Work Text:
The Culprit (Jan. 24, 2020 / 4:10PM)
Ahn Jeong-won could feel everyone’s eyes on him as he entered the Yulje Café. He was sure he at least made himself look presentable before leaving his office earlier. He just came out of his second ER surgery that day and hadn’t had a decent time to freshen up. But he certainly knew there’s nothing in his present appearance that warranted this kind of attention from everyone (or at least the Yulje staff currently spending their breaks in the area.)
His growling stomach though was much more of a priority for him than trying to read other people’s minds. His quick steps suddenly slowed down when he saw the long line in the counter. He almost lost hope of getting a quick snack when he saw a familiar figure in the queue.
Jeong-won made a beeline towards his friend and now hunger-saviour Yang Seok-hyeong. Jeong-won flashed his big smile to Seok-hyeong but the latter was too focus on his phone to bother.
“Seokhyeong-ah, can you buy my food along with yours?” Jeong-won asked when Seok-hyeong still didn’t greet him back after almost a minute. His request finally forced Seok-hyeong to look up from his phone. Only one customer was separating them from the cashier.
His ever-polite friend then turned to the stranger behind them. He didn’t have to say anything as the middle-aged woman was already nodding her head to Seok-hyeong’s silent question. Both of the doctors said their thanks although, in Jeong-won’s mind, he knew there’s nothing wrong with what he asked. And Seok-hyeong saw through it. He was about to call him out but the cashier already asked them their orders.
“One iced Americano and a clubhouse sandwich, please,” Jeong-won said ignoring Seok-hyeong’s accusing scowl.
“I’ll also get a cold iced Americano and a ham sandwich, please,” and like an afterthought, Seok-hyeong grabbed two packs of shortbread cookies from the counter, “and I’ll take these too.”
“You didn’t eat your lunch too?” Jeong-won asked as they moved on the side to wait for their orders. He then grabbed the receipt from Seok-hyeon’s hand to see how much he had to pay him.
“I did but I’m starving after finishing all my out-patient appointments. And this one’s for my resident,” Seok-hyeong motioning to the cookies on his hand, “she’s probably hungry too. And oh, here, you can give the other one to Gyeo-ul.”
Jeong-won took the cookies while Seok-hyeong put Jeong-won’s payment on his wallet.
“Why do my friends feel like they had to feed my girlfriend?” Jeong-won asked to no one in particular but Seok-hyeong answered anyway.
“Because we don’t want her to realize she’s dating a scrooge.”
Jeong-won wanted to argue with that but the buzzer on Seok-hyeong’s hand vibrated and they went back to the counter to pick up their orders. Both of them took long sips on their cups of cold bitter coffee as they walked out of the café. Jeong-won tried to ignore some nurses’ stares as they passed but his mind was already trying to rack up any reason why he seemingly gets everyone’s attention.
They were already inside the elevator when Seok-hyeong finally spoke again, “You’re going to the General Surgery’s break room?” his hand hovering over the elevator buttons.
“No, I’ll eat in my office,” Jeong-won answered, pushing the button to his floor instead.
“Besides, we’re trying to keep our relationship ‘low-key’ you know?” Jeong-won added. He was smiling proudly after successfully using a new slang he learned after spending the weekend with Gyeo-ul.
Seok-hyeong faced his friend and questioned, “If you’re trying to keep it low-key then why did you do that?”
Jeong-won’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion, “did what?”
The Night Before (Jan. 24, 2020 / 3:19AM)
Jeong-won was exhausted but he couldn’t erase the smile on his face. He looked at the clock and saw it was already three o’clock in the morning. He spent most of his night editing the photos he took during the weekend.
He and Gyeo-ul participated in a charity event sponsored by the association for pediatric surgeons in Seoul. At first, he was reluctant to ask her to come with him. It was her precious day off and he was asking her to spend it in another hospital. He was glad he did though. Seeing Gyeo-ul with children was a delight to watch.
Granted, Gyeo-ul was awkward at first. She’s not that good with children she said but Jeong-won thought otherwise. With a little bit of a nudge from him, Gyeo-ul started loosening up and showed her natural caring self to the children in the orphanage hospital.
Jeong-won’s heart ached a bit as he scrolled through photos of these angels on his phone. But then it was immediately replaced when he saw some moments he captured of parents and their adopted children who volunteered with them. There’s always hope in everything, he reminded himself to stop himself from thinking depressing thoughts in this vulnerable hour.
