The radio news announced the top of the hour, but both Sooyoung and Kyuhyun were too distracted by their own thoughts to pay any attention to them. Sooyoung was looking through the window, feeling an unusual nervousness at the task that awaited her in Damascus. For Kyuhyun, his nervousness was unfounded and he tried his best not to show it. All the while he skilfully manoeuvred the car threw the traffic leading to Incheon’s International Airport. They were silent, what else could they say. Two perfect strangers brought together by faith and work, but they weren’t, at least not for one. Sooyoung’s lively ring tone announcing a new message interrupted the silence. She mumbled an excuse and opened the message. It was her older sister, sending her love and courage. Sooyoung smiled and quickly replied.

“Who was that?” Asked a curious Kyuhyun.

“It was my sister. She was just sending me a farewell message,” explained Sooyoung, looking towards her partner.

“No, I figured that out,” chuckled Kyuhyun. “Who is the man with you? On your wallpaper.” Sooyoung looked at Kyuhyun and wondered how he had managed to gather so much information in so little time. “I am a detective,” said Kyuhyun, offering her an explanation.

“It’s my brother,” invented Sooyoung, turning off the screen of her phone and putting it back in her purse. “We are estranged now, but I still keep fond memories of him.”

“I see,” said Kyuhyun, still unable to read Sooyoung. They spent a few more minutes in an awkward silence, before entering the airport’s grounds. Kyuhyun quickly spotted the parking lot for the departures and whisked the car into the dark garage.

“I’ll pay you back when I comeback,” said Sooyoung, bringing a cart over for Kyuhyun to put her suitcases on.

“For?” inquired Kyuhyun.

“The parking fee. The UN said they would cover it under my travel expenses,” replied Sooyoung.

“Hey! Choi Sooyoung. I told you I don’t want to take money away from the UN. I’ll put it under my working expenses, don’t worry.”

“Well, I would hate to take money from our team budget,” protested Sooyoung. Kyuhyun looked at her gravely before answering.

“Well then see it as a friend helping out a friend,” he said firmly.

“Friends?” asked Sooyoung.

“Yes, friends,” replied Kyuhyun, pushing the cart towards the airport entrance.

“Then can I ask you a question? Friend?” asked Sooyoung, running after her luggage and Kyuhyun.

“What is it?” he asked, turning around to face her.

“Can you take care of my daughter? Please.”

“Your what?” shouted Kyuhyun, his eyes dilating in surprise. “You have a daughter?” Kyuhyun stared at his co-worker bewildered. He knew the two of them didn’t know each other very well, but he would have never thought that she had a child or that she would hide it from him. Was she that ashamed of her daughter? He suddenly remembered what Victoria had told him about Sooyoung. Three years before she had unexpectedly left the ER to work at the morgue. Was her daughter the reason she left? But Victoria had never mentioned a child. Or was Victoria hiding it from him too? But, why would she do such a thing?  

“Of course I don’t,” retorted Sooyoung. “But I like to consider Dr. Park as my daughter, since I’ve trained her and taught her everything she has to know about being a forensic pathologist. She’s like my work daughter.” Kyuhyun starred at Sooyoung, not sure if he was angry with her or relieved.

“Yeah, for sure. I’ll take care of her, but you know she is also my daughter now,” he answered, starting to push the cart towards the entrance again.

“What do you mean?” asked Sooyoung, walking faster, so that she could keep up with him.

“Well, as your team partner. It is also my job to teach her things, so she is also my daughter. Making her our daughter.”

“No, that is not fair,” argued Sooyoung. “I’ve been her mother since way before you came into the picture. I’ve been a single mother, you can’t just barge into the picture and become her father.”

“Well I did, the moment you asked me to take care of her. So, what do I need to do to take care of my daughter?” asked Kyuhyun with a smirk. Sooyoung grunted, annoyed at being outwitted by a detective.

“First, you need to make sure she goes to bed early. Her brain needs to rest,” she explained, following him into the elevator. “Secondly, you can not let her get sick,” she went on, pushing the button for the departures level. “Thirdly, you can not let her go in the field alone. It’s dangerous. Finally, don’t let her fall in love with my replacement,” she pleaded with a pout. Kyuhyun chuckled at the unusual sight of Sooyoung pouting cutely.  He wasn’t used to see the cold doctor warm up and do aegyo in front of him.

