I Dare You

Chapter 29

Meanwhile, back in the hospital room, Lee Ji-eun was typing furiously on her phone.

Lee Ji-eun: I think I found someone for Chaeng

Jisoo: I have someone too.

Lee Ji-eun: she's perfect, but there's one little catch

Jisoo: lay it on me sister

Lee Ji-eun: she's engaged.

Jisoo: who you got???

Lee Ji-eun: here name is lisa

Jisoo: fuck! mine too!

Lee Ji-eun: really? what are the odds, it's such an odd name.

Jisoo: earth to maya, earth to maya, i think we've got the same fish on the hook.

Lee Ji-eun: oh! really? doctor lisa?

Jisoo: ya, dude, she's my bestie!

Lee Ji-eun: well, she's perfect. except for the engaged thing

Jisoo: I'm working on that. let operation popcorn commence.

Lee Ji-eun: popcorn?

Jisoo: just go with it.

After throwing her gloves and mask into the proper waste bins, Lisa came out of the operating room and got a glass of water. Another successful surgery. Minjae did great and was moved to recovery. She saw Sue at the nursing station, "Another success, Sue," Lisa said as she leaned her elbows on the counter.

"That the appendectomy?"

"Yep."

"Your fan club is in the waiting room."

"What do you mean?"

"I think they're all in love with you. I was like a fly on the wall when you left the room earlier. Surprised your ears didn't burn and fall off. You were quite the topic of conversation."

"Oooh. Do tell."

Sue looked around and leaned closer to Lisa. "Well, seems they all wanted to set you up with the woman that was in there with them."

"You mean Chaeyoung? Ha! She thinks I'm an idiot, and she hates me, so I doubt she took that well."

"I didn't get that impression."

"Why, what did she say?"

"She said something about you being out of her league, like she wasn't good enough for you or something."

"Her? Outta my league? Oh, that's rich. She thinks I'm a tightwad. And a snob. And a moron when it comes to dogs. And she hates cats. So, I'm not sure why she would say something like that. You probably heard that wrong."

"Maybe I did, maybe I didn't."

"I'll go down and see them now."

She made her way to the waiting room to give the good news of the successful surgery. The first person she saw was Chaeyoung, and her heart sped up a little bit. Sue's words bounced around in her head. Chaeyoung thought she was out of her league? No. Sue's hearing was clearly going. A certain dream sequence shot through her brain, a bathtub with bubbles, and a sudden rush of heat rolled through her, taking her breath away. Good lord this woman did things to her. Chaeyoung looked up when Lisa came in, and they shared a look, green met blue, and a small flash of something passed between them, another spark of sorts, just like after the motorcycle ride. She saw Chaeyoung look away, a little disconcerted. Lee Ji-eun and Jong-Suk jumped up when they saw Lisa.

"Hey guys, he did great. No complications. They just took him to recovery, so give it about an hour and he'll probably start waking up, then you can go in and see him."

"Thank god," Lee Ji-eun said. She came over and gave Lisa a big hug. "Thank you for taking care of him, Dr. Manoban."

"Lisa, please. Doctor Manoban is my mom."

Chaeyoung had a feeling of déjà vu, again, as something tickled in the back of her brain, but she couldn't get a handle on it. It was like trying to look through a fog. Like seeing an outline, but nothing was clearly defined. This had happened a couple times now, which was strange. She'd never had déjà before.

"I meant Lisa," Lee Ji-eun said shyly.

Jong-Suk was next, he hugged Lisa also, "Yeah, thank you Lisa."

Chaeyoung got up, not knowing if she should give Lisa a hug or not. She decided against it. Safer to keep her as a verbal adversary. Best to keep her distance.

"You need to come over for dinner as a thank you. Lee Ji-eun is a wonderful cook," Jong-Suk said.

"Oh my god, yes, please say you'll come to dinner. Minjae would be so thrilled," Lee Ji-eun gushed.

"Well, drop me a line, I'd love to," Lisa said. She glanced over at Chaeyoung and gave her a little smile. She turned her attention back to the Shin's. "Well, I have to start my rounds. He'll stay overnight tonight, but probably get discharged tomorrow. I'll check in on him throughout the rest of the evening, so I'll probably be seeing you later." Lisa started to walk away and then turned around, "Oh, and someone will come get you when he's awake. Okay?"

"Got it," Jong-Suk replied.

As they watched her walk away, Lee Ji-eun thumped Chaeyoung on the shoulder, "Why didn't you hug her? We were all hugging her. We set you up."

"What? I'm not hugging her."

"Damn Park, pretty dense of you not to jump on the hug bandwagon."

"I don't need to hug her. I've already slow danced with her."

"What?  Why are you just telling us now? When did that happen?" Lee Ji-eun asked incredulously.

"It was a few weeks ago. It was harmless. She was at the bar, and someone was hitting on her, and I sorta rescued her."

"You rescued her? Like a knight in shining armor?"

Chaeyoung rolled her eyes, "Oh lord Jesus, no, not like that, miss hopeless romantic."

Jong-Suk put his arm around his wife, "Don't ever change, honey." He gave her a kiss on the cheek.

"How about we talk about something else." Chaeyoung thought it best to get Lisa off everyone's mind, including her own. She hoped she could forget charming Lisa, because charming Lisa was dangerous. Give her rude Lisa any day.

Please.