Blinded By The Lights | Sungjoy

Act 3 - Chapter 65: Liberate

Joy blinked twice in rapid succession as she tried to process what Sungjae had just asked her. She felt her face heat up as she tried to match Sungjae's intensive gaze, but failed to do so, averting her eyes behind him at the last possible moment. It wasn't until she realized that she could smell a faint but attractive scent that she realized how close Sungjae was standing to her.

She stepped back, almost stumbling on her feet as she did so, as she tried to clear her mind.

"How did you know?" she asked, almost blurting out the question. "Did Chorong tell you something?"

It was Sungjae's turn to be confused as his brow furrowed and he looked momentarily lost. "No, why would Chorong be involved with this?" he asked her puzzled. The intensity in his eyes had cooled down.

Joy tilted her head. "I thought she was the one who gave Eunwoo advice. She seemed to know about it before I even did."

Sungjae was even more confused. "What are you talking about?"

Joy opened her mouth to instantly reflect Sungjae's question back to him before she realized something. "We're not talking about the same thing," she said lamely.

"I was relaying a message from Yeri and Irene," Sungjae explained. "They wanted me to tell you that Director Cha is looking into the surgery that we did together. What were you thinking of?"

If her face wasn't red before, Joy was certain it was burning crimson by now. "I, uh... I was thinking of a different conversation," she stammered. "Why did they want you to pass on the message to me? Why didn't they tell me themselves?"

Sungjae shrugged. "They thought that it would be best if I talked to you. 'Best not to raise any suspicions,' or so Yeri says."

"Why would Director Cha be looking into the surgery that we did together? I thought Yeri said that she took care of the after-action report," Joy asked him before remembering something. "And she took you out of the emergency room as soon as she saw you."

"She did," Sungjae agreed, "and she told me that she would be altering the after-action report after we talked."

"Yeah, didn't she put you down as a visiting surgeon from a clinic?" Joy crossed her arms. "You want to tell me about that?"

"It's basically what I've been doing," Sungjae replied before pausing. "If you look at it a certain way."

Joy rolled her eyes but stopped midway as she recalled something. "Eunwoo was there at the ER as well," she said slowly. "Do you think he told his father that you were there?"

Sungjae gave her a noncommittal shake of his head. "Could've happened. I could never really tell what Eunwoo was thinking," he answered, his gaze darkening slightly.

Joy looked at Sungjae in concern. "Eunwoo said that he worked with you while he was at Yeoreum, but that he never really got to know you," she probed.

Sungjae smiled thinly. "Is that how he put it?"

Joy shifted uncomfortably. "That's what he told me. He asked me about how you were doing," she added defensively. "Was it bad between the two of you?"

"I think there was a season, when Eunwoo had just finished his fellowship, where the Director seemed intent on slotting Eunwoo onto my surgical team," Sungjae told her flatly. "It's not that we didn't try, but it just never worked out. He didn't mesh well with the team."

Joy was shocked. "Even with synchronization?"

"Even with synchronization," Sungjae admitted as he ran his hand through his hair as if shedding himself of the memory. "It was the first and only time I ever felt that I was unable to connect with someone."