"What the hell happened to you?" Taehyung asked, rushing to wrap his arms around me tightly.
I laughed, pushing him off me with a gasp for air as soon as he was off me. Taehyung tends to squeeze the life out of me for no reason, but I'm not complaining. His hugs are my favorite, like blankets of security at random times.
"Yeah, I was scared you chickened out." Kylie suddenly appeared from behind me. "How'd it go by the way?"
I smiled, nodding my head. "It wasn't we bad as I thought. I feel really good about it."
Kylie's face falls into a grimace as she takes a sip of her coffee, letting out a relieved sigh. "Ew, need. I hated that exam." She sends us a proud smile, eyes twinkling with joy before she turns her back to us and begins to walk off. "Anyway, come on, my little chicks."
The three of us follow behind Kylie, shoving each other for a spot at her side because anyone who stands beside her always gets the best surgery.
I struggle pushing Taehyung away because Ahn has already claimed his spot on her left, and I learned my lesson not to fight with him since the last time I was left with a bruised knee. Taehyung was a different story. He was gentler, but being tall and muscular, he had the advantage and he wraps his arms around my waist before moving me aside. "Quit it, Taehyung, you greedy ass-"
"May."
Taehyung and I both pause, looking up at the owner of the voice.
My eyes widen and I stand straight, forgetting about Taehyung hovering behind me and the top of my head comes in contact with his jaw.
"Ouch." We both whine, rubbing the throbbing pain, finally pulling away from each other.
"Idiots." Kylie rolls her eyes, a smile threatening her lips wrote she sips her coffee.
I shake my head away from Taehyung, eyes landing on Jimin and the pain is suddenly the last thing on my mind.
"Oh, Jim-" I pause, noticing the color of his scrubs. He was already a resident judging by the black scrubs he wore. "Dr.Park."
"Hi, May." He smiles, extending a hand out to me with a black cup.
"May?" Taehyung mumbled under his breath behind me as if 'May' coming out of Jimin's lips was the strangest thing.
I instantly notice the cup as the one I left on the table as I was on a rush out.
"My-"
"I hope your exams went well, May."
I take the cup in my hand, wondering how it was still warm. My lips parted as I stare into his eyes, wanting to let out a 'thank you', but I took my time and simply marveled at his beautiful eyes. "Thank you."
It was silent again. Perhaps it was just me, because Hope Hospital is never silent, but it was quite refreshing.
"Uh, Dr. Park."
I noticed the hesitation as he looked away from my eyes, not fully putting his attention on the attending calling for his assistance. He'd glance at me in between until it was time for him to leave. When he brushed past me, he whispered, "I'll find you later."
After that, I didn't care that Taehyung playfully shoved me and took the spot next to Kylie. His playful poking and taunting winks to announce his victory over the spot were the last things on my mind.
I kept replaying his voice in my head as he whispered those words in my ear just for me.
I was pulled back to reality at a pinching pain on my elbow. I huffed under my breath, annoyed eyes falling on Taehyung next to me.
"May, you're in the ER, today." Kylie announced before she walked off, leaving us to head to our stations.
As I was about to head down, Taehyung grabbed on to my elbow and held me back.
"Yes?"
"Who was that guy?" He cocked a brow, tilting his head slightly back as if trying to act like the tough guy.
I rolled my eyes. "I met him at Pluto."
This time, Taehyung was the one rolling his eyes. "You mean thirteen, forty-three, forty?"
"Pluto is easier." I shrug.
"Well, Yoongi likes the numbers version."
"I bet he does. Was this before or after he asked you for your number?" I smile teasingly to which Taehyung rolls his eyes.
"This park guy is cute. He new?" Taehyung asks, changing the subject almost immediately.
"I think so. I've never seen him here before. I'll find out later."
Taehyung snorts, shaking his head. "Speaking of boys. Ahn-ah said you were touching yourself in the-"
"I swear I am going to kill him."
Taehyung chuckled, crossing his arms over his chest as he took a step forward.
"May, you could have called me over—"
I roll my eyes, pushing him away so the nurses wouldn't get a bad idea and bring it up later in the cafeteria.
"You're spending too much time with him."
Taehyung's smile beamed as he followed me to the ER, poking and probing about this morning's events.
"You're my best friend, not my sex doll." I say when we're left alone in the elevator.
I could faintly make out Taehyung's reflection through the stainless steel doors of the elevator. He simply shrugged. "Exactly, and as you're best friend, I will do anything for you."
I burst out laughing, his rich laugh harmonizing with mine.
"I hate you." I shake my head.
Ding.
