It was a cool summer night, near a rice paddy ridge on the outskirts of Gyeonggi-do, where the sounds of crickets echoed like an orchestra.
Here, a very peculiar and romantic(?) encounter was taking place. It was the first blind date between Mr. Dung Beetle and Miss Mosquito.
For this day, the Dung Beetle had meticulously cleaned his body since morning and appeared showing off his shiniest shell.
Miss Mosquito also arrived at the meeting place, sharpening her stinger(?) to be sharper and more sophisticated than usual and fluttering her delicate wings.
A strange tension and excitement intersected between the two.
Although they belonged to different species, the common denominator of being 'youths living life to the fullest' was what connected them.
It was the gentlemanly Mr. Dung Beetle who broke the awkward silence first.
The Dung Beetle asked cautiously.
In fact, he was already captivated by her slender figure and intellectual aura. Miss Mogi bowed her head slightly shyly and answered in a quiet yet confident voice. "Ah, I work in the healthcare field. You could say I'm a kind of 'Nightingale.' I give people injections directly. It stings a little, but everyone rolls up their sleeves and welcomes(?) me when they see me." At her words, the dung beetle's eyes widened. 'A nurse who gives injections! Such a dedicated and professional woman!' Overwhelmed with emotion, he instinctively grabbed Miss Mogi's slender foot. "What a twist of fate! Mr. Mogi, it seems we are truly soulmates. Actually, I work in the medical field as well. I walk the path of 'traditional Korean medicine.' I am a pharmacist who gathers carefully selected ingredients and molds them into round pills with great care. Manufacturing the most nutritious medicines in the world is my life's calling!" Miss Mogi also looked at him with a moved gaze. She inwardly cheered, thinking, "A doctor of Korean medicine who even prepares medicine himself—what a reliable prospective husband!"
Thus, the two insects, captivated by each other's 'professional' titles, continued their conversation, oblivious to the deepening night.
Their conversation suggests a bittersweet reality to us.
In fact, strictly speaking, one is a 'vampire' sucking blood, and the other is merely a 'cleaner' rolling excrement.
However, they did not belittle their own lives.
On the contrary, they substituted the essential actions of their professions with the fancy words 'injection' and 'compounding.'
This is not mere bravado. It is the core of 'personal branding' and also a matter of our attitude toward life.
We sometimes tend to dismiss our own work as 'just so-so.'However, from the perspective of a dung beetle, he is an 'eco-friendly energy upcycler' who helps the cycle of nature.
From the perspective of a mosquito, she might be an 'expert in ecosystem population control and blood flow stimulation.'
(Of course, from the perspective of a human bitten by a mosquito, this is completely unempathetic!)
Just as there is a Korean proverb that says 'a single word can repay a thousand nyang debt,'
these two protagonists have effectively raised the 'level of their lives' with just a single word.
While a pleasant conversation was continuing, a cow suddenly mooed from a nearby barn.
Along with that sound, the scent of freshly produced(?) warm 'ingredients' filled the air.
The dung beetle's nose twitched instinctively.
"Ah, I'm sorry, Mr. Mosquito! It seems there is an urgent 'emergency patient.'
I'll go get some medicinal herbs for a moment!
The dung beetle threw off his suit jacket, ran toward the cow dung at the speed of light, and began rolling it with his hind legs.
Miss Mosquito, seeing this, was flustered, but soon realized that she, too, was getting hungry.
Just then, she spotted the forearm of a farmer who had been watching the date nearby.
"Oh my, I just got a call for 'night duty' too! I'll go give him an injection!
The two insects scattered to fulfill their respective 'main duties.' One was rolling dung, and the other was on the verge of getting slapped. They appeared to be a glamorous professional couple on the outside, but ultimately, their instincts could not be hidden. Even though the romance the dung beetle and the mosquito dreamed of that night returned to a reality stained with 'dung' and 'blood,' for that very moment, they were a doctor and a nurse who had everything anyone could envy.
