It had been a week of tension among the interns at Seoul Memorial Hospital, and the atmosphere was anything but harmonious. While they had all started as a solid team, Jeon Jungkook had managed to single-handedly alienate every single one of them-except for Kim Dahyun.
In the interns' lounge, Sana, Yoongi, and Jihyo sat huddled together during their break, venting their frustrations about the one name on all their minds.
"I swear," Sana started, throwing her hands up dramatically, "if I have to rely on Jungkook for one more thing, I'll lose my mind."
Yoongi, leaning back on the couch with a tired expression, nodded. "He's impossible. It's like he doesn't care about anything-or anyone anymore. What the hell is wrong with him."
Jihyo scoffed. "Everything. End of story. That guy has no concept of teamwork or responsibility. Why are we even still talking about him?"
"Because he makes every shift worse," Sana replied, crossing her arms. "I paged him four times about a critical patient, and his reason? Dead battery!"
Yoongi shook his head. "That's bad, but at least your patient made it. Remember when we were stuck in the elevator with that trauma case? Dr. Kim Jun Wan was on the phone, walking us through how to perform a thoracotomy, and Jungkook just froze. I had to do it myself while he stood there like a statue."
Jihyo raised an eyebrow. "You? Performing a thoracotomy in an elevator?"
Yoongi flushed slightly. "Okay, it wasn't perfect, but at least I did something! He just stood there!"
"That's Jungkook for you," Jihyo said with a roll of her eyes. "Completely useless when it counts."
Sana leaned closer. "You hate him even more than we do. What did he do to you?"
Jihyo smirked. "Nothing" she then went back to reading "I don't need a reason. Some people just give off bad vibes, and Jungkook? He's practically radiating them."
---
Meanwhile, Dahyun found Jungkook in the break room, sitting alone at a corner table with a cup of coffee. He was flipping through a medical journal, seemingly unbothered by the animosity surrounding him.
"Hey," Dahyun greeted as she approached him.
Jungkook glanced up and offered a half-hearted smile. "Hey. Are you here to hate me too?"
Dahyun sighed, pulling out a chair and sitting across from him. "Are you gonna give me a reason to? Besides, they don't hate you. They're just frustrated. Tired?"
Jungkook scoffed. "Yeah, sure. Let me guess, Sana's still mad about the pager thing?"
"She has a point," Dahyun said gently. "You should've checked your pager."
"It's not like I did it on purpose," Jungkook muttered. "I didn't even realize it was dead until later. But, of course, no one cares about that."
Dahyun tilted her head. "And Yoongi?"
Jungkook winced slightly, running a hand through his hair. "The elevator thing... yeah, that was bad. I panicked, okay? We were stuck in a tiny metal box! Not exactly ideal conditions."
"And Jihyo?"
Jungkook let out a short laugh. "Jihyo hated me from day one."
Dahyun studied him for a moment. "You could try talking to them. Explaining yourself."
Jungkook shook his head. "What's the point? They've already made up their minds about me."
"Maybe," Dahyun said, "but you can't just go through this internship alone. You need them, whether you like it or not."
---
Later that day, the tension finally boiled over during a particularly chaotic shift. The interns were assigned to a high-stakes case involving a multi-vehicle accident, and the ER was overflowing with patients.
"Jungkook!" Sana yelled across the room, motioning for him to assist her with a patient in cardiac distress.
But Jungkook was already busy helping another resident and didn't hear her. By the time he made his way over, Sana was fuming.
"Don't bother," she snapped. "I already handled it. Again."
"Sorry," Jungkook said, though his tone lacked conviction.
"Sorry doesn't cut it, Jungkook," Sana retorted. "You're either part of this team, or you're not."
Yoongi, who had been monitoring another patient nearby, joined in. "She's right. You keep acting like you're too good for the rest of us, but when it matters, you freeze up or disappear."
"Okay, enough!" Dahyun interjected, stepping between them. "This isn't helping anyone."
"No," Jihyo said, crossing her arms. "They're right. If Jungkook doesn't want to be part of the team, then he shouldn't expect us to cover for him."
Jungkook's expression darkened. "I never asked for anyone to cover for me."
"Really?" Jihyo shot back. "Because it sure feels like we're doing your work half the time."
Dahyun looked at Jungkook, silently pleading with him to say something-anything-to diffuse the situation. But he just shook his head.
"Whatever, this is a waste of my time." he said, turning on his heel and walking away.
---
That evening, as the hospital quieted down, Dahyun found Jungkook sitting outside on a bench, staring at the city lights.
"You okay?" she asked, sitting down beside him.
He let out a bitter laugh. "Do I look okay?"
Dahyun hesitated before speaking. "You know, they're not entirely wrong. You've made mistakes. But so have all of us."
"Yeah, well, they don't seem to think so," Jungkook muttered.
"Maybe you just need to try harder to show them you care," Dahyun said. "They're not perfect, but they're good people. And you know that."
Jungkook sighed, rubbing his temples. "I already have a lot on my plate and begging for their understanding isn't my thing."
Dahyun was annoyed with Jungkook and suddenly, she slapped his arm very hard that made him wince from pain "What the hell?" he said out of pain.
"Okay, what the hell is exactly going on with you Jungkook? You've been pretty distracted nowadays! Is it because of you sleeping around women? Is it Sana? Tell me!"
Jungkook was shocked with Dahyun's sudden outburst that made him slip his tongue "I failed my board"
"You what?"
"Dr. Boo just called me last week saying I failed one area in the board and I had to retake it. I fail again...then I'm out."
"Then why didn't you tell us?"
"Cause everyone's busy hating on me?" He sarcastically said.
"Okay, fine. I'll help you study for your board and when you pass, you'll be better. Okay?"
Jungkook sadly smiled "if I pass."
"Of course you'll pass."
