Thus, they sat opposite each other at a café window, two warm cups of coffee between them.
Afternoon sunlight warmly flooded the room.
A woman in a white coat and a man in patient attire, they looked like a couple, well-suited for each other.
“By the way, I heard a rumor about you. You’re quite famous, aren’t you?”
“Me? What rumor?”
“That you bravely saved a soldier during a critical surgery.”
“Ah…”
Sori was a bit flustered that the story, which happened quite a while ago, was still circulating.
Unknown to Sori, it was a significant event still discussed among the nurses and patients who had witnessed it.
A bashful Sori scratched her head.
“People are brave when they are ignorant. I’m not usually one to cause such a scene. It just happened…”
“It’s not causing a scene. The rumor says it was totally awesome.”
Rumors had spread far and wide, making Sori’s name well-known among the male patients, especially those who had experienced the military. They understood how inflexible such an organization could be and found Sori’s actions gratifying.
Thanks to Sori, Hyun Woo, who had dared to proceed with the surgery, also became popular among the patients in the Neurosurgery Department (NS).
“I was shaking inside at that time, afraid the soldiers would arrest me. They said I had broken military law.”
“I can imagine. Ha ha.”
The man laughed quite cheerfully as he listened to Sori’s story.
Sori had worried about what to talk about with this patient while coming to the cafe. But fortunately, the conversation about the military seemed to fill the time nicely.
“About that day, when I shaved the patient’s head… that was actually a huge mistake. You were so understanding about it… I’m truly sorry, and thank you once again.”
“My name is Hwang Jun Su.”
“Sorry?”
“My name. You didn’t see it on my card?”
“Oh… I did see it.”
“It’s alright. You’re busy.”
Sori felt embarrassed, as she had tried to forget the mistake, which is why Hwang Jun Su’s name didn’t stick in her memory.
Blushing, she took a sip from her coffee cup.
“If you feel sorry, please remember to call me by my name next time.”
“Alright. I’ll definitely remember your name.”
“And save my number too. I’ll contact you once I’m discharged.”
“Okay, I will.”
Sori thought she should at least save Hwang Jun Su’s number in her phone as a gesture of goodwill. And she eagerly awaited the day when he would be discharged, so she could clear her debt of gratitude.
Meanwhile, Hyun Woo, having completed Min Guk’s surgery, found a missed call on his phone. The caller was Ji Tae.
It seemed Ji Tae had called because Hyun Woo hadn’t responded in their group chat.
Hyun Woo typically would call back, but this time he didn’t feel like it and ignored the call.
Then he instinctively looked for Sori.
She had disappeared somewhere after seeing Min Guk wake up in the recovery room. Where could she have gone? She probably hadn’t even had lunch yet.
The department was empty. Could she be caught up in the emergency room?
Just as he was about to call Sori, he crossed the first-floor lobby and saw her entering a cafe with a man wearing a striking blue cast.
He recognized the man as the patient whose number Sori had taken by mistake.
“Dr. Yoo Sori mistakenly shaved a patient’s head, thinking he was an NS patient. But he’s actually from Orthopedic Surgery (OS). And he’s been hanging around NS a lot.”
“That guy who looks like a beaten-up celebrity?”
“Yes. Apparently, he’s been smitten with Dr. Yoo since that day. He didn’t even complain and keeps lurking around here.”
Hyun Woo remembered overhearing the nurses gossiping about this a few nights ago.
Judging by his appearance, he seemed to be the patient Sori had mistakenly shaved.
Was she so anxious to hide such an absurd mistake from him that she had been on edge every time they met in the emergency room?
Upon hearing this, Hyun Woo finally understood some of Sori’s odd behaviors. He clearly saw her face, gently smiling at the man.
The man, whom Hyun Woo had never seen her treat to coffee, received it nonchalantly. Hyun Woo’s eyebrows shot up.
For some reason, he felt a bit spiteful, an emotion he had never felt or even named before. It was unmistakable ‘jealousy.’
