FLATLINE| JK

twenty three

I find my team doing rounds in the pediatric hall. I don't barge in, managing to contain my excitement that much, but I do watch, peering through the crack of the ajar door. What I see surprises me.

Dr. Jeon is smiling. Not just his professional, confident grin, but his wide, genuine smile that showcases his bunny teeth and makes his whole face light up. And then I remember why. He reaches his hand out for a high five to a tiny little girl in the hospital bed. She smiles at him with so much awe and admiration that my heart aches. It hurts even more when I remember there must be a reason why she's seeing Dr. Jeon, one of the best neurosurgeons in the game. There must be something very wrong with her brain.

"All right, everybody. Say hello to my friend, Eunhee." Dr. Jeon says, and my intern group choruses a greeting. "Eunhee, tell the other doctors about yourself, sweetheart." He says gently, and I swear my heart melts. Seeing him with kids only does more to make him so unethically attractive. As if he needed the extra help in the first place.

"Hi! So, I'm Yoo Eunhee, I'm eight years old, and I like to sing. Singing is my favorite." Eunhee says enthusiastically. My team chuckles, and Dr. Jeon smiles fondly.

"Would you like to demonstrate?" He asks, and she blushes, shaking her head.

"Maybe later. I'm...my voice isn't too good right now." She says, glancing up at Hoseok. Ah, the classic childish crush.

"All right, that's okay." Dr. Jeon says with a chuckle. "Dr. Jung, go ahead and present." He says. Hoseok looks surprised Dr. Jeon gave him the opportunity, since this is the most action he has gotten surgically since the beginning.

"Yoo Eunhee, eight years old. Here for the removal of a recurring low-grade glioma." Hoseok says. Cancer. Dr. Jeon nods, but doesn't let Hoseok off the hook just yet.

"And, put simply?" He says. Hoseok looks at him in confusion for a second before realizing what exactly "simply" is—in a way that a child could understand. This is a tough one to go about, because you don't want to completely scare the kid, but you also need to be upfront.

"Put simply, your brain is fighting with itself. The mean cells are fighting with the other nice brain cells." Hoseok tries, and a flash of pride crosses Dr. Jeon's face.

"That's exactly right, Dr. Jung." Dr. Jeon says. "And, where is this fight occurring in the brain, Dr. Min?"

"It's in the frontal lobe, on the bilateral dorsal laryngeal motor cortex." Yoongi recites, and Dr. Jeon nods.

"Simply put?" He asks again, and Yoongi manages a smile at the little girl. He points to a spot on his own head.

"It's right here." He informs her, and she nods, tapping her own head with a naive smile.

"Correct. Now, what do we know about what happens when a fight is happening right there?" He asks. He really is a good teacher, when he isn't so passive aggressive and rude. "Dr. Park?"

"Well, it controls the pitch of your voice." Jimin answers, and though he's smiling, it's suddenly forced. This little girl's illness affects what she loves the most. "So when a fight is happening right there, your brain has a hard time finding the right tone of voice."

"I told you my voice wasn't too good right now." Eunhee sighs, a pout forming on her chubby little face.

"Hey, it's okay." Dr. Jeon speaks up. "You're probably better than me still. And, we're gonna make the mean cells in your brain go away today. Then, your voice will be back to normal." He comforts her, and Eunhee's smile returns to her face. "That said, what is the best form of treatment for this condition? How do we go about tackling it surgically?"