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A sound of rustling and mumbling is heard from Jaeil’s bed in the 2nd-year residents’ lounge.
“Hey, are you awake?” Sabi asks while looking up from her textbook. “Both Yiyoung and Namkyung have clocked out half an hour ago. You should go home too.”
“Hm? Oh, hmm.” Jaeil answers while yawning. “Woah, it’s already past midnight? I haven’t slept so soundly in a long time. And I only slept, what, an hour?”
Sabi nods while sipping her hot peppermint tea, nonchalant to Jaeil’s question.
“You’re on night duty, right? Is there nothing going on right now?”
Sabi looks up from her book. “No, I’ve finished writing the patients’ charts and there are no newly-admitted patients in the ward tonight, so I’m just studying for now. I’ll go back to the station in thirty minutes.”
Jaeil smiles. He hasn’t had a lot of time alone with Sabi lately. This is a great excuse to spend time with her.
“I’m hungry, should we get something from the convenience store?” Jaeil asks as he gets up and walks over to sit on the chair next to Sabi.
“I just came back from the convenience store. I bought two sandwiches and some snacks. There’s also a can of coffee. You can have some if you want. I got them at a discounted price because it’s late,” Sabi said, motioning to the food at the end of the table.
“You bought some for me, too? Aww, thanks. I was just thinking I needed some coffee in my system to stay awake.” Jaeil grins, his hand reaching for the canned coffee and sandwich.
Sabi looks up from her textbook for the third time since he woke up. She thinks for a split second before asking, “You’re not going home? It’s too late for the buses to still be running, but you can ride a taxi.” Her blinking like that with those wide eyes has got to be the cutest thing I’ve seen today.
“Nah, I’m staying here. I need to work on the paper with Prof. Jo anyway, and I could accompany you tonight. Win-win situation,” Jaeil grins before sipping on his coffee.
Sabi blinks again. Cute.
“Oh. Okay,” she answers curtly before getting back to her textbook. Jaeil stares at her. “What are you reading?”
“Some materials for next week’s study with Prof. Seo.”
Jaeil continues staring. “You’re not going to eat the sandwich you just bought? Let’s eat together.”
Sabi looks up from her book again, looking a little annoyed. “Later. I’m going to finish this chapter first. I only have one paragraph left to read.”
Jaeil chuckles and nods. He thinks about eating first because he actually is hungry, but decides against it. He wants to wait until he can start his late-night meal alone with Sabi. A rare occasion.
So Jaeil stares at her again. This time, he pays close attention to the way her lips pout slightly while reading her paragraph. Cute. He then moves his gaze toward the glasses perched near the tip of her nose, clearly having slid down as she focuses on her book. Cute. He notices her eyebrows are furrowed as she reads an especially interesting part of the paragraph. Cute.
Sabi looks up from her book for the fifth and last time. She stares at Jaeil for a second before averting her gaze to reach for the other sandwich. “Okay, let’s eat.”
Jaeil grins and opens the packaging of his sandwich. “By the way, there’s something I’ve always been curious about,” he says while biting into his food.
Sabi looks over at him with her mouth full, clearly questioning what he had to ask her.
Jaeil finds himself giddy as her attention is directed at him, waiting for him to speak. “I want to know your history of becoming a fan of Hi-Boyz,” he says after swallowing the sandwich.
Sabi’s eyes widen slightly as her mouth stops chewing. “Oh,” She says after a split second.
“Take your time, swallow your food first,” Jaeil says as he goes for another bite. He finds a bit of satisfaction in the way Sabi reacted. She probably didn’t expect that question, as I never actually pried her about it after the karaoke session last year.
As she swallows her sandwich, she looks over at Jaeil again. “Why are you curious now? You never asked before.” Jaeil can see her eyes questioning his intentions.
“I was just making light conversation. But I actually am curious about it, I have been since that night. I just thought you might’ve been uncomfortable if I asked,” Jaeil answers, glancing at her from the side.
“I’m not uncomfortable with it. It’s just that I don’t really want to talk about it. Especially not with you,” Sabi says while staring at her sandwich.
This piques Jaeil’s curiosity even further. “Why is that? I mean, I know I confessed to you and all, but we’re friends, right? You can tell me anything.”
Sabi glances at him. “You just had to bring that up again,” she grumbles slightly, feeling agonized at the mention of what happened on New Year’s Day.
