“Star!” Ahra whispers into the nursery. The girl’s head spins around at hearing her name called. Ahra motions for her to come out. Byeolbit cradles the baby in her arms for a while then sets her down in the small tray. The infant yawns as it slowly gets comfortable in the blankets. Star walks out of the room quietly so as not to disturb the sleeping little bundles.

“Gave her the jab?” Ahra asks as Byeolbit closes the nursery door behind her. She nods and walks over to the counter, grabs her clipboard and jots down a few notes, recording the time of the injection. This was just one of the routine injections babies receive after turning 2 months old. This particular child is admitted because she has a mild case of jaundice so the doctors want to monitor her condition until her platelet count goes back up to normal. So far, it seems like her parents will be able to take her back home in a day or two.

Star is jolted out of her thoughts when Ahra pulls the clipboard from her hand, leaving her right hand still poised up with the pen, caught off guard. She scowls at her friend and tries to retrieve her board, much unsuccessfully. Ahra laughs and pushes her in the direction of the exit. “Go on home, I’m sure you’re tired,” she insists. The girl was right. It is almost an hour past her actual end of shift. The 21-year-old begins to object - “But there’s still so much work to be done!” - but is silenced by her senior.

“Go on home, I’ll finish what little you’ve got left.”

“I couldn’t possibly let you do that. Besides, it’s only 11.”

“Only 11? Are you forgetting what you have on tomorrow?”

Star furrows her eyebrows. Tomorrow? Well, it’s Friday night… tomorrow’s Saturday; my day off, so I don’t see why I can’t do overtime- oh.

Ahra rolls her eyes as she sees the expression of realisation on Star’s face.

“Just go home and sleep, you doofus.”

“Eonni, there’s no need really. You know I’m a late sleeper anyway-”

“Just goooo~”

At this point, Ahra has already shoved Byeolbit out of the automatic door. She spins around and faces the elder, knowing that trying to barge back in would be futile. She would just get shoved right back out. Star decides to just take up the kind offer. It is getting kind of late, and no matter how much she denies it, she is dead beat. She is so tired she could just sleep on the hospital floor. She bows as the see-through glass doors shut and mouths a ‘thank-you’ to her colleague.

She trudges back to the student building, changes her clothes and walks out onto the streets, well lit by the lamp posts that seem to sprout out after every few metres. She stares at the gravel pavement as she puts one foot in front of the other, not really paying attention to the things around her. After all, she has walked along this stretch so many times that the route has been imprinted in her brain.

Walking back home is second nature. She could do it with her eyes closed, if she tried. Not that she ever did. That would be crazy. Although there was one time that she was indeed tempted to try it. She shut her eyes for about five seconds but then she bumped into the first lamp post she passed and that helped re-align her scattered neurons. She never tried again. That being said, she probably could. If she did it cautiously enough.

So she mindlessly walks on, humming a random melody in her head as she kicks a stone to the side of the pavement. She turns a corner and comes crashing into another pedestrian. She bites back a curse, wondering why she keeps bumping into people. As she apologizes and looks up to the tall stranger, she gasps in shock.

"T. Shirt!" She yells.

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