( recommendation ...................

because of her marvelous efforts and outstanding skills ...........

noticed by assistant Prof / Jung Yonghwa

the heads of the cardio thoracic department approved the recommendation of accepting Dr/ Seo Juhyun residency at the mentioned above department

signature : Prof / Park Seju
Prof / Kang Deok
12/ 3 / 2017 )

~ ~ ~ ~

i stared at the letter for several minutes , re-reading every single word until i memorized it all ; however i couldn't understand a thing

nothing about that letter made sense , why did i get recommended by Dr.jung and why i'm suddenly having the opportunity to be a cardiac surgeon , why am i having what i've always worked for !?

it's suspicious , it's certainly a trap played by Dr.jung ! it wouldn't surprise me if it turns out a fake letter

i traced my hand over the letters Braille reading them then rose the paper high up for the light to pass through , detecting any shady lines , is it fake ? or is it not ?

i almost went insane thinking about it , until i decided to rush toward Dr.jung office , tightly clutching the recommendation letter in my hand

inhaling a deep breath and knocking his door sternously , my heart throbbed vigorously for hearing his dull voice

" come in "

i flung the door open and walked a thudding steps toward Dr. jung who was sitting behind his desk revising patient files .

i slammed the letter on his desk with an echoing smack " what is this ? "

Dr. jung surely took his time before he replied my anger with a relaxed tone " it's written in korean though "

i was getting annoyed by how cunning he was acting even though he knew excatly what i'm talking about !

i got closer and stuck my waist to his desk " why did you do it ? "

" didn't you plead for this last night , clinging onto me and whining like a kid " he reasoned

i shrank at his words embarrassed , wishing if i could disappear instantly

i shook my head in a trial to focus on the main issue

this isn't right , last night despite me getting drunk i still remember vividly his heartless - i don't care - response
, so what could've been happened overnight for him to have a change of heart ?

definitely it was a trap

" i can't accept this " i decided firmly

" okay " yonghwa sighed softly and extended his arm across the desk , pressing his fingers on the letter and pulling it slowly toward him

my eyes followed the letter crawling away from me in a slow motion , that mere piece of paper had all my dreams clinging to it , my last chance was sliding away from me forever ..

i hurried and pressed a flat hand over the letter hindering it from moving further

" i thought you said you couldn't accept it " he mocked

i corrected " i can't accept it UNLESS i pay you back "

Dr. jung held my gaze " i don't need your money , ottokee ? "

i suggested " i'll help you edit your paper work "

" shiroo , i do my work personally "

" watch over your critical patients "

" that's your job "

" i'll do anyth... "

" i don't need anything from you , now what ? " he smirked enjoying the scene of me burning out my pride into ashes and pleading for him for the second time - sober this time .

i gazed at the letter again and swallowed my pride

appa and omma who are in heaven , please forgive this shameless daughter of yours , i'm sorry for the sins i did and will do .. amen

i rose my determined gaze up to Dr.jung and asked him earnestly

" let's get married ! "

moments passed as i consciously regulated my breathing ; deep inhales and exhales , the shame killing me

" .. or .. whatever " i mumbled softly in shame

he chuckled , laughed , hilariously laughed out loud as if it was his first and hopefully his last ..

i everted my gaze away in pain , extra humiliating when it comes from him

" that was my first time ever getting a proposal " he said amidst his annoying giggles

" i'm sure it is "

" i thought being drunk was your excuse for last night , but apparently it's in your blood " he smiled reflecting how shameless i am

it was too much and i started to question myself if it's all worth it , getting married to someone like him for whatever reason !

" forget about it " i groaned in anger and pulled my hand away from the letter , i gave him my back to head out
i'll just be anyone whose available , dermatologist ophthalmologist or whatever ..

" Let's do it " he called out for me urgently

when i turned over and saw his deadly serious face and his earnest expression ; i knew it

he just needed that crazy opportunity as much as me or even more . he wasn't the one in control here but we were both equally in charge of this insane deal

" Let's do this "

and by those words , i announce myself officially ; a cardio thoracic surgeon

----------------------------------

7:00 p.m

few hours passed since yonghwa last meeting with seohyun , he had performed an elective aortic valve replacement surgery and answered a two emergency calls for thoracic traumas

when lee joon handled the rest of the emergency calls , yonghwa went to check on songki - the comatose patient in the ICU , his condition wasn't getting any better moreover deteriorating ..

he clenched a grip over the bed rail gradually squeezing harder , he was conceited about his own skills enough that he refused to accept his loss just yet

a death from an elective surgery would burn a black hole in his C.V that he could never pile with whatever goods he does later ..

whatever wrong with that patient , it had nothing to do with his surgical skills , and he had to prove it somehow , that patient had to wake up no matter what

he left songki unit and walked toward the cardio thoracic residents room on the same floor

he opened the door and went in , the small room was too dark , the lights were off with no source of illumination especially that it had no clear window like his office ..
two bunk beds were there for four persons and one small couch , a rectangular woody table in the middle

he remembers how much he hated that suffocating room that he spent his residency resting in the hallway or stealthily in vacant wards

the room was too quiet to assume anyone was there , the beds were vacant due to the residents hectic tasks in the moment , but he paid that uncomfortable visit for someone who was surely would be there , that person will always be there in his room if they don't have a surgery in the moment ..