Jaeil grins. “By the way, my offer for us to date still stands, don’t forget that. Also, we’ve officially started our second year as residents. That means one full year has passed since we met,” he says as he locks his gaze on her face. He can’t hide the smile growing on his lips.
Sabi blinks as she stares back at him, looking like she is at a loss for words. “Uh, right.” She averts her gaze as his statement hangs in the air. I don’t think I’ve ever seen her so speechless. She always knew how to speak her mind.
Sabi looks hesitant for a moment before finally meeting Jaeil’s gaze again. She looks determined this time. “Alright, I’ll tell you my history,” she says, clearly having decided to abandon the topic of their relationship altogether. Jaeil decides to let it go for now.
“So, I started liking Hi-Boyz in the spring of my third year of middle school. I happened to receive a pamphlet of their debut song on my way to cram school one day, and I just started listening to it,” she recalls before continuing, “I remember watching the group perform on Music Bank and started liking Top Key oppa. His dance moves were so precise,” she says as the corners of her lips turn upward ever-so-slightly. Again, he finds himself thinking about how cute she looks. He thought this before, but the cold and straightforward Sabi's liking for idols is such an unexpected charm. Although, he can’t help but feel a tinge of jealousy at the mention of her favorite member. She just had to mention Top Key hyung again.
“I have always loved studying since I was little, but my third year of middle school felt especially hard. I had a lot of things going on back then, so Hi-Boyz’s music really helped me escape from all that for a little while. I learned everything there was to know about the group, and even learned the choreography of When the Day Comes. You saw that one,” she chuckles a little. It’s so endearing to see her talk about my group like this.
“I did. You were so good at it. I mean, I wouldn’t expect less from The Great Kim Sabi,” Jaeil jokes.
Sabi smiles and continues, “Of course. I had no prior training in dancing, but I believe I did well learning the choreography on my own,” she says before pondering her next words. “After all, I am The Great Kim Sabi,” she states while chuckling again.
Jaeil laughs at Sabi’s attempt to joke. She’s so cute. “Top Key hyung would be proud to have you as a fan,” he replies.
At this, Sabi’s eyes light up. “I know. He always appreciates his fans and their efforts,” she says with a smile on her face.
At this, Jaeil pouts. “Did you not like me at all back then? Did you only have eyes for Top Key hyung?” he whines.
Sabi blinks. She looks like she’s pondering whether or not she should say something. “Actually, he was my favorite member, but I also liked D.I. and… Uhm Jay,” she says uncharacteristically softly at the last part.
Jaeil’s ears perk up at this. “Wh- what did you say?” He obviously heard what she said, but he couldn’t believe his ears. “You liked me too?”
Sabi blinks again. Grumbling, she says, “Yes, I liked you too. I thought your singing voice was nice. Ugh, are you satisfied now?” Her face shows a hint of annoyance and embarrassment.
Jaeil’s eyes light up at her surprising statement. “Hey, Kim Sabi! Why did you never tell me this?“ he feigns being offended. It fails, though, as his huge grin gives it away. “So I was right? Your heart did flutter when we started working together?”
Sabi stares at Jaeil, who is waiting for her answer like an excited puppy. “I didn’t want to admit it back then, but it did. Only at the very beginning, though. Now I only see you as my friend Uhm Jaeil,” she says matter-of-factly.
“Just a friend?” Jaeil asks, urging her to answer with his puppy eyes.
Sabi’s face reddens. Reddens?
“Uh… yes. You’re my friend, so how else would I see you?” she says, turning her head to avoid his eyes. Hm? This is certainly unusual.
Jaeil decides to come closer to Sabi, trying to meet her eyes again. He is more than determined to get to the bottom of this. “But you said I was often on your mind, and you miss me sometimes. Doesn’t that mean you see me as more than just a friend?” Jaeil tries.
Sabi glances at him. “You’re too close,” she says before moving away slightly. She quiets down, looking like she is gathering her thoughts to reach a logical conclusion. There’s the usual Kim Sabi, calmly analyzing every factor before making a decision.
One. Two. Three. Ten seconds passed. Ten seconds that felt like a lifetime.
