Illusion Blind Date - Chapter 14

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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 14

“The new professor in the Surgery Department. You just met Han Bom today, right? How can someone be that good-looking? And that body—look at those shoulders, broad as the Pacific, that perfectly sculpted backside, and those thighs! Muscled like a racehorse, so firm you couldn’t pierce them with a needle, right?”
How could she see all that through a Surgical Gown?
The nurse’s eyes were practically shooting hearts—she was completely smitten.
“Here she goes again. You haven’t even seen him without clothes. How would you know that? Isn’t that right, Han Bom?”
“W-well, yes. Ha ha ha.”
I really wanted to unsee this entire conversation.
Han Bom answered vaguely, laughing it off.
That’s when Cha Tae-moon, tilting his head slightly, fixed her with a narrowed gaze.
My heart lurched.
Did he hear what they were saying about his body?!
I didn’t say anything.
Han Bom made a zipping motion across her lips, declaring her innocence.
Then he raised one eyebrow wryly and let out a short laugh.
“This one’s inexperienced with men. Ever heard of ‘fine-looking fruit that’s all skin and bones’? Men with good bodies tend to be lacking in that department.”
“Really?”
“My husband’s the prime example.”
What were these people even talking about?
The nurses, oblivious to Cha Tae-moon’s stare, kept right on with their embarrassing conversation.
“But your husband’s got an incredible build.”
“I just pretend he doesn’t exist. It’s easier that way.”
Han Bom crossed her hands to form an X, emphasizing her innocence.
She’d made a strong appeal that she hadn’t brought up the topic, but whether anyone believed her was another matter.
Better to escape now.
“I’ll get going first, everyone.”
Ji-moon, forgive me. Go ahead and curse my lack of loyalty.
Han Bom hastily excused herself and fled the scene.
It felt as though Tae-moon’s gaze followed her out the door.

***

Tae-moon let out a soft chuckle.
It was Han Bom’s fault—her cheeks flushed crimson like a ripe apple, she’d slipped away without so much as a goodbye, fleeing like the wind.
She looked even better in a doctor’s coat than he’d imagined, and clearly his presence wasn’t welcome.
Cute. Devastatingly so.
She scurried away like a flustered chick, and he couldn’t help but grin. The urge to tease her kept building.
“Looks like Han Bom had somewhere urgent to be……”
Ji-moon, noticing that Tae-moon’s attention had been on Han Bom, stuck up for his friend nonetheless.
Tae-moon glanced at Ji-moon briefly, then turned his focus back to the child.
“Keep the Mechanical Ventilation oxygen saturation fixed at fifty percent.”
“Yes, understood.”
“At this rate, we should be able to do the Extubation by this afternoon.”
“Yes!”
“The man beside the child—that’s the father?”
“Yes. The moment he regained consciousness, he asked about his child first, and once we told him the boy was right there, he calmed down completely.”
“…I see. The father looks like he might recover faster than the boy.”
“That’s a relief.”
“I’ll call you later.”
“Yes.”
“And I’d like all of you to come together when you have time. Let’s set something up.”
“The children?”
“Yes.”
“Why? Wait—you’re not asking all of us to leave, are you?”
Ji-moon asked carefully. Tae-moon regarded him for a moment, then spoke quietly.
“There’s something I’d like to discuss when we have a moment.”
“Now? I have rounds to prepare for……. Ah, I understand.”
Tae-moon fixed Ji-moon with a cold stare, then lowered his gaze back to the child.
Remarkably, he was recovering well enough that he wouldn’t need additional surgery.
Cha Tae-moon bent at the waist and gently grasped the child’s small hand, leaning close to whisper in his ear.
“Yu-min’s doing great. I’ll make you all better. Just hold on a little longer.”
Though Hepatopancreaticobiliary Surgery was Cha Tae-moon’s primary specialty, his choice to add Pediatric Surgery as a secondary focus hadn’t come from any other reason—he simply loved children.
He wanted to contribute to an environment where small lives could grow healthy and free from illness.
After exchanging words with the child, Cha Tae-moon caught Ji-moon’s vacant stare and gestured with his eyes.
“Come with me.”
Right now, Han Bom occupied most of Cha Tae-moon’s attention.
If she were to say she wanted to leave, that would be a problem, so he figured he should give Ji-moon a heads-up beforehand.
And while he was at it, he might as well get to know the others.
After all, shouldn’t he know why each of them had come to live in his place?
Cha Tae-moon exchanged nods with the nurses and stepped out of the Intensive Care Unit.
He peeled off his Surgical Gown, deposited it in a bin, and made his way toward the Break Room.
Ji-moon’s footsteps behind him were very tentative.
Though they shared blood as cousins, the age gap was significant enough that Ji-moon was wary of him—unlike Cha Tae-moon, who generally had little on his mind.
If they were going to walk the same path from now on, a complete mindset overhaul was essential.
Cha Tae-moon was thinking of properly shaping him into a man.
And if possible, the others living with them too.

