Illusion Blind Date - Chapter 4

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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 4

“At least we got four residents this year. Things are slowly improving. Now that you’re here, it’ll get even better. Or—” he paused, reconsidering, “—will it just get worse when the patients start pouring in?”
The Internal Medicine, Surgery, Obstetrics and Gynecology, and Pediatrics Departments at Nae-oe-san-so Hospital were all fields marked by a pronounced flight of applicants. Every year, fewer candidates applied.
And yet.
There were those who chose Surgery anyway—madly in love with the blade, sometimes consumed by the very act of saving a life.
Both Hae-il and Tae-mun, sitting in that office, knew all too well that you couldn’t sustain this insane profession without that love, that obsession.
Han Bom, who’d stolen the show today, certainly looked mad enough; but viewed through that lens, her maniacal energy was far from unappealing.
“Hae-il.”
Hae-il, who’d been sipping the kiwi juice that had just arrived, widened his small eyes and turned to meet the gaze.
“You know someone named Han Bom in Surgery?”
Tae-mun asked smoothly, a smile playing at his lips.
He was curious about this woman’s true identity. There was something deeply suspicious about her.
“Oh, you know Bom? She’s a first-year resident in our department.”
“Is that so?”
That was unexpected.
He’d taken her for a third-year—someone whose face bore the weathering of years in the trenches, only masked by heavy makeup. But she was barely a first-year.
“Yeah. You know my younger sister Cho-eun? They’re best friends.”
He’d already heard that Hae-il had a much younger sister—a handful by all accounts.
He’d even glimpsed her once, a long time ago.
But to think it would connect like this.
In Korea, one step removed and you know someone; two steps and you’re connected to a friend’s friend; three steps and you’re brushing shoulders with your friend’s cousin’s in-law. The web ran deep.
Only now did it truly sink in that he was back.
“But why are you curious about Bom? That’s what I want to know.”
Hae-il pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose, his eyes suddenly gleaming.
When a guy built like that lit up his gaze, he looked less like a doctor and more like a predator.
“Just wondering. So—is she any good at what she does?”
“Good? She’s an A-turn. Everyone loves her.”
Despite the modest phrasing, she clearly had earned real recognition from the department.

“I’m sorry. I’m not in a position to get married.”

The image flashed across his mind—her shameless grin, her bright smile as she’d turned him down flat.
He found himself wondering if being busy was really just an excuse. Maybe his first impression had simply rubbed her the wrong way.
If everyone who said they were too busy to date or marry actually had to be single, then every intern and resident in South Korea ought to be living alone.
So she’d taken a swing at him—that much was clear.
Having just tasted his first inexplicable loss, Tae-mun let out a hollow laugh.
His mood was beginning to sour in subtle ways.

