Eun Jae blinked her eyes, staring at the man as if her thoughts had momentarily stopped.

“I’ll… definitely repay this favor.”

“Will you do anything?”

The man’s lips trapped in her hand twitched, tickling her.

In this serious situation, what was he so happy about? Eun Jae looked at the constantly grinning man with a displeased expression.

“We can talk-”

As the commotion drew closer, Eun Jae who was about to continue speaking turned around. The situation was becoming more urgent than before.

Terrified that her voice might leak outside, Eun Jae whispered the rest of her words.

“Can we talk a little later?”

Whether he knew this or not.

The man slowly removed Eun Jae’s hand that was covering his mouth.

In an instant, their positions were reversed. With his back against the door, the man looked down at Eun Jae and asked.

“Choose now. Will you let me help?”

“……”

The man’s eyes, so close, sparkled with interest. Just like someone who wanted something from me.

Why me, what from me?

I have nothing I can give you.

“Answer me.”

The man’s question continued without giving time to think. The loan sharks might barge in at any moment.

Eun Jae swallowed hard and answered.

“Yes… pl-please help me.”

Thinking that escaping this crisis was the priority, Eun Jae quickly nodded and asked the man for help.

Satisfied with that answer, the corners of the man’s mouth lifted.

Through the hat pulled low, Eun Jae’s dark eyes, resembling her hair, sparkled. Those eyes were filled with tears that seemed about to spill over at any moment.

The man’s hand slowly overlapped Eun Jae’s eyes. Wiping away the pitiful tears gathered there with his thumb, he said.

“Alright, just trust me.”

The man’s eyes curved gently into crescents. Eun Jae looked at him and nodded.

Soon after, the sound of them entering was heard noisily.

As the sound of checking each door by kicking it gradually drew closer, Eun Jae’s hands started trembling again.

“Ha… where the hell did she disappear to?”

After a voice filled with frustration, a rough and hoarse voice followed.

The man with that voice stopped in front of the only locked door.

“Are you sure she went in here?”

A black shadow crept under the man’s feet.

“I’m certain, I saw it clearly.”

“Then she must be in here.”

The man’s thick hand, now confident, knocked on the bathroom door.

“While I’m asking nicely, open the door.”

Despite the relatively polite behavior, Eun Jae’s hand shook anxiously.

“Ji Eun Jae, you’re in there, aren’t you?”

The man, who had been quietly looking down at Eun Jae’s hand trembling like an aspen leaf, tightly grasped her pale hand.

“I told you to trust me.”

The man’s lips, raised to her shoulder, whispered that it was okay. As he gradually moved away, gesturing with his eyes to reassure her, she felt strangely at ease.

Knock knock. As the door was knocked again, the man’s head, which had been facing Eun Jae, turned towards the tightly closed door. The rough man’s voice flowed in.

“Eun Jae, you just need to pay back the money, okay? Why do you keep running away and making things difficult, it’s annoying.”

The seemingly kind tone was full of sharpness.

Sun Woo exhaled what might have been a sigh of relief at their words.

What if this woman was a criminal, what should he do then, what would happen in that case?

There was no certainty in this impulsive action, the first he’d ever taken in his life, and he had been inwardly doubtful, but it turned out to be quite a clear answer for Sun Woo.

Swoosh, Sun Woo, who had been smiling silently with the corner of his mouth raised, murmured quietly.

“It’s so noisy, disturbing me while I’m doing my business.”

“What? Sir, it’s a man?”

At Sun Woo’s words that sounded annoyed, the man standing in front of the door spoke as if bewildered. Then one of the shadows standing far away stepped up to the door and asked.

“A woman went in there, right?”

“Didn’t you hear? I said I’m in the middle of my business.”

Sun Woo raised his voice and slowly pushed Eun Jae by her shoulders towards the corner of the wall.

Perhaps because of the height difference of easily over 20 centimeters, he seemed even more enormous to Eun Jae, who looked up at the man and swallowed hard.

“Fine then, just open this door for now.”

“Wait, then. Until I’m done- with my business.”

“Ha, this bastard.”

