Chapter 3

*note: italics are flashbacks

Sunlight drifted through the sheer protection of Wooyoung’s silky white curtains, casting rays of warmth on the male’s face, yet failing to wake him up. The young doctor only budged at the shriek of his alarm clock, set extra early for a demanding job. Groaning in protest and wriggling to the side of the bed, Wooyoung grumpily silenced the alarm and crawled out under his covers, muttering protest after protest as he dragged his feet across his room and into the living room, ruffling his soft brown locks around as he did so. It was only as he started walking did he notice the pounding pain in his head, the heaviness of his limbs, the dryness in his mouth and the male snoring in the middle of his living room couch.

Shrieking in surprise and jumping back slightly at the unexpected sight of his chief, Wooyoung breathed a sigh of relief as the fragments of yesterday’s memory slowly began to reappear back into his head. That relief was immediately run over by a large scowl as he also remembered the amount of pain Taecyeon had put him through, and the sight of a grown man drooling on his new couch was also not helping his growing annoyance.

Face pulling down into a large frown, Wooyoung muttered to himself as he walked closer to the couch, “What did I do to receive this kind of punishment.” Bending down so he was face to face in front of the larger male, Wooyoung’s eyes unconsciously began skimming over Taecyeon’s features, tracing over his high nose bridge, thin lips, large ears . . . his slow and steady breathing gave a sense of calmness to the quiet living room. This Taecyeon was different from the Taecyeon he knows as chief in the ER, a little more vulnerable, a little more exposed, and a little more human.

Wooyoung liked Taecyeon a lot better when he was sleeping, he decided.

Suddenly realizing he was staring at the other a little longer than he was supposed to, Wooyoung caught himself before he could continue any further and raised his voice to yell at the older male to hide his obvious embarrassment, “Yah Ok Taecyeon-”

“Chief.” Suddenly snapping his eyes open, Taecyeon’s gaze landed on Wooyoung’s flustered ones, eyes struggling to stay open and in turn morphing into a sharp stare. Surprised and a little scared as Wooyoung realized just how close they were, he immediately sprung back up and quickly turned his back towards the older male, avoiding eye contact as he shuffled quickly into the nearby bathroom. Opening the cupboard below the sink to get a new toothbrush and a spare towel, Wooyoung shuffled back towards Taecyeon with the newly obtained items in hand, still trying his best to look anywhere but Taecyeon.

“Here,” Grumbling quietly to the other, he stretched out the toothbrush and pink towel towards Taecyeon, “The bathroom is right down the hall if you want to wash up before going to work, you need to push down then twist the tap for the shower to w-”

“The towel is pink.” Interrupting him ( yet again ), Taecyeon complained with a small pout.

“It’s the only spare one I ha-”

“The bristles on the toothbrush are so hard,” Whining, Taecyeon continued despite Wooyoung’s growing distaste, “my teeth are really sensitive.”

Scowl growing increasingly noticeable, Wooyoung bit down on his bottom lip to prevent himself from bursting out into a string of curses from the sheer amount of frustration. When he agreed to get transferred to the ER, he did not sign up to babysit his department chief. Controlling himself as much as possible, he gritted through his teeth slowly, afraid that he might explode any second, “Are you going to wash up or no?”

Taecyeon stood up suddenly and gave Wooyoung a small shrug before heading off to the bathroom, waving his hand behind his shoulder dismissively, “Not that I have a choice.”

Watching the chief disappear into the bathroom, Wooyoung was finally able to let out a long breath he’s been holding the entire time, cursing at the other under his breath when he heard the shower turn on, all traces of positive feelings towards the older male immediately disintegrating like it never existed in the first place.

Dragging his feet back towards his own bedroom in exhaustion, Wooyoung let out a large yawn. It’s too early in the morning for this, he thought with another burst of anger and opened his closet aggressively. Shoving his head through a crisp white dress shirt, the male stopped halfway and put it back with a small sigh. He was so used to wearing white dress shirts to work all the time and changing to scrubs when in surgery back in Seoul Uni, but now that he is working in the ER, there’s no way for him to wear the same attire when he’ll be drenched in blood on an expensive shirt at the end of the day. Opting for a much cheaper and worn out black dress shirt instead, he shoved on his pair of thick black rimmed glasses along the way, not in the slightest mood to put on contacts.

