Flashes of cameras and mics surrounded six girls. They were done with a press conference about their future world tour as fans and media bombarded them with questions about their plans. Then again, they had no time for that as they were more eager to get away from the limelight and into their van. Their manager shuts the doors and got to the vacant front seat next the driver, speeding away towards their dorm.

“Manager-nim, can we go to a hospital?” The group’s leader spoke. “I think Chaeyeon’s not feeling well plus we can have our monthly checkup.”

“Off to MS Hospital, then?” Their manager asked. “What do you think, Eunbi? Chaeyeon?”

The group agreed, especially the two eldest. They speed up towards the hospital in all of its prestigious glory. The driver would’ve gone to the main entrance but he drove towards a private sector.

This wasn’t strange to the girl group and the management – let alone the hospital staff. They were VIPs in the hospital for their it was their company’s doctors were in that hospital responsible for their health – from checkups to surgeries. Most of the staff knew them, especially Chaeyeon and Eunbi. Nonetheless, they got to a special entrance and got to the lounge.

“Good evening to IZ and their management staff.”

“Good evening, Dr. Kang.”

Eunbi was nudged by Chaeyeon yet the said doctor just chuckled before asking. “Usual medical checkup for everyone?”

Everyone nodded and they were told to follow them towards their private facility. They got inside and even saw three more doctors with each of their assistants who are also physicians. The group and their staff also had a glimpse of their tags and they always wowed about them despite seeing them every month or two.

All of the doctors were senior consultants yet they have different specialties. Dr. Kang Hyewon was a psychiatrist, Dr. Kim Chaewon was a dermatologist, Dr. Choi Yena was an oncologist, and Dr. Yabuki Nako was a pediatrician.

“Where are Dr. Ahn and Dr. Miyawaki?” Hyewon asked Nako.

“Still in the operating room. Someone had their whole eyeball pop out of the socket.”

“Anyway, IZ and their management staff are here for their checkup. We’ll do each member while our interns will check on the staff.”

The work was disseminated as their clients got to each station. For Chaeyeon and the group’s maknae, they had to wait. They were close to Hyewon’s station as she was checking Eunbi. The four decided to talk.

“How’s your schedule today?” Hyewon asked first. “Were there triggers?”

“None, doc,” said the maknae. “We’ll be having our world tour in five months.”

“Wonyoung can get pretty excited.” Eunbi spoke as Hyewon checked her blood pressure. 

“That’s good. Nice levels of oxytocin.” Hyewon mumbled before telling Eunbi to get her height and weight checked.

“How long will Dr. Miyawaki and Dr. Ahn finish?” Chaeyeon asked.

Nako’s phone rang. She lets Hitomi stand on the scale as she answered. “Y’Helloo~”

Nako nodded as she continued to work. The call ended shortly and Hitomi was the first to finish her check-up.

“Miss Lee. You’ll have to come with me.” Nako spoke. “Dr. Miyawaki wants to conduct your checkup in her office.”

Chaeyeon agreed and Eunbi even gave a smirk before she left. Chaeyeon was like a swan following a little penguin and they got to the office.

“She’s inside.” Nako grinned. “I’ll leave the two of you.”

Chaeyeon chuckled as Nako returned to the facility. The whole office was actually a fusion of two since Nako was also Dr. Miyawaki’s secretary. There was a translucent wall with a sliding door for its access, to which Chaeyeon opened slowly, revealing the office proper and a shorthaired surgeon washing her hands. Chaeyeon grinned and rushed to hug her. “Kkura~”

The surgeon wiped her hands and turned around to hug Chaeyeon back. She also gave lots of forehead kiss. “Jjaeyeon~”

“I miss you.” Chaeyeon looked at her as she cupped her cheeks.

The shorthaired surgeon was none other than Dr. Miyawaki Sakura. She was a surgeon, a head of the said department, and the CEO of the said hospital. She followed her parents’ footsteps of being a medical professional and always had a scalpel ready to cut body parts but never to cut a relationship with the wonderful woman before her.

Lee Chaeyeon, main dancer of the girl group IZ, was her girlfriend for three years.

“How’s your schedule today?” Sakura asked, fixing Chaeyeon’s hair.

“We just had a press conference about our world tour in five months time.” Chaeyeon added. “How about yours?”

“We’ve been busy because of the outbreak. I even had to deal with operations for weeks already.”

“You had to do my checkup…” Chaeyeon pouted.

“Of course I have to. I promised that I will be the only doctor to check up on you every time.” Sakura spoke and motioned Chaeyeon to sit down.

Sakura got her lab coat and her stethoscope. The checkup was quicker than in the facility since Sakura had the most experience in consulting. And for Chaeyeon, she wad always honest in answering Sakura’s questions. As the checkup was done, Chaeyeon was quick to hug Sakura.

“Won’t you miss me while I’m on tour?”

“I will. I’m always busy so I won’t cry about you every day.” Sakura spoke. “Don’t cry for me every day, okay?”

Chaeyeon nodded while their hug was still intact. Sakura hugged back, saying. “When you return, I’ll take you on a date to any place you want.”

