“What’s it like dating a hot resident?”

Nayoung and Yerin paused in their conversations about surgical advancements. They turned to the renowned playgirl of the hospital, Byulyi Moon. She stood there smirking, hands tucked in her white pockets coolly.

“I’m sorry?” Nayoung said, managing to regain her wits faster than Yerin.

“I didn’t mean that in an offensive way,” Byulyi backtracked, realizing the women looked both confused and mildly murderous. “I also didn’t mean that in a dirty way. I was just wondering if it was weird dating someone not only below you professionally but also most likely hit on by most of the hospital.”

“This is your business, how?” Yerin asked coldly. While Yerin could care less about who Byulyi slept with, she remembered SinB mentioning Byulyi flirting with her before she knew SinB was dating Yerin. Even if she hadn’t known, it still annoyed Yerin. And honestly, in their hospital, how did she not know?

Surprisingly, Byulyi blushed and rubbed the back of her neck. “Theoretically, there may be someone I’m interested in dating.”

“Theoretically,” Yerin repeated in disbelief. Byulyi Moon was willing to give up sleeping around to date someone? No way.

“I don’t see why I’m involved,” Nayoung spoke up, eyebrows furrowed. “Yerin is dating Hwang, but how do I fit in?”

“Aren’t you dating Zhou?” Byulyi asked in confusion.

Nayoung’s face paled, and she quickly shook her head. “No, I’m not. We’re just roommates.”

“Really?” Byulyi couldn’t help but ask. Then she noticed the death glare Yerin was giving her and said, “You know what, you’re right. You aren’t dating Zhou, so ignore me. Um, Yerin, I’ll talk to you later about this.” With that, Byulyi scampered off, realizing she’d done something wrong.

While Byulyi ran away, Yerin looked at Nayoung’s face that was blanker than usual, which was a feat in and of itself. She smiled empathetically and placed a hand on Nayoung’s shoulder, guiding her to a nearby gurney that wasn’t being used. They both sat down, and Yerin waited for Nayoung to stop staring at the floor like it was going to eat her.

“Why would Moon think I’m dating Kyulkyung?” Nayoung asked helplessly, finally looking up to stare at Yerin with a lost expression.

Yerin didn’t answer at first, trying to figure out how to go about this. She settled on saying, “I mean, the two of you are more friendly than most residents and attendings. You also go home together sometimes, so out of context, it could seem like the two of you are dating.” Nayoung looked unconvinced, so Yerin just smiled tightly and said, “I’m gonna go get Sowon. You stay here.”

It wasn’t hard to find Sowon. She was a creature of habit. Yerin found her in the first place she looked: the attendings’ lounge. Sowon was moodily starting at her phone when Yerin poked her head in. A question for another time.

“Hey, Sowon,” Yerin called. “I need your help.”

“With what?” Sowon asked curiously as she pocketed her phone.

“Nayoung is having a crisis,” Yerin replied.

“A crisis?” Sowon repeated worriedly. She was close friends with Nayoung, the two of them having gone to medical school together and being the same age. “Is she okay?”

“Debatable,” Yerin shrugged as she led Sowon back to where she’d left Nayoung. “Moon Byulyi came ask us for advice about dating residents.”

“But Nayoung isn’t dating a resident,” Sowon replied in confusion.

Yerin smirked, “Exactly.”

“Wait, was Moon talking about Kyulkyung?” Sowon exclaimed.

Yerin nodded. “Be careful about it. Nayoung looked like she was on the verge of snapping when Moon even brought up the idea of it.”

“Not all of us can handle dating such younger women,” Sowon joked.

Yerin laughed, “You do know that Eunha is younger than you, right?”

“What are you talking about?” Sowon said immediately, face reddening at an alarming rate. “What’s Eunha got to do with this?”

“We’ll talk about that another day,” Yerin rolled her eyes. “Here she is.” She walked up to Nayoung and laid a hand on her shoulder, making the other woman jump. “Whoa hey, it’s just me and Sowon.”

“Hi, Sowon,” Nayoung greeted, but it felt robotic and absent-minded.

“I hear you’re a bit confused,” Sowon said carefully as she sat next to her friend. Yerin sat down on the other side of Nayoung, letting Sowon take lead. “Want to tell me a little more about it?”

“Moon thought I was dating Kyulkyung,” Nayoung explained curtly. She clenched her fists suddenly. “She called Kyulkyung hot.”

Sensing the sudden anger, Sowon quickly placed a hand over Nayoung’s and said, “Objectively, Kyulkyung is attractive, but I’m pretty sure Moon would call a rock hot if it had enough curves.”

Nayoung smirked before falling back into a pensive frown.

“Why does it bother you that Moon thought you were dating Kyulkyung?” Sowon asked, watching Nayoung’s face for any sign of crossing boundaries.

“She’s so young,” Nayoung said immediately.

Yerin winced, knowing SinB was probably about the same age. “Not too young,” she couldn’t help but say.

“Sorry,” Nayoung said, “I just meant that I’m afraid people may judge her since she’s so young and that maybe think she’s getting special treatment because we’re supposedly dating. She works hard, you know?”

Yerin nodded. She’d had similar fears when SinB started dating, but it turned out okay. SinB was capable enough to prove her skills. Not to mention, she’d probably yell at anyone who suggested she didn’t deserve where she was.

“Kyulkyung is tough too,” Sowon said. “A few rumors won’t get to her, and I’m sure if anyone crosses the line, she’d let you know.”

“She’s just a kid,” Nayoung sighed.

Yerin fought off another wince. Kyulkyung was a kid who also happened to look at Nayoung with hearts in her eyes. She couldn’t believe Nayoung was so oblivious; she was almost as bad as SinB. Yerin couldn’t help but wonder if Nayoung truly felt nothing or if she was merely suppressing her feelings because she felt it wouldn’t be right to be with Kyulkyung.

“I’ve got to go and check on some patients,” Nayoung said. “Thanks for the talk.”

“Anytime,” Sowon said sincerely. She waved good-bye as Nayoung left before turning to Yerin. “On a scale of one to ten, how heartbroken would Kyulkyung be if she’d overheard that conversation?”

Yerin smiled sadly, “Oh, I’d say a solid eleven.”

A/N: Sorry for the lack of updates. School has been rough lately as my term is ending soon, so I will probably not update again until December. Thank you to everyone who's been supporting this story!