Eun Soo already discussed the case with the professor, and he concluded that trauma caused the memory loss. He suggested to call neurology for consult and to bring a fellow from the psychiatry department, who specialized in amnesia.

"I don't think he is ready yet, sir. I'm more concerned with his physical injuries. I think it is important his body gets stronger and recovers first. Hopefully, his memories will come back on its own."

"You are awfully protective of this patient. Is there anything you want to tell me?"

Eun Soo blushed and quickly denied, "Nothing to tell. Nothing. I just feel very excited about this case."

"You do, you do," the professor now busted into loud laughter. "I think you are a bit smitten by the fact that you scrubbed in for such a difficult procedure, isn't it?"

Feeling relieved, Eun Soo happily confirmed, "You got me."

So her handsome stranger, that's what she started to call him, was out of danger at least for a few days.

I'm awfully protective of him. He was right. Is it that obvious that I care? I hope the patient does not think I'm flirting with him. That would be completely inappropriate. Am I flirting with him? Ne.. I do not even know how to flirt. Having this mini discussion with herself, because it was always nice to talk to a smart person, Eun Soo went about her day.

She participated in rounds, reviewed some charts, read a research article about amnesia, just to be up to speed on the latest developments, had a quick lunch, was pulled in by a sanbae to demonstrate her "stitching" techniques to the class of the new residents, took a quick nap in the "dark room", jumped in the shower to freshen up and even washed her hair! She changed into clean scrubs, made sure her hair looked good, put on some mascara and lipgloss, and headed to check on her stranger.

The nurse blocked her path, "Doctor, he refused an IV, so I had to give him oral antibiotics. I liked him better when he was unconscious," she complained. "He does not talk to anyone and refuses all the treatment, besides the one you told him about. He won't even let me check his pulse! I did not want to get him agitated, after reading the chart about the trauma and amnesia, but this it too much!"

"I'll deal with it, sorry for the trouble." Eun Soo rushed to Room #4, forgetting to knock, she was met by a sight of a half naked man, who was trying to put on his old clothes. One minute later, and he would have already taken his pants off.

Before she could say anything, he explained, "Doctor, I am leaving tonight."

Eun Soo was speechless. With bandages and scars all over his body, he exuded such raw masculine beauty, she was stunned. She was attracted to him in a way she was never attracted to anyone. It was beyond any regular "he looks sexy", or "I wish I could have a piece of that" kind of talk she heard from other girls. If he asked her to take her clothes off right now, she would comply without any hesitation.

"Doctor," he approached her, still undressed.

Eun Soo backed away, trying not to look at him. He continued to come forward, while she was backing till she was flush against the wall.

"Doctor, are you all right? You look scared. Did something happen?" nothing, but a gentle concern in his voice.

"I'm scared to be next to you, you dummy," she thought. At least he did not notice anything else. I must remain calm and focused. He only thinks of me as his doctor. I should use it. I AM HIS DOCTOR.

Coughing nervously, she looked him in the eye. "What are you doing right now? Unless I say so, you are not allowed to leave. Till I decide that you are ready for discharge."

Courageously, she stepped forward, hoping that he would move aside and this crazy situation will come to a quick end. But he did not move at all!

In fact, now they were even closer. As he was much taller, Eun Soo stared into his chest, biting her lips. She stepped to the right, still keeping her head down and moved around him like he was an obstacle, and only then she could exhale. They were no longer facing, rather opposite. With their backs to each other, he responded angrily, but without raising his voice, "You can not tell me what to do, I'm leaving, I will return home, I wasted too much time here already."

Who the hell does he think he is to act so cavalier!

Eun Soo did not even noticed how she raised her voice, a notch below screaming, obviously unable to control resentment and frustration at this ungrateful, selfish and disobedient patient. "You are leaving against the doctor's advice. Make sure to sign off at the nurse's station; I do not need to tarnish my perfect record by the likes of you! And, how are you planning to pay for your care? Do you know how much it all costs?"

The man took a pouch out of the plastic bag. "Here", he placed it into Eun Soo's hand. "This should cover it, I hope. I do not have much with me. When I return home, I will gather more and try to bring it back, if necessary."

Eon Soo looked at the pouch with curiosity, putting aside her grudge for a minute. It was very heavy. "What is it?"

"Money."

She opened up the pouch to find about 20 bottle shaped coins. She pulled out a few.

"They are silver, with some copper. Would that be enough?"

By the looks of it, each weighed about 400-500 grams. Eun Soo was no longer surprised. Anything has to do with this stranger was too weird to even try to understand. "I have never seen anything like that before," she said quietly to herself.

The man was still waiting for her answer.

"A bottle shape? Are you sure it is money?"

"King Ch'ueng Hye introduced it a few years ago. It is the most recent currency we have. I do not have anything else of value," he hung his head.

"I'm sure this will cover," she reassured. How quickly she forgot that she was angry at him. "Can you please put some clothes on," she finally asked.

"I'm sorry. I did not mean to offend Imja. Sorry, Doctor," he turned around and closed the robes with a belt, a grimace of pain on his face.

"I'm not offended. It was just a bit unexpected." She could not believe what she was admitting, but it was the honest truth. "Easy there. I saw there is some residual bleeding. Let me call a nurse to change your bandages."

"No, please," he has gotten into a habit of grabbing her wrist every time she was leaving. "I would rather you do that. I don't like any other women here, and they make me uncomfortable. They are all too friendly and cheerful, it feels suspicious," Choi Young belatedly realized he said he liked her. This tinge in his heart, when she was close, especially when he looked into her eyes… He did not have time to analyze, "I mean, I like you as my doctor, and I trust you do the best job."

Eun Soo left the room. She was deep in her thoughts, her hands moving in mechanical fashion, collecting necessary supplies on the tray. She mentioned to the nurse that she spoke to the patient and that she will change his bandages herself. She returned to the room, still in a haze. Without talking, she directed him to take off the robes. She checked the scar tissue and the sutures, applied antibiotic ointment, reviewed the bruising on the ribs and was satisfied that the swelling on his head went completely down. Finally, she reapplied fresh bandages.

"You are all done."

"Doctor, if I do not see you again..." he stopped. He did not want to finish this sentence, his heart wished he would not have to leave so soon, but he had to.

Eun Soo's sad face would have given her away, she could not look at him.

He lightly lifted her head up by the chin. "I do not want to say goodbye," he said having nothing to lose at this point. Searching her eyes he tried to figure out what she was feeling or thinking.

Eun Soo sensed tears forming. She turned away and replied, "I will give you aftercare instructions." She wrote down some basics and gave him the paper.

He handed it back to her, "I do not understand this writing."

"No shower or bath for 2 weeks. You have to redress the wound if you see any blood. Otherwise, you can keep it on for a few days without changing. I will give you some antibiotic cream and here are the pills you have to take daily till they finish. If you miss a day, the treatment won't work. It is very important. Take it with food, not to hurt your stomach. Also, this is for pain," she gave him an aspirin bottle. "It's my emergency stash, you can have it. Do not strain yourself too much, the wound will open again. Your stitches will dissolve with time, don't try to take them out yourself. What else? Drink plenty of fluids, make sure you sleep at least 8 hours a day and eat vegetables and meat, your body needs to regain strength."

She left.

He stayed.