Sh*t

Yuri couldn’t count just how much she cursed under her breath for the past eight hours. It’s like she’s gotten busier every second and whenever she completes something, another task is ready for her to fulfil. She takes a deep breath and looked around, her co-workers were also seriously into work but they looked like they were enjoying it. It seems like they were used to getting drowned at work yet still manage to survive every end of shift.

She looked up at the clock and noticed there were only 10 minutes left. She smiled a bit. Almost there, just one more IV insertion to this month old kid and she’s done.

Instead of actually finishing in ten minutes, looks like this baby is a tough cookie, he won’t even let Yuri touch him. Yuri can feel a vein about to pop in her temple but she tried to smile nonetheless.

Why you little—

“Miss? I can do it for you if you want. It’s way past your shift anyway.”

She looked up to the sound of the voice and she found herself staring into the eyes of a white-skinned, pretty lady with a very serious face. She smiled in relief.

“Thanks.”

Then she heard her shift mates calling her to leave with them.

She took her time walking towards the station and her jaw dropped when after a few seconds the lady who helped her came walking with her.

“Uhm, was there something lacking in the insertion set I prepared?” Asked Yuri, feeling embarrassed that she missed something and the kind lady have to suffer going back to the station to retrieve it.

“No. I’m done.” The lady said and went to sit at the station, away from everybody else who was having a conversation at the other side.

Yuri got her bag and went to her new friends.

“Hey what took you so long?” Dara asked her. By the short time they’ve shared this lady already succeeded in making everyone call her ‘unnie’.

“Oh, I had a hard time with that baby. It’s a good thing, that girl over there helped me. She’s quite good.” She said as she plopped down a seat beside her unnie.

“Good? Gosh. She’s more than that!” Victoria said, stealing a glance at the stoic girl who was busy reading a chart. The ER was peaceful that time. Making Yuri think she got some bad luck with how busy they were just a few hours ago.

“Why? You guys sound like you know more about her.” Yuri asked, her curiosity spiked really high.

“Come on guys; let’s talk about that while having something to eat. I’m hungry.” Minho said.

They said their goodbyes to the next shift. But the lady looked like she didn’t hear anything and continued reading.

It was odd but she was too tired to think about it.

They got inside a cafe, ordered coffees and cakes and sat down. Her shift had five members and one senior nurse. Their senior had something else to do so they proceeded without her.

“This looks like team-building. Too bad Senior Sally had to go somewhere.” Shindong chuckled.

They all smiled. It’s true that when you’re facing difficult times, it’s easier to build friendships. They felt like they just got out of the war. Only Dara was a veteran in the ER, the rest were from other departments.

“It was crazy. I thought it would never end.” Yuri sighed.

“Wait ‘til we get the night shift. That’s the busiest shift ever. You’ll get surprised how many people get into accidents every day.” Dara laughed.

“That makes me want to pray, not only for myself but especially for the people to be more careful.” Vic pouted, making everyone laugh.

“Did you see her earlier? Wow. I’ve never seen someone so serious.” Minho shared.

“You mean Im Yoona?” Vic said earning glares from her friends for saying the name too loudly.

“Oops. Sorry.” She smiled sheepishly.

“Who?” Yuri asked, totally left out.

“Where have you been living Yul? Under a rock?” Shindong looked at her incredulously.

“Give her a break. She came from the Gynaecological Dept. It’s like a cave tucked away.” Dara shrugged.

She knew her department was isolated from the others but she never knew they were that far behind with news/gossips. She was sure everything that happened to her was known by the hospital, then why didn’t she hear about this Im Yoona?

“Okay, so basically, we have this golden new girl who joined last year, about six months before you joined. Every department head wants her. I heard she has enough board exam score to top and when she started working, she wasn’t like a newbie at all. She was amazing!” Minho said.

“Yeah, aside from that, take a look at her face, she could be an idol! I’m so jealous.” Vic added.

“And she got connections. Like her family’s rich and powerful but she’s still at our entry level. If I had that much power, I’d get promoted right away.” Shindong said.

“But she’s too quiet, and serious. At first I really thought she was a robot. She never speaks unless you speak to her first.” Dara said, earning a few giggles from the group.

“Does she have friends?” Yuri felt like there’s something more that she needs to know.

“Well, she’s close with Tiffany from the Surgical ICU and Taeyeon from the Paediatric ICU. She only hangs out with those two.”

“She only has two friends?” Yuri asked, shocked.

“We never said that. They’re the only ones we know about. Even her ex colleagues at Ped ICU can’t be called her friends either.” Vic said.

Who on earth only has two friends?

*

After their short cafe gossiping, Yuri drove home to her condo unit, big enough for a family when she’s the only one who lives there. They already migrated to the US when she was in middle school but she came back six months ago to settle something for her family.

She opened the fridge and found out she ran out of everything, that’s when she misses her mom the most.

She can’t ignore her grumbling stomach anymore and went out. She went to the 24 hour convenience store two blocks away from the hospital she works at, just because she has their promo coupons. Such a cheapskate.

It was close to midnight and she started driving back. She slowed down when she noticed someone walking and eventually stopped at the bus stop waiting for the next bus to arrive.

Wait, Ms. Perfect’s here.

She decided to call her Ms. Perfect earlier. She wasn’t expecting to see her there, at a bus stop. The bus arrived and the lady went in.

She takes the bus?

More and more this person sure is grinding her gears.