Chapter Text
[1]
Blinding lights, loud thumping bass.
Fleeting scenes of a touch, of a familiar scent.
Sharp eyes, piercing into his. Shivers.
And that was definitely a dream.
It would take Wooseok a lot of alcohol in his system to get really, really drunk. He could stand a few bottles of soju and beer cans, one of his pride to list, whenever he's not performing a hardcore surgery, but his best friend, Jinhyuk would argue that it wasn’t something to be proud of. Wooseok could care the least what Jinhyuk would think, Jinhyuk doesn’t drink alcohol anyway, so his argument is invalid.
But at the moment, Wooseok could definitely agree with Jinhyuk’s sage advice—weird thing to be picturing in his head right now, but he was left with no other thoughts except for one—alcohol is bad for him.
Now, there should be millions of ways to be dealing with this, Wooseok thought, at the same time ignoring the hammering ache in his head, opting to instead, torment his mind for an emergency brainstorming. That was one of his positive point—he’s an analyst and the skill comes in handy even when he wasn’t at his working space. Back to his analysis, from first glance, he knew that he wasn’t in his own room, the lack of the fairy lights Yein got for him was a hint, and so was the overall vibe of this particular room.
Secondly, there was an arm over his bare chest, skin decorated with inks and packing just enough fitness so as to not suffocate him (physically at least, he didn’t need any help with the emotional struggles). He couldn't really see the shapes of the tattoos, due to the dimmed brightness in the room. Wooseok could barely squirm away from the tight hold the stranger (Wooseok had yet to peek at the man beside him) had on him.
Damn, he offered again in his head, he wished that the man would stay a stranger. He didn’t need any more awkwardness this early in the morning.
The man made a soft whine under his breath as Wooseok picked his arm up and tossed it somewhere to his side of the bed. When the man grumbled at his disturbed sleep, Wooseok literally paused in his movement. Like his cat, Siwol, when she was trying to steal some snacks from the kitchen cabinet.
Wooseok was currently sitting on the edge of the stranger’s bed, squinting and trying to search for his boxer—or any form of clothing which is his. When he sensed more movement from the other side of the bed, Wooseok decided—fuck it—and grabbed the closest pair of jeans lying on the floor.
Okay, cool, apparently said jeans was his as Wooseok discovered his phone inside the back pocket. There was something familiar about the room but Wooseok wasn’t going to risk it and take his sweet, sweet time looking around.
He got dressed in less than a minute, all thanks to those years of residency, and took a random hoodie from a pile of clothes strewn by the closed bedroom door, while ignoring the man who could be staring at him right now. He didn’t want to look back at all. Guess that the man had fallen back to sleep or he was simply being polite and let Wooseok sneaked out peacefully.
The coast was clear, as the living room that greeted him seemed bare. Last he’d checked, it was barely five in the morning. Wooseok felt the limp in his stance as he furtively closed the door behind him. He patted the back of the jeans once more, just to check that he had his phone with him.
Fuck, not only his head throbbed all over, but his entire body felt sore.
Wooseok was ready to flee the house—whosever it was—when a sound alarmed him stunned. “Oh, hyung? What are you doing up so ear—?” and the question stopped there as the man realised that the person in front of him wasn’t the owner of the room he emerged from.
When Wooseok looked up and squinted (rip, he lost his glasses somewhere), he saw a man in scrubs looking back at him—supporting the same confused face. After a few seconds passed, the man’s eyes widened, looking back from Wooseok to the room, before glancing back at him.
“Hey, there,” There was an evident smirk in his tone that Wooseok did not appreciate.
Wooseok panicked— “I’m leaving right now, not a word please,” and winced at the way his voice croaked out gracelessly. He didn’t want to think about what might have caused it to be so grouchy. The laughter he heard from the other man was enough of a mocking stance that he didn’t waste a single second to walk out of the house.
When he finally found the exit of the building, it was almost 15 minutes past five. He checked the navigation and was relieved to find that the place where he had ended up for the night was fairly close to his house. Walking would waste his time since he didn’t know the streets very well. So, Wooseok opted to wait for a car service to send him back.
