TPUC 4

CHAPTER 4
“Haaah…”

Har-in lifted her mug and let out a long, weary sigh.

“Careful, you’ll make the ground cave in. I thought the chief had called you in to praise you for yesterday’s work. Don’t tell me you got chewed out instead?”

Jeong-in, Har-in’s longtime friend and fellow paramedic, tilted her head in confusion. Seeing this, their team leader pushed his chair back and approached them.

“You haven’t heard yet, have you? Har-in’s been assigned to the government-funded project task force.”

“Then that’s a good thing, isn’t it? What’s with the sighing?”

“Apparently, the surgical professor heading the team is quite a handful. He has a terrible temper. He even came all the way here in person just now.”

“Oh my! He came to the ambulance station himself?”

It was so unusual that Jeong-in asked in surprise.

The team leader nodded and patted Har-in on the shoulder.

“They say parting is the price of getting attached. Looks like we won’t be seeing much of you anymore, Har-in.”

“What? What do you mean?”

“I heard you’ve been assigned to work there full-time twice a week. It might even be more often than that.”

“Full-time?”

It meant she would be stationed at the task force on a regular basis—in other words, she would have to keep working face-to-face with Choi Jaehyeok.

Haah.

Har-in swallowed another long sigh, and the team leader pressed a piece of chocolate into her hand.

“I can practically hear your blood sugar dropping from here. Hang in there.”

“Thank you. Sob, sob.”

“Daehan University Hospital is a place where people work, too. You’ll be fine. I heard Professor Choi Jaehyeok is as handsome as a model. Just stare at his face and find the strength to endure.”

“Ch-Choi…!”

Jeong-in was so shocked at the mention of Choi Jaehyeok that she could barely get the name out.

Har-in grabbed her by the shoulders and hurriedly dragged her toward the break room.

“I think I’m short on caffeine, too. Let’s go make some coffee.”

“B-But Choi…!”

“Come on.”

The bewildered Jeong-in was practically dragged inside. The moment she entered the break room, she clapped both hands over her mouth.

“So the team leader really said Choi Jaehyeok? And at Daehan University Hospital, of all places?”

“Yeah. That’s right.”

“Oh, my God. Why is Choi Jaehyeok showing up here?”

“Tell me about it.”

Har-in pressed the capsule coffee button and bit down on her lip.

Another irritated sigh slipped between her teeth.

“Wasn’t he supposed to be in America? Why did he leave Johns Hopkins and come to Daehan University Hospital?”

“I don’t know the exact details. Something about a government-funded project. You heard him, didn’t you? I’m being dragged into it. I guess that’s why he came back to Korea.”

“Wow! This is insane!”

Jeong-in exclaimed, then tilted her head to study Har-in’s complexion.

“Are you okay? You’re going to be working with the first love you’ve been hopelessly in love with your entire life. Are you really okay with that?”

“Shh! Keep your voice down. I’m terrified someone might hear.”

Har-in hurriedly shushed her and frowned.

“But it’s Choi Jaehyeok! And didn’t he reject you right after you confessed?”

“That was ages ago. And what am I supposed to do if I’m not okay with it?”

Her youth was spent earning just enough to cover living expenses and utility bills. When it came to making a living, there was nothing she could do about an unrequited love or a first love.

Har-in poured ice into her coffee with a clatter, grinding her teeth.

“I’m going to pretend none of that ever happened. Like we’ve never met before. I’ll act as though I’m meeting him for the first time and focus strictly on work.”

“Huh? You? Kang Har-in?”

“I’m serious. Besides, he’s the head of the task force. How often would someone like me, a rookie, even have to talk to him?”

“Yeah, right.”

Jeong-in shook her head as though she pitied her.

“You cried for three days and four nights without eating or drinking after Jaehyeok oppa rejected you. Do you know how scared I was that something might happen to you back then?”

“Do you still think I’m a teenage girl going through puberty?”

“Then why haven’t you dated anyone since?”

Jeong-in narrowed her eyes and clicked her tongue.

“Do you know how many guys were throwing themselves at you throughout college? You turned them all down and stayed single. I wonder who that was for?”

“That’s because that jerk raised my standards too high.”

“See?”

Jeong-in draped an arm around Har-in’s shoulders and elaborated.

“You’re still saying your standards are too high because of Jaehyeok oppa.”

“Oppa, my foot. He’s nothing but the task force team leader now.”

“I’m betting my own hand that you won’t last a month.”

Whoosh!

Har-in swung the edge of her hand toward Jeong-in’s neck and glared at her.

Jeong-in dodged and ran off as though fleeing for her life, calling back over her shoulder.

“Fine, not a month. A week!”

“You’re dead. I’m serious!”

Watching Jeong-in’s retreating figure, Har-in crunched down on the ice in her cup.

Even though the temperature was below freezing, she didn’t feel cold at all.

And yet, she still wasn’t confident.

The moment she saw his face, her heart had practically dropped to the floor—and now, as if it had no sense whatsoever, it was starting to race again.

It was absolutely ridiculous.

