Jung visited the old couple two days later, during his school lunch break. Jung Hee simply hopped the side wall of the school when no one was watching, then jogged his way towards the town clinic. When he arrived, patients were waiting outside, and they glared at him when he went directly into the entrance. Jung popped his head inside and immediately noticed Dr. Soyeon. She is wearing prescription glasses today that she didn’t wear that night he saw her, and she is administering an injection to a slightly scared, obese middle-aged man.

“Sungsaeng-nim! Would you stop fidgeting? This will take a lot longer if you keep squirming away from me. Just relax and hold still," she said, glaring at the man, then noticed Jung in the door. “Oh, it’s you.”

Distracted, the patient turned to Jung curiously. That is when the doctor plunged the needle into his shoulder, and that was that. The patient wasn’t able to react. But he did look at the doctor balefully as she applied the cotton balls and plaster to the punctured area. The doctor returned her tools to a nearby table and disposed of the needle in a signed, special trash bin.

Before Jung could ask, the doctor answered him. “The Parks left this morning,” she said, visibly annoyed while she said that. “They felt like a bother because there are a lot of patients coming in even in the morning. I told them it was not a big deal, and I want them to rest here so I can monitor him a bit more, but they decided to stay home instead.”

Jung nodded slowly. He could understand the position of both parties and how it works that way. At least he knows where the old couple lives, and he can just visit them later in the day. Not now, though, since his lunch break will not cover it. Then, Jung looked at the doctor and bowed very low to her.

“Thank you for taking care of the old folks,” Jung said simply.

The doctor stared at Jung Hee for a long time, while the middle-aged patient mumbled his thanks and bowed before taking his leave.

“I talked to the couple about you. I thought you were either a son or a grandson, but you are neither. In fact, you are nobody. A complete stranger. And yet you help them above and beyond the needed help. Why? ”

Now it was Jung’s turn to stare. Eventually, he simply shrugged and answered her. “I assume that most people will do the same thing I did. We are all comrades in the eyes of the fatherland.

She scoffed but didn’t rebut him. Unbelievable, she thought to herself, a freaking believer in this day and age. “So you are a boy scout,” she said instead. “Where did you learn how to do CPR? ”

Jung blinked at the change of subject. "I just copied you.”

The doctor knew it was possible, but she didn’t buy it. Her hand position was actually wrong when she was giving CPR because of the awkward angle of her location. His was the correct way. He placed the heel of one hand over the center of the old man’s chest and interlocked his finger over the other one before pressing down hard. Even his rhythm was different than hers, and yet it is way within the 100 to 120 rates per minute requirements.

“You also checked Mr. Park’s temperature, pulse, and heart rate before you showed up to the clinic. Why did you do that? ”

“Because they seem to be logically important at the time,” Jung said, his voice getting annoyed. He just wanted to visit the cute grandma again and make sure that they were alright, and now he is being interrogated. The doctor asked him a few more questions, and when he was about to lose patience, the doctor asked him a question that really surprised him.

“Would you like to work for the clinic as a medical assistant? ”

Jung blinked. For a moment, he thought the doctor was joking, but her serious face clued him in to the fact that she wasn't. “Are you always this assertive?" he asked.

“I deal with my problems by learning everything I can about them, then I act.”

Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.

Jung’s impatience evaporated out of his mind, and he stared at the doctor blankly for a few minutes more. Then he asked the most important question he could think of.

“How much? ”

Doctor Soyeon smiled. “I can offer you an initial pay of 25,000 KPW per day. After 6 months, we can talk again, and if I am satisfied with your work, then maybe we can increase it a little bit.”

Jung’s eyes widened in surprise. The minimum wage in North Korea is 5,000 KPW per day, or the equivalent of about $5 a day. The offered salary is about 5 times that. That almost equaled his father’s daily pay. “I’ll take it,” Jung said immediately. "But... I can only work for you on the weekend. If you need me during the weekdays, I can probably squeeze you after class on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. But I have to go back home by 6 p.m.That means I can only offer you like 3 hours on weekdays.”

Jung goes to school at 7 a.m. to 3 in the afternoon. Then, on Tuesday and Thursday, he goes to the gym. So that means he is free Monday, Wednesday, and Friday after school, so he can work from 3:30 to 7:30. On weekends, he goes to the junkyard as well, but he is only needed at 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., so he can go to the clinic at 7 a.m. to 11 a.m., then come back by 3:30 p.m. or up to 7:30 p.m.If he received some work order for his repair service, then he would grab the item to be fixed first, then store it in the clinic while he works for the doctor, and then simply bring it back home and fix whatever furniture it was at night.

