It’s been three days and the rain was still harsh. There weren’t much patients than usual for Krystal for the previous days because of the harsh weather conditions, but the line was still long. She understood that the kids need to be kept inside and their safety’s the most important thing for her. However, as a person of service, she decided to keep her clinic open in case they might need her help and she recognizes her duty.

Minho, on the other hand have two operations scheduled today. Doctors don’t get holidays and work suspensions because of the weather. They’re no longer students, and this was something that he missed earlier while driving to work with the traffic that came with the pouring rain. After finishing the first surgery for today, he got changed and went back to his clinic. On his way there, he bumped into his wife and the sight of her made him curve his lips into a thin smile.

Krystal had a small smile when she saw him. Her hands were in her pockets and she stopped to meet him. “Finished with your surgeries?”

“Just the first one. The second one will be in a few hours. Will you make rounds?”

She nodded in reply. “Gotta check on my little fighters. Have you eaten?”

He shook his head. “I’ll be calling for a delivery when I get to my clinic. What about you?”

She shook her head. “I was planning to eat after my rounds. I wanted to call for a delivery as well, but the weather’s still being harsh today.”

“I got it. I’ll go outside to buy us food, then I’ll be back just in time for you to eat.”

“Alright, that sounds good for me. Can you also buy food for my assistant? I’ll pa-“

“Okay, okay, I’ll go now!” He cut her off and quickly turned around to walk the other way, not wanting to let her finish saying that she’ll pay him later. And it’ll also save him time. The latter was just his excuse to make his reason valid, of course. However, a part of him tells him that she was probably annoyed.

She scoffed as she watched him. She wanted to scream at him, but she wouldn’t and she couldn’t because she was in a public place and that wasn’t being classy. Instead, she just furrowed her brows at annoyance and sighed loudly before proceeding to her patients.

She first went to her patients who were in private rooms, then checked on her other patients in the shared ward. She only has two patients in that word today. Thankfully, they were beside each other and it was easy for her to check on them.

“Doctor, when I’m better I’ll visit you,” the little six year old girl said to her with a smile.

“Me too! And I will not cry when I get my vaccine,” said the four year old boy.

“Yes, visit me regularly even when you’re feeling better for your checkups. I’ll be giving you, kids, treats especially if you don’t cry during your vaccines.” She smiled at them and the two kids loudly said yes.

“That’s a promise!” They both said at the same time and held their pinkies out. Krystal locked each of her pinkies with the kids on her sides.

“Don’t break that promise, alright? I’ll be going now.” She smiled at them and their parents and waved to the kids.

She made her way to her husband’s clinic alone and knocked before entering. She heard a faint sound that told her to come in and it was Minho’s voice. She stepped inside and saw that the assistant was not in her desk, nor was her food. “Where’s Sunmi?”

“Oh, she doesn’t eat lunch here and goes to the cafeteria even if I tell her that it’s fine.” He smiled at her before taking the food out of the bag.

“Where’s mine?” She grabbed a paper bag and assumed it to be hers and she placed it back on the shelf behind him when he said no.

“It’s this one.” He tapped on the other container on his table. “That’s for your assistant.”

“Oh- I was thinking of eating lunch in my clinic, but okay,” she said in a low voice. She sat on the chair across from him and removed the cover. “Thanks for getting this for me. How much do I pay you?”

He shook his head while chewing his food. “There’s no need for you to.”

She blinked while looking at him. “Okay, thank you.” She removed her white coat and placed it on the backrest of her chair.

“How was your rounds, are you tired?”

“Nope, it was fine. I only have four patients confined. It was all because of a weak immune system. What about you, how’s operation number one?”

“Tricky as always. Some of his nerves were really badly tangled up. It was almost impossible, but I pulled through.”

She smiled when she heard the last line. “Congrats!”

“Thanks!”

They had to be fast even while eating and she cleaned up their trash and placed it on the paper bag. After drinking water, she wanted to brush her teeth, but remembered that her toothbrush was in her clinic. 

“I might have a spare toothbrush in the medicine cabinet.” Minho has a bathroom in his clinic for his own use. She also has one in her clinic.

Krystal opened it and saw three spare toothbrushes. “I’ll be using one.”

“Yeah and just leave it there so you’ll have a toothbrush here.”

