"Jeongwon!"
Kwanghyeon called, opening the door to Jeongwon and Junwan's shared office. His friend had been bugging him for weeks about that Daddy Long Legs interview — might as well ask since he was on break. "Oh, everyone's here."
Three of his five schoolmates were in the office — Junwan busily staring at his computer, Ikjun doing God knows what, and Jeongwon sitting at the table staring over a pile of folders, a drink in hand.
Jeongwon was the first to notice him, "Is something the matter?" He asked, capping his bottle of water.
Kwanghyeon pulled up a chair, deciding to get it over with quickly. "Do you know Daddy Long Legs?"
He saw Jeongwon grimace, "What? Uh, I'm not sure."
"Really? He was famous at your previous hospital, though."
Jeongwon gave a strained smile, "Was he? But, why do you ask, suddenly? Did something happen?"
"Nothing much — my friend just wants to interview him." Kwanghyeon shrugged, shifting from his seat. "He's a producer for some humanitarian show. It's a cable network, but I don't really remember which one."
Jeongwon's lips pursed. "Won't do it."
Kwanghyeon raised an eyebrow. The man literally just said he didn't know the guy.
"What do you mean 'won't do it'?" He asked suspiciously. "Why are you saying you won't do it?"
"I-I just mean he'll say no." Jeongwon explained, quickly. He looked down, staring at his folders.
Kwanghyeon's eyes narrowed, not believing him for a second.
"You said you didn't know him."
Jeongwon flinched slightly, but Kwanghyeon caught it.
"Well, I do know him. But he won't do it, definitely not — no."
Kwanghyeon pursed his lips. If he doesn't want to ask, he can just say so. Jeongwon can be such a hassle sometimes.
But as much as he wanted to prod further, his phone started to ring. It was the junior he was currently mentoring, Dr. Bae Junhui.
Kwanghyeon answered the call and felt his eyebrows raise in surprise.
Maggots? That was new.
It wasn't often the hospital had such cases, even the ER didn't see much of it — TAs and dog bites were the most common emergencies, after all. There were only younger doctors and nurses on duty today — he was worried they would find the task too…demanding. He couldn't blame them though. It wasn't like they were trained to handle bugs in med school.
"Okay, I'll be right there." He said, standing up and heading for the door. "And call Dr. Jang from GS just in case."
Well, convincing Jeongwon to call Daddy Long Legs can be done another day. Duty calls.
"What's going on?" He heard Jeongwon ask behind him.
"A homeless man just came in with a severely frostbitten leg." Kwanghyeon explained. "He stayed at a construction site with that leg for months. The leg's rotting due to an edema. But it's just—" He grimaced, cutting himself off. Even he hadn't dealt much with insects, and he couldn't hide the revulsion he had for them.
Jeongwon raised his eyebrows, prodding. "What? What happened with the leg?"
"Apparently, it's covered by maggots." He shivered, heading to the door and waving goodbye to Ikjun and Junwan.
They probably couldn't use suctions since the machines might break. Tweezers are probably better, but that might be too slow. If the leg's been rotting for a while now, then a lot of the skin must've been eaten already. There's a higher chance of infection if the dermis is exposed—no, for sure the leg's already infected. Maybe they should just do it by hand? It would certainly be faster that way. No — that would probably be asking for too much. Maybe he could find someone in the ER who isn't afraid of bugs and—
"Kwanghyeon!" He heard someone call behind him. He stopped running and looked back, seeing a jogging Jeongwon waving at him. "I'll come too!"
He stopped, scrunching his eyebrows in confusion. "It's not a pediatrics case, you don't have to worry."
"Maybe I can help." Jeongwon insisted, looking a bit more jittery than usual.
"Aren't you on break right now?" Kwanghyeon questioned.
Jeongwon waved him off, an easy smile on his face. "It's alright. I'm not doing anything, anyway."
Kwanghyeon stared at him with a look mixed with disbelief, admiration, annoyance all at one. Geez, he really is perfect huh.
The moment he found out from Songhwa that her best friends would be working in Yulje, he knew Jeongwon would be fussed over like he was in med school. He was proven right when he found out that practically all the female nurses and doctors in the ER had some sort of crush on him. Not that he could blame them, though. Jeongwon had always been good-looking, kind, and handsome. He knew the guy was rich, but he didn't really know how rich. Son of his hospital's chairman wasn't really the type of rich he had the guy pegged. He thought that maybe they just owned a couple of buildings or ran some obscurely successful business in Yangpyeong. Never did he think that his friend of 20 years was actually in the top 0.1% of the country's socio-economic ladder. Geez, that humble fool.
