.13.

Jaehyun woke up from the annoying sound of his alarm. He reached out his arm as he searched for his phone on top of his drawer, shutting it off. He groaned, pulling the blankets closer as he sunk further down in his bed in a fetal position. He had just spent two consecutive days of a 12-hour shift, making this his third one, hence the reason why he's too tired to get up. He felt sore and sleepless and he would chose to stay in bed all day if he was ever allowed to, but he wasn't. 

His alarm went off again for the fourth time, if he's going to snooze this one again, he'll definitely be late. Jaehyun sat up with his messy brown hair and puffy eyes as he let out a long yawn, stretching his arm out. His phone dinged a few times, as a dozen of messages bombarded his phone. Jaehyun frowned at the name that was showed in the screen as he swiped the notification to the right, completely ignoring the message, not even bothering to read it. Jaehyun placed his phone back on to the drawer as he got up from his bed and prepared himself for the rest of the day. 

When Jaehyun reached the hospital, he immediately went to the cafeteria to get himself breakfast since he didn't have the time to make one this morning. As he waited in line to get his food, he noticed Taeil entering inside. He immediately turned his back as he avoided making eye contact, hoping that he didn't noticed him being in the same room as him, but with his height, it's impossible for that to happen. 

"Good morning, Dr. Jeong!" Taeil chirped standing beside Jaehyun. His brows furrowed, clearly uninterested to strike a conversation with his senior. "You can't seem to complete your day without annoying atleast one person." Jaehyun said without a hint of humor, but Taeil only took it as a joke, knowing that this is just how Jaehyun is. 

"Not really." Taeil smiled innocently, looking at Jaehyun charmingly. "That one person only pertains to you." He added as Jaehyun shook his head in disbelief.

He spent the day filing a few papers and doing rounds with Dr. Kang, it was lesser work compared to how busy it was for the last two days. He was killing the rest of his time editing his report that was due in a week, but he can't seem continue as he stopped typing mid-sentence. It's like his brain wasn't functioning at all, the words were there but he wasn't moving. He just sat there and stared blankly at his laptop screen. 

"Dr. Jeong." Someone tapped him by the shoulder as he spun around to see Dr. Kim standing in front him.

"Wh-what can I help you with Dr. Kim?" He asked, partially closing his laptop, a bit embarrassed with the way he reacted as well as to keep her from seeing his messy report. 

"I-I w-", Dr. Kim seems more confused than him as she tried to pick up the words she was about to say. "Actually, some of the guys just asked me to check on you since they noticed that you've been for an hour now. A-are you okay?"

Jaehyun peeked behind her shoulder as he noticed them steal glances at the both of them. They were right. He was physically there, but mentally he wasn't. He assumed he was just tired and needed some fresh air.

"I'm okay, Dr. Kim. I'll just step out a bit." He said as he stood up and hurriedly exited the room, avoiding their stares.

He was standing near the ledge of the hospital's patio as the cold breeze gently touches his face. He stood there, looking like a lifeless body as he watched the busy street of Seoul from across.

"Penny for your thoughts." A figure stood beside him, mimicking his action. He looked at her, suprised by the sudden company, but quite happy with it.

"You better give me one then." Jaehyun jested, but he didn't expect her to be interested in finding out whatever it is running inside his cluttered mind.

"Will you take coffee instead?" Before Jaehyun could answer, she opened a can, quickly handing it to him.

"I-"

"I'm sorry, but vending machines don't take refunds." She apprised, feeling confident. 

"Touché." Jaehyun smirked, taking the can from her hand. He took a swig as he heard another hissing sound. She also took a swig from her coffee and let out a satisfied reaction.

"Has work been taking a toll in you?" It was as if she's a mind-reader that she was able to tell what was wrong the moment she saw him and Jaehyun doesn't know if he should feel flattered with that. Was he already interesting enough to attract her attention or it was just another pure coincidence, just like what had happened for the past few weeks?

Jaehyun sighed for the nth time this day, scratching the back of his neck, "I guess so. What made you notice?"

She shrugged like he just asked an obvious question, "I overheard one of the nurses that a handsome man was spacing out at the patio." Her eyes widened, realizing at what she just said, but Jaehyun looked more surprised than her. But he made sure not to make it look obvious and instead tried to make a bit of fun out from it.

"Well, thank you for the compliment, Miss Haru." He as she kept her head hung low, probably still embarrassed at what she had blurted out. She was fast enough to retaliate as she said, "Don't flatter yourself too much, Dr. Jeong. I just repeated what the nurses had said."

Jaehyun chuckled, having the most fun in their situation. "Right, right. And you somehow assumed that the person they're talking about was me then?"

Haru shot her head up, ready to defend herself, but it came to a shock when her shoulder slump in defeat as she pouted which he found her adorable. This made him probe her more, "Miss Haru, did you assume it was me or not?"

Haru avoided his gaze as Jaehyun thought he might've too much. He slightly crouched down to get a look of her face as he called her name, "Haru."

"Yes! I did assume it was you!" Haru blurted out, finally meeting his eyes, face beet red. Before Jaehyun could even respond, she quickly spun on her heels and ran back inside, leaving Jaehyun, standing in the middle of the night, his face having the same color as hers.

***

"You've been avoiding me." Taeyong said the moment he saw his friend enjoying a cup of American at their usual hangout. He's been messaging and calling his friend for the past few days only to be ignored. "I'm glad you noticed." Jaehyun deadpanned as he took a sip on the straw while he remained focus on reading the book propped on his lap.

"Come on, man! Just try and