After brushing her teeth, she had another drink of water, while her husband was brushing his teeth. She grabbed the paper bag for her assistant and stood in the center of the room and looked around while waiting for him. She noticed that Minho has a tiny picture of them in a frame on his other desk, a stolen shot that was probably taken by the photographer and they were undeniably happy. She was looking in front at something while laughing and he was glancing at her while smiling.

“That was during Aunt Jiyeon’s birthday, right?” She was their parents’ colleague in the bank and one of her mom’s closest friends.

He stood beside her and looked at the direction of her gaze. “Yeah, it was when her boys made that funny song for her.” He smiled while looking at the picture also from a distance, remembering the moment when he saw her laughing so much.

“Yeah, I remember.” She smiled at the memory before turning to look at him. “I’ll go now. Thanks for this again.” She didn’t expect him to be standing so close.

He nodded with a smile. He was looking at his wife up close and he was speechless for a bit. “You’re welcome,” he said softly. 

Their distance was similar to the one that they had during their mutual friend’s party when Mrs. Jung and Yoona, their friend, took their picture. The only difference was that they were looking at each other, standing face to face.

She was scrambling her thoughts as she looked for the right words to say. She was starting to feel awkward and shy. “Y-you should get changed for your surgery.” She had allergies, but she liked the smell of his perfume and it didn’t irritate her.

“I’ll have my surgery a little later. I’ll do my rounds in a bit. I’ll just wait for my assistant, then I’ll be on my way out.” He could smell raspberries whenever she’s around. He was sure it was her shampoo and he loved it. “Before I forget.” He went to grab her white coat helped her put it on.

“Thank you, I’m going now.” She turned her heel to walk the other way.

He walked her out of his clinic and just when they exited the door of his clinic, they saw the door of his clinic’s main entrance opening. When he saw who it was, he turned around and grabbed his clipboard from his desk.

“Oh, it’s good to see you Dr. Choi,” Sunmi greeted her and bowed.

Krystal was born in America and studied preschool until lower school there before going to Korea with her parents. Unlike most Koreans, she can change her surname to her husband’s.

“It’s nice to see you, too, Sunmi. I’ll be on my way out now.” She smiled at the girl before holding the doorknob, but Sunmi held it for her.

“Me too,” the male Dr. Choi chimed in. “I’ll be doing my rounds.”

“Thanks, Sunmi. See you around!”

“No problem, ma’am! Oh, and sir, your surgery will be at 4 pm.” She addressed them in a different way aside from doctor because they’ll probably be confused of which Dr. Choi was she talking to.

“Noted, thank you!” He turned to look at his wife who nodded at her, gesturing that they can leave now. “Let’s go.” They walked side by side, with Krystal’s right hand in her coat pocket, while Minho’s left hand was in his coat pocket. The stuff in their hands were placed between them and they moved in sync.

Sunmi held the door open for the two doctors and smiled while watching them for a while before closing it.

Author's note: Hi everyone! I was originally going to post this update just a few hours after my previous one (in the evening), but we all know hat happened on that evening... I lost all the motivation that day to do anything and it went on for a couple more days. Also, it's been a month and 10 days, so I just wanna give everyone a warm virtual hug. I stayed away from social media since that day and just returning now. It's been hard, right? It's still a bit difficult now, but better days are coming. I found comfort with the fact that Jonghyun's in a better place now- that he has found his peace. Please allow me to share this story with all of you. I was sleepless the night before they laid him to rest, feeling uneasy and still surreal. I finally was able to sleep right after the funeral, still with a tear-stained face. I woke up and fetched my mom to attend mass and while I was on my way, I stared outside the window, just like how I am during every ride, but I was looking at the clouds at that time. When the clouds were moving, the thin layers of clouds formed Jonghyun's face in the sky and he was extremely happy. His smile was so huge, his eyes had happiness in them and that smile made me remember his laugh. It was the kind of smile that he would have after laughing so much. Just before the cloud completely moved towards the bigger cloud, his smile was the last thin that was covered and when I looked down, the clouds were just above a beautiful memorial park that seemed like a huge garden. For the first time after a couple of days, I finally was able to smile. At that moment, I knew that he was already at peace and he was enjoying up there.

Please stay tuned for the next update! I hope to see your comments in the comments section below and don't forget to subscribe, too! Thank you! :)