He should shower, no, that would waste his time—no, he should be presentable on his first day—oh well, he’ll skip breakfast then. God, his head was killing him.
[2]
Not exactly how you would like to start your first day at your new working place.
“I thought that we both promised to go together from my place?” Byungchan, his fellow surgeon from their previous hospital, Yulje Medical Centre, whispered to Wooseok who had just sneaked in inside the conference room. In the middle of the room, the Chief of Surgery, a small man with a cold, bored face was currently briefing the new employed doctors.
There were around ten people in the room, including the chief himself. Wooseok hoped that no one had realised his tardy ass. When he looked at the time, the meeting should have just begun.
Their supervisor’s words blended in with the background as Byungchan was distracted with Wooseok’s lack of response, that, and the obvious hickey he was trying to conceal under his coat. Byungchan made a face and Wooseok nudged him hard for it.
“Stop touching me!”
“Someone had a wild night,” His friend raised his brows suggestively.
“You left me in the bar.” Wooseok reminded Byungchan.
“You said you’re going to have more fun,” Byungchan shrugged, leaning down so that he could rest his arm on Wooseok’s shoulder. Wooseok was probably still groggy from the alcohol so he barely had the energy to swat Byungchan’s towering body away from him. The younger man continued, “So I assumed that you were fine with me leaving. I wasn’t trying to get drunk before our big day, you know—ouch—!”
“Anything from the back there?” Dr. Ha’s voice rang inside the room, alerting both doctors who were busy nudging each other’s sides.
“Nothing, sir” Wooseok replied, bearing in mind of his friend who was crouching in pain due to the little pinch Wooseok gifted him with. Before Byungchan’s little whine could be heard by their superior, Wooseok decided to speak on their behalf.
However, since the commotion came from the two of them, people began to stare. And the longer they stared, the louder the whispers get. Wooseok heard it all and Byungchan remained oblivious to their surrounding (poor surgeon was still in pain because Wooseok has steel for nails). Despite the obvious staring and the hushed talks, Wooseok kept his attention solely towards the chief.
The chief didn’t budge, keeping the eye contact with Wooseok. Other people would’ve gotten intimidated by the chief’s stare, but Wooseok hadn’t done anything wrong (despite coming late to the meeting, but what people don’t know won’t kill them).
After a while, the chief shrugged and went back to his clipboard. The room grew silent again as he continued the briefing.
Few strains on their muscles later and after plenty of silent stretching, it was finally ending.
“I guess that’s all then?” Dr. Ha announced to the room. He didn’t want to keep them any longer. “Okay then, go away and save some lives.” He admonished them, “It’s a tough world out there, don’t fight for surgeries. And remember that we’re a teaching hospital.” With a wave, he adjourned the meeting.
“Oh, and you—” Just as the crowd began to disperse, Wooseok joining his friend and the crowd to leave the conference room, “Dr. Kim? Yulje Medical Centre’s Dr. Kim?”
Wooseok’s steps halted and he turned around. “Yes, sir?”
“Kim Wooseok from Yulje Medical Centre, right? I heard great recommendation from your board results last year.”
Ah. Wooseok addressed the chief properly and bowed again, thanking him for his words. He signalled Byungchan to go ahead and despite his friend’s initial reluctance, he was quick to escape when he saw that the chief was the one who kept Wooseok from leaving.
The doctor waited as his superior arranged his notes. Messy scribbles, but they worked well with the crowd earlier. Everyone seemed to like their new boss, probably would start pouncing on him and flap their feathers to get on his good grace.
“So,” Dr. Ha was finally done with his papers. “I heard a lot about you, Dr. Kim.”
Wooseok pursed his lips. “I hope that you only heard the good things, sir.”
The older physician laughed, “It’s fine, you don’t have to address me by ‘sir’, okay. It makes me feel old.” Wooseok gave an awkward smile while the chief continued, “Anyway, don’t worry, I only care about the good stuff. Like how Yulje’s one of the top teaching hospitals and they offer great fellowship programs. And yet, here you are.”
