Territory Marking
Inserting a central venous catheter into the subclavian vein was something a second-year resident needed to master. Since she was still a first-year, Nayeong felt nervous every time she performed a CVC.
She first injected lidocaine for local anesthesia. Before inserting the catheter into the subclavian vein, she took a deep breath.
She absolutely could not lose hold of the catheter.
If she accidentally punctured another organ, it would be a serious problem.
The more she reminded herself of those precautions, the more tense she became.
Any mistake could be fatal to the patient.
She was already nervous just inserting a catheter. She couldn’t even imagine how she would handle the pressure of leading a surgery herself one day.
Even if it took more time, she carefully inserted the catheter. At the end, she injected heparin to prevent blood clots and finished by applying a bandage.
“Good work.”
After thanking the assisting nurse, Nayeong stepped out of the ICU and stopped when she saw Professor Choi Taehyuk walking toward her.
The bouquet of white roses she had given him was in his hand, making him even more noticeable.
He walked straight up to her and suddenly asked,
“Who was the man who gave you a gift in front of the main gate last night?”
Nayeong looked at him in disbelief.
Why would he ask that now?
She could have ignored him coldly like he often did, but she hated the idea of him misunderstanding her relationship with her younger brother. So she answered honestly.
“It was my younger brother.”
After hearing that, Professor Choi lifted his head slightly, muttered something to himself, then looked at her again and held out the bouquet.
Was he returning the gift now?
Nayeong stared at him as if he were challenging himself to see how rude he could be.
“If you don’t like flowers, just throw them away.”
She spoke coldly and tried to walk past him, but he blocked her path again.
She looked up at him with clear irritation. She was starting to get angry too when he said,
“I just got this bouquet from Nam Hojin.”
What?
Nayeong looked stunned.
“Did Senior Nam give you a bouquet too?”
Was he copying her now?
“That’s not it!”
Even in this situation, another misunderstanding arose. Taehyuk raised his voice, then stopped himself and calmed down.
He couldn’t get emotional. That would ruin everything.
In a steadier tone, he explained,
“Nam Hojin took the bouquet you gave me before I could see it.”
Nayeong simply stared at him, not understanding what he meant.
If Yoon Ina hadn’t mentioned the bouquet to provoke him, he would never have guessed either.
“So I’m seeing this bouquet for the first time now.”
“……”
As she processed his words, her eyes slowly widened.
“Really?”
She had assumed he saw the bouquet yesterday and still treated her horribly this morning. She had cursed him in her heart countless times.
“……”
“……”
A long silence fell between them after the misunderstanding was cleared.
Nayeong felt awkward realizing she had misunderstood him.
Meanwhile, Taehyuk suddenly felt the urge to tell her everything.
That he remembered every detail of the night they spent together.
And that he didn’t want that night to be the end of their relationship.
“I actually……”
“Professor, I……”
Their voices came out at the same time.
Nayeong stopped and let him speak first.
“Professor, you go first.”
“No. You first.”
It was so unlike him to politely yield that she almost laughed.
She decided to speak first.
“I was scared things would stay uncomfortable between us. As a first-year resident, I need a lot of guidance. If my supervising professor dislikes me, I’m the one who suffers.”
As he listened, it felt as if someone pressed down on the words that had risen to his throat.
He had been about to say the exact opposite.
To make sure she would no longer see him as just her professor.
“Do you usually give flowers to professors?”
His sudden question startled her.
If she said it was the first time, it might sound like she considered him special.
“Yes, I give them often.”
In the end, she nodded and lied.
Taehyuk felt disappointed.
He looked down at the bouquet of white roses in his hand.
They were white, not red.
Only now did he notice the difference.
A bitter smile formed on his lips.
So giving him flowers didn’t mean he was special to her.
“What were you going to say, Professor?”
She looked at him with clear eyes. He searched her face for traces of that night.
But though it was the same face, her eyes were completely different.
The more he clung to that night, the more disappointed he felt.
“I’ve forgiven you for taking my photos.”
