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Chapter 08
I Think It’s Fate
Yoon Ina also greeted Nayeong with a bright smile, as if she was truly happy to meet her.
“Dr. Moon Nayeong from Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery, right?”
Nayeong lowered her head politely.
Until now, there had never been any personal feelings between her and Professor Yoon Ina.
To her, Yoon Ina had always been a kind and skilled female surgeon. She had even once wanted to become someone like her.
But now, just seeing Yoon Ina here irritated her.
She didn’t know exactly what kind of history existed between Choi Taehyuk and Yoon Ina. And she didn’t want to know.
She had no desire to compete with another woman over one man.
That was childish and a waste of time.
Nayeong had already decided. She would only respect Choi Taehyuk as her supervising professor.
Nothing more.
So there was no need to have a silent battle with Yoon Ina.
“I sometimes eat dinner here alone before going home.”
Yoon Ina explained to Taehyuk why she was here.
He simply lifted his glass and drank water without saying anything.
Yoon Ina quietly watched him.
As if she was waiting for him to ask her to join them.
A cold-hearted man and a devoted woman.
Nayeong couldn’t stand the situation any longer and suddenly stood up.
“Professor Yoon, please sit here. I need to return to the hospital right away.”
“Sit.”
It was Taehyuk.
He ordered her coldly.
Nayeong looked at him with dissatisfaction.
Stopping her in this situation showed no consideration for her at all.
This was a matter between the two of them. Why drag her into this discomfort?
“I really have something important at the hospital.”
“So you’re saying a first-year resident has something more important than me, a professor?”
When he dismissed her like that, she couldn’t stay quiet.
“I may not be saving lives in the operating room like you yet, but what I do is still necessary for patients.”
“You admit it’s still insignificant, then. So sit down. Anyone at the hospital can do what you do. Let someone else handle it.”
His poisonous words hit her hard.
Her face turned bright red with anger.
“I offered to buy you dinner out of goodwill! But I can’t eat with someone who talks down to people like this. Eat alone!”
She grabbed her bag and stormed out of the restaurant.
Taehyuk stared at her back as she left in anger. When she was no longer in sight, he turned to look at Yoon Ina, who was still standing there.
“Are you satisfied now?”
Yoon Ina looked confused.
“Moon Nayeong left because she was angry at what you said. Not because of me.”
If Yoon Ina hadn’t appeared at this exact time, none of this would have happened.
Taehyuk was irritated by the way she acted like a good person while hiding her true intentions.
He stood up and walked past her, saying coldly,
“You really haven’t changed at all. You ruin my appetite.”
This time, it was Yoon Ina who watched his back as he left.
She didn’t understand why he treated her so harshly.
She had done nothing wrong.
With her sad expression, anyone would think she was the innocent one.
Thud!
Seungjun barely caught the drink can that suddenly flew toward him.
“Hey! That almost hit my head!”
Taehyuk glared at him even more fiercely.
“It was you, wasn’t it? You sent Yoon Ina to that restaurant yesterday.”
Seungjun widened his eyes.
“What are you talking about? I was busy with emergency surgery. What would I be doing with Yoon Ina?”
Hearing that it wasn’t him only made Taehyuk more annoyed. He ran a rough hand through his hair.
Seungjun walked closer.
“Wait. Did Yoon Ina show up at your dinner with Moon Nayeong?”
Taehyuk didn’t answer, but his reaction was enough.
Seungjun opened the cola can Taehyuk had thrown.
“Looks like Yoon Ina still has feelings for you. Why don’t you just try things with her instead of Moon Nayeong?”
“Do you want to die?”
Taehyuk’s voice was like a grim reaper’s.
Seungjun quickly stepped back.
“Why do you hate Yoon Ina so much? From my point of view, she and Moon Nayeong seem similar. Both pretty, both doctors, both—”
“Shut up! What do you know about Moon Nayeong?”
Taehyuk exploded.
Seungjun snapped back too.
“Fine! I don’t know. But what do you know? You just came back from America not long ago.”
At least Nayeong didn’t like someone in such a petty way.
Back in their PK days—
“Hey! Ina got hurt because of a stalker! We need to protect her!”
The male classmates had gathered and drawn lots to decide who would walk her home after work.
Taehyuk thought it was coincidence when he was chosen.
Later, he found out the truth.
Yoon Ina had known he liked her and had manipulated the drawing so he would be chosen. And Seungjun had helped.