Wooseok expected this. And he was prepared with an answer, “I just want to explore more in a different environment, sir, I mean, chief. Although Yulje’s great, but Gyeol Hospital is one of the bests. I believe that I can achieve something here.”
Gyeol was hiring new doctors since some of their own employees had moved elsewhere after the board examination last fall. It didn’t mean that the hospital was losing its value, no, it naturally meant that the hospital’s a good teaching practice where almost everyone excels in it. Moving from Yulje to Gyeol wasn’t hard for Wooseok. It wasn’t like he had any attachment to the private practice anyway, aside from Byungchan. And even the fifth-year resident had applied here as well.
“Hmm,” The older man nodded his head, “And I believe that you’re here to pursue a fellowship in cardiothoracic?” From Wooseok’s vision, he could see his own profile that the chief was holding. Wooseok had had a hard time choosing his specialty in his fifth year and after an online wheel of choice, he had chosen cardiothoracic surgery. “From your files, I can see that you’re quite ambitious.”
“I—”
Dr. Ha interrupted him before Wooseok could explain himself. “You rotated a lot, between neuro and cardio. I notice that you have recommendation letters from not only those two, but also from the GS department and also EM.”
Wooseok smiled a bit, “I might have been an overachiever.”
“An all-rounder,” Dr. Ha rephrased.
Impressive—and Wooseok himself was aware of his skills. Passed his board with flying colours, application supported by respective members of several departments from a prestigious private practice. “And you chose to come here instead of achieving more in Yulje? I heard that their Neuro and Cardio specialists are great surgeons. You can learn more from them.”
Wooseok just smiled, foregoing a response since he didn’t know what to say. So, he settled for a short, “I like cardio.” Dr. Ha smiled even wider at his response while Wooseok cringed at his sudden confession. Not that the chief was asking him in the first place. Maybe Wooseok was a bit intimidated by this guy.
“Well, lucky you, our department has some pretty hardcore cardiologists. Think you can keep up with that?”
“I’m all about the hardcore life, sir.”
“No, not sir,”
“I mean, chief.”
Dr. Ha nodded his head. “You calling me sir makes me feel like I’m in the military. I don’t like it.”
‘O-kay? Thank you for the information?’ Wooseok thought but he answered, “Yes, chief.”
“Wooseok,” He called again, “You might specialise in cardiothoracic, but I’d like you to check out the Neuro department as well. You don’t mind if I borrow your service once in a while, right?” Surprise, an understatement, he never thought that the doctor would ask him that. Looking at Wooseok’s response, the chief explained, “We’re lacking in neuro attendings, so we sometimes call someone from a private practice, like Yulje, or other hospitals for a consult. It wasn’t convenient and I want to change that.”
Wooseok wasn’t sure if he was up for another temptation from Neuro but he couldn’t say no to the chief. Not at the moment, anyway. It was flattering that the hospital might find him desirable in another department but Wooseok had decided on cardiothoracic.
“Just think about it, but in any point, I will appreciate your service in any department. You can tell me your thoughts by the end of your first shift?”
[3]
When Wooseok finally emerged from the conference room, he noticed that everyone had long dispersed into their respective department. Even Byungchan, but understandable, since he probably needed to prepare for his shift. Wooseok had to be ready for his pre-rounds as well, considering that he had just transferred here. Learning the patients’ history, checking their conditions pre- and post-ops—god, he really regretted the decision to go to the bar with Byungchan last night.
He could’ve spent the wasted time to reach the hospital earlier and did all of these.
A sigh—not like he could turn back time. His body was still sore and he was aware that he couldn’t completely hide certain marks on his neck. Fucking vampire—he tried to pull his collar higher, suddenly feeling self-conscious—but it was great while it lasted. Although he wasn’t able to remember some details, like who he’d followed back home and spent the night with, but Wooseok knew that it was awesome.
Getting side-tracked, no! He pulled himself together. He needed to be ready for his work.
