Work Text:
February 29th 2024, 23:30
Kim Sabi sat alone in the quiet second-year residents’ lounge, the dim light casting soft shadows over the scattered papers in front of her. Every single one of them was about endometriosis, the topic she's working on with Professor Ryu for an upcoming case. But no matter how hard she tried, her eyes kept slipping over the same sentence without truly absorbing it.
Frustration prickled beneath her skin. With a slow, tired sigh, she pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose, then slipped them off entirely. Rubbing her eyes, she tried to reset and refocus, but her mind stubbornly drifted elsewhere. The words from the conversation she’d overheard two days ago echoed in her thoughts.
(Flashback)
February 27th 2024, 17:12
“Here, take this and get yourself some coffee. You worked hard today, Dr. Choi.” Dr. Ki Eunmi, now a fourth-year chief resident, slid her card across the station to the young doctor passing by.
Dr. Choi smiled politely, accepted the card, and gave a small bow before heading out.
“She’s the intern everyone’s been talking about, right? Dr. Choi Yewon?” asked Dr. Cha Dahye, leaning in with curiosity.
“Yeah. Everyone’s predicting she’ll end up in OBGYN. Honestly, it’s a relief we don’t have to try so hard this year. Last year, Dr. Tak Gion used up all our energy” Eunmi said with a nostalgic smile, recalling how she and Namkyung had pulled out all the stops to recruit him.
“I thought she was more interested in Pediatrics? What made her change her mind?” Dahye frowned, genuinely puzzled.
“Actually, after her OBGYN rotation last month I think she got hooked... because of Dr. Uhm.” Eunmi’s voice lowered, as if sharing a secret.
Sabi, who was nearby filling a patient’s prescription, subtly shifted her chair closer, ears perked at the mention of Jaeil.
“You remember that emergency with Miss Han Jinhee?” Eunmi continued. “The 28-year-old with recurring cancer who suddenly coded?”
Eunmi nodded. “Dr. Choi said she thought Dr. Uhm was… well, pretty cool with how he handled the situation.”
“And I heard she was a fan of his back when he was in that group... What was it called?” Ki added, squinting as she tried to recall the name.
“Hi Boyz” Sabi blurted out, making both doctors jump in surprise.
“Right, that’s it! He even gave her an autograph.” Eunmi laughed softly.
“Anyway, we owe Dr. Uhm big time. Thanks to him, next year’s workload should be lighter for us.” Dahye stretched, then glanced over at Sabi, who was nervously biting her nails, eyes fixed on the floor.
“Don’t you have work to finish?” Dahye asked sharply.
“Ah, yes, sorry” Sabi muttered softly, quickly turning back to her table, fingers trembling as she tried to steady herself.
(Present)
February 29th 2024, 23:35
Sabi ruffled her short bob in frustration, her eyes flickering over the chaotic mess sprawled across the desk as she reached for another paper, as if burying herself in more medical terms could drown out the noise in her head.
Sabi hadn’t meant to keep thinking about it. But ever since that conversation two days ago, it kept circling back.
Jaeil wasn’t hovering around like he used to. No more casual study sessions, no offhand comments about new laparoscopic clips he’d found. And the churros, those had stopped too. She honestly grew sick of the sugar after the third or fourth time. But still, she noticed.
Maybe he got tired of always being the one to initiate. Maybe he realized she wasn’t... exactly open. Or maybe he’d never really been interested in her to begin with. It had been almost five months since that karaoke night. Maybe whatever excitement he’d felt had worn off.
Either way, she wasn’t going to ask.
She took a sip of her now-cold coffee, cringing slightly at the bitterness before turning back to her notes. The soft creak of the lounge door pulled her attention for a second, though she didn’t need to look up to know who it was. Yiyoung and Namkyung had clocked out over an hour ago, rushing off after she had half-heartedly suggested a late-night study session, a weak attempt to keep the silence from swallowing her whole.
The faint scent of antiseptic drifted in with the figure who entered.
As if fate were mocking her, the source of her dilemma stepped inside, exhaustion etched deep into his features. His scrub cap was askew, damp hair sticking to his forehead. His scrubs hung loose, rumpled, and stained with the remnants of a long shift. Dark circles under his eyes gave away the hours he hadn’t slept.
With a heavy sigh, Jaeil collapsed onto the bed in the corner. The mattress dipped beneath his weight as he let out a yawn, then slowly sat up again, slouching forward, shoulders curled inward like he was carrying the hospital on his back.
“You’re still here?” he asked, his voice low, a mix of surprise and concern.
“Hmm…”
Sabi hummed quietly, her eyes fixed on the paper in her hands. She didn’t dare look up, afraid that if she did, he would see the uncertainty written all over her face.
