“Unghh”, Hae Ra groaned as she massaged her fingers against her temples. Sleepless and restless nights plagued her as that reoccurring dream started up again, ever since she was a child it haunted her weekly. She reached into her pocket to clasp tightly onto the box of sleeping pills only to find it disappointingly empty. “Damn. I’m going to need Dr. Kim to prescribe me more for tonight or I’ll be more than dead tomorrow”, Hae Ra mumbled to herself before letting out a small sigh and picking the clipboard back up again.

“Nuuuurse~” a girlish whine called from across the room.

“Coming!” Hae Ra responded, trying to sound cheerful as she shuffled towards the girl lying on the bed.

“Nurse, when can Mommy take me home?” the girl complained, wrinkling her nose. “I’m all better now!”

“I know sweetie but you have to stay here for just a bit longer until the Doctor says you’re okay.”

“But I don’t like it here! It’s so booooring”

Hae Ra chuckled as she ticked boxes down the clipboard, kids these days. The girl wasn’t seriously sick at all, just a broken arm from falling off a tree, since when did girls prefer trees over Barbies? Honestly can’t keep up with the trends these days Hae Ra thought to herself shaking her head. “Looks like it will heal nicely, no scars or anything”, Hae Ra smiled towards the girl who raised her casted left arm.

“But it’s soooo anno- WAH nurse I like your necklace! It’s so pretty and sparkly!” the girl exclaimed, her eyes rounded in excitement.

“Oh! Thank you!” Hae Ra beamed back, the crown ring necklace at .

“Did your boooyfriend give it to you?” Hae Ra flinched at the emphasis on the word boyfriend.

“Uhh no no. I don’t have a boyfriend”, Hae Ra laughed nervously, “This was given to me by a lady I once met a long time ag-”

“Nurse Yu, so here you are!” another voice called from the entrance. Hae Ra jumped up to see Dr. Kim standing in the doorway, “Dr. Kim! Are you here to do the last check-up on Yui? Well I’ll let you get right to it then”, Hae Ra spoke hurriedly as she squeezed past Dr. Kim who gave her a quizzical look.

Escaping into the hallway she leaned against the water cooler, filling and drinking several cups of water. Her head had began to throb again, sending cold shivers down her spine with each pulse.  Remembering the cold empty hallway and the woman in the hospital bed Hae Ra thought to herself Aish, I can’t let that dream get to me but she knew all too well that it wasn’t just a dream, it had happened but so long ago that it felt like but a mere dream. A gurgle from the water cooler shocked Hae Ra from her stupor as she looked up to see Dr. Kim drinking a cup of water of his own. “Hey Hae Ra, what’s been up with you lately?” Dr. Kim asked worriedly, “you don’t seem all there.”   

“Oh it’s just the usual, you know… that dream again”

“Ahhh”, Dr. Kim gave a knowing nod, “have you been taking those sleeping pills I prescribed you?”

“Yes, they seemed to be working but I’ve actually finished the box now...”, Hae Ra answered back, drawing the empty box from her pocket as evidence.

“I see. Well drop by my office tonight and I’ll prescribe you another dose.”

“Thankyo-“ Hae Ra began but was suddenly cut off by the doctor.

“But there’s something else bothering you isn’t there? It’s to do with the dreams but not the dreams themselves right?” Dr Kim quizzed, moving his head around to look at Hae Ra from different angles as she sighed. That Dr. Kim was a wise one.

“To be honest, I don’t even know myself”, Hae Ra responded flatly.

“Maybe you need a change of scenery?”

“Maybe…”

“Well you should consider it”, Dr. Kim offered, “you’ve worked here five years and haven’t taken a single break or leave. You deserve one Hae Ra.” He patted her affectionately on the back, she was one of his best nurses, always careful and very reliable. She smiled as he moved away to leave, “I have to go check-up on the kids in Room 210 now. Don’t forget to drop by before you leave! Aish these kids , can’t stop getting themselves hurt huh? Why do we even bother to work here?” Dr. Kim joked as he turned back to grin at Hae Ra who laughed in unison but deep down inside she struggled to find the answer to such a question. Hae Ra knew she didn’t become a nurse because she loved kids or felt compelled to help others, don’t get me wrong Hae Ra thought,it’s a good job that I do and helping others does give me a sense of goodness but… she knew the real reason, it was because of that woman in her dream, the one she had met so long ago. It was no coincidence that Hae Ra sought out the same hospital and even the same department, the Women’s and Children’s building, where she had met that woman, to work at. 

