As she was about to turn her attention back to the chart with a bitter smile, the nurse who was sitting flipped the chart and spoke as if she was talking to herself.

“Professor Yoon has a lot of visitors today.”
“Why? Who else came?”
Her ears kept pricking up at the conversation between the nurses.

“A nurse saw Professor Yoon with a lady.”
At those words, Hye Ji’s finger, which had been quietly flipping through the chart, stopped.

Just then, a man who was carrying a chart walked towards the desk and added to the conversation. It was the neurologist, Jung Hee Won.

“Oh, I saw it too. Who is it?”
“If even Dr. Jung saw it, then it must be real.”
“It didn’t seem like they had a normal relationship. You know I have a good intuition, right?”
Hee Won added weight to the story, which could have been brushed off as a rumor, and the rumor became an established fact.

“Who was the guest looking for Dr. Jung this morning? He was quite handsome.”
“Oh, Seo Woo Kyung? He has come and gone once.”
“Having a girlfriend isn’t a bad thing these days.”
“Wake up, he has a girlfriend. She is really beautiful.”
In the midst of the cheerful conversation filled with laughter, Hye Ji was holding onto the chart that had been on the same page for a while. As her grip tightened, the end of the paper crumpled.

“I thought I would never see you again, but it seems your mind has changed.”
“I liked it quite a bit.”

Could it be that woman?

How could that woman have won Sun Woo’s heart, which she could not gain despite being by his side for 13 years?

She was disturbed. She was curious about who that woman was.

That’s when she felt a silhouette quickly approaching the desk, and she looked up for a moment and her eyes met with the man who was walking.

“Hi sis.”
It was Yoon Tae Gyu. The bluetoned shirt matched well with the black slacks. Tae Gyu greeted Hye Ji with a friendly face, raising his hand. His eyes, smiling broadly, were curved downwards.

Is that the influence of his family background?

It was not a sight that could be seen often, but when Sun Woo laughed brightly, she found herself laughing along. His long, drooping eyelashes folded slightly, leaving only a thin crescent moon. She found his smile so beautiful, it reminded her of the first time she saw it and was utterly captivated.

If only that smile was directed solely at her.

“Aren’t you off today?”
“Yes, but I want to see Yoon Sun Woo.”
You? Suddenly? Sun Woo? Knowing full well the relationship between the two, Hye Ji chuckled and buried her head back into the chart. She flipped through the chart with the pen in her hand and said,

“Professor Yoon is not here right now.”
“He’s not?”
The tone was not exactly kind.

Tae Gyu, who had been heading toward Sun Woo’s office, stopped in his tracks and wiped his flustered face with his large hand. Then he returned to Hye Ji’s side.

Hye Ji leaned in toward the approaching Tae Gyu and whispered quietly.

“He’s a professor. Don’t address him so casually, especially not in the hospital.”
“I got it, I got it.”
A nurse at the desk approached Tae Gyu and handed him a tangerine, saying,

“He might be in the ICU? He said he was going to see a patient who had surgery yesterday.”
“There was talk that he came with a woman? Do you know about it, Nurse Jung?”
Tae Gyu, in his haste, had blurted out his words. Looking as though he regretted it, he turned his gaze to Hye Ji. Hye Ji was flipping through the chart with an unaffected expression.

It’s not that she was unaffected, she just wanted to appear that way.

Tae Gyu knew all too well. He recognized the look in the eyes of those who harbored this kind of unrequited love.

Joo Hye Ji made the foolish choice of not dating anyone while harboring an unrequited love that no one recognized for a long time.

Perhaps she just wanted to hold onto that position, even if it was under the hollow name of ‘friend’.

Tae Gyu was the typical bad guy who found no charm in obedient women.

The reasons for it were painfully obvious.

He would never meet a woman who reached out first after exchanging contacts. He preferred women who played hard to get, even if they were as cunning as a fox.

