Work Text:
BOO YONG JOO
The idea of being a mediator in a fight between the three schoolboys that he somehow got involved in was something that Kim Sabu would never consider a blessing in disguise. From what it looks from the outside looking in, it was nothing but a nuisance.
That night in the police station was not any like other nights he's used to have, being a recluse for the longest time since his dismissal from Geosan University Hospital, he didn't think that there, he would find a new home in Doldam. But for the past few months it looks like he did, and what's even more ironic is that it had to happen in an unexpected way and on that unexpected day.
It was as if fate had brought his feet down to that station. Normally fistfights would never interest him but the sight of a boy being extorted and bullied by punks is something that he would never turn a blind eye to.
As the day dwindled down into the night, it was evident in his actions and speech that his temperament was getting the best of him.
Then it all changed when the man in the prison cell cried for help. His fellow detainee was barely breathing and they discovered that he was drenched in his own blood.
Acting on his impulse and by nature, without giving it a second thought, he jumped in immediately to help out in the best way he knew how. The moment he learned that the patient was on the verge of losing his life by shedding an enormous amount of blood, he asked for help.
In his desperate attempt to save a life, one person heeded his call.
She rose quickly to her feet the second she realized that her assistance was badly needed. Like him, it seems as though her sense of urgency and the awareness of her ethical responsibility is something that she takes seriously.
The way she moved in response to his needs impressed him. Her ability to work alongside his required speed got him intrigued. She even pointed out to him that the detainee would be in excessive danger if he was not repaired soon. He would have felt offended too when she suggested that he could do the surgery if he was capable. But then again, what's the point? It's not as if she knew that she was talking to someone who's branded to have the "hands of God."
"What's your name?" He asked the woman kneeling opposite him.
"I am Oh Myung-Sim, a nurse." She shyly replied. Then curiously added, "Who are you?"
"I am Kim Sabu, a doctor." He extended his blood-covered hand for her to reach.
"Aah...Sabu? Okay." Nurse Oh Myung-Sim chuckled.
When he saw her smile, there suddenly was an inexplicable feeling that grew in his heart. He had never seen this woman before or knew her name five seconds ago but a shock after exquisite shock ran through his veins when their hands touched.
Just who on earth was she? He was so interested to know. He knew better than to let himself be distracted from his current task at hand. But the grin that spanned across his face took its sweet time before it left him.
OH MYUNG-SIM
She fell for him the moment he smiled at her. She fell for that smile but tried to keep it in. As difficult as it was to admit to herself, it was love at first sight. She had always found it laughable whenever she heard that cringey line from films and TV shows she follows religiously. She was a firm believer that such a thing could never exist.
They met a couple more times after that incident, seeing that they're both in a medically inclined occupation, running into each other as often is only natural.
But God help Oh Myung-Sim when her heart started to beat ten times its normal pace when he called her again to assist him to operate on a patient at the Doldam Hospital.
It was her rest day from work, and while it's not uncommon for the hospital to request for her when an emergency ensues, she was always happy to oblige and to learn whenever they needed an extra set of hands.
The person on the other line, however familiar, was the last person she expected to receive a phone call from this late at night.
It has been a while since they last interacted with one another. How long was it? A few months ago? Maybe even close to a year? But just like what the famous saying proved, 'out of sight; out of mind.' She hasn't thought of him in a while, but after that call her heart started thumping against her chest again. The thought of him sent a shiver down her spine, excited to see even a glimpse of him smile again.
"Thank you, Sussaem." Kim Sabu whispered, pushing the door as they scrubbed out of the operating room.
"Don't mention it, it was a learning experience," she said while taking her hair net off and tucking a couple of strands behind her ears.
"What are you doing after this?"
Admittedly, she was taken aback by his inquiry but she fought hard to let it show.
"N-nothing I guess," she wanted to scold herself as soon as she realized how sad her answer was. Was accepting that she's going to be a spinster all her life has really become her personality? But she couldn't find any reason to lie to him. She was just going to catch up on watching shows she recorded in her good-old DVR, anyway. "Wae?"
"Do you like coffee?"
"Only with my oxygen," she mimicked a line from a show she saw last week.
"Do you want one right now?"
Did he, did he just ask what I think he just asked?
Oh Myung-Sim didn't show any signs of surprise in her expression, rather she suggested calmly, "Sure, there's a coffee shop I frequent nearby. How's that?"
"I'll do you one better, how about I brew you a cup?"
BOO YONG-JOO
Her skilled hands and seeing her tend to his every need inside the operating room weren't the only thing that he had on his mind when he called her tonight.
He didn't want to lie to himself anymore, not having a reason to reach out to her and not having enough guts to make one up just to see her almost drove him to his wit's end.
So when he finally found the perfect reason to call her, he didn't think twice. He pressed the numbers that he memorized so well, hoping that one day he'll be able to actually pick up the phone and dial.
When he found the girl lying unconscious in the woods, he knew that he was meant to save her from peril.
