Chapter 12, Part 2: I Am a Kindergartener (7)

Seungwoo, who had been circumcised, looked pitiful throughout the kindergarten class.

Unlike the other children, he couldn't sit with his legs crossed and had to sit with his legs stretched out.

When standing, his posture was awkward, like a fool.

He would frown at every small action of his own.

'This is pitiful, but there's nothing that can be done.'

No matter how well I had done as a thoracic surgeon, I couldn't help Seungwoo much now.

Incidentally, Seungwoo's pain was not just his own.

It was a fate that all boys of this era had to endure.

Circumcision was as essential as men having to go to the military.

It wasn't until the late 2010s that circumcision became less of a mandatory practice.

Wait, now that I think about it...

I will also have to undergo circumcision when I go to elementary school.

The thought of this inescapable fate made me shiver.

After the storytime ended, free time arrived.

"Shin, I hit my head earlier."

Kim Jisun came to me with a pout, pushing her head forward.

Since the Seungwoo incident, a few children would come to me first when they got hurt, rather than the teacher.

I had inadvertently become the little doctor of the kindergarten.

'This... It's a small tear.'

There was a small laceration near Kim Jisun's scalp, but it had already been disinfected by the kindergarten teacher.

It wouldn't be a problem to leave it as it was, but it would take longer to heal without suturing.

Going to the clinic was awkward.

The process of getting local anesthesia and suturing with surgical thread would not be pleasant for young Jisun.

There was also the inconvenience of having to return to the hospital to remove the sutures.

I knew a good method for such situations.

"Can I take a look?"

"Can you do it?"

"Sure."

I sat Kim Jisun by the window and went to the bathroom to wash my hands thoroughly.

After returning, I positioned myself behind her and started braiding her hair.

Braiding hair is a method of using hair as sutures to stitch a wound on the head.

The two main advantages are that it doesn't require anesthesia, and you only need to cut the braided hair, unlike removing sutures.

However, it can't be used on people with little or no hair (I knew many suturing techniques from other departments as well, thanks to the advice I sought from various sources when developing new surgical methods).

"Don't move and stay still."

I firmly stitched Kim Jisun's wound with my delicate hands.

When I was at my peak, my dexterity was not much different from what it is now.

The only difference was the inconvenience of having smaller hands.

'Thinking about it now, it's really frustrating.'

I clicked my tongue.

To think that someone as skilled as me was called a "waste" from my internship to my residency...

The reason I couldn't fully utilize my skills in the past was due to my congenital pectus excavatum.

During medical school, I received praise from professors and envy from my peers when practicing on models.

However, when I became an intern and tried to give injections or use a scalpel on patients, problems arose.

My fingers would stiffen, and my hands would tremble.

My mind would go blank with the fear of making a mistake that could harm the patient.

Psychological factors had crippled my talent.

Fortunately, I overcame my tremors by the end of my fourth year of residency.

Ironically, the person who helped me overcome my tremors was the devil, Kang Tae-sub.

Thanks to Kang Tae-sub's trust in me, I began to trust myself.

Although, as a result, I ended up in a quagmire from which I couldn't escape.

'Now, the days of being called a "waste" are over.'

Having realized the cause of my tremors, I no longer had a reason to shake.

This time around, my internship would be as smooth as silk.

"It's done."

I took my hands off Kim Jisun's hair. I was satisfied with the result.

It would have been better to fix the stitches with medical glue, but since the wound was small, this should be fine.

"Already? It didn't hurt at all?"

"I made sure it didn't hurt."

"Thanks. Shin, you're really different from the other kids."

"No, but for the next day or two, you shouldn't wash your hair."

"Why? The teacher said not to wash it too."

"If it gets wet, bacteria can grow and cause an infection."

"I don't understand what you mean."

"Just don't wash it."

I decided to stop explaining further. It didn't seem like Kim Jisun would understand even if I explained more.

"Shin."

"What?"

"If I can't wash my hair, can you braid it for me? I want to try a hairstyle like that."

Kim Jisun pointed to a princess doll on the shelf.

The doll's hair was braided elaborately, like a Disney princess.

-Is a former thoracic surgeon supposed to be braiding hair for kindergarteners? Isn't this a serious waste of talent?

But I didn't think so.

Instead, I took the doll in my hand and examined the hairstyle carefully.

Why did I suddenly feel the urge to challenge myself?

* * *

"Me too! Me too!"

"No way. I'm first."

Chaos erupted in the kindergarten again.

After I braided Kim Jisun's hair like a princess, the girls in the kindergarten went wild.

They all wanted their hair braided beautifully. I looked at Seungwoo with a pleading gaze.

-If anyone bothers you, I'll take care of them. I'm the strongest in our kindergarten.

Seungwoo, who had promised to protect me, was deliberately avoiding my gaze.

Seungwoo, who had been circumcised, was like Samson without his hair.

He couldn't use his strength properly.

Fortunately, it was almost time to go home.

