The hospital was the biggest public hospital in the whole capital. It was painted pure white, and the walls glistened. In the air was the smell of disinfectant, a smell that Lisa usually found very pleasant. Many people disliked such odours, but not Lisa. She had gotten used to it as a child because she frequently visited the hospital for one thing or the other. She hadn't been there for a while, though, and a lot of things had changed. Maybe that was the reason the smell in the air seemed to be making her very nauseous.
Come to think of it, she had been feeling sick for a few days now. She was going to have to see the doctor.
'I'm at the hospital'
She sent the short text to her sister, holding her phone in both hands.
Ji-eon read the text immediately she sent it, and replied almost instantly.
'Go meet Minji at the reception. She's the brunette'
Lisa raised her head and spotted two women at the reception, one with black hair, and the other hand brown hair. She figured that should be Minji.
Walking up to the reception, she smiled at the woman standing in front of the computer and behind the marble countertop. "Good morning" she smiled.
The lady looked at her over the rim of her glasses. "Do you have a hospital card with us?" She asked, not answering Lisa's greeting.
"Actually, my name is Kim Lisa. Dr. Kim said I should meet you. She said you'd know what to do"
The woman's eyes lit up in recognition. "Ah! You're Lisa?" Lisa nodded. "Did you say you are Ji-eon's sister?" Lisa nodded again, this time unsurely because of the way the lady asked. She gave her a once-over, her expression humorous. Stepping out of the cubicle, she motioned to Lisa.
"Come this way"
Obediently, Lisa followed, taking in every detail of the place she was going to work at from then on. At each turn, there were patients and visitors sitting on the metallic chairs in the hallways, all with varying expressions on their faces. Some were smiling, some were frowning, some were pensive, some even had blank faces. She couldn't help but feel a shiver down her spine when she made eye contact with one man whose eyes seemed to be faraway.
Shaking her head, she got rid of the creepy feeling she had, and instead, trained her gaze on the back of the woman's brown hair.
They stopped beside a door and the woman went in, signalling for Lisa to wait outside with a show of her palm. Emerging barely a minute later, she had a mopper and a bucket with her. Lisa stared at her weirdly, wondering what that was for. The lady held out the items toward her with an awaiting expression.
"Well...? Aren't you going to take it?"
Lisa stared silently at the lady, a questioning look in her eyes. Did she think she was a cleaner? She stared at herself, especially her outfit which she had specially picked out for this day. She thought she looked smart enough. There must have been a misunderstanding of sorts.
"I think you made a mistake. I'm not here for a cleaning job. Dr. Kim, my sister, has a really important job for me" she ended the statement with a small smile.
Minji raised her brows in amusement. What a stupid little girl. Did she think she would get an important job when she hadn't even graduated college.
"Honey, this is really an important job. If the hospital is a mess, it can cause more harm to patients than good" she nodded, stressing every syllable as if she was talking to a child. "So, aren't you going to take it. My arms are getting tired"
"Sorry, can you give me a moment. I'll text Ji-eon to clear up this misunderstanding"
"Hurry it up, I have to get back to the reception" Minji was getting frustrated. It was obvious she was getting bored and ready to go back to her post.
'Eonnie, there's a bit of a misunderstanding here' She sent the text. Ji-eon read it immediately, but didn't reply for a while. Lisa looked up at Minji with a placating smile while she tore off skin from her lower lip, a nervous habit she had picked up.
Not long after, her phone rang and she shuffled to answer the call, putting the phone on speaker.
"What's up?"
"Eonnie, there's a bit of confusion about the work"
"Which is?"
"She thinks I've come for a cleaning job"
"And..."
Lisa was silent for a moment as the realisation sank in. The job her sister was talking about was a cleaning job.
"Oh...oh" she stuttered. She wasn't sure how to feel about it. She was sure of one thing, though--one of the emotions she was feeling was definitely anger. Ji-eon had brought her there to embarrass her. She should have known her sister was up to no good. However, Lisa wasn't very good at expressing her emotions.
"Well, I thought...I just" she stuttered once more. Minji looked victorious as she held out the mop once more.
"Are you mad?"
"No, I'm not mad. I'm just a bit...upset?" It came out as a question.
"Well then, if that's the case... I was just trying to help you. I'm sorry if you can't appreciate my goodwill" Ji-eon's voice was very sugary, in a demeaning way, something Minji easily picked up.
Lisa, however, genuinely thought she had upset her older sister who was only trying to help her get a job. To her, Ji-eon was finally making an attempt to be nice to her, and she should at least appreciate the gesture.
Bowing slightly despite being on the phone, Lisa apologized profusely. "Oh, I'm really sorry. I didn't realise that... I'll take the job then, eonnie"
She could feel her sister's smile from the other end. "Alright then. I'm sure you'll love it, bye bye"
Ji-eon was probably really busy. Being a doctor was hard work, Lisa concluded, and her gaze travelled to Minji. "I'm sorry, it was my fault. I was the one who made the mix-up" She received the cleaning equipment carefully from her.
"It's alright. But next time, don't waste my time on such matters. I'm a very busy person and these twenty minutes are a lot for me" Minji strutted away from where she had stood in her one inch pumps. A bit flustered, Lisa wondered where she was going to begin, and where she would keep her purse while she cleaned. The room where Minji had come out from seemed like the perfect place. No one was in that hallway, so there were low chances of anyone stealing from there. That was where she kept her purse before darting after Minji's departing figure.
When it was noon, Lisa decided she needed a break. She could eat a horse at that point. She hadn't eaten breakfast before rushing to the hospital, and now she felt like there was a hole in her belly.
Working at the hospital so far hadn't been remotely funny. She had to clean various bathrooms with disgusting contents, and it only got worse. People vomited on the floor, and worst of all was the occasional bloodstain. She had nearly puked a number of times and already hated her job.
Closing the closet door, she saw a figure from the corner of her eyes walking past her, but she didn't think to look who it was. It was probably one of the doctors, judging by the white coat he wore. She wasn't familiar with any of the doctors since they didn't even bother talking to her. She noticed the figure stop, and felt a pair of eyes on her back.
"Are you lost?"
She moved her head to see who it was.
His grey eyes stared back at her with an unreadable expression, revealing nothing of what lay behind them. His face was hard and unyielding, like marble, with high cheekbones and a firm jawline. His black hair was slicked back, adding to his air of cold detachment. His doctor's coat, pristine and white, only served to heighten his imposing presence.
He was tall, with broad shoulders and a strong build. His eyes were set deep under dark brows, the lines of his face etched with a quiet strength. His nose was straight and proud, his lips full and firm. His jaw was sharp and angular, defined by the clean lines of his cheekbones. His hair was dark and sleek, framing his face in a way that added to his air of mystery. As he stood there, he seemed to fill the room with his presence, his height making him seem even more imposing.
For a moment, all Lisa could do was stare, before she realized how rude that was. She opened her mouth to reply to his question, but her head suddenly went blank. What was his question again? She could easily blame it on her poor memory as she shook her head to remove the flustered look on her face. Why is he talking to me anyway?
"Are you dumb too?" He urged impatiently. Lisa figured he must have been unaware of all the things happening in her head. She intended to keep it that way, deciding to open her mouth to say something witty back. Her tongue was not cooperating with her, though, as it suddenly went limp in her mouth.
The doctor was silently waiting for her response, observing her from head to toe, after which his eyes landed on her face again and he raised one dark brow. The silence in the hallway was unnerving and Lisa could hear the sound of her own breathing as the doctor looked past her into the closet behind her.
"Are you trying to steal something?"