24ES | Chapter 5.4

Now, as Jung Hageon disappeared from view, Yesung resumed walking.

As a person, he still wasn’t sure what to make of Jung Hageon. But as a doctor… he might just be an exceptional one. Thinking this, Yesung quickened his pace toward the locker room.

His hospital-issued phone vibrated in his pocket. The caller ID showed it was Kang Baek-o.

“Yeah. What’s the case?”

“Ye-sung~ Where are you right now?”

Assuming it was about an emergency patient, Yesung immediately pivoted back toward the locker room while answering. But Kang Baek-o’s casual tone quickly made it clear this wasn’t urgent.

“Just finished surgery. Heading to the locker room to change. Why?”

“Oh, perfect timing! You’re free now, right? Come down to the cafeteria and grab a meal with me. It’s been a crazy day, but I managed to secure some time to eat using my assistant professor privileges. When else are we gonna have a chance like this, huh?”

His cheerful tone, telling Yesung to appreciate his one and only friend looking out for him, made Yesung click his tongue before replying.

“Fine. I’m coming.”

Though eating with Kang Baek-o might mean dealing with some hassle, Yesung had something to ask him. Plus, with no new emergencies cropping up, he could afford a short break. Turning away from the locker room, he headed straight to the hospital cafeteria.

As the cafeteria came into view, Kang Baek-o waved wildly.

“Ye-sung! Over here!”

“Stop yelling. I know where you are.”

“Aw, come on~ It’s not like this is my first time. Why act all shy now? Or… is this new? You getting shy out of nowhere, Ye-sung? Huh?”

Even though lunchtime was over, the cafeteria was still bustling. Scanning his staff ID to enter, Yesung joined the end of the line. Kang Baek-o sidled up next to him, nudging him playfully. Suppressing the urge to glare, Yesung retorted stiffly.

“Of course not.”

“Wow, denying it so adamantly makes it sound even more suspicious. Isn’t it?”

Kang Baek-o chuckled while Yesung gave up responding altogether. Everyone knew Yesung disliked being the center of attention, and Kang Baek-o was clearly teasing him on purpose.

Losing interest when Yesung stayed silent, Kang Baek-o changed the topic.

“Anyway, how’d the surgery go?”

“Thankfully, it went well.”

Yesung, fully aware of Kang Baek-o’s intentions, answered without resistance. Truthfully, he also wanted to change the subject. When Yesung nodded, Kang Baek-o tucked his tray under his arm and stroked his chin thoughtfully.

“I caught a glimpse earlier; he looked pretty young. If he weren’t out of uniform, I’d have thought he was an elementary schooler.”

“Yeah, he’s young. He just started middle school.”

“What? So he’s, what, 14? Wow, my observational skills are better than I thought.”

With wide eyes, Kang Baek-o patted himself on the back. Watching the natural flow of his boasting, Yesung squinted and gave him an exasperated look. Embarrassed, Kang Baek-o scratched his head and picked up his spoon, quickly shifting topics again.

“But when you and Dr. Park came out of the treatment room earlier, your expression didn’t look great. Why? Wasn’t the patient stable when you came out?”

“That’s….”

There was evidence, but it was too early to draw conclusions. They hadn’t talked to the patient yet.

Instead, Yesung decided to share his observations to see what Kang Baek-o thought. After all, consulting another doctor’s perspective could only help. More aligned opinions often led to more accurate conclusions.

“There were bruises all over his body that looked like he’d been beaten. His school shirt had clear footprints on it in multiple places. His clothes were a mess, like he’d rolled on the ground. What would you diagnose in that situation?”

“What? So, are you saying… assault?”

Yesung nodded at the two words that slipped out of Kang Baek-o’s mouth. It matched his and Park Joohyuk’s impressions.

“It’s not certain yet. We’ll have to wait until the kid wakes up and talk to him to find out if there really was an assault.”

“Jeez… Yeah, you’re right. These kids today are terrifying. Don’t tell me the glass shard in his abdomen was their doing too?”

“Most likely. The chances are high.”

At Yesung’s affirmation, Baek-o’s face turned pale. He muttered in shock, eyes wide.

“…Are they even students? What, are they gangsters or something? What kind of kid stabs someone with glass shards…?”

“They’re not gangsters. The glass caused liver damage but didn’t hit the aorta, just the vena cava. The liver wasn’t damaged beyond saving, either. Judging by that, it’s clearly not the work of someone skilled.”

“Geez… How can you talk about something like that so casually…?”

Seeing Kang Baek-o’s aghast expression, Yesung responded with a look of genuine confusion. What had he said that was so wrong? Baek-o just shook his head.

“Never mind. Forget it. That’s just how you’ve always been… yeah.”

Mumbling to himself about Yesung’s lack of empathy, Baek-o’s words irritated him. Even though it was technically true, something about his tone rubbed Yesung the wrong way.

Kang Baek-o, who had a sharp survival instinct, quickly noticed the darkening mood and threw out a hasty question.

“So! The guardian doesn’t know yet, right? Knowing you, there’s no way you’d worry the mother over something uncertain.”

“Right. Telling her now would just cause unnecessary anxiety.”

“Yeah, exactly. Good call.”

Nodding absentmindedly, Baek-o suddenly turned to Yesung with a thumbs-up.

“As expected of you, Ye-sung! You’re amazing, my friend!”

“Huh?”

