“Back it up- she did what now?”

 

Irene sighs and averts her looks from Wendy to the view in front of her. After the talk that she had with Seulgi she couldn’t let the latter’s last sentence off of her mind. When she arrived home, she was thankful enough to be greeted with Wendy’s light snores rather than the intimidating stares. Yes, intimidating because even though her best friend is possibly an angel anybody could ask for, she could also be a devil’s spawn whenever she wants to.

Initially her plan was to wake up a bit earlier than her friend in hopes that she wouldn’t have to deal with the latter as of the moment just a bit later when she has found a perfect excuse for cutting the line short last night. However, having Wendy as your best friend isn’t all land of milk and honey. Especially when you cut the call short.

 

Long story short, Wendy woke up two hours than her usual time and even had the politeness to wake Irene up to hear her well-prepared excuse.

 

“Hello? Earth to Irene?” Irene looks back at Wendy who waved her hand side to side to gain her attention. “Oh nice, you’re back from space.”

Sighing, Irene turns her focus back at her. “Did you pay attention to a single word I said?”

“I did!” She says while doing the cross my heart expression. “I’m just having a hard time grasping all that information in.”

“That’s what you get for waking up earlier.”

“If I didn’t, I would be having this conversation later when you have come up with the perfect alibi.” Hearing that made her eyes roll. “But in all seriousness Joo like- what the hell.”

“You and me both.” Irene mumbles and takes a good sip of her flat white.

“I just can’t believe that she wasn’t even scared of you. Not even one bit!” Wendy places her coffee down and extended her arms in a dramatic manner. “I would piss myself at the spot if I was in her shoes.”

“She was scared okay?” Irene defends her pride of being the so-called Dr. Stone, the one who can intimidate anyone with just a stare. “When I told her that her actions bear dreadful consequences of her actions she was put to silence.”

“Silence in fear or in deep thinking.”

“In fear of course!” She raises her vocal one a key higher, making her suspicious in Wendy’s eyes.

“Really now…”

“I’m saying the truth.” Irene defends once again. “When she finally realized how wrong her actions were, she quickly apologized.”

“Okay and does it end in apology and you walking out or did she do something that completely blew you away?”

 

“I am not giving up on you.”

 

“N-n-nothing.”

Wendy couldn’t help but smirk, knowing that there was something else that happened. “Are you sure?”

“One hundred percent sure.”

“Then you wouldn’t mind me asking Seulgi for her side of the story right?”

 “What?”

“Ms. Kang, good morning.” Irene freezes as soon as the greeting left her friend’s mouth.

 

Please don’t let it be Seulgi.

Please don’t let it be Seulgi.

Please don’t let it be Seulgi.

 

Who am I kidding? Of course, it’s her.

 

As soon as she heard footsteps approaching, she immediately let her head down and now focus what was in front of her which was- well, the floor. “You’re here early.”

“That’s because I had to treat my friend for the rest of the month because I ditched her last night.” Seulgi tries to get a look of Irene’s face but it seems to no avail as the latter firmly kept her head down.

“That sounds like a bad deal.”

“Well she forgot to indicate that I have to be the one who also orders the coffee so I can just pay and she can do the waiting part.” She smiles. “Mind if we join you two?”

“No.”

“Yes!”

Seulgi looked at the two doctors. “So… is that a yes or a?”

“No.” Irene finally had the courage to face her patient. “Apologies Miss Kang but we don’t have the time for leisure and small talk.” Grabbing Wendy’s wrist she turns around and heads for the exit.

“Have you thought about what we talked about last night!?” The patient calls out for Irene’s answer.

“The answer is still no Miss Kang!”

“That’s okay! I’ll try again next time!” Even though Irene wasn’t looking at Seulgi, she could tell the smile in her voice.

After completely separating herself from the persistent Kang Seulgi, Irene finally lets go of Wendy’s wrist as they stopped by one of the hallways. “Ugh, can she be even more annoying?”

“So something did happened last night.”

“Nothing happened.”

“Even a blind person could side with me.”

“I told you, nothing happened. For real.”

“Really? Because the way she asked you seemed to me like she was asking you out on a date.” Wendy laughs at her observation only to stop for a moment and then look at Irene with wide eyes. “Did she ask you out!?”

“Sshhh!” Irene quickly used her hands to cover Wendy’s loud mouth. “One day your mouth will be the death of me!” Wendy then proceeds to answer back only for her words of rebuttal to sound like she was mumbling incoherent words. “Alright, I’m going to remove my hand but you have to promise me to stop pestering me today and just believe on what I have to say alright?” Wendy quickly nods and so Irene complies. “For the last time, nothing happened. We talked about the bearings of her actions and she apologized. Nothing more.”

