code blue // jeong wooyoung

thirty-six

l o c a t i o n: Treasure Hotels and Resorts
t i m e: 00.49
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Wooyoung and Yeojung strolls around the area and to the patio where Wooyoung received an earful from Yeosang, nagging him for letting his cousin go. "It was on Yeolli's birthday, my mother had just got injured around three months before and she was still resting back at home." she starts her story, "I felt unfair that Yeolli was getting all the attention from both of my parents, guess growing up alone for fifteen years made me selfish." she chuckles, but the man kept on listening intently.

Yeojung looks up to the sky, smiling to it, "I begged my dad to get ice cream with me, on our way home from buying my mom something she needed for cooking, and so we made a detour to the nearest convenience store. Just like any other middle school kid, I went inside and took my time going through the aisles, grabbing whatever I wanted."

"I remember vividly, how my dad got a phone call and went outside to answer it, leaving me inside by myself. Long story short, I went up to the cashier to check my stuff out, but I forgot to ask for some cash to my dad, hence going out to find him." she sighs, rubbing her hands together to keep her warm.

"I looked around for him but found no traces, until I heard someone grunting from a nearby alley. And yes, that was my dad. All beaten up and bloody, three stab wounds on his chest, one on his stomach, a broken rib, femur, and a hemorrhage." she recalls, the memory strong  in her head, "He was on the ground, reaching out to me, so I went up to him and took him in my embrace. After dialing the ambulance, it came and my dad was brought to the hospital."

"But he didn't made it."

Wooyoung flinched, wincing as he looks at the empty expression on the girl's face, "They called my mom and she went there, all worried and pale, with Yeolli cradled in her arms. When she saw the face of her precious husband lying cold on the bloody bed, she lost it. Screaming, begging, crying for him to comeback, she didn't even look at me, and I felt that mom blamed me for everything, which is true."

"If I didn't ask for that selfish detour, dad would still be alive until now. Six months after my dad's funeral, my mom overdosed herself with pills, deliberately ending her own life, I wasn't there to stop her and calm herself down because I wanted to go on a date with that senior that didn't even liked me. A weak and powerless Yeolli was sitting next to my mom's corpse, crying her heart out, not being able to do anything to save her."

"In her suicide note, mom asked me to not hate her too much, she just couldn't handle living without her husband, and she asked me to take care of my sister. My mom's side of the family all blamed me for her death, if only I didn't go out that day, she would still be here. The whole school eventually found out on what happened because of a cousin from mom's side, and they all started on bullying me, even the teachers purposely gave me a bad score after getting threatened by influential kids who despised me, including Yoo Euna."

"Not that I cared or anything, about all the bullying and such. But one day, when I was eighteen, when we were forced to live with my mom's family, they had taken my savings and the inheritance I got and had harmed Yeolli. She was only three years old! She tried to stop them from taking what I've worked hard for, but ended up getting pushed down a set of stairs, getting her two stitches on her forehead."

"Infuriated, I confronted the cousin in school, maybe it was my fault for getting a bit too violent, but the next thing I knew, they bashed a flower pot against my head, and poured stuff all over me. I ran away, and there's when I first opened up to Uncle Zu. I've always thought he was just a weird old man that has quite a liking towards tea who was just looking for someone to accompany his tea time, but under the rain, he listened to my story and comforted me, something even my blood related relatives won't even do. Since that day, Uncle Zu helped me lots."

"The bullying never stopped, some boys in my school were even making inappropriate jokes about me, but I brushed it off, thinking that they won't do anything to me, but no, they did. They harassed me, touched me, and even tried to sign me up for a 'business party' with their dad's clients. Yeosang found out what I was going through when he visited me at school, because he said that 'he missed me' and saw all the posters stuck to the walls. He had also witnessed me getting publicly thrown stuff at, which he stepped into. Furiously,"

Wooyoung clenches his jaw, and fists, wanting to turn back time and beat those heartless bullies up until they couldn't even walk anymore. "And that's how I got under Uncle's and Aunt's care, with Yeolli too. They provided everything for us, clothes, tuition, a home, and also the feeling of being welcomed, that's why they're very special to me and Yeolli. I rejected Yeosang's offer for me to move to KQ though, besides, it was almost senior year, why would I?"

"Anyways, I graduated from hell school and studied my ass off to get into SNU's medical school, where I met Jena, Kyeolmi, and Donghyuck. Yes I was still the talk of the campus, the rector was my own uncle, from my mom's side, and because of that, many professors failed my papers, on purpose. Yeosang, knowing that, he got mad all over again but I seriously don't care about those corrupt professors, always looking for a gap to fail me, in the third year of med school, the rector changed and finally, my grades were put to justice."

"When I started my internship in Chlematis was when I got to be free from all the skeptical people, for in the hospital, people are professional and they don't see you for who you are, but your skills. I met Doyoung who taught me almost everything I knew," she paused and looks to the other side, as if talking to the person, "Thank you for that, Doyoung. And here I am now. All fine and happy."

After the girl finished her life story, they went into a moment of silence, the revelation of the young professor's story sounding like a whole-some rollercoaster to Wooyoung. "If you ever get sad, mad, disappointed, tired, just let it out. I'll be here for you, always." he grips on Yeojung's hand, "After all, we're going to get through life together, right?" they both smiled at each other, enjoying the opposite's presence with them.

"Thanks, Woo."

🌱
and i oop—