Illusion Blind Date - Chapter 56

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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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#56

Cha Jae Hong cried out with the expression of someone who couldn’t take it anymore.
“Royal, you’re not going to pretend you didn’t hear that, are you?”
Kim Young Woong jabbed at Ji Moon. As if poking him would change anything.
Ever since the fact that Cha Tae Moon and Ji Moon were cousins became common knowledge in the Resident Dormitory, they’d taken to calling Ji Moon “Royal.”
Ji Moon kept his head down and methodically filled out the surgical records, whether they liked it or not.
After getting an earful from the administrative director the last time he’d delayed entering chart notes, he’d made sure not to fall behind on the charts for patients under his direct care.
“Hey, did your eardrums seal shut just because you’re Royal?”
Kim Young Woong began jabbing persistently at his ribs. Finally unable to ignore it, Ji Moon stopped what he was doing and shot back.
“Well, even if he is my cousin, why would he listen to me?”
It was the first time Ji Moon had raised his voice since arriving in Korea.
Everyone present understood why he had every right to.
Ever since May began, Cha Tae Moon had shown his true colors.
A man obsessed with work, obsessed with surgery.
The man was too busy covering regular surgeries, yet on his days off, he’d camp out in the Emergency Room, covering every incoming patient and pushing them all into the Operating Room.
“Is he really going to keep doing this?”
“I have no idea. I don’t know why he is.”
Ji Moon stared at his seniors, exasperation written across his face.
How was he supposed to know what that man was thinking?
If there was any spring left in his spirit, Ji Moon had long since abandoned hope.
“So the last month was just him testing the waters?”
Cha Jae Hong murmured in a daze.
“Isn’t this getting way too extreme? Chief, you have to do something about it!”
Kim Young Woong, his dark circles sagging nearly to his jaw, shook the Chief desperately—but what could anyone do?
“Even the Anesthesiology Department has given up. They said the Operating Room can do whatever it wants now.”
The Anesthesiology Department was the one who coordinated the Operating Room schedule.
That’s why the surgical teams were always extremely careful not to offend Anesthesiology.
Bringing food to the Anesthesiology Resident Dormitory wasn’t even considered proper brown-nosing anymore.
But no matter how much Anesthesiology tried to manage the situation, how could anyone stand against the man who would become the next hospital director?
“We haven’t been home for a week now. You’re the senior—step up and say something to him.”
The other professors, seemingly infected by Cha Tae Moon’s fervor, were tackling surgeries with the determination to import every General Surgery patient in the nation.
Which meant the ones suffering were the Fellows and Residents below them.
Not only that—rumors were starting to spread among the Interns too.
Word was that if you went to General Surgery, you wouldn’t even have time to eat, let alone use the bathroom.
“You’re right. I can’t take it anymore either.”
Cha Jae Hong set his jaw with grim determination.
Crunch.
Right as they were holding this impromptu grievance session against Cha Tae Moon, the Resident Dormitory door swung open forcefully.
It was Cha Tae Moon.
He stood crooked in his white surgical gown, splattered with blood, and let out a low growl.
“You’re all gathered here?”
“P-Professor!”
Cha Tae Moon’s eyes widened as he swept his gaze across everyone in the dormitory.
The moment their eyes met his, they’d be called in.
They all busied themselves, doing anything to avoid making eye contact.
Lee Ro Woon, eager to assert herself in Cha Tae Moon’s surgeries, had ended up being called to the Operating Room more than any other first-year Resident.
Already slight of frame and delicate, Lee Ro Woon looked skeletal after just a few days.
Cho Eun from Thoracic Surgery had taken to bringing her vitamins herself.
Lee Ro Woon had tried to refuse at first, but there were few people who could stand against Cho Eun. Unless spring came first.
Tap.
Kim Young Woong nudged the Chief’s foot.
It was the signal—they’d agreed he’d be the one to voice their complaints, and now was the time.
“Professor, I… I have something I’d like to say.”
Cha Jae Hong opened his mouth with stern resolve.
Everyone turned to look at him with expectant eyes. Ji Moon did the same.
“What is it? Hurry up—I have to get to surgery.”
Where on earth was the next patient coming from that he had to operate again?
“Ah, is that so? Then might I be allowed to scrub in on that surgery?”
Oh, for crying out loud!
“Is that all you have to say?”
“Yes, sir! We were just deciding the order because we all want to scrub in on surgeries.”
“Really?”
Cha Tae Moon’s cool gaze passed over Ji Moon and fixed on Lee Ro Woon.
“Splenic rupture in the abdomen. Chief surgeon on the abdominal case, and——!”
“Thank you, Professor!”
Before Cha Tae Moon could even finish speaking, Cha Jae Hong let out a shout that was practically a cheer.
Damn it! I knew it would come to this!
Everyone heaved a sigh with expressions that seemed to say, “Well, what did we expect?”
Though the work was grueling, there wasn’t a soul in this place who wasn’t genuinely devoted to surgery—otherwise, they would have all deserted long ago.
“Lee Ro Woon, come with me. You’re scrubbing in on the splenic rupture surgery.”
“Yes, understood.”
At this rate, Ro Woon would work herself to death.
After Tae Moon led Ro Woon out, everyone turned to look at Cha Jae Hong with reproachful eyes.
“Chief, that’s not cool. How could you just walk in there and claim the surgery?”
Kim Young Woong, too, was ultimately a man obsessed with surgery.
“Ah, hell.”
Smack!
Ju Min Ki brought the back of Kim Young Woong’s head down hard with his hand.
“All right, Young Woong, let’s scrub in on an abdominal case together. Get ready.”
“Got it.”
“Answer your phone when the call comes. See you later.”
It was past eleven at night.

