HTBP 19

 Chapter 19

Jealous, Aren’t You?

Taehyuk calmly reached out his hand and gestured for Nayeong to take a seat.

“Sit down first.”

Nayeong gave him a distrustful look but walked over to the sofa and sat down.

However, she absolutely didn’t uncross her arms.

It was as if she had resolved not to relax them until he gave a satisfactory explanation.

Taehyuk cleared his throat, adjusted his voice, and began explaining as she wished.

He detailed how the rumors involving him and Yoonina had started—beginning with the incident where Yoonina was hurt by a stalker. He even went into great detail, especially emphasizing that the main person responsible for the incident was Oh Seungjun.

“That’s how it happened.”

Even after finishing the explanation, Nayeong still sat with her arms crossed, staring at him, and Taehyuk began to feel uneasy.

“Why didn’t you clarify back then that the rumors weren’t true?”

As expected, she pointed out his mistake in how he handled the rumors.

In response, he would have to trace back to the moment he was born—how unlucky his fate had been, and how he had been burdened with endless rumors ever since.

“Because it was troublesome.”

Taehyuk summed up everything with that one short phrase.

Of course, Nayeong couldn’t understand.

“So you’re saying it was just too much trouble to say that you weren’t dating Professor Yoonina?”

“I’m telling you, we weren’t dating. People just said that.”

He stressed that he had never, even for a single second, wanted to be in that kind of relationship with Yoonina.

“Still, it’s also your fault for not clarifying properly, isn’t it?”

Her words hit the mark, and Taehyuk couldn’t deny them.

He had lived roughly, carelessly, never imagining that it would corner him like this now. Reflecting on his past, he spoke sincerely:

“I’ll never let it happen again.”

His response was so absurd that Nayeong couldn’t help but laugh.

She immediately got up from the sofa and walked toward the door.

As she was about to leave, Taehyuk called after her:

“Still, you’re giving me two more chances, right?”

Nayeong held the doorknob, turned her head, and gave him a cold, expressionless look.

“You’re not saying it just with words, right?”

Click.

Nayeong left, and the sound of the door closing echoed emptily.

Taehyuk pulled out his phone and called Cha-hyun.

“What does ‘not saying it just with words’ even mean?”

[It means shut up.]

Taehyuk leaned his head back and squeezed his eyes shut.

“Anyway, it’s all old rumors. Is it really worth getting so upset over?”

[So, the person in the rumor disappeared along with it?]

“…….”

It was he who had left, but now he had returned.

In the end, the person from the rumor was right there in the hospital.

“But Yoonina is too sly; if I deal with her, it’ll only get more complicated.”

To everyone else, Yoonina appeared flawless.

In contrast, he was the kind of professor who could be criticized endlessly.

So people would definitely trust Yoonina’s words over his.

If he tried to clarify now that he had never dated her, Yoonina could play the role of the poor, abandoned girl.

Then he would be in an even worse situation, and his relationship with Moon Nayeong could end.

[If she’s really as sly as you say, will she quietly watch you date someone else?]

Cha-hyun’s words sent chills down Taehyuk’s spine.

“Then what should I do?”

[Accept her feelings.]

“Hey!”

Taehyuk yelled in frustration at Cha-hyun.

Nayeong left Professor Choi Taehyuk’s office with her anger unresolved, walking faster than usual.

She was truly disappointed in him.

It was largely his responsibility that Yoonina was still acting this way.

If he had cleared up the rumors properly back then, everything would have ended neatly.

The fact that he said it was “too troublesome” was the most infuriating.

If a man is too lazy even to say “we never dated,” what could she expect in the future?

Thinking that expecting much from a man was always futile, Nayeong walked on until she saw Seunghee moving busily and stopped.

Was something wrong?

She approached Seunghee first and asked,

“What’s going on in the gastrointestinal surgery department?”

Seunghee pulled her aside and whispered:

“Eunbyeol is missing. Right now, the GI department is mobilizing everyone to find her.”

Nayeong was also shocked—one of the hospital’s most famous people had suddenly disappeared.

“Missing? Could it be a kidnapping? Then we should contact the police immediately.”

It wasn’t impossible since she was a celebrity.

“Her manager said she often goes missing on her own. It’s not a kidnapping. That would be a big problem.”

Nayeong realized she couldn’t just leave, even though Eunbyeol wasn’t her patient.

“Then I’ll help you find her.”

Seunghee instructed her to keep it secret from others and hurried to search for Eunbyeol.

Nayeong also went to help, checking places less frequented by people, thinking that Eunbyeol would likely hide somewhere quiet if she had left voluntarily.

Just as Nayeong left the supply room and walked down the corridor, she spotted Professor Yoonina coming from the opposite direction and stopped.

She was probably looking for Eunbyeol directly, as her attending physician.

“Why are you here, Moon?”

