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On a rare day when both their schedules align and they match their days off to go camping together, Songhwa is convinced that everything would go well.
They would first get Uju to school, and afterwards she would make a stop at Jongno Yulje to work on a paper with Chihong. Her former resident is taking a relatively longer time with the data for the paper, so she decides she would go and help out. It is a bonus that this would give her an excuse to catch up with a close friend working in the Jongno branch.
“I’ll meet you at the campsite straight away later?” Songhwa asks while she puts on her grey blazer in front of the full-length mirror Ikjun had gotten for her after she had permanently planted herself as a fixture in his apartment.
“Eo,” Ikjun says, leaning against the door frame as he observes his partner getting ready. There is a smile plastered on his face that doesn’t go away even when he meets Songhwa’s eyes, and she raises her eyebrow as if to ask him why he is staring at her. “Ani. Just admiring how beautiful you are.”
He sees the blush on her cheeks and the way she fights the urge to smile. Instead, Songhwa simply rolls her eyes playfully and pushes him out of the way. “Most of the camping equipment is already in my car, but can you take the rest in the hallway with you?”
Ikjun knows what she is talking about, having seen the box filled with some of her camping equipment. “Arraseo.”
He follows her out from their bedroom and down the hallway. “Yah, but do you really have to go out now on this rare occasion where we’re both not working?”
Songhwa slips into her shoes and turns around to meet his pouty gaze. Her heart melts at the sight of Ikjun behaving like that, and she smiles at him. “I told you I need to revise this paper. The deadline is soon.”
“Fine, have fun I guess. But first…” Ikjun takes a step closer, winding his arms around her waist naturally before dropping a chaste kiss on her lips. He looks smug when he pulls away. “Just so you don’t forget about me.”
Songhwa flushes once again — she always does — before breaking away from his grasp. She distracts herself by glancing down at the pile of camping equipment in the box, and gestures towards it. “There, just that box.”
“Ah, these?” Ikjun says and reaches for the equipment on top of the pile — a camping lantern that Songhwa likes using, wanting to inspect it closer. “Is the light for this still flickering? I bought spare batteries in case—”
It all happens in a blink of an eye when the handle suddenly snaps into two under his touch.
“Eomma-ya!”
Gasping, Ikjun barely catches the lantern with his hands. He darts a look in between Songhwa’s shock expression and the broken equipment for a solid few seconds, as if trying to decide what he should do. He knows that throwing away the equipment isn’t an option given how much Songhwa likes it. Ikjun straightens his back and glances at her slowly. “Ah…what should we do?”
Songhwa frowns and inspects the broken lantern in his hands. She could see the slight guilt in his eyes, as though blaming himself for breaking it. But Songhwa is well aware that some of her equipment has been with her for so long, wear and tear obviously there. “It’s okay,” She assures him quickly, patting his arm. “Just leave it. We can always get a new one.”
“But this is your favourite camping lantern…”
“Don’t worry about it, Ikjun-ah.” Songhwa glances at her phone and realises she might be late if she doesn’t make a move soon. “Ah, I better get going now. I’ll see you later.”
Ikjun watches her leave, and when he glances down at the lantern again, remembering it to be her favourite, he decides to take things in his own hands.
He will fix this for her.
Songhwa makes it just in time to Jongno Yulje when she receives Seo Jungmin’s text telling her that she is waiting for her at the cafeteria. She regards the Obstetrics Professor as one of her closest female friends since their medical school days, and it is always a joy to be able to catch up with her given that they hardly have the time to with their crazy schedules.
“Songhwa-ya, here!”
She spots Jungmin almost as soon as she enters the cafeteria, and they wave at each other before she starts making her way over. Songhwa sees the tray of food already prepped and ready for her on the table. It’s honestly been months since they’ve last seen each other, and Songhwa’s smile turns into a bright grin.
“Jungmin-ah, how have you been? It’s been a while since we met.”
“As busy as ever,” They exchange a brief hug and Jungmin returns her grin with one of her own. “Didn’t we just see each other at that Busan conference, though?”