Sabi clicks her tongue before meeting Jaeil’s gaze again, this time with a resolute glint in her eyes. She inhales before finally replying, “I do. I like you too. I’ve gathered evidence. First, I always look forward to meeting you in the morning. Second, I like it when you follow me around and we talk during work hours, just the two of us. Third, my heart flutters—”
Jaeil springs up. “Wait. Wait! You- you like me too? You actually like me back? And you want us to date?!” Words shoot out of his mouth before he can think.
“I never said I want us to date—”
“You like me! You like me back, that’s what you’re saying, right? And four seasons have passed since our first meeting, so we’ll start dating—”
Sabi stands up, trying to get Jaeil’s attention back to her words. “Hey! Uhm Jaeil! Listen to me—”
Jaeil hugs her before she can finish her sentence.
He hugged her.
At this, Sabi turns quiet. She is now truly at a loss for words.
Sabi’s logical mind tells her to wiggle out of his embrace, but strangely, she doesn’t want to. She wants to hug him back and melt into the comfort of his touch.
So she does.
She follows what her heart tells her to.
She hugged him back.
Jaeil tightens his embrace as he feels her hands on his back. He feels as if he’s on cloud nine. He didn’t even feel this joyful when he graduated from med school. He can’t believe this is happening, that Sabi feels the same way he does. That they are dating now.
Dating?
Jaeil snaps back into reality. Sabi never said she wanted to date.
Jaeil pulls back slightly, his arms still around Sabi’s torso. She pulls back as well, confused. She was just starting to feel comfortable in his embrace.
“What is it?” Sabi asks softly.
Jaeil studies her face for a moment and smiles.
He realizes he doesn’t care about dating. He knows they both feel the same way from the look on Sabi’s face. He knows that whatever the two of them have now is enough. His heart is full. He can’t possibly ask for more.
Jaeil continues studying her face. Sabi has never looked so beautiful as in this moment, in his arms, staring into his eyes. This moment is perfect.
That is, until the door springs open and reveals—
Doctor Gu Dowon.
“Kim Sabi, I just finished a myomectomy with Prof. Seo, could you—” he stops in his tracks as he notices that Kim Sabi wasn’t alone. In fact, she was hugging Uhm Jaeil.
Oh?
Flustered, Sabi immediately pushes Jaeil away. Her smile from when she was hugging him instantly fades and is replaced by a look of horror.
“Ah, uh… this is… uhm. You were saying? Ah, I will monitor the patient tonight. Rest assured and go home, Doctor Gu.”
Dowon smirks and leans against the door. “Right, thanks. I called earlier, but you didn’t answer. Maybe the sound got drowned out by whatever is going on in here,” he teases as he looks at Jaeil.
Jaeil, unlike Sabi, just looks sheepish. He feels awkward that they were caught by their senior and their friend’s boyfriend. Although, Dowon thinks, happiness is strewn all over his face. Jaeil wears his heart on his sleeve, after all.
Dowon chuckles. “Right. I won’t tell Yiyoung for the time being. I’m sure you want to tell your friends on your own. Good night, guys,” he says as he closes the door, the smirk never leaving his face.
Silence dawns upon them. Feeling awkward, Sabi silently takes her phone and goes to the door.
“Hey, Sabi. You haven’t finished your food,” Jaeil says to break the tension.
Sabi stops walking and turns to face him, her eyes looking anywhere but his eyes. “Right. I’m not that hungry, and I have to monitor a patient like Doctor Gu told me to anyway, so…”
Jaeil can tell that she is trying to avoid him. So, he gathers whatever little courage he has left and asks one last time, “Kim Sabi. I like you, and you like me. Does that mean… we’re dating now?”
Sabi wants to run away and tend to the patients as soon as possible. But upon seeing Jaeil’s face, her resolve crumbles.
“Yes. I said I like you. You can think whatever you want,” she answers curtly, mostly because she’s embarrassed.
Sabi watches as Jaeil’s face brightens with a big smile blooming on his lips. Unconsciously, she finds herself smiling too, one that matches Jaeil’s.
“Kim Sabi, I really like you! I promise to treat you well!” Jaeil exclaims as he jumps once again into her embrace.
Sabi mirrors Jaeil and hugs him back for the second time. “I really like you, too,” she replies.
———
Namkyung decided to go to work earlier this morning to do her rounds before updating her seniors. Doctor Cha Dahye has been bugging her to do it now that she’s a 2nd year, and Namkyung knew not to mess with her stubborn senior.
