"I'm not going to leave you, I promise."
Using her thumb she wiped away the tears that were escaping Seju's eyes. She cupped the latter's cheeks and carefully caressed it.
"Promise?"
She took the Seju's hand that was resting on her cheeks and intertwined it with her hands.
"I Promise…"
===
"… ju… Park Seju! Wake the hell up!"
Seju was awoken by the loud knock and nagging voice of her best friend and colleague.
She just came from a 36 hour shift and was given a day off, but since she just spent her day off lazing around their shared apartment sleeping for 12 hours straight, her body feels so heavy and thus she's having a hard time getting up from her bed
As soon as she sat up she remembered the dream she had, and tried to remember the face of the person she was talking to but she can't recall
'A dream…'
She reached her hand out and looked at it
'It felt so real…'
For the past days that she was able to sleep, she was dreaming about the same thing over and over like it was on loop, and the same person, she's like watching a silent film with subtitles. She tried to recall all of her memories but she can't recall anything about a promise like that.
'Past Life?'
She furrowed her brows and tilted her head.
'if I can't remember that's probably it…'
"Girl, I swear if you don't get ready by 10 mins. I'll leave you and sell your soul to Chief Doah!" Sejeong her best friend shouted from behind the door, and she heard the latter's footsteps fading.
She looked at the clock on her bedside table and saw that it was already 7:45 am.
"Holy Crap…" She mumbled as she fumbles to get out from her bed "We're late!" She screamed as she got out of her room.
She quickly gets herself ready while Sejeong was sitting on the sofa watching her run frantically all around their apartment.
After a couple of minutes she's ready.
"Let's go! Let's go!"
She was brushing her teeth while they were on the way to work
"You're so freaking gross"
Sejeong scrunched up her nose looking disgusted by what Seju was doing
"Ugh, do I have heni oder opshions?" (T/N: Do I have any other options?)
Seju continued her business while Sejeong was driving still disgusted by her best friend
'Why is she my friend again?'
Sejeong thought as she continued to focus on her driving.
After brushing her teeth she continued speaking her thoughts.
"And I don't wanna get eaten alive by that monstrosity, I'd rather be gross"
She said referring to their Chief and fixed her stuff inside her handbag. While applying some light make-up she asked Sejeong about their shift.
"Are we having a 36 hour shift again?" She said while applying some lipstick
"Probably, Chief told me that the new surgeon would arrive next week or even at a later day" Sejeong took a glance at Seju who was currently curling her lashes and applying Mascara
*sigh*
They had a silent ride after that and after 20 mins. They arrived at the Hospital.
"Where's Dr. Park and Dr. Kim?!"
They haven't even entered the building yet but they can hear the thunderous voice of their Boss Echoing all throughout the Emergency Room.
They quietly sneak behind their Boss trying to get to the nearest bathroom so that they can have an excuse but to their dismay, their boss turned around and saw the two of them stealthily sneaking.
"Kim Sejeong! Park Seju! In my office now!"
And their Boss Stormed off
"Well let's have a farewell party later guys! Sejeong's Treat!"
Seju said jokingly that earned a smack from her friend.
"I was kidding! Just kidding!" She said and walked towards the elevator
The nurses and the other interns that was stationed at the ER are already used to this kind of scene. Every other day the two get scolded by their boss and get a 36 hour to 48 hour shift as their punishment.
To be honest, their boss is really itching to fire the two of them or get them on probation for a while but she can't let go two of her best doctors, and they're currently short in staff in the ER.
As they reached the door of their boss's office the two of them felt a cold breeze, they stood in front of a big door that have an Aluminum plate with the name of their Boss
'Dr. Choi Do Ah'
"Just seeing her name gives me the chills" Seju said while gripping the door handle
"Just open the door!" Sejeong said irritably
Their boss Dr. Choi Do-Ah or simply known in the medical industry as the Evil Genius. At the age of 26 a couple of months after her first year residency she was already the head of the Cardio Department, which is a great feat for someone who just finished their first year of residency. However she left the position and instead she took the position as the Emergency Department Head. No one really knows why she chose that department, but no one complains because she's handling it well and she's doing a great job at it.