“Yah, that was at least six months ago.” Songhwa laughs. “We really should meet up more often. Why don’t you come to my branch and work there instead?”
“Why don’t you come and work here in Jongno instead?” Jungmin counters playfully. “We could use another talented NS Professor here, you know.”
“Haven’t you guys taken enough from the NS department in Main Yulje?” Songhwa jokes, “Jongno took away my then resident Ahn Chihong and then my fellow Yong Seokmin. I didn’t mentor them for so many years to receive this outcome today, you know?”
Jungmin simply laughs, knowing that fact to be true. She echoes her friend’s sentiments and says, “If my juniors left me to join another branch, I’ll probably just quit. It’s difficult as it is now with the low applicants every year.”
They ease into a rapport that is comfortable, updating each other about their work and sprinkling some personal details here and there. It is when Jungmin leans in with twinkling eyes that Songhwa stops shoving rice into her mouth.
“So…”
Songhwa blinks. “So what?”
Jungmin just smiles and lowers her voice. “How are things between you and Ikjun?”
At the mere mention of her partner, Songhwa could feel her cheeks heating up. It’s not exactly common knowledge that they’ve been dating for a little over two years, but Jungmin isn’t a stranger who doesn’t know either of them. In fact, Jungmin was who she turned to years ago when she had to get an objective opinion about whether or not she should take the leap and date her best friend. Of course she would ask her about him.
“We’re okay,” Songhwa replies, trying to act all nonchalant. “Never better, in fact.”
Jungmin sees through her nonchalance from the way her cheeks have turned pink. She chuckles at her friend. “So you haven’t wanted to kill him even once since you two started living under the same roof?”
“Surprisingly, no.” Songhwa laughs. “He does get on my nerves sometimes, but there’s more love than there is annoyance. He listens very well to me anyway.”
Jungmin smiles, “I told you, didn't I? That you would be making the right decision by dating him.”
“That you did.” The neurosurgeon couldn’t stop the smile from spreading across her face as she continues, “It’s been really wonderful, so far. We’ve been together for more than two years and we’re still not tired of each other. Ikjun completes me in the best ways possible.”
“Have you two considered marriage yet?” Jungmin tilts her head in curiosity. “You’ve known each other for more than two decades. What more are you waiting for? You’re each other’s first loves too, no?”
Songhwa doesn’t answer immediately. She glances at Jungmin and formulates a reply slowly. “Ikjun and I have discussed it before, and we’re just thinking of Uju. It hasn’t been very long since Ikjun’s divorce, anyway.”
“Ah,” Jungmin nods in understanding. “But your relationship with Uju is good, right?”
Songhwa simply states, “I love him like he is my own.”
“I don’t doubt that.” Jungmin continues warmly, remembering all the random questions Songhwa would text her about child care and handling a preteen.
“Also,” Songhwa continues after a brief pause. “I guess we just think that the promise of forever doesn’t necessarily have to be sealed with marriage.”
Jungmin smiles in quiet agreement, knowing the entire history of her two close friends. With or without the certificate, Ikjun and Songhwa are already acting like an old married couple anyway.
Her thoughts are echoed when Songhwa continues confidently. “We’re practically in this for life. We’re just missing the paperworks.”
“That’s great to hear, Songhwa-ya,” Jungmin pretends to sigh in relief. “because I wouldn’t know which side to choose between you and Ikjun, if you two ever call it quits.”
“Yaah, Seo Jungmin,” Songhwa feigns being hurt, “I have been your friend longer than Ikjun ever was! Have you forgotten back in med school, who was the one that held you together when you broke up with your boyfriend? Or who was the one that drank with you the entire night because you thought you flunked that Anatomy finals?”
“Arraseo, arraseo,” Jungmin laughs at the distant memory of their younger selves, when the only major issue back then was the fear of failing a paper. “But please, you two better not ever make this something that I need to decide.”
“We won’t.” Songhwa assures her firmly, knowing her heart to be true. “Ikjun is my last love.”
Jungmin beams at her response.
“Not many people are lucky to be able to call their partner that, you know? Their first and last love.” The Obstetrics Professor finishes the last spoon of her rice before continuing, “I really am happy for you, Chae Songhwa. You know that right?”