“Promise?”

“I promise, my love.” Sakura spoke and hugged her throughout the night.

+++

Time passed really quickly. MS Hospital was as busy as ever and IZ were busy touring around the world. Despite being idle in their work fields, they always had time to communicate with each other. In the case of Chaeyeon and Sakura, they had their routine to call each other after their works.

Luckily, Chaeyeon had the liberation to video-call Sakura because she and Eunbi were roommates. 

“I love you.” Chaeyeon spoke as she waved at her phone.

I love you too. Say hi to Eunbi for me.

Chaeyeon called her roommate and Eunbi waved in the air for she was busy chatting with someone too.

I have dibs she’s chatting with Kwangbae.

Chaeyeon chuckled at her remark. It was then she asked something. “Will you attend our last world tour concert tomorrow?”

I’d love to, baby…but I have a schedule with a major brain surgery. I’ll watch a replay.

“Okay. Remember your promise to me.”

Of course. I have to go now.

“Bye. I love you.” 

I love you too. Take care. Always.

Chaeyeon hung up and chuckled at a chukcling Eunbi who also ended her call with someone.

“Was that Dr. Kang?” Chaeyeon asked her.

“Secret~” Eunbi . “We should sleep now. We have an early flight tomorrow.”

Chaeyeon nodded and clapped the lights off before going to sleep.

+++

IZ’s last concert on their world tour was back to South Korea. It was also going to be the grandest concert since they’ll be performing for three days. Those were days of performances, rehearsals, and interactions with fans that tolled a lot of the members’ energy.

But as professionals, they cannot look tired. They have to be prepped and happy for the fans.

“Last day, girls. Give it your all, okay?” Eunbi gathered the members. “If you feel tired, calm for a bit and push hard again. Let’s make this count.”

The members nodded and got to the stage to perform for a span of three hours with little to no breaks. It was tiresome but it was going well.

Almost.

During their encore performance, the arena was dark. And because of the screams, the fall of a small spotlight was almost inaudible…

…but not for Chaeyeon.

The staff noticed it too late and had to halt all of a sudden. Chaeyeon was wincing as the spotlight’s base injured almost half of her body. The members grew worried and went backstage as Chaeyeon was carried by the staff.

A video was played to calm the fans as the backstage felt tense. Chaeyeon was crying of the pain in her leg and shoulder.

“This won’t do. It’s a major injury,” said one of the paramedics. 

“Unnie, we have to send you to a hospital – “

“No, Hiichan.” Chaeyeon stopped her. “It’s just a sprain. I can still perform.”

“It’ll worsen, you idiot!” Eunbi became a frantic leader as she dialled. “We have to get you there. You have to.”

Chaeyeon snatched her phone. She in a ticking battle between performing and resting. She was already hurt but it would hurt her more to disappoint the fans.

“Miss Lee, your leg will be fractured if we don’t send you to the hospital now. You have to listen to us.”

“It’s just five minutes more.” Chaeyeon pleaded. “Let us finish this concert first. Then we can go to the hospital.”

Everyone was very concerned but Chaeyeon stood up. She was limping and clutching on her shoulder but she breathed and stood straight like it was nothing. The members were the most concerned but Chaeyeon reassured them.

They were called by the stage director to prepare and the staff had no choice but to continue. The members got into their places yet Chaeyeon and Eunbi still talked.

“Goddamnit, Chae!” Eunbi grew pissed. “How could you be so hard-headed?”

“We’re professionals.” 

“Even professionals have flaws.” Eunbi spat back. “We’ll go to MS Hospital after this – “

“No. Pick any hospital. Just not MS.”

“Again with your stubborness!”

“I don’t want Kkura to worry!” Chaeyeon snapped. “She has a major surgery today. I don’t want to strain herself for me.”

Eunbi couldn’t bat another word as they got on the stage to continue the encore. All of the members gave their all in the performance, even an injured Chaeyeon. After performing and waving goodbye to the fans, IZ finally sought refuge on the backstage.

They were happy because it was a successful conclusion to their world. But now, it was far from over as Chaeyeon collapsed while walking. The members gathered around her as the paramedics readied the carry her to an ambulance. Eunbi got to her side, grabbed Chaeyeon’s phone, and called someone.

“Come on!” She snapped as she lightly nudged Chaeyeon to wake up.

+++ 

“Hello?”

Nako? It’s Eunbi. We have a major problem here.

“What is it?” Nako stood from her desk.

It’s Chaeyeon. She’s unconscious and has injuries on her right leg and shoulder.

“What timing…” Nako cussed. “Anyway, get in here as soon as you can and I’ll get the team ready.”

Eunbi hung up as Nako called another number, her little figure pacing on her office.

+++

The operating room had a major surgery ongoing. Sakura was in charge as Hyewon was with her since they were dealing with an autistic patient. But all of that had to halt as a phone was ringing.

“Kwangbae, what the ?!” Sakura snapped yet her actions were still concentrated. “Put your phone on silent mode next time.”

Hyewob removed her gloves and went to grab her phone. She answered the call and her eyes were wide. She hung up as soon as the instructions were clear and gave a signal to Sakura. Sakura lets her fellow surgeon take over as she got to Hyewon.

