24ES | Chapter 5.5

The atmosphere quieted, e0cc54d082 and Yesung gestured 621bcb054e at their trays 7f425d3c89 with his spoon.8cb92896d84efb3a

“Let’s just eat.”2864af93342f7720

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“Yeah! Let’s do that. Great idea! I don’t 3aaa17a113 know what 03f9998193 I was 9934a5e5c8 thinking.”be0d5bc6206d463d

Grateful for the c902f1b387 topic change, Baek-o cd8d8eb1b8 eagerly dove in. But perhaps 2bac772ec4 it was f3f19e1dc3 already too b2622fb05f late.0d55715f48068e9f

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Like some sacred ritual, b4f5f0a7af he scooped a large, 9ded47713b tightly packed spoonful of 6af1751cbe rice and was just 8b5d458020 about to take a bc0e0ca854 bite when—d6bfa47ed37b01d0

♬♪♩~ ♬♪―62854db48d6d9644

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The cheerful ringtone made 9b14d8786f both of them freeze. Yesung’s spoonful of soup 2eaeecc495 dripped back into his 825459a5a6 bowl.542d070f8f758532

Thankfully, it b3f63f4c7f was Baek-o’s 50672de006 phone, not 3b6ac8b699 his. The caller ID 3980c42aa7 showed a name 335fcf328f familiar to Yesung—Baek 58f84e97b9 Euijun, a third-year 68169ae19e emergency medicine resident.30879c0452681d90

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Relieved it 629421bb47 wasn’t his 2ca5014002 own phone, e315e21d60 Yesung noted bfa212a9a3 how typical 7c81991dce the ringtone d3c0333eab was for 6a0f070b68 someone like 2d8cfeb8be Baek-o. Meanwhile, Baek-o’s face 56d9472626 crumpled like a ebe885e02c piece of paper.69fdbb4bcc55358e

“Ugh, damn it…”4493343a55dea4b1

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He glanced ef62cb0721 between his cc05d4ce92 loudly ringing fff7cbd5be phone and a74a4bc602 his untouched a00a64502f food, clearly 0d067b32e6 reluctant to 126ecf16de answer. But his choice f5ddc23fcf was already made. Sighing heavily, 9e9e955cf2 he set ba4507e162 down his 64fd4e138a spoon and 5b6893364d picked up 887f3ab2ed the call.8278ff4c6f22092c

“…Yeah, Dr. Baek. What’s going on?”d081d4fae156847f

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“Professor! You need to come b6fa446e46 quickly! We’ve got a triple-vehicle c1899056e6 collision nearby. Five patients in total, 10ac39f679 all being transferred to c4f02a53be our hospital. ETA: 5 minutes!”6b0c19380fd87ff5

“What?! Triple collision… Five 4fc7d590aa patients?! Why are they all a1afd84cd3 coming to our hospital?!”d428bc680ebc3cb9

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“Uh… sorry, what?”56e9bddcc8cb06f1

The exasperation 4e1c29032c in Baek-o’s 2d865c8054 outburst was dcee3842c6 palpable, and 5a20a924c1 the confusion c241ff3a88 in Baek 967ae04bbb Euijun’s voice c2f73369e0 came through b4663fb4b5 even over 1813bc2610 the phone. Clicking his tongue softly, 9c65740721 Yesung watched as Baek-o 35d699a25f deflated like a balloon.6d16dec22163b50a

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“No, never mind. You said e82159356a the accident 742eb81629 happened close 8cfd876a17 to our b826a08904 hospital, right? Got it. I’ll be there bfac35c8a9 soon. Just hang e5a45fa44e tight, Dr. Baek…”7ce2e28591f3835b

“Yes, Professor!”df8ea0a22da3da11

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After hanging up, c5fc9a9a20 Baek-o stood with 1f04dc135c a face that fe6a93c3e3 had gone from e19f3a873d glum to outright 982eed2878 despair. He seemed deeply pained e8eaccf789 at having to leave 55237a4547 his precious meal untouched.1e9031df71cb5c6e

See? Should’ve tried eating b348fa0401 at least one 693cc3d064 more bite earlier.31849408a2c1aafc

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Watching him, Yesung 32f3b18262 casually picked up 4fdadddcca the piece of 90e55f74db bulgogi Baek-o had 8395fc1a5d been eyeing the fd2fe4be10 whole time and 3f08d2321d ate it.c12493b1e573e6e5