Songhwa looks at Jungmin again, and reminisces all their shared memories from their days in medical school. From befriending her in the lecture hall, to the countless times they’ve spent together when she needed a break from the rest of the 99z. From the time Songhwa had gone to Sokcho for her sabbatical and was ridden with a turmoil of emotions due to Ikjun’s confession, followed closely by her rejection and the year they then spent with each other as the best friends they’ve always been.
Jungmin had been with her throughout those pinnacle moments of her life, especially when she needed opinions from a woman’s perspective. She didn’t always listen to her advice — Jungmin had given her a look of utter disbelief when she admitted that she had rejected Ikjun after his Sokcho confession — but Jungmin has always been one call away.
“I know.” Songhwa nods, reaching a hand across the table to squeeze Jungmin’s hand. “Thank you, Jungmin-ah.”
Songhwa has barely even met Chihong, nor spoken to him about their paper when she receives a text from Jungmin requesting for her urgent presence in the ER. Confused, but knowing that Jungmin wouldn’t have sent her such a text without reason, Songhwa excuses herself from the lab and goes straight to the ER.
What she sees, or rather, who she sees sitting on one of the beds nearly makes her double back in surprise.
“Lee Ikjun?” Her tone is laced with disbelief, because didn’t she just see him at home two hours ago? “I thought we were supposed to meet at the camping site later. What are you doing here?”
Immediate worry rises in her heart as she takes a few steps closer, noticing the awkward position of Ikjun’s hands clasped together tightly. “What’s with your hands? What did you do?”
Songhwa sees the subtle shift of expression in Ikjun’s face; one that she knows is his attempt to act cute so that she doesn’t get mad at him. He tells her in a tone and pouty expression that could probably rival Uju’s whenever the boy wants something from them, “The glue…I got it on my hands…”
She almost couldn’t believe her ears or think about how that was even possible. But this is Lee Ikjun she is talking to, so she really isn’t all that surprised. “Glue? How??”
Ikjun explains that he was trying to fix her camping lantern’s handle that broke earlier, and whatever frustration she feels over his antics is replaced immediately with warmth. Her heart blooms at the thought of Ikjun trying to fix a favourite item of hers, but she doesn’t show it to him. Instead, she scrunches her face in disapproval and says, “Jinjja, I told you to leave it be!”
Songhwa is too busy fussing, worrying and inspecting his hands that she misses the way Jungmin is snickering from the side, clearly finding this entire situation entertaining. Ikjun asks Songhwa why she is in Jongno and she wonders if she even ever made it clear to him she would be coming there today. Still, she explains.
Songhwa is still inspecting his hands in full worry, not minding the conversation Ikjun is sharing with Jungmin when she glances at her friend in defeat. For some reason, she couldn’t think of any treatment plan. This is definitely harder than any of the neurosurgery related cases she had to operate on, ironically. “Jungmin-ah, what should we do?”
Jungmin suggests using warm saline, and jokes that they could also get orthopaedics to cut his palms if that doesn’t work. Ikjun looks positively terrified while Songhwa chuckles — Jungmin meets her gaze and states tersely, “You’ve really gone through so much, huh?”
The implication couldn’t be more obvious, as Songhwa recalls that she had once shared the story of Ikjun getting a Darth Vader hat glued to his head many years back. Jungmin had laughed about it for days, even begging Songhwa to send her some pictures as blackmailing material.
Just then, they hear someone calling Ikjun’s name from afar. Curious, Songhwa turns to see who had just arrived — and is greeted by Gong Gisun coming into their full view. The newcomer takes no notice of her, but Songhwa immediately takes notice of her bright red lipstick, flashy ribbon hair clip and colourful scarf.
“Ikjun-ah!”
Now, why would a doctor be wearing such a pretty looking scarf while working? Songhwa muses in amusement, yet she’s genuinely happy to see her batchmate. After all, it’s been three years since they last saw each other.
