Minho was done for the day and was just waiting for his wife. He sent her a message and told her that he would be waiting outside her clinic as he was done. Krystal, who was in the middle of trying to calm a child after getting a vaccine only saw her phone screen light up and ignored the message. It’s not that she was ignoring him, but she still has a patient to attend to and a few other kids were waiting outside for their turn. He was keeping himself busy with the games on his phone while waiting for her to finish. He rested his head on the wall for support until he fell asleep and eventually dropping his phone. He was startled for a moment and kept his phone clasped in hands and slept while waiting. Being doctor was no easy job, especially when you’re a surgeon. He was able to sleep despite hearing the kids and their parents noises who were also waiting outside.

“See you in two weeks!” Krystal smiled as she greeted the two year old girl and walked her and and her mom out her clinic. She went back to get her belongings and made sure that everything was unplugged and the lights were off. As she headed out, she noticed Minho on the sofa, asleep while maintaining a sitting position. She sighed as she felt bad for him before waking him up. 

“Minho,” she said as she gently tapped his arm. “Minho,” she repeated to call his name, but he still won’t take up. She started nudging him gently and slowly, her husband opened his eyes slightly to let his eyes adjust to the light.

“Hey,” he greeted her with a sleepy voice and smile. “How long have you been waking me up?”

“Just now, don’t worry about it. Sorry I took so long.” She had an apologetic look on her face. She really felt bad for making him wait.

“No worries.” He smiled for reassurance before stretching and getting up. His eyes already adjusted and he stretched once more while standing. “Let’s go?”

Krystal nodded and walked out with her husband. The both greeted her assistant and she greeted the two doctors back. Minho and Krystal seemed like college classmates who have the same classes almost everyday. There are times when they’d talk like they were friends when one would say a pun or a joke and the other would react by laughing or telling the other that it was terrible. They were still a bit awkward with each other, but they were concerned for each other just like how the students would be if the other didn’t have paper and needs one.

“How many surgeries did you have today?”

“Four. The two surgeries were one after the other, which is why I’m probably drained.” He raised his eyebrows as he flashed a tired smile before taking another bite of his food.

Her eyes widened at the information. He would normally have one to two surgeries a day, and he only experienced three surgeries once. Two surgeries were already a lot, let alone three, which she thought was the maximum. “Looks like you broke your record. Eat a lot, you’re probably starving. You want me to order more food?”

Minho shook his head before wiping his mouth. “I’m good with these, don’t worry.” He smiled for reassurance as he saw wary in her eyes.

“I’ll be driving on the way home.” Her voice was stern before she resumed eating and watched him. He only nodded and put his thumb up because he was chewing and she nodded in return.

The doctors chose to eat in a restaurant nearby to avoid preparing food at home because it will be time consuming and tiring on their part. They both agreed that they both wanted to relax as soon as they get home and they didn’t feel like washing the dishes. After having dinner, Krystal got into the driver’s seat and Minho still opened the door for her. “Thank you,” she told him before smiling slightly and getting in. He closed the door for her before riding in the passenger seat.

“Recline your chair so you’ll feel comfortable.”

“I might have a hard time getting up if it’s too comfortable, so no.”

“Alright, suit yourself.”

The drive home was quiet. Only Krystal was awake and Minho was sleeping soundly beside her. She felt sorry for him and kept glancing at him from time to time. She noticed that his head kept swaying and he was even keeping his head from moving, making her worried that he might be injured and not actually getting enough rest. Luckily, her habit of having a pillow in the car didn’t leave and she’s not used to not having one in the car (because she’s had one since she was two years old). She grabbed her pillow from the backseat and placed it between the car window and the head rest and guided Minho’s head to lean on it when the traffic light was red. She was able to fix him just in time for the light to turn green.

“Minho,” she said as he shook him lightly, but he wouldn’t budge. “Minho,” she said again while shaking him slightly with only a bit stronger than the last, but he still won’t get up. “Poor guy.”

She kept waking him and after a few more tries, he finally moved his head slowly and stretched, still with his eyes closed, before opening them gently. His forehead was creased as he adjusted his sight and noticed that they were no longer moving. He also noticed that his head was able to rest on something soft and guessed that it must’ve been their car pillow- Krystal’s car pillow, to be exact.

“We’re here? Sorry I didn’t get up right away.”

Krystal’s head turned to her husband when she heard his question. She was checking a message on her phone while waiting for him to wake. “Yeah. You seemed really tired.” She was worried about him. How tiring must it’ve felt for him to stand for almost the whole day while carefully moving nerves because a tiny move can have a major complication. “I placed the pillow there so you’d be able to sleep comfortably.”

“Thanks,” he said in almost a whisper. His voice was still adjusting to his awakened state. He placed the pillow on its original spot before helping her out with carrying their stuff out of the car.

“Hey, it’s fine. I got it, don’t worry.” She smiled slightly at him. “Just go inside so you can wash up and rest well.” She met his eyes with a look that asked “are you sure” and she nodded and smiled to reassure him that she’s fine. “Go,” she told him as he tapped his cheek with her palm. 

They exited the car at the same time and he headed for the steps that lead to the front door and after unlocking it, he was checking on his wife. Sure, she said that he can go on ahead, but he still wanted to make sure that she’s fine. He watched her get their stuff and lock the car door and waited until she was walking to the door. He reached for his bag on his wife’s hand because he was embarrassed that he carried her stuff for him. She kept insisting that it’s fine and asked him to just go upstairs, but he said that he was now fully awake.

“I’ll go up now,” he finally told her.

She was resting on the couch before going upstairs to wash up. “Alright, good night.” She waved at him and he waved back. She watched him go upstairs before getting busy on her phone. A few moments later, she yawned, then another one came soon, then one after the other. It only took a couple of minutes until Krystal fell asleep. Minho felt like he wanted a drink of cold water after washing up and changing into his pajamas. He made his way downstairs and noticed that the light in the living room was still on, which means that Krystal was still downstairs. As he was on the final steps of the stairs, he saw her sleeping figure on the couch.

“She kept telling me to wash up to rest, but she’s knocked out on the couch.” He chuckled while staring at her peaceful and beautiful face. He couldn’t stop staring at her. “Why do you have to be pretty,” he murmured, being careful that she might hear a thing. He made his way to the kitchen to satisfy his thirst before approaching the girl. “Krystal,” he said as he tried to wake her up. He knows that the girl sleeps like a bear during hibernation. “Guess I’ll have to carry you again.” He carried her in a bridal style and made his way upstairs with the sleeping figure in his arms, being careful to not hit her anywhere. He squatted a bit to open her bedroom door before laying her down on the bed and pulled the covers to her shoulders. This was definitely not the first time that he did this to a very sleepy Krystal.

“Good night,” he said in a whisper before giving her a kiss on the forehead and closing the door quietly to walk back to his room.

Author's note: the second chapter's up! Please please tell me what you guys think in the comments section below. If you won't be a silent reader, I really do appreciate it :) stay tuned for the next one!