CH 62

Yiyoung suddenly fell silent, causing Muyeol to glance at her.

“Hey,” Yiyoung suddenly said.

“Yeah?”

“I never knew I would miss another person so much until now.” Yiyoung fixed a stare on him.

Muyeol frowned, and Yiyoung thought he did not want to listen to her. Still, she wanted him to know her feelings. “It’s only been a short while since I started living with you, but it’s been a great source of comfort for me. Knowing that I live with someone else, hearing the sound of you living, moving about in the same house; I liked all of that.”

Muyeol lowered his head. “You did that to yourself, and for no reason, too. You should have just cried for help like a normal child when you were going through tough times back then.”

An unnoticeable smile bloomed on Yiyoung’s face as she realized that Muyeol was well-aware of her inner struggles. “You’re right. I should have expressed my feelings. I should have acted like a child for once.”

“It’s still not too late.”

“No, it is. My parents have already passed away.”

Muyeol lifted his head and looked her in the eye. “No, it’s not.”

An inexplicable warmth exploded in Yiyoung’s chest as she met his gaze. It was similar to what she felt earlier, when he spoke to her in a soft voice and acted close to her. But she couldn’t understand what was causing her heart to race so much.

The warmth spread all over her body, and this time, Yiyoung dropped her head instead, quickly changing the subject of their conversation. “By the way, how’s your fever these days? Is it still the same?”

Muyeol used to be at his weakest whenever he caught a fever, so she always inquired after his condition when she recalled it.

“It comes back sometimes,” he said calmly.

“The fever remedies still don’t work?” Coincidence had led them to be classmates for all the years in junior high school. During their time together, she had come to learn that he was immune to all fever medications, so he could only wait the fever out.

“Yeah.”

Yiyoung stole a glance at him, but he caught her gaze; startled, she ducked her head. He kept his eyes locked on her, and her heart thumped loudly. She couldn’t eat the ramen anymore, sadly watching it get soggy instead.

“The ramen’s for $50,” she said, trying her best to come up with another subject to talk about.

“Okay.”

Tonight, her bowl of ramen tasted amazing, like a dish served in a seven-star hotel—if one ever existed.

* * * 

Yiyoung sat in the hospital cafeteria with her friend, Dr. Park Jaehee, after a long time. After experiencing the adverse effects of working continuous night shifts, Yiyoung was finally back to working day shifts. Jaehee had sprinted toward her the moment she spotted her. It was Jaehee’s day off, but she had still decided to work.

Jaehee started nagging Yiyoung the moment they found a seat. “I heard your nose started bleeding.”

“I cauterized it. It’s fine now.”

“What’s the point? You’ll only bleed again once you get back to work.”

“I decided not to work like that again.” Yiyoung took a bite of her food. “It was draining all my energy.”

“That’s why you shouldn’t mind others’ business too much.”

“Okay, sister. Please have your meal. The shift isn’t over yet.”

“That’s right. Okay.”

The fear of being summoned to the ER at a moment’s notice hung over their heads, so they scarfed down the food as quickly as they could. They had to eat whatever they could in the short amount of time they got. After lunch was over, they walked to the cafe near the cafeteria. 

The two of them were sipping their coffee when Jaehee asked, “Is it true?” 

“What?”

“About Dr. Kang,” Jaehee clarified, “I heard he’s participating in the dissertation?”

“That’s true.” 

“But it’s unbelievable. How could he publicly favor Dr. Kang like that?”

Jaehee was huffing over Professor Jung’s behavior. This morning, he had summoned Yiyoung to his office.

“I relied on the suggestions of people around me, and decided to work with Dr. Kang for the dissertation. You’ll eventually get a chance, too, so don’t be too disappointed. Just keep up your work, the ER is heavily reliant on you, Dr. Yoon.”  He had made it seem like he was going to make her work like a mule. 

Yiyoung loved being a doctor, but she also expected to receive recognition after working so hard, harder than anyone else. What she desired was the honor that came with the job. So after Professor Jung was done speaking, she took one look at him and walked out without giving him a response. 

“Let’s not talk about it,” Yiyoung spat out coldly, “It’s ruining my coffee’s taste.”

Jaehee looked at Yiyoung with sympathy. In terms of performance, Yiyoung was more outstanding than anyone. But… that was all she had going on for herself.

If Yiyoung could have received some support, she would have been in a much different position by now. But she hated it when Dr. Kang brought up the differences in their families, she had heard such things from far too many people.

“I’ve been hearing such things since I was fourteen, so stop. If I hear it once more, I’ll end up hating people.” Yiyoung sucked at the straw. “It’s been a while since I’ve had a good lunch like this. Let me digest it peacefully so I can return to work.”

“Okay, I’ll stop,” said Jaehee.

And just then, Dr. Kang passed by them, and also recognized Jaehee. “Oh, Dr. Park! Aren’t you off-duty today? What are you doing here?”

“What do you think I’d be doing at a cafe? I’m drinking coffee.” Jaehee spared him a brief glance.

Dr. Kang laughed out loud, but disappeared quickly due to her hostility. Jaehee was well-aware of how he leeched off of Yiyoung’s hard work by always sticking to her. 

Jaehee opened her mouth, ready to say something, but Yiyoung quickly interrupted her, “I want to have a good lunch.”

Jaehee quietly swallowed the profanities she was about to spit, gulping down her coffee instead.