Chapter 32: The Doctor

 

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“Mr. Kim”

Heechul looked up from the laptop and saw a nurse standing in the doorway; he saw her fluster when he looked at her but he ignored it.

“Deh?”

“Dr. Nam called for you; she's in room 514”

Heechul closed the laptop and got out of the chair, he went out of the doctor's office and headed for the elevator, pressing the button for the 5th floor of the hospital. Luckily, he was alone for the whole ride; when he reached the 5th floor, he stepped out of the elvator and walked down the fairly quiet halls until such time he reached the room.

He gave it a knock and the door opened, a nurse seemed surprise to see him. He heard footsteps from the inside and the door opened wider revealing Youngmi.

“Can you please give us some time alone, nurse Hwan?”

the nurse bowed her head then exited the room while Heechul entered;

“What did you call me for? You know how I hate hospital rooms”

He frowned, sticking his hands in his back pockets. Youngmi sighed and motioned her head to the side, he turned his head and was shocked to see Hye Rin lying down, an oxygen mask over her nose and mouth, her right arm was in a cast, she had a neck brace, her right leg was also in a cast, she had a bandage around her head and her face was bruised.

“She took sleeping pills, alcohol was also in her system and she went for a drive... Heechul, I think she's becoming suicidal”

Heechul swallowed hard; he didn't know what to say. Youngmi talked to the side of her bed where there was also a heart monitor beeping.

“Did... you call her parents?”

He asked, he still stood where he was. He never moved from that spot.

“Deh, but the phones weren't answering, they're still trying; she has to undergo surgery in two days, we have to fix those broken ribs”

Youngmi stuck her hands inside her lab coat's pockets; she adjusted the flow on the dextrose and looked down at the unconscious patient.

“She needs a doctor, doesn't she?”

He asked, he finally sat down on the bench on the side of the room. Youngmi closed her eyes for a moment and breathed in some air before opening them and turned to him

“I'll be her doctor”

Heechul's face turned sour in disbelief

“What?”

Youngmi walked over to him and sat down and smiled softly at him

“Don't worry, I'll charge her... she needs a doctor and look on the bright side, I'd have to cancel that trip to Belgium”

“Aish!”

Heechul leaned his back on the wall with a displeased look

“This is your chance to go there! You can't just cancel it, just go and look for a substitute doctor for her!”

she flicked his forehead making him put a hand over it and rub it after he winced; Youngmi's brows narrowed

“I can go to Belgium next time, you know I can't deny a patient”

“Yeah, yeah every life counts, I get it, sheesh!"

Youngmi sighed and nodded her head sideways at his childish attitude.

-

Leeteuk, Shindong, Eunhyuk, Ryeowook and Kyuhyun were sprawled in the living room, watching some anime that Eunhyuk had brought home; it was quite interesting so the five of them were quite into it and even failed to hear the door open then close. Heechul walked in and found his hyung and donsaengs, all of them were focused on the television.

He glanced at the screen of the T.V.; One Piece was playing and the DVD was on. He let out a sigh and Leeteuk took notice of him.

“Oh, you're home? How was it?”

Leeteuk asked but still didn't take his eyes off of the screen; Heechul rubbed the back of his neck and bent it side to side.

“Hye Rin's in the hospital, hyung”

Everyone turned to him; well that got their attention.

“She got into a car accident and Youngmi's her doctor, she's canceling the trip to Belgium too! AISH!”

Heechul taps Shindong's shoulder to the side and Shindong scoots to make space for him to sit down on; Eunhyuk placed the bowl of popcorn on the coffee table

“Bwo? Youngmi-noona's her doctor?”

He said, quite in disbelief as the rest especially Leeteuk. He knew about Hyunjung and Hye Rin teaming up and even witnessed how Youngmi had so coldly spoken to her sister. He couldn't imagine if it was Hye Rin.

“Wait, she's canceling her trip to Belgium?”

Shindong questioned; Eunhyuk paused the video on TV. Heechul puffed out a sigh, he wasn't pleased for what she have decided to do at all! He was planning on asking her to buy some white chocolates from there for him.

“Teukie-hyung! Talk to her!”

Heechul pleaded his hyung, a childish pout on his face. Leeteuk's eyes widened.

“Bwo? Aniyo! She's your fiancee, you talk to her!”

Heechul shot up to his feet

“AISH! That girl never listens to me!”

he complains then stomps to his room, Kyuhyun grabs the remote presses play and everyone immediately goes back to watching.

-

Youngmi puffed out a tired breath as she set her bag down on the couch and slumped down; her umma appeared from the stairs.

“You got home late, where have you been?”

The lady asked; Youngmi let out a yawn and looked at the clock, it was already 10:30 in the evening. Thanks to Hye Rin she had to stay behind in the hospital's conference room to have a video conference with the hospital surgeon who had gone to Belgium.

Her umma took a seat on the single sofa, pulling her sweater closer to her.

“I had to stay late at the hospital, there was an emergency”

“An emergency?”

Youngmi adjusted herself to sit properly, she looked at the lady. Unknowingly, Hyunjung was hiding behind the wall in the kitchen, listening to their conversation.