“Alright.”

“Quit smirking like that.”

“I’m not smirking.”

“I hate you.” Irene starts to walk away.

“I’ll see you at lunch?”

“Nothing happened Wendy!”

“I’ll meet you by your office!” Wendy smiles at her friends disappearing view. “If you say so Joo, if you say so.”

While Irene was busying herself with cursing her best friend as she heads to her clinic, she was suddenly called out by a staff. “Good morning Doctor Bae.”

Irene recognized that woman as Dr. Hwang’s assistant. “Good morning nurse Choi.”

“I wanted to relay a message from Dr. Hwang, good thing I was able to catch up with you here.”

“Sorry, I had my breakfast.” She responds to the latter. “What did she want to tell me?”

“Your assistant has arrived.” The taller woman smiles at her. “She’s waiting by your office.”

 

The conversation end shortly and from thinking on ways how to murder her best friend unnoticed, Irene thought about the new challenge that she was about to face up with- and that is meeting her new medical assistant.

It’s not that she doesn’t want to have an aide by her side. Truth to be told, Irene found her assistants quite handy and reliable. Her assistant saves her from all the stress of getting to know of her patients or doing small talk with them. She skips all the introduction part and gets on with the check-up and diagnosis. Having an assistant made Irene’s work fast and efficient and Irene liked working like that.

The only downside of it is the fact that Irene has some certain expectations coming from her assistant and now she was left wondering if the said assistant could live up to her ‘expectations’ because then she would be left with two choices.

 

Either she adjusts to what Irene demands from her or Irene would be the one to adjust and find herself a new assistant.

 

Turning to the right, Irene spots her assistant waiting for her by the door. The latter was wearing the baby pink-shade prescribed scrubs with her brunette hair all neatly tied up in a bun. Both her socks and shoes were in perfect shade of white, Irene couldn’t help but notice that the latter had this calm aura around her.

She’s about to be Doctor Stone’s assistant yet no signs of nervousness?

 

“Interesting.” With a goal set in her mind, she takes a step forward to introduce herself. “I’m assuming you’re my assistant.”

The other woman was caught off guard by her sudden appearance but it quickly disappeared in a second. “Good morning Doctor Bae and yes I am your medical assistant, Kim Yerim.” She bows formally.

“We should get inside and begin getting to know one another.”

“After you doctor.”

As they get inside Irene’s Scandinavian-themed office, Yeri waits for her possible future boss to put on her long coat and for her invitation to sit down. “Have a seat.” Yeri complies and sits in a proper manner which didn’t escaped Irene’s eyes. “We still have some time before my clinic hours begin. Do you want me to tell me about yourself or do you have a medical curriculum vitae I can look at?”

“It’s all here.” She hands the latter a clear book. “Dr. Hwang had asked me to provide you a copy.”

“Thank you for complying. I’ll take a look at it for a second.”

“No problem.”

 

Irene opens the first page and she literally felt her eyes widening as she initially scans the first page. She gives Yeri a quick look, which the latter didn’t notice as she was busying herself looking at the entire space before diving back in to the list of information presented in front of her.

 

Class Valedictorian in 2015 Medical Korean University

Top 3 in the 2015 Korean Medical Licensure Exam

Acquired nearly six years of special training in the field of Surgeon

 

 

“You practiced to become a Surgeon?”

“Yes.”

“It says here nearly six years.” Irene points out. “You didn’t finish it?” Yeri shakes her head and from the looks on her face, it looked like it was out of a personal reason. “And instead you went to start on a new journey in becoming a Clinical Medical Assistant.”

“Yes.”

“Well what can I say, your medical CV is impressive. I’m surprised Dr. Hwang didn’t refer you to the General Surgeon Department.”

“I told her that my heart wasn’t focused on operating people.”

Irene nods, as she once again felt that she was still on the personal topics. “I think it’s safe to say that you’ve passed, any doctor would want you to be on their team.” She says, trying her best to sound nonchalant. “However, I have certain…”

“Rules?”

“Demands.” She clarifies. “I’m pretty sure that you have heard rumors about me before you even arrived or maybe Dr. Hwang gave you a brief summary but I handle things a bit different with my patients.” Yeri nods her head and waits for her to continue.

 “I am a very honest person. I think beating around the bush or using flowery words is similar to giving false hopes and I don’t like it simply because it’s a waste of time. When I see a possibility of extending their lives, I give them the options. When I no longer see any silver lining, I tell the patient and the family to prepare for the worst and that is death.”