He was interrupted from his thoughts when Jeongwon suddenly asked, "Why did you call Dr. Jang?"
Huh, that was sudden, Kwanghyeon thought. Well, she's his resident after all. He knew the lone GS resident was beloved by her professors — it was public knowledge at this point.
"What do you mean 'why'? She's on call."
"Wasn't she on call yesterday, though?"
Kwanghyeon raised an eyebrow, "Dr. Jang's always on call. Perks of being the only GS resident, I guess."
He'd always felt sorry for the kid. She was hardworking and smart, maybe a little too quiet at times but she's a good listener. When she was an intern he remembered her always being on top of things even when it seemed like they were going over her head. He remembered she was always the last one to leave the hospital in their batch too.
What compelled her to choose GS over other specializations was beyond him. She would've been good in Emergency Medicine too, Kwanghyeon was sure of it. The girl was quick on her feet and unwavering.
He glanced at Jeongwon from his side, seeing him don a particularly concerned expression.
"What's wrong?" He asked.
"Huh? Oh, nothing." Jeongwon replied, completely out of it. "Let's go."
That's weird, Kwanghyeon thought. But, whatever. He can worry about Jeongwon being weird later. He had a patient that needed his help now.
"Dr. Bae, let's use tweezers—"
Kwanghyeon cut himself off as he saw Dr. Jang, face inches from a rotting leg swarming with maggots, diligently pulling them off by hand. He felt a surge of pride fill his chest — she would definitely do great in emergency medicine. There was a different sort of feeling seeing glimpses of what great doctors your students would be, and Kwanghyeon felt it now. There was a reason why Dr. Jang was so beloved by her professors.
He saw Nurse Huisu rush over to her side, starting to pick maggots as well. Kwanghyeon felt an even more intense burst of mentorly pride.
Leading by example.
He'd heard of Dr. Jang doing this before, but it didn't always work out for the better. There were five GS residents in her batch, and the professors were elated, seeing as they'd never had that many before. But a few months in, they started dropping out one by one. Dr. Jang had started to carry twice her workload, then thrice, then four times, and everytime someone left, the next felt so frustrated with just the sight of Dr. Jang flawlessly doing her work — seemingly devoid of fatigue and weariness — that they drop out too.
He sighed, feeling both pride and pity for the resident.
"She's quite something," Kwanghyeon said, to no one in particular, but he thought even the silence deserved to know how hardworking the young doctor was.
He turned back, preparing to tell Jeongwon to go back, that he came for nothing and that Dr. Jang could take care of everything.
But Kwanghyeon paused when he saw Jeongwon standing frozen, his face clearly expressing what he was feeling at the moment.
Was it…guilt?
Why would Jeongwon feel guilty?
Kwanghyeon cocked his head to the side, no there was more than that.
Ah, it was admiration.
Well, that he could understand. It was rare to find someone as competent as Dr. Jang. HR could round up the top graduates from SNU all they want, but there was no assurance that they'd turn out to be good doctors. They'd struck gold with Dr. Jang.
But still…he found Jeongwon's reaction weird. There was no other way to explain it.
All Kwanghyeon could remember in regard to Jeongwon and Dr. Jang was the time he caught them behind an ER curtain, but it seemed like Jeongwon was scolding her at that time, trying to save her from embarrassment and doing it away from the public eye. It was more than most professors would do. Junwan certainly didn't have the patience to do it, and the older professors most certainly wouldn't even consider it, but Jeongwon had always been considerate.
It wasn't an odd scene for Kwanghyeon, and he never thought it'd be something that would linger too much in Jeongwon's mind. He was being a good professor — that was it.
So why was he acting this way?
Kwanghyeon sighed. What was he doing — acting like the neighborhood gossip? Whatever was going on with Jeongwon and Dr. Jang, it was none of his business.
He let himself glance at Jeongwon one last time, not able to resist the urge to pry.
Jeongwon had been staring at his resident for far too long.
He's seen that look before. Never by Jeongwon, but Kwanghyeon had seen his fair share of the said look in his forty years on earth.
He pursed his lips, feeling like he'd figured something out.
It can't be. Twenty years and I've never seen Jeongwon…
He glanced at the young resident, then back at his friend.
Well, it wouldn't be too bad. What was that thing he read in the internet last night?
Ah.
Life starts at forty.