“Jungmin said that you were in the ER,” Gisun says, her tone clearly worried, “I was so shocked, you know…”
Seeing Gisun behave that way definitely brings back a slew of medical school memories as Songhwa quickly hides the urge to laugh. It is obvious that her batchmate has not changed one bit, still having honey dripping from her eyes and voice when she regards Ikjun worriedly — back in the days, Ikjun’s popularity had preceded himself, and as a result, he had gained many admirers from afar. Gong Gisun was one of them.
“Have you been well?” Gisun pauses and then says in an impossibly sweet tone, “Jun-ah?”
Even I don’t call Ikjun that, Songhwa thinks, immediately biting back a laugh that is threatening to escape from her throat. She wonders when Gisun would notice her when Jungmin points her out and Gisun’s eyes finally widen in realisation. “Omo, Songhwa-ya!”
She laughs, and they exchange a quick pleasantry with each other. Gisun is genuine when she compliments her, saying that she’s gotten even prettier.
Songhwa blushes, denying that statement with a soft laugh as she hears Ikjun pipe up from the side, “That’s what I’m saying. Songhwa gets prettier everyday.”
Her heart skips a beat — it still does, everytime Ikjun gives her a compliment like that out of the blue and especially in public. Embarrassed, Songhwa nudges his arm with one hand, as if asking him to stop. She misses the look of slight confusion that Gisun gives while looking at Ikjun.
“It’s really been forever, Gisun.” Songhwa says, “You haven’t changed at all in the past three years.” and maybe twenty, the small voice in her head jokes.
“Yeah,” Jungmin agrees easily, “Her looks and her skills are still the same.”
Songhwa would have reacted to that statement, if not because Ikjun has turned to look at her, jutting his stuck hands towards her. “Songhwa-ya, look at this. It’s really driving me crazy. It stings.”
She feels bad for him all over again, knowing he got himself into this situation because of her. “Does it sting a lot?”
“It does more than sting,” Ikjun says, and notices that Songhwa’s hair is getting into her vision. “Wait, your hair.”
Goofball Ikjunie tries to push strands of her hair behind her ear using his stuck palms, but fails miserably due to obvious reasons. Songhwa laughs, moving her head away and hitting his arm as a reflex. “Aish, stop worrying about me and worry about yourself instead!”
She goes back to holding his hands in worry and wonders how they would get him out of this precarious situation. Hands are the most important asset for a surgeon, and Songhwa is deeply concerned. “What should we do?” She sighs and watches him try to pry his hands apart. “You shouldn’t try to force them apart!”
“I won’t,” Ikjun assures, pouting at her. “I really didn’t know this would happen, I was only trying to help.”
Songhwa chuckles, rubbing her hands over his as if to soothe him. “Stop fooling around from now on, please. You always make me worried for no reason. For the time being, you’re banned from camping.”
Ikjun’s expression drops, and her heart nearly melts again knowing that she couldn’t be angry at him for more than ten seconds. Songhwa tries to prod at the gaps between his fingers, and he reacts with an exaggerated “That hurts!”
“Sorry, sorry,” She repeats over and over again.
“This won’t work, huh?” Ikjun groans, and in a lapse of a moment, decides to make light of this entire situation. "But at least I can still do this. I can still make you laugh," Songhwa catches on fairly quickly the moment Ikjun starts shaking his hands together. She goes along with his antics, smiling brightly at his playfulness. “Cham cham cham!”
She wins, laughing loudly as she prepares to hit his hands together. “I won! I won!”
“Yah!” Ikjun laughs when she slaps his hands gently, “That’s cheating if you hit like this—”
Songhwa is reminded that they’re in the ER and hitting his hands probably just made the situation worse. “What? oh, right!” Worried once again, she reaches for his hands again and guiltily asks him, “Did I hit you too hard? I'm sorry,”
Ikjun tells her it is fine, but grumbles about wanting help from the hospital staff to unstick his hands quickly. "I'm the one who is sorry," He tells her and she pleads for him not to mess around anymore, given that he worries her to death sometimes. Songhwa feels bad for him, only able to continue rubbing her hands against his for comfort.
