impact usually has severe tenderness. We need to immediately aspirate the blood with a syringe, or you’ll be in a lot of pain at home. I have to do the procedure right now.”
Before I knew it, I had my medical bag and sterilized my hands.
Seeing the large syringe made her eyes widen with fear.
“I’m going to insert the needle into your knee and drain all the blood now. It’ll hurt a bit, but please bear with it.”
“You could just go to the hospital later… I’m scared it’ll hurt.”
“I’ll do it quickly and with minimal pain. If we leave it untreated, it’ll become fibrotic (where the scar hardens like stone) and may recur. Then it’ll hurt even more.”
Before she could refuse, I quickly sterilized her knee and inserted a slightly thick needle to drain the blood.
She squeezed her eyes shut, but the aspiration finished faster than expected.
“The aspiration is done. Now I’ll wrap your knee with a compression bandage.”
I covered the wound with gauze and wrapped the knee tightly with bandages.
“All done. It didn’t hurt much, right? This doesn’t even require anesthesia. But if we hadn’t done the aspiration and just left it alone, the bursitis would have become chronic, filling the joint with yellow fluid. Then it would’ve been much harder to bend your knee. I’m glad I could treat it quickly here at the scene.”
“Already done? Really?”
The whole process had gone by so quickly that she was surprised.
Being middle-aged, she had many aches and pains and had been to several hospitals.
But she’d never met a doctor who could finish the procedure this fast.
Usually, they poke here and there multiple times and slowly insert the needle, causing a lot of pain.
But just now, I finished as fast as lightning, barely 10 seconds in total.
“Yes, ma’am. It’s really all done. You’ll be able to walk normally again soon.”
I smiled kindly as I explained to the patient.
Hearing that it was over, she clapped her hands with a bright smile.
“Oh my! They say you’re a master doctor, and you really are! How can you finish the procedure without pain like magic? Amazing! I have to brag to the villagers — our village has a master doctor now! Hohoho! A rural master who’s good at injections lives so close! That’s wonderful!”