Time in: 1:00 pm February 9th, 2022

 

Reason: Check up

 

Symptoms: None

 

 

 

Hyunjung was fully prepared to do what any decent doctor should do when they found themselves too attracted to a patient. She realized that she had to at this point, there was no more denying it since during the last visit she had nearly tried to 𝘬𝘪𝘴𝘴 Jiyeon.

 

 

 

𝘚𝘵𝘶𝘱𝘪𝘥.

 

 

 

It was just that they were so close, and Jiyeon smelled nice and looked nice— 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘦— and Hyunjung started to ing lean in. Luckily, she'd gotten a hold of her senses before actually kissing her. The last thing she needed was a ual harassment suit, filed from a very famous idol nonetheless.

 

 

 

So, yes, 𝘏𝘺𝘶𝘯𝘫𝘶𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥. Something she hadn't been since Jiyeon came barreling into her life, too pale and on a hospital bed. She was going to tell Jiyeon she was incapable of treating her anymore at this point, and then refer her to another doctor. And if Jiyeon asked why, Hyunjung would just have to tell her the truth.

 

 

 

Hyunjung blanched. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘵𝘩. What exactly was the truth? Did Hyunjung want to... 𝘥𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳? Did she just like her, was it just a ual thing?

 

 

 

No, it wasn't just a ual thing. That would make things a lot easier. She could get over a ual thing. ual things didn't make her think about dumb things like hand holding. If it was a ual thing, Hyunjung wouldn't have been thinking about Jiyeon at least eight 𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘢𝘺𝘣𝘦, 𝘵𝘦𝘯 times of a day— unless she was some kind of ; which she most certainly was not.

 

 

 

The entire thing was annoying, more than annoying. 𝘔𝘢𝘥𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨. And every day Hyunjung found herself wondering why Jiyeon. And then she would think about Jiyeon, how she looked so pretty and talented and kind of funny and annoying— 𝘎𝘰𝘥, 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘢𝘤𝘦, but still, really kind and sweet and lovely and had the most ravishing smile Hyunjung had ever seen, well, it would make sense. Of course, 𝘑𝘪𝘺𝘦𝘰𝘯.

 

 

 

Hyunjung walked up to the door, wiped her hands on her pants and fixed her hair. She was ready for this. Letting out a breath she wasn't aware she was holding. Hyunjung pushed open the door; 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘑𝘪𝘺𝘦𝘰𝘯.

 

 

 

Jiyeon was on the examination table already, her feet swinging back and forth causing the wax paper underneath her to shift. She looked nervous, maybe even more nervous than Hyunjung looked. Her lip was tucked in between her teeth, eyes on her swinging feet.

 

 

 

"Hello," Hyunjung said, her voice sounding more hoarse than usual.

 

 

 

"Hyunjung," Jiyeon greeted with a tight smile. "𝘐 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨.”

 

 

 

 

Hyunjung's heart dropped. Maybe she wasn't going to say anything today, maybe Jiyeon noticed and was going to go through measures on her own. Every possible situation circulated through Hyunjung's mind. It was almost reminiscent of the essay questions she had to answer in medical school. 𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘪𝘢𝘨𝘯𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴, 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘰 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘦? And Hyunjung would go through all the answers in her mind with ease until she landed on the the best one.

 

 

 

At that moment she wished she couldn't think of any answers, realizing things are much different when the situation is not hypothetical and involves your personal life. "𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵?" She breathed out, laughed a little. She didn't know why she laughed, but it seemed like something someone might do in this situation. 𝘈𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘭. She was going to act natural.

 

 

 

"I, well... I'm really sorry. I should have said this a while ago, but—" Jiyeon wrung her hands together, and Hyunjung struggled with not wringing her neck because, 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘣𝘦? "I'm going on tour next month. I mean, I start next month. 𝘐'𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘢 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳."

 

 

 

𝘖𝘩.

 

 

 

Hyunjung swallowed in. "Oh."

 

 

 

And in a single moment the air became too cool, the pounding in Hyunjung's chest too slow. She was leaving for a year. 12 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘩𝘴. Jiyeon was leaving, and would be gone. 𝘓𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨, which implied coming back to an extent, but Hyunjung had left places before too and never came back. 𝘓𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨.

