Christmas Lights

Chapter 1

The first thing Karina saw when she opened her eyes was the grey ceiling tiles. Next to her was a machine – some sort of monitor – beeping. Next to it was a drip stand, which had two bags connected to her hand. She reached up and felt a bandage wrapped around her head.

Her eyes slowly swept the room. She was in the hospital.

Karina tried to sit up but found it too difficult. She felt like she was being weighed down, every bone and muscle in her body was in between numbness and throbbing pain. She just wanted to fall back asleep; she let herself sink back to into sleep when a voice woke her.

"Oh good, Miss Yu, you're awake. I am Dr. Aeri Uchinaga and you're at Seoul General Hospital."

Karina flinched. She slowly opened her eyes again and saw the mass of red hair belonging to the doctor standing over her. This person was keeping her from sleeping and she hated her immediately.

"Stop...talking..." Karina groaned. Karina didn't recognize her own voice. It was scratchy and dry. Her mouth felt like it was filled with cotton.

"Miss Yu, it is important for you to stay lucid for a little longer, so I can—"

"No." Karina's eyelids felt heavy, wanting desperately to fall back asleep.

The doctor looked exasperated and was (probably) about to scold her when a knock at the door interrupted them.

"Oh! Dr. Kim! This is Dr. Winter Kim, she helped perform your surgery with me earlier today."

Karina looked towards the door and saw her. Maybe it was the painkillers she was on, doping her up, but for a half-second, the way her vision was still a little blurry and the way everything felt like it was in slow motion, Karina swore she was an angel.

"Hi, sorry! I was just walking past and saw you were in here with the new patient. Dr. Aeri is being modest – I was merely observing. You're super lucky to have had Dr. Aeri as your surgeon, she's incredible."

She was so chipper and upbeat; not at all like the women Karina ever found attractive. The medication was obviously doing a number on her judgment. Her skull feel like it was throbbing.

Dr. Aeri beamed. "Why thank you, doctor. Dr. Kim is currently covering a vacation leave for one of my colleagues. She's usually at Yonsei Orthopedic Clinic, but currently splitting her time between here and there. She will be part of your recovery process."

Karina wondered what she could do to make the redhead – Dr. Aeri – stop talking or go away. Fortunately, her pocket buzzed and she looked down at her pager. "Oh dear, I've been called down to Emergency."

Karina smiled, barely turning her lips up, but the effort to do so took a lot out of her.

"Miss Yu, I will be back as soon as possible to update you on your procedure and recovery, but an intern may come in my place."

"If you need to go, I can take over; just let me read over her file," Dr. Kim offered. Karina liked her. She was easy to look at.

"Thanks Dr. Kim – here is her file. Just a warning, she's a little grumpy," Dr. Aeri said, the last part of the sentence using a stage whisper. That bitch.

The doctor handed the file over to Dr. Kim and left the room. Karina slowly rolled her eyes – yeah, the redhead was annoying – but then turned her attention to Dr. Kim.

"You're...pretty..." she said weakly.

Dr. Kim tilted her head to the side, clearly amused. She went to the foot of the bed and skimmed through her file.

"Alright Miss Yu, like I said, Dr. Aeri performed your emergency operation to repair the displaced fracture on your tibia. The surgery was successful, of course, but your leg will be in a cast for the next month or so. After that, it will need to be in a cast boot for at least four months, while it heals. Despite your injury, we fully expect your leg will be back to normal in six months or so. And you'll have a neat scar to show for it!"

Karina noticed the cast around her leg, below her knee, elevated over the bed. She barely paid any note though, still foggy on the medication.

"Miss Yu?" The doctor quirked an eyebrow up. Seriously, the doctor was beautiful. "Do you understand what I am saying?"

Karina slowly nodded her head, trying to shake the thick fog that filled it. "Tibia...cast...time." She grimaced; the pain made speaking difficult.

"Miss Yu, if you need anything for the pain at this moment, let me know," Dr. Kim responded softly. "Anyway, as I was saying—"

"—You're really pretty."

Dr. Kim laughed – oh god it was beautiful too – then continued, "Okay, Miss Yu—"

"Karina."

"What?"

"It's...Karina." She took a deep breath through the pain.

"Okay, Karina, we're going to keep you here for a few days to monitor..."

Beautiful. Like a cute cupcake thing.

"...there was a fair amount of swelling..."

And adorable. Listen to her talk. She seems smart. And pretty.

"...and while the operation was successful, this is standard protocol for breaks of this nature."

"Pretty."