" yonghwa hyung " he heard a lazy voice coming from the couch direction ..

the young boy was sleeping on the couch with a book covering his face as if it wasn't so dark already

and to add up to his weird instincts , the boy usually can identify the staff by hearing their unique walking pattern

" minhyuk , does songki current condition make sense to you ? " yonghwa reminded minhyuk of the patient he assisted as the main anesthesiologist a few days ago

the MRI had no brain or evident infarction , so a word from minhyuk could solve the mystery if he did witness a sudden drop of the blood pressure or unusual reaction to the general anesthesia which might explain the patient coma

minhyuk voice came muffled for the book still resting on his face
" everything makes no sense when it comes to human body , yet it's usually explainable "

yonghwa understood the vague answer , it meant minhyuk couldn't relate songki coma to any unusual event either

when yonghwa turned around and decided to leave , minhyuk called " hyung "

yonghwa paused , and minhyuk continued " someone is interested in songki's medical records as much as you , waiting for the perfect moment to bring you down - be cautious "

" i know " the hyung calmly replied and walked out

yonghwa surely knew his enemies around the hospital as clear as knowing his way to his office

-- -- --
when yonghwa went back to his office , he waited for both seohyun and jonghyun arrival as previously scheduled

seohyun was there on time , but they had to wait for a while until Dr.jonghyun handled the patient in the burns unit

when Dr.jonghyun arrived yonghwa's office and found seohyun waiting there , he immediately connected the dots and understood what's going on ..

however , they explained a little more why they needed him ..

" so you are going to do it after all " jonghyun was impressed by his own fruitful efforts and laughed hard , he spent the last 15 minutes giggling , throwing sarcastic congrats and praising them for following his epic plan

" can't we just get this done quickly " seohyun said in mental agony

jonghyun cleared his throat trying to get serious as much as his amusement allowed but when he glanced yonghwa and seohyun , the way they mirrored each other on the couch , giving their back to each other and crossing arms on their chest sulkily made jonghyun crack all over again
" what a cute couple ! "

yonghwa got enough of his sarcasm and decided calmly " jonghyun we'll just call for a lawyer , you can go perform your comedian sketch somewhere else "

jonghyun giggled " ah please manage your temper issues hyung , you're -soon to be- a husband and father "

" what the .. "

" father , my " seohyun murmured

yonghwa pointed at her and shouted " insult me one more time and i'll file a lawsuit against you "

seohyun rolled her eyes on him ignorantly so yonghwa wriggled to jump on her but jonghyun blocked him firmly from throwing a physical tantrum on the girl

" you two , what happened to the both of you , you were just lovely dovy one moment ago "

" SHUT UP " the couple responded in sync

after a while , jonghyun calmed his urges to joke down and worked on his laptop to write the marriage contract

seohyun sat a seat away from jonghyun however sharing the same couch , while yonghwa sat on the other couch viewing a patient file until jonghyun is ready to handle this seriously

with each moment passing , seohyun was getting a little more nervous , she leaned toward jonghyun whispering for him " help me out Dr.Lee , i know you're friends with Dr. jung but please be fair "

jonghyun assured " i'm on your side from this moment seohyun~ah , me and yonghwa aren't really close, i just hang out with him once in while "

seohyun smiled thankful for jonghyun fair attitude , she bit her lip in worry and whispered for jonghyun again " what if his real girlfriend show up later during the fake marriage ? "

jonghyun chuckled " does yonghwa look like a man whose receiving any love whatsoever ! "

seohyun nodded " you're right , who would want him back anyway "

" and you seohyun~ah ? your boyfriend .. "

" don't worry , i assure you he will never show up " seohyun sighed

" why is he dead or something ? " jonghyun giggled

seohyun touched her pony tail " quite similar , you could say he's a non-existent "

jonghyun had a good laugh until yonghwa shut the file he was holding and threw it on the table , gesturing for them how impatient he was getting

" wah , it's all ready hyung "

jonghyun started typing the document under the title of ( the contract for jung yonghwa and seo juhyun marriage ) ..

yonghwa started " it's a contracted marriage valid for 6 months or until the Paris university registration date , whatever her career situation at that time wether she's a surgeon or jobless "

" he can never dispel me from the department , even after he gets his professor position in Paris " seohyun countered

" nice and fluent , both of you are doing great considering it's your first time "

" i watched a lot of dramas " seohyun confidently responded to jonghyun joke , when yonghwa added one more condition " no one whatsoever should know about us being married , a secretive marriage"

" sure " seohyun nodded whole heartedly because she didn't want any public connection with him either until she remembered her halmoni

" my family should know ! tiffany unnie too "

" what part of 'secretive' you didn't get ! " yonghwa stared at her in disbelief

" i can't do this without my family consent , i can't "

jonghyun interjected " come on yonghwa , she's right ! how would she register a marriage without telling her family "

yonghwa groaned irritated, he understood the consequences of dragging her family in that play , he'll have to act like a husband for once or more , a fake wedding included

seohyun talked " i'm not asking for much , you'll have to meet my halmoni , a wedding ... and .. "
yonghwa sighed even more , it's nauseous just like what he predicted

she continued bluntly " and .. let me live in your house "

yonghwa couldn't hide his trivial surprise looking at seohyun for a verification , when she buried a hole with her finger into the leather couch avoiding the eye contact - he realized she was serious

" my house isn't for sharing "

" hyung , you're surely acting like a shy girl here " jonghyun teased

yonghwa didn't care about whatever names jonghyun was calling him , his home his private territory he wasn't going to let anyone in , never !

he stood up and walked toward the clear window view " this isn't working for me , let's forget about it "

jonghyun sighed in pain , the joyful session was coming to an end abruptly that he didn't get the chance to make a fun memories out of it , but he knew that once yonghwa made up his mind not to do something - it's really over - no force on earth could illustrate him to do otherwise

" do you have a plenty of time to be acting this arrogant ? "

they both heard seohyun talking calmly , her stable voice cutting sharp the chaotic atmosphere they had for earlier

she continued " i'm sure you aren't doing this for fu