Chapter Text
“I heard you calling on the megaphone
You wanna see me all alone
As legend has it, you are quite the pyro
You light the match to watch it blow”
This interpretation gives the savior figure a bold, wild, and confident personality, like someone who’s unapologetically intense and knows how to command attention and create change.
...
The first time they ever crossed paths, they didn’t even look at each other.
Emma Nolan, recently graduated nurse, “too green”, as some may still say, returned to north twelve only to face the tallest man in the ED - in the entire PTMC, actually - whose back was so broad she was sure no one could tell she was standing behind him.
Dr Brendon Park, better known as “The Shark”, orthopedic surgeon, had just given his verdict on the patient’s leg - reattachment was a go.
He had come in silently, just nodded at Robby’s “Shark, thanks for coming” and started circling the patient. That’s where the nickname came from. Dr Park was used to enter the OR - any OR - and circle around the patient, take in the whole picture, even if the problem was on a foot, he took all in, assessed the situation, took a closer look and took a bite - just like a shark - but he didn’t bite, no. He gave a precise verdict.
His verdicts were taken and followed as if they were taken out of the bible itself. No one dared neither question him nor ask anything else. Not even Robby, who was a fellow attending with as many or even more years of experience than him.
As soon as he started pulling at his gloves, Emma knew she had to stay out of his way. She simply took a giant leap to her left, and The Shark left.
He took his bite and left.
Emma was left astounded. She had never witnessed such a thing. She could feel how the whole atmosphere changed - everyone fell silent - silence fell upon everyone while The Shark circled them. And everyone froze, as if he were a real shark and was circling them in the open sea, seeing who he could bite, who would taste better, who wouldn’t even move and let themselves be eaten by him.
As soon as he left everyone started moving frantically again.
Emma even felt the temperature change back to where it was.
There were more patients to see. More orders to take. More to learn.
Believe it or not, Emma Nolan forgot all about the doctor who was the tallest, the scariest, and took all the superlative adjectives there were in the English language for himself.
…
The second time they crossed paths, he noticed her.
Dr Park had always been famous for not being the most open to new people. Student doctors, nurses, residents, fellow attendings - he never cared about asking their names, making small talk, wonder why they chose medicine and this hospital in particular.
The only ones who spoke his language and got along with him so much so to have witnessed a smile, seen his teeth, spoken any other thing that weren’t ortho-related-things were Dr Walsh, Dr García, his most skilled nurses, and two or three more fellow surgeons.
For the rest of the hospital, he was The Shark. And people stay away from its waters.
People at the hospital had learned to stay away from him. Doctors, nurses, technicians, the cleaning personnel, students doctors - everyone at the hospital knew better than to stay away, think their words carefully before even speaking to him, and leave corridors with enough space for him to walk around.
The general consensus was that Dr Park was someone everyone had to stay away from, not talk to unless spoken to, and nod to whatever order he gave and follow his instructions as if he were God. Some might have even said he was brutal. But all the student doctors, residents, nurses - all of them thrived and became the best at what they did after working with him. They truly learnt from him. Maybe he wasn’t all smiles or as comforting as Robby was - but he was one of the greatest teachers this teaching hospital had.
Dr Brendon Park was one of the best and the finest in the country and he worked at PTMC. It was a real pity, Emma told him some time later, that he was known for his quiet and serious character rather than for his talents and teaching.
“Excuse me, Dr Park?”
Dr Brendon Park hated going downstairs. He truly did. The ED was everything his floor wasn’t: always noisy. There was always someone screaming, someone crying, someone making mistakes, student doctors fainting at the sight of blood. So every time he was called down - which were only a few times every now and then, García always volunteered and he was grateful for that, he tried to make it as fast as possible.
So when he was walking fast back to the stairs, carrying his tablet, checking in his next surgery on his calendar, checking the time, thinking about a thousand things at the same time, he was being followed by a young nurse who clearly didn’t know who he was.
