The Blue Danube Waltz

Chen was on his way to the surgical department. He rubbed his head a few times until he decided to simply stop thinking about it. His boss not only shot some guy twice but told him he had to go through Hell in TolBom.

“What kind of hospital is this?” He mumbled to himself. That was a remark that was going to become quite famous through the interns.

When he found room 303, he didn’t enter. It was the first time he had to talk to a patient since that time. He took a few breaths and rubbed his hands together. He was ready to open the door when a nurse came running to him.

“I’m sorry but this patient is not available” He raised an eyebrow confused. He was sure it wasn’t some kind of vegetable at the market. It was a person with Hernia. Besides, his boss told him about the case.

“Doctor Kang gave me this case. It’s alright” The nurse inspected the intern from head to toe. It seemed like she realized something and got out of the way.

“Good luck” Were the words she muttered before she left. Chen was intrigued. That patient must have been someone important if he could be labeled as ‘unavailable’.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t like that. The patient was an 18 years old boy whose mother never gave him a round of beating. He was a spoiled brat who was scared of hospitals and doctors in general. Chen tried to check his vital signs but the boy was always shifting on the bed. He didn’t want to be touched because he thought that meant ual harassment. In the end, they had to negotiate. If the boy would shut up and let the intern do his job, then he would get something in exchange.

“How’s your first day, hyung?” Sehun was as bright as ever. Both interns were in the canteen, looking for something specifically.

“Strawberry milk” Sehun raised an eyebrow and chuckled. It was such a sweet beverage yet Chen was buying it with the most insufferable expression ever.

“Got a bad patient?” Chen glanced at his mate and nodded. “On a scale from Henry to Doctor Kang, where would you place him?” Chen’s answer was quick.

“Doctor Kang” Sehun chuckled and patted his back. He couldn’t encourage him because he knew it wouldn’t help at all.

When he returned, his patient was watching cartoons. Chen gave him the milk and started to ask routine questions. The answers, however, were definitely rude.

“When did the abdominal pain start?”

“I don’t know” Chen sighed but continued nonetheless.

“Can you raise your shirt so I can check for a lump?” The boy’s eyes widened and shook his head furiously.

“Are you insane? I’m not going to do that” Chen rolled his eyes. Without any further comment, he touched the abdominal area were the patient said it hurt. He only touched it for a second before his hand had been slapped away.

“Do you take have any discomfort when urinating?”

“I don’t know. It doesn’t feel different. Can you move aside? I can’t see the TV” Chen’s eye started to twitch.

While Jong Dae wasn’t going anywhere with his patient, Mi Rae stopped by to check on the situation. She was silently watching from the corner, feasting on his anxiety. She already talked with the mother of that temperamental child and she told her everything.

The boy was having a lot of trouble from the pressure he felt on the lower part of his abdomen. He didn’t present a lump but when bending over or lifting he would whine. He wasn’t able to urinate at all because of the discomfort. In addition to these symptoms, he had a trauma of hospitals and doctors. He had been in hospital before, when he suffered an appendicitis removal. Back then, he almost woke up during surgery and got scared. That was why he was so hard to handle.

“What are you doing here, doctor Kang? I assumed you have a lot of paperwork to do today” Mi Rae leaned against the wall but didn’t take her eyes off the intern. He was on the verge of giving up or beating up the patient. She chuckled when she saw a vein throbbing on his neck.

“I did. I finished it. I would have liked to come and find everything done, though” She moved her attention on Kris completely. The surgeon raised an eyebrow, though his face was completely blank.

“We can’t do the paperwork in your place. You need to sign them” She scoffed and started to walk away from room 303.

“If I remember correctly, you copied my signature a few times before” Kris glanced at his superior from the corner of his eye. They were walking side by side towards the elevator.

“Why did you give that kid a patient whom you have already diagnosed?” He changed the subject quickly. 

“He wanted a case and I gave him one. It doesn’t matter what kind of patient it is. A doctor has to be able to work with anyone” Kris rolled his eyes. She was right but she was also evil. She could have given that boy a harder case; one that she didn’t already finish.

“I heard about your little heroic act this morning. You shot someone. Again” Her response was quick and familiar.

“And?”

Kris was already used to her attitude and her way of solving crisis situations. She was that kind of person who wouldn’t be prevented by law. In her hospital, which was her domain, she was the law. Everyone who worked in TolBom knew that and they respected it.

“Did you do that to scare the interns? I remember you did that to us on our first day, as well. But back then you didn’t shoot someone. You almost killed him with an overdose of amphetamine” She chuckled darkly and stopped around the corner.