Bang! Finally unable to contain their anger, they started kicking. The weak door rattled at the force.

“You’re not opening?”

Bang bang again!

“Do you want to die?”

Sun Woo slowly lowered his lips to Eun Jae’s ear, who was trembling in fear.

“Nothing will happen.”

“……”

“Don’t come out no matter what, stay here.”

As he whispered low enough for only Eun Jae to hear, she nodded with a face that looked like she might burst into tears at any moment.

Without hesitation, Sun Woo took out his phone from his pocket and called somewhere.

“This is Yoon Sun Woo. Could you please send three security guards to the men’s restroom in front of the CS (Cardiothoracic Surgery) professor’s office? It’s urgent, so as quickly as possible please.”

“Ha, look at this bastard.”

Bang bang bang. The door, being violently kicked with loud noises, had already started to bend inwards little by little.

The latch was weak and pushed in bit by bit with each kick, and the man gripped that latch with all his might.

Eun Jae looked at the man with worry. As if feeling that gaze, the man looked at Eun Jae with a smile full on his face and whispered.

“What? Did you think I’d knock them down like a hero? I’m not good at fighting.”

Eun Jae shook her head as if to say no.

“So don’t expect too much, I can only do this much.”

“……”

“But I’ll protect you, I promised, didn’t I?”

Because it was so noisy outside, their conversation didn’t leak out. The knuckles of Sun Woo’s hand gripping the latch gradually turned white.

“This is taking really long.”

Even though he said it was urgent.

Still seemingly at ease, Sun Woo clicked his tongue while looking down at the watch on his left wrist.

At first it was one person kicking, but now it seemed like two or three people were kicking at once. The bathroom door started shaking faster and more strongly.

Sun Woo glanced slightly at the woman. It was now beyond his ability to hold out like this.

But he couldn’t ask that fragile woman who was just trusting and waiting for him to help hold it, and it probably wouldn’t be much help anyway.

This is troublesome.

Why did I tell her to trust me in the first place.

Sun Woo, chewing over his regrets, listened to the sound of their feet hitting the door.

Reading the regular rhythm, Sun Woo suddenly flung the door open. One man who was about to kick the door tumbled into the bathroom and hit his head on the toilet.

“Ack!”

The woman, who was about to scream in surprise at the man’s voice, barely managed to cover her own mouth.

The man who hit his head on the toilet collapsed hugging the toilet from the impact.

Then as one of the two men standing in front rushed in, Sun Woo used the open doorframe as support and forcefully kicked the man’s solar plexus with his dress shoe.

The man who was hit squarely in the solar plexus rolled backwards with an “Ugh!” sound.

“Showing your solar plexus to a cardiothoracic surgeon, how fearless.”

The last remaining man seemed to be the top boss just by looking at him.

Just as the man with quite a sturdy build approached threateningly while spewing curses,

“You can’t do this here!”

The man, caught by the security guards who appeared just in time, flailed about without being able to use much force. The security guards had even more sturdy builds than the man.

Meanwhile, Sun Woo slipped out sideways, excessively careful not to touch the man who had collapsed after hitting his head on the toilet.

“You were the least useful for your size.”

Thanks to that, the crisis seems to have been averted but.

Sun Woo, who had been quietly looking down to check the time on his wrist watch, furrowed his brow deeply. He sharply asked the only security guard who wasn’t holding anyone.

“It’s been 7 minutes since I contacted you, didn’t I say it was urgent?”

The security guard fidgeted at Sun Woo’s words.

In this hospital, Yoon Sun Woo is a hot potato.

A vicious and tenacious snake, to the extent that there’s hardly anyone who doesn’t know him.

To add an invincible name to that, the eldest grandson of the hospital director. No further explanation was needed.

“Well, there was also a commotion on the first floor. It seems they might have been accomplices……”

“Is there a shortage of manpower?”

“I’m sorry, professor.”

The man, easily subdued by one burly security guard, was yelling loudly, and the man whose solar plexus was kicked by Sun Woo’s dress shoe was gasping for breath while held by another security guard.

Sun Woo, who had been watching that scene, closed his eyes tightly and turned around.

