Author's POV

Gi Kwang woke up early at six to get ready. He wasn’t sure how to dress. Should he dress nice, cool, or dark? He wasn’t sure so he closed his eyes and pointed to a random shirt. That was what he was going to wear today. As he looked around in the apartment, the guys were still asleep. Gi Kwang was the early bird for the community service. He had his driver drive him to the hospital. Sitting in the van, Gi Kwang started to get nervous for different reasons. First off, it was his first time volunteering without his buddies. They stuck together all the time. Second, he didn’t like hospitals. He didn’t like needles, the smell, the sad atmosphere, and the loudness sometimes. He hoped he didn’t have to deal with that. Third, he hadn’t gone to the hospital in a very long time. Of course Gi Kwang worked out every day and because of his strength, he was careful about what he did. He didn’t like to make dangerous mistakes that could injure himself.

The van stopped. Gi Kwang peered out the window and took a deep breath. “Fighting,” he said to himself. 

He put on his shades, pulled the door opened, and walked out. He was glad that no fans knew he was at the hospital; so they wouldn’t see his nervous face. He walked in the door and went to the front desk.

“Annyeonghaseyo. I’m Lee Gi Kwang.”

“Ah, yes,” the front desk woman said. “We are expecting you, especially Doctor Choi Won. He is in Room 350. Please go up and meet him.”

“Thank you.”

Gi Kwang heads up Room 350 taking the stairs. He didn’t like to use elevators. For him, taking the stairs was a great way to exercise. He reached Room 350 and knocked.

“Come in,” a deep voice said.

Gi Kwang opened the door and saw a tall man looking out the window. The tall man turned around.

“Annyeonghaseyo. I’m Doctor Choi Won. It’s a pleasure to meet you,” the tall man said gratefully giving Gi Kwang a bow and sticking his hand out.

“Annyeonghaseyo. I’m Lee Gi Kwang. Nice to meet you too,” he said with a bow and shaking his hand.

“Please have a seat. We will be discussing what your role in the hospital will be.”

Doctor Choi Won shuffled through his papers on his desk and pulled out two sheets of paper. He gives one to Gi Kwang.

“Let’s see. Ah, yes. We have a schedule here for you. Since you are just volunteering for three hours a day, I decided to give you different roles so you can see how big the hospital is and the different practices. If you have a question about your schedule, please ask the front desk. I won’t be available during your time. The hospital is looking forward to your hard work and dedication.”

“Ne. Kamsahamida.”

“So, feel free to stick in here for a while until your time has come. I will be heading out. Thank you,” Doctor Choi Won said.

He got up, put on his lab coat, and left his room; leaving Gi Kwang time to look at his schedule.

DAY 1:

7:00 am – Arrive at hospital

            Please arrive on time. NO EXCUSES.

            (For sure Gi Kwang knew he wasn’t going to be late. Though he didn’t like waking up early, he didn’t like being late. It was rude.)

7:05 am – Location: Cafeteria

            Role: You will be making/serving breakfast for all patients that enter. If you are not a good cook, don’t worry.

            (Gi Kwang smiled at that. He knew how to make breakfast. Breakfast was his favorite meal of the day. Lucky he didn’t have to make lunch or dinner. That wasn’t his forte.)

8:15 am – A janitor will come by after your breakfast duty. You will be cleaning ALL men’s restroom on the third floor.

            (Gi Kwang’s eyes got big. Clean the restroom, he said to himself. Andwae. Gi Kwang hated cleaning. He groaned. He felt his energy go down.)

9:00 am – Meet the lady at the front desk.

“I got this,” Gi Kwang said to himself.

He then went into the kitchen. He had never been there before so he didn’t know how it would look. He was amazed at how big the kitchen was. The cafeteria was big and the kitchen was half the size but because of how well the kitchen was organized, it looked bigger. He walked in and stared in amazement.

“YAH! What are you doing in here?”

He turned around and faced this big man. He had a chef hat and a white apron on. For a second, Gi Kwang got scared. The man’s voice was really deep. Gi Kwang smiled feeling relaxed now knowing who he was.

“Annyeonghaseyo. I’m Lee Gi Kwang. I’m here to prepare breakfast.”

“Ah!” The chef smiled brightly. “Nice to meet you. I’m Chef Park, the head chef. Please come this way.”

