During summer vacation during my second year of high school, I watched a drama with a girl I liked. At first, I started watching just to try and strike up a conversation with her, but before I knew it, I was completely hooked. The main character was a surgeon. He was smart, skilled, and had a wonderful personality. Watching the main character in the drama, I thought, "I want to be like that." It was the first time in my life. I never knew that admiring someone and dreaming of that person could be so overwhelming.
"Seokjin, your goal is Seoul National University Medical School? Would you like to check your June mock exam scores?"
“It’s 65566. There’s no 7 this time!”
“……”
"Seokjin, kids aiming for Seoul National University Medical School usually start training from kindergarten. They say they've mastered aesthetics by the sixth grade and are already moving up to middle school. But you... You don't even know first-year high school math..."
“You can start from now.”
“……”
Everyone around me called me crazy. That was ridiculous. Even if I were a genius, how could someone who'd never studied their entire life get into Seoul National University Medical School in just a year and a half? Those words actually infuriated me. I hadn't even realized my limits yet, and it was so frustrating that people who didn't even know me were setting limits for me.
"Seokjin, let's play some games for the first time in a while. It's already been three months since you've been acting like a slob about studying. Let's quit and go to the shelter."
From the moment I decided to pursue my dream of entering Seoul National University's medical school, I studied like crazy. I never dozed off in class or at the academy, and after academy classes, I went straight to the study room and studied until 3 p.m. For the first three months, I was so motivated that I skipped meals and studied, losing about 22 pounds. It was a moment when my once chubby body became slimmer. Also, in just three months, my mock exam scores skyrocketed. I achieved a grade 3 for the first time. That was when I truly understood the joy of studying. Studying not only organized my knowledge but also brought peace to my surroundings. My mother, who used to nag me for spending all day playing, even made me a late-night snack to keep me up late. It was so moving that I wondered what studying was all about, how one thing could change my life so much.
“Again… only Korean is level 2.”
I thought I was a genius, having improved my grades from 6th to 1st in just six months. And the results were disastrous. Since I couldn't get to 1st in Korean, I doubled my Korean study time. I also doubled my sleep. I thought a genius like me could definitely achieve 1st if I studied like crazy, but I was naive.
"Hey, but how did 65566 become 21111? With that score on the CSAT, you'll easily be promoted to Seoul National University. You just wanted to be a doctor for fun, right? Just keep doing this. If you're stressed out and try to raise your grade from 2nd to 1st, your grade will drop even further."
"Seokjin, you know you need a perfect score to get into Seoul National University Medical School on time, right? If the CSAT isn't that difficult, even a perfect score might not get you into Seoul National University Medical School. Your 6th grade is coming up soon, so do you really need to apply to medical school? I want you to find what you truly want to do and go out there."
"That's a life-changing turnaround. Just take it easy. You're really poisonous, too."
"If a genius like you can't improve after working that hard, it means you just can't do it. Give up and focus on making sure your grades in other subjects don't drop."
“Oh, stop it. Aren’t you sick of it?”
It was a time when not a single person had told me I could do it. It was a realistic story. With the 6th grade approaching, it was nearly impossible for a 21111 student to get a perfect score on the CSAT. I fell into a slump. For about a week, I barely focused on my studies. It was the moment when I, who had always believed I could do anything, was hit by the wall of reality.
“If you study like that every day, doesn’t your butt hurt?”
“…?”
One day, I was studying in the library because I couldn't concentrate in the study room. A kid who always sat across from me, a year or two younger than me, approached me and asked, "What's wrong?"
“Oh, yes. It’s okay…”
“You used to go to the BTS reading room, right?”
“…? How do you know that?”
“I used to go there too, so I saw you a few times. I even sent you notes and chocolates to cheer you up sometimes.”
"…thank you."
"My older brother is a senior in high school, so I understand how you feel. Changing your study environment means you've experienced some emotional turmoil. Oh, am I being a meddlesome person?"
“You’ve already used it so many times…”
"ah…
Then, while I'm at it, I'll definitely make a fuss."
"…yes…"
"cheer up."
“…?”
"I've only seen you study for a few weeks. I'm sure you can do it, whatever it is."
“…How can you know that when you don’t even know me?”
"I can say this because I don't know much about it! Someone who knows me well wouldn't say something like this..."
“Do you know something is really weird?”
"Anyway, everything will be okay. Cheer up. I mean it."