As soon as they open the door, they can hear their Boss grunting while massaging her temple.
"Every other day… Seriously, Dr. Kim, Dr. Park. Why do you always do this?" She said without batting an eye on the two of them. Her eyebrows furrowed while her eyes were closed shut.
"This is the second time this month… Do I have to operate your brains for you two to understand that you're both in the ER? Every minute that passes is important! What if you two were late and there was an emergency?! You guys need to be as early as possible since you two are the only reliable residents in the Emergency Department!"
The two of them kept quiet, they know where this is going, Another 36 hour shift would be given to them and then the cycle repeats.
"We understand Chief" Sejeong said and bowed "We're really sorry and we promise that this would be the last time" She added and urged Seju to bow and apologize.
"We promise chief, this is the last time" Seju said while bowing
Doah heaved a heavy sigh and looked at her two best resident
"Raise your heads" She ordered and the two raised their heads "From now on I don't want to see the two of you late, and as soon as the new resident and the new interns comes in you two will have a 2 day rest" Doah stood up and walked towards the entrance of her office. "I still have an operation, you two should also get going, and that would be all" Doah said and left the two inside her office
As soon as Doah left the office Sejeong and Seju also left their Boss's office and went to the ER
'A two day rest?! is that supposed to be a punishment?!'
After a couple of minutes contemplating whether it was really a punishment or not Seju just took it as a vacation instead of a punishment.
"Why are you so happy? She technically put us on probation for two days behind the sweet words of 'day off'"
Sejeong was ranting, about the so-called "probation" while Seju was thinking of what she should do with her 2 day "Vacation"
"You should chill Jeong, let's just not take it as a punishment since she always puts us in a 36 hour shift."
Seju with her puppy eyes was trying to convince her best friend to just let it go since she will not hear the end of it until the end of their shift.
"Fine! Fine!"
Seju smiled brightly at Sejeong and the both of them proceeded to do their rounds.
A couple of patients more and Seju's break would start.
After the last patient she went to the doctor's lounge to get her stuff and eat to her heart's content
"Finally, food time!"
Seju was inside the Elevator when she received a message from Sejeong
From: Sejeongiee
need u ASAP
From that message Seju already knew what was happening, as soon as the elevator was in the ground floor she rushed towards the emergency room and searched for Sejeong.
She saw Sejeong with a lifeless patient on a hospital bed with a couple of apparatus already connected to its body.
"Jeong what happened?"
She asked and checked the patient's vitals as soon as she got to them.
"She was found unconscious inside her office one of her staff rushed her here."
"Case?"
"Acute Myocardial Infraction"
"Condition?"
"He needs immediate Surgery. We already completed Emergency Coronary Angiography. All three coronary arteries have narrowed severely so it would be difficult to insert a stent. Based on the ultrasound result, myocardial contractility is very bad. Her BP is still unstable and her body is still in a state of shock"
Sejeong explained every detail she already has.
The interns were writing all down the information they can write while still Panicking at the moment
"She needs a coronary artery bypass grafting, stat. If we delay her surgery she will expire."
"I know, but Chief is still in OR, I already asked Soah to check on Chief again"
After a couple of minutes Soah arrived, breathing heavily, she ran from the OR back to the ER
"Doc, Chief is in a CPR situation. She can't leave as of the moment and it looks like she would take a while"
Soah Explained as soon as she caught her breath. Sejeong handed her a bottle of water and they continued to think what they should do.
"How about the other Surgeons?"
Seju Asked, wishing that there's an available Doctor right now
"Doc they're all in a conference right now in Incheon"
"Damn! They would take at least an hour!"
"How about Dr. Kwon?" Sejeong asked "Dr. Kwon is nit the type of person to leave the hospital for a conference"
"Dr. Kwon is on a 1 month leave, remember?" Seju replied
Sejeong sent Soah back to the OR to check on Doah if the operation is finished, the nurse quicly obliged.
"There's no available Cardiac Surgeon as of the moment Doc" One of the Interns said He just came back from the reception to check the available doctors
'Of all the days?!'
"Should we just send them to another hospital?" One of the Interns asked curiously
Sejeong Almost slapped him out of rage.
