Africa
It was a long time ago, but Jung Jae-ho had once almost gone to a kiss room.
In his second year as a resident physician, Jung Jae-ho, half-mad from overwork and stress, had searched for a kiss room. Romance Healing Room, located on a side street in Maegok-dong. It ended in an attempt. Calling it an attempt was generous. He’d only seen the price list sent by an automated chatbot. Jung Jae-ho had glanced at it for about three seconds before realizing what he was doing and abruptly closing the page in shock. The mere fact that he’d looked into such a depraved place had plunged Jung Jae-ho into intense guilt. He’d even carved out time from his already scarce sleep to write a lengthy confession. Until the wedding, this had been the greatest sexual transgression of his life.
Now, Jung Jae-ho was staring blankly at the confession he’d written back then.
“Father. I am a sinner who used purity as a shield for my pride.”
“Jae-ho, this isn’t the time. Go back to the hospital now. I’ve taken care of everything. It’ll be uncomfortable for a while because of people’s stares, but…”
“I believed that because I was pure, I could demand purity from my bride.”
“Oh my…”
“When I thought I’d secured a pure bride, I felt I was being rewarded.”
“If you don’t like it, work at your father’s hospital…”
Because he’d done something a hundred times more cruel than viewing a price list. He didn’t regret it. Only.
“Because of me, the pastor, the congregation, and my relatives were shocked. I intend to carry the wounds I’ve inflicted on all those people for the rest of my life.”
“Jae-ho, you wouldn’t…”
“I’ve decided to leave Korea.”
Jung Jae-ho intended to atone for his sins through dedication and service. Not in Korea, but overseas.
“I’ll go to Uganda. To the farthest, most barren land, to serve. If I still have purpose, I’ll be able to stand before the Lord again.”
“Uganda? What—!”
“Honey!”
“As for when I’ll return… I don’t know.”
At Jung Jae-ho’s declaration, his father clutched the back of his neck and collapsed, while his mother suffered from insomnia due to guilt and resentment toward her son. It was a cruel thing to do to his parents, but Jung Jae-ho had no intention of wavering in his resolve.
Uganda. Not a city like Kampala or Mbarara, which still smelled of civilization… but a refugee camp on the border with South Sudan. There were certainly harsher places to choose from. Northeast Kenya, the land of the Maasai. But for some reason, he disliked Kenya. That’s why Jung Jae-ho had chosen Uganda.
“Jae-ho, Mom will kneel before you.”
“I’m sorry. Please don’t.”
“Then promise… no later than a year from now! That you’ll come back and take over your father’s hospital. Only then can I let you go.”
“I’m sorry. I can’t make that promise.”
“Ahhh!!!!”
Jung Jae-ho’s parents were on the verge of madness. Their son, who had secretly prepared for overseas missionary work while they frantically mobilized connections and money to clean up the mess after playing a porn video at his wedding… His destination: a refugee camp teeming with tens of thousands of refugees and active armed groups. But they were sinners before their son, having done the deed (having been tricked by a hymen certificate and driven their son into a twisted obsession with virginity).
“If you die, we’ll die too.”
“If I go somewhere comfortable, it’s just escape. If I dedicate myself in the lowest, most painful place, I’ll be able to stand before God again…”
“You’ll get shot and killed!!”
“I’m so sorry to both of you.”
They screamed, slapped him, brought in his octogenarian grandmother to persuade him. They even went to the Christian NGO that had placed Jung Jae-ho on the medical mission team and lay down in protest (for real), but it was useless. Cornered, Jung Jae-ho’s parents decided to resort to a bizarre tactic.
“Honey, that guest in the wedding video…”
“Ah, that man? The one sitting comfortably alone.”
“I looked into it. He’s Kim Yu-ra’s ex-boyfriend. A public official in Annam City. And our Jae-ho went to Annam City last month, right?”
“Ah!?”
Someone with a suspicious record. And they were looking for a person presumed to be deeply connected in some way to that horrific incident. A mere local public official. Kim Yu-ra’s ex-boyfriend. They knew it was strange to contact such a person, but— Parents who were about to send their son to his death had no limits.
“There’s a deacon who used to be the vice mayor of Annam City, right? Through him…”
“I know, so do something, please.”
Because he was their only son.
Jung Jae-ho’s parents summoned me. It happened while I was busy handling Kim Ho-chang’s request (identifying a surrogate mother in Laos) and destroying documents. When they’d even borrowed the connections of a former vice mayor of this city to call me in… I thought they’d retaliate against me. For the sin of having their son ruined. Elders and deacons of Hope Church in Gangnam. And both doctors. With connections everywhere, they could probably sink a 7th-grade public official. But when I met them, it wasn’t like that.
“Please help us. We won’t ask anything. We’ll pay whatever it takes.”
“Our Jae-ho… doesn’t seem to plan on coming back alive… oh no…!”
They were begging me to keep their son from dying in a refugee camp. They were begging so hard that I was willing to look into it, but… I felt a bit of unease. Both the snitch and the people giving me work were appearing one by one. Of course, I’d provided the trigger. Not just Kim Ho-chang, but Jung Jae-ho’s parents had seen my calm demeanor (watching the disaster unfold) in the wedding video filmed by a relative and felt uneasy. That’s why they looked into me. I thought I should be more careful from now on.