 

 

 

"Okay." Hyunjung grabbed the stethoscope, put the bell against Jiyeon's chest. "Breathe."

 

 

 

Jiyeon breathed in, and Hyunjung wondered if this would be the last time in a year she'd be this close. Because Jiyeon had to leave, 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘥𝘰𝘭. World tours weren't new to her, obviously. So, in conclusion, Hyunjung should have seen this coming. Hyunjung did see this at one point, 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘦? You couldn't truly miss the obvious, only ignore it. And the obvious was that, 𝘑𝘪𝘺𝘦𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘵.

 

 

 

"I'll be back in for a last appointment before I leave. Full check-up, you know?" Her heart thudded its irregular, quickened pace. Jiyeon's voice was shaky. Hyunjung wondered why she had been so nervous to say anything.

 

 

 

"Is that all?" Hyunjung asked.

 

 

 

"Well," Jiyeon looked up and smiled wide. It was an attempt at her idol smile, but her eyes were too dull to make it truly pop. "I was wondering if, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘥𝘰𝘤𝘵𝘰𝘳 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘐 𝘨𝘰𝘵 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬."

 

 

 

Hyunjung's eyes widened, she gulped in again. 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘺 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘰𝘶𝘴? Hyunjung had been fully prepared to do what she needed to do. "𝘖𝘧 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦." She'd been ready to tell Jiyeon the truth. "𝘞𝘩𝘺 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘐 𝘣𝘦?" But then, 𝘑𝘪𝘺𝘦𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘥 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨.

 

 

 

———

 

 

 

Time in: 12:00 pm February 20th, 2022

 

Reason: Check up, bloodwork

 

Symptoms: None

 

 

 

Jiyeon had spent an hour getting ready. 𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘥𝘰𝘤𝘵𝘰𝘳'𝘴 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵.

 

 

 

And in that hour she realized that when she got back she really needed to get her own place because living with Sojung and Dawon wasn't working. Sure, she didn't like to be alone but the constant teasing, followed by a smirk as Jiyeon frantically tried to figure out what she was going to wear, was annoying as hell.

 

 

 

She just wanted to look nice, that's all. She could look nice without it meaning anything big, (𝘉𝘶𝘵, 𝘰𝘬𝘢𝘺, 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘏𝘺𝘶𝘯𝘫𝘶𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘺𝘣𝘦 𝘬𝘪𝘴𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘯 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘥, 𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘨𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘴).

 

 

 

 

Jiyeon wore a dress. Nothing fancy, just something you'd wear out to lunch— a simple, floral dress. But it was pretty cold outside so she had to wear a cardigan over it. Her legs were still freezing. One day Jiyeon would ask 𝘸𝘩𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘴𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘦.

 

 

 

Maybe Hyunjung liked it cold. Was her apartment chilly, too? Did she sleep with lots of blankets and wiggle in her sleep with her feet only partially covered? (𝘖𝘳 𝘮𝘢𝘺𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘰 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘏𝘺𝘶𝘯𝘫𝘶𝘯𝘨 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘤).

 

 

 

Jiyeon sighed to herself, placing her hands on her head. She didn't know why she couldn't get Hyunjung out of her head. It was like a sickness that made her heart do the loud 𝘵𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘱 𝘵𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘱 𝘵𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘱 thing, and unlike her anemia, there wasn't any medicine that could fix it.

 

 

 

In hindsight, Jiyeon really should have been warned about Hyunjung prior to selecting her main practitioner. Like, Yes you might feel better, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘦𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘭𝘶𝘥𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘱 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘺 𝘩𝘰𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘤𝘵𝘰𝘳— sorry about that.

 

 

 

Jiyeon looked down at the silver watch on her wrist, realizing Hyunjung would be in any second now. She combed through her locks with her hands, tucking some strands behind her ear. Her hair was in a wavy style today again, cascading down her shoulders— she didn't know if Hyunjung liked it in wavy style or not, but it always made her look more mature.

 

 

 

𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘏𝘺𝘶𝘯𝘫𝘶𝘯𝘨. Hyunjung who was a harvard graduated doctor and liked sophisticated things like dead guy piano music. 𝘖𝘩, and the piano stuff. Jiyeon had her driver play her mixtape on repeat. She'd never really been overly interested in instrumental music, orchestrated things and the like. But, the way Hyunjung played was so beautiful. Like, her fingers were really meant to be pressed on the keys— Jiyeon could tell she enjoyed it with each note. Sometimes she could hear humming along with the piano, but it was always faint. Jiyeon had to pay close attention.