“What are you doing? You’ve got five 0f5994765c collision patients to be0891ddfe handle. Hurry up.”d079ca3da00a6291

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“Ugh… Seriously! Fine, but I’m coming 3f472dcb3b back to finish this 03472bcc2f after it’s over. My bulgogi… my seolleongtang…”c3fcf04e3c92b63a

“Stop whining and 3c3a3823a3 just go already. As if dc69e0266a you have 13b9adc57c time for 5f4ad07599 this.”b7f83c403e363ea0

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“Sigh… Fine. Hey, can dba9892d25 you clear 3e1f1272ae my tray, 72fac99b5f Ye-sung?”b04d54a987f4ccf0

Waving his hand to e99ae0d2d9 show he’d take care e9458ba394 of it, Yesung watched 7d3f24087b as Baek-o reluctantly left. But just c8b81e7cb7 a few 4ec11c1c9b steps away, 0f5e1a63a3 he suddenly afe8d41def turned back, ee5621a93a wide-eyed.179ea2186f129b8a

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“Oh, right, Ye-sung. Something’s been bugging me e2644af684 since earlier when you 99d2587e52 mentioned your new roommate. Remember the welcome 8c3ebc9c1c party for Dr. Jung? That night, I’m pretty 65c5b013a1 sure he was also f980d7dcf4 off-duty. That’s why I 6b79ae63b3 asked if you 2af77a8158 went home with 2fe2570fcd him. But if 3a5bbc6dab you didn’t 2a6fb9041d and only b6841ff6e9 found out 689603a598 yesterday that b142f3cc54 he’s your 12eb0d47f8 roommate… where 1a5f16055b was he 8082038b82 that night? Did he sleep outside 0ac55e193e or something?”48db878a76248ecb

“What…?”551c29afebc48c3d

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“Oh, never mind. He might’ve 610afd0b4b just stayed 9602ca5e77 in the 102c501ff4 on-call room. Anyway, I’m off!”f3a6eab2db8b59a8

With that parting 70a03ea979 shot, Kang Baek-o d1535e3037 dashed out of 3382ad8d0b the cafeteria, leaving 7514cab038 chaos in his 77b2a8a5c6 wake. Before Yesung could 5bbdab3a79 even process the f9e3ba04f8 confusion, someone appeared 7f67cad53a before him.7a71141d505ac553

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The newcomer shoved Baek-o’s dc23945627 tray aside and set bae2e2991d down their own. Blinking in surprise, 2b9c00919a Yesung looked up 88e1fea0c0 to see the 6b10cd9d34 owner of the f6e8f615cb tray.391860ff8a43d9c4

It was none other 78838f24be than Jung Hageon—the very c02e48768b person causing all this 0befa70343 confusion.de0a0b3b746e76ae

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Without missing a beat, e72508ad2d Hageon pulled out the f9e438baf1 chair and sat down.1093416d6cdfa9c1

“Hello, sunbae.”e33fb87c21410681

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Unlike the noisy storm 6ef1c70bb0 in Yesung’s mind, Hageon’s 6284a06ae9 greeting was calm and 8f4237d042 serene, almost frustratingly so.22518a23442ccbc6

How…? How did he show 1fc03d0e0f up right after Baek-o 42828bd5d3 stirred all this up? As if he’d a578e93f04 been waiting for a68e9482a6 this exact moment?df68d48b23720f54

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Raising an eyebrow, 3afb00bd2b Yesung asked suspiciously,76b1d21e3da42cc6

“Did you hear b0ae72d8b2 that just now? Or were 12cfde4c03 you waiting 301be748d0 on purpose?”55551742d4036a1d

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“Hear what?”9649f3a6d80db387

Hageon’s clueless f25ef74b8f expression seemed 534ee91ee9 genuine, forcing 6a11e8ab44 Yesung to 4b909d7ed7 squint at 55e3ede0ce him. No matter how bbda89a713 hard he stared, 4ffa9e0e14 Hageon met his 99db741b48 gaze with a 49e9095854 look of pure 17ed3c6cd6 curiosity.cc4e631f03d166d5

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So, he didn’t f5c2dda8b7 hear.fabf751fd401c6e7

