24ES | Chapter 5.5

The atmosphere quieted, and Yesung gestured at their trays with his spoon.

“Let’s just eat.”

“Yeah! Let’s do that. Great idea! I don’t know what I was thinking.”

Grateful for the topic change, Baek-o eagerly dove in. But perhaps it was already too late.

Like some sacred ritual, he scooped a large, tightly packed spoonful of rice and was just about to take a bite when—

♬♪♩~ ♬♪―

The cheerful ringtone made both of them freeze. Yesung’s spoonful of soup dripped back into his bowl.

Thankfully, it was Baek-o’s phone, not his. The caller ID showed a name familiar to Yesung—Baek Euijun, a third-year emergency medicine resident.

Relieved it wasn’t his own phone, Yesung noted how typical the ringtone was for someone like Baek-o. Meanwhile, Baek-o’s face crumpled like a piece of paper.

“Ugh, damn it…”

He glanced between his loudly ringing phone and his untouched food, clearly reluctant to answer. But his choice was already made. Sighing heavily, he set down his spoon and picked up the call.

“…Yeah, Dr. Baek. What’s going on?”

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

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

“Uh… sorry, what?”

The exasperation in Baek-o’s outburst was palpable, and the confusion in Baek Euijun’s voice came through even over the phone. Clicking his tongue softly, Yesung watched as Baek-o deflated like a balloon.

“No, never mind. You said the accident happened close to our hospital, right? Got it. I’ll be there soon. Just hang tight, Dr. Baek…”

“Yes, Professor!”

After hanging up, Baek-o stood with a face that had gone from glum to outright despair. He seemed deeply pained at having to leave his precious meal untouched.

See? Should’ve tried eating at least one more bite earlier.

Watching him, Yesung casually picked up the piece of bulgogi Baek-o had been eyeing the whole time and ate it.

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

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

“Stop whining and just go already. As if you have time for this.”

“Sigh… Fine. Hey, can you clear my tray, Ye-sung?”

Waving his hand to show he’d take care of it, Yesung watched as Baek-o reluctantly left. But just a few steps away, he suddenly turned back, wide-eyed.

“Oh, right, Ye-sung. Something’s been bugging me since earlier when you mentioned your new roommate. Remember the welcome party for Dr. Jung? That night, I’m pretty sure he was also off-duty. That’s why I asked if you went home with him. But if you didn’t and only found out yesterday that he’s your roommate… where was he that night? Did he sleep outside or something?”

“What…?”

“Oh, never mind. He might’ve just stayed in the on-call room. Anyway, I’m off!”

With that parting shot, Kang Baek-o dashed out of the cafeteria, leaving chaos in his wake. Before Yesung could even process the confusion, someone appeared before him.

The newcomer shoved Baek-o’s tray aside and set down their own. Blinking in surprise, Yesung looked up to see the owner of the tray.

It was none other than Jung Hageon—the very person causing all this confusion.

Without missing a beat, Hageon pulled out the chair and sat down.

“Hello, sunbae.”

Unlike the noisy storm in Yesung’s mind, Hageon’s greeting was calm and serene, almost frustratingly so.

How…? How did he show up right after Baek-o stirred all this up? As if he’d been waiting for this exact moment?

Raising an eyebrow, Yesung asked suspiciously,

“Did you hear that just now? Or were you waiting on purpose?”

“Hear what?”

Hageon’s clueless expression seemed genuine, forcing Yesung to squint at him. No matter how hard he stared, Hageon met his gaze with a look of pure curiosity.

So, he didn’t hear.

After a long moment of observation, Yesung finally nodded and said, “Never mind. It’s nothing.”

“Okay.”

Hageon’s concise reply was almost too neat, lacking even the faintest curiosity about Yesung’s question. Watching him scoop up a spoonful of hot, steaming seolleongtang, Yesung suddenly asked,

“Why do you act so naturally sitting across from me?”

He’d already spent last night at dinner and this morning at work repeatedly running into Hageon. On top of that, he’d seen him twice at the hospital today alone. Surely, by now, anyone would be sick of seeing the same face over and over.

But not Hageon. How could he keep sitting here like it was the most normal thing in the world?

His tone dripping with exasperation, Yesung asked, and Hageon answered with perfect composure.

“I just saw an empty seat in front of you and sat down. It’s not like the seat was reserved. Can’t I sit where I like?”

“…Huh.”

Yesung rolled his eyes and glanced around the cafeteria.

“With so many empty seats, you just happened to sit right in front of me because this spot was open? And my tray was already here, too.”

