"Oh, what a coincidence!" A chirpy voice mused as the person in question strolled into Elias' office without even knocking or waiting for an answer. "If it isn't my favorite HoD Kang!"
PThe man entered, his hands shoved in the pockets of his scrubs, an innocent smile plastered on his face. His light pink-dyed hair was tousled, falling in wispy waves around his face. Light freckles dotted his wheatish skin, and a smirk tugged at his lips.
"...Dr. Park. What a coincidence, indeed. Who else did you expect to find in MY office, I wonder? A unicorn, maybe? And you're supposed to knock," Elias replied, lifting his head from his hands as his gaze landed on the intruder. Great. Now he had to deal with this headache too.
Dr. Park, or Park Jae-hyun, was Elias' self-proclaimed best friend. They had been classmates and roommates in med school and had stuck together ever since. It was as if fate had forcibly shoved this extrovert, who seemed to have 'adopted' Elias, into his life. Dr. Park was the Head of Neurosurgery, and as surprising as it might seem, given his work ethic and general demeanor, he was quite skilled at his job.
Park shrugged before plopping himself down on the chair opposite the desk, crossing one leg over the other. He exuded a carefree, laid-back vibe—the kind of person you just want to smack. Except, Elias was a professional, so he didn't. Unfortunately.
"Heh, true. But where's the fun in that? And I did knock!" Park grinned.
"Well, that means either I have extremely short-term memory loss, or you do."
The man just chuckled, shamelessly picking a candy from Elias' secret stash and popping it into his mouth. He continued cheerfully, a cheeky smirk on his face, "Anyways, do you ever do anything other than work and more work?"
"Someone has to compensate for all the time you spend making out with different people in supply closets, don't they?" Elias quipped dryly.
Park gasped aloud, pressing a hand against his chest, feigning injury. He pouted, though it quickly turned into a smirk.
"Low blow, Elias. Low blow. That was a below-the-belt move, my guy."
"So are your actions."
That made Dr. Park burst into laughter, nearly convulsing in his seat. After a moment, he looked up, only to be met with Elias' deadpan stare, which set him off laughing again. "God, I love your sense of humor."
"It wasn't meant to be funny," Elias deadpanned.
Park just chuckled, shaking his head. His amusement made Elias shake his head in disappointment, tiredness, and resignation, all at once. "Seriously though, stop. The interns are traumatized. I don't even want to think about what kind of DNA is in those cursed places."
"Oh? What's life without a little trauma? And besides, I'm sure med school gave those kids enough to deal with. Doubt that me smooching someone's face off in a supply closet can match that," Park snarked. And honestly, Elias was right, the interns were traumatized. The hospital even had to make the supply rooms off-limits for... reasons. Did that stop Park? Obviously not. He continued, "I'm in the prime of my life, and it's a sin to waste these years sitting at home alone. Besides, those interns are always so wide-eyed and innocent—they're basically begging to have their eyes opened!" He chirped.
"Be for real. The interns are in their early twenties. They're probably having more sex than your over-30-year-old ass. But you know what the difference is? They don't do it at work! Motels exist!" Elias said tiredly. Seriously, this man. As if he didn't already have enough on his plate with the Raphael and Louis drama, now he had to explain to Park that making out with nurses in supply closets at work was not okay.
Park snorted, shaking his head. "Heyyy! I'm only 30! I'm not *that* old!" he protested. "And sure, yeah—motels exist. But they're expensive, and mama's got bills to pay," he said, as if this was the most logical reasoning, despite his very significant paycheck and additional bonuses.
"We are not going into your atrocious financial management right now because if we do, I feel like we'll be here all day," Elias said dryly.
Park made a vague gesture that was pretty much the equivalent of 'touché,' waving his hands nonchalantly. "Hey, I am a fully functioning adult. I do know how to manage my finances, I'll have you know!" he protested, looking affronted.
"You ask me to lend you money. Every. Single. Month. Doesn't sound very functional to me," Elias said, snatching the candy stash away from Park, who was just about to take his fourth piece. This leech.