Soonbok blew a strand of stray hair from her face whilst smoothening a crease on her shirt. She scrutinised the contents of her bag and shut it tightly upon making sure she had everything she needed for work. Standing in front of the mirror, she stared at her reflection. Her eyes landed on the dark eye-bags that peaked through the layers of concealer, before travelling down her jawline where stress-induced pimples were present. Finally her gaze landed on her ID, proudly laying against her chest. Soonbok bit the inside of her cheek, guilt laden across her face. She then purposefully turned the ID around so that her name, job role and photo were hidden from sight.

Satisfied with herself, Soonbok slipped on her shoes and exited her flat. To her surprise, Sehun was leaning against the wall outside, seemingly waiting for her.

“I… dropped by to say hi?” The flustered male stuttered.

The girl raised a dubious brow, utterly unconvinced by his sorry excuse. Rolling his eyes at her unforgiving gaze, he roughly pushed her shoulders towards the lift.

“Let’s just head to work okay?”

The nurse and doctor duo entered the lift in complete silence. The hum of the metal box vibrated through the air, weighting down on Sehun’s shoulders. He peered at Soonbok’s haggard and sleepless face.

“It’s not your fau—”

Whatever Sehun wished to say was left unfinished as the lift door opened and Soonbok stepped out without waiting for him. Sehun hurried after her. He hesitated and opened his mouth again — this time too, he was not given the chance to speak his mind.

“Don’t say it,” Soonbok chided. “I know you mean well but… Sometimes words you say when you are trying your hardest to console someone end up being the most hurtful ones.”

Sehun’s whole body shrank, feeling like a child being scolded by his parents.

“No need to be extra nice okay?” Soonbok reassured the male. “Just be your normal self.”

Giving him a controlled toothy grin, Soonbok commenced the journey to work, whistling a tuneless melody as she skipped along the streets. Sehun stared at her retiring silhouette and smiled bitterly to himself.

“Be my normal self? How?” Sehun whispered in a perplexed tone.

・・・

A solemn air aded the ER as an unspoken conversation etched its way inside the souls of its staff members. Jongin who had volunteered for an extra shift following his night shift floated around like a zombie. Soonbok frowned at him, questioning whether he was even fit enough to work at the moment. The two best friends though were left with no choice but to press on with their usual level of professionalism.

It was just like any other day in the ER; car accidents, drunken idiots, careless teenagers, concerned mothers. Despite the turbulent events of the previous night that had hammered a heavy reminder into people’s consciousness, they had no time to stop and ponder and reflect on their own well-being. Soonbok knew this better than anyone. When she finally had a moment of peace, she glanced around the ER in search of Jongin. The two had yet to have a proper conversation since the incident and Soonbok wanted to check in with the overworked male. She may have been the one breaking down in tears after finding Taeyeon, but he was the one who had to treat her. However, just as she she narrowed down on Jongin, the paramedics dashed in with an awfully young fellow lying lifeless on the gurney. Soonbok had not yet time to approach the patient when Kyungsoo jogged into the ER, his eyes landing immediately on her before glancing briefly at the patient who was just brought in.

“Drugs related?” Soonbok questioned, receiving an immediate answer when Kyungsoo passed over an evidence bag containing a used naloxone syringe. “Heroin overdose?”

“Or injection gone wrong or both,” Kyungsoo grunted.

The officer looked like he had aged by ten years overnight — or maybe it was the harsh fluorescent lights evidencing the traces of hard work and fatigue from a life of chasing crime. Soonbok unconsciously touched her own face, wondering whether she too appeared that way to others. She quickly pulled herself back to reality though and made her way into bay 4, Kyungsoo following closely after her.

“Talk,” Soonbok demanded whilst treating the unconscious patient and collecting his bloods for further testing.

“Kim Jungwoo, 23 years old. Received anonymous call that an unconscious male was inside the public restroom of a gas station near Hongdae station. I was called to the scene as the restroom is known location where kids these days gather to inject. The manager of the gas station had actually changed the lights…”

Kyungsoo’s words trailed to a hushed stop upon seeing Soonbok’s hardened gaze. Had she not been handling delicate life-saving equipment, she likely would have thrown something at the wall already.

“The smartass decided to switch to blue lights huh? Since he didn’t want his place to become a renowned druggies spot. Congratulations to him then, he’s successfully turned the place into a death trap,” Soonbok spat out.

Kyungsoo’s eyes widened in alarm, not expecting the girl to have such an adverse reaction to the news. He wondered whether he needed to request for support to restrain Soonbok’s bubbling anger, but as quickly as her temper had peaked, it had subsided. In the blink of an eye, the frustrated nurse had regained her normal composed state.

By now the patient had stabilised and one of the doctors had taken over the physical care, taking the patient away for further tests. Soonbok exhaled loudly, slowly massaging her shoulders to release some tension. Reali