Seeing her in an unexpected place, Yoonina spoke first.

Nayeong honestly replied,

“I came to help find Eunbyeol since the GI department was looking for her.”

Yoonina smiled and praised her.

“Even though you’re busy, you help out other departments. You’re nicer than I thought.”

“Nicer than I thought?”

Perhaps because of her negative feelings toward Yoonina, the comment irritated her.

“I need to return for an emergency call now. Since you’re helping, can you check over there as well?”

Yoonina pointed to the research building in the direction Nayeong had come from.

Nayeong nodded and walked toward the building Yoonina indicated.

There was an outdoor terrace for staff, and she opened the door, but no one was there.

Then she noticed something through the glass panel and paused.

Thin smoke was rising.

Nayeong turned and looked behind a flower bed, where Eunbyeol, wearing a patient gown, was crouched smoking a cigarette.

Rather than the fact that the young star smoked, Nayeong was more surprised that she had squeezed into such a small space.

“Everyone is looking for you, Eunbyeol.”

Caught, Eunbyeol frowned and stubbed out the cigarette on the floor.

“If you spread rumors I smoked, I’ll sue you.”

The first thing she mentioned was a lawsuit.

Nayeong thought herself lucky that Eunbyeol wasn’t a patient of the hepatopancreatic department.

Even though she was famous, she was someone Nayeong didn’t want to clash with.

Nayeong called Seunghee to report she found Eunbyeol, and Seunghee rushed over, excitedly telling Eunbyeol she had watched all her dramas.

Eunbyeol softened her expression somewhat in front of a fan.

Nayeong considered telling Seunghee about Eunbyeol’s smoking but decided to keep quiet.

It wasn’t that she feared Eunbyeol’s words—considering her celebrity status, spreading the news would only make things worse.

While everyone fussed over Eunbyeol, Nayeong had another twenty-year-old patient who mattered more.

Lee Suji was about to be discharged.

She had been in the ICU, causing worry, but now she had recovered enough to leave, and Nayeong felt a deep sense of accomplishment as her attending physician.

Lee Suji completed discharge procedures at 11 a.m. and left the hospital.

“Don’t forget your regular checkups. Make sure you come on time.”

Lee Suji smiled and nodded at Nayeong’s request.

“Thank you so much to you and everyone at the hospital.”

Nayeong was grateful that Lee Suji had recovered healthy enough to be discharged.

“I wish I could meet Professor Choi just once before leaving, but I guess he’s busy?”

When Lee Suji mentioned Professor Choi, Nayeong’s heart skipped, but she deliberately put on an indifferent expression.

“He’s probably in the operating room now. You’ll see him at your next checkup.”

Since the next appointment was three months away, Lee Suji looked disappointed but then noticed someone behind Nayeong. Her eyes widened, and she waved her hand.

“Doctor! I’m discharged!”

There was only one person who would make her so happy, and Nayeong turned to see Professor Choi Taehyuk walking toward them from the main entrance.

His white coat fluttered with every step.

He didn’t look like a doctor angel—more like a white-clad warrior.

“I know. That’s why I came to see you off.”

Lee Suji’s face lit up as Professor Choi stood beside her.

“Really?”

It was unbelievable.

He had never taken the initiative to meet a patient on their discharge day before.

Still, Lee Suji was so happy that Nayeong stayed silent, letting the moment happen.

“Take care of your health at home. Don’t let it get worse.”

Though it sounded like a mere formality, Lee Suji’s eyes glistened with tears.

“Doctor, can I hug you just once before leaving?”

He nonchalantly extended his hand.

“We’ll see each other again. Just a handshake.”

Lee Suji grasped his hand tightly with both of hers.

“Doctor, can you also sign this?”

“Keep it reasonable.”

After hearing that, Lee Suji got into a taxi and left.

The two watched the taxi drive away.

“Don’t think I’ll like you more just because of this,” Nayeong said coldly.

Professor Taehyuk narrowed his eyes.

“But tell me—aren’t you a little jealous that you’re mad at me about Yoonina?”

Nayeong glared at him, truly angry, and turned to walk into the hospital.

She felt him following, but ignored him and focused on walking forward when her phone buzzed repeatedly.

She checked the group chat for residents.

She froze.

Whenever the resident group chat went haywire, it was always when an incident occurred at the hospital.

“Why is everyone making such a fuss about whether a celebrity smokes or not?”

A post about Eunbyeol’s smoking had appeared on an anonymous online forum, causing an uproar.

“It was me,” Nayeong muttered.

Hearing this, Taehyuk looked down at her profile.

“What?”

Nayeong’s face was pale as she looked up at him.

“I was the one who found Eunbyeol hiding behind the terrace flowerbed smoking. But I didn’t post anything online.”

Taehyuk frowned.

A bad feeling arose, one that was very unpleasant.