Kwanghyeon let the corners of his mouth quirk up into a knowing smile.
Jeongwon's certainly will.
Kwanghyeon still held on to the belief that Dr. Jang would do great in Emergency Medicine. But sometimes, he was glad she wasn't.
Today was one of those times.
Abuse victims weren't the most common sight in the ER, but they were common enough. If Dr. Jang had chosen Emergency Medicine, then Kwanghyeon would be filled with worry every time there was a case that called for police intervention, as Dr. Jang would try and deal with them herself. Not that Kwanghyeon didn't admire the resident — he did. The girl had nerves of steel. Not everyone could so quickly decide to throw themselves on the line. But there were things you should and shouldn't do as a doctor, and it would be a pain if he was the one who had to teach that to someone as reckless as Dr. Jang.
"He was so mean to her, Dr. Bong!" Nurse Huisu whined, clutching her clipboard to her chest tightly. "Dr. Jang was so brave but he didn't even acknowledge her!"
Kwanghyeon nodded, understanding where she was coming from but ultimately agreeing with Jeongwon. "Yes, Dr. Jang was very brave." He agreed. "But Jeongwon isn't wrong for being mad — you know it too, Nurse Huisu."
The young nurse pouted.
"Doctors should be doctors first," He shrugged, casually. "I understand him."
"But, Dr. Bong~" She whined again, wanting him to take her side.
Kwanghyeon raised his hand to stop her. "Doctors should be doctors" He glanced at the pile of papers at her side, "Just like nurses should be nurses. Have you even finished your paperwork? Want to be scolded by the head nurse?"
Nurse Huisu frowned, "I'm trying! We were all in shock with what happened a while ago, of course I couldn't finish it."
Kwanghyeon nodded indulgently, like a father cooing his young child. "Yes, yes — of course. If all the nurses finish their paperwork today, I'll treat you guys to a meal." He promised.
Nurse Huisu perked, eyes shining. "Can you invite Professor Ahn?"
He scoffed at her fickleness. "I thought you were mad at him."
"Yes, but he's still good company! Just ask the nurses." There was a mischievous glint in her eye, "Plus, he's really handsome."
Kwanghyeon snorted, "Fine, fine. I'll ask Jeongwon."
"Yay! I'll tell the others now!"
He rolled his eyes. Jeongwon was good company. It'd be nice to have him there, so Kwanghyeon wasn't really complaining.
Plus, maybe he can pry out a few secrets with a few glasses of soju. If he remembered correctly, Jeongwon can get a little…loose when he drank.
Kwanghyeon smiled.
Yes, of course he'll invite Jeongwon.
"Who on earth is Dr. Jang dating?"
Ikjun whipped his head toward Kwanghyeon, a worried look on his face.
"I don't like his vibe." He said, before looking back out the window.
Kwanghyeon narrowed his eyes to get a better look, biting his thumb in concentration. But no matter how much he tried to see through the window, it was way too dark to even see silhouettes. Ikjun was obviously just being overprotective — he probably didn't even know what the guy looked like.
He saw Jeongwon enter a taxi from the corner of his eye and felt his spirit perk up in excitement.
What a weird coincidence — seeing one right after the other.
"Doesn't Jeongwon have a car?" Kwanghyeon asked, offhandedly.
"He does," Ikjun grimaced, "But it's very sick. It's always at the hospital."
Kwanghyeon snorted — so it's a wreck.
"Oh, Gyeoul-ah. Why are you back?" He heard Ikjun say suddenly, and Kwanghyeon said a quick hello to the young resident walking towards them.
"I need to take care of some charts." She explained lightly, as if it wasn't a hassle at all. "I was too busy to do them this afternoon. I'll go up to the PICU and check on the baby that recently had a surgery too."
He saw Ikjun smile, obviously proud but worried. "Do you want coffee? I'll buy you coffee."
Dr. Jang nodded, aloofly. "Okay. But, is the café still open?"
"Ey," Ikjun waved her off. "There's a convenience store. I'll get you one — I'll bring it to the PICU, don't worry."
"Okay," She smiled gratefully and bowed. "I'll go now, Professor." She looked at Kwanghyeon and bowed again, and he waved a small goodbye, nodding.
"Aigoo, Gyeoul works too hard." Ikjun said as soon as Dr. Jang was out of sight, tsking. "Jeongwon, that useless man. He should tell someone to get more GS residents — he's really a chaebol for nothing, huh?" He murmured to himself.
"It's been like that for years," Kwanghyeon sighed. "I'd pity her but she seems like she's enjoying the work."