“Yah, have you two forgotten we are still in the ER?” Jungmin jokes then, and suddenly Songhwa remembers that they’re not quite alone. She flushes in mild embarrassment, stealing a glance at the quiet Gong Gisun who had gone maybe two shades red, “Sorry, do you think you can get that warm saline for us? I’ll tend to him, you two don’t have to wait around since you must be so busy…”
“I’ll get an intern to bring some over.” Jungmin nods and looks at Ikjun again. She is stifling her laughter when she tells him, “I swear to God, stop getting yourself in this sort of situation.”
Gisun adds sheepishly, unable to look at both of them. “Yes, take care of yourself, Ikjun-ah. I should go and prep for my surgery later.”
Professor Gong scurries away after that, and Jungmin meets Songhwa’s gaze immediately.
They burst into laughter, knowing what the other is thinking.
Ikjun glares at his friend again. “Yah , you did that on purpose, didn’t you? Telling her I am here?”
“I told you it was a coincidence she was there when they called me about you!” Jungmin wheezes, and Songhwa just knows that she is lying. It’s been a running joke for the longest time — Gong Gisun’s unrequited, huge crush on Lee Ikjun. “You shouldn’t be so mean to her, she’s liked you for so long, you know?”
Ikjun mumbles something incoherent, something that Songhwa catches to be “all we did was go on one blind date together…”
“Gisun was definitely glad to see you huh, Lee Ikjun?” Songhwa teases, “or should I say, Jun-ah?”
Ikjun looks positively aghast to hear that, his face winces in discomfort.
Jungmin roars into another round of laughter before calling an intern over for the warm saline. The OBGYN professor looks at her wrist watch. “Cham , look at the time. I’m afraid I need to take my leave now.”
“Thank you again, Jungmin-ah.” Songhwa reaches out to clasps one hand over her arm. “We should really hang out one day over a meal or something.”
Jungmin smiles while nodding. “We can bring our kids out to a park too.”
“That would be nice!” Ikjun nods enthusiastically, “We can even take them camping together!”
At that one word, Songhwa glares half-heartedly at him. “Yah, how can you think about going camping in this condition? I’m enforcing the ban right away. We will have to cancel our plans later.”
Ikjun is crestfallen. “What, but you were looking forward to camping later…”
She knocks his head with her fist, her expression stern. “Is that important now? What’s important is getting your hands fixed!”
“Aigoo, aigoo.” Jungmin’s voice is heard again. “It’s like you two lovebirds are always stuck in your own world and have forgotten that I am here again. I’ll just go now, I guess.”
Songhwa laughs, and abandons Ikjun to walk Jungmin away. Ikjun thanks her loudly, and Jungmin dismisses him with a wave of her hand.
“So, I’ll see you soon, hopefully?” Songhwa stops at the entrance of the ER, and Jungmin nods at her. “Of course, I’ll text you.”
It takes Songhwa a much longer time than expected to separate the glue from Ikjun’s hands. It feels like she is tending to her first child or something, a remark that she makes and Ikjun returns with another pout.
“Sorry,” He apologises sheepishly, “I’m such a nuisance, aren’t I?”
Songhwa’s expression softens, knowing that could be furthest from the truth. “ Aniya ,” She pats his now separated hands, holding them in hers. “You were just trying to be helpful.”
With the curtains drawn around his bed, giving them a short moment of privacy, Ikjun and Songhwa couldn’t help but stare into each other’s eyes. Practically oozing with love as they smile at each other.
“I’m sorry our camping plans got cancelled.”
“I told you not to worry about that anymore. We’ll have other chances.”
“Next time, we should definitely bring Uju and ask Jungmin and her family to join us.”
“That would be nice, wouldn’t it? Jungmin did say her daughter has been fascinated with outdoor activities lately.”
Songhwa’s phone buzzes then, and she glances down to see a text from Ahn Chihong. “Shoot!” She gasps, having completely forgotten about the true reason on why she even came to Jongno Yulje today. “Chihong is still waiting for me to discuss our paper! What time is it already?”
As Songhwa starts to type a reply on her phone, Ikjun quietly grabs her handbag from behind him while waiting for her to look at him again. When she does, he hands her the handbag and asks, “How long do you think you will take?”
