Boss, It's My First Time Being Your Resident - Chapter 38

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 38. Night Duty Protocol

A-gang sprinted all the way to the Rooftop Garden and tilted her face toward the night sky.

Just as So-dam had said, tonight was unusually gloomy—a thick, desolate fog had settled over everything.

If she angled her body diagonally northeast, to just this spot.

Arcturus in Boötes, which had always shone in the same position every night, wasn’t visible tonight.
For all the comfort it had been since she’d come to Sein University—a herald of spring, as they called it—the star had become her only solace through the long nights.

“Pretend to see ghosts! I’ve never met a guy who doesn’t run away from that.”

Heh.
So-dam’s expression—absurd yet somehow profound—appeared before her eyes, and A-gang couldn’t help but let out a hollow laugh.

Pretending to be obsessed with the paranormal.
Was it really necessary to go this far?

She couldn’t understand why Ha Tae-hun always seated her at some corner desk, why he disapproved of her at every turn and wouldn’t even treat her like a junior colleague—but.

She decided to clutch at this straw one last time and trust So-dam’s advice.

A-gang swallowed dryly and stared down at the mobile phone gripped tightly in her hand.

[Senior, um… there’s something I’ve been worried about. If you have a moment, could you stop by the Rooftop Garden…?]

She’d sent it with periods scattered throughout, trying to sound pitiful.

As anxiety gripped her, she kicked at the ground restlessly.

Then—

The heavy rooftop iron door creaked open with a screech.

It was Ha Tae-hun.
He pushed through the thick fog and approached with steady, even steps.

Whether he’d rushed upstairs or had just finished some urgent procedure, the mask strap hung loosely beneath his chin.

Because of the slack mask, his adam’s apple was particularly pronounced beneath his sharp jawline.

Was it exhaustion?
His usually composed, flawless demeanor seemed somehow disheveled tonight—almost unfamiliar.

His eyes, which were always sharp and cool, held a languid warmth tonight that felt strangely tender.

“What’s this about? Calling me out in the middle of the night?”

Tae-hun reclined against the chair across from the parasol table and asked.

“Well, it’s just…”

She forgot she was supposed to launch into her performance and found herself simply admiring his face.

Flustered, A-gang’s lips just quivered, and Tae-hun casually pulled a can of Barley Tea from his pocket and handed it to her. The can was still warm.

“Oh! Thank you. Senior, do you not drink coffee at all?”

Among the surgeons, there were seniors who often avoided coffee as an occupational habit.

The reason was that caffeine could cause slight hand tremors, which would interfere with maintaining sharp sensitivity.

Perhaps that was why.
She’d never once seen Ha Tae-hun drinking coffee, and she found herself suddenly curious.

“You didn’t call me here to ask about my beverage preferences.”

Tae-hun tilted his head slightly and fixed A-gang with a steady gaze.

Because of the night fog, his eyes seemed much deeper and more intense than usual, visible between strands of tousled hair.

“Are you interested in me? Or are you trying to build some kind of bond with me?”
“T-that’s not it at all! How could I presume to… to build something with a senior like you…?”

A-gang’s face flushed a vivid red.

This Ha Tae-hun with his lingering resentments.
This persistent Ha Tae-hun.

She never knew he could hold grudges like this.

“Then get to the point. If you’ve dragged me all the way up here, it better be worth my time.”
“Yes…”

A-gang lowered her head and chewed her lip.

A doctor is ultimately a scientist.
Every judgment is made solely on the basis of thoroughly proven data and scientific evidence.

Pretending that such a scientist was obsessed with the paranormal.
The thought of performing such an absurd act in front of Ha Tae-hun made her head swim, but being marked as a strange woman and pushed away was a hundred times better than this.

A-gang took a short breath, her cheeks tense with nervousness.

“Senior, didn’t you notice something different about me?”

A-gang thrust her face close to Tae-hun’s eyes.
The moment the distance closed, her heart began to race wildly again.

She had no idea why she forgot how to breathe naturally whenever she drew close to Ha Tae-hun.

“Senior, can’t you see how badly dark circled my eyes have gotten? There’s a reason for all of this.”

