our crossed paths | jww.

one.

"How's he doing?" came the anxious voice of the anesthesiologist, breaking through the thick silence.

Jiwoo didn't respond, her concentration unwavering as she continued the delicate procedure.

Her team worked in sync, but the tension was palpable, a tightrope they all walked on.

Minutes felt like hours, each second stretching as Jiwoo's heart pounded in her chest.

The monitor's rhythmic beeping began to falter, a haunting staccato that grew erratic.

Sweat trickled down Jiwoo's brow, mingling with the tears she fought to keep at bay.

"It should be fine as long as the bleeding is controlled," Jiwoo huffed under her mask, as sweat beads kept rolling down her forehead.

"I can do this, I can save him... No. I need to save him!"

Jiwoo could feel the weight of the moment pressing down on her, every decision and manoeuvre charged with an unbearable significance. The heart monitor suddenly beeped erratically, sending all of the medical personal around the table into shock.

"We're losing him!" the nurse's voice was urgent, her hands working feverishly to stabilise the patient.

Jiwoo's heart raced as she redoubled her efforts, each command and action driven by a desperate hope.

But despite her best efforts, the situation spiraled out of control.

'Please don't fail me Haejoon... Stay with me please!'

For some unknown cause, the blood came gushing out at the open wound, as frantic hands tried their best to stop the bleeding.

"It's getting worse!"

The beeping of the heart monitor grew more erratic.

Then flatlined.

A chilling silence settling over the room. Everyone stepped back from the operation table, letting out rapid exhales, not believing the sight in front of them. They lost him.

Jiwoo's hands trembled as she stepped back, her chest tightening with the crushing weight of failure.

The room seemed to close in on her, the faces of her team blurring as she struggled to process the reality.

"Dr. Jiwoo?"

Everyone had their eyes on her. Jiwoo knew what she had to do. But she was hesitant to announce the death.

Especially since the one laid in front of her was someone dear to her.

"I'll do it for her." the anaesthesiologist said, after seeing Jiwoo who was out of it.

"Patient Kim Haejoon, Time of death, 9:03 PM."

"I'll start the paperwork and notify the family liaison."

"Thank you, everyone. We did the best we could. Let's proceed with closing and prepare the patient for transfer."

"I'll ring the higher ups."

As everyone else started to do their jobs, Jiwoo's gaze was still fixated on Haejoon's lifeless form that lay before her, and in that harrowing moment, she felt every ounce of the emotional toll that came with being a doctor.

She felt numb. Everywhere. Blank. As if she ascended into the dark abyss.

To Jiwoo, the weight of Haejoon's death was a personal wound, one that cut deeper than any physical injury she'd ever faced.