The hospital corridor was calm, bathed in white and soft yellow. Nurses moved quietly between rooms. Patients were just beginning to wake.
Seo Yoon walked in with her usual quiet stride, white coat swaying behind her. Her expression was blank, but her eyes carried the weight of someone who never truly slept.
As she passed the nurse's desk, Ji-Hyun whispered behind a clipboard.
"You look... less robotic today, Doctor."
Seo Yoon paused. "Thank you?"
"You're welcome. Did something good happen?"
"Define 'good.'"
Ji-Hyun leaned in with a teasing grin. "You didn't kill anyone in your head this morning."
Seo Yoon let out the faintest laugh under her breath and walked off.
---
Detective Hyun Woo walked into the hospital carrying a brown paper bag and a mild headache. His coat was half-buttoned, and his hair looked like it had been combed in the elevator.
He approached the front desk and cleared his throat.
"I'm looking for Dr. Seo Yoon."
Ji-Hyun smiled a little too brightly. "She's with a patient in Room 412. You can wait here. Or surprise her."
"I'd rather not be chased with a scalpel," he muttered.
She laughed and pointed toward the hallway.
He waited.
Ten minutes passed.
Seo Yoon stepped out, scanning her tablet, before noticing him. She didn't look surprised. Just raised a brow.
"You again."
"Me again."
"Did you come to report a head injury from last night?"
"Thankfully, no." He held up the bag. "I owed you a coffee. And… breakfast."
Seo Yoon stared at the bag like it might contain explosives. "Why?"
"Because you made sure I didn't end up sleeping in a gutter."
"It wasn't that dramatic."
"To me, it was."
She hesitated, then nodded toward the staff break room. "Ten minutes."
---
The break room smelled of instant coffee and tired dreams. There was a table in the corner, barely big enough for two. Seo Yoon sat stiffly while Hyun Woo opened the bag.
"Soy milk and red bean toast," he said. "I guessed."
"Correctly," she replied, slightly surprised.
He unwrapped his sandwich and took a bite before speaking again.
"You walk really fast, you know."
"I had to get you off the street before you confessed your entire love life to a streetlamp."
He choked on his sandwich.
"Was I that bad?"
"Not bad. Just… very honest."
A pause.
"I was supposed to meet someone that night," he said softly. "Didn't show. I guess I drank more than I meant to."
Seo Yoon looked at him, but didn't push.
"Do you always let strangers help you when you're vulnerable?"
"You're not a stranger."
"Aren't I?"
He smiled.
"Not really. We've shared drinks, awkward silences, and now... red bean toast."
Seo Yoon took a slow sip of her coffee.
"That's a strange definition of friendship."
"It's a start."
---
They stepped out together. The afternoon breeze was cool, fluttering the edges of her white coat.
Hyun Woo watched a paper cup tumble down the pavement, catching in the wind.
"Do you ever feel like you live a double life?" he asked suddenly.
Seo Yoon's footsteps slowed.
"Why do you ask?"
"Because I do. Most days. And I think... so do you."
She didn't reply right away.
"We all have things we keep hidden," she said finally. "It's not always a double life. Sometimes it's just self-preservation."
"Even from people who want to know you?"
She looked at him then — really looked. For a moment, she wanted to say something. Anything.
But instead, she offered a small smile.
"Detective, if I ever decide to share… you'll be the first to know."
---
Two girls sat under a flickering kitchen light. One was reading a textbook aloud, the other taking notes without looking up.
"You'd make a better doctor than me," one whispered.
"I don't want to be a doctor," the other replied. "I just want you to become one."
The clock ticked.
The window was closed tight. Not because of the cold.
Because of fear.
---
Seo Yoon stared at the leftover toast Hyun Woo had insisted she take. She set it on the kitchen counter and poured herself a glass of water.
The silence in the room was heavy, but not unbearable.
She turned off the lights and stood by the window. The apartment across from hers was lit. A shadow passed.
She didn't know if it was his. But it made her heart skip.
"Maybe it's okay," she whispered, "to let someone see… a little."
---