“Yes, let’s go.”
I followed Jung Jae-ho’s parents. We arrived at a Christian NGO center in Yeonsinnae. Meeting the unicorn who was receiving pre-departure training, it seemed difficult.
“Mr. Joo Sung-hyun. My parents have caused you trouble. But it’s too late. I’ve already been tentatively hired at a local clinic. What this means is…”
“You plan to stay for a long time. Not a three-month short-term mission.”
“Yes.”
Jung Jae-ho was sincere. Uganda-South Sudan border. He was saying he’d stay indefinitely in the most dangerous area where Koreans could legally reside and serve. They’d have no reason to refuse. A skilled internist capable of basic surgical procedures was offering to work for free. It was definitely crazy. But. I can’t stop this. Since I’d come this far, I’d spoken. Jung Jae-ho’s parents were still looking at me desperately, holding each other’s hands tightly.
“I heard it’s a refugee camp where people die constantly.”
“Wouldn’t I know? Electricity comes for six hours a day, and medicine is scarce. Sometimes missionaries get kidnapped.”
“Knowing all that…”
“I’m going. On purpose.”
It was the moment I thought Kim Yu-ra, who had voluntarily admitted herself to a psychiatric hospital, was the lucky one. Living in containers. Showers by filling buckets with water, staple food of corn and cassava. Seeing 300 patients a day, always accompanied by security when going out. Sleeping in mosquito nets, sweating profusely, you’d hear gunshots once every ten days, right? I wondered why someone born with a silver spoon would choose such a wretched life, but.
“It’s already decided.”
No matter how I looked at it, making him give up was impossible. Because Jung Jae-ho’s pupils were as empty as Kim Yu-ra’s. But there was something I could do.
“Then I have pre-training left, so I’ll take my leave,”
“Mr. Jung Jae-ho.”
“…?”
“Are those people the team members going to Uganda with you?”
The small office where Jung Jae-ho was receiving pre-training. About ten people were gathered.
“Yes. They’re our team.”
Nurses, coordinators, public health experts, security guards, interpreters, and psychological counselors. They were the team members who would work with Jung Jae-ho in the refugee camp. Congregants called to missionary work to spread God’s grace… Among them was a woman with unusual numbers.
“Is that person a nurse?”
“Coordinator Park So-hyeon… she also has a nursing license.”
“She has something in common with you.”
Jung Jae-ho looked puzzled, saying of course, they’d worked together in other fields before… but his expression soon hardened. He’d realized the commonality I mentioned wasn’t just Christian + medical professional.
“Mr. Joo Sung-hyun, can you tell just by looking?”
“It’s intuition. But I’ve never been wrong.”
“I, on the other hand… didn’t know. I knew she was devout, but.”
“Usually, even if someone aims for premarital chastity, they don’t openly talk about it in church bulletins, testimonies, or discipleship training videos like that person does. They keep it quiet.”
“…”
“No matter how devout.”
Jung Jae-ho’s gaze was already fixed on Park So-hyeon, a team member. Her appearance was relatively plain. Like she had great features but didn’t bother to dress them up? No makeup, hair tied back neatly. She looked about the same age as Kim Yu-ra. If not for the vastly different numbers floating above her head. Jung Jae-ho’s face had regained some vitality, as if he hadn’t yet shed his unicorn tendencies.
“Thank you for the kind words, but I no longer have the confidence to trust women.”
He immediately looked away. It seemed this guy had misunderstood something.
“Mr. Jung Jae-ho. I’m sorry, but I didn’t tell you to take her as a spouse.”
“…?”
“You’re going to Uganda together anyway. I just told you about a colleague who might share similar values. Maybe she’s not obsessively chaste like you, but just uninterested in sex.”
“Ah… I misunderstood.”
Besides.
“You’re the one who caused controversy at the wedding. That Park So-hyeon person probably knows about the incident. Would she have a good impression of you?”
“Haha…”
“She might even see you as a lunatic and keep her distance.”
I’d just told him there was a 0/0/- among the team members. To boost Jung Jae-ho’s will to survive as he headed to his death. Jung Jae-ho’s expression had brightened somewhat, as if it had resonated. It was a bitter smile, but it held a hint of a smile. He even looked at his parents, who had brought me here and were still watching for cues, with a gentler gaze, and focus had returned to his eyes.
“I understand what you mean.”
Jung Jae-ho returned to the office to continue his pre-training. I felt I’d done my part. That evening, I received thanks from Jung Jae-ho’s parents, who said, "He told us he’d come back alive." It seemed he’d compromised: he wouldn’t die in Uganda, would focus on humanitarian missions, and would return to take over the hospital once his atonement was complete. Jung Jae-ho’s parents offered me financial compensation, but I declined for now.
“I didn’t do this for money.”
It was more beneficial to leave it as a debt of the heart. Now was the time to think about that. And Jung Jae-ho left. With the 0/0/- nurse. The future was unknown.