But first, he had to navigate through the unfamiliar corridors and floors of the new hospital.
There were nurses and other doctors walking around. Gyeol’s pretty big so the whole floor was bustling with life and activity. The conference room where they held the meeting was somewhere in the middle of the hospital. Wooseok wanted to take his time and figure it out himself but he had to get to the Cardiothoracic Department as fast as he could.
As Wooseok was squinting to read the map next to the elevator (although he had Lasik surgery, it was still a habit of him to squint), someone appeared by his side. Probably another lost doctor, Wooseok supposed as he scooted to his left to give the stranger a proper look at the sign.
“Where are you heading to?” The person asked, probably decided to help after seeing Wooseok’s clueless face.
“I’m going to the Cardiothoracic department,” He answered. Wooseok pulled out his hand and traced the print with his finger to read the floor. Ah, here, he found it! Before Wooseok could press the button for the elevator, the door was already opening.
“Cardio’s at level 3.” The person said, “And neuro is on the same floor too.”
“Oh,” He finally looked at the person who stood next to him, “Thank you?”
The person, scratch that, a doctor, to be more specific, an attending doctor (assuming from his darker scrubs which was similar to the chief, Dr. Ha) with a very appreciated handsome feature and amazing height. Wooseok had to crane his neck to look at the doctor’s face properly. It wasn’t a secret that Wooseok was admiring his view, and taking his time to do so.
“Aren’t you getting in?” The doctor asked.
“Ah,” Wooseok was back to his senses. He quickly entered the vacant elevator and waited for the door to close. Wait—Wooseok pushed the open button, holding the door out for the person to step in as well. “What about you?”
The doctor simply shook his head while smiling—and Holy shit—his smile seemed to brighten up the whole space. “You go ahead, Dr. Kim.” Wooseok looked at him in surprise and in return, the doctor pointed at his badge with the coffee he was holding. In the next second, the door began to close, causing Wooseok to miss the chance to peek at the other doctor’s badge.
Oh well, Wooseok thought, there’d be plenty of opportunities for him to see the other doctor around. But hold up, he took a moment, why did the doctor tell him about the neuro department when Wooseok had told him that he was heading to another department? Maybe he was just stating the facts, Wooseok thought, since he had just learned about the offer from the chief. Looking at his scrubs, maybe the attendings have meetings about the new intake of doctors.
With a ding, Wooseok finally arrived at the third floor. Panels and signs lead him towards the Cardiothoracic department where a poster of a heart anatomy greeted him. That was a nice touch and it brought a small smile to his face. He made his choice a year ago and he didn’t feel like reconsidering it even after the chief had suggested him to.
Barring any hesitance, he pressed his freshly acquired badge into the scanner and was granted access to enter. He went straight to the reception area and greeted the working nurse. “Hello, I’m Dr. Kim Wooseok. I just got transferred here today.”
“Oh, the new doctor.” The nurse beamed, “Hm, but the other doctors are still at the lounge just now. You didn’t join them?” Right, socialising. Wooseok shook his head, that wasn’t his common scene and he didn’t care to start doing it after getting transferred to a new place.
“I want to check on my assigned patients first.” He told her. If he studies their charts while walking over to their beds, it would still be possible for him to finish before rounds with the attending-in-charge. Yes, he still had time. “Is it possible?”
She seemed surprised at his words. Wooseok scanned her tag briefly and smiled. He didn’t want her to think that he was urging her to move faster, even if it was the case. Nurse Lee nodded her head albeit the not-so-subtle hostility from the new doctor. “Yes, it’s possible. Let me get your charts first.”
“Thank you.”
As she left her post to gather Wooseok’s assigned cases, the doctor took the time to watch the reception area of the department, looking at the Cardiothoracic surgeons posted on the board, hoping that someday, his name would be there as well. He also watched the nurses worked. After all, they’d be the ones who meet majority of the patients on daily basis so they probably had their own judgment and know-hows.
The reception area then stretched to the small waiting lounge, a corridor leading to the patient wards, and another corridor for consultation rooms. Wooseok would be meeting his outpatients there, he supposed. New start is just as exciting as it is nerve-wrecking.