 

 

 

She wondered what it was like to watch Hyunjung play, if maybe she closed her eyes and rocked to the melody.

 

 

 

Jiyeon dropped her hands at the sound of the door opening, the subtle click of Hyunjung's feet against the white, speckled flooring.

 

 

 

Jiyeon looked up slowly so that her eyes could catch black shoes, pale ankles, the white lab coat and blue oxford shirt peeking up underneath it. "𝘏𝘪," She said, a little breathless. She could hear her heart pounding, feel it in her ears.

 

 

 

"Hey," Hyunjung stayed still, looking into Jiyeon's eyes. So much space in between them, like a barrier neither could cross, a broken bridge that lead to Hyunjung.

 

 

 

"Let's get started." Hyunjung said at the end of a long breath.

 

 

 

Jiyeon stood up, hopped onto the exam table. She straightened out her dress so it wouldn't scrunch up above her knees. Her hands were already sweaty. 𝘎𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵.

 

 

 

"That mixtape was really great," Jiyeon said. She'd meant to bring it up last week but things had gotten weird once she told Hyunjung she was leaving. Too quiet for Jiyeon to want to converse.

 

 

 

Hyunjung fumbled and dropped her stethoscope on the floor. Her face was tinged red around her nose and cheeks.

 

 

 

Jiyeon leaned in further, biting down on own lip. Hyunjung was so cute when she got embarrassed, all pink ears and wide eyes. 𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘧𝘢𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘶𝘴𝘩 𝘪𝘵? "You play really well," Jiyeon looked up and made a popping sound with her lips, her hands were gripped around the edge of the exam table. "And I think I might have heard humming?" She questioned, sing-song.

 

 

 

"I— I wasn't," Hyunjung said, her eyes focused on the ground despite already picking up her stethoscope. "But... I'm glad you liked it." The ends of her lips tilted up into a small, 𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘭 smile.

 

 

 

"Hmm. How long have you been playing?" Jiyeon asked as Hyunjung walked up to her.

 

 

 

"Since I was little. It's the only real hobby I've ever let myself have." She brought the bell to Jiyeon's chest, and Jiyeon automatically breathed in. "I played a lot less during med school, didn't have the time. But when I did have the time again, I realized how much I missed it." The smile grew gradually, fuller and fuller.

 

 

 

Hyunjung listened to the sound of Jiyeon's heartbeat for a few more moments, and Jiyeon could tell how fast it was going. Jiyeon didn't think anemia was the reason for her heartbeat, though— 𝘢𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵. Not the last few visits.

 

 

 

When Hyunjung pulled away, Jiyeon could feel the extra body heat leave her proximity as well. All of a sudden the room felt too cold again. She walked over to the cabinets to get the needle and vials for Jiyeon's bloodwork.

 

 

 

"Okay, now since I'm not going to see you for a year," Hyunjung stopped, swallowed in. Her hand gripped one of the vials tightly, knuckles going white. "You're going to have to not be stupid."

 

 

 

Jiyeon raised her brows, then chuckled. "Me? Stupid?" She crossed her arms against her chest. "I've never been."

 

 

 

"Okay, miss famous idol who's never been stupid, I'm going to hold you to that." Hyunjung smirked, and Jiyeon's heart did the thing again.

 

 

 

"I would ask which arm but at this point I know you're just going to say left." Hyunjung said, flicking the needle. Jiyeon hated it when she did that, especially since she was 90% sure it was just to freak her out.

 

 

 

Jiyeon chewed on her lip, thinking of a response. Then decided, 𝘴𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘸 𝘪𝘵. She only had approximately 15 minutes left with Hyunjung. She was going to make the best out of it. "Wow, you know my height, weight, date of birth, blood type, and preferred needle arm. You might as well be my wife."

 

 

 

Hyunjung dropped one of the vials, catching it quickly before it hit the floor. She turned her head to the side, cleared . Pink tints visible on her cheeks. "I'm just being a good doctor." She muttered, placing the vials on the exam table, and then moving a hand up to brush her hair backwards.

