Ash unlocked the door to her new apartment nervously. It was her 25th birthday and her grandparents thought it best to buy her a place closer to the hospital she was working in.
"Oh my God. You guys!!! This is..so beautiful.." Ash gasped as she stepped inside her new home, it was modern and chic. Like Ash. Walls covered with paintings and drawings. Just as Ash liked it.
"Do you like it?" Her grandfather asked kissing her forehead.
"Yes yes! I love it! Oh thank you so very much! This is my dream house! But.." Ash's voice dropped a little.
"Ash..this is a present from us. Don't try to argue and just accept it." Ash wanted to say something but then she nodded and thanked her grandparents.
"I would've never been able to buy that place on my own. I mean it's a total dream house and there are only two apartments on my floor. Which makes me a little uncomfortable because for me, even a kitchenette furnished room would've been more than enough!" Ash told her friend.
"I'm happy for you Ash. I think you should throw a party! A two man party. You and I. A day outside the hospital.." jisoo said linking her arm with Ash's and then walking away to her office.
"Doctor Ash? There's an emergency. Male 25-" Ash quickly ran towards the emergency ward and then she saw who called her and walked towards him, "charts please" she said as she extended her hand and observed the patient.
"Is he going to be alright?" A girl asked Ash.
Ash smiled and looked up, but it looked like she lost the ability to speak suddenly.."you're..I think I've seen you before.." Ash whispered
The girl looked a little confused, "I don't really remember.." she replied. Ash pursed her lips, forming a straight line and nodded.
"Right then, um, your.." Ash vaguely pointed towards the patient
"Brother!" The girl said
"Yes, um your brother is lucky he didn't hit his head too hard. Very fortunately there's no head injury but he does have two broken ribs and some other minor injuries like scratches on his face and hands because of the shards of glass. Besides that he is alright and is under the influence of a painkiller and he'll wake up soon." Ash smiled in the end.
The girl sighed in relief and sat on the chair and smiled, "thank you so much.." she mouthed
"You can go freshen up and fill in the forms so we can transfer him to his ward.." Ash patted her back and left.
"How's the patient with the broken ribs? What was his name again?" Ash asked a nurse as she checked her schedule
"The patient has been shifted to the VIP ward, he is stable now, his blood pressure was normal but he refused to eat anything. I gave him another shot and now he's asleep again.." the nurse said briefly as she got up and left.
Ash decided to go check up on him, there she was, his sister waiting outside one of the rooms so Ash walked towards her.
"Hello, I'm here to check up on your brother.." Ash smiled
"Oh yes..please you may step inside" she replied
"You're not going to come?'' Ash asked and she shook her head
Ash went up to the patient and checked his vital levels, then she turned to look at him and..she took a few steps back to balance herself.
"..Haneul..?"
She sat down on the chair next to him to wait for him to wake up and after half an hour, he finally did.
He probably doesn't remember me.
Calm down.
Phew.
"How do you feel now?" Ash asked, she never expected her voice to come out this weak.
Haneul slowly looked at her, his dark blue eyes shining bright.
I want to drown in his eyes.
Ash hit her head , "sorry, I zoned off, so, rate the pain on a scale of ten, okay?" Ash asked
And Haneul smiled, "you were admiring me weren't you Ash?"
Hearing her name coming from his mouth made Ash jump a little, "how..do you know my name?" Ash asked
"Well..it's written right there on your card.." Haneul pointed at the card Ash was wearing, and suddenly Ash felt like hitting her head again.
So embarrassing.
"Haha yes.." Ash let out a sigh
"12" Haneul whispered
Ash tilted her head a little not understanding what he means and then it hit her, "oh! Oh right, you're rating your pain. 12? Why? Does it hurt a lot? Where does it hurt?" Ash asked, rechecking Haneuls charts.
"You're not so good at acting. Pretending like you don't remember me, really hurts me" Haneul said in a weak voice.
"So you do remember me. 3 years, Haneul. How do you remember an ordinary person even after 3 years?" Ash asked, sitting on the chair.
"Who says you're ordinary?" Haneul asked
"I was actually talking about you..but thanks for telling me that I'm not ordinary" Ash said, adjusting Haneuls IV drip.
"..so you've become a doctor huh?" Haneul asked, slowly trying to get up but failing miserably due to the pain.
"Yes. As you can see..an exchange student landed a job in Korea! yay! but you're seeing me in my worst condition right now. I haven't washed my hair for days, and there are huge dark circles under my eyes." Ash rubbed her face while saying all this
"It does seem like you haven't slept for a while now..are you on duty tonight?" Haneul asked
"No..I'm not, actually. I'm..why am I here and not in my new apartment..in my new cozy bed.." Ash shut her eyes tightly and shook her head a few times
"Is..my sister here?" Haneul asked, concerned
"Yes..the beautiful girl who I thought was your girlfriend is waiting outside and is very worried. Do you want me to send her in?" Ash asked, getting up
"No..just tell her to go back home and come back later..tell her..I haven't woken up yet..okay? Dr.Ash?" Haneul asked
Ash slowly nodded , "but hey, what do you do? Are you working somewhere or..I mean,this is a VIP room..just asking.." Ash asked
"Haha Ash, you seem really interested in me..well, I'll tell you everything the next time we meet.." Haneul said as he closed his eyes.
Ash ran out of the room , embarrassed. And the girl was nowhere to be seen, maybe she heard them talking and left.
Next time we meet, huh?