“The surgery ran longer than expected,” Jaeil said, rubbing the back of his neck. “Mrs. Kang had a lot of adhesions from her previous C-sections. We had to take it slow to avoid any perforations.”
He glanced over, waiting for a response. But she stayed silent, her gaze never wavering.
Trying again, he added, “Did you eat? I left a tuna sandwich in the fridge around lunch. It’s probably still there, unless Yiyoung found it. That girl eats like she has a bottomless pit.”
“No. I’m not hungry. Thanks,” she replied flatly.
That was enough to set off alarms in his head. She was colder and more detached than usual. Something was definitely wrong. He pushed himself up from the bed and pulled out the chair beside her.
“Yah, are you okay?" he asked more gently now. “Did something happen? Did Dr. Cha chew you out again?”
Sabi sighed, finally looking up for the first time since he walked in.
“There’s nothing wrong,” she muttered. “I’m just trying to focus, and you keep interrupting me. Can you not?”
She dropped the paper onto the desk with a soft thud, the annoyance in her voice sharper than intended. Jaeil flinched just slightly, taken aback. Then he frowned.
“You’re trying to focus with your paper upside down?”
She blinked, confused, and looked down. Sure enough, the page was upside down. Her cheeks flushed as she quickly flipped it over, silently cursing herself.
Jaeil bit his lip and asked softly, “You’re avoiding me. Did I do something wrong?”
That hit the mark.
She opened her mouth, ready to brush it off, to make up something harmless. But then she saw his face, that familiar pout, and just like that, her defenses began to crumble.
Sabi hated lying. But even more than that, she hated when things were left to fester in silence.
After a brief pause, she finally spoke. Her voice was low and carefully controlled, a stark contrast to the sharp edge it had carried before.
"Hey..."
Her heart pounded, and the ticking of the wall clock only made it worse, each sound suddenly loud in her ears, pressing harder against her nerves.
"There’s something I’ve been wondering about. And you know me. I can’t ignore a question once it gets stuck in my head."
Jaeil gave a slow nod, staying silent. He could tell she needed a moment, and the last thing he wanted was to rush her. Whatever this was, it mattered.
She hesitated, eyes flicking to the floor, to the wall, anywhere but him. Then finally, her voice broke through the silence.
"Did you lose interest in me?"
The words spilled fast, like she'd been holding them in too long.
"I tried to analyze the situation, carefully go through all the evidence. Your recent actions, things you’ve said..." Her voice trembled, like one breath too deep might shatter her completely.
"W- Woah, hey. Slow down." Jaeil stopped her trying to catch up, caught completely off guard. "What?" This wasn’t at all where he thought the night was heading.
So it wasn’t because I drank the coffee Professor Ryu gave her after all... He realized. I really thought that was the problem.
They lingered in a quiet silence before she spoke once more.
“I mean… ever since that night you confessed on New Year’s, I’ve felt you slowly pulling away,” Sabi said at last, her voice barely above a whisper.
“You stopped finding reasons to be near me like you used to. I lost count of how many times you made me watch that same video about adnexal torsion, at least three times, maybe more. It became this strange, unspoken ritual, and honestly, I started to look forward to it. Those damn churros, too.” She paused, gathering herself.
“They even started showing up in my dreams, like some silly, sweet reminder that you cared. But then… you stopped bringing them.” Her voice cracked on the last word. She swallowed hard, already regretting her words, knowing full well that this might only widen the gap between them.
"Sabi... I..."
“I know who I am. I’m not as emotionally intelligent as you, nor as socially adept as Namkyung. I understand that liking me can be exhausting, like trying to chip away at an iceberg with a spoon. But even so...” Her expression darkened, vulnerability breaking through. “I deserve clarity. Right now, you’re just confusing me. Did you ever really like me, or was it only because I used to be your fan? Because it made you feel good about yourself?”
“What are you talking about?” His shoulders sagged slightly as he struggled to keep his voice steady.
“Dr. Choi was a Hello Girl too. I met her during her OBGYN rotation. Honestly, it makes sense that you would be drawn to her. She’s the kind of woman any man would fall for— kind, warm, sincere, beautiful, petite. Unlike me.” She lowered her gaze, struggling to contain the emotions rising in her chest.
"The girls say we’re like oil and water, that we are too hot and too cold for each other. Even before that karaoke night, you told them I’m nothing like Dr. Jang, your type.”
At that moment, Jaeil’s heart began to sink.
He had never seen Sabi like this before. Not once. No matter how intense things got at the hospital, no matter the emergencies, the endless double shifts, or the exhaustion she wore like a second skin, she always stood tall. Calm. Steady. Like a tree with roots buried deep in the ground.
But even the strongest tree falters when doubt starts to rot its roots.
