Illusion Blind Date - Chapter 5

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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 5

“…….”
Though she’d told Cho-eun that he seemed like a refund recovery squad, Bom hadn’t actually expected to hear something like that, so she simply nodded along.
“Oh, so that was it? Well, did you at least get the refund sorted?”
“……Yes.”
“Right, refunds matter. When you’re living, what could be more important than money?”
But then why was he taking off his coat?
Jae-hong shrugged out of his Doctor’s Coat, shook it out with a snap, and draped it over Bom’s shoulders.
“Put it on. We’re doctors, after all.”
“Oh, it’s really okay…….”
“No. Put it on. And you need to remember this—you’re the face of our General Surgery.”
“Right, that’s right, Bom. You can’t forget that.”
“Speaking of which, who did this to you? Your best friend, Cho-eun?”
Jae-hong tilted his head, leaning his weight on one leg as he regarded Bom with a crooked smile.
Cho-eun, a first-year resident in Thoracic Surgery, came and went from the General Surgery Resident Office as freely as she did her own. So everyone in the office knew her well.
Especially since she was also the younger sister of Professor Lee Hae-il from General Surgery.
“……Yes.”
“What, does she have some grudge against you? She completely ruined that pretty face.”
Jae-hong clicked his tongue and shook his head disapprovingly.
“I asked her to do it.”
“Asked her or not, I’m terrified someone’s going to see. Let’s just go inside.”
Jae-hong wrapped an arm around Bom’s shoulder and pulled her toward the hospital building.
Then Min-gi stepped in and knocked Jae-hong’s arm away.
“Where are you going? Bom needs to go home and rest. She’s got the day off.”
“Oh right, I forgot about that.”
Caught red-handed in his scheme to drag her back in and put her to work anyway, Jae-hong burst into laughter.
“Get going. Ditch that filthy coat.”
“Yes, thank you. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Bom peeled off the coat she’d never been comfortable in anyway and handed it to Jae-hong.
“Don’t forget to wash off your makeup. It looks terrible.”
Jae-hong, who usually gushed about how pretty she was, how amazing she was, seemed to see the whole reason the Blind Date Man had backed away without another word—it hit her right there in the face.
“Haha, yes, sir!”
“Right, see you tomorrow.”
Bom watched the two of them walk away, their broad shoulders aligned side by side, and tilted her head in confusion.
Since when does the police academy teach medicine?

“Call the YJ Emergency Room and tell them a patient suspected of Myocardial Infarction with Arrest is coming in soon. That way they can prepare ahead of time.”

What was up with that professor’s aura?
He’d probably look just as good in a police uniform, but the way he swept through the ward in a flowing white Doctor’s Coat seemed just as perfect.
With that face, that build.
With such an intense presence, he’d fit right in if you mixed him in with the General Surgery residents—the ones who got called gangsters.
Bom had been thinking about the Blind Date Man she’d never see again, but she quickly shook the thought away.
Go home, wash my feet, and get some sleep.
“Bom! Don’t get any ideas! You hear me?”
Just as she was about to turn around, Jae-hong’s desperate voice reached her on the wind.
Jae-hong stopped in his tracks and waved frantically at Bom.
“Yes, sir!”
Bom answered brightly and gave him a radiant smile.
There was no need to worry about anything like that.
No matter what anyone said, Bom was going to bury her bones in General Surgery.
The blind date was settled, so let’s go home.
Bom turned her steps toward home.
But before she’d gone more than a few paces, her phone buzzed.
It was a text from her Aunt.

“Bom, why didn’t you tell me the man didn’t show? How long were you waiting?”

Cho-eun blinked at the text message in disbelief.

“What are you talking about, Aunt?”

Cho-eun typed back quickly. Her aunt seemed to be under some misapprehension.

“He contacted me to say he couldn’t make it because a murder case came up and an emergency was called.”