He stopped and turned and took her in.
…
Nothing. He had stopped on his tracks, but Emma waited and he said nothing.
Far from being scared, Emma smiled at him and pulled at her notepad.
“What size do you wear? Because I was told Dr García is going on vacation soon. So that I have to call you now if we need someone from ortho and I noticed that you bring your own gloves - you don’t take the ones in the rooms. I was thinking since you’re going to come here more often, I’d better stock the rooms for you.”
Dr Brendon Park remained silent.
Nothing.
Silence.
Emma didn’t chicken out. She just waited. Totally oblivious to what she had seen and witnessed weeks ago when she saw Dr Park “The Shark” for the first time and no one, apart from Dr Robby, dared talk to him.
Dr Park blinked two times.
“I’m sorry, I forgot to introduce myself. I’m Nurse Emma Nolan. Been here for some weeks.” She smiled - didn’t offer her hand but kept on waiting, her notepad in one hand, a pink pen in the other.
Slowly, the frown on his face faintly disappeared and the corners of his lips turned slightly upwards. Ever so slightly that it seemed the only one to see this was Emma Nolan.
It took him a whole five seconds to react. The longest five seconds in Emma’s whole life.
“Ten”.
“Thank you, sir! I’ll make sure all the rooms have gloves for you so you don’t have to bring them down here!” He watched her happily scribbling down. “See you, have a great day!”
Behind Emma, some meters away, Dana witnessed everything and kept everything she had seen and heard to herself. She was going to be the only one to know for the months and years to come.
…
Some days later, Dr Park is seen more often in the ED since García, his most trusted resident, is on vacation.
Some at the ED become used to his presence.
Emma has learned that he always circles the patients, starting from the left to the right. She stays away from his tracks. Everyone does. Now the temperature of the rooms doesn’t drop. Everyone stays quiet, everyone takes his words. No one challenges him. No one asks follow up questions. It’s a teaching hospital, and he’s teaching.
Nurse Nolan has stacked all the rooms with boxes of size 10 gloves ready for him. So the first time he takes over García at the ED, he looks at his left, and the gloves are there. He takes a pair, puts them on and takes in the scene, assesses the patients, and gives the attending his verdict.
No one notices he started taking the gloves at the ED.
Dr Park sees Emma not the first time he takes over García, but some days later. She’s walking down pedes, sporting a pair of Minnie Mouse ears with a pink ribbon on top of her head, carrying a tablet, smiling.
Why was she always smiling?
“Dr Park!”
He nods at her, the same way he nods at Robby, Abbot, Al Hashimi, Walsh, García, etc.
Dr Brendon Park only nods to acknowledge some people. Not everyone. Not nurses.
She soon notices his blue eyes fall on her head. She blushes and pulls at the Disney headband. “Was on peds. I love it there. I hope to become a peds nurse one day.”
He says nothing.
But stays there.
His mere presence invites her to keep on talking.
“So, you like coming to the ED?”
“Not really.”
“Want something to drink?” Emma offers casually, setting the tablet back on a desk. “Dr García would have some tea sometimes.”
“No, thanks.”
“Ah!”
He stays. He sees her rummaging through her pockets, looking for something he thinks she might have lost so maybe she has to rush back to peds.
But no. She’s all smiles when she pulls a children’s brooch, not a little one - but a tiny one.
A shark brooch pin.
“I bought things to give kids who are nice after vaccines, but the attending told me it’s not safe for them, you know, because of the pin.” She takes a step forward and drops it into the breast pocket of his blue scrub. “There. So you put it on your uniform.”
He says nothing.
“Maybe I buy stickers next time.”
“Dr Park, trauma incoming, hip displacement.” Perlah said. “Dr Robby is asking for you at the trauma bay.”
Some hours later, Dr Park is making his last round, signing discharge documents, talking to recently operated patients and instructing nurses how to continue with their medication with a shark brooch pin on his breast pocket - a brooch some people notice, but no one dares comment on.