The bus let out a hiss, slowing down to a stop.

Being the only one left, Byulyi gathered her briefcase as she made her way to the front, thanking the driver before the doors opened. 

She stepped out, the cold winter air hitting her as she walked along the empty road. Even with her three piece Thom Browne suit and long coat, the harsh winds were still able to penetrate through, chilling her to the bone.

 

The sun had long set and the moon was already high in the starry night sky. The cherry blossom trees lined the street and flower petals fluttered down as she made her way pass them. A single lamp post lit up the area and she took a seat on the bench under it, running her hands through her brown hair tiredly, thinking about today's past events.

 

The street was free of cars, everyone home with their family and friends as she sat alone. The silence let her think clearly about everything that happened this morning leading up to this very moment when she arrived in this small, unfamiliar town, miles away from Seoul.

 

.

.

.

.

.

I opened my eyes, glancing at the clock placed on my night stand.

Hm. 7:22am

 

...

 

Wait.

 

7 : 2 2 ! ! ! ! ! !

 

My eyes widened.

 

.

 

I scrambled out of bed grabbing my phone trying to click the device on. The screen remained black and I remembered coming home late last night after having drinks with Wheein. I had flopped onto bed, not bothering to do anything else after that...and that also included charging my phone.

 

I rushed into the bathroom getting myself ready for the day. The director had called for a board meeting at 7:45 and at this rate it seems like I'll be late. I quickly threw on a random suit and ran out of my apartment, down the stairs, and started my car. 

 

Luck was not on my side today and I burst into the conference room with only 15 minutes left of the meeting. The glare from the director was enough for me to know that I would be getting a serious talk after the meeting concluded.

 

And I was right as he pulled me by the ear into his private office.

 

"Dr. Moon."

 

I tried giving him a little smile. "Director Choi."

 

"You missed more than half the meeting today. Did you perhaps take your promotion for granted already?" he questioned, narrowing his eyes.

 

I waved both my hands in front of him feigning innocent. "NO!!...No, sir. Definitely not. I apologize, it won't happen again."

He let out an annoyed breath. "Well, get back to work now. Don't make me regret choosing you over your other colleagues."

 

I gave him a thankful smile and bowed about ten times almost breaking my back in the act. I slowly backed out of his office leting out a sigh of relief as I walked towards the cardiovascular wing of the hospital.

 

Today was especially busy as a mix of hospital staff and patients ran around the hallways. I was making my way over to the nurse's station when I felt a clipboard slam against the back of my head.

 

"What the hell!" I groaned, turning around to scold the culprit.

A certain someone smiled in return.

"Oops. My bad, Dr. Moonnnnnn"

 

I rolled my eyes. "Was that really necessary Wheein?"

"Dang, you look like today, what happened?" she asked, cocking her head to the side.

"Overslept my alarm, missed a board meeting." 

"Hate to be the bearer of bad news, but you got an operation in 10." she handed me the clipboard that had struck my brain two seconds ago.

 

"Just a simple valve repair, shouldn't be too bad." I said scanning the details on the chart.

"Oh. More bad news." Wheein said, biting her lip. 

"What?" I questioned furrowing my brows.

"You're the leading doctor, but you're stuck with...not the best assistant."

"Well who is it?"

"..."

"Wheein-ah. I have to go now."

The little puppy let out a groan. 

"I heard from the other nurses that they were arguing over who would be assisting you and... it's Dr. Yooa. Sorry unnie"

 

Could this day get any worse???? I thought as I made my way towards the locker room to change into scrubs.

I was halfway through changing when the door opened again. 

 

"Wowow. I'm surprised you have such a great body with all the hours you have to work. Definitely a good choice, choosing to be a heart surgeon. Can you fix my heart after seeing you?"

 

I almost gagged. And so it begins. My misery and suffering.

I pulled the shirt down and closed the locker, turning to face the girl. "No distractions in the operating room ok, Yooa-shi?"

"Anything for you, Dr. Moon." she said letting her fingers graze my arm as she walked past.

 

I pulled away from her touch and tried not to throw up as I made my way into the room, checking if everything was set up.

