It was hard to say when it first started. Maybe it was somewhere between slipping on the snow, the doctor cautioning her to be more careful as she adjusted the bag of frozen corn, and slicing her finger, anxious for a snack but not wanting to miss another second of the drama unfolding on the television in the living room, but Shuhua might have developed an itty bitty crush on the emergency room doctor with fiery red hair and warm, gentle eyes.

Dr. S. Seo.

You’re going to get yourself seriously hurt one of these days, Yuqi had reprimanded her with that furrow in her brow that made her look more constipated than serious.

Seriously hurt was one thing, but moderately hurt? Well, Shuhua probably shouldn’t be wasting unnecessary tax payer dollars, but health was important… right?

“I’m beginning to think you’re a bit of a masochist.”

Shuhua wasn’t sure what the word meant, but from the way the corner of the doctor’s lips twitched she figured it wasn’t serious. “Looks like it, huh?” She chuckled. Legs dangling over the edge of the hospital bed, paper crinkling beneath her, Shuhua winced, “How’s it look?”

“Like you’ll live to see another day,” the doctor teased as she scribbled something on the surface of the tablet. With the final, pointed tap the printer whirled to life. “You may want to consider a new hobby though. One that’s a little less… detrimental.” When she offered Shuhua the sheet of paper it was with that gentle smile that certainly did not make Shuhua’s heart flip flop out of her chest like a stupid fish caught on dry land.

“Okay.” If she whispered, eyes wide and jaw somewhere in her lap, Shuhua would swear it was the byproduct of a drug addled mind. Not that Dr. Seo had given her anything more than a disconcerting downward tug in the corners of her lips, when she had arrived, for the pain.

“I’m serious, Ms. Yeh,” Dr. Seo said, halfway out of the examination room, “Please take better care of yourself.”

It wasn’t like it was intentional, the whole hurting herself. Shuhua was just a klutz. But if Dr. Seo asked, Shuhua supposed she should try.

“You’re an idiot.”

Okay, maybe picking a fight with a bird wasn’t the smartest thing she had ever done, but it had stolen her last few fries and she might have been a bit hangry. But that didn’t mean Yuqi had to point it out, obnoxiously loud, for the entire waiting room to hear. 

“Why don’t you tell me something I don’t know?” The moment the words left her lips Shuhua wanted to call them back, swallow them whole, and extinguish that dumb look in Yuqi’s eyes that, surely, spelled her demise.

“We wouldn’t be here so much if you didn’t have a crush on Dr. Se—”

Hand slapped over Yuqi’s mouth, Shuhua winced. Her arm might have been bleeding but it was nothing compared to the way Yuqi would be bleeding if she didn’t shut up. “Seriously?!”

The elderly couple seated next to them smiled while the man across from them snorted.

Before Yuqi could offer her retort, the nurse called out, “Yeh Shuhua?”

Shuhua thanked her lucky stars.

“What did you do this time?” Miyeon teased as she led Shuhua to one of the emergency rooms.

Of all the nurses, Miyeon was her least favourite. She liked to tease Shuhua and had a weird affinity for pinching her cheeks whilst cooing. At least Minnie, the other nurse Shuhua could remember, offered her snacks and a fist bump of solidarity that made her feel a little less stupid for being in the emergency, again.

“Pigeon,” Shuhua grumbled, dragging her feet along the linoleum, answering out of professionalism. The same professionalism Miyeon lacked when she patted Shuhua’s head like some sort of dog rather than a wounded, tax paying patient.

“Ahh. They can be vicious, can’t they? Just let me–” The door creaked open and a familiar head of red peered in, “Oh, Soojin! I thought you were just leaving?”

The frown on Dr. Seo’s lips was unmistakable. “I was.” Exhaustion evident under her eyes, the doctor turned her attention to Shuhua who was seated on the crinkling paper. “What happened to our promise?”

Shuhua ducked her head. At least the wince she could pass off as stupid Miyeon and that stupid solution that burned when she applied it to the abrasion on Shuhua’s arm. “It was an accident?” The statement felt more like a question.

“You don’t sound so sure about that,” the doctor was quick to point out. “I can finish up, Miyeon. Thanks,”