After what felt like an endless night, the ER finally quietened down. The liver patient had been stabilised and transferred to the normal ward. His wife finally returned home to rest after the umpteenth reassurance from the doctor and nurse that her husband would recover in no time.

Soonbok collapsed onto the sofa in the staff office, ready to melt into its soft fabric. To her dismay, Jongin folded on top of her. She halfheartedly pushed the male away from her without much success. Their eyes then landed on the clock at the same time, and upon realising there was approximately five hours left until the commencement of their shift, the nurse duo groaned in agony.

“ to be you two,” Sehun whistled unabashedly. “Since I have a late shift, I’ll be enjoying my loooong nap.”

The purposeful gloating earned the doctor a synchronised glare from the two exhausted nurses. Jongin however did not allow him to remain in his position of glory for long.

“Aren’t you the on-call doctor from tomorrow— well I guess, from today onwards doctor Sehunnie?”

Sehun’s face fell immediately and he looked like he had been slapped a thousand times by a heartless octopus. Jongin gave Soonbok a victory high-five before pulling the girl up, motioning her to hurry and get out of there.

“ to be you,” Kyungsoo sniggered, throwing an arm around the crestfallen male and guiding him towards the exit, following after the two nurses.

Soonbok’s face constricted under the glaring fluorescent ceiling lights. Her expression softened into a gentle smile though as they walked past the nurse’s station where a sleepless Taeyeon was typing relentlessly on the computer.

“See you in exactly 4 hours and 45 minutes Taeyeon,” Soonbok bowed playfully at the girl on duty. “Hold the fort until then.”

“Man,” Jongin slumped his shoulders. “I wish I had a day off.”

Taeyeon pried her eyes away from the computer screen. The corners of her lips raised subtly, mimicking the shape of a grin and yet not quite achieving the desired effect. Her gaze was also vacant, as though drifting far towards an unknown land out of human reach. Kyungsoo narrowed his gaze at Taeyeon’s empty expression but said nothing. Shaking his head, Kyungsoo chased away the suspicions and speculations gathering inside his brain and made his merry way out of the ER with Sehun in tow.

The two pair of best friends trudged their way home. Kyungsoo had decided to leave his car in the hospital parking lot as he was too exhausted to drive safely. Sehun and Jongin were engaged in a mindless chatter, reminiscing about the juicy pork belly that was left sizzling on the barbecue grill when the medical emergency took place. Next to them, Soonbok remained silent, a thoughtful look misting her sleepy eyes. Sensing someone staring at her, she glanced to the side and locked gazes with Kyungsoo. They both peaked briefly towards the bright red ER sign growing smaller and smaller behind them and shared a nod of acknowledgment. However, neither deemed it necessary to speak up.

・・・

The fluorescent ceiling light flickered under the stress of remaining switched on 24/7. It emitted an uncomfortable heat as it demanded for a long overdue check-up. The corridor was eerily quiet and uninhabited. That silence was soon broken through when the door for both the male and female locker room swung opened simultaneously. Jongin and Soonbok emerged from the respective rooms looking equally dead as they stared begrudgingly at each other. With less than four hours’ sleep under their belt, it was a miracle they even made it to work in one piece.

With no energy to spare, Soonbok had given up controlling her facial muscles. This resulted in her eyelids blinking unevenly. Seeing this, Jongin cackled shamelessly, even going to the point of hugging his stomach with one hand and pointing at her face with the other. One raised eyebrow from Soonbok though and the male choked on his laughter until it simmered down into a whine as he realised he probably looked just as awful as the person he was poking fun of.

Reaching a silent truce, the pair walked acrimoniously towards the nurse’s station ready for handover. Taeyeon was wrapping up on her notes for the night shift. Her movements were steady yet sluggish, seemingly in no rush to leave the place. If anything, it almost appeared as though she was reluctant to remove herself from the nurse’s station.

“The chief isn’t here yet, no need to be such a diligent worker,” Jongin nudged at Taeyeon.

The girl chuckled in response as she finally logged out of the computer. Soonbok threw herself onto an empty chair and waved goodbye to the intern doctor who looked like he was sleep-walking. Slowly, a