 

 

 

𝘎𝘰𝘥𝘥𝘢𝘮𝘯𝘦𝘥.

 

 

 

"Of course, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘤𝘵𝘰𝘳." Jiyeon said, if only to see the blush reach her chest. 𝘐𝘵 𝘥𝘪𝘥.

 

 

 

Hyunjung tied elastic band around her bicep, then slowly moved one finger down her arm making Jiyeon shiver. She looked away when Hyunjung began to ready the needle. "You wouldn't have said that few months ago." Hyunjung commented.

 

 

 

"𝘈 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘨𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯."

 

 

 

“𝘈 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘨𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨.”

 

 

 

Jiyeon grinned. "So you're saying I'm not annoying anymore?"

 

 

 

"I'm saying you're more tolerable than before."

 

 

 

"Nevermind, you're still mean." Jiyeon said, making the absolute mistake of looking up. Her blood being drawn wasn't what caught her off guard. Hyunjung was facing her with this 𝘸𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘶𝘭, 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘧 𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘦 that made all the blood in Jiyeon's body rush to her head.

 

 

 

"You're still annoying," She said, her eyes flicking down to where the last vial was now filled up. She slipped the needle out quickly, covering it with a cotton swab and holding it down so she could tape it up. "Just a lot less annoying now and more—" Hyunjung came to an abrupt stop, staying open. A brief flash of panic washed over her face before it smoothed out to a more neutral look.

 

 

 

𝘔𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵?

 

 

 

"More…"

 

 

 

More what??

 

 

 

"𝘛𝘰𝘭𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦."

 

 

 

Jiyeon's head dropped. "Didn’t you just say that?"

 

 

 

"It needed to be said again."

 

 

 

Hyunjung went back to the cabinets on the other side of the room, putting the bloodwork to the side and grabbing a thermometer.

 

 

 

"You know you can just admit that you like me and I am 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 favorite idol, favorite person and favorite patient." Jiyeon leaned in once again, her head cocked to the side and a full, flashing smile on her face.

 

 

 

"𝘐 𝘥𝘰 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶." Her voice was low, almost a soft whisper, and Jiyeon had to take a moment to replay the words in her head. To see if Hyunjung actually said that. And unless Jiyeon had some sort of hallucinogenic put into her blood by Hyunjung; she was most definitely hearing those words. 𝘏𝘺𝘶𝘯𝘫𝘶𝘯𝘨 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘳. Of course, she knew they were friends, and by default that would mean Hyunjung liked her, but it was always different to hear stuff like that out loud.

 

 

 

Jiyeon swallowed in, her head tilted up to look at Hyunjung. "I like you too." She said.

 

 

 

Hyunjung smiled, then held up the thermometer in prompting. Jiyeon opened , lifting her tongue so the thermometer could rest below it. Hyunjung looked at her parted lips, the tongue that still peeked out between them. It was logical for Hyunjung to be looking at , but a part of Jiyeon thought— what if she was looking for reasons other than the thermometer? 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘧 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯?

 

 

 

"Temp is good," Hyunjung croaked, pulling out the thermometer. She walked to the back and set it down before coming back. "And, you've been feeling okay these last few weeks?"

 

 

 

Jiyeon nodded.

 

 

 

"Um, well, I guess... I guess this is it," Hyunjung said. She was smiling, but her eyes were too dark to take any solace in it. "𝘐 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥, 𝘑𝘪𝘺𝘦𝘰𝘯. You need to take care of yourself while on this tour. Drink at least two liters of water a day, eat, sleep."

 

 

 

"Okay, I promise I won't die," Jiyeon said, smiling "since you clearly enjoy taking care of me.”

 

 

 

Hyunjung cleared , fists clenching the inside of her lab coat's pockets. "Please don't— die, I mean. Don't... 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘥𝘪𝘦."

 

 

 

Jiyeon chuckled. "I won't. I, Kim Jiyeon, 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘧𝘢𝘷𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘪𝘥𝘰𝘭, 𝘧𝘢𝘷𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘢𝘷𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘵, solemnly swear not to die."

 

 

 

"Well, good then. I guess I'll see you in a year."

 

 

 

Jiyeon breathed in. "A year." She stood, took a long look at Hyunjung. "𝘖𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘢 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳."