“Hmm,” Songhwa frowns, doing a mental calculation in her mind. “I’m not entirely sure, it might take a few hours because we are finalising the data for submission.”
She pauses, then adds, “You don’t have to wait for me, you know. You should go home and enjoy the rest of your day off.”
“Aish, there won’t be anyone at home,” Ikjun says, knowing that Uju is having a sleepover at the Jangs’ house again. “It’s okay. I’ll just wait for you. We can have dinner together later. I took the taxi earlier.”
Songhwa beams at him, looking around to make sure that the curtains are still drawn around them before she leans down to kiss him on the lips lightly. “Arraseo, I’ll try to be quick.”
She prepares to leave, but Ikjun quickly stops her. “Wait, before you go. If the kids ask…please don’t tell them I ended up in the ER.”
Songhwa knows that he is referring to their three other best friends. If the rest of the gang finds out, she also knows that Ikjun would never get the end of hearing them tease him about his clumsiness. The Darth Vader incident had clearly left some sort of trauma behind, so Songhwa nods with a promise and tells him she won’t say a word to them.
“Wait!” He calls out again as she tries to leave, grabbing her wrist to pull her towards him again. In a moment of haste, Ikjun pulls Songhwa down towards him and plants another kiss onto her lips. This time, it is lingering and hard, and the tips of her ears turn pink when he finally releases her.
He looks a tad bit too smug, saying nonchalantly. “To show my appreciation.”
She simply smiles, and disappears behind the curtains.
It is a little past nine when Songhwa finally finishes her work.
“It took such a long time,” She sighs, regarding the young man opposite her with a sheepish smile. “Sorry, Chihong-ah. You had to work after hours because of me today.”
Ahn Chihong quickly shakes his hands, “Oh no, Professor. Don’t worry about me.”
Songhwa stands, retrieving her phone and seeing a few private messages from Jeongwon. “You should go and have dinner. I’ll text you again after the paper has been submitted.”
Chihong merely bows, and tells her she’s done well for the day. Of course, he is well aware of the cause of delay and knows that his professor’s partner is still lounging around the hospital waiting for her to go back together. He doesn’t pry, respecting her privacy as they exit the office together.
“Oh, Jeongwon-ah,” Songhwa says into the phone, a little lazy to reply to his texts. “I got your messages. You guys haven’t eaten yet?”
“We told you earlier, didn’t we? We will prepare ramyeon and some other food to celebrate Ikjun’s discharge from the ER.”
For a moment, Songhwa is confused. “Discharge from the ER? How did you know he was in the ER?”
“What do you mean? You replied to Gom’s text earlier saying that you are stuck in Jongno revising your paper at night because of Ikjun and his stupid antics with the super glue.”
Songhwa allows that sentence to register in her mind before she lets out a loud gasp. Her hand flies to cover her mouth. “I did?”
She must have been so engrossed with discussing the paper earlier that she had let slip of that piece of information to her friend without even realising. Songhwa blames it on the multiple texts from them that she has received separately earlier, all of which were asking where they were, what they were doing, and if they could join them for dinner.
“Anyway, we’ll see you two at Seokhyung’s basement. I’m calling to remind you not to bail on us.”
“Arraseo,” Songhwa mutters. “We’ll see you later.”
She heaves a sigh after disconnecting the call, and turns to regard her junior again. “Thanks again for all your help, Chihong-ah. I’ll get going.”
“Ne, gyosunim.” Chihong bows respectfully.
Songhwa is already dialing Ikjun’s number as she starts for the elevator down the corridor.
They’re holding hands as they make their way past the quiet corridors. It’s become a habit for them after being together for so long, naturally reaching out to hold the hand of the other whenever possible.
Songhwa asks Ikjun what he was up to during the hours while waiting for her, and he explains that he had lent some helping hand at the ER. She merely shakes her head while looking at him, telling him that it’s become some sort of habit that he would end up assisting in a case that isn’t from his own hospital.
“It’s been a while since I last came here,” Ikjun remarks, looking around the barely lighted hallway of the outpatient clinics. “Maybe this isn’t the right way?”