“…”
It had been a long time since I'd heard someone say I could do it, that I would accomplish it. Normally, I'd have thought it was just a kid, a brat, babbling about things without any real knowledge, but that time was different. I desperately wanted to hear someone tell me I could do it.
“Can you give me your phone number?”
"no."
“Why…? I’ll contact you after the CSAT.”
“How old are you?”
“Eighteen. Exactly one year younger…”
“I will be an adult after the CSAT, and you will be a test taker.”
“…”
“I’ll give you my number once you get into college. Come back then.”
“It’s so expensive…”
“Of course. Do I look like someone who would just give out their phone number to someone they just met?”
“That’s not it…”
“Anyway, thank you. Thank you for saying such kind words to someone I’ve just met.”
"…then,"
“?”
“Please tell me your name…! I can tell you that much.”
“This is Kim Seokjin.”
“I am Lee Seok-Hyeon.”
“…?”
"That name sounds so masculine. I really, really hated the name with the letter "stone" in it, but we do have one thing in common."
“Yes, that’s right.
But, what is this?”
"It's a scar. I got a scratch while playing when I was seven. Luckily, it was right above my eye. If I'd been hit by that hamster, I'd have almost gone blind."
“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t even know it was a scar…”
“If, by any chance, you miss me later but can’t find me because there are so many Lee Seok-hyuns, look above my left eye. It’s ugly, but… there are probably only a few female Lee Seok-hyuns in South Korea with a small scar above their left eye.”
“I don’t think there’s anything I’d want to see.”
"omg."
After that, we ran into each other a few more times at the library. Each time, Seok-hyeon waved and smiled brightly. Honestly, he was so beautiful. He was unforgettable.
•
•
•
So, 20 years have passed.
“Professor Kim Seok-jin, a TA patient just came in-”
The last thing I saw was the kid giving me rice cakes the day before the CSAT, telling me to do well on the test.
That year, I was the only person to get a perfect score on the college entrance exam, so I appeared on TV and was hung on a large banner. But even though there were so many ways to find me, that kid was nowhere to be found.
Rather, I missed him more and went to the library with him every day, but I couldn't find Seok-Hyeon.
Time passed quickly, and 20 years later, I became a neurosurgery professor and was living each day like crazy, so Seok-Hyeon had become a faint presence to me.
“Okay, I’ll go right now.”
“Lee Seok-hyeon, 38 years old.
“Please come quickly, Professor!”
The moment I distinctly heard the name Lee Seok-hyeon, my heart almost stopped. I asked again.
“Lee Seok-hyeon? A 38-year-old woman?”
“Yes. I’m a woman, not a man. I’m 38 years old.”
No way, no way. A reunion after 20 years couldn't possibly be between a doctor and a patient. Besides, the bleeding was so severe that he was in critical condition. It couldn't possibly be Seok-hyeon. My heart was pounding like crazy all the way to the hospital, and I thought I was going to die.
“This patient needs surgery right now. There’s no time.”
“Yes, I will have the operating room ready.”
‘There are probably not many women in Korea like Lee Seok-hyun with a small scar above their left eye.’
I remembered what Seok-Hyeon had said 20 years ago, and I looked at the patient's left eye without realizing it.
“…….”
Above my left eye, I could faintly see a scar, a tear and a bruise. Twenty years ago, it was Seok-Hyeon, the man who had saved me from a slump that nearly led to depression.
“Let’s save this patient.”
Seok-hyeon, just hold on a little longer.
This time I will save you.
•
•
•
•
•
“It’s fate, destiny.”
“But Seok-Hyeon, why didn’t you contact me after the CSAT?
“I never even come to the library…”
“Oh, oppa, did you come to the library to look for me?”
“…Then. How could I forget a pretty girl like you? I went to the library every day.”
"My dad got rich, and I was on the run. I even had to repeat a year to get into college. I don't want to remember that time, and I don't remember it well. I just vividly remember how much I loved my brother."
“…I’m glad we met now.”
“Thank you, Oppa, for staying a bachelor until you’re thirty-nine.”
“I’m not an old bachelor…”
“That’s right, you said you didn’t have a lover.”
“Yeah… I’m so busy with work…”
“Haha ...
/✍🏻/
It was a short story I really wanted to write.
How did it get so long…
The last one is a bit weird, I got tired of writing it lol
I really wanted to see the elite Kim Seok-jin