Yifan flipped through the chart, marking notes here and there. “Dr. Wu?”

“Mmm?”

“The lab results for Mr. Fredrichson came back. I was going to add them to his chart but since you’re here, did you want to look at them first?”

“Yeah, thanks Sam.” Yifan took the papers from the nurse and perused through them. Finding all the results normal and within normal ranges, he handed them back. “Everything looks good. Monitor him-” He stopped his sentence short as his cell phone rang, cutting him off. Checking the caller ID he picked up and said, “I’m busy right now. I’ll be back late tonight so don’t wait up for me,” then quickly hanging up. “Sorry Sam, where was I?...oh yes, monitor Mr. Fredrichson through the night and if everything looks good tomorrow morning, we can transfer him to a regular room for the rest of his treatment.”

“Great, thanks Dr. Wu.”

“Thanks Sam for showing me the results. Sorry about the interruption.”

“Girlfriend?”

“Huh?...yeah...how’d you know?”

“Your face just lit up when looking at the caller ID...but you won’t have a rough night tonight?”

“What...do you mean...?”

“Well you just said your piece and immediately hung up on her.”

“I’m in the middle of working. She knows that.”

“Yeah, my girl knows that too. But if I pick up her call and only say what I need to and then just hang up...” Sam shuddered. “Let’s just say, it’s not pretty....”

Yifan went back to his paperwork and continued the conversation as he did his work. “She understands what I’m doing, we’ve been friends for too long to let a short phone call cause any problems.”

“Hey I’m not saying she would cause problems, I’m just saying that you can’t be too blunt with your girlfriend. You’ve been together how long now?”

“Less than a week.”

“Dr. Wu...” Sam just sighed.

Tired out from their conversation and finding himself nowhere near done with his paperwork, Yifan excused himself to move to an empty conference room. “What does Sam know...he doesn’t know Sooyeon like I do.” He went through the rest of the charts, finishing his paperwork for the day. Checking his phone again, he dialed Sooyeon’s number and waited for her to pick up. Instead the call went to voicemail. Frowning Yifan texted her to let her know he’d be back after going through evening rounds in the wards. The twenty minutes he thought would have satisfied this task extended to an hour and a half when a patient’s husband cornered him with questions. Changing out of his lab coat and checking his phone again for Sooyeon’s text, he frowned at the lack of response. Grabbing his bag, he said goodbye to the resident on call for the night.

“Leaving already Dr. Wu?”

“Yeah, it’s 10 already.”

“True, but still early for us,” the resident joked.

Laughing, Yifan waved and left the hospital. Walking at a brisk pace down the block and into the building, he waited impatiently for the elevator, both worried and curious about Sooyeon’s lack of a response to his call and text.

Opening the front door of the apartment, Yifan stepped in calling for Sooyeon. Hearing no reply he walked through the kitchen area and turned toward the sleeping area, finding Sooyeon fast asleep on the floor leaning against the bed. A pile of folded laundry sat on the bed by her head and several shirts rested on her lap and in the hamper.

Smiling at the familiar scene in front of him, Yifan removed the clothes from her lap and picked her up, trying not to wake her. But the sudden movement still woke her up. “Yifan~, you’re back?”

“Yeah, it’s a little after 10. Come on, I’ll put you in bed.”

“No no, I’m okay. The jet lag is messing me up and besides, I have dinner prepared.” Sooyeon slid out of his arms and walked over to the kitchen counter, checking on the rice and then pulling a platter of meat and vegetables out of the refrigerator. “Go shower and change. The food will be done by the time you get out.” Pulling out a pair of chopsticks and a frying pan, she started placing the food into the pan. 

Instead of listening to her, Yifan went over to her and wrapped his arms around her waist, resting his chin on her head. “I’m sorry for earlier, just hanging up on you like that without letting you say anything.”

Sooyeon put down the chopsticks. “Yifan, it’s okay. I know you’re busy and I took the chance to call you.”

“Did you need something then?”

“I just wanted to know what you wanted for dinner. I went to buy some groceries since all you have here is ramen!” Sooyeon turned around in his arms and glared at him playfully. “Yifan, you’re going to worry me for the next three years...you can’t eat only ramen!”

“I don’t just eat ramen...”

“What else do you eat?”

“....there’s a really good Chinese takeout place 2 blocks over...” Yifan explained sheepishly.

Sooyeon rolled her eyes and smacked his hands away, “Go shower! The food will be ready soon!”

Yifan pressed a kiss to her forehead then disappeared into the bathroom. By the time he came out, the table was set with rice, side dishes and stew. “You made all this?”

“Of course, since you’ve been here I shudder to think what are your eating habits,” Sooyeon teased.

Yifan chuckled and joined her at the table, eating away at the home-cooked meal and chatting with Sooyeon about their days. Feeling full, Yifan sat back and noticed that the table was cleared of his papers and books. “Where is everything?”

“I know you have a method to your madness. I marked all the pages your books were open to and I moved your papers to your coffee table, all are still in the same place relative to each other.”

“Just like how you’ve always done it.”

“Of course,” Sooyeon smiled.

“Thank you....you didn’t have to go through all this trouble. You don’t have to clean up after me, you’re here to see me - not clean up after me.”

“I know but I only have until this weekend before I have to go back. I can at least leave a little mark on your place so it won’t feel so lonely for the next three years.”

“Have I told you how much I love you?”

“This morning before you left, but I can always stand to hear more.”

“Saranghae Sooyeon~ah, really...saranghae.”

“Saranghae Yifan....and I’ll love you more if you go to sleep...it’s really late now and you have to wake up early tomorrow.”

“I’m helping you with these dishes.”

“Wu Yifan! Go sleep!”

“But...”

Sooyeon didn’t bother arguing and instead pulled him out of his seat and to the bed. Pushing him under the covers, she tucked the blankets in around him and went back to the table, picking up the dishes and bringing them to the sink. Knowing they would have a continuous back-and-forth battle about him helping her, Yifan just stayed in bed, but propped himself up on his elbow to watch her as she worked. As he watched her wash the dishes and finish folding the pile of laundry she brought over to the couch, he felt his eyes droop close. Just before he fell into a deep sleep, he thought, “I am very lucky to have Sooyeon...saranghae Sooyeon~ah.”

This was more of random filler as I got super busy and didn't have time to write something that would advance the plot. I'm looking at about 3 more chapters for this story. At least what I have outlined so far but that leaves me at 21 chapters and I'm not sure if I like ending on 21...I may try outlining several more to bring it to 25, but that's still a preliminary thought.