Upon arriving, Namkyung opens the door of the 2nd-year residents’ lounge.
“Sabisabi, Good mor-” Namkyung’s jaw drops at the sight. She was so sure that she would find Sabi having her breakfast and coffee on the table alone, as she was the one on night duty. Instead, she finds Jaeil next to Sabi, both of them asleep with their heads on the table, facing each other.
“Wh-”
“What the hell?” Namkyung hears a voice from behind her. She turns her head to find Yiyoung in a similar state of shock as she is.
They both step inside to have a closer look at the couple.
“They’re even holding hands beneath the table, what the- Yiyoung, did you know they started dating already?”
Yiyoung, still surprised, replies, “No, of course not. I knew he liked Sabi, but I didn’t expect her to like him back, let alone date. When did this even happen?”
Jaeil, who was only half-asleep, hears voices over his head and blinks his eyes open. He finds Yiyoung and Namkyung staring at him. “When did you guys get here? Why are you staring at me like that?” he asks as he lifts his hand to rub his eyes. However, his hand feels heavy. He looks over to find his left hand interlocked with the woman next to her.
“Wha-” Jaeil instantly recalls what happened last night. “Ah, right, we started dating,” he mumbles to himself, smiling.
Both Namkyung and Yiyoung can’t believe their ears. They exclaim in unison, “YOU GUYS STARTED DATING?!”
This startles Sabi, who was deeply asleep after having been called to do an emergency surgery with Prof. Seo sometime past 2 am. She just started sleeping after the four-hour-long surgery wrapped up. Jaeil assured her that he would take care of anything if someone were to call her before their working hours start.
“What? What happened to the patient?” Sabi jumps up, clearly still out of it.
“Uh, nothing happened to the patient. But… Sabi, we’ve been found out,” Jaeil says while scratching his nape with his other hand.
“Found out about what?” she asks as she reaches for her glasses, only to find her right hand interlocked with Jaeil’s. She gasps as she realizes what is happening.
Sabi turns her head to find Yiyoung and Namkyung staring at her wide-eyed.
“Hey, traitors! Uhm Jaeil, I think I’ve told you before to tell us before anyone else if you and Sabi started dating! We spend 16 hours together every day, don’t you think we have the right to know?!” Namkyung fumes.
Yiyoung chimes, “Since when did you start dating?“
“Guys, you misunderstood—” Jaeil tries, unsure of what to say. He then hears Sabi sigh. He looks over at her as she is about to speak her mind.
“You got it wrong. We are dating, but it hasn’t even been six hours. We haven’t had the chance—” Sabi was cut off by Namkyung and Yiyoung as they exclaim in unison again, “SIX HOURS?”
“You mean to say you just started dating last night? When you were on night duty?” asks Yiyoung.
“And Jaeil never went home last night?” Namkyung gapes in shock.
“Yes, and yes. Now, Namkyung, it’s time to do your rounds. Yiyoung, you’re here early to check on your patient from yesterday, right? Now, go on,” Sabi says as an attempt to chase them away.
Namkyung looks at her watch and gets startled at the time. “Fine! But this discussion isn’t over. I need to know all the details, like who confessed first and how it went down. Don’t even think to avoid the topic! You guys are under my watch!” she says as she dashes for her locker to change into scrubs.
“Yeah, we will talk about this again at lunch. Spicy tteokbokki? Wait, no, you guys are treating us, got it? Don’t forget the rice balls!” Yiyoung adds as she follows Namkyung.
Sabi and Jaeil look at each other, then at their still-intertwined hands. They both smile while looking at the clear evidence of their feelings for each other.
“Did you sleep well?” Jaeil asks as his gaze shifts back to Sabi’s face.
“I did, thanks for covering for me,” replies Sabi. “Let’s get breakfast at the cafeteria,” she continues as she heads for the door.
Jaeil follows and chuckles. “Sure, but do you want to announce to the whole hospital that we’re dating or something?”
Confused, Sabi looks over at him, questioning what he means by that.
With a big grin, Jaeil lifts their intertwined hands and kisses the back of her hand. Sabi freezes at Jaeil's display of affection.
“Ew, gross!” Namkyung says as she dashes past them to do her rounds.
Yiyoung looks at them as she heads for the door, looking slightly disappointed. “I don’t care if you want to date publicly, but try not to do PDA in front of us, will you?”
Fin.