“Waaah! It's been so long!”
The moment I stepped into the wedding hall and looked around, Hwang Seo-young threw her arms around me in a hug.
“Haha, it's only been a few months since we last met.”
“I know, right? It really hasn't been that long, but why do you feel completely different now?”
The farewell dinner felt like it had happened only yesterday.
...A lot had happened since then.
“Is this the aura of a clinic owner?”
“Seriously! Director Han Yeo-won at the age of twenty-six!”
The rest of my classmates attending the wedding drifted over to join us.
Other than Seo-young and me, everyone present had belonged to the orchestra club alongside today's bride, senior Lee Yoo-jin.
So much for teaching me a lesson. Not a single member of Jo Ha-neul's little clique showed up.
Ironically, the classmates who'd barely spoken to me during university were now showering me with compliments and questions.
“So? Is the clinic doing well? Do the staff or patients look down on you because you're young?”
“I haven't really felt that.”
“Oh, so it was just an urban legend?”
“Please. That's only because Yeo-won has charisma. If the rest of us opened a clinic right now, we'd be destroyed instantly.”
“Seriously. She's just standing there and professionalism is practically dripping off her.”
Normally, a newly graduated Korean medicine doctor would spend years training or working under another clinic director, saving money and gaining experience before opening a practice.
Since I'd somehow become the first one in our class to open a clinic, everyone was intensely curious.
“As expected of the valedictorian. You've restored discipline to our graduating class.”
“Seo-young, you were the one trying hardest to talk me out of it.”
“Hahaha! Thank goodness I was wrong. Seriously, how did you make that location work?”
“It's too early to call it success. I just started doing it, and somehow things worked out.”
“Oho! Director Han Yeo-won's famous words: Just do it. Enlightenment has been achieved.”
Ugh. How embarrassing.
But even if they asked for my secret, there wasn't much I could tell them.
The location really had been terrible. And if I started talking about "touching the hearts of patients," I'd probably get booed off the stage.
“Well, if you meditate long enough inside an empty clinic, enlightenment eventually arrives. It feels like aging ten years every day.”
“Hahahahaha!”
They thought I was joking.
I wasn't.
Things were stable now, but the terror of seeing only one patient a day...
That was something you couldn't explain unless you'd lived through it.
“Let's go see Yoo-jin unni.”
Grateful for the change of subject, I covered my face and headed toward the bridal waiting room.
“Senior! It's been so long!”
“Oh my goodness, Yeo-won! You came all this way! Thank you so much!”
We exchanged the usual congratulations—on her wedding, on my clinic, on life in general.
I couldn't quite remember all the details of our relationship anymore, but that was normal.
When you lived as a physician, countless connections passed through your life.
Patients greeted you as though you were their savior.
To you, they were one among countless encounters gathered during a single journey.
Now then.
The wedding gift had been delivered.
I had my meal ticket.
That meant I'd completed all the mandatory steps of a Korean wedding before the ceremony itself, right?
I'd even studied various wedding horror stories in advance.
I'd bought a dark green dress specifically to avoid accidentally wearing anything too bright.
The ceremony would start soon.
I'd sit quietly, take pictures, eat at the buffet, exchange some greetings...
And then the wedding would be over.
“The front rows are filling up. Should we go sit down?”
One of my classmates finally suggested it.
So that was why everyone had been lingering outside.
Apparently nobody wanted the front seats.
“Sure.”
“Look! Those seats over there are still open!”
I started following the group toward the hall when Seo-young suddenly turned toward the elevators.
“Are we still waiting for someone?”
“Ah, I came with Sang-hoon oppa. He went to park the car, but he's taking forever.”
Sang-hoon oppa?
Hwang Sang-hoon?
Come to think of it, he'd been the orchestra club president.
Senior Yoo-jin was now in her final year of residency, meaning Sang-hoon, an intern, was technically her coworker as well.
I'd forgotten about him.
Of course he'd be here.
I hadn't expected to see him again.
“Call him.”
Seo-young was already pulling out her phone.
She tried several times.
No answer.
“He's not picking up. Do you think something happened?”
“Maybe he went out for a smoke and lost his phone.”
“Sang-hoon oppa doesn't smoke...”
“Let's go check. There's still some time before the ceremony starts.”
“Ah, you'll come with me?”
The moment I offered, Seo-young visibly brightened.