Hae Ra wandered over to the gleaming white board in the Nurse's lounge taking note of her future working shifts for that week. Another full week at the hospital, day and night shifts. Hae Ra sighed, what's new these days? She flopped onto the couch, grabbing one of the magazines off the coffee table and lazily flicked through the colorful pages of dazzling models posing in paradise and smiling stars with their twinkling eyes. Tschk, don't they live the good life, doing whatever they want with all that cash? Hae Ra was in a bitter mood now, everything was getting on her nerves, her dreams, her job, her life, even herself.‏

Chucking the magazine roughly to the side Hae Ra contemplated her future, "What to do? What to do?" sighing for the nth time she mumbled, "maybe I should take a break like Dr Kim suggested... Just a short one... One so I can figure out what to do with this so called life of mine."

A loud urgent beep from her pager shocked Hae Ra out of her depression, causing her to sit up suddenly and whack her knee into the coffee table. ! Cursing and kicking the table in revenge she grabbed her pager, reading the message:
 
Code White. Room: 214
 
Code white?! Hae Ra jumped up immediately, managing to whack the same knee on the same coffee table again. She cursed even louder this time, not at the coffee table but at herself, "Aish! How can I sit here being so depressed? There are lives that need to be saved, oh god..." ignoring the increasingly throbbing pain in her knee she gathered her thoughts and pushed them to the furthest corner of her brain, a break can wait, and ran to Room 214, the last room at the end of the corridor.
 
Code white my arse. Hae Ra kicked the door unnecessarily hard on her way out of Room 214. The other nurses were cluttered around the desk, Hae Ra was pretty sure their heads super glued to each other by the looks of it, "WAH! See! What did I tell you Seo-In? Isn't he just adorable?!"

"More than adorable! He has this manly look about him too!"

"Aigoo, he's going to grow up to be such a good-looking guy!"

"Psh! Ya, Yura! Aren't you a bit much? You're like an ahjumma compared to him!"

"Ehh?! What did you say?!..."
 
Hae Ra scoffed at their gossiping, Geez the kid’s not that great. Who does he think he is anyway? Coming into the hospital with a Code White? Even a broken arm is more of an emergency than him. Annoyed, she pushed past the nurses to grab the file Dr Kim asked her to find. Just as she was about to leave the desk she felt a hand clutch onto her wrist suddenly. Looking up she saw one of the nurses, Yura staring at her with wide eyes, "Hae Ra-sshi! You were in his room right? What is he like? Isn't he cute? Isn't his blonde hair such a perfect shade?"

"Eh? I-I-I don't know... He didn't talk... I guess if you like that kind of blonde..." she answered dully to the excited faces. Hae Ra freed her wrist from Yura's grip, struggling and failing to hide her increasing annoyance as she made her way back to Room 214. She could hear their envious whispers behind her back, "Gosh why is she so grumpy today?"

"Tsk! She should feel honored! Being the nurse to such a famous rising star! And a cute one at that!"

"Well it's no surprise. We all know she's Dr Kim's favorite, always has been and always will be."

"Aish! So lucky! Think I should make up some excuse to get in there?"

"…Maybe she's moody because it's her time of the mon-"

Cutting off Yura, Hae Ra slammed shut the door to Room 214. Loudly.
 
The 3 occupants of Room 214 jumped on the spot at the sound of the slamming door. Realizing her fault, Hae Ra swiftly apologized, bowing and stuffing the files into Dr Kim's hands. She almost broke into a run as she went over to the drip stand, pretending to busy herself with the monitor. Dr Kim and the short smiling man chuckled nervously, hoping to break the tension that was thick in the air.
 

As Dr Kim flipped through the file humming to himself and the short smiling man twiddled his thumbs nervously, Hae Ra shot a quick glance at the patient to her side. The blonde boy was lying in bed; a look of slight concentration etched into his boyish face as his fingers swiftly and fluidly moved about in practiced motions. Holding two needles nimbly in his fingers, he continued knitting the red scarf in his lap. What is this kid? Since when did boys like knitting?! I seriously can't keep up with the trends these days... Shaking her head, Hae Ra realized her glance had turned into a stare as she heard, "Go on, and keep staring. I won't charge you for it."

