“Grandpa! Meat! Give me meat—!!”
When his granddaughter pouted, Village Head Go’s face broke into a smile.
He answered with a kindly expression.
“Here you go! It’s pork belly. Eat a lot!”
“Wow—meat!!!”
The rich scent of the golden-brown grilled pork belly spread throughout the entire village.
Kim Cheolsu also grabbed several big pieces of the pork belly grilled by Village Head Go and took a bite.
So tender…! It’s really delicious. The fat isn’t greasy at all. Is it because it’s grilled over charcoal?
Village Head Go was grilling the pork belly over charcoal in the wide yard.
There was smoke, and his eyes stung, but he had done all the hard work by himself.
He lit the fire with tree leaves… fanning the smoke with a traditional fan was exhausting, so Kim Cheolsu stepped forward.
“I’ll do it. Isn’t it just blowing air with the fan? You should eat now.”
“Hey! Guests just eat the food. It looks easy, but it’s not. Besides, you’ve been working at the military hospital all day, right? At least when you eat, you should rest comfortably. I’m not making you work. The boiled pumpkin should be ready by now—try some.”
Just then, Grandma brought over boiled pumpkin topped with traditional honey from the countryside.
At that moment, all of Kim Cheolsu’s senses turned to this incredible dessert, and he carefully scooped some up with his spoon.
Plop
It slid into his mouth like pudding—the honey-covered pumpkin.
This was a completely different kind of sweetness from sugar.
It was so sweet, yet so natural in flavor.
“This is really delicious! Is this really honey? The pumpkin is great, but the quality of the honey… wow…”
“Hehe, of course. I got it from a friend who keeps bees in the mountain valleys. Tastes good, right? It’s all native honey, so it has to taste good. Eat up and ask Grandma for more.”
“Yes! Thank you!!”
Even if you went to a hotel buffet in muddy Seoul, you’d never get a dessert like this.
Native Korean honey is almost impossible to find.
On top of that, the pumpkin Village Head Go personally grew was ripened inside with a deep orange hue.
Because it was so delicious no matter how much he ate, Kim Cheolsu quickly moved his spoon between the pork belly and the pumpkin.
He hadn’t moved this fast even during surgery, so he was honestly a little embarrassed.
But there was no time to think about that—his two grandchildren who were his rivals had already eaten everything.
“Hmm… I’m full.”
After a moment, he leaned back comfortably, patting his belly with his hand.
Everyone else wore satisfied expressions.
Although summer was fast approaching, the mountain breeze drifting down the ridges was still cool and pleasant.
Grease smudged the corners of their mouths, showing just how much they enjoyed the meal.
At that moment, Village Head Go finished eating and went into the main room to turn on the TV.
“Even old folks need to know what’s going on in the world. Kim Cheolsu, let’s watch the news together.”
“I’d like that too. I haven’t been able to watch the evening news lately.”
The most recent news he’d heard was from the radio—some random tidbit that the Kia Motors baseball team based in Gwangju had been acquired.
Now that he had settled a bit inside the hospital, his curiosity about the world was growing.
After clearing away the meal, he sat down in front of the TV, picking up some melon Grandma prepared.
—Breaking news. A train accident occurred today in Kerala State, southern India, resulting in 57 deaths. The Indian government is working to treat the injured as quickly as possible, but due to poor local medical conditions…
The screen showed Indian people with broken legs and blood streaming down their heads.
The brutal scenes were pixelated, but the devastation was clear.
Though it hadn’t happened in Korea, Kim Cheolsu’s face hardened with the heart of a doctor who valued human life.
Village Head Go, watching the news beside him, clicked his tongue with sorrow.
“Oh dear… those people must be going through a lot. There aren’t enough doctors at an accident scene? What’s going on? Doctor, shouldn’t you go and help? Get on a plane and fly there now.”
Rural elders often think all doctors are the same.
Of course, Kim Cheolsu wanted to help, but he lacked the ability.
He shook his head and said,
“I want to, but I wouldn’t be of any help. The doctors who work in those disaster and accident situations are trauma specialists… I only have basic knowledge in that area.”
“Tch! You were humble when you treated me last time too. Don’t keep being like that! You’ve got incredible skills, but you’re just scared and avoiding it? If you’re a doctor, you have to confront saving lives head-on, whether you succeed or not.”
