5.
“I’ll come pick you up myself if you don’t show up, so just this once, do me a favor. I’ll buy you something delicious to eat afterward.”
Barely had Junyoung finished speaking when Sangkuk and Yumin widened their eyes in unison.
“What, are you playing favorites? We paid for our own meal after the checkup, but you’re giving special treatment to Jini?”
“Then you should’ve brought Jini along when you came.”
With a reprimanding look, Junyoung swept his gaze over Yumin and Sangkuk.
Yumin, who had been avoiding his eyes like a scolded child, finally frowned.
“Next time, I think I’ll pretend to be busy—or weak.”
“How is Jini weak? Haven’t you heard that the ones who look frail end up living the longest?”
Jini let out a dry laugh and stared at Sangkuk.
“Of all of us, you’re the one who’ll probably live the longest. You rush to the hospital at the slightest sneeze.”
The remark was so undeniable that Sangkuk didn’t bother to respond. Instead, he held out his empty glass.
“Whoever lives the longest—let’s just stay healthy while we’re at it, okay? Go get your checkup, Yunjini.”
With a casual smile to finish the exchange, Sangkuk downed the drink Jini had poured.
On Saturday morning, Jini yawned repeatedly as she stepped into the hospital lobby.
It was the time she should have been buried in deep sleep, savoring the slow, lazy comfort of a weekend—something every office worker valued.
The alarm must have been set by none other than Junyoung. He even knew her phone passcode.
After the alarm went off, he called exactly ten minutes later to confirm she was awake.
She was already up, so by the time she washed up and left the house, her expression remained crumpled.
Cursing Junyoung’s name under her breath several times, she arrived at the hospital.
Following his instructions, she began with blood tests and then sat in the designated waiting area to await her turn.
Resting her head against the wall and closing her eyes, she overheard the nurses talking at the nearby desk.
“Did you see it? During the CPR on the emergency patient this morning, it felt like I was watching a movie. Those flexor muscles and thick veins—every movement of that forearm was like a perfect harmony. Seeing it with my own eyes, I finally understood why they say we should change the anatomy models for the surgical department.”
Jini’s ears perked up automatically, though she had no idea whom they were talking about.
When the words “forearm model” came up, there was no doubt in her mind—this had to be about Junyoung.
“It was Dr. Kang’s ER shift yesterday, so everyone was scrambling to swap shifts, right? I heard he changed schedules suddenly. No matter how much people try to approach him, he doesn’t even blink—so it only fuels their determination. Some say he already has someone, others claim he’s not interested in women at all. But back in med school, he always avoided having girls around him. Makes you wonder… does he like men? The rumors might not be entirely false.”
“If it isn’t a rumor… you mean he likes men? No way!”
The murmuring voices lowered further, and Jini tilted her head slightly, straining to hear.
“They say Minji, our hospital’s model surgeon, tried ten times to win him over—and he rejected her every time. If that doesn’t tell you something, what does?”
Several people listening in responded with a collective “Hah.”
Jini could guess who the nurses were talking about.
If they mentioned a “bone model,” it could only be Junyoung.
“He’s coming! He’s here.”
Someone exclaimed, and the scattered chatter abruptly died down.
At the same time, Jini turned her gaze toward the familiar figure approaching from the end of the hallway.
Dr. Kang—the one rumored to like men.
The thought made a small smile spread across Jini’s lips.
2.
Junyoung’s eyebrows lifted slightly, as if surprised to see her smiling.
“I expected you to be glaring at me with your eyes, but you seem in a good mood.”
“Why would I glare? You’re my attending physician.”
Sensing a faint hint of mockery, Junyoung narrowed his eyes suspiciously.
“Even when I try to speak nicely, it still feels like you’re annoyed.”
“I’m serious.”
Though she said it, her expression remained stiff—far from convincing.
“I thought you’d be busy and we’d only meet at lunchtime.”
“Yeah, that was the plan, but I switched shifts yesterday. I’m your guardian for today. You know a sedated endoscopy requires a guardian, right? Do I really have to go this far to get you to the checkup?”
Without showing surprise, Jini nodded as if she had already expected it.
Junyoung tilted his head slightly, observing her unusual demeanor.
“You did fast from 6 p.m. yesterday, right?”
“Exactly. I’m starving and about to collapse. This is why I hate medical checkups.”
Realizing belatedly that her irritability stemmed from fasting, Junyoung let out a dry laugh.
“Sometimes it helps to empty your stomach. Especially for someone like you who uses overeating to cope with stress.”
He sat down beside her and took the checkup form from her hand.
“At this order, it’ll take all day.”
Tapping a pen against his lips in thought, he drew arrows and rearranged the sequence.
“Skipping the line isn’t possible, but I’ll try to slot you in whenever there’s free time. Just stick close to me.”
Jini nodded and smiled, then suddenly felt a prickling sensation of being watched.
She turned her head toward the source of the gaze.
The nurses who had been chatting at the desk a moment ago quickly looked away the instant their eyes met hers.
Lowering her gaze, Jini studied Junyoung’s profile.