Wooyoung took a quick glance towards the mirror, he looked like he was going to a funeral.

Just as he finished tying his equally as dark and depressing tie around his neck, the door to his bedroom door suddenly burst open as a half Taecyeon barged in, water droplets from his damp hair dripping steadily onto the floor. Wooyoung’s eyes self consciously traveled down from the other’s toned chest, to his defined abs and eventually to his ridiculously pink towel wrapped around his lower half before catching himself and instantly spinning around, cheeks heating up to the colors of riped tomatoes for the second time in under twenty minutes.

“What are you doing barging into someone else’s room, like- like this!?” Yelling in protest, Wooyoung squeezed his eyes shut even as his back is faced towards the other male, clearly embarrassed.

Taecyeon clicked his tongue in distaste, “What do you expect me to do when you didn’t even give me any spare clothes? Mine smells like soju and beer from yesterday night, how can I go to work like this?”

Grunting through gritted teeth, Wooyoung walked towards the closet carefully, still not daring to turn his head around as he shuffled through piles and piles of his clothes, looking for something that Taecyeon can wear. “Can you please dry your hair so it’s not dripping everywhere on the ground?” Hearing the stream of water drop onto his floor, the younger male scolded the other.

“You only gave me one small assed towel, if I dry my hair then I won’t have anything to cover my-”

“Okay okay! I get it!” Yelling at the other as he suddenly pictured Taecyeon without the towel around his bottom half, much to his own embarrassment, Wooyoung eventually dug out an old t-shirt hidden deep inside his closet and a pair of long, black pants and tossed that to where he thought Taecyeon was standing, “Just hurry up and put those on.”

“You want me to wear a t-shirt to work?”

“THEN DO YOU WANT TO GO ?” Eventually reaching the peak of his patience, Wooyoung roared at the other, forgetting for a split second that Taecyeon was still half and turned back around, before immediately shutting his eyes tightly once again, “Hurry up!”

Taecyeon scowled and gave the younger male a dirty look, but still put on the clothes anyways, muttering to himself disapprovingly, “I’ve been chief for two whole years and I’ve never been yelled at by my staff.”

Turning around one last time when he deemed it safe to look, Wooyoung’s gaze shifted to Taecyeon’s appearance from head to toe, slightly amused but mostly impressed. Wooyoung’s biggest shirt was still too small on Taecyeon’s large body, the fabric stuck against his skin tightly causing the other’s muscles to bulge against the stretched fabric ( as much as Wooyoung wanted to deny it, his gaze lingered on that shirt a little longer than it should ). His pants that was too big on him was also too short on the chief, the end of the material coming a few centimetres above the other’s ankles, “You look...uhm…”

“Handsome? Dashing? Irresistable? I know.” Failing to hold back the small smile tugging on the corners of his lips due to the other’s almost likeable arrogance, the little smile turned back into a frown as a roar came from Taecyeon’s stomach, followed by the other’s whining, “I’m hungry.”

Groaning inwardly in annoyance, Wooyoung rolled his eyes and walked unwillingly into the kitchen, with Taecyeon following closely behind, “I know you’re my chief and all but don’t you think this is a little too much?”

“No.” Taecyeon stared back innocently, not a single ounce of guilt or gratefulness in his voice as he sat down at the kitchen bench, hands propped up to cup either sides of his face as he watched Wooyoung shuffle around the kitchen in search of ingredients almost like a kid. Wooyoung caught the other’s actions from the corners of his eye and shook his head to himself in disbelief, unable to believe that this is the very man he was intimidated of on his first day. Chansung was right, although Taecyeon appeared cold, ruthless, blunt and looked like he could eat you in one bite, he was actually just as normal as any other guy, and maybe even a lot more annoying and childish than most people his age.

Turning his attention back to the task ahead of him, Wooyoung took a deep breath as he looked at the ingredients displayed on the counter that could possibly turn into kimchi jigae, that is, if he knew how to cook.

Grabbing the kimchi, Wooyoung hovered the knife uncertainly above the cabbage, unsure of how to start before hesitantly bringing it down in an attempt to slice it, making small darts instead of cutting it apart. Taecyeon watched from the side silently, chuckling amusingly to himself as he stood up and made his way towards the younger male, clicking his tongue as he did so, “You can’t cook can you?”