 

 

 

Hyunjung's throat parched as she nodded and repeated, "Only a year."

 

 

 

They stood there facing each other for what seemed like both seconds and hours, a comfortable, tension filled passing of time that Jiyeon used to analyze every detail of Hyunjung. The small mole she had on her left cheekbone, the slenderness of her fingers, the way she always seemed to her lips (𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘰𝘵).

 

 

 

 

"Well, I guess we should both go." Hyunjung said, and Jiyeon looked at the shape of . Her lips looked soft, they were light pink, not glossy but the faint trace of lipstick was on them. Jiyeon knew because with lipstick you could always see the creases in lips more, the small cracks.

 

 

 

"𝘠𝘦𝘢𝘩," Jiyeon said. "Yeah…"

 

 

 

"Then, I'll see you. In a year."

 

 

 

"In a year, right."

 

 

 

Hyunjung took in a deep breath, exhaling through her nose. Then she turned away, muttering, "𝘉𝘺𝘦" as she left.

 

 

 

Jiyeon followed her out, going right to the exit as Hyunjung went left. And at that moment Jiyeon had figured out three very important things.

 

 

 

1. 𝘒𝘪𝘮 𝘏𝘺𝘶𝘯𝘫𝘶𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘩, seeing as her heart felt like it was going to beat out of her chest.

 

 

 

2. This up-and-coming year was going to be a 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘭 of alot longer than she thought it would be.

 

 

 

3. 𝘑𝘪𝘺𝘦𝘰𝘯 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘏𝘺𝘶𝘯𝘫𝘶𝘯𝘨, 𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘵. Not in a trivial way like she 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦𝘥 all cute things, not in a friend way, but in a sudden, all encompassing 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 that made her chest swell, and made her stomach hurt. The 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 that made you feel like you were going to burst at any moment, that made your hands shake and knees weak.

 

 

 

"𝘋𝘢𝘮𝘯 𝘪𝘵."

 

 

 

———

 

 

Time in: 9:00 pm February 14th, 2023

 

Reason: Broken leg, fainting, anemia 

 

Symptoms: Heart rate accelerated, pale, shallow breathing, low blood pressure, fracture on left leg, nausea, vomiting.

 

 

 

Someone could correct her later if she was wrong, but Hyunjung was 𝘧𝘶𝘤𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 positive she told Jiyeon 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘪𝘦 while gone. So, seeing Jiyeon in a hospital bed a year later on Valentine's Day, completely out of it with a puke bucket next to her bed was a little more than concerning.

 

 

"𝘚𝘵𝘶𝘱𝘪𝘥," Hyunjung muttered, though her heart was racing.

 

 

 

It started with a call from one worried Cho Sojung. Of course, Hyunjung had been off at that point, settled in her apartment after a long day at the clinic. She only worked at the hospital on weekends, typically. But, Sojung had mentioned Jiyeon's name and mentioned the hospital. Hyunjung had already been halfway out the door when Sojung began talking about how Jiyeon refused to let the other doctors see her. Basically begged for Hyunjung.

 

 

 

One year and the first emotion Hyunjung felt was anger (𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘤 𝘢𝘯𝘥, 𝘰𝘬𝘢𝘺, 𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴).

 

 

 

She stormed into the hospital, her hair a mess and lab coat swung on half-heartedly over teal scrubs. The woman at the front desk seemed taken aback. "𝘗𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘒𝘪𝘮 𝘑𝘪𝘺𝘦𝘰𝘯?" Hyunjung asked, looking up at the clock. It'd taken her 𝘵𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘵𝘦𝘴 to get here with speeding. 𝘛𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘵𝘦𝘴 could mean a lot depending on condition.

 

 

 

"1512," The woman said, a little timid.

 

 

 

Hyunjung skipped the elevator and went for the stairs, glad that the woman up front was most likely new and didn't recognize her. She knew that later she'd get scolded for coming in on an off day and taking a patient, but that could come later.

 

 

 

It took her three minutes to run up the stairs, one minute to talk to the doctor outside her door and quickly explain the situation.

 

 

 

359 𝘥𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘒𝘪𝘮 𝘑𝘪𝘺𝘦𝘰𝘯.

 

 

 

One second to become utterly breathless at the sight of her, head pushed to the side on a hospital bed.

