When Taeyeon started college, she initially dreamt of becoming a singer. She had the looks and the talent, but there was something about the human anatomy that interests her so much. There were so much to learn and love with science that music and fame couldn’t compare. Maybe her classmates were right about her not fitting the role of an idol. Medicine was for her; she wants to directly experience helping people.

The thought of her hand wrapping around a beating heart, the various suturing techniques for a certain wound, and the billions of neurons in a single human brain. Learning all these were a luxury for her. Taeyeon’s birthright was her talent in music, but she disregarded that for a chance to save lives. She didn’t know how brutal the industry was.

She’s a female neurosurgeon with a pretty face. That’s enough of an explanation to understand that she needs to work ten times harder than everyone else. She knows her abilities and she doesn’t have to prove anything to the men in the field. She faked being the daring surgeon who wanted to pursue neurosurgery as her specialty among her male peers, long enough to forget that she was just as vulnerable as everyone else and needed someone to tell her a good job.

Taeyeon thought that women always had each other’s backs. She didn’t know that money could be the line that separates them.

Enter Jessica.

The Jung Foundation was her birthright. She literally grew up in the company and had done everything her parents told her to do for protecting the business. But was it money that made her destroy Taeyeon’s reputation, or merely her loyalty to family? Jessica’s first visit in GUH was for work and she had no choice but to comply. As a financial manager, she reviews the research proposals and hands it to her senior manager.

Her love of surgery began when she first saw Taeyeon, regardless having shaky hands, cut through a person’s chest without a sweat. She was so immersed in watching the surgeon take off the bullets in the thoracic cavity while maintaining her composure throughout the procedure. Taeyeon was just a second-year resident and she was already doing such a great job inspiring her juniors. Jessica didn’t know that that surgeon in front of her was going to be the first enemy she makes.

It was all slowly ricocheting back. A part of her thought that maybe her superiors won’t publicly announce her connection to the incident with Dr Kim five years ago. However, the pessimistic side of her was convinced that this would be the end of her career in medicine. It’s karma and she thinks she deserves it.

The following day since the notice, Jessica was hiding in the on-call room by herself and a cup of latte. It probably wasn’t a wise decision to drink caffeine while she’s anxious, she just thought about it after the fact. Sooner or later, she’ll have no choice but to confront karma and let herself be taken by it like the grim reaper. She really was in no shape to treat patients right now.

Yuri noticed something was off that morning. The shy resident was nowhere to be seen. She took a guess where she might be so she can help her.

“Dr Jung,” Yuri peeked inside the room and saw Jessica repeatedly bouncing her leg as she sat on the bed. “I haven’t seen you around all day,”

Jessica looked up and smiled when she saw Dr Kwon. She’s probably the only person she can trust around here. “I’m sorry,”

“No need,” Yuri sat next to her. “You know what cheers me up?”

“What?”

“A good old colostomy!” she beamed and Jessica scrunched her face with disgust.

“Ew. Collecting human feces in a bag? Really?”

“Come on, I don’t think you’ve done your general surgery rotations yet,” she grabbed Jessica’s arm and pulled her up, practically dragging her to where the patient is.

Taeyeon was at the PACU skimming through medical records for her pending operations. She was supposed to teach Jessica today but she didn’t want her to know that she was looking for her. There was laughter coming out of the elevator and Taeyeon hated it. Her resident was missing and she’d go full Grinch if she finds her slacking off.

“No ing way,” she muttered to herself, eyes trained on the two doctors with their arms linked together.

Dr Kwon and Dr Jung. Who knew.

“Dr Jung. You weren’t present during rounds,” smirked Taeyeon.

Jessica stopped dead in tracks once she heard her superior’s voice. Oh right, it’s her neurosurgery rotations today.

“I’m sorry, Dr Kim,”

Taeyeon did not expect her apologize so soon. She thought she’d at least give an excuse.

“Dr Kwon. A word?”

Yuri looked at Jessica then at Taeyeon who was walking to a corridor. She followed.

“Taengoo, why are you so scary today?” Yuri teased. Taeyeon couldn’t hold back her laughter and she chuckled quietly before returning to her serious expression.

“She’s supposed to be clipping aneurysms with me,”

“Why are you making it sound like a date?”

“Wha—I’m not!” she denied as the image of flirting with Jessica in the OR entered her mind. Then again, seeing her laughing with Yuri makes her sick to her stomach just the same.

“Alright, I’ll return your beloved resident to you,” Yuri declared. “But, please make sure to take care of her? Hm? She’s not doing well right now,”

“Does Kwon Yul have a crush?” Taeyeon returned the teasing. Saying that out loud pained her for some reason.

“I’ll do the colostomy by myself!” she announced in a loud voice, walking away from Taeyeon and waving goodbye to Jessica.

“Dr Jung,” Taeyeon started, walking towards her. “Did you already forget about the aneurysm we’re clipping today?”

The chief of staff, holding a clear plastic envelope with a piece of paper inside, visited Sooyoung’s office where she was having coffee while chatting with her friends.

“Dr Choi, can I ask you something about your juniors?”

“Sure, what do you need to know?”

Opposite to Sooyoung’s normally positive attitude, she doesn’t like how she felt a foreboding that would lead to someone’s dismissal. She’s good at reading people. Would one of her subordinates turn out to have a scandalous past because she chose to see the good in them?

“About Dr Jessica Jung,” The chief of staff sat down on a chair opposite to her. “Is she doing her job right?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, hasn’t she caused any trouble since she started working here?”

Sooyoung scratched her head. “Not that I know of,” she continued, “Did she?”

“No,” the chief shook her head. “She visited this hospital before,” she slides the envelope to Sooyoung who unrolls the string and takes out the paper with Jessica’s name and handwriting on it.

I am moonlighting at Jung Foundation as a Managing Director.

“Jung Foundation…?” Sooyoung puzzled.

“They’ve been trying to attain our hospital before,” she exhaled.

“Chief, I’m sure Dr Jung isn’t working here to exploit us,” assured Sooyoung.

“That’s not what her records are telling me,”

“The aneurysm just so happens to be under the Sylvian fissure…” Taeyeon trailed off as she was separating the frontal and temporal lobe cleanly, revealing the dome of the aneurysm. Someone yawned in the OR.

“Dr Jung, you seem to already know this procedure,” Taeyeon took her eyes off the microscope and looked at Jessica with a surprised face.

“But I didn’t yawn…” she almost whispers, stepping forward besides Dr Kim.

Taeyeon handed Jessica the forceps that was holding a surgical clip. The fellow moved to the side, letting her student take her place and see through the huge microscope directly looking at an open skull. Jessica can’t help but marvel at the view.

“I-I see the neck of the aneurysm,”

“Before Jessica was Dr Jung, her institution was snubbing the researchers in our hospital,” added the chief. “I’m sure you know what happened to your friend, Kim Taeyeon, five years ago?”

Sooyoung was silent. She can’t defend her junior right now, especially that it’s concerning her best friend.

“Great. Now clip it,” Taeyeon gave her permission. Even she was excited herself.

Jessica gently applied the curved clip to the neck of the unruptured aneurysm. It was satisfying to do.

“Jessica is a director now. She has the power to take over this hospital,” she implied.

“What are you suggesting?” Sooyoung faltered.

Taeyeon took over her place again and injected an indocyanine dye to see the results. The blood flow in the vessels are intact which means they both saved a life together.

“I’m suggesting you let go of Miss Jung,”