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Chapter 18
It’s Mine
The warmth spreading from the tips of his fingers felt like a fever running through her entire body in an instant.
Feeling a sense of alarm, she stepped back slightly, and naturally, Professor Choi Taehyuk’s hand lifted from her face.
He casually brushed the petals from his hand.
Only her rapidly beating heart told her what had just happened.
Trying to shake off her feelings, Nayeong deliberately spoke bluntly.
“Did you really pick these cherry blossoms off the street?”
There was no way a flower shop would sell cherry blossoms.
But his answer was oddly unexpected.
“Hongsik picked them from the cherry blossom tree at home.”
Hongsik? Who was that? The name sounded nothing like a younger sibling.
She decided not to ask. She wasn’t curious about him at all.
“There really wasn’t anything we could do inside the hospital. So all we could do was play house like this.”
He spoke as if it were a complaint, which made the corners of Nayeong’s eyes lift.
She had thought he was somewhat romantic, but now he dismissed it as child’s play.
“Here’s the late-night snack you ordered!”
In irritation, Nayeong shoved the plastic bag printed with a convenience store logo into his chest.
Even with all her effort, it barely affected him.
Taehyuk looked at the cup noodles inside and clicked his tongue.
“I’m giving you a lunchbox that Mrs. Hwang herself made—worth money even—yet the best Moon brings me is instant noodles?”
Avoiding his gaze that plainly said her effort was lacking, Nayeong turned her head. She had already done enough by bringing hot water in a tumbler along with the noodles.
“Well, I’ll be going now.”
She intended to leave the rooftop after delivering the snack, but Professor Choi Taehyuk sat on the bench and called her over.
“Wait!”
“I’m not eating.”
Expecting him to ask her to eat together, Nayeong refused firmly, but he pointed at the cherry blossom petals on the ground with his chopsticks.
“You have to take the flowers I gave you too.”
His words were basically telling her to clean the floor. Nayeong stared blankly at the piles of petals scattered across the rooftop.
“You want me to pick these up myself?”
“If you throw them away, they’re just trash.”
So this man hadn’t really given her a gift—he had prepared petals deliberately to bother her.
Even if he had three thousand chances, it would be impossible to sway him!
“Want me to help?”
He mischievously asked while pouring hot water over the cup noodles.
Determined not to admit she wanted help, she forced a smile.
“No. I’ll do it myself. You just enjoy your snack, Professor.”
Nayeong crouched down and began picking up the petals by hand.
Taehyuk watched her while waiting for the noodles to cook.
If he had come on too strong from the beginning, she would have resisted even more. So he started lightly.
It seemed like he had earned nothing but her dislike, yet seeing her cheeks puffed out as she scooped petals made him chuckle quietly.
She was cute—enough to satisfy him.
As the three-minute cook time for the cup noodles neared its end, Taehyuk opened the lid and asked Nayeong:
“Really, you won’t ask me to help?”
“How could I ever make a heavenly professor do this kind of menial task?”
Hearing her serious tone, Taehyuk nodded, took his hands from his pockets, and tossed the remaining petals into the air again.
Who knew? Just when she had cleared everything, he scattered more flowers, returning the rooftop to its original state. Nayeong stared at the falling petals in dismay.
What had once looked beautiful now…
Meanwhile, Professor Choi happily ate his noodles.
Nayeong glared at him with resentment.
Has he really fallen for me?
She doubted it now.
Clack.
Even though the noodles needed three minutes, Taehyuk finished eating in two and stood up.
Was he just going to leave after eating?
Annoyed, she watched as he walked over, bent down in front of her, and helped pick up the petals.
She hadn’t asked for help, yet he offered anyway.
“Are you going to throw these away?”
Nayeong couldn’t answer immediately. She had been ready to discard them.
Taehyuk lifted his eyes and looked at her.
“I still have the earrings you left behind.”
They hadn’t been thrown away—they had been lost.
She had guessed they were left at the hotel room, but she never expected him to keep them.