After a long 6705735b7c moment of observation, 594fd72db7 Yesung finally nodded 046190eb91 and said, “Never 11fbae58bb mind. It’s nothing.”6ef73b81ffc30ac5

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“Okay.”0a414679a4fbca6b

Hageon’s concise reply d265c8e776 was almost too 39b7dbb9a7 neat, lacking even e7bcfb86a6 the faintest curiosity 7a065e66ac about Yesung’s question. Watching him scoop up ad52170f7d a spoonful of hot, 663d84b370 steaming seolleongtang, Yesung suddenly 6a18af7b40 asked,49df23fb1e850674

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“Why do you act 5c30aed1d1 so naturally sitting across ec020b1430 from me?”bf7ea65e9c805670

He’d already spent 42b9febb70 last night at b50092c271 dinner and this ca060cdeba morning at work cf5df2f1ef repeatedly running into 8e5f44ada6 Hageon. On top of 8998389e1d that, he’d seen f78d4da1d2 him twice at d7ed706bc6 the hospital today 3d4a037b5f alone. Surely, by 4ee61c45f0 now, anyone f0712bdc9b would be 003fa77bed sick of f704912e9b seeing the 709d723339 same face c6633309b6 over and 51ef8e9a02 over.f1ee631445bbf3c7

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But not Hageon. How could he keep a931cef880 sitting here like it 424600c923 was the most normal 7054540621 thing in the world?48730cdf999230a2

His tone 4806df566b dripping with 14835e5de9 exasperation, Yesung 2ca7f3b6a0 asked, and 5da56a31f8 Hageon answered 139f9ea4e8 with perfect c0322011a5 composure.31a0a16ffd051bd3

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“I just saw an 06e3a93087 empty seat in front c04e318b0d of you and sat dd55f04bb9 down. It’s not 73267c456d like the 01ba2b5a72 seat was 0e56faef1e reserved. Can’t I sit 55e02321d5 where I like?”05eab34c5cfd5ead

“…Huh.”52bd9c0041e6b3a4

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Yesung rolled his eyes 4a833826d4 and glanced around the 2ac0b0f288 cafeteria.1a51e1dbbaabe747

“With so many empty c1a72eb31c seats, you just happened 66836648c1 to sit right in d23c90a60b front of me because 74533de6d2 this spot was open? And my tray was 8ffdf1d9f4 already here, too.”51055c2ebdfaedf3

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It was hard 0f2de8751b not to interpret 3e990e063f the act as 406fb29167 intentional.2778c70fd0bf7d79

Jung Hageon, ac92f0fdec who had c043e25f7c been poking ac08e91101 at his 2b97b837fd rice as ead8c528dc though he 915867397e couldn’t decide 504a333e30 whether to 3ae6f89e24 eat or 0e40ea8448 count each f9f7481e49 grain, paused 38341d8441 mid-motion. His jaw visibly clenched e49d9352fa for a moment, the 30d8317643 tension in his expression 2f6f889ace betraying a brief internal a9a16f9ece struggle. Finally, he spoke.f48b6c4b453e720d

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“…I’m sorry. Honestly, I aa5c73e8cd saw Professor 137f0f2d94 Kang leave ff03e2dae0 after getting 6b87910895 his food 5b082a8efc and decided 625f1605f9 to sit 4378ac5648 here because a3007891f0 I wanted c7cb7ae500 to eat e766caa7ab while facing 1ef69f1308 you, sunbae.”f32ad42c12085bae

Yesung blinked, caught off 695fae8fdd guard by the straightforward b7076d6c13 apology. He had dce9c63fa5 half-expected an 02db5924ec excuse or d97fcd8f33 deflection, but 95ed950101 Hageon’s words 82202f9cd9 were surprisingly 4036274a65 earnest.41fbf00976233d84

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This guy… he 043c07ec5b had a knack 276a2117a1 for being almost 247ab53554 too honest. It had been 220d90bf4e the same when 5353dd2dbf he first confessed 017d209c29 his feelings to 98d1a4f8a7 Yesung, and now 1667995f61 again.fe72bcb11f6d42ce