Hearing that, Nayeong smiled brightly.
It was the happiest smile he had seen from her at the hospital.
“Thank you.”
Her heart must have felt lighter now.
But his felt heavier.
The feelings he had suppressed could no longer be contained because of the bouquet she had given him.
He felt that he would only be satisfied if he had her.
If he kept holding back, he might truly become sick.
A doctor who heals others shouldn’t live like that—he justified himself.
“See you tomorrow.”
Despite such dangerous thoughts, his farewell sounded calm.
“Yes, see you tomorrow, Professor.”
Unaware of what he was thinking, Nayeong felt relieved.
She believed that starting tomorrow, they would return to being nothing more than professor and resident.
Beep beep.
Nayeong woke up not to her alarm clock, but to a message notification.
She grabbed her phone and frowned.
“What is this?”
The message was from Professor Choi Taehyuk.
<Stop by my office at 7.>
Making her work that early?
Didn’t they reconcile yesterday?
Was he just pretending?
She swallowed her complaints and got out of bed.
Since visiting his office had been added to her morning schedule, she had to move even faster than usual.
From 5 a.m., she made her rounds, carefully but quickly changing surgical dressings. She checked every patient before morning rounds, then ran to his office.
“Huff… huff…”
As she caught her breath outside the office, his voice came from behind her.
“You came on time.”
“Yes, good mor—”
She trailed off when she saw him.
He always dressed well, but today he looked especially polished.
Just like when she met him at the club.
He looked like a male model from a fashion magazine.
She stared at him without realizing.
She shouldn’t be shaken so easily, but she let her guard down for a moment.
He brushed past her and opened the office door.
“Come in.”
She blinked quickly.
There was something different again.
The subtle, luxurious scent from him was clearly perfume.
He even wore perfume?
Was he going on a blind date today?
Without realizing it, she glared at the back of his head. When he turned around, she quickly put on a polite expression.
“What did you need me for? I have to go soon.”
She had to join the chief before morning rounds.
He handed her a lunchbox.
“Take it and eat.”
She had expected him to assign her work. Instead, he gave her breakfast.
Her eyes widened.
“Why are you giving this to me?”
“And calling me here just for that?”
“It’s in return for the bouquet. Take it.”
She was even more flustered.
The bouquet had been an apology.
“No, it’s okay. Being forgiven is enough.”
When she refused and waved her hands, his eyes turned cold again.
“So should I throw this away?”
“Throw it away? No! You should eat it, Professor.”
“Then I’ll throw it away.”
He actually walked toward the trash can with the lunchbox. Startled, she quickly grabbed it.
“I’ll just eat it.”
Only then did he look satisfied.
Was he being kind, or teasing her? She couldn’t tell.
She was so busy that she only opened the lunchbox at lunchtime.
When she lifted the lid, her eyes widened.
It looked homemade and carefully prepared.
She had expected a simple meal, but it was surprisingly elaborate.
And delicious.
Maybe he really meant it when he said it was in return.
When she ran into him after his outpatient clinic, she made sure to thank him.
“The lunchbox was really good, Professor.”
He looked as if that was obvious, then reached into his pocket and handed her something.
She stared at it silently.
“Why? Don’t you like chocolate?”
That wasn’t it. She just wondered why he kept giving her food today.
Since it wasn’t expensive or significant, she simply accepted it.
“Thank you.”
Later, in the elevator on her way to the ER, she ran into Professor Oh Seungjun.
She held out one of the chocolates.
“Professor, have some chocolate.”
“Oh! Thanks. I was just low on sugar.”
“I got it from Professor Choi.”
Seungjun, who had been about to unwrap it, suddenly rewrapped it and handed it back.
She looked at him, confused.
“Why?”
“You said Choi Taehyuk gave it to you.”
“So?”
“In my entire life, the only one I’ve seen Taehyuk prepare food for was his dog.”
What? Is he comparing me to a dog?
Seungjun clicked his tongue and warned her,
“He’s marking his territory. Be careful.”