“Sabi-ya,” Jaeil said softly. He shifted his chair closer, just enough that she finally looked up, her eyes meeting his.
“I’m sorry. I never meant to make you feel that way. Hurting you or confusing you… that was the last thing I ever wanted.”
He didn’t look away. His gaze held hers, as if trying to will his words into her heart.
“But what you said isn’t true. Not this time. Your hypothesis failed, Dr. Kim.”
She searched his eyes for something, anything that might crack the surface. A flicker of doubt. A hesitation. But it wasn’t there. He looked at her with a kind of certainty that made her chest tighten.
“I didn’t stop being around you because I like you any less,” he said, voice lowered. “Kim Sabi, I’m still completely crazy about you. Even after hours in the OR, the only thing on my mind was whether you remembered to eat, hoping that the sandwich was still there.”
He let out a soft breath, almost a laugh. “Because it’s the twenty-ninth. And I know you don’t eat properly during your period.”
She blinked. He kept track of that?
It touched something deep inside her. It should have surprised her. But it didn’t. This was Jaeil, after all.
“But Sabi,” he continued, this time letting his eyes drop. His index finger traced slow, nervous circles on the desk. “That night, you were clear about your rules when it comes to dating. And I didn’t want you to feel overwhelmed or suffocated or that I was rushing you into something you weren’t ready for. So I backed off a little. Not because I stopped caring, but because I didn’t want to cross a line you had drawn.”
“And I was waiting…”
He lifted his head to glance at the clock on the wall, the only sound in the quiet room ticking steadily through the silence.
Tik. Tik. Tik. Tik.
March 1st 2024, 00:00
“You said we needed to know each other for at least a year before we started dating, right?” He turned toward her, a tentative smile tugging at the corner of his lips.
“It’s March 1st,” Sabi murmured, glancing at her phone to double-check.
“It is,” he echoed. “I’ve been waiting for today. I wanted to confess my feelings again, this time properly. But I didn’t plan for it to happen like this. No flowers, no chocolate. I thought I’d have more time. I didn’t know we’d end up having such a serious talk in the middle of the night.”
He rubbed the back of his neck, a nervous gesture that gave him away before his words could.
“Sabi-ya, I know it seemed like my feelings started after that karaoke night. That was when I began showing it. But the truth is, they started long before.”
Her brows lifted slightly, surprise flickering in her eyes.
“The first time I saw you, I knew. You were so composed, so articulate, so effortlessly sharp. You carried yourself with this quiet confidence that made people take you seriously without needing to raise your voice. But beyond that... you were kind. Not in loud, performative ways, but in small, thoughtful ones.”
Then he smiled at the memory forming in his mind.
“When Miss Hwang Gyeongju was admitted for labor, you made sure her father’s things were delivered to her. You were the only one who wondered if her boyfriend would show up. You cared. You didn’t say much about it, but I could see how deeply you felt. That’s when I realized you weren’t just brilliant. You were a good person too.”
“But if I’m being honest, with you and with myself, I was afraid. Deeply, painfully afraid. You were this impossible standard to me. A ten-foot wall I couldn’t climb, no matter how much I wanted to. You graduated top of your class from freaking Seoul National University. And me? I’m a washed-up idol who clawed his way into med school after his first dream collapsed. I didn’t think I had the right to even hope that someone like you could look at someone like me and see… potential.”
His eyes dropped to the floor, shoulders curling inward like he was trying to fold himself small enough to disappear.
“I never felt good enough. So I kept my feelings to myself. I thought it was better to stay near you quietly than risk losing you by wanting too much.”
“Don’t talk about yourself like that.”
Sabi’s voice cut through the air like a thread, tugging him back to reality.
That made Jaeil smile faintly before he continued, “That’s why that night in the karaoke room, when you suddenly joined me for the dance and knew our choreography by heart, it changed something in me. It felt like the key to my heart finally turned, and for the first time in a long while, I was able to feel... hopeful.” His voice grew steadier.
“It’s been over ten years since we disbanded, but you still remembered every step. Then my mind went back to all the times you just knew what I liked without me ever having to say it. That night, I realized you weren’t untouchable like I used to think. You were human, just like me. And at some point, we loved the same things too.”
He finished, his cheeks flushed from being so utterly exposed.
“So you’re saying I’m not perfect anymore?” she asked, pretending to be offended but with a smile tugging at her lips.
Jaeil’s reaction was immediate. “No, no, that’s not what I meant at all. I just…” He hesitated, visibly flustered. “I figured that under all the genius stuff, there’s just a cute girl who enjoys some silly K-pop dances every now and then.”
His ears were definitely burning red now.