“Don’t worry. Her dad won’t let her go in the field alone, but you have a more pressing problem now,” he said pointing at a sea of reporters that were waiting near the front door, when the elevator’s doors had opened.

“What are they doing here?” questioned Sooyoung, talking more to herself than Kyuhyun.

“I guess they thought you’d be arriving in a taxi,” shrugged Kyuhyun, pushing the cart.

“Why?” asked Sooyoung, following him.

“They want to talk to you. You’re popular now.

“But I don’t want to talk to them. I am just a doctor,” gloomed Sooyoung, who had always hated being the center of attention.

 “So what do you want to do?”

“We run,’ she said with a smirk, picking up the pace.

“Are you sure you can run in those heals?” teased Kyuhyun; amazed at the carefree personality Sooyoung was exhibiting.

“Don’t underestimate me,” she said, before running away. Kyuhyun looked at her run. Her long chocolate coloured hair bounced with the movements of her body, she looked so graceful, so happy and full of life. He smiled foolishly as he pushed the cart faster to chase after her. A sudden feeling of freedom and happiness took over him as he watched Sooyoung run, and he unconsciously started to run faster. His body was eager to catch her, to hold her, to beg her to stay with him. 

“Hey! Cho Kyuhyun, is that the fastest you can run?” she asked, turning around briefly to face him. Kyuhyun chuckled lightly.

“Don’t get your hopes up,” he shouted back, closing in on her and finally reaching her. They both smiled foolishly at each other, oblivious to the fact that their race had been caught on camera by the various media outlets that were at the airport.

“Come on, let’s get you checked in,” said Kyuhyun, putting his hand gently on her back and leading her to the check in counter, where he gave her reassuring and warm smile whenever she looked too nervous. They then both slowly made their way to the security gate. Both knowing their time together was drawing to an end.

“Well I guess this is it,” she said, looking at the line. “I don’t want to waste anymore of your time, you can go now.”

“You’re not wasting my time,” reasoned Kyuhyun.

“Well then,” mumbled Sooyoung. “Thank you for bringing me here and thank you for taking care of Luna.”

“Don’t worry our daughter is safe with me,” he said with a wink. Sooyoung gave him a sad smile as an answer and turned around to give her boarding pass to the security agent. Kyuhyun suddenly called out Sooyoung’s name not knowing why, in a wave of panic and desperation. Sooyoung shot him an inquisitive look and was quickly pulled into Kyuhyun’s strong arms. Baffled at first and then tortured by the memories she did not return the hug, but slowly gave into it when she felt Kyuhyun’s heartbeat accelerate. Neither one of them knew how long the hug lasted, both feeling strangely comfortable in each other’s arms. Sooyoung smelt in the smell of his aftershave and smiled, it hadn’t changed. She wished they could stay like that forever, but she knew she was only borrowing someone else’s man and that she had a plane to catch. She tried to pull away from the hug, but was quickly pulled back in.

“Be careful,” he breathed out. “Syria is a dangerous place right now.”

“I know.”

“And comeback alive. Luna needs you,” he said, looking down at her. Sooyoung looked up at him when she felt his gaze upon her. When their eyes meet, they both felt their hearts skip a beat and Sooyoung was brought back to the moments they shared together three years before. She slowly opened to say something, but no words came out of them. His gaze transfixed her and so did his slightly opened lips. The forbidden fruit was so close, yet so far. She could almost feel his lips against hers, a feeling she had craved for far too long.

“I will,” she whispered, breaking the embrace. “Goodbye Kyuhyun,” she said before giving her papers again to the security guard and joining a line to go threw security. Kyuhyun looked at her and waited for her to get threw the security check and into the terminal area. He then looked at the guard and got closer to him.

“You should’ve kissed her,” reasoned the guard.

“I don’t know what went through me,” mumbled Kyuhyun, trying to get into a security line.

