It was quite a warm morning at the cemetery. Under this lovely sunlight, stood a group of people sniffing and hugging one another as they let go their loved one. It had always been a sad scene. Losing someone and never be able to see them again was heartbreaking. But that was life. It was bound to happen that way.

Death might separated the living and the dead apart but somehow, they’d still live in your heart. They’d still be there forever.

Two ladies walked hand in hand with confident steps toward the certain tomb. One of them, the slightly shorter one, held a bouquet of white roses – his favorite flower. Her other hand tightened her grip on the latter’s hand protectively. Somehow scared that the angel of death might take her lover away from her. It didn’t make any sense but she just had to do it.

Taeyeon felt Tiffany’s thumb the back of her hand, calming her. She gave Tiffany a quick weak smile as she kept on walking. Taeyeon had promised him to bring Tiffany with her should she accept her heart forever. So here she was, standing before Heechul oppa’s gravestone with Tiffany.

“Oppa, hey.” Taeyeon put the flowers on top of the grass. “I – uh… I…” Taeyeon glanced at the black dressed people behind her.

She had witnessed death since forever. She had lost her patients a lot more than she could ever handle. She somehow immune to the heart-wrenching scene when she had to announce we did everything we could, he had given everything he got. Usually, the family understood by that sentence that their loved one didn’t make it – that they were gone. They had lost the fight. Taeyeon swallowed the knot in forcefully. She didn’t know what had come over her to be so overly sensitive today.

“Tae, are you okay?” Tiffany’s voice was so soft as if she was afraid to break the quiet atmosphere.

“Yeah,” Taeyeon shook her head to clear up her mind. She squeezed Tiffany’s hand lightly, assuring her.

“Oppa, as promised, I brought Tiffany with me. What do you think of her?”

A friendly wind blew.

“I know you’d think she’s pretty,” she chuckled. “Wait,” Taeyeon gestured Tiffany to sit at the cold cement. “It’s not that I’m crazy or something, it’s just that this is how I communicate with him. You know I talk, he’s dead but I know he’s listening. I mean I don’t know how, it doesn’t make any sense but he must be listening – I mean he’s–”

“Taeyeon-ah,” Tiffany stopped her. “I get it,” she soothed her. “Can I talk with him too?”   

“Yeah, sure.” Taeyeon nodded.

“Hey oppa.” She could feel the wind fondle her face gracefully. “How are you? We all are good here. I hope you are well, too. Taeyeon told me a lot about you, some good, some bad,” she giggled. “One thing for sure, though. Taeyeon adores you very much. You know her longer than I do, you certainly know how rare that is, right?”

They spent more than half hour talking and laughing with the wind. Taeyeon proudly told him that they were officially engaged. They bid their goodbye as Tiffany bowed a bit before joined Taeyeon.

Taeyeon started her car when she felt Tiffany’s hand on her thigh. She turned to the latter with a confused look upon her face.

“I wish I get to know him.”

Taeyeon’s memory flew to a few years back at this very place when she was the one who had to stand with a broken arm and crushed heart, struggling so hard to hold back her tears as the coffin downgraded.

Heechul oppa was the brother she’d never had. They weren’t blood related, they weren’t childhood friends or anything, but he was her protector, her enemy, her ally, her rival – her best friend. She reached the lowest point in her life when she lost him.

He was a great company. Unfortunately, he was gone too soon.

“Me too,” Taeyeon mumbled. “Me too.”

-----

“Welcome aboard, Dr. Seo JuHyun!” The staff and the other attending clapped for the youngest cheerfully. SeoHyun bowed at them, showing her gratitude. She had got her email from the board and they passed her. She was relieved. Her long fight to be a real cardiothoracic surgeon had come true. All things she had sacrificed finally paid off. She got to stand by herself now.

By the corner of her eyes, she caught a glimpse of a petite woman at the corner, leaning by the wall smiling proudly at her. Taeyeon nodded a little then gave her a thump up. SeoHyun excused herself from the crowd, making her way towards Taeyeon.

“Hey unnie.”

“Welcome to the real world, SeoHyun-ah,” she playfully said. “Tiffany sends her regards to you.”

“Thank you, unnie. Tell her it means a lot to me.”

Taeyeon waved her off. “Stop thanking me. You earned it. Also, you look good in that dark blue scrub.”

“Really?”

“Yeah! You deserve it.” Taeyeon stated seriously.