The elevator doors open and I walk out, wishing Taehyung would follow me out so we can work together, but Kylie assigned him to a bigger case.
"Love you!" He shouts, earning looks from people standing by. I laugh to myself, hiding my blushing cheeks as I walk into the ER.
As soon as I walk through the doors, nurses and doctors run across the the floor, working together to help patients crying out in pain.
"Incoming!" A paramedic announces their passage through the ER for people to make room.
I peek over the crowd, judging if the case was worth my time, luckily, my fellow intern made it a lot easier to decide.
"Don't waste your time on her." She rolls her eyes, standing next to me with her arms crossed as we both watch the paramedics roll the patient in. "She's an aspiring model, living off of a protein shake and a small salad for diner everyday."
As I was about to speak, she continued. "It's her third time in the ER after fainting from the lack of protein and vitamins."
"Her third time?" I ask, suddenly curious about the patient as an unsettlement stirs in my stomach.
"Yeah. She's going to break her bones one of these days. They're as brittle as an old woman's suffering from osteoporosis."
"Uh, see ya, Nuri." I half smile, running toward the patient.
I immediately run over to the paramedics, listening to the patient's medical history as I glance down at the patient.
"Kim Nora." The paramedic begins, describing her potentially fractured elbow due to a fall during her rehearsal.
My eyes instantly widen, and my hand reaches her to comfort her as she cries in pain.
Nora, she was the girl who almost face planted at the cafe if I had not caught her.
"Nora, how are you feeling?" I ask her, squishing into the trauma room as they hook her to machines. She continues crying, so instead of probing, I try to comfort her. "Nora, we'll relieve the pain with some medication alright, but we gotta check out this fracture first."
She wailed louder, shaking her head as she rejected the paramedics request to call an orthopedic.
"I don't want him!" Nora finally cried out, desperately taking my hand with all her strength. "He'll send me back home, saying it's not broken. It is, it hurts, but every time he sends me home and gives me pain meds."
My brows scrunch together, scanning the room as nurses take over for the paramedics and the orthopedic attending enters the room.
"Dr. Eun-" I'm cut short by him before I can finish asking my question.
"She's malnourished. Her bones are weak. The x-rays show a well-reduced dislocation and no fracture." He claims, standing at her bedside with judging eyes.
Nora's eyes landed on mine, hand gripping mine tighter to the point where my face contorted into a wince. "Please, it's broken."
My eyes trail to her elbow, noticing the swelling and a few patches of noticeable superficial blebs.
"Nora, you're squeezing my hand too tightly." I say as kindly as possible. Her brows furrow in confusion, looking down at her own hand wrapped around mine.
"N-no. I-I can't be." She mumbled to herself before she begins to panic. "M-my fingers. They're numb. I-"
My eyes shoot up to Dr. Eun, noticing the confusion swirling in his eyes. Behind him stands a resident I've met only a few times. He's more of Taehyung's friend than mine, but he's always really sweet and lively. Although, his expression is anything but lively, instead he's alert and confused as his eyes gleam with ideas flowing through his mind.
"I'm requesting an ultrasound."
"What?" Nora shouts. "I'm not pregnant!"
I ignore her, keeping my eyes on Dr. Eun as he eyes me curiously.
"She claims to have numbness at her fingers and she's showing obvious signs of less than normal sensation to her fingers by her strong, uncontrollable grip." I say. "A vascular injury could be the cause of the swelling, numbness and the blebs. With an arterial doppler ultrasound, we'll know."
Dr. Eun scans the room as impatient eyes wait for his demand as he was my superior. "Okay. Seokjin, she's your intern now. Page me when you get the results."
I hadn't noticed I'd been holding in my breath until Dr. Eun left and I finally felt like I could breath. A nurse rushed to my side, assisting me with the procedure.
"Nora," I smile, trying to remain professional while being comforting during a painful time. "We're just checking the blood flow in your arteries and veins, okay?"
She nods, tears streaming down her pretty, slim face as she practices her breathing with a nurses while I concentrate on listening to the frequencies of the blood flow on her arm.
My eyes widen upon hearing the distorted and abnormal frequencies in which she lacked in some areas and was stronger in others.
No way.
"What is it Kang?" Seokjin rushed to my side— I guess my face said it all.
"She's got a major hematoma." I claim, earning and strange look from Seokjin as he took over the ultrasound, inspecting for himself. "It's causing extrinsic compression on the distal and brachial artery. There's minimal blood flow in—"
His expression resembled mine as he listened. "— the more distal arteries." He finished. "Page Dr. Sung!"
• • •
"You did well, Dr..."