“Remember, the manual says 5 minutes.”

Sun Woo turned back towards the security guard who was hanging his head, receiving all the scolding.

“Let’s clear those things out first, it’s so noisy I could die.”

“Yes.”

He frowned and stuck his index finger in his ear.

“Make sure to identify them and get their contact information. A police investigation may be necessary.”

“Yes.”

“Ah, right. Take evidence photos too. One precious toilet door was broken, so we need to charge them.”

It was my favorite spot, tsk.

As soon as Sun Woo finished muttering quietly, the security guard who had taken out his phone took several photos in succession.

When Sun Woo urged them to clear out the man who had collapsed after hitting his head on the toilet, a security guard belatedly pulled him out.

The woman who he thought would soon peek her head out was strangely quiet. Sun Woo looked into the bathroom stall from afar.

Perhaps because her body was so slender, the woman’s figure couldn’t be seen through the slightly open door.

No way, did she stay in there because I told her not to come out?

Sun Woo scratched near his eyebrow.

“You can come out now.”

Only then did the woman who had been quietly clinging to the wall exhale a long breath and walk out of the bathroom stall.

As a small woman walked out of the men’s restroom, moreover from the narrow stall where Professor Yoon had just been, the security guard looked up at Sun Woo with a start.

I know what that look means.

Sun Woo spoke to the security guard with a furrowed brow, as if warning him.

“Whatever you’re thinking, it’s not that.”

“Yes……”

After a brief response, the security guard immediately turned his head as if he hadn’t seen anything and easily pulled the fallen man out of the bathroom.

Eun Jae stood awkwardly next to the man, maintaining a proper distance.

As soon as they left, the man took off the gown he was wearing and draped it over his broad shoulders.

Quickly unfastening the cufflinks with round onyx stones and rolling up his shirt sleeves to his elbows, the man scrubbed his hands abnormally hard.

Eun Jae was watching the man washing his hands from afar through the mirror.

She hadn’t noticed earlier because of the chaotic situation, but she thought the smooth lines forming the man’s features were quite beautiful.

He’s handsome.

“You seem to be very obedient?”

As their eyes met in the mirror while the man looked up at himself washing his hands, Eun Jae hesitated for a moment before approaching him and bowing politely.

“Thank you so much for today.”

Before Eun Jae could finish her greeting, his phone, still wet, was pushed in front of her face.

“Enter your number.”

“What? My number?”

“Whose number did you think I wanted?”

The man handed over his phone and concentrated on washing his hands again without looking back.

He only asked Eun Jae reflected in the mirror and lowered his head to wash his hands again.

Catching the brief moment when the corner of the man’s mouth turned up slightly, Eun Jae felt goosebumps all over her body.

“I saved your life, right?”

The man stuffed his hands, wiped with paper towels, into his black pants pockets. A small portable hand sanitizer came out with them.

Squeezing a generous amount onto his palm and rubbing his hands, he put on medical gloves on both hands.

After looking at Eun Jae for a moment, the man held out his hand as if asking for something.

“You should give me the phone.”

Ah.

Eun Jae, who answered with just her mouth shape instead of a sound, handed him the phone with her number entered.

The man who received the phone tilted his head and smiled.

“You know what? You’re the first person to touch my phone.”

This person has a lot of firsts.

In movies or dramas, when the male lead says ‘You’re the first woman to do this to me!’ and then suddenly kisses…

Ah, what am I thinking right now.

Eun Jae quietly bit her lip, wrapping up the useless thoughts that had briefly left time and space.

The man put his arms into the white gown that had been draped over his shoulders.

The blue embroidery on the left chest of the gown caught her eye.

―Yeonrim Hospital Cardiothoracic Surgery Yoon Sun Woo.

Ah, so he’s a doctor.

While inwardly repeating that name and staring intently at the embroidered letters, those letters grew larger and larger until they were right in front of her eyes.

With a gentle smile on his lips, he lowered his lips to Eun Jae’s shoulder and whispered.

“Don’t just say thank you with words-”

“……”

“Make sure to repay the favor.”