Chanyeol was about to doze off at his desk when all of a sudden, there was the sound of hurried knocking on his door. "Come in." He said drowsily as he rubbed his eyes, trying very hard to keep his eyelids from falling back down.

 

"Dr. Parkm the ER is calling for you." A nurse, who is also a friend of Chanyeol for nine years, popped his head into the room, slightly panting as he spoke. Chanyeol took in a deep breath and sighed. He had already expected it. No night shift is ever complete witout at least one call from the emergency department. Quickly but reluctantly, he got up from his seat, grabbed his white coat and stethoscope that was draped over one arm of his chair and headed out of the door. As he walked past the nurse, he paused.

 

"Joonmyun, for the umpteenth time, you can just call me Chanyeol." Chanyeol sighed and placed one hand on Joonmyun's shoulder.

 

"And for the umpteenth time I'm telling you, I will not drop the formalities when we are on our shifts." Joonmyun replied as he removed the hand on his shoulder. "Now, Dr. Park, we should hurry."

 

"Right." Chanyeol nodded and he brisk walked off with Joonmyun trailing behind.

 

As Chanyeol made his way over to the emergency room, in his head, he started mentally betting with himself which case would it be this time. "It will be red wine and steak for breakfast if this one's gonna be a brain abscess¹." Chanyeol unknowingly thought aloud.

 

¹A brain abscess is a collection of pus, immune cells, and other material in the brain, usually from a bacterial or fungal infection. Reference: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000783.htm

 

"Well, no red wine and steak for you. Not an infection but a concussion. We are suspecting subarachnoid haemorrhage²." Joonmyun updated Chanyeol while he struggles to keep pace with the long-legged doctor. "Who the hell drinks red wine for breakfast in the morning anyway?!"

 

²A brain haemorrhage, also known as subarachnoid haemorrhage, is bleeding in the brain. Subarachnoid haemorrhage is a type of , accounting for around 1 in 20 of all . Reference: http://www.m.webmd.boots.com/a-to-z-guides/brain-haemorrhage

 

"Oh damn." Chanyeol muttered. "Sandwiches it is."

 

"Dr Park, I need you to take a look at this." Another doctor, whose lower half of his face was hidden behind a surgical mask but Chanyeol could recognise his voice without doubt as Do Kyungsoo,  Chief of the ER. Chanyeol slipped his hands into the exam gloves one by one as he took the spot beside the small guy and stared at the crown of the unconscious patient lying on the surgical table.

 

"Cerebral edama³." Chanyeol stated. Kyungsoo turned to face Chanyeol and stared at the taller male with his large doe eyes. When Chanyeol thought it was impossible for Kyungsoo's eyes to get any wider, they enlarged.

 

³Cerebral edema is a dangerous condition where the brain's water content rises, causing the pressure to rise in the skull. Reference: http://health.howstuffworks.com/mental-health/neurological-conditions/cerebral-edema.htm

 

"Unbelievable." Chanyeol thought in awe.

 

"How could you tell with just one glance?" Kyungsoo asked, sounding amazed.

 

"Head concussion patient with obvious swelling." Chanyeol pointed at a bulge on the patient's head beneath a mass of black hair. "I'm just guessing." He paused and reaches his hand out for a scalpel. Then he added, "with a ninety-nine point nine nine percent chance that I'm right".

 

"Now that was a bloody mess." Joonmyun commented as he begans cribbling on a clipboard.

 

"I must say, not my cleanest." Chanyeol nodded as he placed the blood stained scalpel down on the metal tray and began to remove his hands from the bloody gloves. "He will be fine for now." He told Joonmyun and turned to face another nurse whose nametag read 'Yixing'. "Put the patient on mannitol and let me know when he comes around." Yixing nodded in reply while Chanyeol made his way out of the operating room.

 

After Chanyeol was done with tidying himself up in the toilet, he headed over to the reception. 'Hey yo Tao." Chanyeol greeted sleazily as he raised one hand up while leaning over the couner.

 

"Hey, Chan. Yo." A light blonde male responded enthusiastically and slapped the palm Chanyeol held out then both of them proceeded to bump fists.

 

"Do you not get sick of your own joke?" Chanyeol asked.

 

"Not really." Tao giggles, like the way a little girl would when she hears a joke from a talking rainbow unicorn. Then again, Chanyeol would not be able to appreciate a joke coming from a talking unicorn, much less would he want to meet a rainbow unicorn in the first place.

 

"Another hour more to go." Chanyeol yawns and unabashedly stretches his long arms around. "I smell like blood, don't I?" And he began to sniff the sleeve of his coat.

 

"When do you not?" Tao rolled his eyes while sorting out the clipboards in front of him. 'Speaking of blood, I think you should see this." From within the pile, Tao pulled out a clipboard and handed it to Chanyeol with a hardened expression. Chanyeol took it from Tao's hand feeling puzzled and his jaw dropped when he saw the name written at the top of the form.

 

"Is..." Chanyeol could feel his throat going dry. "Is this...really..." At that moment, he was dumbfounded. His mind seemed to have stopped functioning like a hanged computer.

 

"It's really him." Tao said in his most sympathetic voice.

 

"It's been awhile, Yeollie ah." A weak voice came from behind Chanyeol. Upon hearing that voice, he straightened his back. In that instant, he was hit by a wave of nostalgia. He did not need to turn around to know who the voice belonged to. It is the one and only sound that he would always remmeber and never forget. For seven years, he kept replaying that voice over and over in his head. Tonight, he actually hears it for real.

 

"Baek..." Chanyeol whispered.