“…!!!”
Village Head Go’s words pierced Kim Cheolsu’s heart.
Honestly, he had thought that as long as he took care of patients in his specialty, it was enough.
But a ‘doctor’ is fundamentally someone who cures and heals people.
When lives are at stake, whether you succeed or not, you have to confront it.
Those words left a deep impression.
In truth, Kim Cheolsu had taken an interest in orthopedics to save more people.
He felt a heavy responsibility and sorrow for soldiers neglected due to the shortage of orthopedists.
‘If a critically injured trauma patient appeared before me right now, what would I do? I’d probably call 119. But if there’s no surgeon to operate in the hospital? Would I just leave them to die? Make cowardly excuses that it’s not my specialty?’
There is a saying that wisdom can be found in the words of those who have lived long.
The advice of elders who have endured hardships carries meaningful truths.
Kim Cheolsu realized he had been wrong and bowed his head respectfully.
“You’re right, sir. Whether it’s trauma or orthopedics, what’s important is not a doctor’s specialty or knowledge. It’s the mindset to save patients that matters. Thank you for your lesson. I have many patients here at the hospital now, so I can’t go to India today… but I will deeply remember your teaching and live by it.”
“Hmph, you’re a smart kid who understands well. I think you’ll become great someday. There are many doctors who disregard patients and human life, but you’re not like that. You’ll become famous.”
“I’m just an ordinary military doctor. If I wanted to succeed or gain prestige, would I have come down here?”
Surprised by the retort, Village Head Go smiled meaningfully and said,
“Between how you accurately diagnosed my illness last time and how easily you admitted your mistakes today… many patients will come to you. Watch and see. Haha!”
“Thank you for your kind words. But really, that probably won’t happen. I’m just an ordinary doctor.”
“I told you to watch! Are you trying to outwit your elders?”
“… No, sir.”
Village Head Go suddenly saying he’d become famous was unexpected.
Kim Cheolsu didn’t agree, nor did he really want to live that way.
Still, he thought, if becoming famous meant treating many people, maybe that would be good.
At that moment, the firmly closed gate of Village Head Go’s house creaked open.
-Creak—!
“Father, I’m home.”
“Oh! Our Go Seon-su is back! Was everything okay with the baseball team?”
“… Yes. I’m fine. I’m hungry. Please give me food.”
“Good, sit down. Say hello to the doctor here. He just moved to our village.”
“Doctor?”
Wearing the Gwangju baseball team uniform, he looked like an athlete.
Kim Cheolsu awkwardly greeted him and watched as the father and son talked while eating.
“How’s your back? No herniated discs this time?”
“Dad, why bring that up? There are guests here…”
“What’s wrong with talking in front of a doctor? You should get checked while you’re at it. Are you okay, doctor? Please take a look at my son. I’ll give you some boiled pumpkins.”
Thinking of Shim Se-young Lieutenant’s bright smile when she received the pumpkins tomorrow, Kim Cheolsu stood and faced Go Seon-su.
“Sounds like a bone problem. Tell me about it. I’m also an orthopedic military doctor.”
“Military doctor? Can you fix what even the pro team doctor couldn’t? I don’t trust doctors. They always say I’ll get better before treatment, but even after injections, the pain never stopped.”
The burning eyes of the baseball player, filled with resentment toward doctors.
Kim Cheolsu’s past flashed before his eyes.
He thought: It’s really hard for patients to trust doctors in this world.
He began the examination calmly, without getting flustered.
“Your back hurts, right? Herniated disc. Simply put, the disc in your lower back is ruptured and pressing on the nerves. That’s why it hurts… in this case, we need to perform a nerve block injection.”
“Hmph. That nerve-block injection thing? I’ve already had several steroid shots. But the pain didn’t ease. What are you saying? Quack doctors. The team doctor keeps saying that if I keep taking steroids, side effects like osteoporosis will develop and I won’t be able to play anymore! How old do you think I am to get osteoporosis? Crazy fools. All quacks!!”
Kim Cheolsu gently explained to the frustrated player.
From experience, when patients get angry like this, slowly persuading them is part of a doctor’s job.
