The Girl With The Iron Will

BONUS CHAPTER

BONUS: Ji Yoon's Serendipitous Reunion

***

"Just let me stay by your side, when you are happy or in despair."

Luhan, Your Song

***

"...now why would you pick a fight with your big brother? You know he doesn't like anyone bothering him," the animal surgeon murmured as she reached for a thread on the tray next to her operation table.

She cut the thread, holding tightly onto the tweezers as she adjusted the light. "And now look, you're the one sent to the hospital...for the third time in a row, too!" she scolded, "This is going to hurt a lot when you wake up..."

Ji Yoon focused on the last of the stitches, murmuring conversationally to the unconscious baby alligator on the surgical table whose leathery hide she was stitching up, and she narrowed her eyes as she reached with her scissors to cut up the thread.

"There. All done."

She smiled, patting her patient's long head. "Now don't you go and pick a fight with him again," she chided, just as the door knocked gently, before being opened. A head poked into the operation room.

"Dr Jeon?" her intern asked, "A call came for you. Should I tell them you'll call back later?"

She shook her head. "Oh, it's alright. The surgery's done, could you help me clean up and call the keepers for pickup?"

"Yes, Doctor."

Ji Yoon gave a last look at her patient as she took off her scrubs and gloves, washing her hands before she went out of the operating theatre. She reached her office and picked up the call, eyebrows furrowing at first, before raising in surprise and delight.

"Jang Mi!" she said, "I thought you'd never call!"

The luxurious hotel where the Beijing Fashion Show was organized at was filled to the brim with its attendees, the press, and the whole army of paparazzi, and Ji Yoon, who had long since given up on her socialite's duties, was promptly swept up by the glitzy glamour of high society.

Of course, she missed her veterinarian responsibilities, even though she had only been here for two days, and was dying to return. But she could hardly be miserable, and so she milked it for all it was worth, posing at different angles as the cameras flashed, while the original invited attendee was shaking her head at the sidelines.

Ji Yoon spotted the look on her friend's face and smiled sheepishly, joining her.

"I don't see why you didn't come with your fiancé," she said with a grin as the two women entered the venue of the fashion show, "He's perfect for publicity, and he's the Kris, you know. Having him around would make the reporters swoon."

Her dear friend, Jang Mi, rolled her eyes. "You know I hate the publicity," she said with a wry tone, "Plus, he's in New York for the Fall-Winter show, and couldn't make it here. I thought you might like to come instead, since it's been a while since you've been home."

"I know," Ji Yoon smiled wistfully, as they entered the venue, where people were finding their seats, "Thanks for inviting me. I thought you forgot you even had a friend when you went solo globetrotting."