“Thanks.” SeoHyun blushed. “Anyway, are you free this weekend, unnie? Let’s have dinner together with the others, on me.”

“Celebrating, aren’t we?” Taeyeon chuckled.

“After hell I’ve been through? I think a little bit of celebration is not much.”

That made Taeyeon laugh. “Sure thing then. Oh–” she suddenly remembered something, “what about next week? My parents in law are coming to town this weekend.”

“No problem, unnie. Next week is okay, too.”

“I’ll get back to you on that okay? Well, I have to do my round this morning. I’ll see you around, my new fellow cardio surgeon.” Taeyeon then pushed her back, standing straight.

Taeyeon was going to visit her patients but she turned left and entered the attending lounge instead. She had to pee first. As she closed the toilet door behind her, she saw Sunny tasting her coffee then chewed the sandwich slowly.

"How's Hyomin doing?" Taeyeon took a seat beside Sunny.

"Good," she replied shortly. Her fingers were idling on her phone's keypad. "I guess," she mumbled quietly at the last part.

"What was that?"

Sunny took a deep breath then turned her head towards her best friend. She opened then closed it again. She didn't want to say something bad that could make Taeyeon misunderstood.

"I honestly don’t know how she's doing," she ran her fingers through her hair tiredly. "We fight. She stays at her parents’ house at the moment."

"Want to talk about it?" The cardio doctor offered something that actually was out of her expertise.

"It's just the usual stuff."

"Which is?"

"Work, time, me neglecting her – according to her." Sunny pretended to read whatever on her phone.

"Oh that." Taeyeon acknowledged it flawlessly.

"She's a doctor. She should've known about what I do." Sunny shook her head. "I'm tired arguing the same thing over and over again."

"I know." Taeyeon said full of sympathy.

"What I do, at the end of the day is for her too, you know. I wish she could be more understanding. It's not like I play around behind her back. I love her, I tell her everyday, isn't that enough? How could she be so selfish? I can't take it anymore. If she doesn't want to be with me anymore, then so be it!"

"I feel you, Sunny." Taeyeon patted her shoulder gently.

"You do?" She asked confusedly. "I thought you're doing okay with Tiffany?"

"Of course we're okay," she replied.

"Then what the heck feeling you felt?" Sunny was annoyed.

"I was just trying to cheer you up, okay? Showing empathy and all that?"

"I should've known," Sunny sighed desperately. "You're useless."

The plastic surgeon stood up as she grabbed her lab coat. She tied her shoe, took a glance of her appearance one more time before turned at her back towards the door without looking back.

Taeyeon groaned at her friend's act. She quickly put on her running shoes and ran for Sunny. "Soonkyu-ya! Yah!" She shouted through the aisle.

"What?" Sunny spoke impassively.

"I heard Nike is on big sale today."

"And you're telling me this because?"

"Because you love Nike, duh!" She shoved Sunny jokingly.

Sunny stopped at that. “You’re buying me two,” she said as she walked further.

“Yah! I didn’t say anything about buying it for you.” Taeyeon matched Sunny’s pace.

“I thought we’re best friend. I thought you wanted to console me, guess not,” she shrugged.

Taeyeon groaned. “Fine! This short devil.”

“See you after lunch then. Oh, you’re driving too,” Sunny threw her a mischievous smile then gone.

-----

“Mrs. Baek, 57 y.o with post valve replacement due to severe mitral valve regurgitation day four. All vital sign are stabile, no complain today, Doc.” 

“No pain at all?” Taeyeon asked her patient.

“There’s discomfort here and there but nothing I can’t bear. It’s no trouble,” the lady replied.

“Good, then–” Taeyoen’s phone ringed, interrupting her talk. She hesitated to pick it up at first but ended up answer it anyway. 

“Hey, busy?”

“Kind of, something comes up?”

“Nothing, I just want to call you.”

“I’ll call you later okay?”

“Okay. Taeyeon-ah, I’m–” She didn’t hear the last part. “Well,” she cleared . “I want to do echocardiography one more time to make sure the fluid in your pericardium is lessening. If everything is perfect, then you’re good to go home.” Taeyeon smiled kindly.

Round was one of the routines that doctors did. Especially at a teaching hospital, there were at least two types of round; educational round and medical round. Today, Taeyeon did both. Since she had postponed her educational round last week, she mashed it up this morning.

The fourth year resident knocked on the door a