It was hard not to interpret the act as intentional.

Jung Hageon, who had been poking at his rice as though he couldn’t decide whether to eat or count each grain, paused mid-motion. His jaw visibly clenched for a moment, the tension in his expression betraying a brief internal struggle. Finally, he spoke.

“…I’m sorry. Honestly, I saw Professor Kang leave after getting his food and decided to sit here because I wanted to eat while facing you, sunbae.”

Yesung blinked, caught off guard by the straightforward apology. He had half-expected an excuse or deflection, but Hageon’s words were surprisingly earnest.

This guy… he had a knack for being almost too honest. It had been the same when he first confessed his feelings to Yesung, and now again.

Jung Hageon’s unadorned way of speaking wasn’t overly heavy or flippant—it struck a perfect balance. Yet somehow, it carried a strange weight, making it hard to dismiss. Maybe it was his unwavering gaze, charged with emotions that were impossible to ignore, no matter how much one wanted to.

What a ridiculous guy.

Yesung recalled how Hageon had declared he wouldn’t give up, no matter what, and was now proving it with his actions. Unlike Yesung, who often fell short of keeping his own promises, Hageon stuck to his word.

The realization irritated him, and he looked away, frowning. As he did, he noticed something.

“Wait. Are you still wearing your scrubs?”

Yesung’s brow furrowed deeper. There were still questions he wanted to ask before ending this conversation. He suppressed a sigh and gestured at Hageon’s attire with his chin.

“…Did you just come from surgery?”

“Yes. Nothing major—just two simple cases this morning.”

Although the question was a bit abrupt, Hageon answered easily.

It wasn’t just because it was a busy Friday. Between emergency patients, the Code Blue, and now surgeries, Hageon was having an exceptionally full day. Watching him speak so nonchalantly about having performed two surgeries just that morning, Yesung muttered,

“You actually found time to eat, huh.”

“Well, my professor noticed I had a packed schedule this afternoon and insisted I take a break to grab some food. Otherwise, I’d probably end up operating on an empty stomach all day.”

…That was intense. Pediatric surgery was demanding, sure, but cardiothoracic surgery took it to another level. Yesung had a few surgeries lined up that afternoon as well, but at least he wasn’t so tied up in the OR that he couldn’t step out.

After a moment of silence, he poked at his squid side dish with his chopsticks before getting to the real question that had been on his mind since he first noticed Hageon’s scrubs.

“By the way… I heard you were off-duty during your welcome party. So, where have you been staying during your off-days?”

It was the very question raised by Kang Baek-o earlier. Though Yesung had his suspicions, he wanted to confirm them directly.

Hageon blinked in surprise, the unexpected topic catching him off guard. After a moment of hesitation, he replied, “…In an empty on-call room at the hospital.”

So, the guess had been right. Both Baek-o’s theory and Yesung’s intuition were spot on.

Was it because Yesung had rushed off that day, avoiding Hageon at every turn? He must have assumed Yesung didn’t yet know who his new roommate was.

“…Because you thought I didn’t know you were my new roommate?”

“…That’s part of it. But mostly, I figured you’d be uncomfortable.”

He wasn’t wrong. That day had been when Hageon inadvertently stumbled upon one of Yesung’s most guarded secrets. If Yesung had known at the time that Hageon was his new roommate, having to face him alone in the house after everything that had happened… it would have been unbearable.

No doubt, he’d have bolted.

It dawned on him that Hageon’s decision to sleep elsewhere had been a gesture of consideration.

Should he be grateful? Or not? The question gnawed at him, but he chose silence in the end. After all, none of this would have happened if Hageon hadn’t pried into his secret in the first place.

He could have just pretended not to notice. It wouldn’t have been easy, but still.

Yesung dismissed it as the kind of response anyone should have expected and focused on his meal instead. Sharing a table with Hageon brought an undeniable sense of discomfort, so he quickened his pace, hoping to finish and leave as soon as possible.

But the persistent gaze hovering over him became impossible to ignore. Finally, he looked up, scowling.

“…What? Why aren’t you eating?”

His expression practically screamed, Stop staring at me like that.

Hageon blinked, startled. He’d been so absorbed in watching Yesung eat—thinking how endearing he looked, even when focused on food—that he’d forgotten about his own meal.

“Oh. Right. I should eat.”

Though he wanted to keep watching, Hageon noticed the irritation on Yesung’s face and decided it was better to stop. Picking up his spoon, he began eating.

Unexpectedly, the rest of their lunch passed in relative peace.