“I easily develop a great disliking to people who waste my time as well as to people who don’t see the difference of personal and professional. I don’t like having small talks with my patients, I like things in order, I like that as soon as I enter my office, I have the charts of the patients I am going to see today and a quick recap of all the patients I’ve tend to yesterday and most of all I like things being done efficiently. Always prioritize the quality, not the quantity with that when I say I’m off by 4 o’clock it is 4 o’clock.”

“Now, with that being all said I want something to say to you.” She looks at her new assistant, hoping she’d get the message. “I may and probably be the meanest doctor you will ever encounter and you might want to quit- but that’s fine too. But I hope you remember that just because I value honesty and want to spend my time in a way that it’ll be both beneficial to me and my patient, doesn’t mean I don’t want them to be okay. Like I said-”

“You handle things a bit different.” Yeri finishes it off for her. “I perfectly understand.”

“Good, then there should be no problems for us.” Irene pulls something out from her drawer. “These are the patients I’ll be seeing today. I cater the new ones every Monday so I’d like you to do the Preliminary physical test so I’ll be able to cater as much as I can today.”

“Understood.”

“Before you let the patient in, give me a brief background on their medical history. Despite having things in order I still tend mix a nearly dead patient to a slim possibility of living.”

Nodding and with the files in her hand Yeri stands up and before leaving the room she once again bows down towards Irene. “I look forward to working with you Doctor Bae.”

Irene just nods and Yeri closes the door to begin her day. “I hope so too, Yeri.”

 

To her surprise, Yeri was indeed a woman of her word. She did perfectly understand and she even exceeded Irene’s expectations from her today. She got familiar with the things on her desk and the brief tutorial from Irene didn’t hinder her efficiency throughout the clinic hours. However, she didn’t immediately show her amazement though. Fueling Yeri’s ego wasn’t really a good note to end their shift so instead, she gives her a curt nod before sending her assistant off.

 

Monday really does stress the hell out of Irene.

 

It’s the number of new clients with different demands, the unexpected appointments she needs to cater because her seniors were on away to a seminar and they needed a substitute while some see her for a second opinion or others just calls her non-stop about the most irrelevant things. Mondays weren’t really her thing because it’s the start of her work week, where she gets to eat lunch at three o’clock in the afternoon, she couldn’t have any coffee breaks in between or to just get a short breather.

While the work hours were already done for her, Irene feels like the real work has just begun. Because now, she’s on her way walking towards the Cardiac Rehab Facility of the hospital where she will deal with one of the reasons why she detests Mondays.

 

 

“Well, well, well- look who’s here!” Just hearing the sound of the latter’s voice was enough to double the stress that she’s feeling. “What’s with the long face? You know it doesn’t match your height.”

“I see you didn’t lose your sense of sarcasm.”

“Are you here to finally give me your positive answer?”

“The answer is still the same.”

“That’s okay, I’ll try again next ti-ouch!”

Irene watches as Seulgi continues to struggle in the midst of her therapy. Seeing how Seulgi caught her tongue this time made her scoff and arrogantly crosses her arms. “You were saying?”

Instead of being annoyed, Seulgi even smiles at Irene, one that she hasn’t been expecting to respond. “Ooh, I see what you did there, nice one- ow! That hurts!”

“It wouldn’t hurt if you were just doing your exercise properly.” A voice with an unfamiliar face greets Irene as she turns around and tends to Seulgi.

“Okay first, that kind of sting because I really did my best out there so what a nice way of crushing my effort in trying and two- you were busy talking to your other patients so I don’t have anyone to ask if I am doing it correctly or not.”

“And all you had to do was to wait for me to come back. Instead, I had to waste ten minutes only to find you in Nayeon’s office. You know I just can’t focus on you today, it’s Monday.” The unfamiliar face finally notices Irene’s existence. “Oh, sorry I-”

“No I should be the one apologizing for interrupting your time.”

“Don’t be, we both know Seulgi’s interrupting her own time.” She answers, making Irene nod in agreement. “Sorry, I’m usually not used to seeing doctors around here so I’m sorry for the lack of professionalism Doctor Bae.” The aid reads out the embroidered name on her scrub.

“It’s okay, I understand. It’s Monday after all.” Irene consoles. “Besides I think Seulgi forgot that she was speaking to her doctor too.”

“I didn’t forget just so we be clear alright.” Seulgi answers back. “It’s just that she’s off from her clinic hours so I don’t know maybe she wanted me not to call her doc.”

“It’s still my shift Miss Kang and I’d very much appreciate it if you try to address and talk to me properly.”

“No problem doc.” The latter flashes a smile. “So, what brings you here?”

“I came to see your status in the rehabilitation.”

“Oh, well feel free to ask this woman right here.” Seulgi locks her arms with a woman medium-length blonde hair and a very beautiful face. “This is Jeongyeon, my personal therapist.”