***

The ambulance doors burst open the moment it pulled up to the Emergency Center entrance.
Medical staff who’d been standing by rushed into view one after another.
Leading them was a third-year resident from Emergency Medicine, followed by first-year Bang Su-ho and the interns, all converging on the patient to unload.
“Careful, careful.”
“Wait—where’s Han Bom? She came on the ambulance with us, didn’t she? Where’s our hospital’s doctor?”
Bang Su-ho, who’d trained alongside Bom, called out to the paramedic as they lowered the gurney.
“She came with us. She’s inside there.”
Han Bom, who’d been seated at the head of the patient’s stretcher, tucked her long, wavering hair behind her ear and flashed a grin.
The moment Su-ho recognized her, his face contorted.
His eyes conveyed a single, withering question: What on earth had she been doing?
But given the urgency of the moment, Su-ho quickly helped unload the patient with the interns and bolted toward the Emergency Room.
Han Bom slipped out of the ambulance before her senior—the third-year resident who was still conferring with the paramedics—could spot her.
She’d accompanied them during transport in case the patient’s heart gave out, but fortunately nothing had gone wrong.
The patient had made it safely into the Emergency Room. Her job was done.
She was backpedaling quietly, about to slip away from the Emergency Room entrance, when a voice called out and froze her in her tracks.
“…Han Bom?”
The senior who belatedly spotted Han Bom stared at her in disbelief, blinking repeatedly.
“Yes, senior. ……Haha.”
Please, just pretend you didn’t see me.
“……You, you—your appearance has changed so much. Have you finally lost your mind?”
“Well, I wouldn’t want to strain your eyes any further, so I’ll take my leave.”
Han Bom turned away from the senior, who’d reacted as if seeing a ghost, and hurried off in quick strides.
Oh, my legs.
Han Bom fled in haste toward the Back Gate Wisteria Bench, glancing around to ensure no one she knew was watching before settling into a secluded spot.
Fortunately, there wasn’t a soul in a white coat nearby.
What on earth was happening.
A sharp breeze swept past.
The still-cold wind brushed against Han Bom’s bare legs. Her knees stung—whether from the wind or the torn stockings, she couldn’t say.
Her aunt had always told her that women needed to keep their legs warm.
“Sigh……, it’s freezing.”
Han Bom rubbed her knees and gazed up at the distant sky.
March was nearly over, with only a week left.
April was already creeping up before she’d even noticed how a whole month had slipped away.
Watching the cherry blossoms just beginning to bloom, Han Bom smiled.
Despite her current appearance, she had still saved a life, hadn’t she?
She’d managed the blind date without incident, so her work for the day was done.
She briefly considered whether to head straight home and sleep, or go back up to the ward and tackle the backlog of work.
In this condition, she couldn’t possibly show her face at the Medical Office.
As she stood staring down at the torn stockings and let out a hollow laugh, hurried footsteps echoed from somewhere nearby.
Patter-patter-patter.
Recognizing the familiar sound, she looked up to see Ju Min-gi, a second-year resident in Surgery, walking toward the bench.
Ju Min-gi, whose trademark was his straight-cut bangs trimmed short, noticed Han Bom and widened his already round eyes even further before stopping in his tracks.
“……Uh, Han Bom?”
Han Bom cursed her decision not to go straight home and rose from the bench.
“Oh, hello, senior.”
She bowed deeply, trying her best to conceal her face.
“……Is this really our Han Bom?”
“Our Han Bom”—what was that supposed to mean.
Every time she heard that phrase, she genuinely wished she could change her name.
Though admittedly, it was better than being called the mad rabbit.
“Haha, yes, senior.”
“Han Bom, has something changed your mind? Have I been too hard on you?”
Ju Min-gi thrust his face so close that Han Bom had no choice but to look up.
His thoughts were transparently written across his features.
“I’ve been trying my best to treat you well, Han Bom!”
Haha, that’s not what this is about.
He seemed to fear that doing something unfamiliar might scare her off entirely.
“H-hey, boss!”
Ju Min-gi, wearing an expression as if the world were about to collapse, grabbed Park Jae-hong by the collar as he belatedly sauntered over.
“Boss, this isn’t the time to be sipping coffee! Look at our Han Bom.”
Han Bom’s eyes met Park Jae-hong’s.
“Hello, Chief.”
“……Who are you?”
At Han Bom’s greeting, the Chief blinked and asked. He was obviously doing it on purpose.
“Come on, this isn’t the time for jokes. Don’t you remember from last year? My colleague Young-ji quit right around this time.”
“……What, are we at that point now?”
“Yes, otherwise why would Han Bom be like this? Don’t you remember Young-ji walking around half out of her mind?”
“Han Bom, it’s not like that, right?”
“No, it’s not like that.”
Park Jae-hong released a breath of relief at Han Bom’s firm reply, warding off the misunderstanding before it could spiral further.
Then, with his large pot-lid-like hand, he smacked Ju Min-gi sharply on the back of the head.
Crack!
“Ow! Why’d you hit me!”
“You eat well and spout nonsense like this. Nearly gave me a heart attack. She said it’s not like that.”
“But the resemblance to back then was so striking, I—”
“So where exactly has our Han Bom been all this time?”
Park Jae-hong asked in a gentle voice, as if speaking to a child.
Han Bom couldn’t very well mention the blind date, and while searching for a plausible excuse, Ju Min-gi looked at her with the expression of someone who already knew the answer.
“It’s obvious at a glance, isn’t it?”
“I wouldn’t be asking if it were. So you know?”
“Whenever my sister goes to return something, she does her makeup just like Han Bom’s. You got stood up, didn’t you?”

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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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