The intern lounge was unusually quiet, a rare reprieve from the hospital's relentless chaos. Dahyun trudged in, her shoulders slumped with exhaustion, her mind swirling with thoughts she couldn't seem to silence. Without so much as a glance around, she flopped onto one of the worn-out beds, burying her face in the pillow.
Jungkook, who was seated in a corner flipping through a patient file, noticed her immediately. He shut the folder and walked over, his expression curious but cautious.
"You look like you've been through hell," he remarked, leaning against the wall near her bed.
Dahyun groaned but didn't lift her head. "I'm fine, Jungkook."
"Uh-huh," he replied, unconvinced. "Because *that* definitely sounds convincing."
She finally turned her head to look at him, her eyes tired but sharp. "I'm serious. I'm fine. Just tired."
Jungkook smirked slightly, pulling up a chair and sitting beside her. "You know, for someone who says she's fine all the time, you don't look it. And, in case you forgot, I'm the resident pariah. If you need to vent, I'm the safest bet. Even if I tried to spill your secrets, no one would believe me. They'd just call me a liar."
That got a small laugh out of her, a fleeting moment of relief. She propped herself up on her elbows, staring at him for a moment before sighing. "It's Yoongi. And everyone else, honestly. It's like they've all taken his side, and no one's even asked what's going on with me. Not really."
Jungkook nodded, urging her to continue.
"I tried to talk to him," she said, her voice cracking slightly. "I wanted to explain, to fix things, but he won't even look at me. And Sana-she flat-out said she's with him. Even Jihyo's upset with me. It's like I'm the villain here, and no one cares how I feel."
Her words spilled out faster now, as if a dam had broken. "I get it, okay? I hurt him. But it wasn't on purpose. And now everyone's acting like I'm some sort of heartless monster. It hurts, but I'm fine. I'll get over it. I'm fine."
Jungkook leaned back, crossing his arms. "You've said you're fine about five times now."
"Because I am," she snapped, though the tears in her eyes betrayed her words.
"No, you're not," he said firmly. "And saying it over and over doesn't make it true. You've turned 'I'm fine' into your tagline, and honestly, it's starting to lose all meaning."
Dahyun blinked at him, caught off guard by his bluntness.
"Look," Jungkook continued, his tone softer now. "It's okay to not be fine, Dahyun. You don't have to keep it together for everyone else. Just... let yourself feel it, whatever it is."
For a moment, she just stared at him, her guard slowly crumbling. But before she could say anything more, Jungkook's pager went off.
He glanced at it and stood, grabbing his file. "I've got to go, but seriously, think about what I said."
Dahyun nodded faintly, watching as he left the room.
---
Later that night, Dahyun found herself standing in an elevator, clutching a chart and wishing for the day to be over. The doors slid open, and her stomach dropped as Kang Dong-joo stepped inside, his expression unreadable.
They stood in silence for a moment, the air thick with unspoken tension.
"So," Dong-joo began, his tone cutting, "you're still doing your thing, I see. Playing people, stringing them along until you get bored."
Dahyun stiffened, her grip tightening on the chart. "Excuse me?"
He turned to face her fully now, his eyes hard. "Yoongi, Jungkook and the other men... do you even know what you're doing to them? Or are they just the latest in your lineup of broken hearts?"
Her jaw clenched, but she refused to let him see her falter. "That's rich coming from you. You're the one who can't decide whether you're committed to someone or just stringing them along for the ride."
He scoffed, his laugh humorless. "You think this is about me? You're the one leaving a trail of destruction everywhere you go. Maybe you should try sleeping with Jungkook next. At least he won't care how many others you've-"
"Stop," Dahyun interrupted, her voice trembling with anger. She took a step closer, her eyes blazing. "You don't get to do this. You don't get to stand there and judge me like you're some moral compass. I'm human, Dong-joo. I make mistakes. I screw up. But at least I own up to them."
He opened his mouth to respond, but she cut him off.
"And for the record, you don't get to call me a whore. You don't get to judge me when you're the reason for all of this," she continued, her voice steady now, "when I met you, I was done with all the boys, getting drunk and I was done feeling not enough. I thought I found someone who would stay and love me and wont leave me. But you chose her, you didn't even bother to answer me." "I don't need your approval. Not as a doctor, not as a person. You don't get to judge me how I fix something you broke. So the next time you feel like tearing someone down, maybe take a good look in the mirror first."
The elevator dinged as it reached her floor. Dahyun stepped out without another glance, leaving Dong-joo standing there, speechless. "You don't get to call me names when it's you who dated his intern while running away from his cheating fiancée and bestfriend." Then the door of the elevator shut closed.
As Dahyun walked away, her heart pounded with a mix of anger and relief. For the first time in days, she felt a sliver of clarity, a small step toward reclaiming her voice amidst the chaos surrounding her.
