The next day was uneventful. Lisa spent most of it watching TV and flipping through the terrible talk shows (through which she was displeased to have obtained the knowledge of what a 'Harry Styles' was). She settled on watching Ellen when Dr. Bae stopped by.
They shared small talk as the doctor looked through her charts, then went through the standard line of questioning, "The pain is at 5 – these painkillers are crazy though, they make me feel like I'm a floating head."
"I'll see what I can do about switching you to something less potent."
A knock at the door alerted them to a hospital staffer with her lunch. The doctor stood back as he set her tray up, and she smiled at the staff person as he left.
"Want some?" Lisa asked, shoveling peas into her mouth. "I mean, it's not the greatest food, but it's free and I'm a poor starving student so it tastes delicious."
The doctor laughed – Lisa realized she loved making her laugh – and shook her head. "I'm fine. It's all yours."
Lisa said, "Suit yourself," around a mouthful of ham and cheese sandwich.
"So what do you do with yourself when you're not suffering from broken bones and concussions? You said you were a student?"
Lisa nodded, swallowing before answering. "I'm in grad school, getting my master's in philosophy. I've been working on my thesis, which basically means I've been doing everything but working on my thesis. Plus, being here hasn't been helping my productivity..."
Dr. Bae's eyebrows raised – she was clearly impressed.
"Surprised I'm such an intellectual?"
"What? No, it's just...I didn't picture you as a philosophy-type of person."
"Well, Dr. Bae, how did you picture me?" Lisa said, winking. The doctor's face reddened and she shook her head.
"Lisa, you must get into a lot of trouble."
"I do, it's great." She ate a spoonful of the chocolate pudding and then cringed. "Okay, having no money won't even make me want to eat this."
"Not good?"
"I'm not even sure it's food," she answered, poking it and watching it wobble.
The doctor opened her mouth to say something then shut it quickly. She looked like she was evaluating whether to do something when she nodded to herself. Lisa found this entire silent conversation the doctor was having with herself to be adorable.
"I'll be right back, Lis," Dr. Bae said, before leaving the room.
No one ever called Lisa 'Lis' and got away with it. But she liked it coming from the doctor. It sounded familiar, close. Affectionate.
This was getting to be ridiculous. She was crushing hard on her doctor, like a twelve-year-old school kid crushing on their teacher. It was kind of pathetic. She shook her head. The doctor was cute. Of course, she had a crush on her. But was nothing, just a crush, if that at all. Lisa admired attractive women all the time. This was no different. It was nothing, really.
Of course, when Dr. Bae reentered the room, the nagging feeling in the back of Lisa's mind that she tried to ignore whenever the doctor was around told her it was definitely something.
She stopped next to Lisa's side and draped her arm over the top of Lisa's bed.
"Okay, Lisa, Nurse Miyeon will be back later with some less aggressive painkillers. They're not as effective at dampening the pain as the ones you're currently on, but the side affects are less severe. I think you're strong enough to push through, but if the pain becomes too much again, page us immediately, okay?"
"Okay," Lisa agreed.
Dr. Bae pulled a Kit Kat bar out of her pocket and placed it on her table stand.
"The chocolate pudding is kind of gross – I just don't think you should miss out on dessert," the doctor explained, sheepishly tucking her hair behind her ear. She reached forward and lightly squeezed Lisa's arm before leaving the room, grinning, not giving Lisa a chance to respond or thank her.
Yeah. This "crush" was going to be inconvenient.
****
"Are you sure you're going to be okay, Lisa?"
"Yes, Seulgi."
"And you're sure you'll walk again?"
"Yes, Seulgi."
Seulgi sat on the end of the bed, next to Lisa's 'good' leg. Her arms were crossed; she was visibly upset, having rushed to the hospital as soon as Lisa texted her. Lisa should've dealt with the situation a little less bluntly.
Seulgi: 'Where the fuck are you? I haven't seen you for days, loser. My fridge still has all its food in it.'
Lisa: 'Fell off my roof. In the hospital.'
"I just can't believe you're so blasé about this. You could've been seriously injured – even more so than you are right now."
Lisa rolled her eyes and affected a tone of boredom, she knew it riled Seulgi up when she spoke like this. "You're even more riled up about this than my mom. Can we go back to you hating me? Because you're being weird."
Lisa mimicked Seulgi's posture and crossed her arms. She didn't like it when people fussed over her, especially Seulgi, who had the tendency to be disproportionate about everything.
Seulgi shook her head. "I don't hate you. I just like fighting with you."
"Well, let's go back to fighting. You're doing this thing with your face that makes it look like you care about me."