Cho-eun blinked and read the message over several times.
“…Then who was that man?”
Who did I go on a blind date with?
No, that can’t be right.
Cho-eun shook her head and let out a bemused laugh.
From every angle, that policeman matched the description her aunt had given perfectly.
And they’d even performed CPR together. What kind of situation was this?

“He says he’s very sorry and will visit the Hospital in person next week, so just know that for now.”

What difference would seeing him again make anyway?

“Aunt, I’m not going to meet with him. So tell him not to bother coming.”

After texting her aunt that she had no intention of meeting him again, Cho-eun resumed her stride.
It was clear that the man had been rejected at the blind date and was trying to save face.
Was being turned down something new for him?
Cho-eun simply thought that way and erased him from her mind.

***

Another busy week began.
Cho-eun left home at dawn and arrived at the Hospital, running through her morning rounds as usual.
Following the first elective surgery schedule, she served as second assistant for a laparoscopic gastrectomy and moved the patient to the Recovery Room with the interns.
“You worked hard today. You really studied well, didn’t you?”
Jae-hong, who had gone into surgery with her, gave Cho-eun a thumbs up.
“No, I still have much to learn.”
“Learn? If everyone worked as hard as you, I’d have nothing left to wish for.”
There was a reason Jae-hong, who had served as first assistant, would say such a thing.
When Chief Kang Sang-hyung, the surgical director, was injecting carbon dioxide gas into the abdominal cavity, he’d asked Cho-eun about the injection rate and intra-abdominal pressure.

“The rate is nine liters per minute, and the pressure is maintained at twelve millimeters of mercury.”

Since she’d already memorized the information, she answered with what she knew, and the chief was very pleased with the response.
And as Cho-eun held the laparoscope, she skillfully adjusted the camera head’s position so the chief could operate comfortably, securing a clear field of view.
Even those who handled it well found the screen often rotated or the focus slipped out of alignment regularly.

“Today’s surgery was very smooth because of you, Cho-eun. Thank you so much.”

Chief Kang’s flood of praise continued, and the surgery finished in just under two hours.
Standing assist in that rigid posture makes your shoulders stiff and your legs ache, but when you receive praise like that, all the fatigue vanishes as if it were never there.
“Everyone see that? See how well our Cho-eun works? You should all follow her example.”
Jae-hong called out to the interns.
Really, she had no idea why she felt so embarrassed.
Flustered, Cho-eun caught her lower lip between her teeth and swallowed down the escaping smile.
“Yes, we’ll work hard!”
The interns answered in unison.
Though the interns were worn down by fatigue, their voices rang out as strong as anyone’s.
At that, the medical staff in the Recovery Room broke into laughter.
“This is what General Surgery is like.”
Jae-hong’s jest drew a ripple of warmth through the room.
“You have another surgery this afternoon, right?”
“Yes.”
“Then go grab lunch first and come back. We’ll get the patient prepped.”
“Thank you so much. I’ll eat quickly and return.”
“No rush. Take your time.”
“Yes! Thank you!”
Cho-eun turned toward the Changing Room with a bright smile.

***

After evening rounds, Cho-eun was catching up on pending orders in the Resident Office when she heard the door open. She glanced back.
It was Ji-mun, a fellow resident in his first year—and Cho-eun’s closest friend and greatest ally.
“How bad is it?”
Ji-mun, who’d been torn to shreds by the professor during rounds—a man who looked like a gangster—had been summoned to see Jae-hong and had just returned.
When Jae-hong called you to a blind spot out of camera range, there was no telling what would happen.
She could only imagine the endless scolding his ears must have endured.
“Ugh, I came to General Surgery telling myself I’d man up and do this right, but honestly? I’m not sure this is the path for me. I’d rather take a punch. My ears felt like they were bleeding the whole time.”
Ji-mun flopped into the chair across from her, digging at his ear with his pinky as if to prove the point.
He looked thoroughly worn out.
“You think you’re the only one? He’s been hauling me around all day.”
“I heard—apparently the director gave you a storm of praise today, though.”

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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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