Chapter 16
“Let him in.”
“What’s going on between you and Ryu Yeonwoo?”
“What else? I raised her well so I could put her to good use.”
“Wow, seriously, where the hell did your conscience go? She’s someone’s precious daughter.”
“You didn’t know I never had one?”
Sajun’s brazen gaze turned toward Chanwoo.
“But tell me, am I not enough for you? You dump me in this countryside and have me wander around reservoirs.”
“Did I force you to come here? You came on your own two feet, so stop blaming me.”
“Yeah, well… doubling my salary was hard to resist. Still, I can’t deal with this crazy bastard anymore.”
Sajun raised and lowered his eyebrows casually and shrugged.
“Don’t bother. You don’t need to. And Yeonwoo doesn’t know I’ve come down to Cheongbong yet. She doesn’t even know I was injured.”
“What is this vague relationship? Then where the hell did you even meet her?”
“In Africa. Better to have her here in Cheongbong than wandering dangerous regions. That’s why I told her to stay here.”
“So you’re still a bastard who chews people up and spits them out… but also her savior?”
Chanwoo tilted his head, acting all confused over something that wasn’t even hard to understand.
“She’s a grown adult. Way past the age where her brothers can tell her what to do. Don’t you think?”
“Ugh, whatever. I know nothing, got it?”
“That’s better for your own safety. I’m heading out.”
With that, Sajun leisurely exited the examination room.
His calf muscles were still a bit tight, but he could walk just fine.
Sajun headed to the hospital director’s office, where his grandfather was waiting.
***
“Huh? That’s strange. Am I seeing things?”
As Yeonwoo turned the corner toward the inpatient rooms, intern Dongmin, walking beside her, tilted his head like he’d just spotted something odd.
“If you’re gonna start talking about ghosts again, stop right there.”
“No, no, it’s not that. Didn’t you just see it?”
“What exactly was I supposed to see?”
With her hands buried in her lab coat pockets, Yeonwoo responded dryly.
“Over there. In front of the elevator.”
But the elevator was already long gone.
“A ghost or something?”
“No, not that. There’s this patient who’s super popular around the hospital these days. I heard he got shot somewhere. But why was he wearing a doctor’s coat?”
“You probably saw wrong.”
“No, I swear… He’s supposed to be under Chief Jang Chanwoo in orthopedics…”
“You’re saying a gunshot patient is walking around in a doctor’s coat instead of a hospital gown? Why not write a whole novel while you’re at it?”
Yeonwoo chuckled at Dongmin’s wild imagination.
“Right? Haha… I probably just imagined it.”
“How many people in this country even get shot? Was he a hunter or something?”
“I’m not sure. Some say he’s a gangster, others say he’s the hospital director’s son.”
“Really?”
The hospital director’s son, walking around after getting shot?
Rumors always tend to be exaggerated.
Yeonwoo reached the inpatient room and quickly lost interest.
“But seriously, they say his looks and physique are insane. Everyone who sees him freaks out. Honestly, no one else in Cheongbong compares.”
Even as a temporary staff member, Dongmin was a bit of a social butterfly, casually mixing in some self-praise while continuing to gush over the “shot guy.”
How amazing could he be?
Yeonwoo had grown up surrounded by ridiculously good-looking brothers, so she was pretty unfazed.
If a guy didn’t have top-tier visuals, she didn’t even notice.
“It’s frustrating, but I’d have to admit he’s better than me. His face speaks for itself, and his everyday life looks like a magazine shoot.”
“But… he’s a hunter, right?”
“Or… maybe the hospital director’s son? Or… a doctor?”
Dongmin rolled his eyes as he spoke, making Yeonwoo laugh again.
When they’d turned the corner earlier, she might’ve briefly seen someone’s tall back, but she’d just assumed it was a new doctor.
Honestly, only one person had ever lived up to Yeonwoo’s sky-high standards.
Beom Sajun.
Ah, and here she was, starting her day thinking about him again.
Time sure flew by.
It felt like she’d just welcomed June, and it was already mid-month.
Still no word from Beom Sajun.
Hope you’re alive and well out there.
At this point, she just wanted him to be alive.
***
The hospital rounds had just ended, and as Yeonwoo stepped into the ER, the wailing sound of an ambulance siren rang out.
Being a rural village, most emergency patients were middle-aged or elderly.
An old lady who had slipped while cleaning her living room floor and fractured her hip was brought in.
According to the EMT, they’d initially just slapped on some medicated patches, but there was likely vascular or nerve damage.
“Just give me an injection. One bone shot and I’ll be fine.”
Either she didn’t realize how serious it was or was downplaying it to avoid burdening her family.
“Ma’am, let’s take an X-ray first to confirm. With this kind of swelling, the bone is probably broken.”
“Nah, I know my body better than anyone.”
Despite the intense pain, the old lady stubbornly resisted, making Yeonwoo feel more pity than frustration.
“Did you hit your head when you fell?”
“My head? No, my head’s fine.”
Before notifying orthopedics, Yeonwoo began the basic tests.
If a fracture was confirmed, they’d need a CT scan to check the muscles, ligaments, blood vessels, and nerves.
“Let’s get bloodwork too. And administer IV Tridol (painkiller).”
“Yes, doctor.”
Back in the field, she’d often had to treat patients without proper equipment.
Compared to that, this place was a breeze.
“Cardiac arrest patient incoming!”
The ER doors burst open as paramedics rushed in with a stretcher.
“He choked while eating. It’s already been over 10 minutes.”
Everyone ran to the trauma room to prepare as CPR was being performed on the stretcher.
It was shaping up to be an intense day from the get-go.
Rrrrr, Rrrrr.
While catching her breath, the phone suddenly rang harshly, making everyone glance nervously at the nurses’ station.
“Why does that ringtone sound so ominous?”
Yeonwoo met Jiwoong’s gaze and swallowed dryly.
The nurse, who quickly ended the call, turned to them with a tense face and shouted,
“Falling accident. The village head from up the hill fell five meters off a bridge. He’s en route now. Suspected rib fractures, semi-conscious.”
“Let’s get ready.”
At Yeonwoo’s command, Jiwoong groaned as he got up from his seat.
“Someone cursed this hospital today. There’s no other reason why so many patients are pouring in.”
“No kidding…”
Yeonwoo briefly recalled the tall doctor she’d glimpsed by the elevator that morning, but shook the thought away.
She and Jiwoong began prepping for the incoming patient.
Seriously critical patients were usually stabilized and then transferred to a larger hospital.
And during that time, their condition often deteriorated further.
Hopefully this one would be manageable here.
Hiding her anxious thoughts, Yeonwoo waited.
Soon, the ambulance arrived and the patient was brought into the resuscitation room.
“Chief, can you hear me?”
Yeonwoo checked the patient’s level of consciousness.
“Uuugh…”
In visible pain, the man only groaned and shook his head.
Yeonwoo quickly checked his vitals.
Blood pressure was 100/60 — below normal. Oxygen saturation was also low.
She and the nurse began removing the patient’s clothes.
As the EMT had said, rib fractures were likely.
“X-ray coming in. Please clear the area.”
Jiwoong, wearing a lead apron, rolled in the portable X-ray machine and called out.
“Clear the way!”
“Let’s intubate.”
Just as Yeonwoo was stopping Jiwoong, a familiar voice reached her ears.
“Princess, what are you doing right now?”
…Princess?