Pressing his lips together, Wooyoung stuttered in an attempt to save himself from looking even more worthless, “O-of course I can- I’m just a little bit...unfamiliar with it, that’s all...”

Taecyeon made a face, clearly unconvinced as he waved the other away, “Get out, I’ll do it.” Wooyoung raised an eyebrow skeptically, glancing the other up and down. Taecyeon didn’t look like someone who can cook, and he wasn’t quite sure if he trusted him with a knife either, “Not that I’m doubting you or anything but can-”

“Can I cook?” Taecyeon interrupts with a small, smug smirk, taking the knife from Wooyoung hands as he stands in front of the cutting board, “you’ll see.”

Immediately chopping up the kimchi Wooyoung failed to do in no time, Taecyeon then proceeded to cutting up the rest of the ingredients, his hands moving fast enough that it was difficult to see it at times. From a spectator’s point of view, it wasn’t very hard to see that Taecyeon was definitely skilled and experienced. He knew exactly how long things had to be cooked for, how much seasoning has to be put in, and there was a passion as he cooked that Wooyoung has never really seen before. In no time, the entire flat was filled with the savory aroma of the finished kimchi stew.

Mouth draping open in both shock and hunger, Wooyoung glanced down from the bowl Taecyeon served him and back to the older male himself, unsure of how to react. Taking a spoonful of the soup and bringing it to his nose to indulge the irresistible smell, he didn’t spare an extra second before putting it in his mouth.

“Woah.”

“Is it bad?” Taecyeon sat down and took a worried look at Wooyoung, eyebrows furrowed in anticipation as he toyed with the ends of his shirt, almost nervous, “I haven’t cooked in a while so it might be a little-”

“Woah.” As much as he didn’t fully want to admit it, this was probably the best kimchi jigae he’s had in his entire life. Immediately shoving spoonfuls after spoonfuls into his mouth eagerly, Wooyoung inquired in between mouthfuls of food, “I never knew you could cook.”

Face lighting up like a child after hearing that the other liked it for a split fraction of a second, Taecyeon’s smile was almost instantly replaced by his usual cold and nonchalant demeanor as he sat back against his chair and shrugged, “You don’t know a lot of things about me.”

-

Wooyoung noticed the strange looks people were giving them as they walked down the hospital hallway before Taecyeon did. He wasn’t quite sure if it was the almost humorous sight of Taecyeon dressed in skin tight clothes that are obviously way too small for him, or the fact that the ER chief is walking into the hospital with the failed, abandoned, new doctor. He hope it isn’t the latter.

Fixing his shirt self-consciously, Wooyoung bent down his head and slightly fell back into step behind Taecyeon in an attempt to hide himself from curious onlookers. He knew he was known as the doctor that Seoul University kicked out because of his surgery mistake, and ever since that accident, Wooyoung always felt that people were constantly judging him, shaking his head at him, and praying to the gods that he won’t be the one performing surgery on them or their family members.

Not that he’ll want to perform a surgery anytime soon, anyways.

Noticing Wooyoung’s sudden change of confidence from the corners of his eyes as the other cowered behind his back, Taecyeon abruptly stopped walking, causing the other to bump into him.

“Why are you afraid of them? You’re a doctor, they’re practically trusting you with their life, they should be the one afraid of you, not the other way around.”

“E-excuse me?”

Turning around to face the younger male, Taecyeon looked towards the passersbys for a fleeting second before glancing back, “How would they treat you with respect if you are here cowering behind my back? You’re a doctor, so act like one.” Gaze lingering on Wooyoung’s for an extra second before turning around, his footstep was once again interrupted, this time by a quiet voice behind him.

“I don’t feel like a doctor.” Wooyoung muttered, voice small enough that it was almost difficult to catch. Playing around with his fingers, he glanced down at the floor and continued, “I killed that man. Doctors are supposed to save people, but I-I killed him. I’m no different from a murderer.”

Taecyeon frowned, but kept his silence.

“They have a right to criticize and look down on me, I’m not fit to be a doctor.” Voice quivering the slightest bit, Wooyoung kept his gaze down and bit his lower lip, trying to hold his tears back.

“Are you going to let one accident ruin your entire life? Think of the countless patients you have saved-” Stopping mid-sentence, Taecyeon’s gaze shifted from Wooyoung to a middle aged female behind his shoulder, his gaze softening as he gave the stranger a small smile and a nod in greeting. “I don’t think I can convince you but someone else can.” Placing his hands on the other’s shoulder, he turned him around so he was facing the approaching stranger.