Whenever there was no contact, Ji Eun Jae came to mind. At such times, he became even more attracted to that woman. Da Jin, whom he recently met, was like that.

How empty would Joo Hye Ji feel at that moment, when she heard that he was with another woman without ever revealing her feelings?

If I were Joo Hye Ji, if Ji Eun Jae had been in front of my eyes for that long,

I would never do something I would regret forever.

“So, the rumors have spread that far? Anyhow, the ripple effect of Professor Yoon is amazing.”
“Was he really with a woman?”
“Dr. Jung from NS (Neuro Surgery) saw it too. I don’t know how many times I’ve heard this story today.”
Pretending to be so cultured.

This is why they say a docile cat gets to sit on the hearth first.

Tsk Tae Gyu, who was clicking his tongue, roughly ruffled his hair thinking he had missed a good show and was about to leave.

Just then, the bell rang loudly from the phone Tae Gyu was holding in his hand.

As soon as he confirmed that the caller was Eun Jae, Tae Gyu’s mouth curled up in delight and he quickly pressed the call button.

“Hey, why are you so hard to reach?”
Tae Gyu mouthed ‘I’ll go’ and, waving his hand at each of the nurses, quickly got into the elevator.

After Tae Gyu disappeared, a nurse leaning on the desk asked Hye Ji.

“Didn’t you know, Dr. Joo? About Professor Yoon dating?”

“Do I need to know about Professor Yoon’s love life?”
The nurse who initiated the conversation dropped her gaze with a start at the unexpectedly sharp tone of Hye Ji. The surrounding nurses, and even Hee Won, surreptitiously gauged Hye Ji’s mood.

“If he’s with a woman, does it mean they are dating?”
The atmosphere became heavier with Hye Ji’s faintly murmured words.

Having boarded the elevator, Tae Gyu smoothed his tousled hair while looking at the mirror.

[I’m sorry. I didn’t notice because I had my phone in my bag. I’m on the first floor, where are you?] Eun Jae’s gentle voice came over the phone. Yoon Tae Gyu in the mirror was chuckling and smiling at her innocuous words.

“I’m on the ward. I’ll come down.”
As the call was about to end, the elevator doors opened. Tae Gyu, who had hung up, pocketed his phone and walked out into the lobby.

In the middle of the lobby, the first person he noticed was a woman who seemed to be gazing curiously at a large ornamental plant that appeared twice her height.

He couldn’t help but smile. Unsurprisingly, it was Ji Eun Jae.

She had worn all black, complete with a hat, when they first met and every time since, but today, she was looking plain yet pretty in blue jeans and a skyblue shirt.

What a coincidence.

Tae Gyu, grinning widely, looked down at his own bluetoned shirt. Approaching Eun Jae in no time, Tae Gyu called her name.

“Hey, Ji Eun Jae!”
Upon hearing her name called out loudly, Eun Jae was startled and turned around. Even that gesture was adorable.

“Uh… Oh, you’re here?”
The neckline of her shirt revealed a bit of her white neck, which looked empty.

Would a 1 carat be not too burdensome to accept? Her skin is fair, so silver would probably suit her better than gold.

With these thoughts in mind, Tae Gyu quickly closed the distance and smiled at Eun Jae.

“Wow, you look pretty today.”
“Listen.”
She was about to say something again. Tae Gyu felt the need to quickly get her in the car before she changed her mind. He quickly grabbed her wrist and, as he urged her towards the elevator, he spoke.

“What do you want to eat? What are you in the mood for?”
“Let’s talk for a moment.”
When Eun Jae stood still, gripping the wrist he was holding tightly, Tae Gyu stopped and turned around.

“We can talk while we eat.”
Eun Jae, who had gently pulled her wrist free, met Tae Gyu’s gaze again.

The look I saw yesterday, no, the one I always saw from you,

“I’m getting married.”
She said, with a sorry look in her eyes.

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