Golden Time

“It’s the doctor!”

She was wearing a bright smile on her face when she saw Suhyuk.

“Doctor, please give me candy! Candy!”

At that moment, she turned her gaze toward Dongsu. Her eyes became a bit wider.

Suddenly, she put her hands together and bent her back toward him.

“Monk.”

Dongsu scratched his head and opened his mouth, “I am not a monk.”

“Act like a monk only for today,” Suhyuk told Dongsu quickly.

She would not go away from Dongsu, counting beads that she had brought from somewhere.

Moreover, she fluently recited Buddhist scriptures. Kim Hyunwoo smiled at the sight. Before she had dementia, she used to go to a Buddhist temple on weekends for the peace and well-being of her family. She did not forget those memories even though she has been mentally ill all this time.

“I think my mother feels that your friend is better than you.”

Suhyuk smiled gently at Kim’s words, and fixed his gaze on her.

“Did her surgery go well?”

It was really fortunate for her.

“Yes, it was done very well, thanks to you. Something terrible might happened to her if the surgery had been done even a bit late, I hear,” said Kim.

Suhyuk nodded his head.

“Nevertheless, don’t feel at ease just yet. It’s good to have her get a comprehensive medical check-up on a regular basis. Especially for people with cognitive disabilities.”

She cannot properly explain how or which part of her body is making her sick, because she is not as good at expressing herself as others, except when she, like a child, throws a tantrum and plays the baby.

Her illness, left uncared for, will slowly get worse.

Before that happens, however, if she is examined carefully by a doctor proactively, they can detect the cause of the illness and prevent it. This holds true not only for those with cognitive disability, but for all the senior people who are getting old. Humans are born as babies who cannot do nothing by themselves, and then they grow into adults. However, as they get old, they go back to the condition of powerlessness. After pouring everything into their family, they go back to the state of a baby, looking as if it’s the first time that they came out into the world. Therefore, careful observation is needed for them, just like a child.

“Monk, please keep this.”

It was a hood that she gave to Dongsu.

….….….….….….….….….….….….….….….….….….….….….….….….….….….….……

Three hours quickly passed by. During that time Dongsu sounded a wooden gong with strange spell, and ran away from her.

A little over 30 minutes passed by. She then fell asleep in her room, and a guest visited Mr. Kim Hyunwoo’s house.

A blonde foreign woman with glistening skin.

She seemed to be in her early 20s, with blue eyes like sapphire. She was really beautiful. In addition, her curvy body was striking and bountiful even though she was skinny.

She opened her mouth when Dongsu could not get his eyes off of her, “Hello.”

Dongsu muttered too, “Hello.. hello.”

At that moment, Kim Hyunwoo greeted her, “Oh, you just got here?”

“It’s been a long time,” she replied in fluent Korean, hugging Mr. Kim gently, and then she looked at Suhyuk and Dongsu alternately.

“These are the boys you talked about?”

“Yes, you have to make them speak English like a native speaker. Do your work, Jessica.”

She laughed gently, saying, “Don’t worry.”

Her straight teeth seemed to make her beauty look even more outstanding.

…………………..…………..…………..…………..….

So, English tutoring started. Dongsu had to grab his bald head, blinking his eyes while Suhyuk nodded and focused on her teaching. He digested each and every one of Jessica’s teaching. Obviously there was an excellent advantage gained from getting help from a private academy and tutor.

“Dongsu, are you okay?” Jessica asked, as if she were worried about Dongsu who was sighing often.

He shrugged, waving his hands hard.

“Okay, okay! No problem! I’m okay.”

Suhyuk could not help but giggle at Dongsu’s gestures. He must have had a headache because of the difficult contents, but the glitter of his eyes was certainly alive, indicating that he was determined to learn somehow.

Their two-hour’s studying with Jessica passed by quickly.

She went home with a message that she would see them again tomorrow, and then someone else came to the house. He was dressed in a short-sleeved checkered sport, wearing thick black horn glasses. Given his pot belly, whoever saw him would say that he was a man addicted to studying. He came to teach them the Korean language.

Then, they were able to finish studying mathematics after two hours of tutoring.

“Eat something before you leave,” said Kim Hyunwoo.

Suhyuk and Dongsu sat at the dining table. The housemaid had already left as it was a little over 10 pm in the night.

So, Kim Hyunwoo made the food by himself. Ramen noodles and Kimchi, that was all. It did not seem necessarily true that the rich only eat fine food every day. Moreover, the way he boiled ramen gave them the impression that he looked like an elder brother in the neighborhood. Actually he could rightly have been seen like that. That was Kim Hyunwoo’s lifestyle. No matter what he ate, he was just content with having his stomach filled up.

Unlike other rich people, sticking to formalities and keeping up appearances were the last thing he wanted. When they almost finished up the ramen noodles, he looked at Suhyuk and Dongsu alternately. His mother, who often tried to get out of the house worriedly, refrained from such behavior when they showed up at the house.

Watching Suhyuk and Dongsu quietly, he opened his mouth.

“Which high school do you go to?”

“Myungsung High School.”

“Myungsung High School, Myungsung High School…”

It’s a school he had never heard before. With that so, it’s just an average school.

Kim Hyunwoo, who fixed his gaze at Dongsu, again said to Dongsu, “What is your dream?”

Dongsu just scratched his cheek.

He never gave a thought to it. He just wanted to make a lot of money for his dream.

This time he asked Suhyuk, “How about you?”

Suhyuk replied right away, “Medical doctor.”

His was never unwavering in his resolution.

He was determined to pursue a profession in which he could show his best ability.

“Doctor?”

“Yeah.”

Kim Hyunwoo nodded his head slowly.

That’s the reply he did rightly expect from Suhyuk, because discovered the name of his mother’s illness right away.

“Do you think you could be accepted into a medical school as a Myungsung student?” asked Kim.

Suhyuk made an expression as if he were trying to find out what he meant.

He laughed gently, adding, “I mean, you have to play on a higher ground if you want to go to the medical school.”

Of course, there are conditions for that…