Irene looks at the latter’s surname found in the scrubs. “Good day Miss Yoo,”

“Pleasure to meet you doctor.” They both share a polite bow. “It’s too bad Seulgi’s session already ended.”

“Not a problem. I was hoping that I could talk to you.”

“Sure, we can go inside my office.” Jeongyeon smiles at Irene then leads the way to her station. “Seul, you better work on those exercises I gave you. Otherwise I would advice Nayeon to transfer you on to a different therapist.”

“Aye, aye captain!” She accompanies it with a salute. “I will be responsible this time because someone told me that my decisions affect other people’s lives.” She then gives Irene a quick glance and offered her a smile. “Ain’t that right Doctor Bae?”

“You’re being a weirdo again.”

 

While Jeongyeon turns around to leave, Seulgi and Irene looked at one another in dead silence. The woman with the half-functioning heart waited for a sarcastic remark or something that would tell her that she has once again stirred something in her doctor. However she was rather left confused when Irene said nothing more and let her heels do the talking as she turn around and leave her alone.

 

The next day was a bit lighter than the usual Tuesdays that Irene usually expects. Two of her clients cancelled and there were no annoying phone calls or a senior randomly reports that she wasn’t going to be on duty and have her cover for them. By the time her clock reached two in the afternoon, two hours earlier than her end shift, there was no one waiting for her outside. Since Yeri still did an amazing job today, she decides to let the latter take the early out.

 

“I’d like to stay until the end of the shift.” Yeri replies, completely surprising Irene. “I still have to do the inventory and prepare the list of patients for you tomorrow.”

“Okay, I just thought that you’d want to leave early to head out somewhere.” She throws the latter a quick smile, thinking that it’ll be enough for her assistant to know that she valued Yeri’s dedication in work.

“I don’t have any prior commitments today but if I have on some other time, I would let you know ahead of time.” Irene nods in understanding and says nothing more. “Would you like for me to grab a quick snack for you?”

“It’s fine, I’ll just get them myself a little later.”

“I’ll get back to work now doctor.”

As soon as the door closes, Irene finds herself saying- “Interesting.”

 

Since there was nothing left to do, Irene decides to look through her previous reports and the clients she had met today to review their charts. Suddenly there was a knock on the door, revealing Yeri holding onto a cup of iced beverage and some snacks. Irene was confused.

 

 

“You grabbed some snacks?” Irene asked confusingly.

“A woman dropped by.” She answers and places the drink in front of her. “She says this one’s for you.”

Irene was staring at the drink with furrowed eyebrows. “Did she say her name?”

Yeri proceeds to shake her head. “But she did say you would understand when you see the note.”

“The note?” Irene accepts the drink and pulls out the slightly damped and smudged piece of paper.

 

Roses are red

Violets are blue

I bet today was a tough day.

So here’s an Iced Americano for you.

 

-KSG

 

 

“Doctor are you alright?”

“Why wouldn’t I be?” Irene responds seconds later, eyes still locked on the note.

“Your cheeks have turned red.” Irene snaps her head and Yeri was intimidated by the glare she was giving. “I’ll return to my station now.”

Irene looks at the drink for a few more seconds before grabbing all of her stuff and head towards the door, surprising Yeri who was just about to sit. “Miss Kim.”

“Y-yes Doctor Bae?” Yeri was still trying to calm herself from the sudden appearance of her boss. “D-do you need anything?”

“I’m leaving now.”

“O-okay…” Yeri stuttered, quite unsure of what to respond. “I’ll fix your table as soon as I am done with my work doctor.”

“You can have this.”

“But-” The assistant once again stops midway when she was greeted with the same glare from moments ago. “I will take this.”

“Good, I’ll see you tomorrow.” She then makes a right turn from her office onto the end of the hallway towards the VIP rooms of the Cardiology Department.

 

 

The loud method of opening her room caught Seulgi to slightly jump. She turns to see Irene, who looked like she rushed getting all the way here. “Good afternoon Doctor Bae, is it my time on your rounds schedule?”

“Miss Kang, can I honestly ask you something?”

“Of course!” Seulgi smiles. “Ask away.”

“Were you the one who gave me the Iced Americano?”

“Hmm, technically speaking I didn’t give you the drink because it was my best friend who dropped by and gave you the coffee.” She explains and when looked back at Irene’s cold icy stare she realized that she wasn’t in the mood for talking. “But yes, it is I who gave you the beverage.” Seulgi then looks Irene playfully. “Why? Did it give you so much energy that you wanted to see me quickly?”

“Quite the opposite.”

“Ooh, so you’re not an Iced Americano woman…” Seulgi nods her head. “Maybe you’re something else.”

“Miss K