“Here you go, doctor,” She handed him his charts and Wooseok thanked her right away before leaving the post.
“Is that the new doctor?” A doctor came, as she handed a report to the nurse to document in their system. Nurse Lee took the file and sat down, smiling at Dr. So’s presence. It is always bright and sunny whenever she visits and does consultation in the Cardiothoracic department.
“Yeah,” Nurse Lee answered as she typed in Dr. So’s report. “A bit light and haste on his steps though,” She considered the way Wooseok was acting. “Like a cat,” She added as an afterthought. “Professional, I would say. And he’s getting ahead of his colleagues.” She pointed at the cupcake Dr. So was holding. She probably joined in the welcoming celebration for a little while in the lounge before coming up here.
“Hm, and he’s handsome.” Dr. So nodded, nodding as she double-checked the nurse’s work. “I think that’s all. I’ll head back to the ER after this.”
Before she could leave, the nurse agreed to her earlier statement, “Yeah, he is. He has pretty eyes too.” And they both giggled.
“Now why are you two in such a good mood?” Someone came towards the counter and propped their arms to support their body. The two ladies looked at each other before smiling knowingly at Yohan, the third-year cardio resident. Yohan didn’t wait for a response before tilting his head to the side and asked, “Juyeon noona, up for a lunch together?”
“Your treat?”
“Hangyul’s having a good day and he said he has some tea for us, so he’s inviting us to go for the premium buffet.”
“Ugh,” She groaned, making her short hair tickling half her face, “I hate the cafeteria buffet.”
“It’s his treat,” Yohan shrugged as he walked her out of the department.
“It’s the hospital’s treat,” She clarified. Before she moved out of the entrance door, she noticed the new doctor getting himself busy with his charts and patients. There were already two interns trailing behind him. Interesting. “Good luck, Kim Yohan.”
“What do you mean by that, noona?”
She simply ignored him and patted his back, “Okay, get back to work. I’ll meet you down there with Hangyul.”
“Hey, what do you mean—and she’s out.” Oh well, Yohan shrugged, better tell Hangyul to sneak out earlier from the Paediatrics Department since the kids love to hog his attention. This way, they could get the best spot in the cafeteria. “Anyway, where are all the interns?”
[4]
“Why are you smiling like that?” Someone asked as Han Seungwoo entered through the door. The doctor looked up from his now cold coffee and scoffed lightly at the sight of his friend in the attending’s lounge. He put the coffee on the table.
“What are you doing here, Dr. Cho?” Seungwoo asked, trying to be mindful of the other senior attendings. They weren’t normally this petty but Cho Seungyoun was taking up the whole space with his long limbs. And not to mention when the nurses would crowd the place because they enjoy seeing his face (“But you contribute to the same thing,” Seungyoun would argue). He was draped over the couch, face turned to side as he eyed his older friend who’d been smiling even when his nagging mode was activated.
“Tried to warn him off, he doesn’t care,” Sungwoon interrupted from where he was sitting.
“You don’t belong here too.” Seungwoo reminded him.
“I’m the chief, I can be anywhere I want.” And when Doctor Moon from General Surgeon grunted from where he was sitting, Sungwoon winced and apologised. Being a young chief meant that he’d surpassed all of his senior doctors and not all were pleased with that fact. Doctor Moon went back to his newspaper.
“Well, scoot over,” Seungwoo said as he plopped down between his two friends. Seungyoun’s a fellow so his position is somehow vague but Sungwoon has his own room, a better and bigger office. And whenever he tells him that, Sungwoon would reply with ‘I get lonely alone’ and Seungwoo wouldn’t have the heart to tell him off. Not that it was necessary anyway.
“We’re talking about you,” Seungyoun reminded them of his little remark. “You’re smiling like a Snoopy. Did you get a good case?”
“I met a potential Neurosurgeon. Does that count as a good case?”
