The afternoon sun burned bright upon the city streets. It was hot and it seemed that it would only get hotter. The short woman sat on a park bench trying to enjoy her kimbap. It would suddenly be interrupted by a very loud scream. She said to herself, "not again-can't a person just enjoy a normal lunch anymore?"This day would turn out to be anything but normal.

The Kathy awoke early, like all mornings, to the semi-quiet chirping of her alarm. She preferred the subtle awakening as opposed to the loud WONK, WONK, WONK of other obnoxious alarms. Those alarms seemed like a slap in the face that would jolt you awake. That was not for her. After a shower, getting dressed and coffee in her system, she was out the door by 0735 and on her way to the train station. She took the train to work and home again every day. She enjoyed the quiet ride. It took 24 minutes (usually) to arrive at the stop near her work. It was two short blocks from The Seoul General Hospital. Kathy, or the short American (Shorty) as they referred to her, worked at the Hospital as an interpreter. It was a very large Hospital, the biggest in the city, she enjoyed this work very much. It was both exciting and rewarding.

Shorty spoke English, Korean and Japanese. Her friends back in the states wondered what was she planning learning two different Asian languages. Her town hosted a shocking lack of Korean or Japanese speaking people, but still she found the language fun, exciting and yes very challenging. She wanted to travel to Asia, but never in her life dreamed of getting a job there. Her first job was actually volunteer work at a children's hospital that specialized in reconstructive surgery. She jumped at the offer for a 6 month position. That was the job that brought took her there, but the interpreters job is the anchor that kept her there.

The train was late 6 minutes. She would have to walk fast to make it on time. Although she is well liked at her job she didn't want to take advantage of that by being late, even with a good excuse.

She had picked up the nickname "Shorty" after her first week at SGH. Considering the height of the average Korean-this made her chuckle. "Really," she said, "I'm shorty?" She later learned there was another American woman working at the hospital in the lab. She was, as you might guess, very tall. So, Shorty it was. She really didn't mind. A nickname signified acceptance and that made her happy.

Shorty checked in at the guard desk as usual, and waved her badge. The guard at the desk never smiled. She thought it was probably part of the job description. 1. Be smart. 2. Be quick. 3. Always have a scowl on your face. 4. Pass security training class. This never kept Shorty from smiling at him, extra big, every morning. To her it was a game, who would give in first?

Shorty's office was small, on the fifth floor and had a huge window. Most days were usually very quiet. She would occasionally be called to admitting or the Emergency Room. Today her first call was from the purchasing department. They needed her assistance on a teleconference with a Japanese biomedical company. The conference went well, but lasted almost until lunch time. She finished up with some paperwork and then made her way back to her office. Admittedly she was looking forward to some street food today. Her favorite place was next to a park just three blocks away. She took a book and her phone and headed out, smiling a little too big at the guard as she left the building. He scowled and gave a quick nod. She returned the nod and kept smiling as she headed through the double doors. She thought to herself, "one of these days he has to give in."

Three blocks was a nice walk, even though it was especially warm today. Shorty stopped for the kimbap and then found an empty bench in the shade. Lots of people who worked in this area liked to visit this park and enjoy their lunch break. Before she could even open her book, she heard a loud scream. She looked up but couldn't really tell which direction it came from. She then saw quite a commotion about 90 meters away. She learned later that a thug on a bike had knocked a woman down and made off with her purse. She thought this was amazing considering it was the middle of the day and the park was very crowded. All of a sudden the young man on the bike came zooming by. Since Shorty was standing in the middle of the pathway the young man caught her arm and hip as he went by. The next thing she knew, everything was kind of blurry as she shook her head from side to side. Shorty was on the ground and she had landed hard. She could see that she had cut her left hand on a sharp rock, the blood was warm as it ran down her wrist.

Shorty gathered her stuff preparing to walk back to work. Just as she did a patrolman ran up to her to see if she was okay. Once seeing that her injury was minor, he asked if she got a look at the person on the bike. She did her best to describe him and the bike, even though it all happened pretty quickly. The woman who had screamed was also knocked down. Because her purse strap was over her shoulder the thug had jerked it as he quickly rode by.  As a result her shoulder was severely injured.

When paramedics arrived they immobilized the victims shoulder and her neck. Then they drove her just three blocks to SGH. The guards desk at the entrance had been notified. Anyone watching the guards face would have thought he just received bad news about something personal. He turned his normal scowl into a look of deep concern. The policeman assigned to investigate arrived at the desk a few minutes later. Credit to the officer for having such a good response time, the polices station was just a few blocks away in the opposite direction of the park. There was a brief exchange of information and the officer was directed to the emergency room.

