CHAPTER THREE

it's the dose that makes the poison

"Where is Kang Seulgi?" A skeptic Seungwan slams her palms on the hospital cafeteria table.

Heads turn in their direction.

Although she’s dressed for it - the tiny doctor being clad in a brown crisscross patterned blazer - it’s a very lousy impression of a prosecutor. 

"Quiet down, Son. People are watching." Seulgi replies in vexation, the egg noodles she’s gobbling distorting her speech. She pounds her thumb on her maroon scrub top. “What are you on to? I'm right here talking to you!”

"What is Kang Seulgi's contact name on my phone?" As if she didn’t hear the latter’s response completely, the beige-haired doctor doesn’t abandon talking in third person. She shoots her cautious probing question at a very irked Kang Seulgi whose eyes are dimming into black pits.   

She grits her teeth. "Why do I have t -"

"Answer me!"

"It's Wise Ddeulgi-jjing with a bear emoji." Seulgi deadpans.  She is 100% done with Seungwan’s . Good thing she’s not the type to grab people by the scruffs of their neck when they’re being annoying. No way. She has no energy for that.

“Now, will you stop pestering me with your stupid questions while I’m trying to eat or I’m telling Sooyoung who your first girl crush was to prove my iden -”

Seungwan slaps a tissue into Seulgi’s mouth and pretends to wipe off something from her cheeks.

“Ah, Seulgi it really is you...” The ’94 liner draws a shaky breath, barely avoiding the reveal of the cause of her ual awakening. She takes a seat, dropping the third person act. “I can't believe this..."

Sooyoung’s shrilly laughter slices through the hand she’s covering her lips with. Her black locks bounce along her helplessly juddering shoulders. She wipes a lone tear from her eye when her giggles die down. "I'm definitely the sanest person in this three-way friendship."

"What!? It's only Seungwan who's been acting strange!" Seulgi cries out defensively, directing her chopsticks at the real culprit. “Look at her addressing me in third person like a mad woman. You can’t lump me in with her!”

“M-me!? Me? I’m the strange one!?” Seungwan stammers, pupils wide and fazed at her friend’s accusation. She folds her arms and squeezes back into her chair’s back rest.  "It's Seulgi who's been weird the whole week! She's changed, I swear! She comes to work earlier than I do, pays attention to the consultant, treats her patients obediently and graciously and get this - she diligently does telephone duty. No complaints, no anything!”

“Oh? How suspicious…” Sooyoung smirks, side-eyeing Seulgi as if she’s sized up exactly how much she’s changed. She sips her mint green slimming drink provokingly. “Ah, and this began when?”

Silence befalls the trio. Seungwan and Sooyoung exchange knowing glances and the dots have been connected. They nod and declare in unison: “It happened the day after we told her Irene's address.”

The neutral expression on Seulgi’s face shatters and pieces together in milliseconds but Sooyoung’s eyes are faster. The black-haired physician wiggles her brows playfully at a perturbed Dr. Kang. “This must be about that then…seeing you flinch like that.”

It’s not like she’s been doing it conscientiously but after her short ‘house visit’, the toxicology resident started gradually losing her audacity to slack off. Every time she thinks of grumbling about tiredness and boredom, a certain warmhearted girl who is singlehandedly paying bills, shaping the minds of legions of snotty kids and raising a daughter crosses her mind. It was similar to having an imaginary angel and devil perched on her shoulder, only that the former is winning unanimously in commanding her to behave. Hence, her trip to the Baes’ household was the prime mover of Seulgi’s slow change of heart, but there is no way in hell she’s confessing that in front of these goofballs.  

"What's bad about being a decent human? And what does it have to do with Irene-ssi?" Seulgi answers the speculation incisively, slumping her shoulders to appear more unconcerned. She maintains her straight face laboriously to dissuade her friends from sticking their meddling heads into her business. But of course, the dramatics go right over Sooyoung’s head and now, she’s bent on catching Seulgi redhanded.

"Aish, look at her! I think she's planned the future already! Work harder. Earn more money. Marry Irene. Raise a stable family." She preaches like a soothsayer, stretching out a finger for each predicted life milestone.  She swallows more of her beverage and lets it slosh around inside as she eyes her unnie mischievously.

M-m-marrying Irene?

“It isn’t like that at all!” Seulgi yells then hangs her head low. She pretends to scoop up noodles into to cover up the beet red color filling her cheeks. She ponders if it’s possible to press her hard enough into the gray plastic seat so she’d melt into its numb synthetic blender of polymer.

“Aigooo, our Ddeulgi is blushing! Isn’t that cute?” Love really changes people..." Seungwan gushes. Her nose wrinkles as her eyes glaze over her same age friend like a mother whose child has uttered her first word.  “Ah…I never thought I’d see the day…”

Seulgi tips her chin towards her chest out of embarrassment. Nobody really respects her unnie status among her two companions, but she especially feels shamed when Seungwan, who is technically only younger than her by eleven days, is babying her.  

