❝Compassion and tolerance are not a sign of weakness, but a sign of strength.❞
— Dalai Lama.
⊱Chapter 23⊰
MENTOR
• — ••• — •
"Soyeon?"
Hyejin called out the girl's name in return.
Soyeon's eyes were glued on Hyejin. They were like daggers that wanted to transpierce the girl's skin. She was mad.
Soyeon walked down to the girls, her hands into fists on both sides of her body.
"Stay away from Jungkook."
"Well, hello to you too Soyeon" Chaeyoung greeted with sarcasm.
"What do you mean Soyeon?" Hyejin finally spoke.
"You know exactly what I mean!"
Her voice rose up and resonated through the hallway, gaining a few people's attention. While Soyeon could care less, it wasn't the case for Chaeyoung and Hyejin.
The two doctors looked around them and gave out apologetic expressions to the passers-by.
Just like Chaeyoung, Hyejin found her nerves getting slightly triggered. She hated bringing attention to herself like this.
She took in a deep breath, "Do you wanna talk about it outside?"
"No. I'll tell you this once. Keep your distance with my man." Soyeon gritted her teeth as she took a step forward.
"Oh you mean your ex-bestfriend's ex?" Chaeyoung added, "Totally makes sense."
"Listen, Soyeon," Now it was Hyejin's turn to speak. "I don't care about your beloved man. Don't ever come to my workplace to make a scene like this."
Her words were sharp, making Soyeon remember who she was standing in front of. Hyejin's eyes showed nothing but disgust. It made Soyeon feel inferior.
Hyejin's always been the kind to stand up for her close ones. In fact, when it came to arguments, she was the best. She hated when people tackled others for meaningless things, especially when they took advantage of their weaknesses.
She'd always take her friends' sides. She'd talk for them and go for the fights to protect them.
However, when it came to her own case, Hyejin wasn't the same.
Soyeon knew Jungkook's always been Hyejin's weakness and she took advantage of it. Or at least that's what she thought. It was no longer that way.
"Then stop flirting with Jungkook while I'm not there!" She tried.
"Then be there."
"Dr. Kim?" A nurse joined the group with an iPad in his arms, "Dr. Suh And Dr. Byun needs your opinion on something."
"I'm coming Leo," She nodded towards her colleague and went back to Soyeon. With an unbothered expression on her face, she spoke again, "If you don't mind, I have more important things to do. Have a good one."
Hyejin didn't wait for an answer and turned on her heels, "Are you coming, Chae?"
"Oh dear Lord, of course." Her bestfriend responded without even giving Soyeon a hint of attention.
While the duo waited for the elevator, Chaeyoung let out a soft chuckle. Hyejin looked over her shoulder and raised a brow,
"Admit it. You were mad."
"Damn right I was." Hyejin admitted and Chaeyoung bursted out the laughters she tried her best to contain for the past minutes. Hyejin found herself following her bestfriend, letting all of the tension within her chest go.
"She woke me up in a snap of fingers," She joked after stepping in the elevator. "But she's right"
"Oh no, there it goes." Chaeyoung let her head fall backward while heaving a sigh out of her mouth.
"I know 'there it goes, the remorses after the confrontation'," she mimicked Chaeyoung with a grimace, "But it isn't right to be near Jungkook after the past that we shared together. Plus, I don't want her to experience what I've lived before. It's the worst."
"It's not like he cheated on her with you— Well," the moment from the previous night rushed back to their minds, "He didn't physically did it even if he was about to?"
"Yeah, no. That doesn't help. I feel bad now. How could I let that happen when I know exactly what it feels like?"
"Hey," Chaeyoung looked at her bestfriend with care, "I know cheating isn't right. However, it didn't happen and now that you realize it, it won't in the future. Plus, you can't compare that to what he did to you. You two have a past. He didn't have one with those chicks back then."
"Right."
The elevator doors opened and the girls stepped out.
"I'll go meet the rest of the team" Chaeyoung nodded towards the right side while Hyejin was facing the left one.
"Alright, page me if you need anything. I'll be in the radiology room."
—
"So you think that's the proper way to go?" Baekhyun asked, quite reluctant.
"Even if the pourcentage of success is low, according to your patient's medical record, there's still 50% to consider for this surgery. And, I don't see any other way to remove the tumor."
"I agree." Johnny followed Hyejin's points as he joined the duo for giving another point of view.
Hyejin nodded until her eyes fell on Baekhyun. The latter was nervously bitting the tip of his pencil while examining the scans hung before him for nth time.
"Are you nervous?"
Baekhyun let out a sigh, "I've never done this procedure before."
"It's only been a few days but I'm pretty sure Chief Suho wouldn't have let you become the head of cardio if he wasn't sure of your abilities." Hyejin tried her best to reassure him, "You'll have to do it some day."
"It'll be ok hyung."
"Yeah.."
Hyejin softened. Since she just met Baekhyun a few days ago, it was a first for her to witness him in such a vulnerable state.
He's known around the Hospital to be a tough doctor and mentor. However, every doctor has their phase of uncertainty in the course of their career. And it was Baekhyun's time.
"Do you want me to come with you tell the family?"
"If you don't mind." Baekhyun met her eyes for a mere second before he pulled them away, feeling quite embarrassed by his own request.
"Of course, let's go."
Hyejin and Baekhyun made their way down the corridor and into the patient's room. Letting Baekhyun introduce them and give out the news, Hyejin examined the family.
She watched their faces fall worryingly at the sound of the low percentage of sucess. They were facing a decision nobody wanted to face. Even doctors.
It was either they let their son die after his given four months pass or they take their chances and try this procedure after Baekhyun has seen a window to access the tumor.
At this moment, Hyejin was no longer a doctor. She was back in her student mode as she watched Baekhyun's skills to comfort the family.
"I know it can be frightening, Ms. Park. However, the tumor is located at a perfect spot that makes the sleeve resection possible."
"But Mark has undergone a lot of surgeries for his previous cancer, will he be able to do it again?" M. Park spoke out for the family. His words hitting hard on his wife.
Baekhyun looked over at the weak man laying on the bed. The patient held his head high and took upon himself to reassure his family,
"I am."
The doctors softened. It's common to see the patients being the one comforting their family since they are the one living it at the moment. They are the one in control. Or at least, they got more control on their conditions then their families.
Baekhyun let out a soft smile and pushed his attention back to the parents. With confidence, he straightened up, "I believe Mark can do this. If he wasn't, I wouldn't have suggested it."
Wiping her tears away, Ms. Park reached for her husband's hand and nodded. The old man inhaled deeply before letting the air go, "Alright. We approve it. Please, free our boy.."
Baekhyun nodded and after talking about the generalities of the procedure, the two doctors stepped out of the room.
As soon as he was out of sight, Baekhyun heaved out the longest sigh, bring his hand to his chest for support.
"You were and did great." Hyejin declared and patted his shoulder.
Despite the lack of words exchanged between the two concerning their personal lives, this experience brought them closer to one another.
Hyejin found herself looking up to Baekhyun after he managed his emotions perfectly, taking the family's into consideration first.
Their mentor-disciple relationship grew stronger and seeing the pride on Hyejin's face made Baekhyun feel better.
"Ok, I'm good now," He said, straightening up.