Seulgi huffed. "I do care about you, despite the fact that you're like an annoying, rude little sibling. I'm just glad you're okay, okay?"
"Well, if anything happened to me, who would you generously allow to steal all your food and ramp up your karma points?" Lisa asked, shrugging.
Lisa really did like Seulgi, despite their constant arguing and need to outdo each other. She struggled with expressing this, but she knew Seulgi knew that she valued her friendship. Neither of them would ever admit it out loud though.
Seulgi laughed and gently hit Lisa's non-injured shin, keeping her hand on it. "I don't even know why I put up with you."
The two smirked at each other.
"I hope I'm not interrupting anything..." Dr. Bae stood at the doorway, in a big winter coat and with a purse. "I was just on my way out and wanted to tell you that Dr. Yeji would be covering this evening. I am also not scheduled here tomorrow, I'll be at the clinic, but I may stop by as you're being discharged. If I have time."
Lisa nodded, disappointed that she may not see the doctor tomorrow, but tried to not let it show. Seulgi had a sort of radar for Lisa's moods – it was an inconvenient side effect of their friendship. She didn't want anyone, much less Seulgi, to know about her possible feelings for her doctor.
"I'm Miss Manoban's doctor, Dr. Bae," the doctor said to Seulgi, the smile not quite reaching her eyes.
"Oh, right. Dr. Bae, this is Seulgi. Seulgi, this is one of the doctors who saved my leg, Dr. Bae," Lisa said.
"Nice to meet you," Seulgi replied a little awkwardly; she must've noticed the doctor's coldness.
The doctor's eyes kept flitting between Lisa, Seulgi, and Seulgi's hand on Lisa's shin. Lisa shifted her leg and Seulgi, taking the hint, removed her hand. Dr. Bae's eyes snapped up quickly, looking back at Lisa.
"Anyway, Miss Manoban, I guess I'll see you at the clinic next week. I hope you and your girlfriend have a lovely evening."
Seulgi and Lisa both shuddered and simultaneously replied: "Uh, gross! Kang wishes she could get a girl like me." "Oh god no, Manoban is basically my brother."
Lisa tried to reach forward to smack Seulgi, but couldn't with her leg in the cast; Seulgi stuck her tongue out.
Dr. Bae laughed and leaned against the doorframe. Lisa smiled to herself; the doctor looked relieved. "I was just wondering..."
"Lisa wishes she could date me, but years, and years, and years of being rejected by me..."
"Stop it Seulgi, I'm already in a cast, I don't need to be kept here longer for getting violently ill."
The doctor laughed.
"Okay, okay, I won't make that mistake again. Trust me," she said, her voice turning sultry.
Seulgi's eyebrows shot up, and Lisa's must've too, 'cause the doctor blanched and quickly spoke again.
"I mean, obviously you two didn't like me thinking that you two were together, not that I make note of my patient's personal lives, like if they're single or not, not that I even know if you're single, Lisa. I just mean that you should trust that I won't assume that you two are dating again." Dr. Bae bit her bottom lip and took a deep breath. "Anyway, I'm off for the night. I'll see you soon, Lisa. Again, nice meeting you, Seulgi."
She smiled embarrassedly at Lisa one last time before leaving, closing the door behind her.
Seulgi whipped her head around. "What the hell was that?"
Lisa blinked, confused herself. "What?"
"Dr. Tiny has a thing for you."
"No she doesn't," Lisa said, suddenly feeling warm.
"Yes she does, are you kidding me? Like when she thought we were dating? I thought she was going to strangle me."
She tried to deflect. "Oh Seulgi, did you hit your head too?"
"And then the whole 'Trust me' thing? I thought she was going to mount you. I swear to god, you break your leg in a stupid accident and you still have hot women throwing themselves at you. It's ridiculous."
"No one is throwing anything at me." Lisa's grin must've given her away – Seulgi smirked immediately.
"Ha! I'm right. There's something going on between you two!"
"Shh, Seulgi, shut up. I don't need the entire hospital hearing this." The door was closed and Lisa was sure no one could hear, but still – Seulgi was embarrassing her.
"Well seriously, no kidding. She could get in shit if anything were to happen."
Lisa quirked an eyebrow. "Really? That's a real thing?"
"Of course, it's a real thing! She could lose her job if she were to pursue anything with you while you're her patient. Unless you were married. Grey's Anatomy taught me that."
"Leave it to television to teach you important life lessons." Lisa rolled her eyes, trying to ignore the new nagging feeling of guilt over how she's been shamelessly flirting with the doctor since she met her.
That night, after Seulgi left, Lisa wondered if she was right. If, in fact, Seulgi's suspicions were correct and the doctor was actually interested, what should Lisa do about this?