The velvet box she had seen on his desk came to mind. Could it be…?
“Then give them back.”
She reached out, but he ignored her hand and casually said:
“No. They’re mine now.”
He was completely self-willed.
And that completely disarmed her.
Nayeong truly had no idea how to deal with Professor Choi.
That night, a patient brought into the ER had the hospital buzzing from the morning.
“I heard actress Eunbyeol was brought into our ER yesterday.”
“Wow! I’m actually jealous of the ER duty for once. She must be as pretty as a doll in real life, right?”
Eunbyeol, a rising teen star from a youth drama, was only twenty years old. Her success as an actress and wealth made everyone envious.
Weekly meetings led by the hospital director were usually boring, but attending was mandatory for professors unless emergency surgery arose.
That was when Taehyuk first heard the name Eunbyeol.
“Be careful not to let the media write unnecessary stories. Nowadays, even small things get blown up on SNS. Who’s in charge of Eunbyeol?”
Yoonina raised her hand. The director relaxed knowing the competent Yoonina was responsible. Luckily, she wasn’t a male doctor.
“Celebrities can affect the hospital’s image, so Professor Yoon, take care of her.”
“Yes, understood.”
Seungjun tapped Taehyuk’s arm, showing him something on his phone.
“This is Eunbyeol. Pretty, right?”
Glancing at the screen, Taehyuk commented:
“If you’d succeeded with your first love, you’d have a daughter like that.”
Eunbyeol’s chubby cheeks made her look like a high school student.
Seungjun got emotional thinking of past heartbreaks.
“Moon Nayeong isn’t much older than Eunbyeol, you know.”
Thunk!
Taehyuk kicked Seungjun’s chair, drawing everyone’s attention.
“Professor Choi, do you have something to say?”
The director asked with disapproval. Taehyuk casually replied:
“We’re not in customer service, so we don’t have to cater to patient moods.”
Mr. Park shot him a glare as if to tell him to shut up. The director, already irritated, ended the meeting and left angrily.
Seungjun stayed behind to comfort Yoonina.
“Don’t worry. His personality hasn’t changed overnight.”
Still, Yoonina couldn’t take her eyes off the door Taehyuk had exited.
Praise poured in when Mrs. Hwang’s lunchboxes were shared at lunch with Seunghee.
“Wow, this food is amazing! Who made it?”
Nayeong felt uneasy. She had become spoiled by Mrs. Hwang’s cooking. Anything else tasted bland compared to it. And whenever that thought came, she imagined Professor Taehyuk’s proud face.
“Eunbyeol was admitted to our department, but I couldn’t even see her. Only the attending and resident can enter. Isn’t that unfair?”
Seunghee complained about not seeing the famous actress.
“Why is Eunbyeol, only twenty, admitted to gastrointestinal surgery?”
It meant she would undergo surgery—unusual for someone so young.
“She had terrible eating habits. Severe stomach ulcers. She needs a gastrectomy.”
Her unhealthy lifestyle worsened her condition, though she may have also been born with a weak stomach.
“Even if she becomes a star by ruining her health, is she happy?”
“Of course! She even filmed a kiss scene with Cha Junwoo!”
Seunghee confidently named her favorite actor. Eunbyeol must be living a happy life.
Later, Nayeong brought lunch to Professor Taehyuk in the lab, where he was eating cup noodles while reviewing papers.
“What’s this? A thank-you for the lunch?”
Taehyuk thought so and immediately opened the drink. But Nayeong said firmly:
“Professor Yoonina gave this.”
“Pfft!”
Taehyuk spit out the drink in surprise, coughing violently.
“Why did you bring this! Cough! Cough!”
Nayeong, watching silently, calmly asked:
“If the two of you never dated, why did the hospital rumor say you were a couple?”
She crossed her arms, tilting her chin.
“Explain yourself.”
Taehyuk stopped coughing, startled. It was the first time a demand for explanation felt so frightening.
