Thirty-three.

Thirty-four.

Thirty-five.

“He’s got a pulse!” You hear your partner, Wendy, say and you finally lean back to catch a breath. Your arms are tired from giving CPR but it’s all part of the job. The burning sensation on your palms and arms are proof of your hard work.

“Let’s get him to the hospital. He’s unstable.” You command and hold on as the ambulance starts its way. 

It was only seven in the morning but you suddenly got a call for a vehicular accident. You didn’t even finish pouring your coffee yet. Woes of being an EMT, you always had to be on the go. But you wouldn’t want it any other way. You loved your job.

You continue to monitor and attend to the patient. Thankfully the ride wouldn’t take too long. Hang in there man. You silently plead to the unconscious patient.

“We’re here.” The ambulance driver announces. 

You and Wendy lose no time and open the ambulance to unload the patient. You two work seamlessly, years of being partners meant there was no need for words. Wendy pushes the stretcher into the hospital emergency room and nurses start to file in.

One doctor approaches you and the patient first. “What happened?” The doctor asks you while still pushing the patient further inside.

“Fifty-two year old man, arrested while driving, crashed his car during the arrest hence trauma to the chest and face. We got his pulse and breathing back but his vitals aren’t stable.” You quickly relay to the doctor.

“Got it. Yerim, get me an endotracheal set. Sooyoung you’re going to assist me.” She calls calmly but commandingly and the people with her follow her set instructions.

 “You’re going to have a hard time inserting a tube. We stopped the bleeding on his face but he’s still vomiting out blood.” 

“I’ll see what I can do. Thank you miss Kang.” And with that they vanish behind the curtains and you’re left there standing in the hallway.

“Seulgi?” Wendy calls your attention but you’re still in a bit of a daze. “Seulgiiiii.” This time Wendy snaps her fingers in front of your face.

You finally get a hold of yourself and turn to Wendy. “She knows my name.” 

“Who?”

“Doctor Bae.” You’re starting to blush. “The Doctor Bae Joohyun knows my name Wendy!”

“Okaaay calm down lover girl.” Wendy says with a chuckle. “Let’s get the paperwork done before you go and start fantasizing over your crush all over again.”

“Seungwaaaan.” You whine and give her a pout but do as she says and accomplish the paperwork anyway.

//

The life of a doctor wasn’t easy. Particularly the life of a certain Doctor Bae Joohyun.

“Laryngoscope.” You quickly ask as you prepare to insert an endotracheal tube into a patient. Damn it, there was so much blood but you didn’t have much time. This guy needed to breathe. You were going to have to insert blindly.

You take a deep breath and just hope to god you’ll be able to get this in one take. The intern, Park Soooyoung, hands you the tube and you brace yourself before gently but accurately inserting the tube into the patient’s throat.

“Sooyoung, cricoid pressure.” Sooyoung immediately follows your instruction and pushes the patient’s throat while you were inserting.

“You’re in!” The nurse, Yerim, announces as she listens to the patient’s breath sounds with a stethoscope.

Thank goodness. 

“Great job doc.” Sooyoung congratulates you.

You nod meekly in reply. “Will you be alright on your own?”

“Yeah, we’re good. I’ll page you if something happens.”

Right at that moment, your beeper signals a message and you bring it out. “Duty calls.” You say before leaving for the next call. 

The life of a doctor definitely wasn’t easy. But you wouldn’t want any other job anyway.

--

Six hours. 

That was how long the laparotomy took. Thankfully it only took that long. 

You stretch, feeling all your muscles aching after standing in for hours. What time was it? It always felt this way after an operation, like the world stops moving inside the operating room and once you move out it’s