Chapter 49
Lee Gwon took a deep breath to steady himself.
Yeonwoo was watching.
It was the first time she would see him perform a surgery.
He was determined to be a brother she could be proud of.
Watch closely, Yeonwoo.
I’m going to perform a flawless surgery.
Hoo…
“Scalpel.”
Snap.
Receiving the scalpel, Gwon carefully incised the dura mater, the tough membrane covering the brain.
Beneath it, as expected, dark, thick blood had pooled.
As he sliced into the hematoma, blood began to flow out.
“Suction.”
Gwon accepted the delicate, narrow suction device and gently removed the blood.
“Irrigation.”
With practiced precision, Sajun assisted, matching Gwon’s rhythm.
As the hematoma was removed, the brain, relieved from pressure, began returning to its proper shape.
But the bleeding had to be stopped.
“Give me the cauterizer.”
He carefully touched the bleeding point, and a faint smell of burning flesh filled the air.
Sajun vacuumed the smoke and odor away.
“Looks like that did it.”
“Bleeding has stopped.”
“Good job. I’ll close it up.”
“No, I’ll finish it too.”
When would he get another chance to use Sajun as an assistant?
But right now, he had to show Yeonwoo what a cool older brother looked like.
Besides, wasn’t neurosurgery his specialty?
Of course the one with more experience would do it better.
Refusing Sajun’s help, Gwon stitched up the dura himself and carefully replaced the round skull fragment in its original spot.
Cutting it that perfectly in a circle isn’t easy. Whoever did this is definitely insane.
Once he finished suturing the scalp with meticulous care, he stood up.
Yeonwoo was looking at him with shining eyes full of admiration.
That’s right, Yeonwoo. Your brother’s this amazing.
His shoulders lifted in pride.
“Thank you, everyone. Good work.”
“Great job.”
The surgery ended in success.
And it seemed like no one would be telling him to go back to Seoul anytime soon.
Yeonwoo’s eyes curved into a beautiful smile.
With an extra bounce in his step, Gwon waved his arms as he exited the operating room.
✳✳✳
The “super grandma,” who had been watching her son from a distance in the ICU, returned home with her family.
In front of the darkened intensive care unit, the dawn hung heavy and still.
Yeonwoo walked down the silent hallway toward the on-call room.
The image of the grandmother wiping away tears and praying for her son’s recovery pressed heavily on Yeonwoo’s heart.
“Yeonwoo.”
Sajun, still in his scrubs, approached from the end of the corridor as if he’d been waiting for her.
“Doctor.”
“Good work today.”
His gentle hand tousled her hair as he looked down at her warmly, and the fatigue seemed to melt away.
“You worked harder than I did.”
“Gwon did more than either of us.”
Sajun smiled playfully.
“Haha, is that so? Honestly, I was planning to send him back to Seoul, but maybe I’ll leave him alone now.”
“Wise decision.”
The teasing glint in his eyes made her chest flutter.
“But why are you still out here? You should rest.”
“I’ll stay and watch over the ICU. You go get some sleep.”
“…Is your leg okay?”
“What if it’s not?”
His dark eyes sparkled mischievously as he challenged her. Yeonwoo felt a similar playfulness rise within her.
“Should I give you a massage? That sounds good. You still have the heat pack, right?”
“Are you really offering?”
“Yes.”
“…”
He didn’t respond right away, but then reached out and ruffled the top of her head.
The soft curve of his eyes wrapped her in warmth.
“What about something else? Not a massage.”
His gaze lingered briefly on her full lips before drifting away.
Yeonwoo instinctively licked her lips and looked up at him.
As Sajun’s gaze once again brushed her lips, the sudden sound of heavy footsteps broke the moment.
Thud, thud, thud.
“There you are! I was wondering where you’d gone. What are you two doing here?”
Thinking she had gone to the lab, Gwon came charging toward them with wild eyes.
That guy was out of his mind.
