The standard shift change at 02:00 AM brought a heavy, suffocating silence over the VIP floor.
In the dim light of the central nursing station, Se-na remained seated before her workstation monitor. Her shift as attending physician on floor duty had officially ended two hours ago, yet her coat remained on, the crisp white fabric reflecting the pale blue glow of clinical charts.
Footsteps echoed softly down the corridor. Dr. Lee approached cautiously, holding a tray of updated telemetry printouts, his eyes wide with exhaustion.
"Dr. Maeng..." Dr. Lee whispered, catching himself and adjusting his voice. "Uh... Patient in Room 802's vitals have stabilized. HR is back down to seventy-eight, oxygen saturation is holding at ninety-eight percent on ambient air. But..."
Se-na didn't lift her eyes from the screen, though her fingers stopped typing. "But?"
"He refuses the prescribed sedative," Dr. Lee reported nervously. "He told the night nurse that if anyone tried to administer intravenous sleep medication, he would rip out the line himself. He's... just sitting up in the dark staring out the window."
Se-na let out a long, quiet exhale. A man who spent his whole life trapped in nightmares would naturally treat sleep like an enemy's trap.
"Go take a nap in the residents' call room, I will call for you if I need you," Se-na said flatly, standing up and smoothing her coat. "I'll handle Room 802."
"A-Are you sure, Dr?" His eyes glittering with tears. "If Director Kang's night rounds patrol sees you handling his ward..."
"Director Kang is currently asleep in his penthouse, dreaming of how to sell this hospital to the highest bidder," Se-na cut in, her tone laced with cool contempt. "Go, I will take responsibility for whatever."
Without waiting for his response, she walked down the silent corridor toward Room 802.
The room was bathed in the pale, silver glow of the city skyline pouring through the window. The overhead lights were completely switched off; only the rhythmic green pulse of the cardiac monitor illuminated the space.
Ra-ik was sitting straight, half-lying back against the raised hospital mattress. His hospital shirt hung loosely over his broad shoulders, exposing the thick white dressing taped across his sternum. He was staring out at the distant lights of Seoul, his profile carved in sharp, shadowed lines.
He didn't turn around when the door glided open, but his deep, gravelly voice broke the quiet before she even reached the foot of his bed.
"You walk quietly," Ra-ik rasped softly. "Most doctors step into a room like they own the floor. You step into it like you're trying not to wake up a ghost."
Deep inside Se-na, a heavy, suffocating lump formed in her throat. She was still trapped in the trance of that single, harrowing night...living his beatings, feeling his blood on her tongue, and crying his tears. How could she throw bitter words at someone whose soul she had inhabited?
Yet, looking into his dark eyes, the sheer vulnerability of their bond terrified her. The moment he looked at her like he knew her, her defense mechanisms kicked into overdrive.
To protect herself, she chose to put up her guard and fight. So, she stopped near the entrance and slowly turned her head left and right, carefully verifying that no nurses, residents, or floor cameras could overhear her. Medical ethics dictated equal, non-discriminatory care for all patients...professional misconduct toward a bedridden man was a career-ending offense.
Once she verified they were completely isolated, Se-na stepped up to the edge of his bed frame. She leaned in close, her eyes narrowing into cold, predatory slits.
"Do Ra-ik-shi," Se-na whispered, her voice dropping into a whisper, chewing every single word with precision. "Look at you. Is this the celebrated decorum of the 'Nation's Healer'? Threatening night nurses and acting like a pathetic, grumpy toddler over a standard IV line?"
Ra-ik turned his head slowly, his dark eyes locking onto hers in the gloom. Instead of flinching under her glare, a subtle spark lit up in his eyes.
"A 22-gauge needle in a blown vein, Dr. Maeng," Ra-ik countered smoothly, leaning forward just an inch despite the tightness in his chest. His raspy voice carried a quiet, teasing cadence. "Even a first-year intern knows better than to push sedatives into an irritated line. I didn't expect this from your team. Or maybe your own medical license came out of a cereal box?"
"My medical license comes with honors, Do Ra-ik-shi!" Se-na shot back, completely dropping her clinical composure as her temper flared. "Unlike a disgraced senior surgeon who throws a temper fit in a hospital gown!" She was still whispering.
"If your former medical board saw you right now, they wouldn't just revoke your license out of embarrassment; they'd scrub your name from every medical journal in Asia! 'The Great Do Ra-ik, reduced to crying over a needle!'"
"And yet, here you are at two in the morning," Ra-ik whispered back, a smirk tugging at his lips as he actively provoked her. "Standing right by my bed, losing your mind over my vitals. Tell me, is this intense clinical concern, or are you just completely obsessed with me?"
"Obsessed?!" Se-na scoffed loudly, her face flushing hot with flustered, petty outrage. "Your ego is even more bloated than your medical chart! I am protecting hospital policy! You are a walking malpractice suit waiting to happen! A broken, arrogant patient who can't even go to sleep without a night light!"
"A night light? Please," Ra-ik chuckled softly, wincing slightly as his ribs protested the laughter, but refusing to back down. "I just prefer looking at the skyline over looking at someone's scowling face. Though I must admit, Dr. Maeng, shouting but in a whisper at a bedridden cardiac patient! I must say, really highlights your exceptional bedside manner."
"My bedside manner is reserved for actual human beings, not narcissistic liabilities!" Se-na hissed, stepping right up to the metal guardrail of the bed, her fingers twitching with rage. "Your father treats you like defective inventory, your litigators look at you like a toxic lawsuit, and here you sit, posturing like you're king of the ICU!"
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