Shorty gave her best description to the patrolman who radioed everything in. There had already been an officer dispatched to investigate. Since the robbery had resulted with an injury, it warranted investigating. Shorty made her way on foot back to the hospital.  When she arrived at the double doors, just as she had a few hours earlier, there was no smile on her face this time. That is not until she looked up and saw the guard behind the desk. He looked at her and with an barely audible sigh of relief, his eyes narrowed and he began to look angry. She misread this look and she scowled back at him. "Why is he mad at me," she said to herself.

He waited at the desk for her to walk by. She showed her badge, but he really didn't care about checking it. His look now turned into concern for Shorty, his first thought was, she is alright and not in fact the woman taken to the emergency room. She was bleeding though, he could see that. The guard made Shorty stop stop while he made a call. He quickly picked up the phone and called for an orderly. Soon a young man in bright green scrubs arrived at the desk to Shorty to the emergency room. She tried to explain she was fine but the guard's scowl returned, directed at the orderly this time and then Shorty knew it was no use trying to resist. She went quietly with the young man, as directed.

Meanwhile, the officer had already taken a statement from the young woman with the shoulder injury. He then explained it was the fourth robbery case this month in that particular park. They have posted a patrolman but it's such a large area, one man is almost useless. He added it may be up to the community to help protect themselves. This particular thug did not match the description of previous assailants. It would be hard to find him. It was a tragic reality but it made sense to anyone listening. Hard times were upon us and people grew more and more desperate. Thieves had taken to robbing in the middle of the day. Even the close proximity to the Police Station did not frighten them. 

Shorty got a couple stitches in her hand and then headed back to her office. She was sure they would never catch the culprit, but wanted to help in any way if she could. She had left her contact information with the investigating officer.

As the day went on Shorty was called to the emergency room, this time a visiting family from the U.S. needed her assistance. Nervous parents with a 16 year old boy were trying to understand the urgency of the situation. After quick introductions, Shorty explained about the test results. She tried to console and inform the parents. Surgery would be needed to remove their sons appendix. The parents of course had questions, the son was sorry for ruining the family vacation. She took care of the admitting paperwork with the parents then tried to console the boy. Shorty chatted about the usual; what are your interests, where do you go to school, have you seen anything cool on your trip?

Shorty discovered the boy was quite a KPOP fan. He especially loved the girl group F(x). He knew it was crazy, but he had hoped he would just magically run into them on the street or in a coffee shop. She said stranger things have happened. In Seoul, you never know who you will run into. The two went on to talk about their music interests. Shorty was also a fan of KPOP so she knew all the latest dish. The boy went on to say that, "Sulli was his favorite but Amber was the coolest." "A girl who can rap and dance, was awesome."

Before too long the patient was rolled into the operating room.  Shorty would stay with the parents until he came out. They couldn't thank her enough for being there to help. The parents could not imagine going through this and not being able to understand or have someone to talk to. On a good day, parents don't want to see anything happen to their children. The stress of being on vacation in a foreign country was hard enough. It was times like this she knew her job was important and she was thankful to be of help.

Shorty left the parents for a little bit as she headed back to her office. She had been in South Korea long enough to know a couple of influential people. She made a few calls and had finally arranged a little surprise for the visiting patient. A very gracious Kpop idol would be stopping by the hospital tomorrow. Sulli and her group were in town and her manager said he would make time tomorrow morning for her to come to the hospital for a quick fan meeting. He only asked one little favor in return.

Shorty's "Idol" surprise would be worth one promise to teach some basic English skills to the managers sister-in-law and her children. That family was planning a trip to the U.S. to visit Disneyland. Shorty loved people and language so it didn't even seem like a sacrifice. Four Saturday's was nothing compared to this awesome surprise for a certain young man who came to Korea in hopes of seeing someone special. It was a win win situation, Shorty was a fan of F(x) and was very excited about meeting miss Sulli herself.

She checked in with the American's one last time before leaving. The surgery went well. The boy was recovering just fine. No complications. She tried in earnest to get the parents to go to to the cafeteria for some food. In the end she ordered something and had it sent to the room. The parents hugged her before she left. They were sure she was an angel sent there just for them. She assured them, it was just her job. She smiled as she said good night and left. Thinking back on the day, it was a little rocky in the middle but it ended very nicely.