“Excuse me, I’m looking for Doctor Jang...” The stranger inquired.

“Ah, that would be me.” Quickly turning his head to the side and wiping away his tears, Wooyoung shook the other’s hand and bowed slightly, head tilted to the side in confusion, “And you are…?”

Suddenly bursting into tears, the woman cupped Wooyoung’s hands and shook it gratefully, repeatedly bowing her head as she spoke in between sobs, “Thank you so much for saving my daughter, thank you doctor, thank you, thank you.”

Flustered and surprised, Wooyoung opened and closed his mouth repeatedly, unsure of what to say as the other continued thanking him through her flowing tears.

“I was so afraid I would never see Suji again, that girl, she always overworks herself so much even though she already has heart problems.” Dabbing away her tears with a handkerchief, the woman continued, handing Wooyoung a heavy bundle, “Thank you so much doctor, I really don’t know how to thank you enough so I brought you some food to show my gratitude.”

“Ah eomonim, you really don’t have to-”

Pushing the bundle towards Wooyoung, the mother insisted, “No no no, please accept it on behalf of me and Suji. She might have not been able to see another day if it wasn’t for you, doctor Jang.”

Reluctantly accepting it, Wooyoung gave the other another smile and a bow, a warm, fuzzy feeling slowly spreading throughout his body. Taecyeon watched behind them silently before bending down and patting the younger male gently on the back, “Do you still not feel like a doctor?”

-

Grabbing his coffee from the counter with a big yawn, Wooyoung took a sip of the dark drink and walked back towards the office, eyelids growing increasingly heavy with each step. It was his turn to work overnight today, but it’s been barely ten minutes past ten and he was already getting tired. Shaking his head back and forth violently to wake himself up, he walked into an anxious looking Chansung.

“Ah Wooyoung-hyung, I was just looking for you.” Putting his phone away back into his pocket, Chansung hurriedly walked towards the other male and grabbed his arm without asking, dragging him to the emergency entrance with quick steps, “A patient just came in earlier, we already did emergency aid on him but he needs surgery.”

Nodding slowly in slight confusion, Wooyoung tilted his head to the side, unsure of why the other is telling him this. “Isn’t Nichkhun the trauma surgeon-?”

“That’s the problem, Khun-hyung is in Thailand right now. We need a surgeon.”

Slowly realising what this will eventually lead to, Wooyoung anxiously asked after him as they neared the patient, “What kind of patient is he? Contact one of the specialist surgeons.”

“We tried calling all of them, but none of them said they can come.” Furrowing his eyebrows, Chansung quietly muttered to himself, loud enough for Wooyoung to hear small fragments, “What kind of doctors are these people...we’re lacking staff too, especially at this time of the day…”

Eventually reaching the bed the patient is laying on, Wooyoung lagged behind Chansung’s steps, a little hesitant as he glanced at the small number of doctors and nurses surrounding the patient, every single one of them tapping their foot anxiously as their gazes landed on Wooyoung expectedly. Growing more and more nervous by the second, Wooyoung asked quietly, “So are you telling me to…”

“Hyung, do the surgery.”

“Doctor Jang, you have to do this surgery. I have arranged for all the foreign doctors to spectate while you perform.” The Seoul University hospital’s director placed a hand on Wooyoung’s cold ones, his eyes behind his glasses fixed on Wooyoung’s, “You know how big of an opportunity this is for you, Doctor Jang.”

“I’m thankful that you are willing to offer me this opportunity, director, but, I-I don’t think I’m quite ready for this. I know this is important for the hospital’s reputation, so how about let Professor Kim-”

The director furrowed his eyebrows and clicked his tongue disapprovingly, “Nonsense! You know better than anyone that you are more than qualified to do the surgery. If they recognize you, not only will it benefit the hospital, but you will go far as well, Doctor Jang.”

“But I’m not sure if I can, director.”

“Do the surgery Doctor Jang.”

Blinking rapidly, Wooyoung felt a dreadful feeling spreading into his heart, clenching it up and twisting it around. Shaking his head slowly, he stepped back a little, “I-I can’t do it-”

Chansung frowned, “Why? You were a cardiac surgeon back in Seoul University though, weren’t you?”

