BC | Chapter 6
by n.rekia“Do you have Pink Sugar too?”
At Beom-woo’s curious question, Seong-heon let out a deep sigh and shook his head.
“Seriously, this is why science types are hopeless. They don’t understand metaphors, metaphors! They lack the basic humanities knowledge essential for building human relationships.”
He looked like he was about to start talking nonsense again, so Beom-woo focused on tipping back his drink.
“They don’t seem like they’re dating.”
“Who?”
It seemed like he was referring to Lee Yoo-eun and Song Jun-young, but Beom-woo feigned ignorance.
“The way they linked arms felt awkward. It was more like they were running away from someone… Want me to tell you how?”
“Like what?”
Beom-woo casually asked as he leaned against the wall.
“How to get greeted by that annoying Lee Yoo-eun?”
Suddenly, he felt warm on the back of his neck as the alcohol started to kick in.
Beom-woo closed his eyes tightly and let out a quiet sigh.
“No, I’m not saying I want a loud greeting or anything.”
“No, I didn’t think it would be a loud greeting either.”
Seong-heon kept babbling on about Beom-woo’s outfit, talking as if he could turn it inside out.
“That’s rude. I’d be pissed off too if I were you. Huh? Pretending not to know someone who was once your teacher in medicine? It’s written in the Hippocratic Oath, right? In the Geneva Oath too! Show respect to your teacher! A disciple who doesn’t show respect is despicable.”
But since Lee Yoo-eun didn’t become a doctor, she was unrelated to those oaths.
“Isn’t it just basic decency to say hello? That’s what I mean.”
Seong-heon had spent many years together with Beom-woo, he spoke like he could read Beom-woo’s mind.
“So what?”
He casually asked back, as if it had nothing to do with him. It seemed like pointless talk, but he raised his eyes slightly, as if to say he’d listen anyway.
“Because you came on so awkwardly today.”
“Shin Seong-heon.”
Beom-woo clenched his teeth and muttered his friend’s name.
“Yeah, I know! I was just politely asking because it’s awkward for a teacher to greet their student first.”
Seong-heon’s lips twitched, as if trying to hold back a smile. Beom-woo, felt like he was doing something unnecessary, he turned his head away.
“The student couldn’t greet the teacher out of guilt for not recognizing him.”
Seong-heon, speaking in an old-fashioned manner, was teasing Beom-woo.
“Why did I throw a bait to that guy?”
It was when Beom-woo shook his head a couple of times.
“Ignore him for a few days.”
Seong-heon’s voice continued, sounding quite serious. Beom-woo kept his head still, only rolling his eyes to glance at Seong-heon.
“Isn’t that exhibition at our hospital running until early January? You’ve got plenty of time until then. Honestly, there must have been some reason why you couldn’t become a doctor. And there must be some meaning behind doing art. Maybe you were surprised to run into your old teacher in an unexpected place.”
“Since when are you talking like a normal person?”
Seong-heon closed his eyes gently, raised his right hand to shoulder height, and muttered.
“Even if Jeong Beom-woo threatens me with a scary look, I will not use my knowledge in a way that goes against my principles!”
Beom-woo threw a wet towel at Seong-heon’s face as he cleverly adapted and recited the Geneva Declaration.
“Hey, this dirty thing!”
Seong-heon pinched the wet towel between his thumb and index finger, making an exaggerated face as if it were filthy.
“Isn’t it really scary when you look at someone so directly like that? But then you do it while looking up at them? Even as your friend, there are times when it freaks me out.”
Seong-heon was a handspan shorter than Beom-woo. Whenever they stood together at the operating table, Seong-heon would grumble about needing a footstool to match Beom-woo’s much taller height.
“Lee Yoo-eun looks even shorter than me, doesn’t she?”
“It looked similar.”
This time, Beom-woo laughed mischievously.
“Hey! I’m over 170 centimeters! Lee Yoo-eun looks like she’s about 165, right?”
Lee Yoo-eun’s height was much shorter than Beom-woo’s. Maybe that’s why her eyes seemed even more round when she looked up.
“Your head is annoyingly stiff, your nose is annoyingly high, and your eyelashes are annoyingly long. Do you know that when you look down like that, it makes a really scary shadow on your face? Even though we’re friends, sometimes I get freaked out.”
Seong-heon suddenly made a pitiful face and pouted.
“Then, in Lee Yoo-eun’s eyes, you must look really scary. And is your personality even that great?”
“Still, I always come out of the operating room with a smile.”
“That makes it even scarier!”
Seong-heon shuddered all over as if he was genuinely creeped out.
“When the juniors make a mistake, you yell at them, but as soon as you step out of the operating room, you smile and say, ‘Great job!’ Do you have any idea how eerily terrifying that is?”