He did found hope as he stopped scrolling and enlarge one photo that vanished all those sad thoughts away. A quarter of Gyeo-ul’s face was hidden behind a young girl. Both of them were smiling brightly for Jeong-won’s camera. He suddenly regretted not bringing his rangefinder camera. It was a long time ago when he decided to stop taking photos of his patient but now he wanted to start doing photography again.
Gyeo-ul’s smile at the photo was breath-taking but he felt his phone camera didn’t capture it in its full glory. He could still remember how he thought the green shade of her shirt suited her really well; how she should always wear contact lenses because he realized her big specs was hiding her sparkling eyes. Jeong-won couldn’t see it but his face was reflecting that of Gyeo-ul’s.
A yawn escaped his mouth; reminding him that he should go to bed now. He just had to do one thing first. He then opened an SNS app on his phone and selected some of the photos on his camera roll. He typed in 24.20 on his keypad before deciding to upload it on his SNS. It had been so long since his last update and he thought this weekend’s photos were the perfect thing to post to break his hiatus. His phone pinged after he finished uploading the photos. He didn’t bother to check it again and climbed to his bed. He immediately fell asleep; totally unaware of the “chaos” he made online.
The Morning After (Jan. 24, 2020 / 6:47AM)
There’s nothing that could stop Jang Gyeoul when she’s eating. Especially if it’s breakfast. It was the only meal of the day she won’t ever skip. She checked the time on her phone. She only had thirteen minutes left before her shift started and her tray was still half full. She just took a spoonful of rice when Chu Min-ha joined her in the table, occupying the empty sit in front of her.
“Look at you and your big appetite,” Min-ha said as her way of greeting, “you’re in the morning shift this week, right? Lucky you.”
“You should go get some sleep in the on-call room right after you eat,” Gyeo-ul said after noticing the dark circles under her friend’s eyes.
“I look that bad?” Min-ha asked and Gyeo-ul just nodded, her mouth already filled again with food.
“Ah, the night shift really doesn’t suit me,” Min-ha grumbled pushing her food on the tray. “They say people in love couldn’t eat a lot. Guess those magazines are wrong.”
Gyeo-ul almost choked with Min-ha’s remarks. She said it out of the blue. She and Jeong-won were dating for almost just a month and they were making an effort to keep their relationship under the radar. They even made some ridiculous rules on how they act towards each other while they’re both on duty. But people around them kept on saying things like this. As if there’s a flashing sign on her forehead that announces to everyone that she’s in too deep with her feelings for Jeong-won.
“We’re taking things slow,” Gyeo-ul explained, updating her friend to her conversation with Jeong-won the other day. They’re both new to this and they're both busy with their own careers. So, they decided to just take one step at a time.
“Taking things slowly, eh?” Min-ha probed, her tone dripping with doubt. “That’s why you accompanied him on a charity event which usually is for married surgeons.”
“There were other young couples there as well,” Gyeo-ul sounded too defensive than she intended to be. Then, she suddenly realized that she never told Min-ha about their weekend date. At least not yet. “How did you know I was with him in that event?”
Min-ha put down her chopsticks and picked up her phone, “you haven’t seen his post yet?” Her fingers moved swiftly on her phone’s screen. When she finally found the post in question, she turned her phone towards her best friend.
Good thing Gyeo-ul had already gulped down the water from her glass or else she could have spurted it out on the table. There it was. A photo of her smiling with a young girl. Her eyes flicked through the uploader’s username and then back to the photo. He indeed posted it on his grid. It was there for everyone to see.
The Chastisement (Jan. 24, 2020 / 5:23PM)
Rule number five: no posting of sweet nothings on any of their social media accounts. Jeong-won clearly remembered that rule. One they agreed without thinking. He wasn’t big on social media and mostly used it as a way to communicate with his friends. Out of all the rules they made for their relationship, he never thought he would be breaking this one.
He banged his forehead on the wall beside the door to their department’s break room. It was as if the act was his punishment to himself for his foolish acts. It was too late to put down the post as most of their mutual friends already liked the photos. Some even dropped a comment or two. His account was set on private but Lee Ik-jun (that darn gossipy human being, he thought) posted the photo on his account's story. Proudly captioning how happy he was for his so-called daughter. Of course, almost everyone in Yulje follows Ik-jun. Hence, the stares of the staff around him in the cafe.
