Chapter – 10
“Why don’t you clean up a little?”
Only then did Cheonga’s eyes properly take in the state of Yushin’s room.
Compared to a few days ago, it had somehow evolved into an even filthier version of itself.
“……”
At his indifferent tone, Cheonga bit down hard on her lip.
Even so, it twitched uncontrollably. Heat rushed up to the crown of her head, making it feel impossible to turn around and face Yushin right now.
“Starting today. The deadline is… until my room is clean.”
Yushin looked down at the tips of Cheonga’s ears, now bright red, and cleared his throat.
“Hm.”
“Then I’ll be counting on you.”
His voice sounded thick with mockery.
Cheonga couldn’t tell whether that was really the case, or if her heart was simply interpreting it that way.
Without saying a word, she answered by nodding her head.
The Wang Gildong landfill.
As Cheonga cleaned Yushin’s room, the place she had once staked out came back to her.
A hellish space filled with trash and stench.
A blind spot in the CCTV coverage.
All she remembered from that undercover investigation was the cold and the filth.
Strangely enough, Yushin’s room kept reminding her of that place.
It didn’t smell, but judging by the amount of trash and the state of hygiene, it wasn’t much different.
Cheonga wiped the sweat from her forehead with the cuff of her rubber gloves.
“How is it possible for this place to get filthy again every single day?”
She clearly remembered staying late last night, even delaying her own clock-out time, to clean for hours.
And yet today, the desk was buried under an even taller pile of papers than yesterday. Specialized textbooks had once again escaped the bookshelf and were stacked endlessly high.
When she glanced at the central table, it was piled with promotional drinks from pharmaceutical companies, memo pads, pens—practically a small mountain. The sofa and the floor were no better; there wasn’t even room to set foot down.
“And why the hell are there dumbbells in every size? Is he insane or what? If you use them, at least put them back—ugh, damn it, they’re heavy!”
The curses slipped out before she could stop them.
Still, this was an opportunity she absolutely could not afford to miss.
Min Yushin.
He was the most suspicious person in the hospital. And now he had willingly opened the door to his lab—why would she ever refuse that?
Cheonga wanted to find anything. Any clue at all.
The problem was that the room was just too dirty.
So dirty that she barely had time to investigate anything because there was so much to clean.
“No, seriously… how does it get newly filthy every single day?”
With a deep sigh, Cheonga picked up the trash scattered across the floor. Next, she gathered the examination gowns piled on the sofa and headed toward the utility room where laundry was collected.
“Hello, ma’am. You’re in that room again today?”
As Cheonga exited Yushin’s lab, someone greeted her. Blocking her path was Professor Kim Dong-ho, who used the lab right next to Yushin’s.
“Ah… haha. Hello, Professor.”
Cheonga reflexively broke into a bright smile.
Professor Kim nodded with a bitter smile, as if he fully understood her situation.
Judging by his expression, the condition of Yushin’s room must already be well-known among the gastroenterology professors.
Peering into the lab through the door that hadn’t quite closed yet, he exclaimed in surprise.
“Whoa. What the—why is it so clean?”
“Pardon?”
Cheonga followed his gaze inside.
To her eyes, it still looked hopelessly filthy, but to Kim, it must have seemed significantly improved.
“Wow, you’re really good at cleaning. But isn’t this outside your job scope? I didn’t think Min was that kind of guy—does he bully you or something?”
Kim spoke in a tone of concern, playing the role of a kind man. But Cheonga knew he was only pretending.
If he truly cared, he wouldn’t keep someone standing there with both arms full of laundry.
Or at least, he’d offer to help carry it.
Cheonga deliberately laughed exaggeratedly as she replied.
“Oh, it’s nothing like that. I just do it in my spare time so our professors can be more comfortable. Um. Think of it as a service. A service.”
“A service…?”
He rubbed his chin as if thinking something over.
“Then, could I possibly get that cleaning service too?”
“Ah—”
Before Cheonga could answer, another lab door opened. Out came Professor Yang Dong-jun from the GI motility department.