The doctor frowned. “What are you doing on weekdays? ”

“I go to school. I’m 15.”

The doctor blanched. She was so sure that Jung Hee was at least 18 years old, but it turned out that he was a lot younger than he looked. Now she is having second thoughts on that sudden whim of hers. She could not possibly work with a child. Damn it, Soyeon! She should have asked about his age before offering him the job. But he looks so mature with those serious, knowing brown eyes.

But when she told him about the things she wanted in an assistant, the young man simply nodded and accepted all of them. “Are you sure you can do needle work? Because I will need you to learn how to inject IV fluids for simple tasks such as taking blood samples or administering insulin to diabetic patients.”

“I understand.”

“You don’t think you will have problems with injections? ”

Jung simply shrugged. “I’ve read about it, and I am confident that I can learn it if someone can teach me.”

Slowly, Soyeon gave him a nod. Her hesitation gradually faded. Technically, getting someone as young as Jung to assist her is illegal, but good help is difficult to come by. Furthermore, the Interior Ministry, which is supposed to monitor such child labor, is practically useless. She is a loyal member of the party who pays her dues on time. That is all the government cares about, so something minor like this will not bother her. Her resolve was restored, and she told him about other things she expected him to do at the clinic. Aside from cataloging new patients, he must also obtain their initial vitals, such as pulse rate, heart rate, temperature, body weight, and height, and conduct the initial interview.

Jung Hee and the doctor agreed that Jung would only work a few hours on weekdays (MWF) and a full day on Saturday. Of course, he'll only get partial pay during the week and full pay on weekends. They will also set aside an entire day for the doctor to train Jung on simple medical techniques and other things she will expect Jung to do in the clinic. Jung wasn’t bothered by the hard work, nor was he intimidated by the complicated technical medical terms. Everything is semantics to him since he feels confident he can learn anything, given enough time.

Jung left the clinic afterward and returned to school. He finished his classes, and by late afternoon, he had navigated his way towards the old couple’s house. To his dismay, he arrived at a gathering. There, he was greeted by a large family. The old lady, whose name Jung later learned is Park Ae-cha, called her sons the night after the event, and they arrived this morning and early afternoon.

When Jung arrived late that afternoon, he was greeted by the large clan like a long-lost prince. Apparently, the old lady is blowing up the tail of his heroic rescue, and his accomplishments are now tenfold. Her eldest son is an assistant commissar in a public market, while her son is in the military, a member of the technical support personnel of the signal division.

Jung was bewildered by all the handshakes and back pats he received from the old lady’s extended family. Jung even recognized a farmer who turned out to be the second cousin of the old husband he saved. It turned out that the cousin works for his father’s cooperative. Eventually, Jung also met the old man, who was the real reason for his visit, and found him to be in a good mood. He is still in bed, but at least he is sitting up, and his complexion looks so much better. Jung carefully studied him, and he looks normal. No stuttering, no droopy face, or unfocused eyes. Jung was genuinely glad for the old man’s second chance in life.

Jung was nodding emphatically along when the grandma started berating her husband to start a healthier lifestyle from now on.

They had a small get-together party, and the old lady forced him to eat homemade cakes and marinated meat. By 7 in the evening, Jung bids them farewell, and again he is forced to bring some food back home.

Everyone, including the old lady, was surprised to learn that he is a student of the nearby public school since Jung is forced to arrive in his uniform. He was asked about it, and when they learned about his true age, his rescue became even more impressive in their eyes.

Jung has no problem navigating his way in the forest in the dark, and by 7:45 p.m., he had arrived back home. Thankfully, this time he informed his parents that he might be late because of some extracurricular work in school.

When he arrived back, he proudly offered the leftover takeout the grandma gave him. "I told you I saved a grandma yesterday!" Jung said smugly.

Jin Ae looked at the food, then turned to her son and said solemnly, "Yes, you did."

Delighted, Jung prepared the food, and they ate dinner. Jung couldn't care less about getting an apology from his mother. He did make her worry after all, so in his mind, he did deserve the smackdown. All he wanted was to make sure his mother didn't think he lied to her. That misunderstanding was fixed, and that was that.

And so the days, then the weeks, and then the months passed, and Jung was busier than ever. One day, Jung stepped out of the house, and he was in high school.