Chapter Text
Gyeo Ul came to with a start. Her surroundings blurry as she groped for her glasses. This wasn’t the GS medical office. Where was she?
The last thing she remembered was collapsing on her table and succumbing to the excruciating pain of her period cramps. She was usually meticulous with the duration in between her painkiller dosages to keep the cramps at bay. But the surgery she was assisting with had been a particularly difficult one and she had not realised how much time had passed until she felt the pain creeping into her lower abdomen. By then, it was too late. She had barely managed to complete the surgery before stumbling back to the office.
Her hands finally closed around the rims of her glasses. She put them on as she slowly sat up from the camp bed she had been sleeping on.
Jeong Won’s office. She was alone in Jeong Won’s office. How did she get there? Where was he?
The door opened just then.
“Hey, you are awake! Are you feeling better? Are you still aching? Is the pack still warm? Do you want a warm drink?” Jeong Won said, as he dropped what he was carrying onto the table and hurried over to her side.
She felt then the warmth of a heat pack around her middle. But it was nothing compared to the glow in her heart as he fussed over her.
“Just a bit, nothing compared to earlier. What time is it?” she asked.
“A little after 11pm. You have been asleep for the last three hours,” he answered, “I found you doubled up in your office when I went looking for you after you stopped answering your phone. I brought you over here so you could rest better.”
“Thank you,” she sighed, dropping her head to his shoulder as she leaned into him. His arm came around to hug her closer. They sat quietly like this until her stomach broke the silence with a sudden growl.
He laughed, “I knew you would be hungry when you woke up. I was just bringing up the food I had ordered.”
“Kimchi jjigae?” she asked hopefully.
“Kimchi jiggae.” he confirmed. She smiled. It had only been a few months but he knew her so well already.
He helped her up to the table and then started opening the various take-out containers. She found the cutlery in the bags and laid out places for them.
“Have you not eaten?” she asked. Even though she knew what he was going to say.
He shook his head. “How could I, when you were in so much pain. I don’t think I have ever seen you this pale.” He cupped her face and turned her towards him. “Please don’t ever frighten me like that again. Twice is more than enough!”
She looked into his eyes. She could see the fear, concern and relief that swirled in its depths. The glow in her heart swelled still more.
“I will remember better next time.” she reassured him as they started into their food.
They talked as they ate. Her recounting to him the difficulties of the surgery that had caused her to lose track of the time. Him of the outpatients he saw that day and their various antics.
As she chewed on a piece of pork, a thought suddenly hit her. Twice? Twice he saw her like this? When was the first time? She had managed her cramps well enough the past few months they had been together. While he was aware and worried when she told him she was under the weather, she had not been overwhelmed by the pain like today either.
She peered at him curiously as he reached over to spoon more jjigae into her bowl. “When was the first time?”
“Hmm, what first time?” He selected a few slices of kimchi and added that too.
“You said I frightened you twice. When was the first time you saw me in pain? I was mostly okay the last few months.”
He paused and looked up, his expression suddenly skittish. “Oh, erm, I meant the first time you told me you experienced cramps every month.”
“No, that can’t be right. You were concerned, but not frightened.” She pressed again. “When was the first time?”
He sighed and sat back in his chair. It looked like he would have to come clean, he could see that she would not rest until he told her the truth.
“It was when you went into anaphylactic shock last year. I may not have seen you in pain like today but I had the same feeling when I heard Ik Jun describe your condition at lunch. Like my stomach had dropped away.”
She stared at him, eyes wide with astonishment as she struggled to process what he was saying.
He was still talking, “I couldn’t eat after that. I ran straight to the ER, wanting to see you for myself, to know you were okay. But I couldn’t make myself go in, not when I had no idea what exactly I was feeling.”
She was properly stunned now. He did come. “You ran? But you only do it for emergencies.”
He gave a little laugh. “Well, it was an emergency. You went into shock and fainted.”
She needed more details. “How long were you there?”
“A little while, maybe an hour? I tried to leave but I came back anyway. I even went as far as opening the door. I wonder what people must have thought of me, lurking outside there for so long.” His tone was wry as he continued to recount his memory. “It took me another hour and countless drafts before I could even send you that get-well-soon text.”
He came, he had wanted to see her, he had worried about her.
That glow in her heart began spreading outwards through to the rest of her body.
She stood up and went over to stand in front of him. This time, it was she who cupped his face as he gazed up at her. “I love you.”
His eyes clouded with emotions. It was the first time she had said it.
She went on, wanting to get the words out before she teared up. “You can’t know how much this means to me. When I woke up and saw your text, I was so happy. For a wild moment, I wondered if you did like me. But after hearing you didn’t visit, I felt like a fool. It was one of the worst moments of my life.”
He rose up too, swiping tenderly away at the tears that had trickled down without her realising. “I am sorry. I will always come for you. You know that now.”
She nodded. She did know now. Just like how he had earlier this evening.
He pulled her into his arms, cradling her against him. He whispered her name and then, “I love you too.”