CHAPTER 1

[Present Day]

Operating Room 2

(heart rate monitor goes into alert mode)

"Ssaem! She's crashing!" The head nurse yells, staring wide-eyed at the sudden pulse drop on the heart rate monitor.

"BP's dropping, she's going into sudden cardiac arrest, doctor." An assisting resident informs Sung Kyung.

"Damn! Dr. Seo push one of EPI!" Sung Kyung instructs Kang Jun as she requests for a pair of internal defibrillators. 

"Already on it, ssaem." Kang Jun responds as he injects the hormones into the patient's system. 

"Charge 20--" Sung Kyung places the defibrillators on both sides of the heart.

"She signed a DNR, Dr. Lee. Are you sure you wanna do that?" Jong Suk firmly cuts her off, a sweat drop rolls down his temple, looking straight into her eyes. "You know the consequences if you go against--"

"Charge. 20. Dr. Park..." Sung Kyung lowered her voice at her assisting resident.

"Yes, ssaem!"

"I dare you, Park." Jong Suk, glared at the innocent resident who wasn't sure who to listen to.

"Don't make me repeat myself, Dr. Park. Charge or you're off my service effective immediately after this surgery!" Sung Kyung said through gritted teeth.

Dr. Park bowed in apology at Jong Suk. "C-charging 20!" 

"Clear!" (shock)

Radiology Department

"Damn it! Why does the universe have to be so ing cruel..." He choked, lips trembling and tears rolling down his face as he stares at the numerous MRI scans attached onto the x-ray film viewers, refusing to face the reality of what's displayed in front of him. "Why??!" he manages to breathe out, covering his face with his hands, masking his sobs.

OR 2

"Sung Kyung-ah! Please just stop! She's been in cardiac arrest for 43 minutes. We've done all we could even when we weren't supposed to!" Jong Suk begs, voice cracking, deciding to finally drop the formalities in the OR. He can't watch anymore of this. It hurt to see his precious baby sister, someone he cares so deeply for in such a state.

"She's not just any other woman oppa! She's someone's mother! Someone's mother!" Sung Kyung heaved, her breaths gradually becoming uneven.

Everyone in the room remained in complete silence, crushed at the sight before them that is very difficult to behold. Several attempts to stop the head surgeon from ceasing resuscitation were in vain. 

"Noona..." Kang Jun mutters under his breath, mentally kicking himself because there was nothing he could do to better the situation.

The never-ending beep echoing throughout the entire room, indicating a flatline was deafening. 

Sung Kyung has been massaging the patient's heart ever since she flatlined. No progress has been made, not a single heartbeat. She knows all attempts made to revive this patient on the operating table would be futile. She was gone the moment they cut her open. She knew that, but her conscience told her to keep holding on and not let go, forcing her to keep going. She rufused to stop. She couldn't. Not right now.

"No..I...I...not today, Hwang-ssi...you can't.." Sung Kyung utters through soft sobs, breath heavy and body shaking. 

"Sung Kyung-ah..." Jong Suk croaks. He's seen enough. "I know it's difficult but..." His voice cracks, grabbing her hand and placing it under the patient's heart which has since stopped beating. 

Sung Kyung shakes her head "I know, oppa! I know..."  she lets out a deep sigh. "Finally..." Jong Suk thinks. There is an enormous hole on the base of the heart. They knew of this from the very start, just by looking at the scans. There wasn't the slightest chance of this woman surviving but they were in denial. They thought they could perform a miracle and save this woman. They were wrong. "Inoperable." It echoes in Sung Kyung's head. No one in their right minds would've gone near this patient. Now that she's feeling it, right in the flesh...she has no choice but to finally admit defeat. She failed to fulfill her promise. 

"I will do it. I definitely can. I always do!" She recalls telling the patient just a few hours ago.

"He's just a 9 year old kid for heavens sake! He's had to listen to doctors tell him appa's going somewhere for a little while just 3 days ago...and now eomma's leaving him too??! Do you know how ed up that is? What it could do to a child...losing both parents in the span of less than a week. No kid deserves that! Not a single one!" Her chest feels heavy, suffocated as tears begin to flow from her eyes. She let out harsh breaths, doing her best to calm herself down as she pulls her hands away from the patient's body. Jong Suk walks over to the other side of the operating table and pulls her into a tight embrace. Sniffles could be heard throughout the room. Every person in the room broke out in tears, their heads bowed down. The patient already knew she didn't have much time left in this world, which explained the reason why she decided to sign the 'Do Not Resuscitate' form.

"Shh...it's going to be alright, Sung Kyung-ah. He's everyone's little superhero and we'll always have his back..." Jong Suk squeezes her tight, rubbing her back to soothe her. 

"Your call, doc." Kang Jun voiced out, sniffling and clearing his throat.

"Time of death...20:38." Sung Kyung uttered, looking up from Jong Suk's shoulder and at the clock. The head nurse turns off the monitor. Darkness on the screen and silence after she declared TOD. Other machines followed after.

Your son is in good hands...so please rest in peace.

Everyone else in the room bid their farewell to the deceased.

15 minutes later...