“It is,” She assures him, having seen the sign pointing the right direction to the lobby. “If we turn left there and go straight, we will see the escalators. We can take those down to the lobby.”
Songhwa glances to her side and sees that Ikjun is already looking at her while smiling. “Songhwa-ya, there’s nothing you don’t know, huh?”
She’s flattered by his compliment, but gingerly points behind her shoulder. “It’s written over there…”
Ikjun reacts loudly, “Ah! Ahh. I didn’t see it. I only have eyes for you.”
His cheesiness makes her laugh, and Songhwa laughs before bumping shoulders with him. “But you know...it’s a little scary being on the outpatient floor at night. There’s no one here…”
And it’s true, because even when she glances behind her shoulders, all she could see is the dark and narrow corridor with barely any lights still on. It makes her shudder, her mind going slightly astray when Ikjun suddenly says in an ominous tone, “No, there are people here.”
She freezes in her tracks, and Ikjun turns to look at her. “Who?”
The long pause makes Songhwa look around again, suddenly feeling a chilly air creeping onto her body. “There’s no one here! What are you talking about?” She chides, knowing that Ikjun is it again. “Yah, don’t do that!”
But Ikjun assures her that it isn’t anything scary, or whatever it is that she is thinking. He leans in and tells her that there are cockroaches here, before explaining further that these are dating cockroaches. Ikjun launches into his story immediately, his expression animated and his tone ever so goofy.
Songhwa believes his story, nodding and taking everything he says in. It takes her a while to realise that Ikjun is referring to secretly dating in the outpatient rooms.
Ikjun snaps his fingers at her. “There are no appointments, patients or staff here at night. So they secretly have dates here.”
Fascinated, Songhwa is engrossed in his storytelling when he leans in to whisper, “But sometimes, the Professors come to get things they left behind.”
“Oh no!” She gasps, covering her mouth with her hands in excitement.
“When they enter and switch on the lights, they scatter and disappear like cockroaches.”
Clearly enthralled by his way of storytelling, Songhwa is curious. “Where do they all go??”
Ikjun mimics flattening himself against the wall and moves around. “Well, they cling to the wall and hide behind the door…or hide underneath the desk.”
Songhwa laughs, imagining such a scenario in her head and finding it absolutely adorable. The youngsters definitely would do something like this — and that’s when a single thought flits into her mind. Ikjun’s ease of storytelling doesn’t seem to stem from hearsay, but more from his own experiences.
Her excitement drops a little, feeling the slight twinge in her heart when she calmly asks, “But how do you know this so well?”
Ikjun suddenly looks flustered, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. That’s how she just knows. “You’ve done a lot of hiding before, haven’t you?”
It’s not like she’s jealous. It would be funny if she is considering that would have been so many years ago, but Songhwa sees the way he squirms beneath her gaze and decides she loves teasing him like this. So she puts on an expression she knows Ikjun could read, and he avoids her gaze.
“Aigoo, what…” He sighs, suddenly finding fascination in the hand sanitiser by the side. “Yah…it was Junwan. When he was a resident, he did that a lot. I heard it from him.”
“Ah,” Songhwa smiles, and accepts it as that.
She does not believe a word he just said.
And then Ikjun starts creeping towards the nearest door, wondering if there really is someone hiding in the room. “Yah, don’t do that!” She chides, looking around to make sure no one is seeing them attempt to trespass. “This isn’t even our hospital…”
“Do you hear something?” Ikjun whispers. “I think I heard something…”
He knocks on the door and feigns ignorance. “I think someone just knocked.”
She laughs at his childish antics. “No one is here!”
“Did you do that, Songhwa-ya? You scared me…” Ikjun turns around and naturally holds Songhwa’s hand again. “Let’s go. I’ll let them go this time.”
Songhwa muses, “But I don’t think young people these days would do this sort of hiding anymore. They all hold hands and get coffee together out in the open.”
She said that because she’s seen many young couples from the same hospital doing the same when she and Ikjun take their usual afternoon walks and coffee at Yulje’s garden.
