Tiffany's brows furrowed as she glanced down at her pager. She was about to change out of her scrubs since her shift had already ended and she wasn't on call today so she couldn't figure out why she's being paged. Dr. Shon's name flashed on the screen as the sender, which got her even more confused. 

Dr. Shon?

Walking briskly through the hospital corridors, Tiffany's mind raced with possibilities. Did something urgent come up? Was there a complicated case requiring her expertise? A consult?

Pushing the door open to the room she was paged at, Tiffany raised an eyebrow as she took in the scene before her. Sunny, two other residents, Dr. Shon and Dr. Kang, and two firefighters, Yuri and Sooyoung, were all gathered around the hospital bed. 

It hasn't sinked in to her who the patient was until she saw Captain Taeyeon, lying on the bed, looking at her with eyes Tiffany couldn't read.

Tiffany's gaze remained fixed on Taeyeon, taking in every detail of the firefighter's appearance. Despite the hospital setting and the fire captain literally sitting on the hospital bed, Tiffany couldn't figure out how Captain Kim still managed to exude strength and control.

The captain's short blonde hair was slightly tousled, a few strands falling gracefully over her forehead. It was a stark contrast to the soot and grime Tiffany had seen earlier, a reminder of the woman who had battled a raging fire.

Tiffany couldn't help but notice the small smudges of soot that still clung to Taeyeon's cheeks and nose, which makes her want to smile a little. Fire captain isn't so uptight all the time, after all.

She would've asked why she was paged in the room but her heart couldn't seem to stop racing as she found herself locked in a wordless exchange of gazes with the captain. 

For a moment that felt like an eternity, they simply stared at each other, their eyes locked in a silent exchange. It was as if the world had faded away, leaving only the two of them in that small hospital room.

In that moment, Tiffany couldn't help but reflect on the strange worry she had over the firefighter. They had argued vehemently on more than one occasion, their conflicting approaches to emergency situations causing friction. And yet, when Tiffany had seen her in such a vulnerable state, her heart had clenched with worry.

Why is that?

Tiffany, finally breaking their eye contact, cleared , her cheeks tinged with a faint blush as she turned to the other people in the room, "Uh, I got paged?"

Sunny stepped forward, enjoying her friends' awkwardness and staring contest with the fire captain. "Dr. Hwang, thank you for coming. This is a bit of an unusual situation."

Tiffany's gaze flickered between the people in the room, her brows furrowing deeper. "Is there a medical emergency?

"There isn't. But---"

"Dr. Shon?" Tiffany turned to the resident who paged her.

Wendy took a tiny step forward, her head hung low. Dr. Hwang is known to be a really friendly and warm doctor and she hasn't really seen the doctor get angry. She really does not want to be the first one to be in the attending doctor's bad side. She spoke up hesitantly, "Well, we thought... I mean, there were rumors..."

Sunny jumped in, getting impatient at the resident's explanation. "Dr. Shon thought that you and Captain Taeyeon might be in a relationship, and she paged you thinking you should be here for emotional support."

Tiffany's eyes widened in surprise, her cheeks flushing as embarrassment flooded through her.

This is crazy.

Tiffany cast a silent glare at Sunny. She had hoped to avoid discussing the rumors, especially in front of Taeyeon. However, it seemed that Sunny had other plans, as she saw the mischievous grin on her friend's face.

"I'm really sorry for the confusion, Dr. Hwang." Wendy bowed her head low but Tiffany waved off the apology with a sigh.

"That's alright, Dr. Shon. Rumors can be quite persistent, it seems."

As the tension in the room dissipated, Tiffany noticed the two other firefighters in the room exchanging glances. It became evident that they were aware of the rumors too, and they seemed to find the situation rather amusing.

Sunny seized the opportunity to introduce Tiffany to the two with a mischievous glint in her eye. "Well, now that we've got that sorted out, let's make some proper introductions. I'm gonna turn off my doctor mode for now. Tiffany, this is Yuri and Sooyoung, the two troublemakers of Seoul Central Fire."

"Yah, Sunny-ah, we're the most behaved firefighters. We're not the one in the hospital bed right now," quipped Yuri.

Tiffany offered warm smiles and nods as she acknowledged the two firefighter. "It's a pleasure to meet both of you."

Yuri, the first to step forward, couldn't help but tease their captain further as she shook hands with Tiffany. "You didn't tell us you had such a charming wife, Captain."

Sooyoung chimed in with a fake hurt look on her face, "Yeah, I can't believe you've been keeping her a secret from us, Cap." Taeyeon only rolled her eyes at her teammates. She was shaking her head in mock exasperation, clearly accustomed to her team's antics.

Tiffany couldn't help but chuckle at the playfulness of the two despite her being also the target of the teasing.

Sunny, always one to join in on the fun, secretly winked at Tiffany. "Now, Dr. Hwang, would you like to check on Captain Taeyeon? Just to make sure everything's in order."

Tiffany raised an eyebrow at Sunny's insistence, fully aware that the resident had already examined Taeyeon. "I believe Dr. Shon has already done that."

Sunny grinned mischievously. "Oh, I'm sure she has, but we just want to make sure you get the full experience of being your wife's doctor."

Tiffany couldn't help but scoff at Sunny's teasing. 

"I'm sure Captain Kim wouldn't want to be disturbed again by---"

"Oh, I don't mind."

Tiffany blinked, her whole body turning to face the source of the voice: the fire captain who has now a twinkle in her eyes.

What now?

Yuri leaned in with a sly grin. "Sorry, Dr. Hwang, our captain can be quite the handful."

Tiffany arched an eyebrow. Now, that sounded like a challenge and she is not one to back out on a challenge. "Oh, I'm not easily intimidated, Yuri."

"That's what we like to hear!"

Sooyoung, not one to miss out on the fun, added, "Just so you know, Captain Taeyeon here is known for being stubborn."

"And she's not used to following doctor's orders, so good luck with that."

"Even actually the chief's orders. Which got her here in hospital in the first place." Yuri added, making Sooyoung laugh even more as they high-fived. 

"Good luck, Doc. You'll need the patience of a saint."

The firefighters' teasing had Tiffany laughing, especially seeing Taeyeon almost pouting on her place. Now that's the sight she didn't think she'd ever see.  

Sunny, with a grin that bordered on mischievous, added her own comment. "Don't worry, Fany, we're just having a bit of fun. Taeyeon's actually an excellent patient." She then gestured for the door, urging the residents and other firefighters to leave the room "Well, Doctor. I'll leave Captain Kim in your capable hands." 

Tiffany couldn't help but shake her head as she heard the sound of their laughter as they exit the room.

Tiffany's gaze flickered to the blonde fire captain in the hospital bed, ready to carry out a thorough but unnecessary examination. The playful atmosphere in the room was now gone as the others left and Tiffany was left unsure of what to say. Her mind raced to come up with something, anything, to break the ice.

"Uh," Tiffany began, her voice soft and cautious. "How are you feeling?"

Nice, very doctor-ly, Tiffany. She berated herself.

Taeyeon looked a bit surprised by the question, as if she hadn't expected Tiffany to address her. She cleared , her voice a little raspy as she replied, "Like I've been through a fire."

"Well, that is accurate." Tiffany managed a small smile, despite th