Strings & Stitches

Chapter 26

Two weeks had passed after that Christmas night and Yoohyeon still hadn't had a proper conversation with Minji. Actually they hadn't talked at all, the chief had been avoiding her this entire time. Yoohyeon considered going up and talking to her, apologizing, because of the way the guilt had been eating her from the inside out; Although, every time she tried to even approach the woman, she somehow always found a way to disappear from her vision.

Yoohyeon was pretty lost, not knowing what to do, not even being sure if she could talk to anyone about this. She made a huge mistake, and the anxiety and overthinking about it had been growing every day ever since.

But she couldn't forget the way it felt, and that made her go insane.

Because in the back of her mind, she knew Minji had kissed her back.

What didn't help at all was that with where she was assigned, running into the chief was a frequent thing. Seeing her automatically transported her back to that night, only increasing the feeling and anxiety.

It bothered her so much that her performance sometimes suffered because of it, leading to a scolding from her resident. And this time Minji wasn't there to offer encouragement to ease her mind.

She had a full night shift this time and she had to try her hardest to not get too lost into her own thoughts, but that seemed easier said than done. She found herself walking up to the coffee machine for the third time in the last hour, and a long sigh left her lips when she saw a few people waiting in the line already.

She looked down at her feet and sighed again, her brain immediately jumping back to the kiss. The way Minji instantly reciprocated it when she leaned in, or the way her hand was carefully resting on her waist the whole time, the way her lips felt so soft, and cautious yet skilled, sending Yoohyeon's mind through different dimensions. The fireworks, them standing so close to each other. Yoohyeon shut her eyes tightly, honestly feeling like she was about to die.

Because, the next thing she thinks back of, is the way Minji pulled away at the end, the look she gave her, full of guilt, and fear, and remorse.

And just like that, Yoohyeon was on the verge of getting an emotional breakdown when it was finally her turn to get to the coffee. Although, she didn't really feel like taking anything to her stomach anymore, feeling nauseous.

Walking away without coffee after waiting in line without a cup of coffee would look a little stupid though, so she took one anyway and headed back to where she needed to be.

Only almost bumping into the person who had just appeared in her mind again. "S-sorry" she nervously apologized, making sure her cup wouldn't fall or stain the chief's coat.

Minji really hadn't been herself for a while either. She looked tired, way less social and just... less happy in general. It was a big difference from her usual self so surely other people had to have noticed that as well.

When Minji noticed who the person was, her eyes instantly avoided the gaze, looking somewhere else with a grimace. Yoohyeon immediately felt the nausea getting stronger, biting down on her lower lip to not start crying in front of her now, in the middle of the hallway with everyone around.

Realizing that no words would be aimed at her, Yoohyeon just stepped aside. A tiny part of her hoped that Minji would just at least acknowledge she was there at all... but as if she was a ghost, the woman walked past her, not sparing a second glance at all.

The pang of pain she felt with every step the chief took away from her was honestly the worst thing she had ever felt. To not look miserable in front of quite a large audience of doctors, she took the coffee and wanted to disappear to the break room, since nobody would be there at this time, but she didn't want to get back there, the memories would get even worse.