“Ya, w-wh-who said anything about being in love wit -"

“You hesitated though?”

“So?!”

“That means there’s some truth in it!”

“That’s ridicul –”

A shushing sound breaks off the fight and the 94 liners zip their mouths shut.

"Stop bickering! Seulgi’s favorite patient is at 12 o’ clock." Sooyoung mutter-yells, jutting her lips at the latter’s behind.

"What do you mean? I have no patient at 12 o’ clock. I'm on telephone du-"

"Hello, Seulgi-seonsaengnim!" A ringing voice chirped.

The said person whips her head back to see where it came from and she finds herself in the presence of a round-faced, smiling mini Irene in a striped black and white denim spliced long sleeve dress. Oh, Sooyoung meant the twelve o’ clock angle – not the time.  

"A-Ahreum-ssi?” Seulgi sputters as she clumsily drags her chair towards her unexpected visitor.  “Wha… how did you-"

"Nice to see you again, seonsaengnim.” The disembodied voice builds a queasy feeling on the back of the doctor’s mouth.

The real Irene saunters towards her daughter and lays her hands on her shoulders. In a flowy, navy blue flower-printed dress that reaches her heels, she emits a different charm from their first meeting. Seulgi looks at her as if she’s seeing her for the first time and though it might appear impolite, she finds it difficult not to stare with slightly open.

“Hello, Sooyoungie.” Irene greets the doctor she’s grown familiar to with a grin and politely bows to Seungwan. The two doctors return the respectful gesture.

Seulgi knows she should say something, but feels like it’s full of cotton, so she settles with a blank look instead. Seungwan and Sooyoung are probably dying to burst out laughing, judging how they’re giving Seulgi funny stares behind her. She can’t blame them though.  Even Ahreum beats her in starting the conversation.  

"Eomma told me you worried and took care of me a lot that time when I ate something bad.” She chides, popping out a kitty dimple - a feature Seulgi hasn’t noticed until now that sets Ahreum apart from her mother.

“Really?” Seulgi sneaks a quick glance at Irene whose upper lip is protruding over her bottom, obviously guilty.

“Yup! You don’t have to worry anymore because I feel a lot better now, seonsaengnim.” Ahreum beams and simultaneously raises her hand up as if taking an oath. “Also, I won’t put things in my mouth that aren’t food ever again.” 

Seulgi’s lips are pulled into one of the brightest smiles she's ever given. She can’t resist ruffling Ahreum’s hair gently.  “I’m glad to hear that, Ahreumie.”

The child nods animatedly and puts her arms behind her back. “And because of that I wanted to give you something…”

“Hm?” Seulgi shifts her weight in her seat to come closer. She cranes her neck, trying to spot a hint of what Irene’s kid is hiding, but she finds nothing.  “I wonder what that something is…”

“You have to close your eyes first, seonsaengnim!”

In confusion, Seulgi’s gaze darts from Ahreum to Irene, but the older girl just her head towards her daughter. Her lips curve into a smile that says: ‘just do whatever the kid tells you to’. The doctor pinches her lips anxiously and offers a weak smile. 

She squeezes her eyes shut.

Losing her vision, Seulgi suddenly becomes self-aware of how her heart felt clogged and constricted. Given that she’s both cringing internally at herself for playing along and actively imagining what possibly a toddler could give her - it’s excitement and embarrassment rolled into one.

“Okay, my eyes are closed now.”

Amidst the discordant mixture of sounds in the room, Seulgi can feel energy rustling towards her and she figures it must be Ahreum coming closer. She thinks of hair ties, gummy bears and coupons. After all, the gift must be small enough to fit in Ahreum’s hands. But as even breaths fan her face and something warm touches her cheek, Seulgi realizes Ahreum’s gift isn’t an object – but a kiss.

A warm, fuzzy feeling instantly eats the resident doctor whole and her lips twitch into a sloppy smile. She opens her eyes quickly. “I thought you had something in your fists. You really got me there…”

The toddler steps back and giggles.

“Now, it’s eomma’s turn…”Ahreum states, tugging Irene's arm and dragging her closer to the doctor.

"Eung?" The older girl's face rearranges into a puzzled expression, giving away that this doesn't look like it was part of the plan. She bends down to see her daughter eye to eye. "What do you mean ‘it’s eomma’s turn’, sweetie?"

"It's your turn to kiss Seulgi-seonsaengnim, of course!"

Seungwan chokes on her food and coughing sounds permeate the table. 

If Seulgi would have been chewing her lunch too, she would have hurled it altogether at that moment.