“Steroids aren’t the key here. In lumbar epidural nerve blocks (a type of nerve block for the discs in the lower back), the important part is pain relief, not a cure. Are you playing in tomorrow’s game?”
“… Yes, right? But I don’t know if I can play because it hurts. Usually even after injections, I still hurt.”
Kim Cheolsu said to Go Seon-su, who looked up with some hope.
“I’ll make sure you don’t hurt. And I won’t use steroids.”
“If that’s possible, do the procedure immediately. I don’t fully believe it, but I’ll give it a try.”
As a baseball player, he couldn’t refuse that offer.
He had already taken many injections and couldn’t take steroids anymore due to side effects.
But this doctor said he’d relieve the pain without steroids.
Go Seon-su nervously took off his clothes, and Kim Cheolsu took anesthesia out of his house call bag and loaded it into a syringe.
Then, using his eyes to guide with X-ray imaging, he carefully…
but plunged the needle deeply right near the nerve.
“Oh my! Isn’t the needle going in too deep? What if it hurts him? This is crazy!”
“…!!!”
Grandma screamed loudly in worry, and Village Head Go swallowed hard, tensing up.
They had experienced injections at hospitals but had never seen one done this deeply.
But Kim Cheolsu withdrew the syringe with a relieved expression.
“All done. There should be no problem playing in tomorrow’s game. It’s not severe enough to require surgery, so we’ll monitor the progress.”
“All done?”
Go Seon-su asked in surprise.
It was true—the procedure was over in the blink of an eye.
Without even using a mobile X-ray, it was fast and precise as if he could see inside the body.
Go Seon-su had received many nerve block injections before, but never without pain.
Giving a painless injection meant the procedure was done perfectly.
The dura mater (the protective membrane surrounding the spinal cord and cerebrospinal fluid) hadn’t even been touched by the needle.
The injection was precisely in the epidural space, a narrow area outside the dura between the vertebrae and spinal cord.
It was a miraculous skill no one else could show.
Village Head Go asked his son,
“Son, does it hurt? How do you feel?”
“… It doesn’t hurt. I think it’s better. Not hurting at all.”
Hearing the good news, Grandma and Village Head Go got up and danced.
“Oh, that’s great! Good job, doctor!”
“Now you’re all better? Our son’s gonna be the best player! Dance, dance—!!”
Village Head Go and Grandma, who didn’t know much about hospitals or injections, danced with joy, but Go Seon-su looked at Kim Cheolsu in amazement.
His back wasn’t hurting, like a lie.
The anesthesia worked so quickly, meaning the injection had reached very close to the nerve.
Yet it didn’t hurt at all. Usually, injections close to nerves cause more pain.
‘What’s going on…? Is there really a master injector hiding in this village?’
Surprised, Go Seon-su touched his healed back and apologized to Kim Cheolsu.
“I was rude earlier. I’m sorry I didn’t know such a great master doctor was hiding out here… Please forgive me.”
As a player, he bowed deeply at 90 degrees.
Kim Cheolsu put a hand on his shoulder and helped him stand.
“Get up, your back isn’t good. I’m just an ordinary doctor. Think of me as a neighbor living next to Village Head Go’s house. Treat me comfortably. If it hurts again, come see me anytime.”
Compared to the orthopedic chiefs of big Seoul hospitals Go Seon-su had met before, this doctor’s hand skills were incredible but humble.
That made his face glow more.
Village Head Go wrapped his arm around Kim Cheolsu’s shoulder and smiled warmly.
“Haha! How is it? Our village doctor is better than those Seoul doctors you brag about, right?”
“… It really is, father. I was too arrogant. I thought Seoul was the best and disrespected you, master doctor. Please forgive me, Master Kim Cheolsu.”
“Master? That’s too much. Please don’t call me that.”
Kim Cheolsu waved his hands in refusal, but Go Seon-su was stubborn.
He bowed again and apologized.
“No, I was arrogant in front of a master. I won’t do that again. Please take care of my condition next time as well.”
The title ‘master’ was a little burdensome, but the sincere request to continue treatment touched Kim Cheolsu.
He smiled awkwardly and readily accepted.
“Alright. If it hurts again, come see me. I’ll give you the injection.”