“If you didn't want to go down alone, you should've just said so. Ji-hoon, can you save our seats?”
Naturally, I went with her.
We left our bags with a classmate and headed for the elevator.
“What kind of parking garage goes down six basement levels?”
“It was terrifying coming up earlier. I'm glad you're with me.”
Seo-young insisted she hadn't simply been bored.
Apparently she'd accompanied Sang-hoon down to Basement Level 1, but there had been no parking spaces, so she'd gone upstairs alone.
The garage did feel unusually dark for a modern building.
Since we didn't know where he'd parked, we'd have to search one floor at a time.
For some reason, the lower we descended, the heavier the atmosphere became.
The lighting wasn't actually any dimmer.
Yet the yin energy seemed to thicken with every floor.
Above us stood a luxurious wedding venue.
Below...
A gloomy underground maze that looked like the perfect setting for a crime scene.
“Don't tell me something actually happened to him...”
Seo-young grew quieter.
The tension steadily mounted.
She hugged my arm tightly.
Honestly, did she have to say something that sounded like a death flag?
There were still a few empty spaces on Basement Level 5.
But no sign of Sang-hoon's car.
Something felt wrong.
An assassin seeking revenge against Hwangje Korean Medicine Hospital?
A robber targeting wealthy hotel guests?
My imagination ran wild as we finally descended to the lowest floor.
Basement Level 6 was pitch black.
Unlike the other levels, the lights were completely off.
Then the automatic doors slid open.
The instant we stepped through—
The lights blazed on.
And we found Hwang Sang-hoon.
“KYAAAAAAAH!”
Only three cars occupied the lowest floor.
And beside one of them...
Hwang Sang-hoon lay sprawled on the ground.
“O-oh no. Oh no. What do we do?”
Seeing him collapsed as though he'd been attacked, Seo-young immediately clamped both hands over her mouth.
I reacted differently.
How many people had I seen lying in pools of blood back in the Murim world?
Too many to count.
I sprinted over and checked his condition.
No visible injuries.
Heartbeat normal.
Breathing normal.
His hands were slightly cool, but still within a healthy temperature range.
“Calm down. His heart's beating.”
I guided Seo-young's fingers to his carotid artery.
“Y-you're right. Then...?”
“I think he fainted.”
His life wasn't in danger.
I sounded calm, but I felt immense relief myself.
“His pulse feels like someone's who's simply sleeping. But since we don't know how long he's been unconscious... Hey!”
“Wah!”
“Oppa! Hwang Sang-hoon! Wake up!”
I slapped his shoulder and shouted directly into his ear.
“Can you even wake someone up like that?”
Why not?
Now that I knew he wasn't dying, the next step was determining whether this was a serious neurological issue or merely temporary unconsciousness.
At the same time, I grabbed his hand and poured a burst of vital energy into him.
“Huh...?”
Thankfully, one of his cheeks twitched.
Moments later, his eyes opened.
“...Yeo-won?”
“Yes. Han Yeo-won. Good. Can you see my fingers? How many?”
“Two. What in the world...? Why am I here?”
Even while talking like an amnesia patient, he'd answered correctly.
Looking bewildered, he tried to sit up.
“Ah. Right. I came to the wedding. Did I fall asleep in the car?”
“Stay down for now. Don't lift your head.”
He'd directed the question toward Seo-young in a gentle voice.
Before she could answer, I planted a hand on his forehead and pushed him back down.
To his credit, he obeyed.
“Nobody hit you from behind, right?”
“Of course not. I remember dropping Seo-young off... and parking the car. I must've been exhausted and fallen asleep. Did you two come looking for me because I never showed up?”
“You weren't in the car! You were lying on the floor! I thought you were dead!”
Now fully convinced he was alive and well, Seo-young smacked her cousin's arm.
Sang-hoon still looked completely confused.
“You mean... you two didn't put me there?”
“With what strength?”
“Do you have pain anywhere right now? Even if you simply fainted, you could've hit your head when you fell.”
Still lying down, Sang-hoon carefully felt around his head and body.
“I don't think so.”
“Do you have a history of claustrophobia or panic attacks?”
“No. None.”
“Then maybe hypoglycemic shock or vasovagal syncope.”
At the mention of panic attacks, Seo-young gasped.
Sang-hoon immediately shook his head.