“Heechul's ex-girlfriend, Hye Rin, she was in a car accident”

a gasp escaped the lady's lips, she made the sign of the cross and clasped both over her hands over . Youngmi continued to explain the conditions of the patient, Hyunjung clasped a hand over aswell.

“She was under a couple of dosage of sleeping pills and I think she intended to crash her car, she was also drunk...”

“Oh dear Lord, what has come to the mind of that girl?”

Mrs. Nam couldn't believe what she has heard. Youngmi clasped her hands together and let out a sigh.

“She needs to get surgery in 2 days, two of her ribs are broken and one might poke her heart but...”

She grabbed her mother's hand and looked at her with pleading eyes

“Umma, there's no surgeon available... she needs the operation in two days and I can only do so much alone as an Emergency doctor and Orthopedic Surgeon... I don't even know why I took two of those”

(SIDENOTE: An Emergency Doctor is a doctor that handles trauma and emergency conditions in the emergency room and are available at all times, while an Orthopedic Surgeon is a doctor who is consulted with bone related illnesses including broken bones, etc. Youngmi trained for these two specialties; in real life it takes a long time)

she buried her face in her hands; her umma smiled a little and placed a hand on her shoulder.

“I'll call Dr. Yang, he's a surgeon at another hospital but I'll ask him as a favor”

Youngmi looked up and closed her eyes, she breathed in deeply

“I don't even know why I'm stressing about this...”

she groaned, the lady smiled

“Every life counts, Youngmi... it's your duty to help people no matter who or what they've done to you”

-

The following day.

Heechul had just wrapped his lower region with a towel when the door burst open making him jump back and shout, it was Siwon. Heechul's eyes widened in rage

“Aish, this kid!”

he then grabbed the plastic shower brush that hung on the side and hit Siwon's forehead with it sending him back outside of the bathroom. Siwon rubbed the sore spot while Heechul got out.

“That hurt hyung! I was just gonna ask you something”

Heechul ruffled his wet hair

“Couldn't you wait until I was in my room and got dressed?! Sheesh!”

Siwon continued to rub the sore spot.

“What did you want to ask me anyway? It better be important!”

“It is! I heard Hye Rin-ssi is in the hospital, have you visited her?”

Heechul eyed him up in down, a glistening sparkle of annoyance; he scoffed to the side before walking off but Siwon continued to tail behind him

“Hyung, no matter what you and her were -”

“I visited her! My fiancee's her doctor for pete sake now let me get dressed!”

Heechul yelled before stomping off inside his room and slamming the door; Siwon stands there for awhile and Donghae submerges from his room after hearing Heechul yell, he sees Siwon and let's out a sigh. After some time, Siwon walks closer to the door, raises his hand and knocks

“Hyung, are you okay? You're not mad, right? Hyung, did you have a bad morning, is it because I walked into the bathroom? I didn't mean to!”

Donghae walked over to him and grabs him by the arms and begins to push him away from Heechul's door;

“Let's go, let's go, hyung's not feeling well”

Donghae says; just as the two were about to disappear, Yesung's door flew open and he came out

“WHAT?! WHAT?! What happened? Is hyung upset again?”

He ran to Heechul's door and opened it without thinking twice; Donghae and Siwon's eyes widen

“Hyung, who's botheri -”

Heechul then screamed

PAK!

Yesung stumbled back and stuffed cow toy falls on the ground, Heechul's steps out holding the towel angrily with his hand.

“AISH! What's wrong with you guys! Damn it! I was getting dressed!”

he stomps back inside his room and slams the door once again, this time he made sure to lock it. Yesung shook his head and picked up the doll before walking to Siwon and threw it at him. Siwon catches the doll and his eyes widened

“What did I do?”

he asks clueless, Donghae sighs and continues to push him while Yesung goes back to his room.

-

Youngmi was at the hospital today, she has been less bothered by the flashes of camera around her; she has learned from Heechul to ignore and act as if she doesn't see them, he said that the more she minds them and tells them to stop, the more that they would bother so she followed his advice. He is a hallyu star after all and knows more about these things.

She was going to meet with Dr. Yang today so she couldn't meet with Heechul for lunch, she wore he sounded pissed when he heard that she couldn't make it. In fact, he hasn't been so happy about her canceling the trip to Belgium which she still couldn't understand why.

Youngmi entered her office and set her bag down before putting on her lab coat and grabbed her stethoscope. The day wasn't as sunny as it was yesterday, it was pouring with rain; as soon as she stepped out of her office, a nurse came to her with Hye Rin's board record and also informed her that Dr. Yang was already in the meeting room.

“Kamsahamnida... uhm, by the way, have you contacted Ms. Ban's parents?”

“Unfortunately no, doctor... Ms. Ban's parents have passed away already, she lives alone”

Youngmi breathed out some air and nodded her head

“Make sure someone watches over Ms. Ban Hye Rin, inform me if ever she wakes up and please do contact her relatives, any relative or friends... just someone that could take care of her”

the nurse smiled and nodded her head

“Yes Dr. Nam”

Then she went away; Youngmi walked down the hall, making her way to the meeting room whilst checking the stats. She doesn't even know why she wants to help this girl so much after all that has happened; she knew it was more than just saving a life... maybe it was also because she hoped Hye Rin would owe her and leave her and Heechul be.