Ikjun doesn’t quite agree with her, telling her it is just the tip of the iceberg and that she has no idea how many people had secretly dated in the outpatient clinics after hours. To prove his point, Ikjun lets her hand go and goes straight to opening a door before she could even stop him.
Both of them peak into the empty, dark room. “See, I told you.” Songhwa says. “It’s all in the past. The MZs don’t do this sort of thing anymore.”
Ikjun shakes his head, “Even last year itself, I caught so many of them…I guess there are really no cockroaches here.”
He naturally removes his hand from his pocket and intertwines their hands together again. It’s almost second nature to them by now, relishing in quiet moments like this when they can finally date freely.
“What should we have for dinner?” Ikjun asks.
Songhwa remembers Jeongwon’s call. “Ah, the kids want us to come quickly for your discharge party. They want ramyeon.”
Ikjun nods initially, finding nothing wrong with her statement. “Oh, should we get some kimbap—”
He trails away mid sentence, and Songhwa knows she is completely busted. She avoids his immediate gaze as he stares at her with an expression of surprise and betrayal. “You told the guys?”
Songhwa is flustered, knowing there is no way out from this mishap she had indirectly caused without realising. “ Ani, I really wasn’t going to tell them—” She feels immediate guilt when Ikjun releases her hand to cover his face, backing into the seat behind him. “—but they kept asking where we were and when we are coming back, and eventually—”
Ikjun connects the dots quickly with a groan. “That means everyone in the hospital probably already knows.”
Seeing his clearly embarrassed look makes Songhwa kneel in front of him, as if to seek for his forgiveness. “Mianhae… ” She doesn’t say anything else, knowing that she is to be fully blamed for that slip up earlier.
Ikjun leans forward in his seat. “Ah, if i knew this would have happened, I would have just gone to our hospital earlier.”
Songhwa maintains her gaze on the floor, unable to meet his eyes.
“I even came all the way to Jongno, but now everyone knows anyway.”
It’s the way he says the sentence, as if making a joke out of it, that makes Songhwa break into a laugh. She finally looks at him, still a little bit guilty, but at least she could file this as another moment they could look back and laugh over. “I guess you’re right…”
Ikjun is smiling too, but he heaves another sigh. This time, Songhwa reaches for his hands, curling his palms upwards and caressing her thumbs over his skin. “But you…are you really okay now?”
She glances at his palms, still a little red from the incident earlier as Ikjun whines. “I’m not okay! My hands are still burning hot from all that praying.” He then places his palms on her face gently. “Do you feel the heat?”
Songhwa chuckles before her expression turns into concern again. “You know, you really could have gotten into big trouble.”
She stands, pulling him to his feet with her, holding both of his hands. “You should really be careful, please.”
He nods dutifully, then adds, “Ah, the kids are going to tease me so much.”
They finally reach the end of the hallway after sidetracking for so long. Songhwa just laughs, pulling him along with her as they exit the door. He makes an offhand remark about how the door should be closed instead of opened and she doesn’t pay him any heed.
They walk a few steps further before Ikjun halts her movement by pulling her hand back.
“Hmm?” She raises an eyebrow at him.
“You know,” He lowers his voice. “there’s no one here.”
“I think we established that a long time ago.” Songhwa simply says, wanting to advance forward again — but Ikjun has a different mind. He pulls her back again, slides a hand to the nape of her neck, and slants his lips over hers.
They don’t kiss for long — only enough for Songhwa’s heart to tingle in warmth and obvious happiness. The way it always does whenever she is with him. When he pulls away, Ikjun has a look of mischief as he whispers, “Since we’re meeting the kids tonight, our plans to be alone today have changed.”
He doesn’t say anything else, only staring at her intently, and she just knows what his implication is. Songhwa’s cheeks colour, and she pushes their hands into his chest. “Aigoo, you only have yourself to blame for that.”
They start walking towards the escalator, and Ikjun squeezes her hand hard. “It’s okay. We can always leave earlier.”
She doesn’t argue with him, merely smiling and nodding her head. “Whatever you say, Ikjun-ah.”