The atmosphere was good now. Chef Park asked Gi Kwang if he knew how to cook and Gi Kwang said yes, only knowing how to make breakfast. Gi Kwang was lucky today.

Gi Kwang washed his hand and put on an apron.

He then started to make breakfast. After 30 minutes, Gi Kwang prepared a ham and cheese omelet, a cold cucumber soup (Oi Naengguk), and Bean Sprout Rice (Kongnamul Bap). Some other cooks noticed that the popular Gi Kwang was cooking and started to watch him. Their first impression of Gi Kwang was that he didn’t know how to cook. But since Gi Kwang was making these delicious food, they were wrong. Chef Park came along to see Gi Kwang’s progress and he was impressed.

“You are good, Gi Kwang. When you marry, she will be lucky.”

Gi Kwang got red and started to laugh.

It was almost 8:15 so Gi Kwang started to clean up.

“Thank you Chef Park for letting me cook,” Gi Kwang said gratefully. He had fun doing this. He loved that people liked his food even though they didn’t know that BEAST’s Gi Kwang made it.

“Thank you for coming.”

Gi Kwang waited outside the kitchen until a janitor came along. With him, he had a bucket of soapy water, a mop, and some clothes.

“Here you go,” the janitor said giving him the supplies.

“Thanks,” Gi Kwang said looking at the stuff. He put the outfit over his clothes. He went up the elevator to the third floor. There were three restrooms on every floor. Lucky he only had to do the men’s. He went to the one closest to him. This was going to be a piece of cake, he thought. But once he walked in and realized that the bathroom was not as “clean” as he thought, he grunted. Ugh.

“WAYO?! Why do I have to clean the toilet? Help me,” Gi Kwang complained. But he had to do the work. Gi Kwang was extra careful not to get his face and hair dirty. Gi Kwang put extra pressure in his cleaning and then the water suddenly splashed him on the face.

“AACCCKK!”

Little did he know that someone was in the restroom too. Gi Kwang forgot to ask if anyone was occupied in the restroom. Oops.

“Kwenchana,” someone asked.

“Huh?” Gi Kwang quickly turned around. Gi Kwang’s eyes were big and his mouth opened.

Gi Kwang’s POV

Why me, huh? I looked up at the man. He was looking me as if I was crazy. Ah, I forgot to ask if anyone was in the restroom before cleaning.

“I am very sorry,” I said bowing my head.

“It’s okay. Just be careful next time. You must be new, huh?” The man then walked away.

Must be new? I smiled. I guess he didn’t know who I was. I guess the older generation aren’t familiar with them.

After cleaning the first restroom, I then went to the next and next until I was done. I did get it done on time but still, it was gross. I hated cleaning. After finding that janitor and giving back the awful and smelly water and mop, I went to the bathroom to clean up myself. Right when I looked in the mirror, I was disgusted. My face had dirt and my hair was a mess. I then quickly splashed some water on my face and fixed my hair. Two minutes later, I was looking fresh.

I then went downstairs to the front office. The lady noticed me and smiled.

“How was your morning?”

“Ah, I made breakfast and then I started to clean the toilets,” I said.

She laughed.

“Okay, here’s your next assignment. Even though you are volunteering, we want to make use of you too. On the second floor is the children’s place. Doctor Choi Won would like you to go up there and watch over the children. They are expecting you,” she said.

No way. I then remembered what my manager said: “Don’t worry, Gi Kwang, you’ll be in the children’s area.” My manager wasn’t joking at all. I did not like children screaming at the top of their lungs and crying.

I went to the children’s place not knowing what to expect. Going closer to the children’s place, I could hear voices. I was preparing myself to hear the screams and cries. I walked closer and stopped. Instead of screams and cries, I heard laughter. I then looked through the glass window. The children were laughing and playing. A smile came upon my face.

I then opened the door and walked in. The noise in the room suddenly went silent. All the kids looked at me. I looked at them, not knowing what just happened. So I said, “Annyeonghaseyo.”

The kids then looked at each other and then bowed their heads and said “Annyeonghaseyo.” A kid in a wheelchair came forward and asked, “Aren’t you Gi Kwang from BEAST?”

How did such a little kid know?

“Ne, I am. My name is Lee Gi Kwang, everybody. What’s your name?” I said to the little boy.

“Ma Roo,” the little boy said.

Huh? I recognized that name.