Up Against...
[Requested]
Kim Namjoon x Female Reader (POC)
Fluff/Angst
2/4 Part Series
[Backstory][Miss Woo POV][Year:2004]
[Medical Camp Based in Mali]
âMiss Woo, if you are done checking patients on this side of the tent, there are children on the far side that have just arrived, please see to it that they are seen and if they need any water or other facilities.â Mr. Choi authorised
âYes sir, Iâll get right to themâ I replied, in a rushed manner.
I quickly finished taking the temperature of the child I was checking, while reassuring the mothers that another nurse will be round to give the food supplements to them. Handing a small teddy bear to the child, I head over to the far side of the medical tent.
The sounds of children screaming in pain, mothers weeping for help, cries of families who have lost their children due to the severity of the disease they had. Its been a very long and distressing six months, both mentally and physically. Witnessing so much pain, it is hard to watch on television alone, to be in the midst of it, is an overwhelming experience.
I've got 3 weeks left until I get sent back to South Korea. Due to the fact that this job is very heart wrenching for a low experienced nurse like myself, my medical training only allowed me 6 months maximum at a time to ensure I was exposed to the environment but not for a long time that it would have a negative impact on me mentally. With that being said, I am enjoying the work Iâm doing but in this field, Iâm not sure my heart can take this much pain.
Weaving through hospital beds, swerving families, and curving fellow nurses, I make it the newly arrived families, rushing my greeting to them, I begin to examine each child, providing food supplies for them and their families, as well as nutrition supplements for the time being.
I finally get to the last family that had arrived, again I greeted them and proceeded to take the temperature of the child.
âSheâs smiling at you.â the mother spoke. I look at the mother then back at the child. I had trained myself to focus on the job, I had forgotten what it was like to look at my patients and physically see them. This child was not like the other children I had checked. She was not crying, nor whining. She seems almost curious about her surroundings. She was in pain it was evident, she was uncomfortable. She looked at me, her smile weak but still there. The few muscles she had left in her face working their best to perform with grace.
I looked over her body, she was small, muscles deteriorating slowly, bones on full display. My heart sunk at the sight of her. Her stomach vastly bigger than the rest of her, due to the gas built-up from her not being able to eat. Her hand opened wide as she reaches towards me.
She tapped me. Only a few times on the wrist while I was feeding her.
I look at her eyes. They are wide, almost resembling a fascination with something.
[cÉɲi - means pretty/beautiful in Bambara, the native language in Mali.]
âcÉɲiâ she spoke faintly, her chest heaving as she strained the energy she had to speak again
âcÉɲiâ she spoke again, a little louder. exhaustion flooded her body as she laid there motionless.
âShe said pretty, she thinks youâre, pretty,â her mother said chuckling lightly, as tears ran down her face. She caressed her child's head, softly brushing the hair on little girl's head with her hand. âI want the best for my daughter, even if that means having to give her to someone who can give her the best future she can have.â
I look at the mother, her eyes scintillated with a glint of a plea.
In her eyes, she was screaming. She was screaming so loud and with so much pain. She was broken. I have seen mothers cry for their children, for their children to get better. I have seen mothers beg for the lives of their children to be saved or to be spared. However, all those cries were verbal. This mother, her cry was silent, and yet it was the loudest cry I have heard.
My eyes start to water as she stares back at me. It was painful to look at her, I wanted to tell her that her daughter will be ok. But tomorrow is never promised for the children that come into this tent. She reached for my hand, holding it tightly. The tips of her fingers damped from wiping her tears.
âPlease save my daughter.â she pleaded lowly, her hands shaking.
âPlease take my daughter and save herâ she bowed her head into my our hands âPleaseâ she spoke, weeping faintly
I rub my thumb along the back of her hands, looking back at the daughter. She was sound asleep, mouth open slightly as faint snores escape.
âI will do my best to save herâ I state, gathering all the courage I could. the mother raised her head, I could tell she believed that I would do my best to save her, but she could also tell how low in confidence I was.
She let go of my hands and held her daughter, one hand on her head, the other holding her hand. I stood up, placing water on the side table of the bed and walked towards the quit of the tent, and head towards the main headquarters of the base.
âMr. Choi, sir, sorry to disturb but I would like to take my breakâ I expressed, trying to hide the pain in my voice.
âYou have worked hard today, please, take your break and grab something to eatâ He stated while gesturing me to go forward. I nod and walk towards the staff sleeping tent.
Passing the curtains of the sleeping tent, I lie on my bed and exhale. I stare at the ceiling, the sounds of footsteps and rushed conversation flood my surroundings, yet my hearing was deafened by the words of the mother.
âPlease take my daughter and save herâ
âPleaseâ
I sit up on my bed, arms resting on my thighs as I contemplate whether, I am confident in the decision I have come up with.
âMiss Clare, can I ask you a question?â I semi-yell as she walks passed hastily. whipping her head to my directly, she walks back slowly.
âYes, Miss Woo. How can I help you?â she said smiling, attempting to hide the stress in her features.
âAs nurses, are we able to adopt children from the camp?â I ask, fiddling with my fingers. She tilted her head at me slightly, she could read my features, it was clear I was being affected by my surrounding and it was burning me. She sighed.
âyou can adopt but you have to ask the family of the child whether it is ok, and have them sign the papers for you to adopt them. You can find the papers in Mr Choiâs office, just ask him and he will give them to you. Once the child is adopted by you, they will be your main priority until your leaving date, to which they will fly home with you.â She reassured. âMiss Woo, be wise about this, you can only adopt one child.â she stated sternly.