“But Sabi Sabi…” Jaeil’s voice turned gentle as he reached out, brushing a stray strand of hair behind her ear. “You’ve got to stop listening to whatever Yiyoung and Namkyung are saying about us. Just listen to yourself. What you feel, okay? Don’t worry about Dr. Choi, or anyone else.” Then he gave her a small, teasing smile. “You’ll always be the number one Hello Girl in my heart.”
Sabi raised an eyebrow, “Not exactly a fierce competition. There are only nine of us.”
He let out a dramatic sigh and gave her a pout. “Please don’t ruin the moment.”
He paused, though, his expression shifting as something clicked.
“Wait. Today’s March 1st, isn’t it?”
Sabi nodded. “Yeah. Why?”
He looked at her again, more closely this time, the playful spark in his eyes softening into something more tender.
“That means it’s been exactly a year since we met.”
Her second nod came slower.
Jaeil smiled, “Sabi-ya. Don’t you think it’s about time you gave me an answer?”
Sabi thought for a moment about wriggling her way out of this again. She could stall, keep putting off giving him an answer until she finished her year-long analysis of Uhm Jaeil as a potential boyfriend. She wanted to see if the p-value of her hypothesis was significant. That was how she always dealt with things.
But tonight, seeing Jaeil so vulnerable and open, all that data suddenly felt irrelevant. Sitting next to her was someone she trusted completely, someone who would never break her heart but would instead piece it back together.
So for the first time ever, she trusted her feelings without running additional mental calculations.
She took a slow breath, trying to calm the fluttering in her chest. Looking away, she nervously fiddled with the edge of her coat. “I’ve been going over the data since January,” she said quietly, voice steady but soft underneath, “and… well, the results are kind of inconclusive.”
She glanced back at him, expression unreadable. “So, I guess that means I haven’t completely ruled you out... If you want a clear answer… it’s not no.”
Jaeil grinned, clearly amused. “Inconclusive, huh? Sounds like I’m going to have to stick around for more evaluations” He nudged her shoulder gently. “But if ‘not no’ means you like me even a little, I’m counting that as a win.”
Her cheeks flushed pink. “I… maybe it is,” she admitted, barely above a whisper.
“What?”
She stood up quickly, cheeks burning. “I’m saying… I like you too. Fine, I like you. Uhm Jaeil.” She covered her face, voice a little too loud.
Jaeil’s eyes went wide, completely caught off guard. He blinked a few times, disbelief softening into a small, genuine smile. He stood slowly, turning to face her. Gently, he slid her hands away from her face and asked, “Wait… you actually like me? For real?”
Sabi’s cheeks flushed deep red, her breath catching for a moment. “Yeah. I do. I like you. And please, just stop making me say it again.”
Jaeil grinned wide, the fatigue from his earlier surgery fading away as Sabi’s words finally sank in. She liked him too, really liked him. He hadn’t expected her to admit it so quickly or so plainly.
He fought the urge to pull her into a hug, knowing that for someone who had just opened up like this, physical contact might be too much and too soon.
He held back, choosing instead to ask gently, “So… what happens now? Does this mean we’re actually dating?”
Sabi paused and looked up at him with a hesitant smile. After her confession and after stepping so far out of her comfort zone, there was no hiding anymore. She nodded shyly.
Jaeil’s grin grew wider, a playful spark lighting his eyes. “Then I guess that means I get to hold your hand soon, right?” His voice was teasing but tender as he glanced down at their hands barely touching, fingertips close enough to feel each other’s warmth.
“For that, I have strict rules too,” Sabi said in a flat, almost serious voice. “No hand holding until we’ve been dating for at least three months. No hugging until our six-month anniversary. And if everything goes well and we don’t break up, maybe a kiss after the first year.”
Jaeil’s head snapped up, surprised. “Are you serious?”
She kept the same even tone. “No, it’s a joke.”
He shook his head, grinning. “Sabi, you really need to stop hanging out with Professor Ryu. He’s seriously rubbing off on you.”
But before he could say anything else, Sabi suddenly threw herself over his shoulders. Their small height difference made it easy for her to drape herself across him, resting her head on his shoulder.
Jaeil froze for a moment, caught off guard by the sudden closeness. A surprised noise escaped his lips, but it quickly softened into a warm smile as his arms slid around her lower back, pulling her closer.
“Aren't we moving too fast, Dr. Kim?” he teased, his voice low and playful as he tried to soak up every bit of warmth from her. “What happened to those strict rules of yours?”
Sabi pressed her face more firmly against his shoulder. “Just be quiet and hug me.”
Jaeil laughed softly and tightened his hold. “Okay. No complaints here.”
For a moment, they just stood there, caught between the noise of the hospital and the stillness they found in each other. The world kept moving around them, but in that quiet space, everything felt simple, like this was exactly where they were supposed to be.