Chapter 12
Ryu Yeon-woo, who had wiped away the staff’s worries about whether she could last a whole week, had now become an indispensable talent in the emergency room.
More precisely, she was becoming a pillar of the ER.
“Why would she come to our hospital when there are big-name hospitals in Seoul?”
“Who knows? Did Dr. Choi Mansoo say anything?”
“My brother doesn’t know either. He’s just a senior in name only.”
Although Choi Mansoo and Ryu Yeon-woo graduated from the same university, the age gap between them meant they didn’t know each other very well.
Anyway, with her cute and lovable image and the skills to match, rumors about her spread quickly.
“I heard her ex-boyfriend was a scammer. Maybe he lives around here? She’s hell-bent on finding him—says she won’t let him off if she catches him. Wonder if he’ll survive…”
WEEOOO–WEEOOO–
Ji-woong, who had been enjoying the gossip, jumped from his seat at the sound of an approaching ambulance siren.
“Oh! It’s coming here, right?”
“Looks like it. Let’s go.”
Nurse Kim and Ji-woong left the station to receive the patient.
As they exited the emergency room, the ambulance parked outside opened its doors, and a patient was taken out on a stretcher.
“Thanks for your work. We found him drunk and lying in a rice paddy. He has a head wound and was rambling on—seems like he fell.”
“Oh, it’s Mr. Bae. Let’s take him inside quickly.”
After his son was disabled in a motorcycle accident, the old man started drinking heavily.
“Sir, can you hear me?”
“I feel dizzy… think I’m going to puke…”
“Sir, do you know who I am?”
“Is that you, Bong-shik?”
He wasn’t making much sense.
“Let’s start with a blood test.”
To determine if symptoms like nausea and dizziness were due to alcohol, a blood test was the basic protocol.
As they wheeled the stretcher into the ER, Ryu Yeon-woo came running over.
“Crap. Look at Dr. Ryu. She’s scary…”
Ji-woong whispered so only Nurse Kim could hear.
A doctor who runs to every patient like a maniac.
To Ji-woong, Ryu Yeon-woo looked like a wildcat obsessed with patients.
A cute wildcat, one that might be on the verge of extinction.
*
After stitching the wound on Mr. Bae’s forehead and preparing to go home, Yeon-woo had to postpone her departure due to another incoming patient.
A man in his 20s had arrived with rectal bleeding.
Judging by the bright red color, it looked like hemorrhoids or an anal fissure, but bleeding from the colon or rectum couldn’t be ruled out.
After finishing the patient interview, Yeon-woo put on gloves, preparing for a digital rectal exam (inserting a finger to assess rectal condition).
“Yeon-woo, am I late?”
The curtain pulled back to reveal Choi Mansoo.
He was on the night shift tonight and was her senior from med school.
They had lost contact after graduation. She hadn’t known he worked here at Cheongbong.
For reference, his name “Mansoo” (meaning “thousands of blessings”) came from his family’s hope for a son. He always hated that name.
With his bear-like appearance, Choi Mansoo grabbed Yeon-woo’s shoulders, trying to nudge her out of the treatment room.
“I need to examine him.”
“I know. I’ll do it. You can head home.”
“No, thank you.”
“Come on, listen to me. Where’s Ji-woong? Ji-woong!”
Mansoo started calling for Ji-woong, who wasn’t even nearby.
“I can do it.”
It was an emergency—no need to look for Seo Ji-woong when she could handle it herself.
That’s what Yeon-woo thought.
“Uh… can’t a male doctor do the exam?”
The patient, who had already been informed about the procedure, looked at Mansoo with pleading eyes as if he’d seen his savior.
“I’d probably be better for this…”
Yeon-woo glanced at Mansoo’s thick fingers.
Her fingers were thinner and would likely cause less discomfort than Mansoo’s, which were practically the size of pot lids.
But the patient’s face paled at her suggestion.
“Haha, yes. I’ll take care of it. Yeon-woo, you can go now.”
Mansoo gestured with his eyes for her to leave.
‘Can’t you see the patient’s face? He’s dying of embarrassment.’
That was the unspoken message.
Indeed, despite the bleeding, the patient clung tightly to his waistband.
“…Okay.”
“Good. And don’t sleep in the on-call room like last time—go home and rest.”
Not that she had anything to do at home…
Due to staffing shortages, even the head of the surgery department took night shifts occasionally.
Yeon-woo had hesitated, thinking she should take the shift instead, but now she removed her gloves and stepped back.
“You need to rest well to work tomorrow.”
“Okay, I’ll head out then.”
After bowing politely, Yeon-woo left the ER and headed toward the rear exit.
Since guardians weren’t allowed inside the ER, there was a waiting area outside.
There was also a space in the main building, but most guardians preferred waiting here.
It was also closer to the smoking area.
But now, even the guardians had disappeared—no one was around.
Yeon-woo trudged to the bench and sat down, blankly staring up at the sky.
How long had she been sitting there?
A faint smell of cigarettes tickled her nose, and she looked around.
“…Is someone there?”
She thought she saw something dark near the smoking area, or maybe she didn’t.
Evening rain had started to fall softly.
Maybe it was just the smell of rain, she thought, taking a deep breath.
The stench of alcohol and blood faded, replaced by fresh air that filled her lungs.
As her body relaxed and her mind softened, a smile crept onto her lips.
Today had been a fulfilling day.
Now she just had to rest and recharge, like Mansoo said, and work hard again tomorrow.
She was doing well—better than anyone.
With that reassurance, she looked up at the evening sky.
Unlike the bright city neon lights, night came quickly here.
Swoosh—
Big raindrops started falling.
Had she left her raincoat at the hospital?
Should she ride her bike in the raincoat, or walk with an umbrella?
While debating, the faint smell of cigarettes returned.
Yeon-woo suddenly stood up, as if someone had yanked her hair.
What was that? Was someone there?
She looked toward the now-dark smoking area but couldn’t sense anyone.
Only the sound of rain pattering on the ground could be heard.
Was she getting hypersensitive these days?
Ji-woong’s weird stories came to mind—how the hospital was built on a reservoir and filled with yin energy, and that ghosts ran wild when it rained.
Across all cultures, dark nights and rainy weather had always stirred primal fears.
Yeon-woo was no exception.
“If you’re a ghost, go away! If you’re a person, show yourself!”
She shouted timidly in the direction of the smoking area.
“……”
There was no way anyone would be there, and no way it was a ghost.
Even so, goosebumps spread across her body, and she began bouncing on the spot.
Step… step…
Footsteps echoed.
Startled, Yeon-woo turned around—to see Ji-woong staring at her like she was insane.
“Ah! You scared me.”
“Dr. Ryu, what are you doing here?”
“…”
“Weren’t you going home?”
“I-I was about to.”
“You’re not sick, are you?”
His face looked like he was holding back the urge to ask why she was acting like a crazy woman in the rain.
“No, I’m fine.”
“Sigh… seriously, what’s with you? Mansoo hyung said to get the hell out, Fanta.”
Did he just call her Fanta?
As Yeon-woo’s round eyes slowly narrowed, Ji-woong took a fearful step back.
