Her face was also clear now— his heart dropped.

The moment he saw her everything that held together his new persona vanished. The charm he had devleoped, his confident personality he masqueraded under. In seconds, he was reduced to the timid young insecure boy he was.

He struggled to breathe, his knees started to buckle beneath him.

He could tell you everything there was to know about her, and yet there was doubt in his mind. She was the exact replica of the girl he had loved less than 6 years ago. 

Sure she had grown as he had… but only more beautiful. Her tall slender figure even more accentuated by the tight fitting dress that tapered around her waist. Her almond shaped eyes, defined cheekbones, and flawless skin exactly the same as before.

She was stunning. Though she was not the pretty girl he had fallen for as a teenager. The person in front of him was the depiction of elegance. Her very image sent chills down his spine, she was… breathtakingly beautiful just as before— but the smile, the smile that he had fallen for was gone. 

As if the innocence of her youth had been stolen from her. Instead replaced by sadness and vulnerability.

He knew he needed to control himself, he knew he couldn’t think logically. But he couldn’t… he wanted to apologize, he wanted to hold her once more, he wanted to make up for what he had lost. Was that being too selfish?

"Sohee-a.” Her name dripped out of his mouth. 

“Excuse me?”

To the the shock of those around him, he marched towards her and without hesitation threw his arms around her. Completely forgetting everything surrounding him.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry Sohee.” He clutched her tightly into his arms, squeezing his eyes shut, unsure himself what he was doing. 

“Who are you?”

That’s when the harsh realization hit. Her voice had changed, it was cold and unfamiliar.

No, that wasn’t all... her scent had changed along with her body, it felt all too... mysterious. 

She was struggling against his arms. Pushing him away. He was confused. Why was she pushing him away?

“Taehyung what the hell are you doing?” Chaeyoung cried from beside him. 

He opened his eyes. Director Jung stood there completely stunned, while an equally horrified Chaeyoung pulled against his arm to release her.

He didn’t want to. He wanted to continue to hold her. 

“Let go of me. I won’t ask again.” She pushed him once again and with no other option he released her. 

He could see her face more clearly now, she stared at him in absolute dismay and humiliation.

“Sohee. I’m sorry. I’m sorry.” He pleaded with her. He dropped to his knees in desperation. It was her, he was sure of it.

“Taehyung what’s wrong with you?” Chaeyoung shouted at him confusion lining her voice.

“Do you know me?” His first love questioned raising an eyebrow, genuine curiosity in her voice. Her words tore him apart. Was she really not her? 

“Sohee-a. Do you really hate me this much? Please, I’m sorry. I did wrong.” He begged her again grabbing her arm as she turned to leave. 

“Excuse me Doctor Park, who is this man?” Annoyance in her voice, she sounded like was truly creeped out by him. His heart began to ache. He felt devastated. 

“Taehyung let go!” Chaeyoung finally removed his hand from the girl's arm. 

“Doctor Shin I’m terribly sorry for this, I promise I’ve never seen him like this.” She apologized to the woman. 

Doctor Shin? Who was she?

“Um, Chaeyoung you don’t need to apologize for this idiot’s mistake. Ryujin-ssi why don’t we come back tomorrow?” Director Jung suggested to her. 

Taehyung clenched his fist, did that jerk already know her name? Were they close? Should he be jealous? Did he even have the right?

Doctor Shin slowly nodded her head still staring down towards him in pure disgust. 

It hurt more than he could have ever imagined to see her look at him like that. After all the love she had shown him, this hurt more than anything… A tear slid down his face as he watched them walk away. Many more quickly followed. 

“Chaeyoung, stop them. I can’t lose her like this. Not again.” He pleaded as he struggled to get up, his knees still trembling.

Desperately he took one step forward towards them. However, his arm was held in place. He turned around and saw Chaeyoung using all of her strength, her hands gripping onto his arm as tears were flowing down her own cheeks.

“Chaeyoung let go!” He demanded furiously. “I need to. I need to go!” 

But she didn’t release him. Inside he knew she was right. He had not only humiliated himself. He had lost any chance with the girl who looked so much like Sohee. 

He cried, breaking down in frustration and regret. This time it was Chaeyoung to comfort him, she pulled him into her embrace as he wept uncontrollably. He couldn't squeak out a single word anymore, his voice caught in his throat. His head was spinning. 

“I don’t know who you think she is, but I’m sure she’s not her.” She whispered. “Just keep living strong ok?” 