Beom-woo narrowed his eyes, unable to understand why that was considered scary.
“Still, you have to end things with a smile.”
“You’re insane. How is it a good ending when the guy who was yelling 10 minutes ago suddenly smiles and says hello? Just don’t smile! Just say, ‘Good job,’ and leave it at that.”
It seemed like Seong-heon had drunk enough for his drunk habits to kick in. When he got drunk, he always started meddling in unnecessary things.
“Is he some kind of Jekyll and Hyde or what?” Seong-heon muttered.
“Let’s stop and get up. Don’t drink anymore.”
“You jerk. You’re doing this because you don’t want to listen to me, right? You’ve changed!”
Seong-heon, acting spoiled, was really hard to tolerate. Beom-woo picked up the bill and stood up first. Seong-heon, seeming like he had no choice, muttered and followed behind Beom-woo.
How many days am I supposed to ignore him?
Who said I’d actually care and pay attention to him?
Beom-woo let out a deflated laugh as he left the butcher’s restaurant.
＊＊＊
He tried to ignore it. But Beom-woo’s hand was gripping the mouse, and he clicked on a pop-up window on the hospital’s website. He was so far removed from anything related to art or exhibitions, and what Lee Yoo-eun was doing seemed even more distant from him.
Although it was clearly labeled as an exhibition, from Beom-woo’s perspective, it looked more like a performance. Under the name “Media Performance,” she participated in the exhibition three times a day. So now, Beom-woo was checking the exhibition schedule listed on the hospital’s website pop-up.
What time is Lee Yoo-eun’s performance today, anyway?
Today was Christmas. A message flashed on the screen, saying that a grander performance than yesterday’s was scheduled, so they should look forward to it.
Beom-woo crossed his arms and thought deeply. Lee Yoo-eun’s performance was at 7 PM, and it was now 5 PM, just before the rounds. If he hurried after the rounds were over, he thought he could take off his gown and sneak into the exhibition disguised as a regular person.
Wait, why would he sneak in?
For a moment, Seong-heon’s sly face, telling him to ignore it for a few days, popped into Beom-woo’s mind.
*Knock Knock*. There was a knock.
“Yes!”
Beom-woo, who had been lost in thought, was startled and responded in surprise.
Two residents poked their heads slightly into the room.
“Professor, it’s time for the rounds.”
“Okay.”
Beom-woo pulled the corners of his mouth into a polite smile and left the office. The faces of the two people following him were stiff and pale.
Beom-woo’s face, smiling unusually, scared the residents. Their minds were busy reviewing the patient’s chart. Just imagining a question being thrown at them that they couldn’t answer made them feel as if their hearts were stopping.
Having safely finished the rounds, Beom-woo checked his watch. It was almost 6 PM. His gown pocket was full of candies and chocolates given by the patients’ families. Many guardians, not wanting to give actual gifts, often handed him simple snacks instead.
Would it be rude to go to the exhibition empty-handed?
When he glanced quickly, he saw that the resident following him was holding a colorful box.
“What’s that?”
“They said it’s a donut. The guardian gave it to us to share.”
Beom-woo nodded and checked his watch again. He was wondering if he should stop by a convenience store to buy some chocolate.
“Professor, do you have plans for dinner tonight?”
When the youngest resident asked, the senior resident holding the donut box tried to give him a subtle hint. However, Beom-woo, distracted by something else, didn’t notice the silent battle between the two.
“No.”
“But why do you keep—ouch!”
The precious youngest resident shouted in the middle of the hallway, frowning. Beom-woo, who had been walking ahead, suddenly turned around.
“Why, what’s going on? Why are you suddenly shouting?”
“Oh, it’s about Pediatric Cardiology, Yoon Si. They said she’ll probably be discharged early next week.”
The senior resident smoothly changed the subject, pulling the corners of his mouth into a bright smile. At that smile, the youngest resident’s face stiffened again, his expression pale. It was the look of someone who instinctively knew they had done something wrong.
“Junior. Why does your face look like that? Tell me.”
It was when Beom-woo asked the question directly.
Code Blue, CPCR, Cardiovascular Center MICU, Code Blue, CPCR, Cardiovascular Center MICU.
A Code Blue occurred in the MICU (Medical Intensive Care Unit) of the Cardiovascular Center. Beom-woo rushed toward the MICU in a hurry.
- MICU: Medical Intensive Care Unit
- Code Blue: A medical emergency, typically indicating a patient requiring immediate resuscitation, often due to cardiac or respiratory arrest.
[Footnotes]
- Medical Intensive Care Unit (MICU), A specialized unit in the hospital where patients with critical and life-threatening conditions are treated.
2. Code Blue, A medical emergency indicating that a patient is in a life-threatening situation, such as cardiac or respiratory arrest.