"Can't you see how critical she is right now?! She will expire soon! We can't send her to another hospital! She will be dead even after she arrived at the nearest hospital right now!"
"Calm Down Jeong"
Seju tried to calm down Sejeong but the latter doesn't seem to have the patience right now
"Ugh, I can't see any future for these interns, Chief would probably eat them and they don't even know it"
Sejeong said while massaging her temples
"It would be dangerous for the patient. The more we delay the surgery the more her life would be in danger and the nearest hospital is quite far, we can't risk it"
Seju explained to the interns calmly, and told them that Sejeong was just having a bad day.
After that small commotion Soah was back, but the bad news is, Doah was still in an Operation and she still can't leave.
The Door of the ER burst open and a teenage girl in her school uniform was crying while looking for a patient.
As soon as she found her mom she asked Seju Her mom's current condition.
"For now we can't do anything rash, she's in a critical condition and there's no available doctor as of now. What we can do right now is wait."
She explained calmly but deep inside she's already panicking, this is not the first time someone is in a critical condition in the ER this is a normal day to day scene but she still can't get over those kind of remorse towards herself when she can't do anything about a dying patient.
"What are we gonna do Doc?"
Soah Asked Sejeong who is currently in panic mode too.
"I-I don't know…"
Sejeong said avoiding the Patient's daughter's gaze.
"What? You don't know what to do?!"
The Girl screamed in rage she stomped her way onto Seju and held her shoulders and started screaming again.
"Wait? My mom is in a critical condition and you tell me to wait?! How can you even call yourselves Doctors if you can't even save a single person?!"
The interns, Nurses and other patients inside the ER were looking at the three of them. Seju and Sejeong just lowered their head and was about to start apologizing.
"What seems to be the matter here?"
A stylish and tall woman with long blonde hair and sunglasses entered the ER. She was wearing a white turtleneck sweater with brown coat over it, ripped jeans and black boots.
She removed her sunglasses and checked the patient.
"What happened to the patient?"
She asked while checking the vitals of the patient.
"Are you related to the patient?"
Sejeong asked in an irritated manner
"What happened to the patient"
She reiterated, not minding Sejeong's question, she looked so serious while checking the patient.
The girl who was holding Seju by the shoulder went to the blonde woman and asked her.
"Miss, are you a doctor? My mom's in a critical condition and these doctors can't do anything" She said full of remorse towards Seju and Sejeong while pointing at them.
"Is that the patient's Charts?"
She asked the interns who was holding the patient's charts, she was contemplating whether to answer or not but the Blonde Woman snatched the Charts from one of the interns and reviewed it like the patient was hers.
"Excuse me what do you think are you doing?"
Sejeong asked and abruptly walked towards the blonde woman, her patience towards the woman wearing thin.
"Acute Myocardial Infarction… The Patient needs immediate surgery, why is she not yet in the OR right now?"
"Excuse me What?" Sejeong's Patience now burst, she wanted to strangle the woman in front of her and kill her then and there
"Hurry up and call a surgeon" She calmly said as she tossed the chart back to one of the interns.
"Excuse me for being rude, but can't you see that even we can't do anything about this case? There's no available Doctor as of this moment."
Seju calmly answered but she also wants to strangle the woman for being rude and agitating.
The blonde woman stayed silent, she stood in front of the patient, her left arm was supporting her right elbow and her right hand was holding her chin, she looks like she was thinking deeply for her next step.
"Are you people just gonna stand there and watch my mother die?!" The patient's daughter screamed once again.
"Then I'll be the operating surgeon"
"Excuse me what?!" Both Seju and Sejeong exclaimed when they heard her
"I'll be the operating surgeon" She reiterated once again
"Are you crazy?! Are you even a doctor?!"
Sejeong exclaimed but the blonde woman ignored her question and walked past her and faced the teenage girl.
She crouched and wiped the tears on the girl's cheeks
Seju felt a sense of Déjà vu on what's happening right now
"Don't worry , I'm gonna save your mom"
"Really? You can save my mom?"
"Yes, I can, I will"
"Promise?"
"I Promise"
'Déjà vu' She thought as she remembered her dream earlier.
The blonde woman raised her right hand and showed the teenage girl her pinky. The girl took it and hugged her.