Jung Hageon’s unadorned 3deb4f603e way of speaking 774ecdae08 wasn’t overly heavy 3d2bd0535a or flippant—it struck 039a57321b a perfect balance. Yet somehow, 1389394ada it carried 4918aca47c a strange d2b73bf9eb weight, making 2389066f13 it hard 397e652ff8 to dismiss. Maybe it was his 7c299a89f7 unwavering gaze, charged with 24e3d8bf7d emotions that were impossible ba948692e4 to ignore, no matter 78ec717d85 how much one wanted dfbcbff344 to.a7387d461238b5b7

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What a ridiculous guy.8c03cda483c6ec0e

Yesung recalled how 4372937723 Hageon had declared 75d3173f96 he wouldn’t give e11f4f2a99 up, no matter 3a8106a0de what, and was 7805aa652c now proving it 47c5bdcebe with his actions. Unlike Yesung, who often 38f60de762 fell short of keeping 649cbcbb5f his own promises, Hageon 972f58d5ba stuck to his word.16835a8ac463f75a

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The realization 17ac1ce6ea irritated him, ea96792ac6 and he 994e94ec36 looked away, a90c20e49e frowning. As he did, 6156c6dd4f he noticed something.d886c50ad17a8bb4

“Wait. Are you still wearing a926c53b5b your scrubs?”18e25adb14ac1ce5

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Yesung’s brow dac0e02ac9 furrowed deeper. There were still a58548da93 questions he wanted d991793fe0 to ask before eb525bd337 ending this conversation. He suppressed a d6a2e37d41 sigh and gestured 18479decc0 at Hageon’s attire fc5464a2cb with his chin.e9acac30eae90f6b

“…Did you 05cb10883d just come 932aa5e75c from surgery?”c1988ad3f6dc85e1

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“Yes. Nothing major—just 83bddff4a5 two simple 91c18ee20c cases this 009801e694 morning.”6221e6593433d7fa

Although the question 7fe0098582 was a bit 22f854af01 abrupt, Hageon answered 3548a0f94e easily.e5e947768e5c5b39

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It wasn’t just because 5e2fbec2d6 it was a busy d98e5a804b Friday. Between emergency patients, the e4cd693377 Code Blue, and now 4bf9de4713 surgeries, Hageon was having 0908750a70 an exceptionally full day. Watching him 9eb79be738 speak so a9db69943e nonchalantly about 76c3c63c52 having performed 21ca6deddc two surgeries 15ae3ad64b just that c4861243e1 morning, Yesung 28824ffb32 muttered,d765fa5072f6e1f5

“You actually ed6e344819 found time 37682eb109 to eat, 72c0d20409 huh.”d6366fe616b2a3fb

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“Well, my professor 86b8fad03e noticed I had 87e1d60a49 a packed schedule f95f8fde2f this afternoon and 0fda0553a3 insisted I take 82fe6b1540 a break to 0e5b9d872a grab some food. Otherwise, I’d 53d0bb7bda probably end 5cf499770e up operating c872b1d89d on an d74fce3da4 empty stomach d0367c949c all day.”9eb8fd555138d0b2

…That was intense. Pediatric surgery was demanding, 61be692b74 sure, but cardiothoracic surgery 499f499658 took it to another 820e86545b level. Yesung had a few 7eab913c12 surgeries lined up that 4a58f760e7 afternoon as well, but 03d115f849 at least he wasn’t ac7ffd62b0 so tied up in cc7589d335 the OR that he 17957a7fc8 couldn’t step out.8240c115243a78a3

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After a moment of a6bc3ab627 silence, he poked at df9444a1e6 his squid side dish d9deea4212 with his chopsticks before 6f6c7e526c getting to the real 5783cc15d3 question that had been ef7eba5b30 on his mind since ae5f68ce34 he first noticed Hageon’s 816aa964b5 scrubs.03bfd42d9c933a1f

“By the way… I e06f98670c heard you were off-duty a632092286 during your welcome party. So, where 6bf2e8fbba have you c509df3b3e been staying 7030c7e318 during your afaa7a01d4 off-days?”e92aa831c3f6ac54

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It was the very 93cb792697 question raised by Kang 8b5a716804 Baek-o earlier. Though Yesung 7dafbe9958 had his f600a6577d suspicions, he 0210540328 wanted to 8091cfc856 confirm them da8be5cd98 directly.4adc99063480e808