A few minutes later, the operation began and we took our respective places by the patient. 

The room was quiet other than the sound of beeping machines and the clinging of tools.

Everything was running smoothly as I worked towards removing the excess tissue. 

 

But.

 

It seems...that I've spoken too soon.

 

Halfway through the procedure, Dr. Yooa got a bit...touchy.

"Oops." she squeaked as her hand brushed mine.

 

I immediately retracted my hands. "Dr. Yooa. We are in front of an open body with a beating heart exposed. I would apprecite it you refrain from unnecessary movement." I said looking at her from across the table. 

 

The girl apologized, looking around at the surrounding staff before returning to the task at hand. We were almost finished and I looked up making eye contact with Yooa. 

Suddenly, her hand slipped and she punctured a vein.

Blood poured out from the wound and the machines started beeping from the decreasing blood pressure.

 

"What the!" I yelled.

Yooa stood in horror at the damage, unable to move. 

"Someone get me gauze!" I screamed at the nurses as I tried my best to stop the bleeding. 

Everyone in the room started to panic and ran in and out trying to get more blood and gauze. The source of all the chaos stood frozen in fear from her actions as I managed to fill the hole.

A few minutes later, it was finished and I was breathingly heavily, sweat covered my forehead. I shook my head at her, furious at what she had done but chose not to confront her, especially in front of the other nurses. 

I tore my mask off, leaving the room, only to have myself confronted by the director. 

"Dr. Moon. A word in my office. Now."

 

I cursed my luck, dragging my feet to his office, it seems word had spread fast about the mishap that had just occurred. He closed the door and sat down holding his head in his hands. I stood there awkwardly, preparing myself for what's about to come.

 

"A heart valve repair."

"A simple repair and you can't do that???"

"You're the best heart surgeon in this hospital!!! Why couldn't you do such a simple procedure without running into problems!!!!!" 

 

I held my head down in shame, knowing that as the leading doctor, I had to take responsibility for everything.

 

"You know I really like you Byulyi. You're a good kid. But I really can't stand the sight of you today." he murmured. 

"You know what?"

 

I looked up, begging him with my eyes as I waited for his response.

"I don't want to see your face. Take this week off. You still have your promotion but I'm giving you a suspension."

 

I widened my eyes. "Wait. But sir. I--"

 

"Nope. Nope. I don't wanna see you in this hospital for a week. Get out. You're lucky I didn't demote you."

 

I quietly thanked him for the "light" punishment and left his office. I opened the door to find a bunch of my coworkers, crowded by the door. I narrowed my eyes at the commotion, knowing they had heard everything.

"Anyone up for drinks?" some girl from my department suggested and all of them agreed, pretending like they weren't just listening to the director suspend me for a week.

 

Unfortunately they dragged me out as well using it as an excuse to "cheer me up." I eyed them suspiciously, knowing that my colleagues weren't too fond of me over the promotion that I had gotten instead of them.

 

I had just barely sat down at the restaurant we were at when the ajumma came over and I got my answer. The old lady handed me the bill and I saw that they had put the entire thing under my name.

I scoffed at their actions as I pulled out my wallet.

Just then my colleagues caught a glimpse of a photo and the wallet was yanked away from me.

 

"Oh my god! Who's this??"

 

"No one." I muttered reaching for my wallet but it was pulled further away from me.

 

"Wait a minute...isn't this? That girl. She brought her mother in for a check up a month ago and caused a mess after she bumped into the director."

 

"Oh my god! You're right! God she was so annoying, I was in the office with her and she was practically crying and begging us to do surgery on her mom."

 

I narrowed my eyes as I ripped the wallet out of my nosy coworker's hands. Quickly paying for their drinks, I shoved my wallet into my pocket, hoping the conversation would end there.

 

They then began complaining about the clumsy girl who definitely never left their memory as she had turned the organize state of the hospital into chaos in a split second. They laughed and bad mouthed the poor girl for a good few minutes before noticing my discomfort, turning their attention back to me.

 

"Why do you guys have a picture together?" They asked peering at me curiously