“Ah,” Sungwoon beamed, “So, you met Dr. Kim from Yulje.” He nodded and folded his arms proudly as he leaned back against the couch. He knew he made a good choice accepting the doctor’s application even when Yulje themselves were reluctant to approve the younger doctor’s transfer. But what happened behind administrative door should remain closed so Sungwoon didn’t mention such thing to Wooseok when he met him earlier this morning.
“I thought the new fellow is in Cardiothoracic?” Seungyoun piped up. “Yohan was making a fuss in the cafeteria because of the new doctor. They say the new fellow’s a hardcore.”
“All cardio surgeons are hardcore. They’re very competitive,” Sungwoon noted. And he loves seeing their competitiveness evolve into productiveness. Unlike a certain department which fell a bit behind because they’re short of specialists. Sungwoon patted Seungwoo’s shoulder. A lot of interns shy away from being rotated into their service too.
“It’s amazing how fast the rumours go around here,” Seungwoo made an observation. “Amazing and creepy.”
“You didn’t know because you were in surgery. The resident’s lounge was already buzzing up from the news of his arrival.” Sungwoon mentioned. And when both Seungwoo and Seungyoun stared at him, he just shrugged, “I just met some of them in the elevator and I heard them talking. They weren’t being discreet about it.”
“They probably didn’t see you.” Seungyoun remarked, a little tease underlying in his tone.
“Anyway,” Sungwoon shut his friend up with a kimbap. It hit Seungyoun’s cheek before hitting the table with a plop. Seungyoun quickly took the piece and put it in his mouth, ignoring Seungwoo’s and Seungyoun’s stare, “You are a doctor for god’s sake. Anyway, did you see your Neuro kid in action? He asked for Cardio but I’ve seen his past records. Not that he’s not fit for the department, it’s just that he’s very good in Neuro too and we’re very short of staff in your department. I asked him to think about it more before signing his contract.”
“They got a TA case with a blunt hit to the chest. ER called both Neuro and Cardio to consult on the patient. His diagnose was pretty much accurate for both examinations. They sent him up to CT to check for any bleeding and they called me in to look at the scan. Thanks to his help, they could get him to surgery in no time. Yohan scrubbed in.” Seungwoo explained.
“Ah, no wonder.” Seungyoun laughed. Yohan didn’t come from a family of medical practitioners so he gets kinda insecure about his background. He makes up for this with his raw talent though. Seeing how fired up he was at lunch, it probably meant that the doctor was good, “What about Trauma though? Do you think he’s good at it?”
“He’s amazing,” Sungwoon told him, further surprising and impressing Seungwoo and Seungyoun. “He’s pretty much a genius. It’s good to have him anywhere. If he comes over to your department, he could give you a run for your Head of Trauma Surgeon.”
“Oh, I doubt that,” Seungyoun scoffed, “No one holds the fort like I do.” But when he thought about it, “Well, maybe you can, chief, with all your experience.” Sungwoon gave him a salute back, happy with the acknowledgement. “Maybe we can have a healthy competi—”
“No competition in my hospital—”
“Um chief, someone’s here to see you.”
When the three friends looked up, they noticed Wooseok at the door. Everyone had different reactions, curious, calm, and surprised. Sungwoon was the first to speak up, “Yes, Dr. Kim. How was your day so far?” Sungwoon had given him until his first shift, and it was just the first night. Wooseok probably needed to see him for something else. Maybe it was time he retired back to his own office.
“Yes, I want to tell you my decision. I’m staying in Cardiothoracic.” There goes Seungwoo’s hopes and dreams.
“It’s a shame if we have to lose another potential Neurosurgery attending.” Seungwoo said, currently alarmed but he had to keep his cool, “Are you sure about this? We could really use your service. You were great in the OR today. And the pay check—”
As Wooseok tried to block out the temptation that the neurologist and their chief had to offer, he finally noticed the third person on the couch, also starring back at him, mirroring his surprise. It must’ve shown on his face because the other person, also mildly surprised, now bared a mischievous grin.
“I didn’t know that you’re working here now,” was Seungyoun’s first words to him.