Probably nothing, like Seulgi said the doctor could lose her license if anything were to happen.
But she was rarely in this position; it was foreign for her to feel any sort of pull towards someone else, she hadn't in years. And the fact that this person was, for all intents and purposes, unattainable for (at least) the next several months, complicated the matters exponentially. That said, it somehow made the doctor more irresistible.
Lisa was self-aware; she was incredibly rash and selfish. She liked flirting with beautiful women; she liked the attention that Dr. Bae gave her. She wasn't going to stop. If nothing happened, at least she'd have some fun along the way. If something did happen, then great and she usually got her way when it came to women she was into. She'd deal with the consequences later.
She wasn't going to let herself feel guilty about being attracted to someone.
****
The morning she was to be discharged, Lisa was given a pair of crutches. Nurse Miyeon, who Lisa had already established didn't like her, was there to help her learn how to use them.
Lisa hobbled around her room before stumbling a little.
"You're like Bambi on ice right now, Lisa," Bambam said, catching her.
"I'm fine. I'm doing a great job," she answered with gritted teeth.
Nurse Miyeon and Bambam didn't bother holding in their snickers.
****
"Isn't this a little excessive? I'm fine, I can use the crutches."
Next to her, Bambam laughed humorlessly.
"Well, Miss Manoban, like Nurse Miyeon said, it's hospital policy. And you do have a cast on your leg," Dr. Bae said, her hands on her hips. Her head was tilted to the side in the cutest way possible, which only pissed Lisa off more.
Yes, you're adorable. I get it, Dr. Bae. But I'm annoyed right now so you need to fear me like everyone else does and take me seriously.
"I don't need it."
The doctor stood behind the wheelchair that the nurse brought in when Lisa was discharged. Lisa took one look at it and ranted; Dr. Bae was brought in to convince her to sit in it.
"You didn't listen to the nurse, which you should've. Now Dr. Bae is here saying the same thing; just listen to her," Bambam said, holding her crutches and bag, clearly irritated.
"This is ludicrous. I can use the crutches."
"Look, Lisa, I've come by on my lunch break from the clinic, to make sure you get out of here in one piece and keep me employed at my very needed job. Student loans can't pay for themselves."
"No."
"Fine. Hurt yourself again. Maybe if you do, you'll need a second surgery, the hospital will see the need to hire another full-time ortho surgeon and hire me! Go on, Lisa. Fall. Go on."
Lisa grumbled to herself – "This is bullshit, cupcake." – then said, "Fine," through gritted teeth.
"Girls are weird." Bambam's eyes looked back and forth between the two women and shook his head. "I'm going to get the car, do you need any help, Dr. Bae?"
"I'm fine, thank you Bambam. It was nice meeting you." Dr. Bae turned to face Bambam as he went towards the door and shook his hand.
"Likewise. And I apologize for how much of a pain in the ass my sister is. She's like a school bully, she chases and picks on the girls she has crushes on." From behind the doctor, Lisa gave Bambam the finger, an insult on the tip of her tongue before the doctor responded.
"It's no problem." Dr. Bae laughed and looked back to give Lisa a wink before turning to face Bambam.
"See you downstairs, Lisa." Bambam left the room.
Dr. Bae took a step forward and wrapped her arm around Lisa's waist. Lisa stifled the hitch in her breath; if the doctor noticed, she didn't say anything.
"Okay! Let's get you in the wheelchair, Lisa. Put your arm around my shoulders and lean on me."
Dr. Bae's body was flush against Lisa's side. The doctor's face was so close to her own; Lisa stopped herself from leaning closer. She subconsciously licked her lips and swore that the doctor stared at her mouth as she did it. In this moment, Bambam was right – this didn't feel like a mere attraction; she felt like a pre-teen with a crush. She had to get herself in check; she stiffened a little.
"Are you okay, Lisa?" Concern washed over her features. Dr. Bae bit her lip and Lisa's eyes watched the movement.
"Uh, yeah. Sorry. Sea legs. You were probably right about using the wheelchair. Let's just get me in there..."
Get it together.
"Okay," the doctor said. She took a deep breath, squeezing Lisa closer. "One, two, three, and up!" Dr. Bae supported Lisa's weight against her body. With a surprising strength, she helped her off the bed and into the wheelchair. Lisa sat down easily, the loss of the doctor against her immediately making her feel cold.
"Comfortable, Miss Manoban?" Dr. Bae asked, standing up straight and giving her a beaming smile. Being on the receiving end of it made her feel like she could run out of the hospital, not be confined to the cast, crutches, and wheelchair.
