“This is making me feel unsettled,” Sehun mumbled into his glass of beer as he took a careful sip.

Jongin raised a questioning eyebrow before turning his attention towards the source of Sehun’s concern. Sitting across from the two males were Soonbok and Taeyeon whispering to each other in hushed manners whilst giggling in between sentences. Every once in a while they would throw Sehun a side glance. If he caught their gazes, they would merely nod and smile and proceed to munch on some fishcake and kimchi pancake.

“Don’t worry, that’s Bokkie-bok’s grin of mischief, not vengeance,” Jongin hummed nonchalantly as he threw his arm around Sehun’s shoulders. “They are just gossiping.”

“About me in front of me?” Sehun frowned in disbelief.

Soonbok snapped her head towards him and raised her chin in a challenging manner. She widened her eyes as if daring him to counter back against her. Sehun gave her a flat stare and shook his head. He had learnt the hard way to never question the female nurse’s actions and logic, and he was not going to start now whilst everyone was unwinding after a long day at work.

“Looks like doctor Oh has learnt the ways,” Taeyeon smiled in a motherly manner.

“The ways?” Sehun blinked in confusion.

“The ways of survival in the urban jungle known as the ER,” Jongin exclaimed dramatically. “And how to react when you encounter a wild Bokkie-bok.”

Hearing herself being described as a creature of the wilderness, Soonbok narrowed her eyes at her best friend and kicked him unceremoniously under the table. Jongin yelped and jolted in his seat, resulting in him hitting his knee against the table. His suffering was however ignored. Instead Soonbok wore a stoic expression as her eyes scanned Sehun. Her pupils constricted, seemingly analysing the male in front of him. After what appeared to be an eternity, Soonbok gave him a firm nod and a smile of acknowledgment. Baffled by the whole exchange, Sehun found himself bubbling with inexplicable pride.

“Urban jungle huh. That’s quite a befitting description of the ER,” Sehun mused with a hint of wistfulness lingering in his voice. “When I first joined, I really felt like a city boy thrown into the wild with no basic survival skills or tools.”

“You aren’t the only one,” Jongin reassured the male. “Most if not all of doctors doing their placement in the ER encounter the same struggles. Every other department in the hospital has structure and rigid rules. However that is impossible in the ER where the only thing we can say for certainty is to expect the unexpected.”

“It’s a real learning curve,” Sehun acknowledged in a bittersweet manner. “But I’m definitely a better doctor and human because of that. Still, I don’t know if I’d ever be able to become a specialised ER doctor. I don’t know how you guys do it.”

Silence befell after that statement. For Soonbok, it felt only natural that she would find herself belonging in the chaotic ER where people from all walks of life will pass through. For Jongin, what mattered was working with people he loved and respected, and that every day was full of unexpected surprises. For Taeyeon however, this was a pathway she found herself in that resulted in agony and doubt and uncertainties. Her experience was far from being an isolated incident. It was unfortunate reality for frontline workers and healthcare professionals. Yet here she was, adorning a smile of content comparable to that of a monk having reached enlightenment.

“It would be an understatement to say that I struggled but… After that whole ordeal, and having received the support from the greatest friends and colleagues I could possibly ask for, I can say confidently that I’m here to stay. Someone has to stick around and stop these two troublemakers from scaring away all rookie doctors from the ER.”

Taeyeon scrunched her nose and poked both Soonbok and Jongin. The two best friends in turn threw themselves onto Taeyeon, engulfing her in a bear hug. Taeyeon chuckled loudly before extending an arm and inviting Sehun to join. With no further urging needed, Sehun jumped out of his ch