The stalker had been real. She had really been injured.
So Taehyuk had taken responsibility and walked her home.
But later he discovered the injury wasn’t even caused by the stalker.
From that moment, he lost even his basic trust in her.
By then, rumors had already spread throughout the hospital that he and Yoon Ina were dating.
Taehyuk had stayed silent, wanting to give her one last chance.
But Yoon Ina never denied the false rumors herself.
It even seemed like she enjoyed them.
She had never once confessed her feelings honestly.
Instead, she let other people act, speak, and create misunderstandings for her.
Even now, she still hadn’t learned how to be honest.
If that was her way of loving someone—
Taehyuk would rather die than accept it.
He left the room with a dangerous aura around him.
Seungjun asked nervously, “Where are you going?”
“To get revenge.”
“What? On who?”
Thinking he was going to Yoon Ina, Seungjun hurried after him.
Nayeong pushed a pencil into the sharpener and turned it hard to relieve stress.
The more she thought about it, the angrier she became.
No matter how much she wanted to respect Professor Choi, it was impossible because of his terrible mouth.
‘Anyone can do what I do? Fine. You’re so amazing!’
It felt like a mystery now.
How had she once thought they communicated well the first time they met?
This was why she should be careful with alcohol.
She would never drink with a man again.
She kept sharpening pencils one after another, regretting her huge misunderstanding.
Other residents came in and started gossiping about Professor Choi again.
His vicious viper aura had spread beyond General Surgery to the entire hospital.
“They say Professor Choi even went after residents from other departments.”
“Why is he interfering in other departments?”
“Exactly. If a resident makes a mistake, their own supervising professor should scold them. Isn’t this crossing the line?”
The residents shivered, realizing their supervising professor was unmatched in cruelty.
“So who got targeted?”
“Thoracic Surgery’s Im Jaegil, Internal Medicine’s Kim Hoyoung, Ophthalmology’s Park Taeman. Thoracic and Internal Medicine I can understand, but why Ophthalmology?”
Nayeong froze.
Those names sounded familiar.
They seemed to share something in common…
She shook her head.
It must be coincidence.
There was no way a man who didn’t even remember sleeping with her would track down the men who confessed to her.
That was ridiculous.
Department Head Park, who had once smiled proudly about bringing Choi Taehyuk back from America, now looked like he wanted to cry.
Taehyuk had gone around like he was clearing stages in a game, confronting the men who had confessed to Moon Nayeong.
Other departments had officially warned him not to interfere.
From inside the department head’s office, loud shouting could be heard.
Everyone pretended not to hear.
Interns and residents being scolded was common.
But a professor being called in and scolded? That damaged pride.
And Professor Choi had managed to achieve that only shortly after arriving.
When he came out, he looked calm as usual.
He gathered all the residents.
“My specialty is liver transplantation. From now on, I will collect cases here and write a paper on adult living-donor liver transplants. I could choose anyone, but since the department head asked me to treat residents well, I’ll ask first. Anyone want to assist with my paper?”
His voice was smooth and calm.
But the residents were silent as if cold water had been poured over them.
Strangely, him offering a fair opportunity felt scarier than when he cursed.
It felt like if anyone raised their hand, he would turn into a devil and torment them.
So no one volunteered.
“If you participate, you can join all my liver transplant surgeries. Still no one?”
He crossed his arms, emphasizing how good the opportunity was.
Nayeong was tempted.
It was a real chance to properly learn liver transplantation.
But she didn’t want to get entangled with him any further.
Everyone avoided his gaze.
He shrugged lightly.
“Okay. Then we’ll leave it to luck. Write your names and submit them.”
In the end, they would draw lots.
The residents submitted their names, thinking, There’s no way it’ll be me.
Nayeong also dropped her name into the box in front of him.
She could feel his gaze but deliberately avoided eye contact.
“Whoever gets picked, think of it as fate.”
He reached into the box and pulled out one slip.
All the residents stared at his hand nervously.
Nayeong’s heart tightened too.
It wouldn’t be her.
There was no such thing as fate between them.
His large hand, big enough to cover her entire face, unfolded the paper.
She suddenly remembered how warm that hand had been.
She clenched her fist.
The corner of his lips lifted slightly after reading the name.
He looked pleased.
Meanwhile, her anxiety grew stronger.
Surely… it wasn’t her.