***

Having arrived at Busan Hospital, a branch of YJ University Hospital, Bom unpacked her belongings in the Dormitory where she’d been directed.
She’d worried about how she would manage a whole month, but time had slipped by faster than she’d anticipated, making those concerns seem groundless.
After a week of adjustment, the place had begun to feel somewhat comfortable.
The presence of seniors and colleagues from Seoul had made her adaptation swift, and it was truly remarkable how quickly she’d acclimated.
But once that adjustment was complete, another problem emerged.
Brief phone calls with Tae Moon alone weren’t enough to ease her longing for him.
For lovers who had only just begun to ignite, it was a cruel separation.
After finishing her shift and returning to the Dormitory, Bom sat alone, fidgeting with her phone.
Would he be asleep by now?
Recalling Tae Moon’s words to call anytime she had a free moment, Bom pressed the call button.
It was already approaching one in the morning.
She’d heard he practically lived in the Operating Room, and she found herself regretting the late hour—what if she woke him from much-needed sleep?
After several rings without an answer, just as she was about to hang up, his soft voice came through the receiver.
-Hello?
“Professor, it’s me.”
-Bom.
“Yes.”
-Phew……, are you finished for the day?
“Yes, I just got back to the Dormitory.”
Tae Moon’s voice carried the sound of heavy breathing, his breaths deep and slightly ragged.
-You worked hard.
Was he working out at this hour?
“Are you perhaps exercising right now?”
-Yeah, ……a little.
The sound echoing in the background confirmed it was definitely the Training Room.
“At this hour? It’s already past one in the morning…….”
-I know.
“Both you and Professor are truly amazing. You’re both exercise fanatics.”
Bom spoke with laughter threading through her voice, and she could easily picture him there in the Training Room, working out.
“Please don’t overexert yourself.”
She was worried about him training late into the night when he’d have to push hard again tomorrow.
-Does it worry you?
“Yes, I heard you’ve been pushing yourself lately.”
-It’s nothing much. But why did you call instead of sleeping?
“I wanted to hear your voice, Professor.”
Tae Moon fell silent at her words. When the quiet grew almost unbearable, he finally spoke.
-……I’m going to kiss you when I see you.
“……So am I.”
The sudden leap to kissing caught her off guard, but it made sense—they’d been building toward this before being torn apart, after all.
Besides, she’d liked kissing him.
-And I’m going to kiss you everywhere. From the top of your head to your toes.
“P-Professor?”
Tae Moon’s feverish voice dropped to something dangerously low, his breathing rough and uneven.
She’d expected the usual things—sleep well, I miss you, take care of yourself—but his words, pitched higher than anything she’d heard from him before, sent heat flooding into her cheeks.
No one was watching, yet she cradled her face in one hand and kicked her feet against the mattress.

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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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