“We looked at each other a little too long to be `just friends`.”

―poems

After dropping off the girls it was just Minzy and Mino. She lived a little farther than the girls, they both just walked silently. “When did we get so awkward?” He asked suddenly ending the silence, minzy thought about it “I don’t know things just got so awkward between us out of nowhere” she answered, he grabbed her hand making her stop from entering her house. She wanted to bolt in there to end this conversation, she knew very well what caused the awkwardness but it was a conversation she didn’t want to have.

“Is it because of your confession from medical school?” He asked staring at her not even blinking, she turned bright red wanting to die right then and there “I-“ she didn’t know what to say “minzy that was so long ago I even forgot about it” she pouted “it’s embarrassing I never expected to run into you after that but then you became my boss” she talked super fast making him laugh “if you still have feelings you could tell me is that why it’s awkward?” Minzy shook her head “no-“ eyeing him and then laughing “yah! You are the most self absorbed guy you just want to hear confessions day and night” he shook his head laughing “that’s not what I meant!” He opened his arms “come to oppa let’s forget about that letter and be close again” she laughed pushing him away and walking inside the house “Omma! I brought your son over” she screamed while taking off her shoes.

Her parents bolted to hug mino, they had grown affection for him when minzy and him were in school. Their parents saw how close the two were so minzy would always be at his parents house or him at her parents. After mino graduated they didn’t keep up much he got really busy with work that they lost contact. It was after minzy started working at the same hospital that she saw him again. She hoped she didn’t get him as the attending doctor but luck wasn’t on her side and she was faced with seeing him at work now after that painfully embarrassing confession she gave him.

Mino took out a present from his bag and handed it to minzy parents. She saw how her parents adored mino like the son they didn’t have. She saw her sister in the kitchen so she ran to hug her “unnie!” She hadn’t seen her sister for days cause their schedules weren’t overlapping, minzy would come home at night from work and her sister would have barely left to work. “I miss you” she said smiling and pecking her cheek constantly, her sister minyoung laughed and hugged her back “how’s work?” She asked minzy “it’s good I got to join a surgery” “congratulations” “what about you unnie?” Her unnie shrugged “it’s been really bad more gang members moving into the city…. be careful minzy” minzy began to do kickboxing moves “unnie please I got this you are the one who has to be careful” she said pretending to be punching someone and dodging “woah minzy with those moves you should have been the security of the hospital” mino teased “yah! Don’t come to me when you need me to defend you.”

They had dinner and talked for a little more before mino left to go home. Minzy was saying goodbye to him when he hugged her “like the old times” he said ruffling her hair. She melted at his strong arms and chest, the smell of sweat with a slight hint of cologne he had on from the morning, the smell of a man. She didn’t want to let go but it would be awkward clinging onto him.

The next morning minzy went into work Bom had called the day off with no explanation so it was only minzy, chaerin, and Dara. They walked into the ER, mino and minzy made eye contact and smiled at each other and then bowed. However, chaerin saw the encounter “no fair there is favoritism in this hospital” she joked.

They realized how packed the ER was and there were one man short, there were other doctor students who were on call all night and still weren’t allowed to leave home. Minzy bowed to them she felt bad so she quickly grabbed a doctor student and start look through the files of the patients they had so she can take over. Minzy realized most of them were either gun shot or stab wounds. The hospital rooms were overflowing so they couldn’t send them up and the ER was packed also so everyone was trying to do the best they could.

Mino pulled minzy to the side “minzy maybe you could go upstairs and help check on the patients who already had surgery and need a follow up” minzy furrowed her eyebrows “why?” She asked before realizing how she responded to her boss “I mean it’s packed here so I could provide hands” he whispered lowly “minzy as your friend these are gang members I don’t want you involved since they have no respect for anyone” “b-but I can handle myself” mino shook his head not approving “go upstairs it’s an order.”

If minzy was honest she was so excited to finally work with gunshot wounds, it was something that was rare in Seoul. However, mino was getting personal feelings involved during work and sent her up. The upstairs of the hospital was the patients who were hospitalized but just for observation or were waiting on there procedure to be performed.

She headed upstairs where she checked up on patients and gave orders for medicine. She sat around most of the day until she was asked to check on a VIP patient. This was the only good thing minzy got out of working upstairs which was meeting the famous dancer taeyang. Minzy was a big fan of him so when entering the room she almost couldn’t contain her excitement.

He had gone in for a very bad case of pain for gallbladder stones. He got them removed so she had to check on him. She checked his pressure and temperature and his wound. She almost fainted at being able to touch him which if she said that out loud would sound creepy. She even got to see his crazy abs that she thought were totally fake. She authorized the nurse to give him more painkillers. However, this short lived dreamed quickly ended as she had to head out and be bored. She missed her unnies atleast if she had them things would be so much more fun.

She received a call from the higher ups asking if she wanted to be on call tonight due to the increase of patients. Minzy agreed happily hoping she would get a case of gunshot wound. She didn’t hope people would get hurt just that if they did she wanted to be able to observe them. Minzy wondered if mino would be upset by that to but decided if he didn’t know it couldn’t hurt him.

When minzy's lunch time finally came she met up with chaerin in the cafeteria. She felt envy of all the patients they had with gunshots but at the same time she felt happy that chaerin got to experience it. Minzy couldn’t speak about the VIP because that was to be kept a secret even with your own family. “Why did you have to go upstairs” minzy was playing with her food sadly she couldn’t tell chaerin it was because of mino “they are really busy and needed help to discharge patients so there would be space for the ER patients” chaerin nodded not suspecting anything.

Minzy never thought there would be a day she wanted to go by quickly but today was that day. She didn’t mean to be misunderstood she loved being a doctor but what she didn’t love was being robbed of amazing opportunities. She would have loved doing what she did upstairs if she didn’t know there was gunshot wounds downstairs that

Could have been hers.

Minzy was walking out of the hospital continuously looking back to see if her unnies would walk out. She hadn't seen them in the changing room so she just assumed they were being held back several hours. She didn’t even see mino walking out, she decided to walk home sadly. She called Bom to check how she was doing “I’m good I just needed a day off to handle stuff” “ahhh I see unnie, did you ask to be on call for tonight?” Bom said she had to. Minzy and her talked on the phone just to keep minzy company while walking, minzy was walking when she bumped into a male. “Sorry” She bowed, but then another male came up to her threatening her “you better watch where you go or you won’t have those pretty feet next time” minzy didn’t pay much attention she thought it was a group of guys who were having obviously a worse day then she was. The moment she looked back to see who she bumped into she realized it was a tall male with several men following behind him, she then saw one of the males had a pocket knife in his hand playing with it. She shivered as fear swept into her body.

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