Room 2129 (A 2yeon Fanfic)

Chapter 29: Jeongyeon

"Jeongyeon-ah!" Momo shouts, barging into the doctor's lounge. She scans the room, seeing if anyone else heard her, then proceeds to where I'm seated.

"Good morning, Momo-ring," I say, looking at the news on my phone. I look up to her, and she's got this indignant look on her face. "What's wrong? Did someone steal your yogurt at the fridge?"

She uncrosses her arms and peeks at the fridge before getting back to me. "You know, Sana called me last night. Crying. Saying you stood her up."

"And whose fault was that?" I ask, still skimming through the gossip section.

"You should've at least told her..."

I stand up to face Momo. "Well, I did," I counter, showing her my exchange with her friend. These people have been setting me up on dates with whoever since I gave up looking for Nayeon. Come on people, it's been almost a year! Get a clue.

She looks down, probably thinking of what to say next. Her eyes suddenly glimmer as she looks at me. Uh oh. "How about this? I have this very reserved friend, Mina—"

"Momo-ring, you should probably quit before your friends start to lose confidence in you," I suggest, placing my hand on her shoulder. Seriously, I don't need another disappointment in my life.

"Dr. Yoo," Professor Park and his gel-laden hair peer by the door. "You're not doing anything? About to go home?"

"Sunbaenim, please. No need to address me as doctor," I say while bowing.

"Why not? You earned it," he asserts while dangling his stethoscope.

True, I did earn it by finally becoming an intern, but it still feels weird, especially coming from a professor of his caliber. "Is there anything you need?"

He flashes his signature smirk, the one that made at least a dozen hospital staff fawn over him. "Today's your lucky day, dear intern."

"Why?"

"Would you like to see a..." he tilts his head down and jabs the base of his skull repeatedly with his index finger, indicating a craniotomy. He knows that I've been wanting to see that up close ever since I was a med student.

To conceal my excitement, I try to play coy. "Do I have a choice?"

"No, you don't. We'll be prepping for surgery in an hour," he says with a playful grin. How could he be so calm when it's such a delicate procedure?

"How about me?" Momo butts in. "Can I join, sunbaenim?"

Professor Park waves his finger at Momo, shaking his head as well. "No. I can't have you vomiting in the OR again."

Not wanting his pretty-boy image dented, he pats Momo by the head. "But, if you're still here by the time we're done, who knows? I might feel generous and treat you to jokbal..." Momo's face lights up as she purrs like a kitten.

***

"Jokbal. As promised." Professor Park proceeds to distribute pieces of marinated pig's trotter on top of our rice bowls. Momo immediately gorges on hers, as opposed to the refined Sang-Min, who managed to tag along.

It's pretty obvious that something's going on between these two, so I try and coax it out of them. "So, how long have you been dating?"

Momo chokes, as Sang-Min freezes. Hah! I knew it.

"What?! You two are dating?" Professor Park shifts his wide-eyed gaze between the two.

Both them turn a healthy shade of red, you'd think they had too many to drink. Momo vehemently shakes her head. "Why would I be interested in him? He's not even fun to eat with!"

Sang-Min quietly combs through his bangs and proceeds to indulge in his bowl. What a weirdo.

"Speaking of dating, where's yours?" Professor Park turns towards me. "I mean, where's Seulgi?" he clarifies.

"Ah! No, Seulgi and I aren't dating." I nervously look around the table, with all their eyes at me. "But, if you must know, she's out there somewhere, doing charity work." The three of them squint at me, probably reluctant of the reliability of my statement. I mean, I could easily water down their fire of curiosity by saying that, for three months already, Seulgi has been seeing a bank manager named Irene. While she's a total hottie, Irene really scares me with that icy glare of hers. It makes me wonder if she even laughs at all.

My phone buzzes and, speak of the devil, it's Seulgi.

Seulgi: Are you busy right now?
Me: I'm kind of in the middle of something right now.
Seulgi: Would you believe me if I told you I can summon you to where I am?
Me: Fat chance. Professor Park's treating us lunch.
Seulgi: Really? How about now?

An image of a very thin and pale woman wearing a bonnet and BT21 pajamas pops up. It's somewhat pixelated, but I can tell that much from the picture.

Me: What am I looking at?
Seulgi: It's...Nayeon-ssi.

I go back to the image one more time, carefully scrutinizing it. That can't be her.

Me: Ha. Ha. Ha. Nice try.
Seulgi: Shit. Sorry. Here. Maybe this'll convince you.

What follows is a short video clip of the woman singing around a group of kids. I adjust the volume—just enough so I can hear without drowning Professor Park's anecdote on how this generation of doctors have it easy.

Suddenly, it hits. The voice that somewhat struggles to control high notes as she sings Through the Night...it's Im Nayeon. Nevermind the drastic change in appearance, I know it's her. I cover my mouth, as my eyes and nose start to heat up with pressure.

Me: Where are you right now?
Seulgi: At a Cancer Ward in Tongyeong.