“I can’t do it, I’m sorry, I-I just can’t.” Staring at the name tag on the end of the patient’s bed, Wooyoung continued to repeatedly shake his head, feeling everyone’s eyes on him. “I’m really sorry.”

Watching on the sidelines, Junho’s patience was slowly wearing out and getting replaced by boiling anger, “How can you call yourself a doctor? The patient is in critical condition, you and I both know fully well that he needs surgery right now.” Eyes growing wider and voice growing louder, Junho walked closer to Wooyoung, “I don’t care why you became a doctor, I don’t care if it’s for the money or for the fame, but this person will die right in front of you, and yet you refuse to save him.”

“I’m really sorry-”

“Sorry!?” Voice booming with anger, Junho grabbed Wooyoung by his collar and brought his face dangerously close, “How can you even say sorry!?”

“Junho.” Chansung warned beside him, “We don’t have time for this, the patient-”

Ignoring the younger male, Junho continued, “Are you a doctor or a murderer, you bastard!”

“Lee Junho!”

Although Junho continued to yell at him, Wooyoung could no longer hear anything except for the continuous drone of “murderer, murderer, murderer, murderer…”

“Hold it properly! I can’t see.” Wooyoung raised his voice at his first, although anyone could tell his first wasn’t doing anything wrong. Biting down on his lower lip, he gripped his instrument extra tight, sweat collecting near his forehead as he focused on the surgery ahead of him.

Focus Wooyoung, Focus. He told himself, you’ve seen this a million times in the books, you know how to do this.

He had to do well today, this is the very surgery that can determine the rest of his career. With a nervous glance up, Wooyoung’s gaze was met with a speculating stare of the foreign doctors. He couldn’t quite read through the other’s seemingly emotionless expression, but somehow, he saw it as disapproval. , am I doing something wrong? Questioning himself under the other’s gaze, Wooyoung’s focus momentarily shifted away from the surgery. Yet in that split second of doubt, the scalpel in his hand slipped just a few millimetres to the right, cutting through all the wrong places with a sudden burst of red, thick blood.

Immediately panicking, Wooyoung yelled, “Suction! Hurry up!”

“There’s too much blood, I can’t-”

“His vitals are going down!”

“Doctor Jang, do something!” Wooyoung faintly heard the cries of his First over the loud ringing in his head, and the distant beeping of the monitor grew dimmer as his head throbbed in panic. His hands shook violently, and with a loud clang, the metal scalpel he was tightly grasping onto fell onto the cold surgery floor.

“Doctor! Get back to your senses, the patient!”

Cold sweat trickled down his forehead and Wooyoung began shaking his head furiously, the pool of blood quickly collecting over the patient’s open chest.

He could just see the group of foreign doctors watching him from the balcony with shaking heads, and he could almost hear the soon to come rage of the director.

“Doctor Jang!”

“The vitals are going down!” Tiffany’s voice penetrated through Junho’s loud yelling and the pounding voices in Wooyoung’s head, “he has to do surgery now.”

Letting go of Wooyoung’s collar with an aggressive shove, Junho ruffled his hair in frustration, “ it, I’ll do the surgery.”

“Junho you can’t...”

“Then who the is going to do it? We can’t just let the patient die like this because no one’s willing to perform the surgery.” Taking off his coat, Junho instructed Tiffany, “Prepare a room.”

“Junho…”

“We’re doctors, Chansung. We have to save him.” With that, he began to walk towards the surgery rooms, only to be interrupted as someone grabbed his wrist. Turning around, he raised an eyebrow as he looked up from the hand towards its owner.

“I’ll do it.” Wooyoung suddenly spoke, voice quiet yet loud enough for everyone to hear. Tightening his grip on Junho’s wrist, Wooyoung spoke again, this time, a lot louder and more confident, “I’ll do the surgery.”

A/N: I know I said I won't be updating until the tags problem is fixed ( which still isn't fixed ), but I really didn't want to keep my susbribers waiting for another chapter so I decided to post this slightly longer one! Not really satisfied with this chapter so I'm sorry if it wasn't as up to my normal standard ( I didn't proofread it either so there's bound to be a lot of grammar mistakes so I'm really sorry ; a ; ). Either way, hope you guys enjoyed it! And thanks for the lovely comments, you guys make my kokoro go doki doki hehe :))) - Lindy <3