Hospitals thrived on two things—emergencies and gossip.
And today, the emergency ward had just acquired its juiciest piece of gossip yet.
Me.
Or rather, the fact that the new temp doctor, the one they had written off as some forgettable locum, had just been publicly fed lunch by an absolute goddess.
I could already hear the whispers as I walked through the corridors.
"Did you see her?"
"Are we sure she's human? She looked like a damn movie star."
"I thought Dr. Lin was just some passing temp, but now…"
"That's not fair! How does he look that good and have a girlfriend like that?"
I ignored most of it, though the occasional phrase did amuse me. It seemed I had gone from 'unwelcome extra' to 'mysterious heartbreaker' in the span of an hour.
"Poor Amy," someone whispered as I passed the nurse's station.
I glanced over, just in time to see Amy, one of the younger nurses, looking absolutely devastated.
She had been the one barely sparing me a glance when I arrived, the one who had muttered about how I'd probably quit within a week. And now? She looked like someone had just shattered her world.
One of her colleagues patted her on the back. "It's okay. There are plenty of other doctors."
Amy groaned. "But none that look like that!"
I suppressed a chuckle.
So this was what it felt like to have the tables turn.
Another nurse, slightly older, folded her arms. "Maybe he's not actually a temp."
That got their attention.
"You think?"
"I mean, look at him." She gestured vaguely in my direction, not realizing that I could hear everything. "He doesn't act like a temp. And his girlfriend—**if she's even human—**walks in here like she owns the place. I'm telling you, something's off."
She wasn't wrong.
But I wasn't about to confirm anything.
Instead, I leaned against the counter, smiling ever so slightly. "Talking about me?"
The group froze.
Amy turned bright red.
One of the nurses let out a nervous laugh. "Just… workplace observations."
I tapped the counter lightly. "Glad to know I'm keeping everyone entertained."
Then, before they could recover, I pushed off and continued down the hall, leaving behind a mix of flustered nurses and shattered expectations.
This hospital was going to be fun.
While the nurses were still reeling from their newfound heartbreak, the doctors had their own version of the conversation—though, predictably, it was less about romance and more about status, skill, and suspicion.
At the doctors' lounge, the discussion had already started before I even arrived.
"He doesn't act like a locum."
Dr. Wallace, a cardiothoracic surgeon in his late forties, leaned back in his chair, rubbing his chin. He was a man of experience, not easily impressed or disturbed. But right now, he was curious.
Across from him, Dr. Evans, an orthopaedic consultant, scoffed. "Obviously. Did you see how he carried himself? Guy walks in like he's done this a hundred times before."
"And yet, no one seems to know where he came from."** Dr. Patel, one of the senior neurologists, interjected.** "No formal introductions, no impressive CV thrown at us—just 'Dr. Lin, temporary surgical consultant.' That's it. Nothing more."
Dr. Wallace tapped his fingers against the table. "And yet, Admin approved him. Quickly."
That got their attention.
Hospitals had strict policies, and surgeons weren't just casually slotted in without extensive verification. A locum doctor, even a specialist, would still go through layers of bureaucracy before being allowed near a scalpel.
Yet, I had arrived with barely any fanfare.
And then there was the girl.
"Who the hell was she?" Evans asked. "The way she walked in here… no hesitation, no hesitation whatsoever."
Wallace nodded. "She knew exactly where to find him. And he wasn't surprised, either."
Patel exhaled. "She wasn't staff, wasn't a nurse, wasn't a doctor. But the way she carried herself…" He trailed off. "I've only seen that kind of confidence in one type of person."
The room fell silent.
Dr. Wallace finished the thought for him. "Someone who doesn't need permission."
That was the part that unsettled them the most.
Hospitals operated on strict hierarchies. Everyone answered to someone. Nurses, doctors, even consultants—they all had limits, protocols to follow, people to report to.
But she?
She had walked in like she didn't need to answer to anyone.
Like she had the right to be there simply because she chose to be.
And then, of course, there was me.
A 'temporary' doctor with no clear background, no references, yet somehow good-looking enough to make half the nurses swoon and mysterious enough to make the senior doctors uneasy.
It wasn't just gossip anymore.
Now, it was suspicion.
Dr. Patel finally sighed. "I don't like it."
Dr. Wallace smirked. "I do."
Evans frowned. "What do you mean?"
Wallace leaned forward, eyes gleaming with something between amusement and curiosity. "I say we wait. See what happens. Because sooner or later, he's going to end up in an OR. And when that happens… we'll find out exactly what kind of doctor he really is."
The room fell quiet.
They all knew what he meant.
Surgeons didn't prove themselves with words.
They proved themselves with a scalpel.
And soon, they would see if I truly belonged.