Be the bigger person, be the bigger person, Wooseok chanted in his head. He didn’t need to get worked up about this. “I just started today,” He answered.
Seungwoo and Sungwoon finally stopped talking and looked at the trauma surgeon. Seungyoun was seen giving Wooseok a look over. Wooseok narrowed his eyes and fixed his badge as a reflex. “Wait, you know him?” Seungwoo asked, noticing the prior surprise on Wooseok’s face had turned back into an emotionless expression.
“We had some… history.” Seungyoun elaborated.
Wooseok couldn’t hide his irritation, and the little scoff he’d let out. Seungwoo was surprised when he saw how deep Wooseok’s eyes had rolled when he heard Seungyoun’s words. Well, this is very interesting.
A lightbulb went off inside Sungwoon’s head, “Right, you two go to the same university. I saw it in both your files.” Plenty of their doctors go to the university so Sungwoon didn’t really think much of it. “It’s nice that you have acquantainces here, Dr. Kim,” He said to the younger doctor, “Makes easing into the job much convenient.”
‘I don’t ease into the job; I rock them immediately.’ Wooseok wanted to say but he swallowed his little comment.
“Anyway, sir,” He pointedly ignored Seungyoun’s gaze and stared back at their chief, “Like what I said earlier, I am staying in Cardiothoracic. I came here with that in mind and I don’t wish to change my plan just because of that offer. I’m sorry, but I hope that you respect my decision.”
“Oh, well,” Sungwoon finally sighed, “I tried, Dr. Han, sorry I couldn’t recruit you a new neurosurgeon.”
Before Seungwoo could process his thoughts, Wooseok excused himself out with a bow and a reminder to keep the details to his contract as it was. And before any of the attendings could say anything else, Seungyoun got up and announced his leave as well.
“It’s a good day to save lives.” He announced loudly as he made a light run to catch to Wooseok’s pace.
Doctor Moon grunted while fixing his newspapers. After a while, he threw a comment, “Your fellows have some nerves there, Chief Ha. Do you think you can handle them?” With a smirk, he pulled his newspapers to cover his face, blocking any excuses from the young leader.
.
.
.
Epilogue:
“Are you two still like that?” Byungchan asked over a cold sandwich. They had logged in their services for the past hours, punched their cards, and were now huddled in front of their lockers with their pathetic excuse of a dinner waiting to be eaten.
“Like what?” Wooseok assumed Byungchan was talking about him and Seungyoun. He had just ranted about Seungyoun anyway for the period of their struggles to change out of their work attire.
“You know, that?” Byungchan laughed, his tired eyes still looked lively. Wooseok threw him a tissue because he was too adorable to look at. Byungchan continued calmly despite the tissue had already been used. “You two were very famous in medical school. Whenever you made eye contact—”
“Who will answer?”
Two hands rocketed up in the sky, one a bit nonchalant yet still determined while the other seemed antsy when he wasn’t called right away. Wooseok looked at Seungyoun in distaste and then proceeded to raise both his hands eagerly. He couldn’t let Seungyoun get the extra points when he was already excelling in their practical exams.
“You two again? Is there anyone else?”
“Who’ll go to the conference?”
Again, the two rivalling students with their hands straight up. Wooseok grunted while Seungyoun sighed. He really needed to go to this once in a lifetime conference. Although it was located at god-knows-where hotel, it would totally be worth it. This was going to be his fort and he couldn’t let Kim Wooseok distract him from this.
“I will go.” Seungyoun said confidently. “I have a car and it’ll be easy for me to reach there.”
“I have watched the previous conferences—”
“Which means that he doesn’t need this one. Sit it out, Kim.”
Flashes of memories replayed in Wooseok’s mind. Many more resurfaced that he couldn’t describe in details. Those long hours of desperation, endless banters and arguments. It felt so long ago and yet he couldn’t pretend that he didn’t recognise Cho Seungyoun.
“Should we head to the bar?”
“I will not relive my first day here, Byungchan. Let’s just go home. I miss my babies.”