He wasn't willing to say it out loud but apart from that reason, he knew that the timing couldn't be more perfect. He decided to operate on the girl's wrist, and in every operation, a scrub nurse is needed. There wasn't anyone that came to mind except the nurse he had met at the police station several moons ago. There's no denying that she was great at her job, she had memorized every instrument and equipment as if it were the back of her hand. He trusted her fully to bring this operation to a success.
Kim Sabu scoffed, he shouldn't be thinking of his personal agendas at this time. It should be all about the patient.
But could he really help it? The whisper of his heart triumphs over the loud resistance his head makes.
"Can you do that?"
A slight indignant sigh escaped him, he paused and trod carefully. "You don't trust me, do you, Sussaem?"
" Jaesonghaeyo , Kim Sabu. That's not what I meant." She stepped away and apologized. "It's just...well, I have been asked for coffee a few times before but for someone to actually make me coffee... That's new to me and I would appreciate it a lot. I'm sorry if my question offended you." She spoke with a tone of docility in her voice.
The nurse made the man chortle. "I'm just kidding."
She rolled her eyes.
If Oh Myung-Sim thought she was the only one between them who's hidden away a secret sense of humour, she was clearly mistaken.
"We shall see, after you've had the coffee I made, maybe we could do it again."
Damn it, Boo Yong-Joo, the first date hasn't even started yet and you're already asking for seconds. What a jerk!
He looked up at her and met her eyes, his gaze penetrating. Kim Sabu noticed what he failed to see from others before. When she smiles her eyes does the exact same thing. A genuine affectionate smile no one has given him before. Sure, he's seen many grateful smiles from his patients over the years But for some reason, hers was far from more than just gratefulness and awe.
The way she looked at him felt like home, it was warm and peaceful.
He felt Cupid walk right through and pierced an arrow towards the direction of his heart. He then realized that he couldn't let her go now. He just couldn't.
OH MYUNG-SIM
She didn't know what made her say yes, but she was certain that if he asked her out, she would never say no.
It's a mystery how magnetic his aura is to her. She may never find out. But she needed that pull to work its wonder for as long as it could before she changed her mind.
Afraid to love again, she told herself that she would never let herself fall again for someone who, in the end, would just give up on her. She had that before, and she's a big fool if she let herself experience the same thing over again.
She finally accepted her fate and allowed herself to trust him. Even though she wanted to act on her feelings, she always assumed that her heart would always be broken by that experience. But what harm could it do if she allows him to fix it? And maybe he's just the piece she was waiting for to complete her.
"Yes, we shall see."
He offered his hand to her again, and just like the first time, she accepted it willingly.
BOO JAE-JIN and BOO JAE-SOOK
"Appa, is that really how you and eomma met?"
Kim Sabu's hand stroked the little girl's head and nodded.
"So you're saying that you loved her all along, ever since you first met?"
"Ne, uri agi." He kissed her forehead and tucked the blanket under her chin. "Now will you go to sleep?"
"Only after eomma tells her version of the story," his precocious eight-year-old daughter refused.
Kim Sabu—Jae-jin's appa smirked at his charming girl.
"Come on, you're just making excuses now. You've already made me tell you all about it." Her eomma interrupted in the middle of her conversation with her appa.
"Be a good girl, and go to sleep now. Look at your brother."
Jae-Jin turned her head over to the bed next to her and spotted her twin brother sleeping soundly. "It's not as if Jae-Sook is interested. He's a boy, all he's interested in is slurping his snot." She ignored him and crossed her arms against her chest.
"It's late, can you hold out until tomorrow?" She heard her abeoji say.
She considered it for a short while, but ultimately decided against it, "noooo, that'll be hours from now."
Eomma sighed, trying hard not to sound desperate, "Well, honey, if you close your eyes now and sleep, the next time you open them it will be the morning and eomma will tell you everything you want to know." She sauntered towards the side of her bed sitting alongside her father. Her mom placed a hand on his shoulder and muttered enough for her dad to hear. "Or so God help her, she's gonna shove an antihistamine down your throat." She hissed behind her smile.
"Noona, go to bed. If eomma has gone to work then I'll tell you. " Jae-Sook announced from his bed, getting frustrated at the sound of his sister whining and complaining about going to bed, and who's just clearly prolonging her bedtime.
Appa and Eomma laughed in unison at Jae-Sook's ability to shut his older sister down. Not that they tolerate that type of behaviour but most of the time, it's the only effective way to make her stop.
"WHATEVER," Jae Jin turned her back from her parents and then finally closed her eyes.
"She definitely takes after her eomeoni."
"But she clearly got her hot head from her abeoji."
"Unless you tell her you really met a police station, I think she'll be fine." Jae-Sook startled his parents just before they left the room.
"POLICE STATION??!" The little girl jumped out of bed as soon as their parents closed the door and pleaded with her brother who was pretending to be asleep to tell her what he knew.
~
"EOMMA!!! APPA!!! JOESONGHAMNIDA!!!"
The two of them sprinted back into the children's room after they heard their adeul scream.
Oh boy, they're gonna be in a lot of trouble.
FIN.