 

 

 

"Dr. Kim!" someone chirped from beside Jiyeon, and Hyunjung quickly realized that Jiyeon wasn't the only one in the room. "Thank you for coming here. I tried to tell her that you weren't working but she's on pain medication and not exactly reasonable," Dawon said.

 

 

 

Hyunjung looked back to Jiyeon, her leg was propped up and in a big, white bulky cast.

 

 

 

"𝘏𝘺𝘶𝘯𝘫𝘶𝘶𝘶𝘯𝘨," She heard from the back of the bed. Jiyeon lazily turned her head up, a dopey grin on her face. She was paler than Hyunjung remembered, smaller— 𝘑𝘪𝘺𝘦𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘺 𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘭. "You came to see me, huh."

 

 

 

"What happened?" She asked Dawon. The ER attendant had passed Hyunjung the chart before she went in, but she hadn't gotten a proper look.

 

 

 

"She was dancing, and then started to lag a little. I was trying to get her to stop, but she's stubborn. Anyways, the next thing I saw was her falling in the middle of a move. I went to check on her and saw she was passed out."

 

 

 

Hyunjung nodded, then pinched the bridge of her nose. 𝘚𝘵𝘶𝘱𝘪𝘥. "Is Sojung-ssi here?"

 

 

 

Dawon nodded. "She's in the cafeteria, trying to find something Jiyeon will eat. She's been pretty nauseous, but the other doctor put something into her IV that would help, I think."

 

 

 

Hyunjung looked over the chart to see what Jiyeon was taking already, looked over history and a more detailed version of what happened. It turned out, Jiyeon had not eaten at all and from what Dawon saw— did not drink much water.

 

 

 

"I'm going to go down to the the cafeteria," Dawon said, looking at Jiyeon and then Hyunjung. 𝘏𝘺𝘶𝘯𝘫𝘶𝘯𝘨 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬, it felt like she was being examined. She walked to Jiyeon's side. "Are you going to be okay?" Dawon asked.

 

 

 

"𝘐'𝘮 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘏𝘺𝘶𝘯𝘫𝘶𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘬𝘢𝘺," Jiyeon slurred. "But get me a cake, or ice cream.”

 

 

 

Dawon snorted, then stood. "I'll be back soon."

 

 

 

Hyunjung nodded, still distracted by Jiyeon. "How are you even awake with all of that morphine?" she mused aloud.

 

 

 

"𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶... 𝘐 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶." The words were all jumbled together, so much so that Hyunjung was having a hard time understanding. But then she caught the words 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶.

 

 

 

"I told you to take care of yourself, and then I come back to 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴."

 

 

 

"Guess you'll have to fix me," She smacked her lips, eyes fluttering open and then closing again. Some strands of her hair stuck to her face, still sweaty from before. And without thinking, Hyunjung reached over and tucked them behind the idol's ear.

 

 

 

"Can you stay awake long enough for me to do bloodwork?" Hyunjung asked, leaning over Jiyeon.

 

 

 

Jiyeon rolled her eyes slowly, her head moving as she did so with the motion. She looked ridiculous, and Hyunjung fought the brief urge to laugh despite still being upset. "I'm not a kid ."

 

 

 

"You're about as tall as one," Hyunjung commented.

 

 

 

Jiyeon scowled. " off—" 

 

 

 

Hyunjung shook her head. "Can't. 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘬𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘧."

 

 

 

When she stood up, Hyunjung heard Jiyeon snort from behind her. "So that means you do off. Ha." Then her head rolled over to the side. Hyunjung wasn't sure if that was involuntary or if Jiyeon was just too tired to hold it up. Either way, she ignored the comment and left the room.

 

 

 

She hurried through the hospital, grabbing copies of the X-rays on the way back to the room. The thought occurred to her that there were several nurses on shift available to do mundane things like bloodwork, and that she would definitely be questioned later for doing just about everything herself. 𝘐𝘵 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳.

 

 

 

When she entered the room, Jiyeon was— surprisingly— still awake. Her head was propped up on the pillows, eyes glazed over and focused on Hyunjung.

 

 

 

"Left arm?" Hyunjung asked.

