it would've been fun if you would've been the one

6 years ago

"Hey, do you think Dr. Kim is single?" Hyojoo sweeps in between Seolhee and Chaeyoung to whisper the question. Chaeyoung was instantly perplexed by the question, shooting Hyojoo a disgusted look.
     "Ew? He's like 40 years old,"
     "Exactly!" Hyojoo replies in a whispering manner. "Mature men, mama mi likey," she sang.
     Seolhee simply rolled her eyes. She's keeping shut because at any moment from now, she might throw up out of nervousness.
     It was their first day as residents. They have been to the hospital during their last two years in med school, but today officially marks the day when they can perform surgeries with less supervision. Unlike last year, the hospital looks a lot bigger, or Seolhee just felt a lot smaller.
     "Hey," Chaeyoung nudged her on the side using her elbow. "You're gonna do great, so stop biting your lips or you'll be the first patient here with busted lips,"
     Did that help? No, she just became aware that she was biting her lips, and not she couldn't stop it. She also fiddled with the hem of her white coat while watching Dr. Kim, their attending, approach them.
     "I just have two things to ask you," Dr. Kim sternly opened. At this point, even Chaeyoung couldn't deny that his authoritative stance made him hotter, not to mention that his facial hair looks better up close. "One, don't be stupid. Two, don't kill your patients out of your stupidity."
     "So that's basically one thing? Just don't be stupid?" Hyojoo interjects, followed by the shushing of her two best friends. "Shut up, what the hell is wrong with you?" Chaeyoung scolds in a low voice, pinching Hyojoo on the arm.
     Dr. Kim stared them down until the three of them settled. "You're not students anymore. But that doesn't mean you get to do anything you want. You can call judgments if you can, but if you're having a hard time, call a superior immediately."
     Everyone bowed, followed by an obedient 'yes' that satisfied the attending. "Good. Now don't call me for stupid things, don't ask stupid questions. Now go organize the charts for the patients in general ward and proceed with the rotation,"
     Dr. Kim didn't stop talking until he finished all his instructions. The three tried to absorb all the information but they were bombarded with too much of it but they were too scared to ask the doctor to repeat himself because it might classify as a 'stupid' question. And no, they don't want to get scolded on the first day in the hospital.
     Unlike what the trio had imagined their first week in the hospital would be, there weren't back-to-back operations. They were mostly stuck in the ER, suturing wounds from an injury from a basketball game, reading the patient's medical history, and mostly, charting.

One normal afternoon, while Seolhee was eating her lunch at the hospital's one-hectare garden where most elderly are hanging out, a male resident came into view, blocking the sunlight that was hitting her face.
     "Hi," said Taehyung, the man she was about to love for the next four years or so in her life.
     "Hello," Seolhee reluctantly replied.
     "I'm Kim Taehyung,"
     "Shin Seolhee,"
     "Do you mind if I...?" Taehyung pointed at the empty space beside her. She's sitting by the cobblestone fountain. "Sure," she nodded.
     Taehyung fished for the burger in his pocket which made Seolhee laugh because as soon as he brought it out, it was already smushed in the most unappetizing way. The transparent plastic wrapped around it wasn't helping either.
     "What?" Taehyung asks innocently.
     "Did your mom pack your lunch or something?" Seolhee teased.
     "Yes, why?" he replied with the same cluelessness.
     Seolhee straightened up and immediately felt bad for almost making fun of him. "Oh, okay. Good for you," she replied and cleared .
     "How was the first two weeks as a resident here?" he asked and then took a bite of his disoriented burger that he doesn't seem to mind at all. Seolhee replied with a shrug. "It's okay, not what I expected,"
     "They said it will get harder,"
      Seolhee glanced at him and immediately noticed the mole sitting at his nostrils. Wow, she thought, what a handsome nose. And then she proceeded to unconsciously stare shamelessly at his face. Now that's a very pretty pair of lips.
      Of course, Taehyung is aware of the staring and it would have made him uncomfortable if he wasn't enjoying the attention. He's been seeing Seolhee a lot lately, which makes sense because they're both first-year residents at the same hospital. He first saw her on orientation day and he recalled how pale she looked and how she kept on biting her lips. The second time he saw her was that same day at the residents' locker. She seemed lost in her world and she still looked like she was worried about a lot of things.
     Then he started noticing her every day. Today, he finally got the courage to talk to her. "I saw you reading the other day," he said. "What was the book?"
     "Oh," Seolhee suddenly got shy. "That was The Graveyard Book. Are you familliar? Neil Gaiman?"
     "The one who wrote Coraline?" he asked and Seolhee nodded, smiling a little because she found it cute that he even knew who the author was. "Yeah, I'm familiar. Is it worth the read?"
     Seolhee nodded again. "Yeah, it was really fun. It was about a kid whose parents got killed when he was still a baby. And then he was raised by the ghosts in a long-forgotten cemetery in that town,"
     "Wow, that sounds interesting,"
     "Yeah, it's a children's book," she chuckled a little. Taehyung looked at her with his heart-shaped smile. "Well, no judgment here. I read some children's books myself, too,"
      "Really? What kinds?"
      "Anatamony for kindergarten," he said with so much confidence. Seolhee rolled her eyes but still laughed at him.
     When the lunch was over and they were both on their way back to the ER, Taehyung walked beside her with his hands behind him. "So, are you free this Sunday?"
     Seolhee looked at the man who had just given her a bold invitation. "How did you know I'm off on Sunday?"
     "I looked at your schedule in our locker room," he answered, flashing a sheepish smile.
     Seolhee playfully rolled her eyes again. "Yes, I guess I'm free, since you've already looked at it,"
     "It's okay if you're not free!" Taehyung assured. He skipped in front of her and started walking backward, staring into her eyes while arrogantly smiling. "I promise I won't talk bad about you with our colleagues just because you rejected me. I won't tell them you're a snob and you think so highly of yourself," 
     "First, you stalked me. Second, you just blackmailed me. Wow, what a great way to ask a girl out, Dr. Taehyung,"
      "I know," he winked. "So is that a yes, I'm going because I want to, or yes, I'm going because I was forced to?" he asked, tucking his hands into his pocket.
     "Both, I guess?"
     "Nice!" Taehyung replied, punching into the air as if he just won the lottery. "I'll call you! Is 10 am too early? Text me your address." 
     "But I don't have your number," Seolhee said, walking a little faster so she can keep up with his pace.
     "I'll text you la