Remember Choi Jaehyeok, the man who coldly rejected your ten-year confession. Get a grip, Kang Har-in!

She happened to glance at the mirror.

A woman with a bright red face stared back at her.

She didn’t like the sight one bit and clenched her lips tightly.

Patting both cheeks a few times, Har-in straightened up.

It was time to show them the new paramedic, Kang Har-in.

A new morning dawned.

The sunlight streaming down from the clear blue sky was beautiful, but Har-in’s mood was anything but.

“Haaah.”

Standing in front of Daehan University Hospital, she found it difficult to take even a single step forward.

“If you walk out of this house like that, you’re no longer my daughter!”

“Har-in, I really don’t think I can live without you. Please, Har-in.”

The faces of her parents, whom she had seen as she left home, floated before her eyes.

Caught between her angry father and her pleading mother, she had turned her back on them with heartbreaking coldness.

She had told them in a loud voice that if she backed down now, she wouldn’t be Kang Har-in.

That she hadn’t changed—she had simply grown up.

And then she had walked out of the house.

Here I am, standing in front of Daehan University Hospital again.

Looking up, Har-in gazed at the hospital sign, which stood tall and imposing.

It was a world away from her own circumstances, where she had to worry about the electricity bill on her meager salary.

She had mentally prepared herself for this when she was assigned to Yongseong Fire Station, but she had only expected to stop by Daehan University Hospital briefly when transporting patients.

Who would have thought she’d be stationed there full-time?

And all because Choi Jaehyeok had suddenly appeared.

In any case, it was time to go meet him.

After taking a deep breath, Har-in strode forward.

When she absentmindedly glanced at the elevator mirror, she saw a woman who looked like a ghost staring back at her.

“I’m going crazy. I must have stayed up all night. My dark circles are practically down to my toes.”

It absolutely wasn’t because she was conscious of Choi Jaehyeok.

She had a meeting with the task force members, after all. Surely showing up with a bare face would be terribly impolite?

She was trying to convince herself of this as she patted on her cushion foundation.

Just then—

Ding.

The elevator doors opened, and a familiar face came into view.

“Eek!”

Har-in let out a strange, involuntary squeak and froze like a stone.

The puff slipped helplessly from her limp fingers.

A large hand reached down and picked it up.

When it was handed back to her, her lips parted slightly.

“If you’re going to be that startled, what does that make me?”

“H-Hello.”

“Yes, hello.”

It was Choi Jaehyeok, the man she was supposed to meet in five minutes.

He dusted the puff off with a few light taps before placing it back in her hand.

“You should finish what you were doing.”

His gaze, tilted slightly to one side, slowly swept over her.

His perfectly sculpted, ridiculously handsome face shimmered beneath the elevator lights.

Even now, the fact that she was looking at him like this made her feel pathetic and irritated with herself.

“I’m fine, Professor.”

“Professor, huh?”

He leaned toward Har-in with a sudden movement and murmured in a low voice.

The distance between them abruptly narrowed, and his breath brushed close to her.

In the cramped space, she found herself trapped beneath the shadow of his large frame.

Har-in instinctively flinched and stepped backward.

“If you keep backing away like that, what does that make me?”

Thump, thump.

Her heart began pounding violently.

It was beating so hard that she was afraid Jaehyeok, standing right in front of her, would hear it.

Kang Har-in, did you just perform CPR on yourself? I swear, I can’t live like this.

What was this all about?

What on earth was Choi Jaehyeok, who had suddenly reappeared after all these years, to her?

She hated her own heart for acting up so shamelessly.

Like a cat cornering a mouse, he took a long stride toward her.

Har-in’s retreating feet caught against the wall and stopped.

With nowhere left to back away, she looked straight at him.

“Professor, it’s a little cramped here. Why don’t we move over there?”

“Professor again.”

Ding.

Just then, the elevator doors opened, and he finally stepped away.

Jaehyeok glanced down at Har-in for a moment before walking out ahead of her.

“Follow me.”

His long legs carried him forward in broad strides.

Following in his shadow, Har-in vigorously ruffled her bangs.

Not even three days. My heart started racing in three minutes. I’m seriously going insane.

Kang Har-in, a woman with no principles—or was it that she had far too many?

From the very first moment she had seen him, Jaehyeok had held her heart in the palm of his hand.

He had known it all along, yet ignored her feelings and ruthlessly rejected her.

A very, very, very bad man.

He hadn’t even listened to her confession to the end before cutting her off.

He must have thought it wasn’t even worth hearing.

Har-in clenched her teeth as she remembered the humiliation of that day.

Now, he was nothing more than the task force team leader.

Not her older brother’s friend.

Not her private tutor.

Just the man in charge of the task force.

He was still successful, with long legs, an absurdly handsome face, and a height that was far too impressive. His build had gotten even bigger, too…

What are you doing, Kang Har-in?!

Pressing a hand to her forehead, Har-in bit the tender flesh of her lip.

Jaehyeok, completely unaware of the turmoil inside her, opened the door.

“Come in.”

The space that belonged to him opened up before her eyes.