𝓚𝓪𝓻𝓲𝓷𝓪 | 𝓣𝓱𝓮 𝓐𝓹𝓹𝓵𝓮 𝓔𝓶𝓮𝓻𝓰𝓮𝓷𝓬𝔂

The automatic double doors of the Emergency Department slammed open with a violent pneumatic hiss, shattering the quiet hum of the night shift.

Before the triage nurses could even jump out of their chairs, four figures burst into the lobby in a blur of designer streetwear, caps, and total, unadulterated chaos. Winter was half-dragging Karina by her forearm while Giselle practically sprinted alongside them, gesturing wildly toward the trauma bay. Ningning brought up the rear, trailing close behind while holding a wad of thick paper towels like a holy relic.

"DOCTOR! Please! We need an emergency doctor!" Winter shouted across the tiled hall, her voice echoing off the hospital walls with pure, unrestrained panic.

"There's blood! So much blood in the car!" Giselle added dramatically, waving her hands in the air.

"It looked so deep! It was gushing!" Ningning chimed in, sounding like she was announcing a catastrophic national tragedy.

In the middle of the storm was Yu Jimin—Karina.

Her dark hair was slightly disheveled, a bucket hat pulled low over her face, which was currently burning a dark, brilliant shade of crimson. She was digging her sneakers into the linoleum floor, trying desperately to pull back against Winter's relentless grip.

"Guys, please, stop screaming! Winter, let go of my sleeve—you're going to tear my sweater!" Karina hissed through gritted teeth, her voice a desperate, hushed whisper as she tried to pull her arm back. "I told you in the dorm, it's literally nothing—"

Winter ignored her completely, spotting you in your scrubs and hauling Karina straight toward your station like a trophy.

"Doctor! Look at her! Save her!" Winter insisted, pointing dramatically down at Karina's left hand.

Wrapped loosely around Karina's index finger was a single tissue, bearing a tiny, microscopic dot of red. Karina looked up at you through her long lashes, her face thoroughly flushed with sheer, unadulterated mortification. She slowly buried her free hand into her coat pocket, wishing the earth would swallow her whole.

"…I am so, so sorry," Karina murmured softly, her voice barely audible above her members' enthusiastic background chatter. "I was... I was just peeling an apple in the dorm kitchen. The knife slipped. It's a tiny scratch. They kidnapped me and drove me here against my will."

"A tiny scratch?!" Winter gasped, hand on her chest. "You gasped, Jimin! You made a sound!"

"Because I dropped the apple!" Karina shot back, hiding her face in her shoulder before glancing back up at you with apologetic, wide eyes. "Doctor... please tell them I'm not dying so we can go home before someone recognizes us."

The heavy sliding door of the black luxury van clicked shut, sealing out the cool night air of the hospital parking lot.

Karina leaned her head back against the leather headrest, letting out a long, exhausted sigh that felt like it had been building up ever since they stepped foot in the ER. She held her left hand up in the dim interior lighting, staring down at her index finger. It was neatly wrapped in a pristine, tiny band-aid.

Silence hung in the van for approximately three seconds before the back seats erupted into rapid-fire whispers.

"Did you guys see the way the doctor held her wrist?" Winter whispered loudly, leaning over the console from the middle row. "So gentle. Like they were handling glass."

"And the way Karina looked at them?" Giselle added with a sly smirk, kicking the back of Karina's passenger seat. "When the doctor asked, 'Will this hurt?' and she used her soft voice? 'Promise?' I almost threw up right there in the triage bay."

"I've known Jimin-eunni for years," Ningning chimed in, grinning ear to ear from the back row. "She never uses that voice! She sounded like a literal toddler asking for candy! 'Is it going to hurt, doctor?'"

Karina’s eyes snapped open, her whole body tensing as a wave of heat instantly flushed up her neck and onto her cheeks.

"I did NOT say it like that!" she protested indignantly, turning around in her seat to glare at the three of them. "My finger was bleeding! I was just being polite because they were working a busy ER shift!"

"Polite?" Winter giggled, resting her chin on her hands. "You literally smiled when they laughed at us for panicking! You didn't even look at us once after the doctor walked into the room!"

"Giselle, tell her," Ningning nudged Giselle's arm. "She's already planning another 'accident', isn't she?"

"Oh, 100%," Giselle nodded knowingly. "She's going to go home, buy a bag of oranges, and pretend she doesn't know how a peeler works."

"I am NOT!" Karina gasped, her face burning so hot she had to press her cold hands against her cheeks to cool them down. "For what?! My finger is literally completely fine!"

"Maybe for a check-up," Winter teased, raising an eyebrow. "Or to say thank you. Or just to see their face again."

Karina stared at her three members, her lips parting in utter disbelief before she groaned, pulling her hood entirely over her head and burying her glowing face into her knees.

"…I hate all of you," her muffled voice whined from inside her jacket. "I'm never eating fruit again."

It was 2:45 AM, the absolute quietest window of a grueling fourteen-hour ER shift.

You were sitting at the central nurses' station, flipping through patient charts and rubbing the sleep from your eyes, when the quiet chime of the entrance doors broke the silence. Footsteps padded softly across the polished linoleum—not the urgent, heavy stride of paramedics or panicking patients, but a hesitant, careful walk.

You looked up expecting a night-shift nurse. Instead, you were met with the sight of Yu Jimin.

She was dressed casually in an oversized charcoal knit sweater, black trousers, and a simple cap, completely unaccompanied by her usual chaotic entourage. In her hands, she carefully held a cardboard tray carrying two large iced coffees and a paper bag from a high-end bakery nearby.

When her eyes locked onto yours, she froze for a fraction of a second, her cheeks instantly catching a faint, flush before she forced herself to keep walking toward your desk.

"…Hi," Karina said softly, her voice melodic and careful in the quiet hospital hall. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything important."

She stepped up to the counter, setting the coffee tray down between the two of you. She didn't look at the floor or act overly shy this time—she looked directly at you, a soft, nervous determination in her dark eyes.

"Our schedule finished a few blocks away," she explained smoothly, though her fingers twitched slightly against the strap of her bag. "I remembered you mentioned last time that the night shift coffee here is terrible... and you looked really exhausted when you treated me."

She slid one of the iced coffees across the slick counter toward you, her slender fingers lightly brushing against yours for a second longer than necessary before she slowly pulled her hand back.

"This one's for you. Extra espresso shot, minimal sugar, just like you like."

As you reached out to take the cup, Karina’s eyes flicked down to her own left hand. She raised her index finger, turning it side to side to show you the smooth, unblemished skin where the tiny cut used to be. A small, playful smile curled at the corner of her lips.

"It’s completely healed, by the way," she murmured, her tone dropping into a warm, gentle purr. "No more apple-related emergencies... unless I need a convenient excuse to come back here."

The moment the words left her mouth, her eyes widened slightly in sudden realization of how bold she sounded. A bright, lovely pink rush surged up her neck, and she quickly raised her hands, clearing her throat to recover her composure.

"…That was a joke," she added quickly, looking down at her sneakers with a soft, embarrassed chuckle. "Mostly. You're still the only doctor in Seoul I'd trust with a fruit-related injury, though."