A-gang pointed beneath her eyes with an expression of desperate earnestness, and Tae-hun gazed down at her intently.

His eyes held a depth unlike his usual self—as if he would listen to anything she said.
A-gang swallowed dryly without thinking.

“I’ve been deliberating whether to tell you… but I think I should… I’ve been staying in the On-call Room lately, and I keep seeing things I shouldn’t be seeing.”

A-gang’s expression became even more mysterious as she fixed her gaze on empty space beyond Tae-hun’s shoulder.

“Every dawn, there’s a young man in military uniform wandering the On-call Room Corridor. In the Shower Room, there are two more—one is an elderly woman with white curly hair, and the other is a small boy.”

What should I do, Senior?
A-gang looked up at Tae-hun with pitiful eyes.

“And even right now, didn’t you feel something heavy on your shoulders today, Senior?”
“…”
“Actually… there’s been a woman standing behind you this whole time.”

A-gang drew her eyebrows down in a tragic expression, closed her eyes tightly, and pointed her finger at Tae-hun’s shoulder.

So my acting is improving.
A-gang swallowed a self-mocking laugh.

Tae-hun’s expression grew grave.

Thinking her ruse had finally worked, A-gang suppressed a victorious smile that nearly burst forth and quickly turned her head away.

If Tae-hun now stood up irritably from his seat, the mission would be a success.
But then—

“The one in the red dress?”
“I’m sorry?”
“That woman you just mentioned. Next to me. She’s not wearing a red dress?”

A-gang’s head whipped around. What emerged from Tae-hun’s lips was an entirely unexpected response.

“A red dress?”
“I know her. I see her so often now, we’re practically friends.”
“…”

A-gang’s pupils trembled violently.

All her prepared lines scattered into the air like ash and came crashing down to the ground in ruins.

Why was Ha Tae-hun always beyond what she imagined?

The scenario was supposed to be him dismissing her with a stunned, exasperated look and leaving the rooftop.

But instead, she could only stammer—”Uh… uh…”—barely coherent sounds.

“And the one in the Shower Room isn’t an old woman—it’s a young woman.”
“…I’m sorry?”

A-gang’s mouth fell half open.
The corners of her mouth, which had been rising smugly with the certainty of victory, froze solid.

“Since you’re from a different university, you probably don’t know much about Sein University. That ginkgo tree in front of the Main Gate—the one that’s three hundred years old. The area around it was where executions were carried out during the war.”
“…”
“You know why there’s a temple across from the hospital? Why the hospital building was constructed in a triangle? It’s all to suppress the Negative Spiritual Energy.”

As if asking whether she finally understood, Tae-hun’s expression grew serene.

“Haven’t you heard the basic protocol for the On-call Room Shower? The reason our department’s residents go through all the trouble of showering in the Changing Room instead?”

When Tae-hun set the Barley Tea can down on the table with a sharp clink, A-gang’s shoulders jumped.

A-gang even felt the eerie fog of the rooftop ripple in sync with Tae-hun’s cool gaze—a strange illusion.

“First, the Shower Room is off-limits between 1 and 4 a.m. If you absolutely must use it, don’t look in the mirror.”
“…”
“Second, never answer when someone asks ‘where are you going?’ It’s a child who wants to play, and if you answer or make eye contact, it latches on and won’t let go.”

A chill ran down A-gang’s spine.

Because Tae-hun’s gaze seemed to veer off just beyond her, as if someone truly were standing behind her, she didn’t even dare turn to look.

“Third, never close the shower stall’s glass door. If you close it, an arm will just reach in through the gap at the bottom. Especially—don’t look at the floor. It likes to lie there.”

A-gang’s face grew increasingly pale.
It felt as though at any moment someone behind her would grab her by the nape of the neck.

Tae-hun continued reciting Sein University’s ghost stories with unbothered indifference and a drowsy tone.

As A-gang listened to the chilling taboos while chewing her lip, tears finally began to well up in her eyes.

“Fourth, always check whether what’s hanging on the towel rack is actually a towel or wet hair.”

“S-Senior! Stop! Please stop! I have to live here for four more years!”

A-gang leaped to her feet, tears streaming down her face.

“Senior, I was really wrong!”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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