From 6 AM
to 10 PM
we followed his day
No camera, just one notepad.
We shadowed the day of PanSol partner Mr. Kim.
When we proposed the report, he laughed briefly. "What is there to see about me? I'm just a guy who fixes pipes."
That made me want to follow him more. What the day of "just a guy who fixes pipes" is like.
The alarm was set for 5:50. But he was already awake.
He made a coffee in the kitchen and opened his phone. The PanSol app. He checks the 3 dispatches assigned today. Address, symptom, customer note. Reading each, he prepares in his head.
His eyes stopped on the third job today. Hongeun-dong, Seodaemun-gu. Age 78. Boiler won't ignite. The note field was just one line.
"It's been five days. It's very cold."
The old 1-ton truck bed holds two tool bags, a bundle of pipes, and a box of boiler parts. The truck seat's sponge has sunk from long use, and a small notebook is tucked in the dashboard.
"What do you write in the notebook?"
First home — 9:30 AM, Naengcheon-dong, Seodaemun-gu
A newlywed couple. A home they moved into last year, water leaking from the pipe under the bathroom sink. The husband had already left for work, and the wife opened the door alone, holding her baby.
"Oh, you came quickly. It's the baby's nap time, could I ask you to be quiet?"
Before entering, he set his shoes neatly. He worked with the tool bag on his own knee, not the floor. So as not to leave a single scratch on the floor.
It was a leak from a loosened connection nut. Finished in 28 minutes. Before leaving, he wiped the moisture in the cabinet under the sink with a dry towel. Though no one asked.
Second home — 1 PM, Bulgwang-dong, Eunpyeong-gu
Lunch was two convenience-store rice balls in the car. When I asked "You have no time to eat?" he said this.
The second home was a studio where a breadwinner in his 50s lives alone. He said the hot water came and went repeatedly. It was a faulty boiler hot-water valve.
When the work was done, the customer asked, "How much?" The partner showed the app screen. Exactly the quote shown in advance. The customer looked at the screen for a moment and said,
Instead of answering, the partner quietly smiled.
Third home — 3:20 PM, Hongeun-dong, Seodaemun-gu
Driving the truck, he recalled again the note he'd read that morning.
"It's been five days. It's very cold."
It was January. The temperature was -9°C.
It was an old row house. The stairs had no handrail. Holding the tool bag in one hand, he went up bracing against the wall. He stood before the door of #201 and pressed the bell.
After a long while, the door opened.
It was an elderly woman. She was wearing a thick winter coat. Indoors. She held both hands tightly clasped.
He stepped into the home. He could see his breath. It was cold enough to see it.
The boiler room was on the veranda side. The partner opened the lid and pressed the ignition button. Click. Click. Click. No flame came.
The ignition plug had gone out. An old model — he checked if the part existed. Luckily the truck carried the same-spec part.
Replacing it took 25 minutes. There was the sound of the boiler turning on.
Vrrrrrm.
The home began to breathe.
The grandmother said nothing.
She just stood there. Then she slowly walked toward the radiator and put her hand on it. It was still cold. She stood like that for about 5 minutes.
And slowly the warmth rose.
The grandmother's hand stayed on the radiator. Like touching again something she hadn't been able to touch for a long time.
"It's warm."
Ms. Lee Sun (78) — putting her hand on the radiatorThat was all. Just two words. But hearing them, the partner turned his back for a moment. On the excuse that his eyes weren't good.
After the work, the grandmother brought out coffee
The grandmother went into the kitchen. A moment later she came out with two cups of instant coffee.
The two sat facing each other. A single calendar page was stuck on the table. A few date squares were circled. She said they were hospital days.
"Do you live alone?" he asked.
The talk paused for a moment. The grandmother looked out the window.
The partner set down his coffee cup for a moment.
"If this happens again next time, call right away. I cover this neighborhood. It doesn't take long. You mustn't endure it alone."
The grandmother looked at the partner for a moment. Then she said this.
"You're like my son."
That was the word the partner remembered longest that day.
7:30 PM, in the truck heading home
The radio was on. A weather forecast played. Tomorrow morning's temperature would be -12°C.
When the partner stopped at a signal, his phone buzzed. A KakaoTalk alert. An unsaved number.
After sending the message, the partner didn't put the phone down for a while.
Outside the window, street lamps began to light. The windows somewhere in Seoul lit up one by one. People were coming home. To warm homes.
Only then did he grip the wheel tightly. Just for a moment.
Today's record
As the report ended, we asked a final question
Before going home, in the truck, we asked one last thing.
He thought for a moment.
He didn't go to fix pipes.
He went so someone's home
could become a home again.
Words customers left
He gets up at 6 AM today too.
He makes a coffee and checks which homes he's going to today.
Because somewhere, someone is
cold, or leaking, or waiting.
That's his reason.
A pro like partner Kim
is near you right now
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