She finally reached the meeting room and opened the door, inside there was a secretary's table and another set of doors that led to the main meeting room; Youngmi smiled at the elder lady behind the desk and gave a small bow before proceeding to the main room. She opened the doors and entered where two people -one was an elder and the other looked the same as her age- in suits were inside.

“Good morning, you must be Dr. Yang Jung-oh?”

she shook the elder doctor's hand and the elder man nodded;

“You must be Dr. Nam Youngmi, former Dr. Nam Hwayoung's daughter?”

Youngmi smiled and nodded her head; the elder man then introduced whom he had tagged along, the younger man extended his hand out to Youngmi who shook it

“Dr. Yoon Kunwoo, it's very nice to meet you Dr. Nam”

the two of them were surgeons, Dr. Yoon was an Anesthesiologist, someone responsible for administering anesthesia and helped with arising complications related to anesthesia inside the surgery room, him and Dr. Yang have been working ever since he was still training.

They talked a lot about Hye Rin's condition, Youngmi showed the doctors the X-Ray's and the patient's stats and after some more talks and a visit at Hye Rin's room, they returned to the meeting room where Dr. Yang had relayed his plans of operating Hye Rin. He said that the bones wouldn't self heal themselves and to make sure they stay intact, he needed to insert small metal rods to hold the bones in place, he also said that he would need to perform bone-graft.

“Okay, but there's one problem Dr. Yang”

Youngmi stated, the elder doctor clasped his hands together and listened to her, Youngmi looked at him then at Kunwoo and then back to him;

“Her parents have passed away and we've found out that she lives alone so... there's no one to make the decision plus she's gonna need to be in a coma until after surgery”

Kunwoo then asked

“Doesn't she have relatives? She needs the surgery after tomorrow”

Youngmi nodded her head in understanding

“I will call you if ever anything comes up, I will see you in a day”

Youngmi stood up and bowed politely as they did so too and made their goodbyes. Outside the conference room, Kunwoo had let Dr. Yang go on ahead, he had decided to walk with Youngmi.

“You're not going with Dr. Yang?”

Youngmi asked. Kunwoo smiled and nodded his head sideways.

“Dr. Yang has an appointment elsewhere, aren't you going out to eat?”

Youngmi nodded her head sideways and smiled as she turned to the doctor

“Are you asking me out to lunch?”

Kunwoo chuckled, he looked at his watch and turned back to Younmgi

“Technically, it's not lunch Dr. Nam... it's past lunch time, it's already 1:58”

She didn't even notice that; she puffed out a sigh and took out her phone from her coat's pocket. There was a message from Heechul.

Haera called; we need to see her urgently. I'm picking you up at 2:30, no buts.

- Heechul

Even his texts didn't sound happy. Youngmi turned back to Kunwoo

“I'm sorry Dr. Yoon but my fiance is picking me up”

“Oh, you're getting married?”

He seemed surprised and even so, Youngmi. She was pretty sure almost everyone knew but apparently, Dr. Yoon wasn't watching television often.

“Yes, actually... I was pretty sure the whole world knew”

Youngmi stifled a small chuckle and Kunwoo smiled

“Well, not me... you look too young to get married Dr. Nam; so, who's the lucky guy?”

Youngmi was quietly smiling for a moment then answered

“Heechul... Kim Heechul of Super Junior”

“Wow, well then I congratulate you”

he held out his hand and Youngmi shook it. Then out of nowhere, a voice came

“Youngmi”

Youngmi turned her head and saw Heechul walking towards them. Some nurses stared at him, Youngmi had a slight surprised look plastered on her face, Heechul was blankly staring at her and when he reached them, he put on a smile. A smile that held a dark aura behind it.

“Heechul, I thought you were picking me up at 2:30?”

Youngmi swore she saw his eye twitch a bit

“I couldn't wait darling, who's your friend?”

He turned to Dr. Yoon

“Oh, uh, Heechul this is Dr. Yoon Kunwoo, he's going to be assisting Dr. Yang in Hye Rin's operation”

The doctor held out his hand which Heechul shook; there was a bit of a tension in the air. Heechul put an arm around Youngmi's shoulders and turned to her

“Ah, jagiya we have to go now... we wouldn't want to keep the wedding planner waiting”

Youngmi was face palming herself mentally

“Ah yes, I'll see you in a day Dr. Yoon”

Youngmi smiled at him, Heechul turned to him with a big smile on his face

“It was nice meeting you Dr. Yoon, let's go?”

Youngmi nodded her head and they both walked towards Youngmi's office; upon reaching Youngmi's office, Heechul turned to her with a frown

“You looked like you were enjoying talking with that guy”

he stated then crossed his arms over his chest while Youngmi took off her lab coat and stethoscope then set it down on her table.

“Are you jealous?”

she almost laughed; Heechul scoffed to the side

“Tch, just get your things already!”

He headed for the door, Youngmi chuckled and took her bag before following him out of the door.