It was late when Shorty finally left the building. As she exited the elevator she cold see the guard from this morning was still on duty. He was at least still at the desk, talking to the night shift guard. She passed by saying, "good night and see you tomorrow." The day shift guard stood and looked at her as if he had something to say. He had never really spoke to her other than to say "hello" and "good-bye" so she paused. She noticed he no longer had his usual scowl. She chuckled to her self thinking who is this man and what have you done with Mr. Cranky Bottoms? Just then, he spoke.

Completely unprepared for this, she was shocked. She had never had a conversation with the guard. She had thought about it before. She had always wondered what he would say? What does he do after work? How does he keep that stern expression all day? Then he said, "why aren't you more careful when you go to the park?" She looked at him and said, "what!" Was he seriously mad at her for getting run over by a crazy hoodlum? He seemed unsatisfied with her answer but she no longer felt like talking. She turned to walk away and the guard gently reached for her arm. She turned and looked at him. Something must be wrong, because the expression on his face was one she had never seen before.

He spoke again. He asked if she was alright and before she could replay he said, "I have been very worried." Shorty's anger began to disappear and she could tell Mr. Cranky Bottoms was being sincere. Shorty said, "I am tired, but okay." They exchanged more words of concern, she tried to explain that she would be fine and she needed to get home. He insisted on walking her to the bus stop. She had missed the last train. The bus would be longer, but she needed to process this conversation that had taken her by surprise. They said a final good-bye at the bus stop. She found a seat and starred straight ahead. She was afraid to look at him again tonight.

In the almost three years she had worked at this hospital, he never smiled, never spoke. She even toyed with the idea that the guard couldn't speak beyond the words "hello and "good-bye.". But she had witnessed him on the phone talking, so that couldn't be it. Then she decided he could only speak if it was official business. The thing that really bugged her was the fact that he never smiled. Shorty was always quite happy with the fact she could find at least one thing that happened during the day that she could smile about. She could not go through life any other way. She refused! She also refused to let "this guard " get her down. He had started to show a change and Shorty wouldn't let up on him now.

It was almost an hour long bus ride home. Then several blocks to her apartment. It had turned out to be a very long and somewhat exciting day. She welcomed sleep, and it came quickly. The last thought before she drifted off was, why today of all days did he choose to speak to her? She tried to make a list of reasons in her head but it slowly turned into a shopping list and then she was out.

A gentle chirping of her alarm and Shorty was up again. She was moving a little slower due to the surprise activity yesterday. The harsh reminder as she momentarily forgot about the stitches in her hand. She leaned on that hand to get out of bed and the pain made sure she was fully awake. She thought for a moment about the person on the bike, the other woman and then the guard.

Shorty met the train that would again take her to work. Twenty-four minutes exactly. Just those quick two blocks to the hospital, picking up a coffee on the way. Convinced as usual, today would be a wonderful day, she smiled at everyone she passed. She even smiled at people who didn't look at her. "Who cares if strangers think I'm crazy," she mumbled to herself. She thought about meeting Sulli, and became very excited about her morning. She wore a smile that goes beyond simple happiness. She realizes she may be a little too excited because of the "Idol" that would be showing up to meet the American kid. But this was her moment as well and she wanted to share it with him.

Shorty managed her way through the double doors. It proved to be a little awkward considering her injured hand and the hot coffee she was holding in the other. Considering her injured hand and the hot coffee in the other. She has a sinking feeling she would get worse than her usual scowl this morning, when she makes eye contact with a certain guard.

Actually getting through the doors proved easier than managing her way in the lobby. A large group of people with camera's and equipment were all standing near the guard's desk. In the waiting area she could see a rather large group of school kids, mostly girls. They were all talking or texting on their hand phones. Her surprise wore off quickly when she realized why so many people were at the hospital. Management Companies sometimes leak information on the internet, when an idol star they manage is making a special appearance or doing community service. No doubt all these people were here for Sulli.

Shorty made her way through the crowd. She knew she better prepare the American family for her little "surprise." She tried to spot the guard as she walked through the crowd. As their eyes finally met, she stopped and stared in disbelief. The guard, who should be going crazy with this mob scene, stood quietly watching for her to go by. He was smiling. As if the lobby were completely empty, they stood there smiling at each other. Then the crowd once again stole his attention and Shorty turned toward the elevators. She stood there, waiting for the doors to open. She smiled again to herself thinking this could be another exciting day.