“Those were good times” Kris rolled his eyes but chuckled nonetheless.

He found Mi Rae an extraordinary doctor with no bounds. One of the reasons why he accepted to become a department head was because she was always there, in the hospital. TolBom was a great hospital because she knew every person in the building. She knew what was happening around every corner. It wasn’t her hospital. She was the hospital.

“Are you still thinking of firing the head nurse?” She raised an eyebrow and glanced bemusedly at her friend.

“Did you sleep with her yet?” Kris glared at her and mouthed his response. It was a negative answer. She shrugged. “Then you have three more months to take action. If she doesn’t pass the trial, she’s out”

“Why do you want to fire her anyway?” Mi Rae’s gaze hardened and she decided not to respond. There were some outer factors that influenced her decision.

After Mi Rae entered the elevator, Kris walked back to his business. Ever since he became department head, he started to use his subordinates for almost anything.

Of course, that was Chanyeol’s case, as well. Chanyeol’s characteristic was subtlety. If he wanted to do something selfishly, he would always know how to cover it up. That was why, when Mi Rae opened the door to his office, he found a boy dressed in intern clothes. He looked very tired and his hands were raw. Her eyes traveled around the room and she realized that, for the first time in a while, it was clean and smelled of lemons.

She couldn’t help but be noisy. Her heels were the source. Therefore, the intern froze and gulped in fear. He felt a darker and superior aura coming towards him and he was scared.

“He made me do it!” Mi Rae blinked. The boy turned around really fast and looked ready to kneel in front of her and plead for mercy. She was curious what rumor he heard about her.

“I’m not going to take you to the back of the hospital and kill you. You should relax” Baekhyun’s eyes widened.

“Really?” She raised an eyebrow. The new interns were definitely amusing.

“No. Not yet” Baekhyun’s eyes widened even more and he gulped once again. “This place has never smelled so good” Suddenly, she started to walk around the room. It looked so different without the papers and dirt. The smell of rotten was gone and the office looked decent.

“Did you finish the wo-“ Park Chanyeol was a man who always –always- kept his cool demeanor in the hospital. But when he saw his intern in the room with his boss, he knew he will have to give some answers. “What are you doing with my slave, boss?” Mi Rae’s eyes inspected the older doctor. He looked tired and probably wanted to sleep until he would be needed in the ER.

“Did he call me a slave?” Baekhyun felt like a character in a drama. His view over his new life in TolBom was definitely different than reality. He wanted to show his cool side and reassure people that he will help them in any way he could. Instead of a hero, he was cleaning his boss’s office. Reality was cruel.

“So he cleaned your office in such a short time?” Chanyeol leaned against the door frame and crossed his arms in front of his chest. Mi Rae was impressed. That short intern was moving quite fast. Suddenly, she got an idea. She turned her attention back on the intern and stared at him intensely.

“Y-yes?” Baekhyun has never felt so small in his entire life.

“I have a job for you”

In no time, Byun Baekhyun found himself in Mi Rae’s office, seated at her desk. She grabbed a tank of files and placed them in front of him.

“Finish these files. They are mostly about current cases. If you do a good job, you can choose one or two cases for your record as a doctor. If something about these reports is wrong, tell me. If there is even a mistake, tell me” She was definitely as strict and intimidating as the nurses said. She wasn’t as evil as he was imagining, though. She was subtly giving him an opportunity to show his potential.

“Yes Doctor Kang” She turned quickly and walked out of the room. His eyes traveled towards the tank of files. There were probably over 50 cases they were currently working on and he was intrigued how. There were way too many cases for a normal doctor. “She must have some wizardry going on”

 “You’re stealing my slave” Mi Rae’s back was turned towards Chanyeol but she could feel his glare.

She was making a few changes in the schedule due to the newcomers. There were a few issues she had to face with the nightshifts. Most of the time, the department heads were telling white lies to cover for some of the sudden patients but with the new intern program, it was going to be difficult.

“You work for me therefore he does too. I’m not stealing him. I am only borrowing him for indefinite time”

She couldn’t see his expression but the nurse could. She tried not to laugh by biting her lip but Chanyeol was making it hard to handle. Mi Rae narrowed her eyes and hit him in the back of his knee. She smirked proudly when she heard him groan.  After she finished the adjustments, she walked right past him.

“Don’t forget, Chanyeol. You work for me”

“Whatever” He glared at her back until she got out from his sight.