So much for keeping it low-key. It was like he shouted from Yulje’s rooftop how badly he got it for Gyeo-ul. He made a mental note to hunt Ik-jun later. For now, he had to deal with Gyeo-ul. She didn’t reply to his text but he knew she was just inside the break room. Probably plotting how she would punish his foolish boyfriend.
When he finally gathered some strength, he stood straight and grabbed the door’s handle. No turning back now. He slowly slid it open and stepped inside the room. He was trying his hardest to make the least noise as possible. He knew Gyeo-ul like total silence when she’s concentrating on her studies. Like she was doing at the moment.
Jeong-won watched Gyeo-ul flipped through the thick file she was holding. She was unaware of the intruder in the room. Or so Jeong-won thought.
“I heard you we’re called twice in the ER today, Professor.” Jeong-won almost had a heart attack when Gyeo-ul spoke. He put his hand on his chest as if that would stop his heart from beating so fast. He’s not sure if it was from surprise or from nervousness or both.
“Ne,” he said briefly, not knowing what to say next. He decided to stand beside Gyeo-ul because he didn’t deserve to sit next to her at all. He put down the pack of cookies next to her cup of warm milk, hoping the gesture would alleviate her anger.
He's not used to this. Jeong-won was always the angry one while Gyeo-ul stayed calm and unbothered. He suddenly wished there's a crash course on how to appease an angry girlfriend.
“Gyeo-ul,” he started, carefully watching Gyeo-ul’s expression. “I need to tell you something.”
Gyeo-ul marked the page she was reading before she faced him. And Jeong-won wished she didn’t. Her eyes make it harder for him to come up with an excuse for his blunder.
“I know we already talked about not talking about our personal things at work,” he mentally kicked himself for his lack of grace at the moment, “but can you give me an exemption just this once? Because while we’re at it, you might want to know that I actually broke our rule.”
“What rule?” Gyeo-ul inquired and Jeong-won met her gaze. She didn’t look mad but her brows were knitted together. He put his hands on his white coat’s pockets to avoid smoothening out that crease on her forehead. Rule number two: no skinship when they’re both working.
“You know that rule, umh, our rule of no posting of anything about our relationship online,” Jeong-won gulped, bracing himself for Gyeo-ul’s wrath.
Instead of being reprimanded though, Gyeo-ul just burst out in laughter.
“I thought you did something bad,” she said. “If it’s about that photo you posted, then it’s okay. That still didn’t change my mind about posting personal stuff online but I’m okay with this slip-up.”
Jeong-won was instantly flooded with relief. He thought this would be their first quarrel but as it turned out it was a non-issue for Gyeo-ul. This ‘almost debacle’ made him realized how inexperienced he was in this area. He was really navigating in new waters and he didn’t want to drown because of a dumb slip-up.
“Gyosunim,” Gyeo-ul said, snapping Jeong-won out of his reverie. His girlfriend stood-up in front of him. The tip of her shoes touching his. She was standing too close that he could smell that green apple scent of the cologne she used. At this point, he’d probably break one of their rules again if she decided to step one more time.
“Can I make another exemption?” She asked, her eyes finding his as her hands went up to his shoulders, using it as an anchor for her to close the gap between them.
Gyeo-ul’s lips touched Jeong-won’s softly. She obviously intended it to be short and quick but Jeong-won thought that since they were already breaking their rules, they might as well shattered it fully.
Jeong-won’s hands found its way on her face; cradling it carefully as he deepened their kiss. The taste of milk was still on her tongue and Jeong-won made sure he had a taste of it. They fell into a now-familiar rhythm. His hands tracing invisible lines from her nape to her neck and back to her soft cheeks while her fingers traveled from his shoulder to his hair. Tugging a bit whenever Jeong-won’s lips press harder. They have each other’s touch memorized and immortalized in their mind. That’s just after a month of spending almost every available minute with each other.
Jeong-won silently wondered how much more they could learn about each other in the next days, weeks, and years. He swore his heart made a somersault with that exciting thought. Their lips met for another brief moment before they reluctantly pulled away to catch their breaths. Their foreheads resting at each other. Maybe some rules were really meant to be broken.