Chapter 8
Yeonwoo quickly turned around, worried that someone might see her flushed face.
Then she began moving the wet items outside one by one.
If she cleaned off the mud and let them dry in the sun, they could be reused.
As she was about to carry a chair, Sajun approached and snatched it from her.
“I’ll handle things like this.”
What the…?
His low voice struck her eardrums, and her heart began to pound.
“I-I can do it too.”
“You handle that big table over there.”
Sajun jerked his chin lightly in the direction.
“Huh?”
He was pointing at a table several times heavier than a chair, something she couldn’t possibly lift, and he had a mischievous smile on his face.
Even that smile looked so good that Yeonwoo couldn’t help but smile in return.
Se-young nudged Yeonwoo, giving her a look as if telling her to get a grip.
Suppressing her rising laughter, Yeonwoo continued moving the items.
Time felt like such a cruel thing.
As Yeonwoo had feared, time passed quickly.
After a long and tiring day, they gathered at Se-young’s place for a change.
The table was full of local dishes Se-young had gotten from the native staff.
Yeonwoo curled up with her knees drawn to her chest, resting her face sideways against them, quietly watching Se-young eat.
“Why are you just watching? Hurry up and eat before I finish everything!”
“I don’t have much of an appetite.”
“Did you get heatstroke?”
“No.”
Normally, she would’ve devoured the food in competition with Se-young, but now she didn’t feel like eating at all.
The time to return to Korea was approaching.
“Yeonwoo, did you hear anything from Master Beom after that?”
Se-young cut straight to the heart of the matter as if she had read Yeonwoo’s mind.
“No.”
Yeonwoo shook her head, her voice drained of energy.
“He hasn’t been in the OR much lately either, has he?”
“No.”
“Hmm, what’s going on? He used to work you like a slave, and now he’s suddenly cold?”
“Changed? Why would he?”
Yeonwoo raised her head and looked at Se-young.
“Well, think about it. Now that the mission period is almost over, you’re not as useful anymore.”
“……”
“He acted like some sweet-talking grad school professor seducing a student, and now that it’s time to leave, he’s pretending not to know you.”
Yeonwoo wanted to argue, but Se-young’s words felt too accurate. She was speechless.
Se-young, who usually came off like a carefree foodie, had surprisingly sharp insights.
“…Is that it?”
Yeonwoo sighed, her shoulders slumping.
Honestly, just like Se-young said, Master Beom was a master at emotional push-and-pull.
The mission would be over next week, but he hadn’t said anything about staying together or working more.
Yeonwoo was the only one agonizing over it.
“Yeonwoo, I bet you can’t think straight because a guy who looks exactly like your ideal type is hovering around, taking you to the OR and all that, huh?”
If it was just about Master Beom’s looks, he was almost too handsome—it felt unreal.
But appearance wasn’t everything.
There had to be something more—some kind of attraction. And Master Beom had that, plus unmatched skill as a surgeon. Falling for him was inevitable.
“W-What ideal type…”
Her heart stung at Se-young’s words, guilty as charged. Yeonwoo looked away, avoiding Se-young’s piercing gaze.
“You’re better off trying to fool a ghost.”
An ideal surgeon with an ideal face. Who wouldn’t fall?
Still, Yeonwoo had too much pride to answer. Se-young kept scolding her.
“You’re so clueless. Master Beom only needed a faithful and diligent slave. Don’t you get that?”
“So what if I was a slave? I’ve improved so much. Honestly, if I could work with him again, I wouldn’t mind being something even worse than a slave.”
In that short time with him, Yeonwoo’s skills had improved dramatically.
And the time she spent in the OR with him had become an irreplaceable experience.
That’s why she wanted to stay with him even more.
“God, you’re insane.”
Se-young looked at her in disbelief.
“Yeah, maybe I am.”
Yeonwoo knew herself well—once she got attached to something, she didn’t see anything else.
“You’re volunteering to be a slave? You’re hopeless. You’re going to end up getting dumped here.”
“I’m not getting dumped.”
“Oh my gosh. Ilkwon, Ikkwon, Segwon—Yeonwoo’s brothers, come get her. She’s completely out of her mind!”
Se-young’s exaggerated fuss about her brothers, who weren’t even there, made Yeonwoo sigh deeply.
“Ryu Yeonwoo, stop being so hung up and just finish this mission well before going back to Korea.”
…Hung up.
Would she ever meet another teacher as excellent as Master Beom once she returned?
Yeonwoo knew the chances were slim, and that’s why she couldn’t let go so easily.
“Haa…”
“If you like him that much, don’t just sit there sighing like the world’s ending. Go and ask him directly!”
“It’s not like that.”
“The hell it isn’t. You’re totally into him. That’s why you want to keep working with him.”
“I’m not into him! I just… I want to work. That’s all!”
“Yeah, right. Whatever you say. You’re not eating your precious bread, and that says everything. Bread girl not eating bread? Game over.”
Seriously, how could she not understand?
Yeonwoo shot Se-young a look and sighed again.
“No matter how much you want to learn from Master Beom, some things just won’t work out. And what’s he gonna do? It’s not like he’s got magic powers. The mission ends, and that’s it.”
Se-young was right.
But… maybe he did have magic?
He was a miracle worker who could bring dying patients back to life. Maybe there was a way.
“For now, eat. Just eat first.”
Se-young, looking fed up, plopped a curry-flavored meat pie and some bread on Yeonwoo’s plate.
“Tada! I even got beer.”
Se-young, always lucky when it came to food, had somehow managed to get beer too.
“Just eat. Once you eat, your thoughts will settle.”
She was right. Now was the time to focus on this precious food.
Yeonwoo set her thoughts aside and grabbed the beer.
Just looking at it seemed to revive her appetite.
“…Young-ah. What would I have done without you?”
“You’re only realizing that now?”
“No, I’ve always known. Thanks. I’ll enjoy the food.”
“Yeah, drink up. Even ghosts look better after dying with a full stomach.”
“Kek.”
“This is the perfect time to watch a movie, huh?”
“Wanna listen to music instead?”
“Sure. Something upbeat, please.”
They played music saved on a phone, leaned back in their chairs, and sipped their beer.
“Men,” Se-young said, “are creatures who live and die by pride.”
“That’s true.”
Yeonwoo had three older brothers, so she knew that well enough.
But from the way Se-young was talking, it sounded like she was referring to Master Beom.
“Are you talking about him?”
“Isn’t he a man? All men are like that. Remember when the place flooded? He made a show of pumping water out and hauling tables around, trying to flex in front of you?”
“…Well, yeah, but that’s not because he wanted to impress me, right?”
“Usually people show off more when they want to impress someone.”
“Still… I don’t think Master Beom is like that…”
“You never know. Go find out for yourself today.”
“Find out what?”
“Ask him. ‘Do you like me? Huh? If you do, why don’t you say it!’ Ask him just like that.”
And here I was, taking her seriously. What an idiot.
“…Say that with ‘your student’ in front, will you?”
