“Code blue, Room 603, Pedia.” 

The thundering sound of footsteps dragged his attention from explaining to the nurse. As expected, the pediatric residents would arrive quickly; the department was notorious for their rapid response during emergencies. What most people didn't know, that he did, was how the residents looked upon arrival to the scene. "You guys should exercise more so you can actually still breathe when you arrive."

The senior resident shot him a glare, not that it was scary on that soft face. Sungmin was a strict senior, but his soft heart made it difficult to believe his threats. He turned back to the nurse who was briefing them on the preceding events and directed his juniors. 

Youngwoon finished his orders and stayed back to observe how the pediatrics department worked. They were very structured, following their training in pediatric life support. The juniors were noticeably getting fatigued with the chest compressions, but were pushing through. He would offer help, but that would overstep the boundaries of the departments, so he refrained.

"Endorse." The first year pediatric critical care fellow had arrived. Kang MyoHwa was notorious for being strict, an alpha personality despite being in what was seen as the softest department. Off work though, she was as bubbly as pediatricians were expected to be.

"7 year old female, known case of cerebral palsy, with tracheal obstruction. Admitted last night, still to be seen by the attending." Sungmin rattled off details while the first year resident was comforting the mother who distraught. Another first year was advising the father regarding a transfer to the ICU (intensive care unit).

MyoHwa pursed her lips, tapping her pen impatiently on the patient's chart. "And? What did the other service say when she was admitted?"

Sungmin scratches behind his neck, his lips nervously. "Hyukjae-ssi said they couldn't contact the attending but they left him a message. The father also refused initial ICU admission as per our attending consultant's advice."

A groan sounded through the station. MyoHwa put her pen down and went inside the room, taking over explaining to the parents the importance of transferring to the ICU. "I'm sorry, ma'am, but as difficult as it is for you, we would like to prevent further events like this. The best place to monitor your child is in the ICU, where the nurse will be focused on your child alone, unlike here where they take care of 8 to 10 patients."

At the parents' consent, the team prepared to transfer the child. One of the first years, Lee Donghae, who he knew as an intern, turned to him, eyes pleading for salvation. From his internship days, Youngwoon knew that it was the first year resident who had to endorse to the fellow. The senior only had to supervise (and bear the scolding if the first year failed). Kangin shrugged, directing Donghae back to the team who was already headed to the ICU.

As the team vanished, so did the tense atmosphere. Whispers of what had transpired erupted through the nurses' station. 

"Call Dr. Lee and inform him his patient is being transferred." The kind head nurse patted the shoulder of another nurse. "Poor Dr. Lee can't get a break from all his toxic duties…"

"Those residents are dead on their next audit. The attending consultant will just blame them anyway." As these words were uttered, Dr. Lee Hyukjae arrived, a resigned look on his face.

"You called, ma'am?" Hyukjae raised his duty phone. "I couldn't hear exactly what you said…"

Everyone at the nurses' station exchanged awkward smiles, daring each other to share the bad news. One of the younger nurses stepped forward and briefly narrated the events. 

Hyukjae raised his hands up in surrender and trudged to the ICU, hands typing a short informative summary of events for his consultant. A sudden "Aish!" from where he turned made everyone chuckle. He was known as one of the toxic residents, always having complicated cases and restless duties. 

Youngwoon gave a short wave to the nurses and left the station, wondering what mood those involved residents would have during lunch. Lunch was never quiet in their hospital, despite being busy, their group of friends tried to dine together.

"Has anyone seen Hankyung- hyung?" Zhou Mi asked between big mouthfuls, as usual hurrying through the meal. Being a second year surgical resident meant sneaking around for a break, even if you're an international trainee.

"Nope." Hyukjae slammed his tray down, swatting hands from his ramen. He quickly settled down, eyes darting around to check if anyone would be listening in. "Donghae won't be joining either. I heard his senior chewed him out for this morning's code."

"And that senior's not me!" A voice declared from the side. Sungmin put down his steaming tray and leaned on Jongwoon's side in a conspiratorial whisper. "My batchmates heard that the first years hadn't reported the patient's declining condition to me. We all know the seniors will get eaten during the mortality and morbidity conference for this, so they're furious."

The others exchanged knowing glances, knowing that Sungmin was more of a happy-go-lucky senior, quite relaxed about things. In contrast, other seniors were scary, especially in the other departments. Jongwoon and Youngwoon themselves were cold to their juniors during work hours, knowing that patients' lives were in their hands.

"You'd think Hankyung- hyung's going to be more available during lunch when he's chief resident…" Siwon gulped down his soup before standing up. "Anyway, I have a surgery to assist in 30 minutes. I have to brief the patient. Good bye."

The table lapsed into a comfortable silence, each responding to text messages from people looking for them. This was only broken when they left one by one. In the end, the only ones left were Youngwoon and Sungmin, whose departments protected their lunch breaks.

Sungmin sighed, motioning for Youngwoon to come closer. "I didn't want to scare Hyukjae, but I heard the consultants plan to have him present during our morbidity conference. He was the ENT resident who admitted the patient and they think he should've insisted on the ICU admission."

Youngwoon shook his head. "Aish, that kid wouldn't have moved without his consultant's instructions though… Won't that be enough?"

"Their consultant said he only got a text message when Hyuk should've called, and the senior is denying her knowledge on this. The senior is making it seem like Hyuk acted on his own. Sadly, neither Hyuk nor Donghae were able to document these on the charts, so the circumstances are against them."

Someone cleared their throat. Go HyoRyong, Sungmin's batchmate in pediatrics, stood beside him. She was even more intimidating than MyoHwa, being years younger than the rest of their batch, yet having a more authoritative approach than the rest. She also shied away from most social interactions, sticking to herself most of the time. "Youngwoon-ssi, sorry but I have to borrow Sungmin-ssi. MyoHwa- sunbae is looking for him. Donghae-ssi couldn't answer her questions, I think." 

Sungmin slowly got out of his chair and packed his things, a heavy sigh leaving him. After endorsing their patients to the incoming duty residents, they were usually able to relax a bit. But after this morning, it seems he would only be able to rest once he got home. He took deep breaths while donning the ICU sterile gowns, running through the case and events in his mind.

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The departments were determined by a poll I made on Twitter, sorry to have changed them. I tried not to use too much medical jargon... Let me know what you think! ^^