Like a guilty couple caught red-handed, Yeonwoo quickly stepped away from Sajun, and Sajun let out a short sigh and ran a hand through his hair.
“Doctor, I’ll head out now.”
“Alright. Don’t forget to lock the door.”
“Got it.”
Before leaving, Yeonwoo waited for Gwon to reach her.
He approached quickly, and she finally said what she had been holding back.
“Oppa, you were really amazing today!”
With a bright smile and a thumbs-up, she made Gwon’s eyes widen in shock as he covered his mouth with both hands.
“Of course you’re my brother. You did great.”
“Y-Yeonwoo…”
“I’m heading off now, okay?”
Leaving behind a stunned Gwon, Yeonwoo hurried away as if fleeing the scene.
“Yeonwoo! Was your oppa really that cool? Huh? But where are you going? Yeonwoo!”
His voice rang out desperately, as if he still had so much to say.
Then Sajun’s cool voice cut through the air.
“If you don’t want to wake the patients, lower your voice.”
“You saw it, right? Yeonwoo was moved by me. Huh? You saw it, didn’t you?”
…This punk.
Making me jealous, huh.
Sajun’s black eyes scanned Gwon’s face.
Maybe it was time to seriously consider sending him back to Seoul.
“Hey, you know Yeonwoo’s a sworn single, right?”
Dropping his voice a tone, Gwon leaned in with a look like, I didn’t know that.
Well, maybe he didn’t.
But Sajun could tell one thing for sure—Gwon was itching to get in the way somehow.
“Oh? I didn’t know.”
“Then stop thinking nonsense and back off.”
“What am I supposed to back off from?”
“You really have to ask?”
Even after learning she was a sworn single, Gwon’s face showed he wasn’t backing down.
“Yeonwoo and I were picked out by our grandparents, you know?”
Sajun smiled smugly.
“Shut it.”
“Heh.”
“Back off.”
Romance comes before marriage. And there had to be romance before taking any next steps.
The way things were now between him and Yeonwoo was more than good.
“Is it that easy to stop liking someone? I don’t know.”
“This bastard, saying it outright now? Like Yeonwoo would ever go for someone like you!”
No one knew that better than Sajun himself.
So Gwon didn’t need to keep harping on it.
He was already trying to become someone worthy of Yeonwoo—so let’s skip that part.
Sajun decided to just let Gwon’s reactions slide. This wouldn’t be a one-day thing.
“Well, I’ll just ask her directly. Anyway, good work today. I’ll watch over the patient, so go rest.”
Yeonwoo’s big-brother Gwon was a brilliant surgeon.
He had been nervous at first, but maybe because Yeonwoo was watching, he pulled through with grace.
Even with Sajun assisting, it wasn’t easy to operate in an unfamiliar environment with new people.
But Gwon finished the surgery an hour early—and flawlessly.
A talent like that must never be let go.
Now that he had walked into Cheongbong with his own two feet, it was up to the director and Sajun to keep him there.
As soon as morning came, he’d call Gwon’s family and ask them to hurry and find a place for him to live.
With that, Sajun headed back toward the ICU.
He recalled the tearful image of the super grandma, who had worried aloud that she might’ve lived too long—afraid her son would pass before her.
He vowed that no one would be lost simply because no doctor was willing to treat them, or because help came too late.
He felt like he could achieve that dream, so long as Yeonwoo was by his side.
“What is this? You go get some rest.”
Sigh.
What am I supposed to do with this guy?
Sajun chuckled as he watched Gwon stride confidently toward the ICU.
He followed after him.
“Hello, I’m Ryu Igwon, neurosurgeon. You know Dr. Ryu Yeonwoo from the ER, right? I’m her older brother.”
Gwon beamed, as if there were nothing in the world he was prouder of than being Yeonwoo’s brother, and exchanged greetings with the nurses.
With his handsome, affable face, Gwon had them smiling back and chatting easily, which only made his grin grow wider.
Sajun couldn’t help but wonder—what would Yeonwoo say if she saw him like this?