Cracks of thunder could be heard outside and flashes of lightning could be seen from the glass floor-to-ceiling windows as the medical staff exited the operating theater and into the empty waiting area. 

"It looks like a storm's on the way" Sung Kyung mutters, her arms wrapped around both Jong Suk and Kang Jun's waists and theirs around her shoulders, each on both of her sides.

"Seems like it." Jong Suk has his head leaned against the top of Sung Kyung's and glances towards the windows. She was right. Heavy raindrops could be heard thumping against the windows and the roof of the hospital. She sighs. As if today wasn't gloomy enough...

"Hey noona, we're grabbing drinks with Kyun Sang-hyung and a couple of others later tonight, care to join? We seem like we could use a drink right now..." Kang Jun spoke, rubbing his face with his palm.

"Hmm...maybe some other time. I've got other plans tonight. You guys go ahead and knock yourselves out but not to the point where I have to drag your asses home again." She let out a slight chuckle, as did they. Nam Joo Hyuk. I need to find him.

"We'll see who does the dragging tonight, baby sis. Goodnight, little one. Don't do anything stupid now." Jong Suk plants a peck on her forehead and gives her a little wave goodbye as he and Kang Jun part ways with her. 

She smiles and plods away, taking her scrub cap off and shoving it into her pant pocket. The rain is getting heavier by the second, the thunder roaring, lightning cracking and wind strong. She knows exactly where he is at this very moment. Her feet naturally leads her to him as she picks up her pace.

...

Moments later she finds herself making her way towards the hospital's main entrance. "Ssaem!" she stopped in her tracks and came to an abrupt halt, her head snapping towards the direction and source of a familiar voice that seemed to be calling out to her. She raises an eyebrow, lips in a pout. "What?" she retorts simply as the said figure sprinted towards her.

"Heading out, ssaem? Here, take my umbrella, it's insanity out there! I just got in so I don't need it." It was her intern, Byul, wet patches from the rain were slowly soaking through his attire, water dripping from the strands of hair over his forehead. 

"Thanks, champ! Doesn't look like it'll make a difference but thanks. And hey! Go dry yourself up I can't afford to have another one of my minions getting sick. Be alert and make sure you do your rounds now scram!" She orders hurriedly and gives him a light flick on the forehead. She waves him off and dismisses him as she dashes outside the automatic glass doors. 

"Yes, ma'am!!" Byul salutes, watching as his ssaem hurries somewhere. "Aigoo, where could she be headed in such a hurry?"

Sung Kyung emerges from within the hospital to the main drop off area. She readies herself by opening up the umbrella and rests it against her shoulder with one hand and places the other above her eyes, scanning her surroundings past all the vehicles parked outside. There. She spots a dark figure a mere few meters away, sitting on a bench near the gardens, drenching themself in the rain. "Fool." she releases a breath, embracing herself and darts over to said direction. 

"Happy face, Sung Kyung, happy face.." she repeats in her head. Her feet stop. Now standing right in front of him. His drenched head looks up at her the moment he felt a sudden dryness. His dark orbs meet her light amber hues, particularly prominent from the nearby lampost shining through them. The umbrella in her hand now shielding his pale, shivering body from the freezing rain in the middle of December. 

"Sung Kyung-ah..what are you doing out here? It's cold...and why are you only in your scrubs? Are you mad?" He utters as he pushes her arm back so that she's covering herself with the umbrella which was doing a pretty lousy job at keeping either of them dry. His voice is much hoarser and deeper than usual, she noticed. Presumably from crying too much and being out in the rain. 

"Psh...speak for yourself paboya!" She hisses from being in contact with freezing cold water in sub zero temperature and closes up the umbrella, tossing it aside. She lets out a loud sneeze as she settles next to him on the wooden bench. He takes off his checkered blazer and drapes it around her shoulders. "You wouldn't want the whole world staring at your black innerwear now..." He nods towards her chest and she glances down at her now translucent shirt. 

"That's not even an issue right now and besides...it's not like you haven't seen me in my underwear before, you sly dog!" She huffs, crossing her arms, the statement making him go red, his ears and cheeks instantly warming up. 

"It was purely an accident!" He rolls his eyes as his teeth begin to chatter. This girl...she never fails to cheer me up. He lets out a chortle, wrapping his arm around her trembling shoulders.

"Look, I feel better now that you're here with me and since you've made all this effort to get me inside, let's go. I don't wanna get you sick again." He flashes his set of perfect teeth and stands up. He stumbles and wobbles as his legs have grown numb from sitting too long. He extends his hands towards her and she accepts them as he pulls her up to her feet.      

"For your own sake and well-being, you better hope that I don't fall sick again because I will make it a point to hold you accountable for it this time." She tugs on his ear, causing him to flinch and arch his head a little as they splash through the puddles, heading in the direction of the hospital building to seek shelter.     

[to be continued...]

Hey guys, just to let you know, I've made some changes to this chapter because the I felt that the previous version was a little off and I wanted to alter the plot a little. Hope you guys don't mind and thank you for being patient. Exams have been taking a toll on me lately so I might not be updating very often. Please leave your comments on what you think and thank you again for the support! <3