I quickly left the kindergarten with Kim Jisun, who walked home alone because her house was close.

Officially, I was going to take Kim Jisun home and then return to the kindergarten.

'I learned an unexpected lesson.'

Reflecting on the chaos, I gained a new insight.

Being too good is not always a good thing.

Being too good inevitably draws attention, and that attention can be exhausting.

The chaos in the kindergarten could easily happen in a hospital setting.

Professor Seo was a good example.

At the time, Professor Seo was an associate professor, just below Director Kang Tae-sub.

Professor Seo was a passionate thoracic surgeon who even got an apartment near the hospital to be close in case of emergencies.

Of course, he was also very skilled.

However, Kang Tae-sub couldn't just sit back and watch such a talented surgeon.

Kang Tae-sub fired Professor Seo, citing his low surgical success rate.

He conveniently ignored the fact that Professor Seo only took on the most critical and difficult cases that other doctors avoided.

'Being too good is not good. You need to be just good enough and know how to subtly manipulate people behind the scenes.'

In that sense, the hair braiding incident was not just a simple event.

It was an important lesson for me.

"You and I, Minky. Minky. Minky. Magic Princess Minky~."

Kim Jisun, oblivious to my thoughts, hummed the cartoon theme song as we walked.

"Jisun."

"What?"

"Do you ever go home alone?"

"Mom picks me up most of the time, but sometimes I go alone. My house is really close."

Kim Jisun answered cheerfully, but I was uneasy.

During this period, there were many cases of child abduction and kidnapping.

Even though her house was close, children like Kim Jisun who walked home alone were still at risk.

I couldn't afford to be complacent.

"If a stranger says, 'Jisun, let's go eat some candy,' what would you do?"

"Sure~."

Kim Jisun smiled brightly, as if the idea was appealing. I sighed and put my hand on my forehead.

"No, you shouldn't."

"No, I shouldn't!"

"What if he says, 'Let's go get some ice cream'?"

"Sure. H~."

"No, you shouldn't!"

"No, I shouldn't!"

"What if he says, 'Let's play at the playground together'?"

"H, sure."

"No, you shouldn't!"

"No, I shouldn't!"

I repeated the "No, I shouldn't" lesson with Kim Jisun until she was thoroughly drilled.

Just not following strangers could prevent about 80% of abductions and kidnappings.

If a child willingly follows an adult, a third party might assume they know each other and wouldn't notice the danger.

"Jisun."

"No, I shouldn't!"

By the time I called her name, Kim Jisun was already shouting "No, I shouldn't!" automatically.

We arrived at her house, which was indeed very close to the kindergarten. It was only a three-minute walk for a child.

Kim Jisun's house was located in a rare upscale neighborhood, and it was a standalone house.

"See you tomorrow."

"No, I shouldn't!"

Even in response to my goodbye, Kim Jisun replied with "No, I shouldn't!"

This was a case of over-education.

* * *

Our family's sanctuary, the used bookstore.

Father, who had secured a publishing contract, was writing his novel with a fierce look in his eyes.

The sound of the typewriter was loud, and his fingers moved skillfully.

It was good to see Father making steady progress toward his dream.

If the novel became popular and generated some income, Father wouldn't suffer from angina like he did in his previous life.

I had roughly three reasons for why Father had angina in his previous life.

One, giving up on his dream of being a novelist.

Two, starting to drink and smoke while doing odd jobs.

Three, the mental stress from guaranteeing a loan.

Having come back to life, I had the power to prevent all three. Father's life trajectory was already changing slightly.

In this life, Father would live a long and healthy life.

Even with annual health check-ups.

"Ouch, my back."

Father, who had been writing, got up and rubbed his back.

"Dad, does your back hurt?"

"It's not that bad, Shin."

"I read that this exercise is good for your back."

I taught Father the McKenzie back exercise, which he could do while standing.

Despite its grand name, the McKenzie exercise is a simple symptomatic treatment.

It's easy to do and highly effective, making it popular among patients with herniated discs later on.

"Stand with your legs apart and place your hands on your back."

"Like this?"

"Yes. Then, while holding your breath, lean your back backward. Return to the original position while exhaling."

Father followed my instructions and smiled contentedly.

"Really? It feels a bit better."

"Someone who sits a lot should do this every thirty minutes."

"Shin, you're already a doctor?"

Father playfully ruffled my hair.

"You memorized that from a book?"

"There were pictures, so I remembered."

I calmly deflected.

Unlike my previous life, I could lie as easily as eating a meal in this life.

I was also skilled at hiding my emotions.

This was a side effect of pretending to be a child while being a former thoracic surgeon.

This ability would be very useful when engaging in political battles in the hospital.

The thought of using my political skills, honed from a young age, to drive Kang Tae-sub out of the hospital made me itch with anticipation.

After learning the McKenzie exercise,

Father would occasionally get up and do the exercise.

I would also follow along with him while sewing doll eyes.

And six years later,

I became a sixth-grader in elementary school.