The late morning sun rays trickled in through the open curtains, landing on the unmade bed with its blanket tossed aside carelessly. The corner of the blanket had somehow managed to get caught by the old traditional Korean closet door where the sleeve of jumper had managed to snuck its way out. A column of haphazardly stashed medical journals stood by the foot of the bed, leaning ever so dangerously towards the overstocked bookshelf. In front of the bookshelf laid a scarlet beanbag surrounded by research papers on the relationship between generational trauma and addictions.

This was a well-lived in space left purposefully chaotic. It was tactfully hidden behind a wooden Victorian partition screen. The screen was a random find at the flea market, and although the paint was chipped and fading, the beauty of the intricate willow tree drawing was not diminished in the slightest. The partition screen stood next to the balcony, and when the moonlight shone its spotlight on the willow screen, the screen became the entryway to a magical world found only in fairytales.

The exquisite Victorian partition screen was arguably the highlight of the humble flat. A larger-than-life Persian rug stood in the middle, ready to swallow the plain discount sofa bed and coffee table. The  unlikely combination of furniture contrasted greatly against the basic built-in open-space kitchen that came with the flat.

Perched on top of the tall stool by the kitchen island was Soonbok still in her pyjamas. She stared intensely inside her open fridge. She closed her eyes and counted. When she snapped her eyes wide open again, she groaned in disappointment as the fridge was still in fact empty.

“Guess there’s no way around it.” Soonbok jutted her lips out in annoyance. “I’ll stock up the fridge and buy ingredients for hot pot too. Doubt Jongin’s prepared anything yet anyway.”

Sighing heavily, Soonbok threw herself off the stool and dragged her body behind the partition screen. She reemerged moments later wearing a turtleneck sweater dress. She attempted to comb her hair with her hands but gave up when a persistent knot refused to admit defeat. Chucking the tangled knot over her shoulders, Soonbok slipped on her coat and made her way out of her flat.

The moment the glass doors of the building entrance opened, she was slapped by the gelid January wind. Burying her face deeper into her turtleneck, she jogged on the spot to warm herself up as she made a mental list for groceries.

Soonbok had just gathered the courage to take the first step out into the real world when a dark shadow blocked her passage. Frowning, Soonbok slowly raised her head and came face to face with a flushed faced Sehun. Unfathomed, Soonbok offered the male a casual nod of acknowledged and proceeded to step around him.

“Nurse Gae,” Sehun hurriedly said. “I erm…”

Keeping her feet planted into the ground, Soonbok contorted her torso in a bizarre angle to give the male her full attention.

“I wanted to apologise for the insensitive comment I made yesterday at the police station,” Sehun forced out in a low tone, “you know, what I said about the… immigrants…”

Noting the droplets of sweat gathered around his head and his sportswear attire, Soonbok reached the conclusion that unlike her, Sehun had spent his morning being productive. Sehun shifted uncomfortably under what appeared to be a very judgmental stare from Soonbok. He his lips and his eyes darted left and right, up and down, never resting in one place. Soonbok arched a brow and continued staring at Sehun expressionlessly.

“I also wanted to apologise for being dismissive of you in regards to the patient that was discharged,” Sehun continued, his ears turning bright red as his apology now turned into a ramble. “Nurses don’t usually have much of a say in terms of treatments and I wasn’t aware of your unique position in the ER — not that I’m undervaluing the role of nurses or anything — it’s just that, I’m still new to all this and the ER wasn’t even my first or second choice for residency, and I just, I mean, please say something your stare is kind of unnerving me now, I swear it’s scarier than Kyungsoo’s stare and his eyes are damn scary. Also your hair is tangled…”

A smirk graced Soonbok’s face. It was not obvious, but Sehun was pretty certain she was now gloating. Soonbok stuffed her hands into the deep pockets of her coat and nodded slowly, her expression calm and serendipitous.

“Jongin demanded to have hot pot today,” Soonbok announced as she finally exited the building. “I’m getting the groceries so make your decision now.”

“My decision?” Sehun echoed in a perplexed manner.

“Whether I need to buy your share too,” Soonbok stated as a matter-of-fact.

Sehun’s brain went blank. It malfunctioned as he failed to connect the dots and understand how the conversation had gone from him apologising to being invited over for hot pot. Suddenly feeling pressured, Sehun hurriedly patted his pockets to find them empty.

“Let me grab my wallet real quick and I’ll go with you.”

If it was possi