“I think I just fell asleep. Work's been exhausting lately. ...Sorry for causing a scene. You must've been worried.”
Clearly embarrassed, he turned his face away from me.
His complexion had returned to normal.
At least for now, he looked fine.
“What exactly are they making interns do at that hospital?”
“Haha. That's just intern life.”
“I'm an intern too, you know!”
About five minutes had passed since he'd regained consciousness.
I checked my watch and spoke to both of them.
“We should probably head upstairs soon. Oppa, maybe you should stay in the car and rest? We'll explain things for you.”
“No. I feel completely fine now. I should properly congratulate my senior.”
There didn't appear to be any serious medical issue.
So I finally nodded.
The moment I did, Sang-hoon sprang to his feet.
“Whoa.”
As a bonus, he immediately stumbled and nearly lost his footing.
I grabbed his arm before he could fall.
“Thanks.”
Despite looking like a crime victim moments ago, he seemed oddly embarrassed.
Something about his guilty expression felt familiar.
Like a patient who'd survived a perforated abdomen only to secretly start drinking alcohol again.
Still.
Hwang Sang-hoon hadn't been stabbed.
And I wasn't his attending physician.
I'd merely woken him up.
I had neither the authority nor the obligation to knock him unconscious again and force bed rest upon him.
If he said he was fine, I'd have to trust him.
So Hwang Sang-hoon walked back to the wedding hall under his own power.
Unfortunately, it was impossible not to keep watching someone who had collapsed unconscious just moments ago.
Throughout the entire ceremony, I found myself paying more attention to Sang-hoon than to the wedding itself.
Before I knew it, the ceremony had ended.
And I was standing in the buffet hall.
The tables were large enough to seat our entire graduating class together.
Naturally, I claimed the seat next to Hwang Sang-hoon.
“Oppa, you have insomnia, don't you?”
“Huh?”
I finally asked the question that had been bothering me.
Staring blankly at his plate, he struggled to raise his heavy eyelids.
The answer he gave barely qualified as an answer.
“They told me I've aged since opening my clinic, but you're much worse.”
“Hey! They said you looked authoritative, not old!”
Seo-young protested.
I ignored her and waited for Sang-hoon's response.
“...Well. My schedule doesn't exactly allow for proper sleep.”
“Seo-young and today's bride both worked as interns at the same hospital, but your dark circles are practically reaching your chin.”
“Huh?”
Too late, he hurriedly covered his eyes.
I lowered my voice.
“It's pathological, isn't it?”
“Actually... yeah.”
The walking corpse scratched the back of his head.
Honestly, my conscience wouldn't let me ignore this.
At this rate, even the vital energy I'd infused earlier would burn away in no time, and he'd go right back to being a zombie.
I want to prescribe something... but would that be awkward between fellow doctors?
We weren't master and disciple.
And in medicine, meddling in another practitioner's affairs without being asked was generally considered rude.
But still.
Fainting from sleep deprivation and insomnia?
For the sake of preventing a future drowsy-driving accident alone, treatment felt necessary.
The problem was figuring out how to bring it up.
Screw it. If he refuses, that's his loss.
“You're a doctor! How can you neglect your body like this? We work to make a living, but that means eating properly and sleeping properly too!”
I exaggerated slightly and flicked him on the forehead.
The plan was to continue naturally into a discussion about herbal medicine and treatment options.
“Haha.”
Thinking it was ordinary nagging, Sang-hoon smiled gently.
Then—
A flash of lightning seemed to explode before his eyes.
“...?”
It looked exactly like what had happened in the parking garage.
Still seated, his body swayed.
And then—
He toppled sideways.
...Huh?
“...Oppa?”
I lunged forward and caught his head before it struck the table.
Seo-young grabbed his shoulders and shook him.
“Mr. Hwang Sang-hoon?”
Hey.
Seriously.
Pull yourself together.
I only put a tiny bit of force into that flick.
A very, very tiny bit.
I absolutely was not trying to knock you unconscious again.
“T-There's no way I hit him that hard! Stop joking around and wake up!”
What kind of situation was this?
Of all people, Hwang Sang-hoon wasn't the type to rehearse physical comedy routines.
And there was absolutely no way—
No way at all—
That he'd just fainted in front of this entire room...
From one of my forehead flicks.
...Right?
Right?