"Kang." I finish, noticing how he trailed off as he didn't know my name. Vascular surgery wasn't my specialty, and I had only interned under him once as it was a requirement.
"And your specialty?" He asked, voice muffled behind his mask and his eyes fully concentrated on Nora's open arm.
"Neurosurgery, sir." I smile under my mask.
Dr. Sung nods softly, focused on not making harsh movements as his tools were in a patient's arm.
"You've got a good eye. Neurosurgeons can also make very good vascular surgeon."
I smile, nodding my head and continue to observe quietly beside Seokjin.
The OR was quiet, until the intercom buzzed and an angry voice disturbed the silence. "Kang, what the hell is this? Why didn't you page me? She was my patient—"
"It was my call, sir." Seokjin announced as everyone's eyes were now gazing up at the gallery where Dr. Eun stood angrily. "Nora has no broken bones, so there was no need for an orthopedic surgeon."
Dr. Eun's angry growls could be heard over the intercom and my cheeks burned red, hoping he wouldn't yell at me or insult me like he had done once before.
"Dr. Kim is right. Your service wasn't needed, Dr. Eun." Dr. Sung retaliated before Dr. Eun had a chance to yell at anyone. "And, as it says in Nora's chart, she's Dr. Kang's patient. Now, if you would please leave. I have some teaching to do."
With that, Dr. Eun left and silence took over the OR once again.
• • •
"Excuse me." I lower my head, trying to meet a pair of eyes beneath curly locks of hair.
Upon hearing my voice, his head softly raised and dark eyes met mine. His eyes were sleepy and the bags under them were beginning to turn dark. He tried managing a smile, but gave up as he didn't have the strength in him.
"You're Jungkook? You're waiting for Nora?" I asked, taking a seat in front of him. He nodded softly, rubbing his hands together and the rings on his slim fingers made soft clicking sound.
"The nurses say you've been here all day. Are you her—"
"I just met her today." He scoffed, resting back in the chair before throwing his head back. His Adam's apple bobbed as he swallows before releasing a long sigh.
When he fixed his posture, he raked his fingers through his hair, brushing his locks back in place. His dainty earrings swung back and forth as he shook his head.
I could hardly make out his eyes as his raven hair fell over his forehead, only allowing me to catch slivers of them.
"I can't just leave her. She said she's not from Seoul and she hardly has any family. I can't leave her."
I smile softly. "That's sweet. I'm sure she'll appreciate hearing that when she wakes up."
I noticed the way his face contorted into confusion. "She had surgery for a broken arm?"
I shook my head. "After an arterial ultrasound, we realized she was in pain because of a hematoma restricting blood flow to her distal arteries. We took her into surgery where we discovered a rupture in her brachial artery. Luckily, we were able to reconstruct the artery with a great saphenous vein graft. Her arm is currently in a cast as we give her artery time to heal."
In the midst of his tiredness, he found the strength to smile and chuckle softly, revealing a small mole under his bottom lip.
"I don't understand those big, fancy words, but I take it she's going to be alright?"
I laugh, nodding my head. "Yes. She's going to be fine."
"Thank you."
"Of course." I smile, rising to my feet and he quickly follows.
"And you are?" He asked hastily, taking a small step forward.
"Dr. Kang."
"Great." He smiles. "In case I get hurt, I want an excellent doctor working hard to save me, too. Now, I know just who to save me."
My smile grows and I shake my head.
"Thank you, but Dr. Eun was the lead surgeon. I'm still an intern."
Jungkook drops his head, smile on his pretty lips before he looks back up. His eyes twinkle, and he shakes away his locks.
"Dr. Eun came out earlier. He said you were the one who saved her life. He said a she could have bled out because it's such a huge artery. You discovered it because you insisted and you believed it wasn't a dislocation. That's the kind of doctor
I want."
I smiled, dropping my eyes to my scrubs to hide my blushing cheeks.
"Thank you, Jungkook." I look back up. "Take care."
• • •
"Hi."
When I look up from Nora's chart, I'm suddenly greeted with familiar eyes hiding behind slivers of dishevel locks.
"Hi."
Jimin smiles, leaning against the nurse station's counter. "I heard you reconstructed a brachial artery with Dr. Sung."
I laugh softly and I look away to hide my blushing cheeks. "How is it that you've heard about me when I didn't even know you were a resident here until this morning?"
Jimin's smile brightens. "I asked around about you."
"I hope you've heard good things."
"I have." He nods.
I bravely meet his eyes, hoping my cheeks have returned to their normal color.
"Are you free tonight?"
• • •