Sejeong was finishing up a chart when Chaeyeon walked by. She didn’t know what to do, so she settled for an awkward smile. Instead of walking by like Sejeong wanted, Chaeyeon stopped by her and placed a hand on her arm.

“Hey, no need to look so scared,” Chaeyeon laughed lightly. She squeezed her arm and gave her a warm smile. “No hard feelings, remember?”

Sejeong looked down at the chart and shut it as gently as she could, mind already thinking back to last week when she broke up with Chaeyeon.

It’d been after work in the quiet of Chaeyeon’s apartment. They’d been watching some movie when Sejeong asked to pause it to talk to Chaeyeon. Sejeong had barely been able to get the words out, guilt threatening to swallow her whole as she spoke.

“I never meant to lead you on,” Sejeong told her, trying to sound as earnest and genuine as possible. It was the least she could do as she broke up with her. “I’m so sorry, Chaeyeon. You deserve so much more.”

“I’ll admit I’m not surprised,” Chaeyeon admitted. At Sejeong’s jolt of surprise, she smiled and said, “I was happy to date you, Sejeong, for you to have noticed me.” She bit her lip and shook her head. “I think I always knew we were never going to last though, not with Chungha around.”

“I’m sorry,” Sejeong repeated helplessly. “If I could–”

“No, don’t apologize for loving her,” Chaeyeon cut her off sternly. “She’s a wonderful person who deserves to be loved.” She smiled again, this time a little more bitter. “If we’re being honest, I think we were both using each other while waiting for the person we really want.”

Sejeong furrowed her brows before it clicked. She stared at Chaeyeon in surprise as she asked, “Heehyun?”

“Maybe,” Chaeyeon shrugged with a sad smile. “Heehyun has always been on her on time, not really giving a care about anyone but herself. Well, she cares but… Maybe it’s not enough.”

“No, she definitely cares about you,” Sejeong said immediately. She wasn’t sure what to do, so she smiled and said, “You should go for it.”

“You should too,” Chaeyeon replied. She hugged Sejeong. They chatted a bit more before Chaeyeon politely asked her to leave, which Sejeong was happy to do.

Now at the hospital, Sejeong was still trying to get used to the fact that her and Chaeyeon were exes, even if they were really amiable exes.

“Have you talked to her?” Chaeyeon asked.

Sejeong shook her head. “You?”

“I gave her a call that night,” Chaeyeon replied, still smiling but unable to hide her disappointment. “Who knows when she’ll actually be in town for us to actually talk.”

“Good luck,” Sejeong offered.

“You too,” Chaeyeon beamed. She gave her arm another squeeze before saying she’d see her later and walking away.

After finishing up with her chart, Sejeong swung by the attendings’ lounge to change and pick up her stuff. She was meeting Nayoung in the lobby to grab dinner before Nayoung had to leave once again for a project. When Sejeong had pointed out that Nayoung was technically still on leave, Nayoung had rolled her eyes and said, “Vacation or not, I’m not letting the newbies get a project as awesome as this.”

When Sejeong got to the lobby, she spotted Nayoung standing by the elevators as she talked to Chungha. The same Chungha that Sejeong hadn’t talked to since the night of that disastrous dinner. Taking a deep breath, Sejeong walked up to the two of them.

“Hey!” Nayoung greeted cheerfully when she spotted Sejeong. “You took forever, so I got Chungha to take pity on me and talk for a bit.”

“It’s not a big deal,” Chungha laughed. “I was on my way out anyways.”

“Cool,” Sejeong bobbed her head, unsure of what to say. “Actually, Chungha–”

Whatever Sejeong was about to say was interrupted by Heehyun’s fist flying into Sejeong’s jaw. Sejeong fell to the ground, clutching her jaw and groaning. Chungha immediately bent down to help her while Nayoung, the little , laughed. Sejeong blinked furiously to clear her vision, only to see a seething Heehyun looming over her.

“I can’t believe I actually liked you for a second!” Heehyun spat, and Sejeong wanted nothing more than to crawl under a rock and hide. “I told you I’d hurt you if you hurt her!”

Before Sejeong could defend herself and Heehyun could land another punch, Chaeyeon was tugging Heehyun away. “I can’t believe you!” Chaeyeon scolded. “I told you it was a mutual break-up!”

“Chaeyeon,” Heehyun tried.

“Don’t,” Chaeyeon told her firmly, dragging her away from Sejeong and the crowd of people staring at them.

No longer distracted, Sejeong winced as she felt the throbbing pain from her jaw again. With Chungha and Nayoung’s help, she managed to get back onto her feet. Sejeong held her tender jaw carefully, scared to make it worse.

“Well, thanks for the show before I left,” Nayoung , wearing an amused grin that Sejeong was tempted to punch off, but then she hugged Sejeong and it was hard to stay mad. “I’ll let Chungha patch you up while I catch my flight.” With a bye to the two woman, Nayoung was gone, but Sejeong wasn’t sure to be annoyed or grateful when she knew that Nayoung still had three or four hours before her flight.

“Come on,” Chungha said, guiding her to an empty exam room. “Let’s get some ice on it.”

Sejeong followed obediently and allowed Chungha to check her jaw, relieved when Chungha told her it was only bruised.

While tending to Sejeong’s jaw, Chungha asked casually, “So what was that all about?”

“Probably me breaking up with Chaeyeon,” Sejeong replied, wincing as she spoke.

Chungha paused before saying, “Oh?”

“Yeah,” Sejeong said, and she caught Chungha’s slight smile as she whispered. “Well that’s a start.”