Healed by Him

Kim Jin-Ho

March 25th, 2023

***

Kim Jin-Ho's head throbbed as he slowly emerged from a sleep that could only be characterized as brief, uneasy, and restless. Tenderly shifting from his position on the floor, the teenager stretched out his long, muscular arms; causing the meager wool blanket draped over him to shift. Jin-Ho swallowed a yawn and began the tedious task of massaging the stiffness from his weary body.

Reaching a calloused hand up to instinctively rub his tired eyes, Jin-Ho winced at the pain that blossomed from his touch; a stark reminder of the punch his right eye had suffered a mere six chaotic hours before. That, and a slap that resulted in the cut on his lip to reopen, decorating his chin with specks of blood.

Normally, Jin-Ho's brain would be foggy with fatigue at this early hour; incapable of producing any thoughts of meaning. This morning, however, his mind quickly sobered as he gingerly touched his lip. Jin-Ho blindly wiped at his mouth, trying to clear the reddish brown crust from his face. The headache he woke up with only grew as his mind started to recall the slightly less-than-legal activities of the previous night.

Had he done the right thing?

Ignoring the protests from his sore body, Kim Jin-Ho dragged himself to his feet and paused to look around the room he woke up in. Taking in his surroundings, he came to realize where he was.

I guess I crashed at Doc's place, the teenager recalled. 

Jin-Ho's mind was so tired at that point in the night that he had momentarily forgotten where he had ended up. Even with his brain plagued with exhaustion, Jin-Ho had possessed enough sense to conclude that Doc's apartment was a much more tempting option than going back to Jin-Ho's place in the middle of the night. He had opted for sleeping on Doc's floor, rather than risk running into his dad; bruised, bloody, and with a crime scene stuffed into his bag.

Not that it was anything he hadn't seen before.

In fact, it was his fault Jin-Ho was even out last night at all, rather than sleeping soundly after finally completing his ever-growing piles of math homework.

Sighing, Kim Jin-Ho walked with heavy steps; his feet absorbing the chill of the groaning planks. He stood in front of where his discarded gray backpack lay, staring up at him. Looking deceptively innocent, Jin-Ho smiled dryly at the irony of the unassuming appearance the object in front of him held. That sack was not only heavy with Jin-Ho's family's' burdens; but also with the tools he was forced to carry in order to fix them.

The last of his morning fatigue left Jin-Ho's body upon grabbing the backpack, and he shifted into the usual stoic, calculating demeanor Jin-Ho had been forced to adapt much too young. Jin-Ho undid the rusting zipper on the sack and automatically began going through his mental checklist. 

Scalpel, scissors, forceps, sutures, and- the corners of Jin-Ho's scabbed mouth turned down. No more needles. Medical dressings, gauze, and gloves. Stethoscope, acetaminophen, isopropyl alcohol, staples...

He reached for the folded up stained yet sterile fabric that housed Jin-Ho's medical instruments, and a flood of relief washed over him as he confirmed all of his tools had made it back with him, even amongst the chaos.

Sifting through the last of the supplies, Jin-Ho mentally made note of the materials he was running low on or completely out of.

Damn, last night used up a lot more shit than I expected, Jin-Ho thought to himself. 

He would have to make a stop at Seoul Seobuk Hospital before school. The hospital was at least a forty minute commute due to Jin-Ho's lack of car; making him even later to Mrs. Yoon's monotonous droning than he already would've been.