Ikjun reluctantly agreed. Gyeoul did seem like she was enjoying even the heaviest of tasks. "Still, it's really too heavy. I don't think I could've done that when I was a resident."
High praise for someone as competent as Ikjun.
Kwanghyeon nodded. "Me too. Imagine being chief in your first year—" He shuddered, "I think would've lost it."
Dr. Jang was really an admirable person. No wonder Jeongwon liked her.
Kwanghyeon paused at the thought.
He hadn't really thought about the whole Jeongwon acting weird thing in a while. He was way too busy, and there wasn't really anyone he could talk to about it. He'd wanted to ask Ikjun (the man knew everything about everyone — it was like that even in med school), but they were both too deep into work to find the time to talk about anything.
He was only with Ikjun now because the man, for some unknown reason, had been in the hospital for hours with absolutely no purpose. He was literally just sitting around doing nothing.
Well, it wasn't like Kwanghyeon was complaining. Ikjun was fun to be around — and whenever they hung out, Kwanghyeon didn't feel guilty that he had a natural urge to gossip, because he knew Ikjun had an even stronger one.
"So, Dr. Jang has a boyfriend…" Kwanghyeon said, contemplating. "Poor Jeongwon."
Ikjun whipped his head so fast that Kwanghyeon was afraid he'd get a whiplash. "What? Say that again."
He furrowed his eyebrows, realizing that he said it out loud. "Huh? No, no I was just talking to myself."
"No, you said something — something very important to me right now." Ikjun said slowly, his eyes gleaming. "Poor Jeongwon? Did I hear it right?" He repeated, excitedly.
Kwanghyeon blinked, "Yes?"
"Why did you say that? Do you know something?"
Wait — what's going on?
"Do you?" Kwanghyeon asked back, curious. Had he been thinking right all along?
"I asked first!"
He shook his head, "No, no — I don't know anything."
Kwanghyeon saw Ikjun visibly deflate. "Then why did you say that?"
"I just think," He said, hesitantly. "that Jeongwon acts weird around Dr. Jang."
Ikjun's eyes widened, before his lips started forming a wide, almost cat-like grin. "Right?! He does, doesn't he?! That fool tries to hide it but he's so obvious! I bet everyone knows but him!" He looked thoughtful for a while, "Well, maybe except Junwan."
Kwanghyeon blinked in surprise, trying to take in this new information.
"So Jeongwon really…?"
Ikjun nodded vigorously, looking like he could jump up and down in excitement.
Kwanghyeon let out a breath, slumping down into his chair. "Wow…who would've thought?"
"I was surprised too when I first realized," Ikjun said, "But this is great. Jeongwon deserves to find someone he really likes. If he still can't let go of the priest thing after accepting his feelings, then maybe that is the right path for him."
Kwanghyeon sent him a look, "He's still going on about that?"
Ikjun nodded, "Unfortunately."
"I just can't see it," Kwanghyeon said. "I couldn't see him in that path when we were in med school, and now that I see him as a doctor, I really can't imagine him anywhere else."
"Let's hope he thinks the same way." Ikjun said, a bit grimly now.
Jeongwon finding someone he liked after forty years of not being interested was certainly a weird revelation, but it wasn't unwelcome. Just like everyone else, he'd take every opportunity to make Jeongwon stay at the hospital. He thought he'd let go of that priest dream a long time ago, seeing as how dedicated a doctor he was now. But apparently not.
Kwanghyeon had known Jeongwon for twenty years, and he had never met anyone as genuinely good as him.
He deserved a happy life, and he just knew the priest thing couldn't give him that. Maybe it was presumptuous, but Kwanghyeon knew just how much Jeongwon loved being a doctor — no matter how much it pained him to be one.
And Dr. Jang,
Kwanghyeon had known her for less, but he wished that she, too, would find happiness. There weren't many people as sincere as she was, and he wanted nothing more than to see her love and be loved. People like her deserved only the best the world could offer, and if she liked Jeongwon back, then there was no one better than him.
Kwanghyeon wouldn't intrude — of course not. He was sure Ikjun could do that for him, but he did wish the two could figure it out themselves. He didn't know if Dr. Jang had any feelings for his friend but given how excited Ikjun was about this whole thing, she probably did.
Kwanghyeon genuinely wished this would work out.
At his age, the only things he wanted out of life was happiness and health — and the same for his friends. But he also understood that these things take time, and he was willing to wait — good things always happen to those who wait.