Taehyung wondered what would happen if he ever saw Sohee again. Millions of scenarios formulating in his mind over the past years. He had grown so much, he had changed completely from the awkward teenager into the confident young man. 

Yet seeing her again, it had all disappeared, the fake confidence, the witty words. In front of her he was once again the pathetic boy who lost her all those years ago. Just like then he had lost her. Again.

Chaeyoung stared at the road as she drove. He lay lifeless in her passenger seat. There was total silence hanging over them after what had just taken place.

Chaeyoung wasn’t sure how to react. After all, she had just seen the man she now liked, confess his love to a total stranger, in front of her ex. Of course she wasn’t ok.

Sohee, was that the name he called her? That’s when she remembered. That was the name of his first love, wasn’t it? The girl on the polaroid he had shown her.

“She looks like the first love you talked about. Doesn’t she?” She finally mustered up the courage to bring up.

“Why did you say looks like her? She is.” He grumbled in defeat. 

“Ya, you told me yourself she died. Tell me how that’s possible then? Huh?” Chaeyoung wondered if she was doing this for his sake or hers. “Is she Jesus?”

“She was in an accident years ago. I never saw it. I was away.” He responded. 

“Besides, you’ve seen the polaroid. Tell me I’m lying.” He stared at her, his puppylike eyes begging for her to agree. 

Chaeyoung had wondered why she had felt a sense of deja-vu when meeting the pretty Doctor Shin.

At first she had felt a wave of relief when she met her, knowing now that it wasn’t a woman who Jaehyun had move on with, but the new doctor.

Now, she felt regret. Had she already lost Taehyung to a woman because she resembled his first love? Was it even possible that this woman really was her?

“She does resemble her.” She admitted loosely recalling the photo. Both were beautiful. “But the way you acted was absolutely insane.” 

“I’m sorry.” He whispered.

“Stop apologizing!” She suddenly shouted.

She hated hearing him like this, the confidence, the friendliness, the warmth it was all gone. That woman had been the reason.

Taehyung didn’t respond. Instead he stared out the window as she wondered what memories were flashing through his head. 

It hurt her, a lot to see him like this. She hated knowing his thoughts were glued to an imaginary girl he still loved. But what could she do?

Her heart had drifted to him. Her heart yearned for the warm embrace he had given her when she had felt the loss of her mother. She liked Taehyung.

“Why?” Jaehyun had a lot running through his mind as they back drove towards her apartment. The sight of the large skyscraper she resided in looming in the distance.

She had asked for him to let her visit the hospital that night to explore. Knowing it would be largely empty at the time, he had agreed. But he was starting to become suspicious if she had alternative intentions. 

“Why didn’t you tell me you were his first love?” He questioned, finally voicing his frustration aloud. 

There was silence. Ryujin stared into the distance. He knew he was right. The signs were there: her desperation to escape and come to this specific hospital, the time she had mumbled his name in her dreams.

He should have known. There was a reason her file had shown up on the chairman's desk. There was a reason she had requested this hospital specifically.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

She could have won an Oscar for her acting in front of Doctor Yoon, but she didn’t put out an ounce of effort in front of him.

“Don’t lie to me! I saved you from that hospital.” He raised his voice. However, he instantly regretted it. 

He didn’t want to get angry, not after what he knew she had been through.

But he couldn’t get rid of the feeling that he had been betrayed. He felt like he had been used.

“Whatever you’re thinking, it’s not true.” She admitted.

“So are you?”

“Yes!” She finally snapped.

 “But not anymore.” She followed up immediately. “He left me, he never came for me. He deserves to suffer.”

Her voice was cold and yet genuine… it made Jaehyun curious. What had he done?

“So you wanted to get revenge on him?” Jaehyun questioned coldly.

He wondered if she knew about Taehyung’s situation in Japan, it seemed unlikely, given barely anyone knew.

“No, God no! I just wanted to leave that awful place. The chairman’s son murdered my parents, and had me kidnapped.” She retorted, tears streaming down her face. 

He felt guilty now. He knew that empathy was something he needed to work on. His lack of it had pushed Chaeyoung away.

“I’m sorry, I crossed the line.” 

“And that, that boy who I had dated for 4 years and loved for so long, left me. He abandoned me when I needed him most!” She revealed hatred filling her eyes.

Jaehyun felt pity, he knew she had gone through so much. She didn’t deserve for him to raise his voice against her.

