𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝'𝐯𝐞 𝐋𝐞𝐟𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬 𝐎𝐧 | ᵗʰᵉ ⁱᵐᵖᵒˢˢⁱᵇˡᵉ ʰᵉⁱʳ

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟔

The ripple that drastically changes the course of Seri's life, which isn't felt until much later, arrives in the form of a patient. A man in the ER with a metal pole sticking out of the left side of his chest.

Seri's just turned twenty five and is a second-year General Surgery resident at SMC. After a particularly rough shift, she finds herself standing at the end of the impaled man's bed. The senior attending doctors are busy and she can't get a hold of Doctor Park, her somewhat mentor, or her team leader, Doctor Im.

"Right." She tries not to make it obvious that her palms are sweating. "Can I have your name, please?"

The man is appallingly calm for someone with a five-foot beam piercing clean through his chest. "How is that relevant, Doctor?" He asks. Even his voice is steady. Rough, gravelly, but steady.

"I'm just making conversation while I try to assess the situation." He doesn't seem to be bleeding actively. But Seri does wonder how the fuck he got himself in this state. She doesn't touch his suit but keeps a close eye on the blood patch on his white shirt. She talks to him about some show she's bingeing with Taeri as she finishes the preliminary assessment. She asks the nurse to wheel the man in for a CT scan, praying that one of the attending would be available by the time the scan is done.

She couldn't be more wrong. The situation worsens, with more patients coming in from a nearby fire, and Seri is forced into the OR. It is highly inappropriate and against the hospital policy for a resident to perform surgery without an attending present. But it is also an extreme emergency where delaying might lead to death.

Besides, Seri can call herself an almost third-year and this is most definitely an emergency which might cause death so it should take the weight off whatever punishment awaits her outside the OR. She's observed countless surgeries over the months she's been here and has assisted several complicated ones but being an intern giving out orders is mortifying.

Seri manages surprisingly well, however, and towards the end, just before closing up, Doctor Park rushes in to take over. "I'll take responsibility," she assures Seri, "It was an all-hands-on-deck situation so I'll do whatever I can to clear things up for you."

The Board is highly unhappy but also extremely impressed by Seri's dexterity. One of the Department Heads decides to look into the patient's file. Their eyes widen comically and the Hospital Chairman turns ashen because it's someone called Ahn Jaejun, Madam Sol's secretary. Seri's never heard of the names but it gets her out of any potential probationary orders, malpractice lawsuits, and/or criminal charges and that's all she cares about.

Several peers and seniors openly criticise her actions but many more praise her skill and quick thinking. She's always been prone to scrutiny from her colleagues for being the youngest resident along with Zara. Seri's just relieved she hasn't been kicked out.

•✧•

Seri arrives home just as Yebin leaves for her night shift at Kangoh. She parks the car and drags her feet up the stairs only for the front door to swing open. Yebin, now an OBGYN resident, wears a jacket over her scrubs and is more lively than Seri has ever felt in her life.

"Heard the car," Yebin says, "Zar's asleep upstairs and Taeri's just decided to have dinner. She might be mad at you."

The kid wasn't to be blamed. Seri recalls how she'd be furious at her parents for vanishing from her life for hours. Though looking back, she's had a much, much happier childhood compared to the people surrounding her, she still yearned for her parents' attention. Now that she's a parent herself, she doesn't fault them for trying to live their life while raising her brother and her.