 

 

 

Jiyeon grinned, her teeth bright against the fluorescent hospital lights. "𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥." Hyunjung walked up to Jiyeon, then sat on the edge of the bed, forcing Jiyeon to shift her legs over a little. "You gonna try to cuddle with me now?" Jiyeon asked, one brow cocked up. Even while high she could be smug and irritating. It was like she had a talent for it.

 

 

 

"No, I'm going to get your bloodwork to see how poorly you've been treating yourself the last year." Hyunjung brought her hand up to Jiyeon's forehead again, wiping the sweat-mingled locks to the side. "You're hot." She said. Jiyeon's skin practically radiating heat.

 

 

 

Jiyeon attempted and 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘥 at winking, instead just giving a delayed blink with her right eye shutting a half second after her left. "You're not bad yourself either."

 

 

 

"You really are stupid, you know?" Hyunjung mused, tying the elastic around Jiyeon's left arm.

 

 

 

"𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘦," Jiyeon said in a small voice.

 

 

 

Hyunjung pricked her arm and set up the first vial, noticing how Jiyeon didn't even react. Her head sunk deeper into the pillow.

 

 

 

"Not that you're going to remember this," Hyunjung started, but before she could finish Jiyeon cut her off with a loud yawn.

 

 

 

"𝘙𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵?"

 

 

 

"This, right now."

 

 

 

"Oh.'

 

 

 

Hyunjung sighed, twisting on a new vial. "Anyway, one time you mentioned me not being a surgeon. It was when you told me off. Do you at least remember that?"

 

 

 

Jiyeon nodded, a soft smile coming over her lips. "𝘞𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳."

 

 

 

"Right." Hyunjung smirked to herself. She wondered what would have happened if Jiyeon had stayed quiet; not that that was ever possible given Jiyeon's abrasive personality. But the thought of not ever having Jiyeon like this in her life made her a little sad, she could feel a brief wave of emptiness at the very idea.

 

 

 

"Well, I used to actually be a resident here. Two years ago. I was shadowing my father, looking into neurosurgery."

 

 

 

"Brain doctor?" Jiyeon asked into a yawn.

 

 

 

"Something like that. Anyways, I had a patient. Well, my father had a patient, but it was mainly me working with him. A younger girl who had a tumor." Hyunjung could hear Jiyeon's breathing getting heavier. "I knew that I— it was stupid of me to get attached, I guess. But I did. And I watched my father do the surgery perfectly, 𝘺𝘦𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘥𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦." Hyunjung slipped the needle out of Jiyeon's arm, covered it and bandaged it.

 

 

 

"I had to tell the parents." She looked up to find Jiyeon's eyes completely shut. "I knew that I couldn't do it after that. At least not then." Hyunjung swallowed in, took a full bout of breath. "I guess I was scared then. And tonight, 𝘐 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯…" She paused, looked down at Jiyeon's opened mouth. "So you need to take better care of yourself before I kill you myself." Hyunjung brushed back Jiyeon's hair again, lingered on her forehead. She could feel the sting of first tears in her eyes.

 

 

 

"𝘐 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶," she said. "𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘵." Hyunjung chuckled thinking about it. She thought that maybe she'd forget about Jiyeon, but it had been the opposite. With each day she'd thought about her more and more. She'd listened to all her songs, read news about her, even watched her past performances. 𝘑𝘪𝘺𝘦𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦.

 

 

 

 

"I... care about you." The word 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 came into her mind, crept up into and ran over her tongue; but she didn't say it aloud. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘪𝘵. Felt it deep in her bones the way you might feel heat, or cold; except it never left. It was a constant state of being, 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦; maybe it was more like chronic illness, actually. "𝘚𝘵𝘶𝘱𝘪𝘥." She wasn't sure if she was referring to Jiyeon or 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧, maybe both— but most likely to Jiyeon.

 

 

 

Hyunjung jerked up when she heard a quick knock on the door, followed by Sojung entering with a tray of food, 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘵𝘴. Hyunjung rubbed her eyes as if tired. "Hello," she greeted.

 

"Hi, Doc! Thank you so much for coming at my call. She was being difficult and— 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘰𝘬𝘢𝘺?" Sojung asked abruptly, setting the tray on a side table. "You look like you've been crying."

 

 

 

"𝘑𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘥," Hyunjung said. "And it's not a problem. I just took her bloodwork, though I haven't looked at her x-rays yet. She's going to need to stay here for a few days, though, from the look of it."