“What is it?”

Hyewon whispered something and it made Sakura drop her scalpel. She instantly gave full responsibility to her fellow head surgeon and had to excuse herself from the operation.

“Doctor, what about the patient?”

“Dr. Miyazaki is just as good as me. She’ll take over from here and out.” Sakura spoke. “We have another emergency and I must attend to it immediately!”

“Dr. Han, you’ll check the signs for me. I’ll be helping Dr. Miyawaki.”

The team accepted their reasons and resumed the operation. Sakura and Hyewon rushed to the private entrance with Nako behind them.

“What happened?!” Sakura was getting restless. 

“A spotlight fell on her during an encore performance.” Nako spoke. “She’s injured her left leg and shoulder plus she was fatigued from the concert.”

They got to the entrance with Chaeyeon on a hospital bed. Sakura wanted to cry and soothe her beloved but she cannot dilly-dally. She instructed Nako to call the rest of her main team and they got to the private facility. The remaining members and their staff had to stay outside and wait at the lounge. Once Chaeyeon was at the center and Sakura’s team of six arrived, they had to change Chaeyeon’s clothes and conduct an X-ray to see the injury clearly.

“Her ribs and clavicle are closely fractured and some of its ligaments have snapped.” Yujin pointed out. “Her fibula is almost a open fracture, probably because of strenuous activity.”

“There’s also little shards stuck on her shoulder.” Chaewon gasped as she opened Chaeyeon’s bandage. 

Sakura was close to exploding for she never wanted in her goddamn life to see her beloved in harm and in pain. Sakura instructs the procedures that need to be done and the six doctors prepared for surgery. Sakura was still by Chaeyeon’s side, crouching to kiss her forehead. “You’ll be okay. Hang in there, love…”

Sakura’s tear dropped on Chaeyeon’s forehead but she regained composure to start the surgery.

+++

“Kkura!” Chaeyeon gasped, shocked that she was in the hospital.

There were the five doctors and her members, with the maknaes laughing about a bet to when Chaeyeon will wake up. She was restricted when she saw a cast on her whole left arm and her left calf. 

She sighed in disappointment. She wanted to be sent to any hospital yet Eunbi had to take her to MS Hospital. Big whoop.

“Don’t get mad, Chaeyeon.” Eunbi spoke. “You do realize that Sakura’s hospital is our tenure for our health. Also, they’re the best in the country so you have to be sent here.”

“And she would NEVER let anyone check you up. Only she can.” Hyewon added.

Eunbi nudged her for being a babble mouth. They had to excuse themselves out as Sakura came to the room, leaving Chaeyeon to look away.

“Jjaeyeon.”

Chaeyeon sighed and looked back with wet eyes. Sakura rushed to hug her gently as she was more teary. “I was worried sick! How could you get injured?!”

“Stage accident.” Chaeyeon mumbled. “The company will sue the manager of the venue for not being accountable enough in checking the lights for durability.”

“Good. If not, I’ll sue them myself.” Sakurs mumbled, still hugging her. “I refuse to let incompetent douchebags hurt my girl.”

Chaeyeon hugged back and asked. “What happened?”

“You have fractures. You’ll have to be pulled out of your group to rest.”

Chaeyeon cried for performing was her source of income and passion. Sakura knew her lover’s determination but she also wanted her to be healthy and safe.

“I know you don’t want this but we have to in order for you to heal.” Sakura added. “I heard from Eunbi that you didn’t want to be sent here. Why, love?”

“I just don’t want you to worry about me.” Chaeyeon whined and hugged Sakura, crying like a grounded child. “Your surgery…”

“I would skip it anyway. All for you.” Sakura spoke. “Please don’t be too hard on it. I have to worry. You’re my beloved.”

“I’m sorry if I insisted on not being sent here. I’ll never do that again.”

Sakura nodded and adjusted her IV drip, making Chaeyeon feel sleepy. She whined in wanting to hug Sakura more but she needed rest.

“Be a good girl for once and rest, please?” Sakura held her hands. “I promise to take you on a date everyday during your recovery.”

Chaeyeon nodded and pulled Sakura for a kiss. Sakura kissed back and they whispered their words of love.

“I love you, Kkura…”

“I love you too, Jjaeyeon.” Sakura patted her head.

“I bet for Eunbi and Dr. Kang to confess to each other…” were the words Chaeyeon’s spoke before falling asleep.

+++

Eunbi were beside each other as they watched their friends paired to each other. It was then that Hyewon started talking. “I like you, Eunbi.”

Eunbi blushed. She looked back at Hyewon, saying. “Too quick.”

“I’ve been saving it since you started your world tour.” Hyewon explained. “How could I not like you when you and Chaeyeon visit Kkura and I for an entire year?”

“Calm down, smarty pants.” Eunbi spoke, tugging Hyewon’s lab coat. “I like you and you like me. Done.”

It was Hyewon’s turn to feel flushed as Eunbi pulled her to a much private area for more talking.

The things we do for the one we care about the most.