“Senior high, third year division three, Ms. Choi Eun-hee, senior high, third year division three, Ms. Choi Eun-hee, please report to the infirmary immediately.”
When this announcement played on the screechy public address system, Jimin was lying, eyes shut, on the white cot in the infirmary.
“What in the world happened?”
“He got hit by a basketball.”
“No way? A basketball? Look at these bruises on his face!”
“It wasn’t me. His face was bruised when he came to school on Monday. I only hit the back of his head!”
“For goodness’ sake, the guy fainted. Don’t act so innocent!”
“There’s always bumps and scuffles in basketball. It wasn’t on purpose. Who knew he’d be that weak. I even asked him when I hit him, and he said he was fine. Then he took two steps and toppled over. I had to haul him all the way here.”
“Hey, hey. Out of the way. Out of the way. The nurse is here.”
“Sir, is he okay?”
“…nothing too serious. It’s probably because of stress and a lack of sleep. See these bags under his eyes? Oh, right. You are third year students, aren’t you?”
“Yes, sir. You have to take a closer look and tell me he is okay for sure. He’s the top of our class. The school’s looking at him to make Seoul National or Yonsei. If anything affects his exam results, our homeroom teacher is going to kill me.”
“Don’t worry. It’s just over-exhaustion. A good diet and some sleep will do him good. He’s young; he’ll recover in no time.”
“That’s good. You hear that, Minjun? It wasn’t my fault.”
“Consider yourself lucky this time, you idiot.”
“Shut the fuck up! Quit jinxing me, you little shit!”
“Hey, if you don’t have any business here, get out, all of you. Don’t create more problems in the infirmary. The patient needs to rest.”
“Goodbye, sir.”
White walls. White curtains. White quilt. White ceiling.
Jimin opened his eyes just a crack before closing them.
Tired. Don’t want to move.
The air smelled like iodine tincture. There was someone humming what seemed to be Dong Dejian’s Descendants of the Dragon.
The door burst open.
“Mr. Bak, I came as soon as I heard the PA. Is Jimin all right?”
It was Ms. Choi, the homeroom teacher.
“He’s fine. He fainted after being hit by a basketball during PE class. He’s lying back there.”
Jimin heard curtains being drawn. The two staff members stood by his cot to observe his condition.
“He’s asleep. Maybe he’s too tired.” The nurse lowered his voice low. “Let’s leave him to rest.”
“What happened? How could he be that reckless during PE?”
“The main issue isn’t PE. He doesn’t look well. He has very dark bags under his eyes. It looks like he hasn’t gotten much sleep for quite some time.”
Ms. Choi sighed.
“Here’s my two wons: It could be the stress of the examination. With these emotional issues, it’d be best if his teachers and parents provided some counselling. Otherwise, it’ll be hard for him to perform well.”
