Chapter Text
“Min-gu’s tests all came back normal and she was able to pass gas already. She seems pretty active, so we can discharge her in a day or two.” Ahn Jeong-won smiled at the woman in front of him.
Gyeo-ul glanced at the pediatric surgeon next to her. Knowing her professor, he was delighted that his patient was making good progress after her surgery.
The patient’s mother smiled at Jeong-won, a look of relief etched across her face. “Thank you, Dr. Ahn, thank you so much. Min-gu is so lucky to have you as her doctor.”
Jeong-won smiled at her, feeling jubilant.
A ringing coming from inside Jeong-won’s coat pocket called his attention.
“Yes? Yes…alright. I’ll be right over.” Click.
Jeong-won bowed to Min-gu’s mother. “Excuse me, I have to get to a meeting.” He turned to the GS resident next to him. “Dr. Jang, could you check in on Lee Chul-hee? She needs a change of dressing.”
Gyeo-ul nodded, “De, gyusonim.”
Jeong-won smiled at her knowingly, then turned on his heel.
Gyeo-ul stared at the retreating figure that was her boyfriend.
“He’s amazing, isn’t he?”
Gyeo-ul looked at the patient’s mother, surprised by the comment. “Dr. Ahn is so handsome and kind. I wonder if he’s married.”
The nurse at the station chimed in from behind them. “Ma’am, Dr. Ahn isn’t married. He doesn’t have a girlfriend either.” She giggled.
The 40-year-old woman looked thrilled. “He isn’t?” She sighed. “I have a cousin I’d like to introduce him to.” She turned to Gyeo-ul. “Do you think he’d be interested, doctor?”
Gyeo-ul was speechless.
Lee Ik-jun was making the rounds again today. Not on any of his patients – he had finished seeing all of them earlier. He was out checking up on his friends, seeing which one of them could be bothered.
He entered the General Surgery department, whistling the theme for Pororo.
Inside the office, his lone GS resident was sitting down, eyes glued to the computer.
“Dr. Jang,” he called out. “What are you up to?”
Gyeo-ul glanced over at Prof. Lee. She turned back to the screen. “Hello, professor. I’m just checking out a patient’s chart. I’m assisting in Prof. Hwang’s gastric bypass tomorrow.”
Ik-jun took out a baseball from his pocket, tossing it around. “Where’s Jeong-won? I haven’t seen him all day.”
“He seems pretty busy today.”
Ik-jun nodded, wondering if he should barge in on Seok-hyeong at the OB-Gyne department next.
Gyeo-ul turned her swivel chair, facing Ik-jun. “Professor,” she bit her lip. “When you were in school together…did Prof. Ahn get a lot of attention from other girls?”
Ik-jun sat back, deep in thought. “I think Jeong-won was fairly popular, especially during medical school. He was an athlete too, you know.”
Gyeo-ul sighed. “Do you think Prof. Ahn is still popular now?”
Ik-jun looked at his resident, clearly amused by the question. “I think so. Haven’t you noticed?’
Gyeo-ul looked down, pouting.
“Look, Gyeoul-ah,” Ik-jun walked up to her. “Surgeons are pretty popular in general. When people learn you can hold a scalpel, they have a different level of respect for you.”
Gyeo-ul looked up at him.
“And Jeong-won, he’s a special kind of surgeon. He’s more caring and considerate than the usual doctor. He’s nice to everyone. You should be proud of how good a person your boyfriend is.”
“I know,” Gyeo-ul agreed. “Everybody likes him a lot.”
She sighed. “The nurses at the station keep talking about him.”
Gyeo-ul turned back to the computer, as though wanting to end the conversation right there.
Ik-jun was far too amused now not to meddle in this.
“You know, Gyeo-ul, you should just tell people he’s your boyfriend.” He laughed.
“An-dwe,” she replied. “It would only cause trouble.”
From behind her, Ik-jun continued tossing his ball around, a mischievous glint in his eye.