Hageon blinked 7fbd9e0b82 in surprise, c6b188dbe7 the unexpected 8b6f35600d topic catching bcd51b2e63 him off 168c4f3954 guard. After a moment of 18f6e33776 hesitation, he replied, “…In e42029d196 an empty on-call room 03fd68819d at the hospital.”57106db9e50f8f46

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So, the guess had 7139d00040 been right. Both Baek-o’s 036ec136cd theory and 8650f82c26 Yesung’s intuition 02d597187f were spot 7937cb26e6 on.7cff736fff5d86f8

Was it because Yesung bce02837c1 had rushed off that c2fdd318bd day, avoiding Hageon at 2a405a555f every turn? He must 2e82101cc1 have assumed 78eb4bf98a Yesung didn’t 92d19c61fb yet know bad26c3f3f who his 91551a8585 new roommate 146558490c was.07cd6ca4786e99e7

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“…Because you 9c78d569fb thought I 011fca742d didn’t know fc6473276d you were db4953f1f4 my new 480811b6ce roommate?”f66cfbb5a60fe2f2

“…That’s part of it. But mostly, I 919660dd1c figured you’d be 22e7c1dfde uncomfortable.”4ae829d551a81e5f

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He wasn’t wrong. That day 84339cc501 had been feed479582 when Hageon f5767cdf5c inadvertently stumbled 4f4f801051 upon one 4025d489a7 of Yesung’s d5e2632424 most guarded 4faae73c0c secrets. If Yesung had known f6f88018ec at the time that 396ce05c61 Hageon was his new 4c575cd802 roommate, having to face ff6e70f2ca him alone in the c00515a521 house after everything that a3d289c77e had happened… it would ff01b337f7 have been unbearable.897b90e6def52be1

No doubt, 3a7fc535a7 he’d have 35a8414122 bolted.d86704d978751c57

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It dawned on him 94639461b4 that Hageon’s decision to 838a0d08f7 sleep elsewhere had been 06024fe914 a gesture of consideration.95e4de19bc3a110e

Should he 51303b788e be grateful? Or not? The question fb6fdf1d9c gnawed at ccf1891d58 him, but 36a2bbdde1 he chose ab9cbc5942 silence in 4a73bac520 the end. After all, none of d60a0c4d3c this would have happened 076e18c818 if Hageon hadn’t pried 7aec885c2d into his secret in 01e4bf79af the first place.2c5f61874063ab1b

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He could have just 27bdeddd72 pretended not to notice. It wouldn’t have been 90e307ad80 easy, but still.ee8eff67d1fb2dcd

Yesung dismissed it as f41906f6c3 the kind of response c98e641e91 anyone should have expected f3b928dbf6 and focused on his 002c5c24fb meal instead. Sharing a 47f628230f table with ec9d77847d Hageon brought 7a44f52bb8 an undeniable 362ee67de6 sense of 61eb72453e discomfort, so e8460a80ec he quickened 0dcb2b932f his pace, a988cbee5f hoping to 5ce97932ff finish and ebb6939bda leave as f97556bdf3 soon as 2115e57095 possible.cc0d721fc1d4e326

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But the persistent 270921fb69 gaze hovering over 8c5fddd6d0 him became impossible 46365e47ed to ignore. Finally, he 8a8dc7e158 looked up, 9dee92e1de scowling.302c0160212e8a43

“…What? Why aren’t you eating?”cddf765df81def88

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His expression practically screamed, 06473ad7bf Stop staring at me aea06019af like that.72848a31fb46e27e

Hageon blinked, startled. He’d been so absorbed 2c93f346d3 in watching Yesung eat—thinking 49395f1c32 how endearing he looked, 1e9747307e even when focused on f5859367d1 food—that he’d forgotten about abeec3e5a1 his own meal.e3f6a01db9fac525

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“Oh. Right. I should eat.”e5c9dabee2e17229

Though he wanted a0a33665b7 to keep watching, 9908a9f2ba Hageon noticed the ae30783faf irritation on Yesung’s b5e7dd1d78 face and decided e1038f4aa1 it was better ae7900976c to stop. Picking up his spoon, 7eeac8f627 he began eating.12c835b7f637754b

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Unexpectedly, the rest of 7b951e5c88 their lunch passed in 1bfccb8410 relative peace.28df6aaae7b4d9c9