Ahreum didn’t miss a beat with what she said as if it was as normal as yelling ‘ouch’ after getting hurt. It makes the doctor feel like all her heart’s tissue attachments have failed and the pumping organ has migrated to her stomach. Seulgi spares a look at Irene. She, likewise, doesn’t seem to be holding out well. Her cheeks are getting tainted with pink.

"But mommy can't do that, Ahreumie~" Irene responds in baby talk, crouching in front of her child.

"Yeah, it's okay, Ahreumie." Seulgi speaks out to help after letting out a nervous chuckle. She pats three-year-old’s head to stop her from unintentionally harassing her mother. “Irene-ssi has thanked me enough in the way that adults do it…”

"Okay..." Ahreum resigns and finally, both the teacher and the doctor breathe.

"…but, I think mommy wants to do it though. She's just shy because there are lots of people around."

Sooyoung cackles in her seat, erupting in the uncontrollable laughter she must have been suppressing the whole time. Irene collapses into her daughter’s stomach so Seulgi can’t see her face, but she bets they’re sharing the same feeling – the desire for the ground to swallow them whole.

"I'm really sorry, seonsaengnim." Irene apologizes as she rises from her hiding place. "Ah, this is so embarrassing..."

"It's alright." Seulgi stands, crossing her hands against each other to shrug off the unnecessary apology. "I appreciate your visit! I wish this wouldn't be the last, but being patients in a poison ward can’t be good, don’t you think so, Ahreumie?"

"You can visit us all the time at home though!” The younger Bae exclaims. “Eomma is a homebody!”

Seulgi spies Irene biting her inner cheek, coming close to asking the universe to whisk her away to oblivion. A stark contrast to her mini-me who is rocking her heels back and forth, staring at the doctor with high hopes and expectations. Surely, it’s a crime to disappoint her.

"Yeah?” Seulgi hunches, resting her palms on her knees. “How about I come over someday and we can all play together?"

"Yaaaay! Please take care of us more in the future, seonsaengnim!"

"Oh, don’t worry, kid. She’s going to do just that from now on…" Sooyoung quips from the back. Thankfully, not loud enough that only Seulgi and Seungwan could have probably heard it. The former shoots her her best what-the-hell look and the latter shushes her.

"Now, I think that's enough, Ahreum. We have to let seonsaengnim eat her lunch..." Irene tows her child away casually and without any further qualms. The heat on her face is still not going down despite positioning herself in a more comfortable distance. She bows her head a little, hoping gravity will help, and mumbles, “Seonsaeng –”

"Seulgi." The latter says, interrupting Irene. "Just call me Seulgi."

"Seulgi-ssi." Irene repeats shyly, like she's acquainting herself with a foreign word and welcoming its unfamiliar taste in . Her feet shuffles and her cheeks become progressively redder as time passes.

"Hmm?" The namebearer smiles, coaxing the older girl to continue what she has to say.

"This really isn't the last time we're going to meet?"

"Since I like to keep my promises... it won't be.” Seulgi peers over at Ahreum then at Irene again. She says her next words because she means them. “It’ll probably be better than being stuck at home studying alone...”

"Right… " Irene huffs and the doctor sees the grin she’s been thinking about for a week. The one that brings a twinkle to Irene’s half-moon eyes and the one that makes all Seulgi’s bad feelings go away. “I’m just saying…my daughter and I could be a handful. It might be as tiring as a day in the hospital. Choose your poison well, ssem.

To this, Seulgi’s lips inch into a lopsided smile. 

"I picked my poison and it's you." 

 

A/N:                             

AND THAT'S A WRAAAAAP!

I’m marking this super cheesy chapter as the end of this fic because I absolutely don’t have any talent for creating exciting yet coherent plots for long novels, but I am positively considering to add bonus chapters because I like these characters and AU a lot and I want to continue experimenting with them >:D Thanks for bearing with my amateur writing in this three-shot fic. What were your honest thoughts about it?

P.S. I hope you're all having a great start to 2018!

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shinyjoy
thank you for all your love and support! <3 tips and donations are well-appreciated & will surely be used for my med school finances (https://ko-fi.com/shinyjoy). wishing you guys all the best for the remaining days of 2019~

Comments

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reveluv316 740 streak #1
congrats on feature
railtracer08
357 streak #2
Chapter 6: So cute💕
Apcxjsv
#3
Chapter 6: Nice reading author-nim
JhengChoding1 #4
Chapter 6: omg thought it was complete 😭 you're amazing!!
IceQueenChogiwa
1052 streak #5
Congrats on the feature!
morphine007 #6
nice
Soshi1590
#7
Chapter 4: poor sooyoungie got her heart in a mess
come one for someone who is all bravado and barge in and say what you want and go for it, she is all talk lol
LuvlyTaeminty
#8
great
Jamess #9
congrats on the features
Soshi1590
#10
Chapter 3: I pick my poison and its you
Nothing could kill me like you do
*dances*

Why are they so cute though! Ahreum knows whats up