***

Ji-moon swallowed hard under Cha Tae-moon’s intimidating gaze.
There was no way anyone would be in the Break Room at this hour.
Cha Tae-moon pulled two Canned Beverages from the vending machine and handed one to Ji-moon.
“Drink.”
“Th-thank you. I’ll enjoy it.”
Ji-moon surreptitiously glanced at Cha Tae-moon’s clothes now that he’d removed his Surgical Gown.
Damn it.
Despite wearing nothing more than a simple hooded tracksuit, he didn’t look shabby in the least—rather, he carried himself with the confidence of a fashion-leading model.
That air of dominance was so distinctive that one couldn’t even dare to imitate it.
“Don’t stand. Sit down.”
Cha Tae-moon, seated on a long bench, patted the space beside him and gestured. Ji-moon moved over and sat.
He reminded himself of what he needed to say and decided to make a preemptive strike.
“Brother.”
Cha Tae-moon, who had been gulping down his drink, looked at Ji-moon with lowered eyes.
“It’s about Han Bom.”
At the opening, Cha Tae-moon gave a brief nod.
Han Bom had said there was no Trauma left in her at all, but from Ji-moon’s perspective, that wasn’t true.
No matter how entangled she was with that junior, people are unpredictable, aren’t they?
“This is personal, so I can’t say everything, but would it be okay if she just stayed with us?”
“Why?”
Interest flickered in Cha Tae-moon’s glossy black eyes.
“She was Stalked by a junior last year, and… it just seems dangerous for her to live alone.”
“Stalked?”
“Yeah. So she’s got some Trauma from it, and her hometown’s really far away anyway.”
Cha Tae-moon crossed his long legs with a decisive motion, tilting his head to look at Ji-moon askew.
“That bastard.”
“Oh, there was a slight misunderstanding about that, but… well, it all worked out anyway.”
He didn’t mention that Han Bom had beaten the guy half to death.
There was no point in saying things like that.
Crunch.
Cha Tae-moon crushed the can like tissue paper and fixed Ji-moon with a steady gaze.
“Han Bom wants to live with us, right?”
It was like asking whether a lone woman wanted to live in a lair teeming with men, but those two had transcended such concerns long ago.
Since their first year, they’d seen each other at their worst—different chromosomes aside, they might as well have been the same gender.
“Of course! She’s only a woman in name. There’s no difference between her and us. And it’s not just Han Bom—all our classmates are like that.”
Cha Tae-moon, who had been studying Ji-moon with an incredulous expression, asked an unexpected question.
“Do you have a girlfriend?”
“Me? No, of course not.”
“Not you. Han Bom.”
“Ah, Han Bom? Of course not. I can promise you that much.”
“Then do it that way.”
Cha Tae-moon rose from his seat with a relieved expression, brushing off his clothes. Ji-moon, getting up alongside him, finally voiced what he’d been holding back.
“Thanks, hyung! So that means I’m okay too, right?”
“First, get them all together. Let’s at least see their faces.”
“Yeah, of course.”
“Pick a date and let me know.”
“Got it, hyung.”
“Clean up the mess you’ve made at home before I throw everyone out.”
“Y-yeah, obviously!”

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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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