“Whoa buddy, it’s too late now,” argued the guard, pushing him backwards. “That is a reserved section, you need a boarding pass to get in there. I’m sorry. Love will have to wait.” Kyuhyun rolled his eyes annoyed and reached for an ID badge inside his blazer. He showed his badge to the guard who opened his eyes in surprise.

“Oh Sir, I am sorry. I didn’t know you worked for the…”

“Don’t say it,” interrupted Kyuhyun, making his way to the line reserved for staff, special personnel, and security agents. After he had gone threw security, Kyuhyun carefully hide the secret badge in his blazer. It was a badge he rarely used, a badge even Victoria didn’t know about. Kyuhyun then closed his eyes and tried to remember which gate Sooyoung’s plane left from. Once he remembered, he bought a paper and walked quickly to the gate, where he found Sooyoung seated and patiently waiting for the boarding call. He sat a few rows behind her and carefully observed her from behind his newspaper. He didn’t know what he was looking for or why he was acting in such a ways. He only knew that he needed to be close to her before she left. He felt a second wave of panic when he heard the boarding call for her flight. He looked at her, as best as he could from behind his newspaper, walk into the passenger boarding bridge, his heart feeling heavier by the second.

Once seated in her seat, Sooyoung allowed herself to relax. She closed her eye and thought about the day’s events. The way Kyuhyun had looked at her disturbed her. It was exactly how he used to look at her when they were in love. Could it be that he was gaining his memory back? She shook her head in denial it wasn’t possible. She was brought back to reality when the air stewardess asked the passengers to turn off their mobile devices. Sooyoung heeded the order and took her phone out of her pocket to turn it off. Her mood darkened a bit more when she saw the background wallpaper as she turned off the phone. It was a picture that Kyuhyun had taken of both of them three years before.

It was a warm summer afternoon and Kyuhyun had insisted on going out. He wanted to feel the fresh air and see the sky, not the four walls of his hospital room. Sooyoung had proposed to take him out during her lunch break so as to not burden the already busy nurses. So there she was, pushing his wheelchair, while they both enjoyed the warmth of the sun. They walked in silence, no words were needed everything could be said and felt in the silence that surrounded them. Everything felt right with the one you loved.

“Can we stop here?” asked Kyuhyun, pointing at a bench. Sooyoung smiled and nodded as she brought the wheelchair to the bench. Kyuhyun got up with a grunt, trying to avoid putting too much pressure on his injured left leg. Sooyoung supported him while he hoped and later sat on the bench. She looked at him close his eyes and enjoy the outdoors. He looked so content and at peace, it was hard not to love him more. Kyuhyun opened one eye and smirked.

“Am I that handsome that you can’t take your eyes off me? I bet you look at me sleep.” Sooyoung laughed and blushed at the comment. “I do watch you sleep, but that is because I like to work in your room at night. It’s peaceful.”

“I don’t snore?” teased Kyuhyun.

“You do,” answered Sooyoung, smiling and looking at him straight in the eyes. Kyuhyun returned her smile and pulled her by the hand towards him.

“Come,” he said. “I want to be with you.” But Sooyoung resisted and pain could suddenly be seen on Kyuhyun’s face, but it wasn’t physical pain. It was emotional pain.

“I don’t want us to be caught,” she mumbled. “I don’t want to be taken off your case.” Kyuhuyn smiled sadly.

“I’m am an officer of the law and here I am asking you to do something against the rules.”

“You’re a pretty crappy officer of the law,” teased Sooyoung.

“But I am a good boyfriend,” he argued. “Take off your vest.”

“What?”

“Take off your vest. Without it you’ll look more like my girlfriend and not my doctor.” Sooyoung her lips and looked around nervously to see if there was anyone around them who knew her, but found nobody. She took off her white vest, left it on the wheelchair, and got closer to Kyuhyun. He pulled her close to him, trying to make her sit on his lap, but she jerked away quickly and shook her head in horror.

“What’s the problem now,” he sighed. “Are you ashamed of me? Of having an invalid boyfriend in a hospital pyjama.”

“No, it’s not that,” replied Sooyoung, shaking her head. “I don’t want to sit on your lap, the weight of my body might open up the wounds again. Your stitches haven’t healed it completely yet.”

