Chapter 9
In a team, it was common for a team leader to adopt ideas from subordinates’ proposals and subtly revise them as their own. The authority to select and refine proposals ultimately belonged to the team leader. Even when someone realized their idea had been taken, they often chose to remain silent and endure it—because they believed that if they persevered and avoided conflict, a future opportunity might eventually come.
But just as a stone thrown into a calm lake creates ripples, small disagreements could escalate into conflicts that threatened the entire project.
The team leader, who repeatedly appropriated proposals, was unlikely to be replaced unless promoted. Part of Jinyi even thought that might be better—at least a different leader could bring change.
She had experienced something similar in a previous project when her proposal was taken by the team leader. She understood the feeling all too well.
Though inwardly furious, she had to pretend not to notice. If she voiced her frustration, she risked becoming isolated or excluded from the team. She forced herself to endure it, but the stress took a toll on her body. For more than a month, stomach problems made it difficult for her to eat, and she lost over three kilograms.
It had effectively become an involuntary diet caused by emotional strain.
This time, it was Kim, the team member sitting next to her, whose proposal was taken by the team leader.
He had initially ignored it, but once the idea became treated as his own work, he finally confronted the leader—something he rarely did.
Unfortunately, he raised the issue in front of others, not realizing it would escalate.
The project they were working on was now at risk of being canceled, and soon after, Kim began to be excluded from tasks.
The team leader treated him as though he were invisible, deliberately isolating him.
When a team member was excluded, their workload naturally shifted to others—and as the youngest member of the team, Jinyi inevitably absorbed some of it.
Worse, Kim had once been her mentor when she first joined the company.
Even while working, Jinyi felt caught between the team leader and Kim, and that pressure only made things harder.
She had been working late for over a week. If things continued like this, she feared she might collapse from overwork.
While staring at her laptop screen, her phone suddenly vibrated with a message.
She was surprised—she thought it had been on silent.
It was a message from Junyoung.
“It’s been days since your test results came out. Are you not coming?”
She stared at the message for a long time.
A faint smile appeared as she imagined the expression he might have had when sending it.
She pictured his usual expression—the slight chewing of the inside of his cheek, something only close acquaintances would notice.
She imagined him holding his phone with long fingers, typing on tiny keys.
Come to think of it, it was Friday.
“I think I can come tomorrow morning. Is an appointment available?”
Almost immediately, Junyoung replied.
It was just a simple sentence, but it made her smile.
Meanwhile, a work message appeared.
“Jinyi, is the report I asked for yesterday going to be ready before you leave?”
It was the team leader.
Her expression stiffened, and she sighed.
It looked like she would have to work late again. The amount of pending tasks made her headache return.
Later
Wearing a cap pulled low and yawning occasionally, Jinyi stepped through the automatic doors of the clinic.
It was Saturday, and since the clinic only held morning appointments, the waiting area was unusually crowded.
She sat in the designated waiting area at the time of her appointment.
For some reason, she felt a prying gaze and turned her head, meeting the eyes of a receptionist at the counter.
It was a face she didn’t recognize. The receptionist seemed to smile at her, but Jinyi assumed it was meant for someone else and looked around.
No one else in the waiting area seemed to acknowledge the receptionist’s glance, leaving her feeling slightly confused.
The receptionist, who had been alone a moment ago, suddenly gathered with colleagues. When Jinyi looked their way, they startled and quickly pretended to be busy.
She thought, What is going on? but decided to ignore it.
She checked the appointment list on the screen and then leaned her head against the wall, closing her eyes.
“Is that her? Dr. Kang’s… partner?”
A whisper reached her ears.
She instinctively listened.
“It looks like it. Oh, here comes Dr. Kang.”
She kept her eyes closed.
Soon, she felt someone sit beside her.
“Are you always half asleep whenever I see you?”
She sniffed the familiar scent of coffee and opened her eyes.
Junyoung was sitting next to her, holding two cups of coffee.
“Who told you to schedule such an early appointment?”
She snatched one of the cups and took a sip.
“My lifeline.”
She took another sip and looked satisfied.
“I added milk, since I figured you’d be on an empty stomach.”
She nodded and smiled at him.
She assumed he had done it on purpose, since he always scolded her for drinking coffee on an empty stomach.
“Your clinic makes good coffee.”
“You ready for this?”
“What do you mean?”
“There are issues in several areas. Your cholesterol levels are high, and the endoscopy results aren’t great.”
“If you’re my doctor, what do I have to worry about?”
“I might need to change as your doctor. You don’t listen to me. That breaks trust between doctor and patient.”