"Excuse me, Miss but we aren't even sure if you're a Doctor we just can't let you perform a surgery on the patient" Soah said trying to stop her, Sejeong was about to add something more but was cut off when the blonde woman spoke
"The Guardian of the patient already gave me her go sign"
She said and winked at the girl she made a pinky promise with
"I just can't say no to someone who asked me to save their mom can I? And are you really gonna let a patient die in front of interns? What kind of role models are you?" She added and looked at the interns inside the ER. Sejeong was gritting her teeth out of frustration but she was right.
"Doc…"
Soah looked at Seju who was now torn. They can't let the patient die, but they can't just trust this person who suddenly barges in and order them around.
Seju can feel piercing gazes on her, everybody was looking at her waiting for her response, she was at a higher authority than Sejeong so she have the last say in every decision.
With a heavy sigh she looked at the blonde woman intently
"Let her perform the surgery…"
"Seju!"
"Doc!"
"Don't worry, I'll take responsibility if anything happens" She said reassuring Sejeong who was silently protesting.
"Well then…"
The blonde woman looked at Seju and nodded her head a little as a sign of her thanks.
"Prepare the OR. I'll be the First assistant and call for an Anesthesiologist" Seju ordered and the nurses and the interns moved their asses off to do what they were ordered to.
The blonde woman walked towards Seju and smiled at her.
"You made the right decision Doc" She said as if she was mocking Seju
"A life is on the line, as well as my job, if this operation is a fail we will both get jailed for medical malpractice"
Seju said with contempt. She doesn't trust the woman, but she can't let the patient die, as much as she doesn't trust this stranger, her heart says that she should.
"We won't get jailed" The blonde woman said and walked out of the ER to go to the OR Seju just followed suit.
As soon as they finished preparing they started the Operation.
A couple of hours passed and the blonde woman came out of the OR the daughter of the patient and Sejeong were waiting for them.
"How's my mom" The girl asked.
Sejeong just looked at her with her furrowed brows ready to throw hands if ever the operation was a fail.
"The operation was a success, and she's already stable" As soon as the girl heard the good news the tears that she was trying to suppress fell.
The woman removed her mask and smiled at the girl.
"Your mom's safe"
She patted the girl's head
"Thank you!"
After a couple of minutes Seju came out from the OR with the patient. The woman turned around and smiled at Seju
"Great Work Miss First Assistant!" She said and gave Seju a two thumbs up.
Seju's brows were twitching with annoyance but she just suppressed it since this annoying stranger did save the patient from a critical condition.
After talking to the family of the patient the both of them removed their scrubs and dressed casually to check the status of the patient.
"She just needs more rest and she'll be back in her usual in no time" Seju said to the girl who was tending to her mother.
"Thank you doc. And I'm sorry, for earlier."
The girl bowed and thanked Seju once again. The latter just smiled and bid the girl goodbye.
"Great Job Dr. Park" Seju heard a familiar voice as soon as she got out of the ward, and it gave her chills up her spine.
"C-Chief!"
Doah just nodded at her and tapped her shoulder as a sign of her commendation.
'Did Chief just... commend me…? Is the world ending?'
"Get the others and go to the conference room on the right wing I need to announce something" Doah Said before she walked away
Seju did as she was told she gathered everyone from the ER team and went to the conference room.
"Is everyone here?" Doah asked and looked around "Seems like it. This would be quick since we still have our afternoon rounds"
"Are we gonna get fired?" Seju asked Sejeong who was sitting beside her
"Don't freaking jinx it!" Sejeong flicked Seju's ears and the latter just giggled
"Just kidding My god why are you always so serious?!"
Doah cleared her throat and the two of them stopped bickering and focused their attention on their Boss.
"As I was saying this would be quick" Doah said and looked around when everyone was focused on her she continued speaking "A few days ago I told you that a new Resident would be coming in by next week, but to unforeseen circumstances she came here earlier than expected, not that we're complaining but here she is, please welcome Dr. Baek Rohanne"
As soon as Doah mentioned her name the blonde woman from earlier came inside the conference room and smiled.
"Hi I'm Baek Rohanne, Nice to meet you all, I'll be in your care"