“I told you to stop being my doctor Soo, be my girlfriend.”

“Well as your girlfriend I am worried. I’m worried to lose you,” she admitted, looking away.

“Why would you lose me?”

“I don’t know,” she said. “Things happen.”

“Come here,” he said, pulling her next to him. Sooyoung sat next to him and felt his arm wrap against her waist. “I am not leaving you. I am not going anywhere.”

“Promise?” she asked, resting her head on his shoulder.

“Promise,” he answered, resting his head against hers. They remained it that position for a while, maximising the joys of the moment to the most. They were just another couple in love, a couple that had their whole lives ahead of them, rules were meant to be broken anyways.

“Sooyoung please don’t ever dye your hair,” said Kyuhyun after a while.

“What?” laughed Sooyoung at the strange request.

“It looks beautiful when it’s naturally black,” explained Kyuhyun, with a dumbstruck look.

“Oh my God, you are serious?”

“Of course I am,” exclaimed Kyuhyun. “I don’t want your hair to lose its ity.” Sooyoung gave him an amused look and smiled.

“Fine, but neither can you. Promise?”

“Promise,” answered Kyuhyun, kissing her nose and enjoying looking at her blush. “But I have another promise for you. Grab your phone.”

“What? Why?” asked Sooyoung, looking for her phone in her white vest pockets.

“You’ll see. Now, turn on the camera,” he said once she had the phone in her hands. Sooyoung obeyed and the camera, just as Kyuhyun took the phone away from her and extended his arm to get a shot of the two of them. Understanding what Kyuhyun wanted to do, Sooyoung got closer to him and posed with him for a selca. Kyuhyun looked at the picture satisfied and turned his back to Sooyoung.

“What are you doing? Give me back my phone,” she pleaded, trying to take it away from him.

“Fine, here you go,” he said after a moment, giving the phone back.

“What did you do?”

“Just look at it,” insisted Kyuhyun. Sooyoung looked at her phone and saw that he had put the picture as the wallpaper on her locked and home screen.

“That is our promise picture,” he explained.

“Promise picture?” questioned Sooyoung, looking up at him, not understanding.

“Some couples have promise rings, but we have a promise picture. It’s a promise that someday I’ll propose to you and you’ll say yes and we’ll get married. Don’t ever change your wallpaper until I ask you to marry me.”

“Oh my God, are you serious?” Sooyoung asked, her lips trembling.

“Of course I am. I love you and I don’t want to spend another day without you, but I want to propose to you in better clothes, in a better setting. Away from this hospital and death.”

“I love you too,” she answered, her sight beginning to fog up because of the tears.

“Hey, Choi Sooyoung are you crying? Are you crying?”

“Are you crying? Excuse me Miss, are you crying?” asked a gentle voice on her left side. Sooyoung suddenly realized she wasn’t in the park with Kyuhyun, but in the plane. She quickly whipped the tears on her face and smiled at the old lady next to her.

“It’s okay Madame, don’t worry. I have allergies,” she lied, sniffing.

“Those don’t look like allergy tears sweetheart. They look like heart tears. How long has it been? Tell me all about it,” ordered the old lady, offering her a tissue.

“Three years,” answered Sooyoung with a sad smile, accepting the tissue. “But it’s a long story.”

“Well it’s a long flight so tell me all from the beginning. I think he is an idiot for letting go of someone as lovely as you.” Sooyoung laughed at the comment.

“I tell that to myself everyday,” answered Sooyoung, happy to be able to confine in someone.  

Kyuhyun stood in front of the glass window and looked at the aircraft depart from the gate and slowly make its way to the runway. He waited patiently until the plane had taken off. He wanted to be sure that everything had gone well. That he had done everything to make her depart safely. The beeping sound of his phone announced a new message. He unlocked the phone and looked at the incoming message: Flight KE0027 on route to The Hague, Netherlands has departed successfully with a 5-minute delay. Kyuhyun smiled and put his phone back in his pocket. It was time to go, there was nothing else he could do, only wait for the second text message that would announce him that her flight had landed safely.

