SEVEN MONTHS LATER

I looked at my watch and gasped. Oh my, Choa surely would get mad at me. I ran through the hospital's main front door passed the receptionist and went straight to the cafe where Choa was standing with her hands on her hips, looking mad as ever, at the entrance of the cafe.

"Why are you so late? Do you know how long I've been waiting for you?" She hissed. She wasn't smiling but I knew she wasn't that angry actually.

I flashed her my foolish smile. "Hee, sorry, sorry. I won't do it again." Choa dropped her hands and smiled. "Oh, where is Way?" I asked when I realized her other half wasn't here with her.

"Oh, have you heard that there will be two new residents will be joining us later today?" Choa asked and I nodded. "Well, apparently, one of the new residents is her friend so, she went to meet her." She explained.

"Ah, really? So, that means the new resident is your friend too? Then, why is you're here? Shouldn't you be joining your sister to meet your friend?" 

Choa shook her head. "Not really. You knew Way, she made friends too frequent that I doubt she could remember all their names. This friend of her was someone she met during the trip back then." 

I nodded and made an O with my mouth. "Yahh, have you had your breakfast yet? I am hungry, I ran all the way here. Let's eat." I tugged Choa's hand.

"Okay, okay." We walked into the cafe and got into the food line. "It was your fault anyway. If you got ready earlier, you don't have to run." She picked up a food tray. "Why are you so late anyway? You didn't answer me earlier."

We placed the food into the tray and went over to get the fruits. "You know, last night I misplaced that thing. Almost lost my mind when I couldn't find it this morning." I grabbed the spoon and walked to an empty table. Choa sat in front of me.

"'That thing'? Are you talking about what I think you're talking?" She said as I took a bite of my bread. I nodded and she shook her head. "Ellin-ah, Ellin. So, did you find it?"

I smiled and showed the necklace in her face. "Tadaa!! It's here. I won't misplace it next time." I put it back in my purse and zipped it shut.

Choa sighed. "Hmmm, why is so special about that thing? It's just a necklace." She said nonchalantly and took a spoonful bite of her yogurt. Her words jolted something in me and I smashed my hands on the table and startled her.

"Careful with your words. This isn't just a necklace. This is the necklace of someone that saved me. You know what happened that day and you know how important this person is to me. What if she wasn't there and what if the car hit me hard? My name would be engraved on a tomb by now, you know." I said, furious.

Choa gulped and rubbed her hands together. "Sorry, Ellin-ah. I didn't mean to offend you." I relaxed down and took another big bite of the bread. Choa continued, "What I was trying to say that maybe the person wasn't that great, maybe she was someone who happened to walk by. What if she was old, what if she was a foreigner? Don't you think your chance to meet her is too small?" 

I stopped chewing. "Yahh, I've told you, she sounded young and she speaks like a Korean. And who cares if she wasn't that great? All I want is to meet her again, and repay her deed. Ah, whatever you're saying but she is still my hero and I believe we will meet again someday."

Choa just stayed silence and focused on eating her food. I took my spoon and played with my food. I cleared my throat. "Choa-yah, is it wrong for a girl to like a girl?" I asked but my eyes didn't meet hers.

Choa didn't sound shocked. Instead, calmly she said, "I don't think it is wrong for a girl to like a girl." 

My face brightened and I looked up to her. "Really? You do think so?" I couldn't help but smiled.

Choa nodded. "Of course. It is not wrong, I used to like a girl senior too back in med school. You know about this too, I used to tell you, remember?" 

"Ah, that's right! That senior, she was cute. I approved of her." I said and Choa slapped my arm.

"Whatever. Anyway, why did you suddenly ask me about that?" She asked and I hid my face in my hands. "Could it be that you like someone too? Tell me, who is she, tell me." She pulled my hands away from my face and insisted to make me tell her.

"I don't know." I replied as my face felt hotter.

"Just tell me already, who is she?" 

"I've told you I don't know. I like my hero and I don't know her." I said and Choa froze. She let go off my hands and turned to eat her food.

"Eiii, this kid. Stop playing with me. Just eat your food. Dr. Jung will be here soon." 

"I am serious, I like her. Did you hear me? I like her. Yaah, Choa-yah." I pulled her hands to get her attention but she ignored me.

"How can you like someone you don't know? Haishh." She mumbled from under her breath and continued eating.

A few minutes later, we finished our breakfast and went straight to meet up the rest of the resident team. I had been doing my resident year at the hospital for five months now. Along with the Heo twins, there were 10 other residents; 3 girls and 7 boys, who were doing the internships together with us. I remembered all the girls's names but barely memorized the boys' names. Our supervisor, Dr. Jung was a doctor specialized in Emergency Department. Once we gathered in front of him in his room, he started the briefing.

"Okay, starting from today, you guys and girls will be taking turns working in the ER. Each turn will be changed every 18 hours. The schedules of the turns will be handed out soon and will be immediately started from today with Doyoung, Chanmin, Choa, Way and Ellin." Dr. Jung said and the rest of us took down notes. "And oh, one more thing. The new residents will be joining us tomorrow not today. Any problem you can come and see me. Now, let's get started." We bowed at Dr. Jung and the group dismissed. I reunited with Choa and Way.

"Yah, where have you been? Did you listen to Dr. Jung's briefing just now?" Choa asked her younger twin sister.

"I did listen, you just don't see me. I was standing behind the tall resident." Way said. We walked out of Dr. Jung's office and made our way to the ER.

"What happened to the residents? I mean, why didn't they join us today? Something happened?" I asked Way. "Choa said one of the residents is your friend? Did you see her?"

Way nodded. "Yes, it turned out that something was wrong with the paperworks and their acceptances was delayed till tomorrow." She explained. We walked through the hallway that connected the inner hospital area to the ER.

As soon as we arrived, we went to help the doctors with the patients and luckily, most of the patients weren't that badly injured. I was with Choa while Way was with Doyoung and Chanmin. I was attending a patient's calf injury when suddenly the ER door was burst open.

A paramedic rushed in with the emergency bag with blood stain on his white shirt. "We have a serious situation at hand. Two cars collided, we have four patients need immediate attention; three with head injuries, one with broken legs." He yelled and caught every attending doctor's attentions. All the doctors rushed to the door as four stretcher beds were brought in and the situation quickly turned havoc.

"She has a low blood pressure." A doctor checked one of the patients. "Choa, I need 10mg of phenylephrine now." She yelled and Choa rushed to get the drug.

"He was stabilized and needed an immediate operation. Doyoung, prepare an Operating Room now." Another doctor said and Doyoung rushed. "Let's go." He said and the EMTs pushed the bed towards the OR.

Amidst all the havoc, I was dumbfounded and lost. At first, I thought it was because of the trauma I still feeling from my last encounter almost being hit by a car but then I realized, it was something else that froze me. A sudden weird but familiar feeling wrapped me from the inside and out. My heartbeat suddenly fasten, my pulses suddenly quicken and I swore I could feel the hair on my neck stood up. I was getting a chill ran down of my spine as I looked around me. 

This feeling, I thought to myself, is the same feeling I felt when she saved me. I turned to look at the faces in the ER, trying to recognize any of the faces but the current situation was too chaotic, making it difficult to see with everybody moving around. I turned around and totally didn't hear Way calling me. My breathing got rapid, I heard nothing but my own heartbeat. She is here, my savior, she's finally here!

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Ellin could feel the strong presence of her hero. What will happen to her? Will she finally meet her so-called hero? Will she turn out like how Choa described? Stay tuned for my next update. Thanks.