“Cleaning? You’re offering to clean?”
Cheonga’s expression grew even more strained. But before she could speak, Kim Dong-ho waved his hands dismissively.
“What are you doing, Professor Yang? I asked first. My room is urgent. The ‘Return of the Master Doctor’ filming crew is coming next week. The hospital’s reputation is on the line, you know. Tsk.”
“Professor, I’m in the same boat! A SIT sponsor is visiting. You know this research lists all of us in GI as joint collaborators, right?”
The two professors locked eyes over Cheonga, tension sharp between them.
Left.
Right.
Cheonga’s gaze flicked back and forth before she spoke in a small voice.
“I—I’ll do both of them.”
The raised voices stopped abruptly. Both men turned toward her at the same time, grinning broadly.
“Really?”
“Oh my! Thank you so much. Thanks to you, our department’s dignity is saved. Hahaha!”
Cheonga bowed briefly, then bolted down the hallway with the gowns in her arms.
‘What kind of jackpot is this?’
While undercover, not only had Min Yushin opened his lab to her, but now other professors’ labs were wide open as well.
Wasn’t this like handing a cat a whole fish?
There was no rule saying the drug-related network had to involve only one person. If she could investigate other professors’ rooms too, it would be a huge help.
Of course, her body would be completely wrecked in the process.
“Whew, that liniment smell.”
“You haven’t done much physical labor, have you, Bokseon? Honestly. The youngest one among us, and you’re already this frail—what are we gonna do with you?”
The cleaning ladies huddled together in the break room, worriedly sticking pain relief patches onto Cheonga’s back and neck.
“Hehe. Thanks, unnis. Ahh, that feels so much better. Let’s go do the morning cleaning!”
She spoke cheerfully and headed out, but in truth, she’d already been on the clock for over two hours.
During that time, she had scrubbed both Professor Kim’s and Professor Yang’s private labs until they shone, all while glaring suspiciously at every corner—before finally returning.
She planned to visit Yushin’s room after work.
Last night, when she cleared away the mountain of books in his lab, she’d discovered a suspicious lock attached to one of the drawers.
‘I’ll crack it tonight. Before I completely wreck my body, I need to finish this.’
As she rotated her wrist, now covered in patches, her steps suddenly stopped.
Someone had grabbed the back of her neck.
When she turned around, Min Yushin’s narrow-eyed face filled her vision.
His cold gaze slowly traced the patches on her shoulder and wrist.
“That smell…”
Seeing him trail off, Cheonga smiled awkwardly.
“Ah, uh. Is it strong? That’s bad. But if I don’t use these, I can’t even move my wrist.”
It was obviously exaggerated, but Yushin’s expression didn’t soften.
“……”
He stared silently at her wrist for a long moment, then slowly lifted his gaze to her face.
In an instant, his hand moved closer to her. With a sharp rip, the bandage on her forehead was peeled off.
Startled, Cheonga raised a hand to her forehead, but Yushin knocked it away with a light tap.
“Don’t touch it. It’ll scar.”
“Ah…”
“Just endure it for two days. It’s almost healed.”
At some point, Yushin had pulled a skin-regeneration tape from the pocket of his coat.
It was like a magic pouch—everything imaginable seemed to come out of it.
With one hand supporting the back of her head, he pressed the tape firmly over her forehead.
“I told you I’d take responsibility for this one thing.”
His sharp eyes softened, and for a brief moment, a faint smile crossed his face.
Cheonga pressed her lips together.
She didn’t know what expression to make, or what she was supposed to say.
“I noticed the room’s gotten a lot cleaner. Thank you. Just a little more, please.”
“Ah… yes.”
After exchanging brief farewells, they walked off in opposite directions. But after only a few steps, Cheonga realized her heart was pounding violently.
Thump. Thump.
She tapped her chest a couple of times and took a deep breath.
She’d been determined to thoroughly ransack his room tonight. And yet, running into Yushin face-to-face at a moment like this—
It was probably only natural that her heart was racing this wildly.
My heart’s going to beat me to death.