                                                          *          *          *

That same afternoon, Victoria was seated at an office desk, filling in some paperwork on a deceased patient, when she heard a loud conversation going on at the main nurses’ desk. She established that it was just the nurses having a lively discussion about their weekend plans or talking about the latest hospital gossip. She didn’t make much of it until she heard a nurse scream.

“Wow my gosh, is that Dr. Choi with that Kyuhyun guy?”  

“It is! Turn up the volume, I heard today is the day she leaves for Syria.” Victoria got up and looked at the TV screen from the doorway of the office. The other nurses were too captivated by the television to notice her. Victoria had arrived just in time to see the reporter start her coverage of the story.

“The images speak for themselves: terror, pain and a plea for help. The alleged chemical attack in the Syrian suburb of Aleppo has lead the UN to set up a team of specialist to go into the field and corroborate or not the allegations. Today Korea’s very own Dr. Choi Sooyoung departed to join the team in The Hague where they will travel together to Damascus and into the disaster zone. Reporters waited all morning and afternoon at the drop off point at Incheon International Airport for a sighting of the Doctor and an interview, but she came in through the parking lot elevator, apparently in company of her boyfriend. The pair chased after each other in the terminal, gave each other reassuring looks and smiles and departed in an emotional farewell, that almost ended in a kiss. Leaving us reporters without an interview or comment. Little is known about the Doctor who will be representing Korea in this epic mission…” the report went on giving a brief summary of Sooyoung’s professional life and explained the new updates on the situation in Syria, but Victoria heard none of that. She was busy replaying in her head the images of Kyuhyun and Sooyoung running together in the airport, they looked so happy. They really did look like a couple; especially with those smiles Kyuhyun offered her once in a while and the hug. She could have sworn they had kissed if they didn’t show Sooyoung abruptly moving away from him. A wave of dizziness took over her body as she tried to rationalize what she had just seen, but she couldn’t. Kyuhyun had told her he was going to spend the day in the field and that there was no use in calling him, he would be too busy, but he didn’t spend the day in the field. Kyuhyun had lied to her to spend the day at the airport with Sooyoung. Despite feeling betrayed, Victoria chose to ignore what she had just seen. Kyuhyun loved her and only her. He was just helping out a friend, a co-worker that was all. She looked up at the television again and noticed that the report was coming to an end. In a move of self-defence, she hide against the wall of the office and listened to the other nurses talk.

“Don’t they look good together?” asked one of the nurses, clearly excited by the tone of her voice. “Are they back together? I thought he was with Victoria.”

“I thought so too,” pitched in a second nurse. “Oh my, that means he is cheating on her and on national television on top of that! Poor Victoria.”

“What do you mean poor Victoria,” interrupted a third nurse, that Victoria recognized the voice as being that of Yuri. “She took him away from Sooyoung! I don’t call that cheating. That is Sooyoung being with the man that is rightfully hers.” The three nurses went silent for a moment.

“I suppose you are right,” concluded the second nurse.

“What do you mean you suppose? I am right! Both of you know she took him away from Sooyoung, taking advantage of his medical vulnerability and her position as his medical doctor. She used them both to have him.”

“But she still is the Chief Nurse of the unite, Yuri. You should be more respectful,” reasoned the first nurse.

“I don’t care if she is our Chief Nurse or the President! You should stick up for a sister,” retorted Yuri.

“Nurse Kwon,” snapped Victoria, coming out from her hidden place. “Number 1608 needs to be taken care of.”

“But I thought you had the intern working on his case,” countered Yuri.

“I changed my mind, you are on the case now.”

“But he has diarrhea and is vomiting,” grimaced Yuri.

“Well, what are you waiting for? He probably needs to be changed now. Hurry up!” Yuri got slowly up and stomped away, angry at being punished for voicing her opinion. The two other nurses looked at Yuri leave and giggled at her misfortune.    

“And you two get back to work or else you’re joining her too,” ordered Victoria, before going back to her chart in a far less better mood than before the report.

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A/N: Happy belated New Year! I wish you all the very best in 2014! I hope you like this really short chapter. My resolution for 2014 is to update more~ so hopefully all goes well. I am starting classes again tomorrow but but I'll try my best! Thank you once again for subscribing and I hope you enjoyed it ;)