“I’m sorry.” He repeated unable to think of another response.

“So, yes. He was my first love. But if you think I’m going to go back to him, you’re insane. I’m going to carve out my own path at this hospital.” 

Jaehyun wondered if she really meant what she said. Even watching her deny her feelings for him.

He could see inside her eyes she looked shaken, clearly affected by her run-in with Doctor Yoon.

He knew he could’ve explained to her, what he knew about Taehyung’s past. But he didn’t.

He would let them carve out their future. He would watch from above. He knew that he had only felt a slight attraction to Ryujin, and this was just another reason he knew he only loved Chaeyoung. “I’ll help you.”

“What?” She sat up in her seat now, their gazes locked as he pulled up to a red light.

“Carve your own path. You can rise to a position even higher than Yoon Taehyung. Just trust me.” 

“You’re absolutely insane, I’ve told you this a million times. There’s no way that, that doctor is her.” Namjoon's voice echoed the same thing Taehyung’s conscience had told him a million times the night before.

“I know!” He shouted in frustration. “I know, But! But! I know what she looks like, and that’s her.” 

Taehyung reached into his pocket and revealed the polaroid from his wallet. He held it directly in front of the assistant director's face.

“I’m not crazy, you’ve seen this. She looks exactly like her.” Taehyung eyed Namjoon who couldn’t seem to disagree either. 

Namjoon stared at the name tag he held in front of him. 

Doctor Shin Ryujin

Taehyung watched as he compared the two photos holding his Polaroid and the ID picture close together.

“Well she’s changed her hair color, and guess what? With plastic surgery everyone looks the same.” Namjoon countered.

Taehyung scoffed at that argument. Sohee had a beauty that could never be replicated. That was why so many fell for her.

“You don’t really believe that? Do you?”

Taehyung could see even Namjoon was doubting his words as he continued scanning the picture.

“Look, she was born in China, to a Korean household, went to Beijing Union Medical college, and she has all the paperwork to prove it.”  Namjoon tried to justify himself.

Taehyung rolled his eyes.

“Look at me. My paperwork is practically all false too.” He reminded him.

“Still, you need solid proof, otherwise it’s her word against yours, and you could be reported for harassment.” Namjoon finished. 

Taehyung knew he was right. He had definitely crossed the line last night. 

But at the same time what did being right mean? She obviously despised him, if she even was Sohee. The more he thought about it, the more he doubted himself.

Suddenly he remembered something.

“She had a mole, on the back of her neck.” Taehyung exclaimed excitedly.

“A mole?”

“Yes, that could prove it right?” He stated forgetting everything he had previously discussed.

“Well. Yeah.” Namjoon nodded in approval. “One more thing.”

Taehyung turned around as he was about to leave to go start his rounds. “You’re doing this because you still love her right?”

Taehyung nodded affirming him. But inside, he wasn’t sure. 

Was this just an obsession? Was he just an ex who couldn’t get over his feelings?

Did he just feel a sense of regret and pity was that why he wanted to see her again? Just so that he could clear his conscience?

He pondered these thoughts as the elevator lifted him to the VIP wing. That’s when he remembered, he was supposed to try and switch his surgery. It had completely slipped his mind after the night before.

“Hey, guess what?” It was Doctor Jin, with one glance at the look in his eyes. Taehyung already knew what it was going to be about, and he didn’t have time for this.

“Did you see her?” He asked boyishly, Taehyung nodded. 

“Ya! She’s so pretty. Wow I think three other residents already asked for her number.” 

“Is that so? I don’t know… maybe she’s not my style.” Taehyung lied turning a corner, but the Doctor followed behind anyways.

“You’re blind then, Doctor Yoon.” Taehyung rolled his eyes slightly confused by the doctor’s insult and mostly annoyed by the subject in discussion. 

“What? Huh? Anyone can see that she’s beautiful. Like Miss Korea.” Doctor Jin puffed out his chest. His eyes dazzling at the mention of her.

Taehyung pursed his lip in annoyance.

“And guess what?” 

Taehyung honestly didn’t want to keep having this conversation. “What?”

“She’s going to join your team for the Chairman’s surgery. Director Jung supposedly wanted to test her skills next to a competent surgeon.” 

This was news. That meant he would need to operate, not only that, but with the girl he had not seen in 7 years. The girl he believed to be his lover.

“I heard they want to test her skills on a high level client.” Taehyung walked away.

“Ya! You’ll be agreeing with me la