Hae Ra squeaked in surprise and ran to Dr Kim's side, quickly picking up the file he just put down to hide her burning face. Crap that was so embarrassing! The short smiling man looked up from his fingers in slight amusement as Dr Kim tried to cover his laugh with a cough. Well isn't he in such a chuckling mood today? Hae Ra glared at him from over the top of the file.

"Heh, your face is redder than this scarf," the blonde smirked as he put down his knitting, "so Doc, since you’ve finished all your tests, can you give me some meds so I can leave now? I have a concert to do tomorrow."

Tsk straightforward kid much? Hae Ra listened as she scanned the file, absorbing the boy's information. So his name was Shin Dongho, 17 years old, born in... Blah blah blah. It was all facts that one could easily find about any famous singer using a few key words and the always handy dandy Google but she continued to read anyway; submitted into Pediatric Ward at 4:34 PM, unconscious at the scene, fainted during solo concert rehearsal, blood pressure of...blah blah blah.So the kid really was a singer... He must be pretty famous to be having his own concert. 

"Well Dongho, you see, in your case, it's not as easy as diagnosing an illness and prescribing you specific medication to treat you," Dr Kim explained in a stately manner, rubbing his chin.

"Wh-wh-what do you mean Doctor? Is it very serious?" the short man stammered, the smile disappeared from his face, replaced with a worrisome frown.

"Manager Lee, Dongho's case is a bit more difficult than we first expected," Dr Kim sighed deeply before continuing, "When a baby is born prematurely, sometimes its organs or other bodily parts have not had the chance to develop fully or properly before they enter the outside world. Being born prematurely, we believe that Dongho's pancreas did not get a chance to develop to its fullest. We are not sure what the trigger was, maybe the massive increase in stress levels since his debut as a singer or the natural growth spurts he’s experienced as he becomes an adult, but he has have developed a illness which seems to be similar to that of Type 1 Diabetes…" So that's what was wrong with him...definitely more of an emergency than a broken arm, Hae Ra winced feeling guilty.

The room was silent, the thick tenseness returning to the air. Deciding it was finally safe to come out from behind the file, Hae Ra studied the expression of the other 3 males in the room. Dr Kim shifted awkwardly on his feet at the silence. He was always terrible at giving out bad news. The short not-currently-smiling guy, Manager Lee looked extremely worried and panicked as his eyes flickered back and forth from Dr Kim to the blonde boy. Was he going to cry? Poor guy. Hae Ra pitied him but her attention was solely on the blonde boy now. Dongho's face was a mix of confusion and annoyance, his youthful features scrunched up into a frown, eyebrows almost touching, "...and what exactly does that mean Doc? Can I still do the concert tomor-"

"Can it be cured?!" Manager Lee butted in, desperate for a positive reply, he clutched his hands together in what looked like a prayerful position. Hae Ra felt her eyes water slightly, wow he must really care for Dongho. She was never good at giving put bad news either. Dongho shot his manager an angry look for cutting him off before turning to face Dr Kim again who rubbed his eyes before responding, "since your pancreas has not fully developed, we cannot be sure that your case is definitely Type 1 Diabetes therefore it could develop into something worse as the rest of your body continues to fully develops but your pancreas doesn't. I suggest performing a pancreas transplant as soon as possible to prevent any future implications. Hae Ra, can you please get the necessary paper work and explain the details of the surgery to Dongho and Manager Lee.”

“Yes, yes, of course,” Hae Ra answered slightly surprised, wow a transplant… that’s quite intense… but she knew more than to doubt Dr Kim’s opinion. The man was a doctor after all. Hae Ra moved to find the appropriate paper work from the desk outside but was stopped by a clear command.

“Wait.”

She turned around to see Dongho staring intently at her, those soft chocolate eyes hardening. “Nurse, wait.”

“Umm. Yes?”

“… If I have to have this surgery, I need a parent’s signature right?”

“Well, yes considering you are still a minor the hospital requires permission on behalf of a parent or guardian before the surgery is able to take place,” Hae Ra raised her brow while explaining.

“Then no.”

“No? I’m sorry..?” Hae Ra and Dr Kim exchanged glances of surprise. Manager Lee on the other hand just bowed his head in what seemed like agreement. What the hell…

“I said no,” Dongho stated flatly turning back to continue knitting his red scarf, “If it means I need a parent to sign then I’m not having that surgery.”

Taken aback, Dr Kim started, “But Dongho! It’s the best option, sure there are risks associated with surgery but the risk of not having the surgery is far greater!”