If he went to meet her now, it probably wouldn’t end well…
Originally planning to meet Sori, he strode towards the café. Just then, his phone buzzed loudly. It was Ji Tae again, persistently trying to contact him.
Sighing lightly, Hyun Woo stopped to answer the call.
“Hello, Seo Hyun Woo speaking.”
“Senior.”
As if I’d get upset over such trivial things. Are you kidding me right now?
Hyun Woo had never experienced such petty emotions as jealousy or sulkiness.
Such things seemed like childish nonsense to him.
[DASH] Then let’s set a date. I miss you, Professor Seo.Ji Tae was trying to set a date on the other end of the phone.
Meanwhile, Hyun Woo’s gaze remained fixed on Sori inside the café.
She, who trembled like a frail puppy in front of him, was now shyly smiling and laughing with someone else.
What is this? Why are my eyes burning with jealousy?
The betrayal felt when my puppy runs to someone else – is this what people call jealousy?
Such a trivial emotion? Me?
A low chuckle escaped him as he slightly bowed his head.
Sori’s face, lit up by the sunlight or perhaps her white coat, seemed particularly angelic today. He felt an odd impulse.
Today, not at home but right now, he wanted to press his lips against her forehead.
Sori had been busy preparing for Min Guk’s surgery these past few days.
He regretted making her work so hard, feeling both proud and sorry for her.
Hyun Woo could no longer look at Sori without emotion, like before.
After the day they watched the cherry blossoms, he decided to accept the change in himself and follow his heart.
But before playing house or anything else, he felt the need to straighten out their messy sequence of events.
He didn’t like to rush things.
“Senior, alright. I’ll take her out that day.”
[DASH] Who?“Who else? My girlfriend.”
At the moment he felt a strange urge to pocket Sori, Hyun Woo furrowed his brows and turned away from the café.
The Seo Hyun Woo of the world couldn’t let himself be petty and jealous over a bald-headed guy, preventing a hardworking resident from even enjoying a cup of tea.
He repressed the rising sense of possession with his usual cold rationality.
Not yet. For now, he should close his eyes and let her enjoy her fleeting freedom.
Just enjoy a little more of your delayed freedom.
“My cute little puppy.”
After Being Cheated On, She Picked Up a Treasure (Female-dominant)
One-line summary: The husband I married on a whim had been secretly in love with me for a long time.
On the day when Jun Shao finally obtained the imperial decree for her marriage, Lan Qu, the person she had admired for six years, defied the decree and ran away.
Her gentleness and devotion, her promise of a lifetime together, were all disregarded by him. Instead, he dreamed of entering the palace to serve the Emperor’s sister as a sixth-rank attendant.
News of this incident spread throughout the capital, and the alleys in front of and behind the Lan mansion were crowded with people who came to watch the commotion.
Jun Shao should have been embarrassed and angry.
But someone stepped in to protect her dignity.
The figure was in a miserable state, yet still possessed an undeniable elegance and handsomeness.
The young lord struggled to climb the wall of the Lan mansion and shouted to her, “If he won’t marry you, I will!”
So, Jun Shao took advantage of the situation and married the person.
She thought the young lord did it to save the Lan family from the crime of defying the imperial decree, but never imagined that from beginning to end, what he coveted was her.
*
After the wedding, Jun Shao felt like she was living in a dream.
Her Wife-master was as beautiful as a fairy in a painting, skilled in the six arts, well-versed in poetry and literature, capable of being gentle and attentive, and also grand and dignified. Most importantly, she was the only one in his heart and eyes.
Jun Shao didn’t know how Lan Shiwu, as a illegitimate son without a father and blessed with beauty, had managed to preserve his purity, recklessly escape, and use his last ounce of strength to ruin his own reputation, all because of his love for her, just to stand before her.
She could only see him gazing at her with eyes full of love, and when she bestowed a name upon him, his eyes shone like stars.
“You have come to me like a weary bird perching on a branch. I shall call you A Qi.”
