The Time When Our Path Someday Cross Again

Chapter 4

Hospitals are places where second chances are often given, yet they also remind people that many never get that opportunity. In the end, there's no clear measure for who deserves a second chance and who doesn't.

After the second chance were given, people pledge to live better – their family promised to treat them better. Some genuinely turn things around, while others forget their promises as soon as they leave the hospital. Those who make real changes might even outlive healthier family members, while others might not. Some who continue living recklessly find themselves back in the hospital within weeks, and some never make it back at all. There are those who live with newfound purpose but find themselves back in the hospital, not for lack of effort, but because a cruel twist of fate brings them back.

A second chance is a mystery all its own.

Though it was a little bit unusual, Ryu Sunjae had never expected that his own second chance would come in this hospital. Like a mid-summer where sudden shower come out of nowhere, the sky had given him a precious present just like that.

The chance to meet Im Sol again, his first love, the love of his life, the only woman who stubbornly won't leave his mind no matter how Sunjae tried brushed her off. The only woman who came to his mind after his rough days, making it a bit better by only the memory of her smile in that summer day so he keep on living. The same woman who made him suffocated by a tremendous guilt for having stolen away the dreams she once held dear. But despite of those nightmares, still, his heart would never let her go.

And here they were now, a doctor and a patient, standing at the crossroads of a new beginning. They barely knew each other, with no past tragedies, no haunting nightmares, no regrets of 'what ifs' - something he had never even dared to wish for.

But of course, the start-over thing, it is easier to be said than to be done. Uneasy feeling, pounding heart, tighten chest, cold hand, a few more other symptoms since dawn. He was certain that they were not physical. When was the last time he felt this way? Was it that day, the first day of his internship in his third year of med school?

Sunjae starred aimlessly at the nurse's station desktop, his mind wandered. He had been here since half an hour ago, he ignored the noticeable curiosity of the nurses but none of them asked. What was an ER doctor do in this this station? However, their curiosity was the last thing Sunjae would be care about right now.

"Oh, Doctor Ryu, you're here," Nurse Ahn greeted him as she arrived for her shift. Still in her casual clothes, a large bag slung over her shoulder, her tired eyes spoke of a long day. There was a clear surprise in her voice when she found Sunjae in her station, at this hour. "... and pretty early?"

Sunjae bite his lips, then grinned. "Oh, hello Nurse Ahn,"

There were so many question inside Nurse Ahn's head, but she resisted. Most of the question, after all, wouldn't be sounded so professional. "Let me know if I can help you. I'll get change first,"

A few minutes later, Nurse Ahn returned in her scrubs and began her duties. Wooshin University Hospital had so many competent healthcare workers, and Nurse Ahn is definitely on top. Maybe can explain a weird confidence knocking to Sunjae's sense that Nurse Ahn will be able to help him to get close with Im Sol?

"Doctor Ryu, I'll go to room 3-14," Nurse Ahn broke the awkward silence. Though he wasn't so sure, why did he feel Nurse Ahn had given a weird stress on the room number?

"Oh, yeah."

Nurse Ahn paused. "I really will go to room 3-14"

3-14? Oh. Is this supposed to be... a hint?

Sunjae straightened his body, almost too upright for his tall posture. This is your chance, Ryu Sunjae!

"Nurse Ahn, wait," after a long pause to connect his mind with his lips, Sunjae called nurse Ahn. Finally, the last minute courage right before she walked away. "May I come with you?"