“He’s right though,” Hae Ra and Dr Kim swivelled to face Manager Lee who tried to give them a brave smile, “there’s no way we can do the surgery if we need a guardian’s signature…”

“But-but-“

“Why?” Hae Ra asked quickly, her whisper cutting off Dr Kim. She returned Dongho’s intense stare only to be answered with a curt, “that’s none of your business, Nurse.” Dongho ignored Hae Ra’s flinch and continued knitting, disregarding everyone in the room.  

…This kid! Dr Kim and I are trying to help him and he answers back so rudely? Who cares if he doesn’t want surgery, that’s his problem.

Hae Ra her heel ready to leave the room, more annoyed than ever before until she felt a warm hand hold her back gently. “Nurse…,” Manager Lee pleaded with a smile, “Dongho… he’s always like that…” Hae Ra felt her insides turn to mush, this man has the sweetest smile…dammit. She was such a er for eye smiles. Hae Ra muttered something along the lines of “fine” as she detached herself from Manager Lee and took her place next to Dr Kim, reburying her face in the files.

Dr Kim will know what to make of this situation… I hope.The said man, still speechless, ran his fingers through his hair, “well the way I look at it, there’s only one other option.” Manager Lee beamed looking hopeful, geez that man gets way too happy too easily… while Dongho paused his knitting, interested in what was to come. “Considering your condition and the fact that your pancreas is quite stable at the moment, surgery could, even though it’s not medically advised, could wait until you turn 18 and become a legal adult. That way you don’t need a parent’s signature.”

That man is a genius! Hae Ra rescanned the file that still covered her face. His 18^th birthday... is 4 months away, Hae Ra approximated, this could work… “But what do we do before he turns 18?” Hae Ra thought out loud, unaware that she had taken the file away from her face. She saw Dongho give her a quick glance before all attention was on Dr Kim again, “during those 4 months, Dongho will still need regular checkups to monitor his pancreas’ activity. He’ll also need to learn to monitor his blood sugar levels and manage that illness of his similar to Type 1 Diabetes using insulin therapy.”

“I don’t have time to learn all that,” Dongho immediately rejected (somewhere behind that file again Hae Ra scowled, this kid!), “the concert’s tomorrow.”  

Manager Lee sighed heavily; the smile disappeared from his face, only to be replaced by an even bigger one, “is it possible for us to… hire someone to do all that? Like… a nurse?” Hae Ra froze behind her file as Dr Kim glanced towards her agreeing, “…I suppose it would work. Nurses do have knowledge of how to perform therapies… and they would be able to perform regular checkups and tests themselves.”

“Then we’ll hire a nurse,” stated Dongho strongly with a note of finality that no one contradicted, Manager Lee confirming with a nod as Dongho continued, “We’ll hire her.”

…oh god.

Hae Ra slowly lowered the file from her face, dreading what she saw before her. Ughhh, you’ve got to be kidding me right!? Before her she saw a smiling and way too happy Manager Lee, a satisfied Dr Kim scratching the back of his head and a cute yet manly blonde 17 year old boy pointing a knitting needle straight at her face. 

~~~~~~~~~~~

A/N: First chapter up finally! So 3 things!:

1) GAH I know this chapter was totally way overdue, and I'm extremely sorry! I'd love to say I had some pitifully acceptable excuse like exams or no computer or even the fact that I'm a slow writer (which I am) but the most likely reason is because I'm a lazy procrastinator... but I swear I'll try harder for future chapters! >.<" so sorry!

2) Well I changed 2 things. One being the title of the fic, nothing major, you probably can't even tell the difference :P and the second thing being I cut the character of Jiyeon mainly because since this is my first fic, I don't want it to be unnecessarily long and since Jiyeon's character was only there to create tension and a further complication... well she wasn't actually that relevant to the main plot itself so I decided to not have her there anymore... I am planning on having her appear later on in one of the chapters though so stay tuned Jiyeon fans? :)

3) If you are reading this then, thankyou so much!!! /90degreebow /massivebearhugs Being my first fic and all, I'm not sure what my stories writing skills are like probably pretty crap but nonetheless, comments, constructive critiscism, random shiet or whatever is always welcome :D

So thanks again for reading~!<3 If you enjoyed this then stayed tuned for the next chapter which will be up in hopefully a week or so~

P.S. are my chapters too long? Is updating only once a week not fast enough? :/ let me know guys~