"Yeah, whatever." Her voice was shaky, so she gave a feeble smile to the doctor, hopefully masking how she felt. It seemed to satisfy her.
"Okay, I'll help you out of here. I don't want you to get into any more arguments with Nurse Miyeon."
"You and her friends?" Lisa asked; the nurse seemed to know that Lisa only really listened to Dr. Bae.
"Yeah! She was my roommate in college. I think, under different circumstances, you two would hit it off."
"Seriously?"
The doctor laughed. "No, probably not actually." She pushed her out of the room, smiling and nodding at everyone who passed. "You and your brother seem close."
"Yeah, he's a pain in the ass, but he's a good brother. Usually."
"Well, he seems nice. It must be great having a brother. I'm an only child." They stopped in front of the elevators and the doctor pressed the 'down' arrow.
"Lucky you."
"Miss Manoban, you should've seen him when Dr. Park and I spoke to him after we finished your surgery. He really does care for you. From what I gather, you two have a lot in common. Both a little dry, but very sweet."
Lisa rolled her eyes. She didn't like to assume people's sexualities – she didn't ever feel the need, as she never had any issue with finding interested partners – but she assumed Dr. Bae was interested in women. A voice in the back of her mind corrected her – interested in you.
Not that she was jealous of her brother, at all. It was all just really annoying. She thought back to last night when she decided to just see where this all went. Somehow, she was already invested.
"You into my brother or something?" Lisa asked coldly.
"What? No. I mean, he seems like a nice guy, but he's absolutely not my type."
Lisa smiled, glad that the doctor was pushing the wheelchair and couldn't see her face. "Well then, what's your type?"
"That's a little inappropriate to ask your doctor, Miss Manoban."
The smile dropped from Lisa's face; she clammed up. "Right. Right, sorry."
The elevator doors opened; it was empty. Dr. Bae wheeled her in and selected the 'M' button.
"It's fine, Lisa, I'm just teasing. I usually go for women who don't fall off their roofs taking Christmas lights off in February, in the middle of the night while drunk."
Lisa looked behind; the doctor was grinning down at her, a glint in her eyes.
The doctor's playfulness gave her a shot of bravery. "See, Bambam was wrong. I think there's some mutual chasing and picking-on going on here."
"I'm sorry?"
"Bambam's school bully comment."
The doctor's face turned serious. Lisa immediately felt her confidence disappear. She was about to apologize when Dr. Bae smirked.
"Well, Lisa. I am your doctor. Relationships between patients and their doctors are prohibited, obviously."
Lisa turned back in her seat, facing forward. She looked at her hands in her lap. "I know that. I was just kidding-"
"Plus, as your doctor, I am fully committed to not chasing you," the doctor said, leaning down and speaking softly in Lisa's ear. The puffs of her breath tickled Lisa's ear. "At least not while your leg is healing. It'll impede the healing process."
Lisa turned her head, looking into the doctor's eyes. She gulped; gone was the cute, bubbly doctor – next to her was an incredibly sexy woman.
"Not if I don't run," Lisa replied. She ran her tongue over her bottom lip and watched the doctor's eyes follow her tongue.
This time the doctor looked flustered. Lisa would've felt a sense of accomplishment if her own heart wasn't beating out of her chest. Once again, she caught the doctor's eyes dart down to her lips.
The elevator dinged and stopped; the doors opened. Dr. Bae quickly straightened up and pushed her out, towards the exit. Lisa heard her let out a breath.
Lisa was going to get whiplash from all their interruptions. Something was happening between the two of them, it felt like more than her usual attraction to women. She wanted to explore it but also knew that the doctor was trying to resist her. Which, honestly, was unprecedented.
The doctor pushed her in silence to the lobby entrance, out the doors. Lisa could see Bambam pulling her car up to the curb. She pointed him out to the doctor; she stopped her next to the curb.
"Well, Miss Manoban, I look forward to seeing you at the clinic next week."
The doctor shoved her hands in the pockets of her coat.
"Likewise." She suddenly felt shy by Dr. Bae's sudden change – gone was the playful, flirtatious woman who was in the elevator. Instead stood a professional, a stranger.
"Okay, I'll just leave you here then. Tell your brother that the wheelchair can be left by the front doors, someone will grab it."
"Will do, Dr. Bae"
"See you in a week, Miss Manoban. Try not to get into any more trouble." Dr. Bae gave a half-smile and then tucked her hair behind her ear. Lisa felt affection for her, clutching in her chest.
The doctor reached forward and squeezed Lisa's arm, as she always did when she would leave her, then turned to go back into the hospital. Lisa tried not to watch her walk away. She failed.