Caught off guard by the sudden compliment, Yesung let out an incredulous laugh. He couldn’t let his expression harden with so many people watching, but his icy glare did all the talking as he quickly walked ahead. Not that it would stop Baek-o, of course.

“You’re seriously the kind of doctor everyone should aspire to be, Ye-sung. I mean it. I’m so proud of you!”

“Cut it out.”

“Why? I’m just being honest here! I’m your one and only best friend. Can’t I praise my incredible, amazing friend when I want to?”

“…Stop while I’m still being nice.”

What began as genuine praise gradually turned playful, prompting Yesung to grind his teeth and issue a warning.

“Ahaha… Alright, alright. I’ll stop.”

If there was one redeeming quality about Baek-o, it was that he knew when to quit. The moment he sensed real danger, he clammed up. And not a moment too soon, as a cheerful voice called out to them from ahead.

“Well, well, if it isn’t Professor Kang! Long time no see! I’ve been worried since I haven’t seen you around lately!”

As their turn in line approached, the cafeteria worker greeted Kang Baek-o warmly. With an expression like he’d found his savior, Baek-o quickly struck up a conversation.

“Wow, long time no see, ma’am! How have you been?”

“Oh, you know, same as always… Oh my, Dr. Han is here too!”

“Haha… Hello. It’s been a while.”

Maintaining a polite smile, Yesung expertly ended the conversation before it could drag on and held his tray forward. Otherwise, it would have taken forever just to get their food, inconveniencing everyone behind them.

Thanks to Yesung’s quick intervention, they received their food and found seats in no time.

“It’s been so long since I’ve been to the cafeteria! The ladies gave me extra side dishes!”

“Great. Enjoy yourself.”

“Mm~ Seolleongtang and bulgogi! This is the life! This is why we work—to eat!”

He hadn’t even taken a bite, but his enthusiasm was boundless. Yesung, shaking his head, took the first spoonful of his soup. The warm seolleongtang slid down his throat, soothing his stomach.

As he ate, he watched Baek-o pile his spoon high with rice and finally asked,

“By the way… you knew, didn’t you?”

“Knew what?”

The question hit just as Baek-o was about to shovel rice into his mouth. He froze, eyes blinking wide.

“That the new roommate of mine in cardiothoracic surgery is Jung Hageon.”

“Oh, that? Of course. He told me himself.”

“He told you?”

“Yeah. Your new roommate—Jung Hageon from cardiothoracic surgery—mentioned it to me directly.”

Baek-o answered matter-of-factly, as if there were no reason for surprise. His nonchalant response left Yesung dumbfounded.

“When exactly did he tell you this?”

“Uh… On the day he first joined the hospital, maybe?”

Mumbling through a mouthful of food, Baek-o’s pronunciation was a mess. Yesung leaned back, cringing at the sight of rice threatening to fly out of his mouth.

“At least chew and swallow before talking.”

Baek-o, unfazed, polished off his soup and kimchi before replying,

“He told me on his first day here.”

Yesung sighed. It was clear now—Baek-o had known all along. No wonder he’d casually asked about Hageon’s whereabouts in the ER that day. He’d known from the start that Hageon was his new roommate.

Still chewing over the revelation, Yesung frowned as Baek-o, oblivious to his thoughts, tilted his head curiously.

“But why’re you asking me? Don’t tell me… you didn’t know?”

“……”

Yesung’s silence said it all. At that, Baek-o’s expression turned incredulous.

“Seriously? Didn’t the hospital operations team call to tell you?”

Yesung had anticipated that asking Kang Baek-o a question would lead to such a response. The relentless gaze attached to the prolonged silence refused to let up, and with a sigh, Yesung finally spoke, almost defensively.

“That day, I barely got an hour of sleep after working 25 hours straight. When I finally had a chance to rest and closed my eyes for a moment, the call came in.”

How was he supposed to know the call would come at that exact moment? He mumbled on, and Baek-o raised an eyebrow.

“So, you didn’t hear it properly because of that? Then when did you find out?”

“…On my last day off.”

“Your last day off… Wait, you mean yesterday?”

Yesung chose silence instead of a reply, but silence spoke volumes. Baek-o interpreted it as confirmation and let out a scoffing laugh, faint pity flickering in his eyes.

“If that’s the case, couldn’t you have called back to check? I guess not—very you, honestly…”

“……”

So that was an option, huh? The realization hit Yesung only now, and his expression showed it. Baek-o gave him an incredulous look.

“You know, back in university, you were that monster who never let anyone else top the class for six straight years, yet you ended up choosing pediatric surgery of all fields…”

Baek-o clicked his tongue mid-sentence, shaking his head.

“You could’ve gone for something cushy and lucrative. Everyone—professors, classmates, seniors, juniors—was shocked when you volunteered for pediatric surgery. You know that, right?”

His tone, filled with a sort of pity, made Yesung frown. Even after all this time, it was still an unwelcome topic.

“Comfort and money aren’t everything.”

He knew Baek-o’s comments came from a place of concern. But for a choice he’d never once regretted and never would, hearing others lament it was tiring.

“And there’s no such thing as a ‘comfortable’ job for a doctor. Some fields might be a bit less taxing, sure, but not by much. Look at you—emergency medicine might have clear on-and-off shifts, but your work is still grueling when you’re on duty.”

This time, it was Baek-o’s turn to fall silent. He couldn’t argue against the truth of Yesung’s words.