 

 

 

Sojung nodded. "The other doctor mentioned that." She walked closer so that she could stand on the other side of Jiyeon. "𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶." Sojung commented, grabbing one of Jiyeon's hands with her own.

 

 

 

"She did?"

 

 

 

Sojung looked at her, gave her a soft smile, though her eyes had an odd glint in them. Like she was up to something. Hyunjung didn't like it. "𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳." She commented.

 

 

 

"She's my patient."

 

 

 

Another smile. “𝘖𝘧 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦.” 𝘎𝘰𝘥. It was like she knew what Hyunjung was thinking. "Well, dawoni just went to the bathroom, so we'll both be here to watch her if you had other things to do. It seems like she's sleeping for the time being."

 

 

 

Hyunjung remembered that she was sitting next to Jiyeon and swiftly stood, patting down her scrubs and coat. "Yeah. Right, um, will you two be staying the night here?"

 

 

 

Sojung nodded.

 

 

 

"𝘙𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵…" Hyunjung chewed the inside of her lip. "Right. Well, I need to consult with the previous doctor anyway, and the other doctor about treating Jiyeon."

 

 

 

"𝘠𝘰𝘶'𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘥𝘰𝘤𝘵𝘰𝘳?"

 

 

 

Hyunjung blinked once, then twice. It hadn't even occurred for her to not stay here. "𝘠𝘦𝘴. 𝘖𝘧 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦."

 

 

 

Sojung smiled again. "Okay, then. Thank you. And... 𝘋𝘳. 𝘒𝘪𝘮?” she asked as Hyunjung began to open the door and exit.

 

 

 

"Yes?"

 

 

 

"Happy Valentine's day. 𝘐 𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘨𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦."

 

 

 

Hyunjung didn't respond to that, only gave an uneasy smile. Then, when she heard the door shut, she let her head fall back, a small groan escaping her lips.

 

 

 

———

 

 

 

Time in: 6:00 pm February 14th, 2023 — overnight stay.

 

Date: February 15th

 

Reason: Broken leg, fainting, anemia 

 

Symptoms: Heart rate accelerated, pale, shallow breathing, low blood pressure, fracture on left leg, nausea, vomiting.

 

 

 

Jiyeon bit her lip, shuffled into the bed and looked away, and then back at Hyunjung. A blush covered her cheeks and her chest felt too heavy.

 

 

 

"No past of drug use or addiction?" Hyunjung asked, turning her head up to look Jiyeon in the eye, her lips were pinched together in an expressionless line.

 

 

 

Jiyeon's eyes widened. "No! Of course not." She looked to her right, glancing at both Sojung and Dawon for support. Both nodded. Though it annoyed Jiyeon that Hyunjung was looking at them now, almost waiting for some sort of confirmation.

 

 

 

Hyunjung sighed, looked back down at her chart. She'd been coming in and out of Jiyeon's room for a while now, but until about an hour ago Jiyeon had been completely out of it. 𝘔𝘰𝘳𝘱𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘦; something she needed more of because her leg was starting to hurt bad .

 

 

 

"Your blood results came back. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺'𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥." It felt like the first visit, Hyunjung being mean and glaring a lot, her body frigid. Hyunjung clenched her teeth, swallowed in. Her eyes shimmered, and under the light, almost looked a little wet.  

 

 

 

"𝘋𝘢𝘸𝘰𝘯𝘪," Sojung said after too many seconds of silence, "why don't we go to the cafeteria."

 

 

 

Dawon stood up, looked over at Jiyeon and smiled. "𝘎𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘢. 𝘋𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘤, 𝘑𝘪𝘺𝘦𝘰𝘯 𝘶𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘦?"

 

 

 

Jiyeon felt a wave of nausea pass through her, felt a tension lingering above her head like an anvil about to drop. "No— no thanks."

 

 

 

Dawon nodded and then followed Sojung out of the room.

 

 

 

𝘈𝘴𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘦𝘴.

 

 

 

Hyunjung continued to look at Jiyeon, her chest moving up and down, breath coming faster. And Jiyeon had seen Hyunjung annoyed lots of times, but never completely pissed off. 𝘐𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨. She bit the inside of her cheeks and,