Josephine Swan never imagined that her stay in South Korea would lead her into K-Pop's glittering and challenging world. Each day, she encounters new hurdles and adventures that fate has in store for her and her four team members. Between gruelling...
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Attention!
This chapter contains mentions regarding hospitals and sick children, as well as thoughts about death.
With a cautious glance at the parents, I knelt in front of the girl. She could not be older than six. She looked at me attentively. I quickly glanced at the nurses' prepared table. Everything had already been carefully prepared in sterile conditions for the blood sample. The child noticed my glance and tensed her muscles again. My gaze slid back to the girl and a sympathetic smile crept onto my lips.
"Are you afraid of the needle?" I asked softly and she nodded slightly. Her look remained serious and fearful.
"You don't have to be scared! Your parents are right next to you, making sure nothing happens to you." I said, but even with a glance at her parents, the fear remained in the girl's brown eyes.
"Shall we try together?" I asked, glancing at the two nurses who nodded in understanding. The girl also looked questioningly at her parents. Her mother nodded slightly.
"Is that all right with you?" I asked again quietly and the mother nodded again. On her lips a slight smile. By now the little girl had sat up and was keeping a close eye on every movement whether it was from the nurse or me. I quickly pulled one of the chairs to her bedside and sat down before taking off my brown coat. My dark brown school blazer followed. Finally, I pulled up the sleeve of my white blouse. Demonstratively, I held my arm because of the girl. With my fingertips, I pointed to the blue elongated lines on the inside of my arm.
"Those are my blood vessels," I said and the girl slid closer in her bed.
"They're blue," she said and I smiled.
"Yes they are blue...and now...the nurse is cleaning my arm.". The nurse disinfected my arm and wiped the cloth over it once before spraying the disinfectant spray over the skin another time.
"And so that you can see the blood vessel clearly...you have to put a tube around the arm," I explained further as a blue tourniquet was placed above my bend and tightened.
"And now...you have to, like a beating heart, clench your hand open and closed." I continued, alternately opening and closing my hand.
"You do that about...10 times and...now...you see it clearly.". I held my arm out to her and pointed to the now clearly visible veins that were snaking down my arm like a scrub. I nodded to the nurse who now approached carefully with the cannula. She removed the safety cover.
"You see...a very small needle. You hardly feel it at all." I said quietly to the girl who had moved very close to me so that she could watch each step closely. Her eyes watched curiously as the nurse carefully penetrated my skin with the pointed needle and punctured the vein. The dark red blood flowed slowly through the narrow tube while the nurse opened the tourniquet above the crook of my arm. She filled one of the tubes and picked up a swab. With one movement she removed the cannula from my arm and pressed on the spot with the swab. I gave her a quick nod and took over the compression.
"And already...it's all over," I said to the girl. She put her head to one side and slowly felt her hands over my arm to the puncture site. I removed the swab and all that was left was a small red puncture site.
"You see...hardly noticeable. And it didn't hurt either...do you think...you can do it too?" I asked smiling and after a while of silence between the two of us, she nodded tentatively. The pent-up energy around us slowly dissipated and I heard the girl's mother breathe a sigh of relief. The nurses also visibly relaxed and prepared themselves once more to take the blood sample.
♛
"You're good with children," the mother said, smiling at me. We stepped aside as the nurses left the room with their equipment. The husband stepped to his wife's side.
"Indeed. What country are you from?" he asked, looking at my outward appearance. His dark brown eyes lingered increasingly on my hair and eyes.
"I'm from the UK. My mother works for UNICEF in London. I help her sometimes and look after some of the children." I explained as both parents nodded in understanding.
"Excuse me...sorry very much..." my teacher's voice upset us and we turned to the door. Mrs Jeon stood in the doorway and slowly stepped closer into the room before addressing the two parents with a bow.
"I am a teacher at Dwight School and Josephine is one of my students. We have just started a project in this ward for our volunteering class." Mrs Jeon explained formally.
"Interesting. And what does this project involve?" the man asked.
"The students are assigned a sponsored child of sorts and are tasked with distracting the children from their illness as best they can. They can play games or go on a little outing outside in the park, as far as this is in the interest of the child and the parents. This is just one of the many options open to you.". Both parents looked at each other thoughtfully and slowly moved away from the reach of their little daughter who was staring at us with wide eyes. I stopped near the bed and let the adults speak quietly to each other.
"Can I take the swab away now?" the little girl asked me and I smiled. With a glance at my teacher and her parents, I sat back down at her bedside and slowly removed the white swab. Similar to my case, only a small red spot remained.
"Would you like a blue or a red plaster?" I asked, holding out two colourful plasters to the girl. The girl pointed to the red one with a big smile and held out her arm.
