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Chapter 16
She’s Not My Type
Nayeong wanted to just leave right then and there, but if she didn’t properly tie things up now, it could affect her life at the hospital.
If people at the hospital noticed the situation between the two of them, it would be irreversible.
She decided to deal with the most immediate problem first.
“About the lunchbox…”
“Eat it. You gave me flowers, after all.”
Why did I even bother buying flowers?
Nayeong only now regretted it to the point of wishing she could die.
“I only gave you flowers once. So, you should only give me a lunchbox once too.”
She hadn’t clasped her hands together begging, but it was almost like pleading.
“Mrs. Hwang…”
Every time Professor Choi Taehyuk mentioned Mrs. Hwang, he looked slightly weak, and now Nayeong felt as if Mrs. Hwang was the ultimate final boss.
“Then… can I contact Mrs. Hwang directly?”
“You mean come to our house?”
The word “house” made Nayeong recoil in shock as if she had been burned.
“No! Just a phone call.”
“Since Mrs. Hwang suffers from sudden hearing loss, her ears aren’t in great condition.”
A doctor wouldn’t lie about an illness. That meant it really was serious.
“Then a text message?”
“That would be too rude.”
Nayeong clenched her fists automatically.
She mustered her last patience and asked as politely as possible:
“Then what should I do, Professor?”
“She’ll come for her health checkup at our hospital, so tell her then.”
When he actually suggested a proper alternative, Nayeong’s expression brightened.
“When is the checkup?”
“December.”
Her expression immediately fell, and Taehyuk, as if performing an act of charity, said:
“That’s too late, so I’ll see if we can move the date earlier.”
“Really?”
He nodded.
“But until then, eat the lunchbox.”
Nayeong nodded, knowing that if she refused, he wouldn’t move the checkup date either. Only then did he look satisfied.
It felt like something had been resolved, yet she also felt she had lost out somehow.
The lunchbox obeyed his wishes, but their relationship had to be sorted according to her own intentions.
So she started speaking softly first, so as not to provoke him.
“I understand your feelings, Professor…”
Truthfully, she didn’t really.
Did saying he had feelings mean he wanted to sleep with her again, or that he truly liked her?
“But you won’t show it at the hospital, right?”
“I’ll see.”
See? That cheeky attitude alone made it clear.
He wasn’t confessing pure feelings. He probably just wanted to sleep with her again.
Nayeong glared at him sharply, then turned and left the lab.
Bang!
The door slammed, and Taehyuk furrowed his brow.
“Why is she like that?”
Sometimes a person’s emotions don’t go as they wish, and apparently that was worth getting mad about.
Because she was assisting with the paper, she also qualified to participate in the transplant surgery, so she attended the meeting regarding patient Hwang Myungsoon’s liver transplant.
It was crucial for the surgical team to coordinate carefully to ensure the planned liver resection and partial liver transplant proceeded smoothly within the scheduled time.
Seeing her enter the conference room, Donggeon waved to her.
Nayeong walked toward the chief’s seat but stopped in surprise when she saw Professor Choi Taehyuk sitting directly in front of her.
He was speaking with Professor Woo Do-han, who would perform the donor liver resection.
“I’ll sit over here.”
She deliberately chose a seat on the opposite side, glancing at Professor Choi, who didn’t even acknowledge her presence.
Seeing that, the fact that Choi had confessed to having feelings for her felt like a dream.
She should praise him for staying professional, yet she couldn’t help feeling a twinge of disappointment.
“Alright, I won’t focus on him.”
Nayeong turned her attention to the partial liver transplant materials she had brought.
Surgical procedures usually rely heavily on the lead surgeon’s skill, but transplants were unique—they couldn’t be done by skill alone.
A patient receives a new organ from someone else’s sacrifice, a second chance at life—arguably one of the most miraculous things a person can do.
“When resecting the donor’s liver, we can minimize blood loss and thus shorten the surgery time.”
Just watching two surgeons discuss how to safely exchange the patient’s liver filled Nayeong with awe.
How could they perform such amazing feats without fear?
With experience, could she also become like them?
Her resolve to work hard surged, but when she looked up, she accidentally met Professor Choi’s gaze. She quickly turned away.
The daughter-in-law donor never changed her mind and donated part of her liver to her mother-in-law.
When the two patients, now on gurneys, were being transported to the operating room, Hwang Myungsoon reached out her hand first.
The daughter-in-law paused, looked at her mother-in-law’s yellowed, wrinkled hand, and slowly grasped it.
“It’ll be okay, Mother.”
That single phrase carried decades of unspoken emotion, and Nayeong felt her chest grow heavy.
After the surgery, if Hwang Myungsoon recovered, the relationship between the two women might greatly improve.
They released hands and entered separate operating rooms.
Nayeong assisted in the recipient’s surgery, performed by Professor Choi Taehyuk.
He resected the patient’s liver, which had turned black and useless.
Nayeong received the huge liver from the donor—it felt like a stone.
Choi checked the time, and the door opened as a resident brought in the donor liver.
“Please take care of it.”
Those words echoed differently here—they were intimately tied to life itself.
Professor Choi placed the healthy liver inside the recipient, connecting bile ducts and blood vessels.
Everything went smoothly, without wasting a second.
The surgery finished thirty minutes ahead of schedule.
But success didn’t mean it was over.
They still had to carefully manage immunosuppressants and prevent post-op infection.
Doctors and nurses had no time to rest until the patient was safely discharged.
Still, today they decided to celebrate the successful transplant with a small party.
It was grand in name only—just pork belly and soju.
“Wow. Professor Choi, this is the first time you’ve had a gathering after surgery.”
Donggeon looked happy, with the surgery done and the party going well.
Nayeong, who had assisted in her first liver transplant, felt conflicted.
It felt like she had done something incredible, yet at the same time, nothing at all.
She clearly realized how amazing Professor Choi was as a surgeon.
That was probably why he felt confident enough to approach her so boldly.
He trusted that his skill meant her presence wouldn’t interfere.
That was enviable and frustrating at the same time.
She herself might get in the way.
She resolved not to give in so easily.
As she reached for pork belly with her chopsticks, her eyes met Professor Choi’s across the table, and she froze.
He stared at her while bringing the glass to his lips.
Inside the hospital, he never looked her way—but outside, he was so blatant.
Then… is it okay to kiss outside the hospital?
That thought suddenly heated her face.
She quickly averted her gaze and looked at Donggeon, who was lowering his glass.
“I only planned to drink one, but Professor Choi’s staring.”
She interpreted it that way. He really had no sense sometimes. Luckily.
“I’ll go check on patient Hwang Myungsoon at the hospital, right? Should I go?”
Donggeon waved his hands, saying it was fine.
“If Professor Choi finds out, I’ll be the one in trouble. I’ll go.”
Donggeon said it was fine, but she didn’t drink with them either.
She planned to review today’s transplant properly back at the hospital.
When Donggeon got up to see Hwang Myungsoon, she also got up.
“Then we’ll go ahead first.”
The remaining people were more senior, so the two bowed and left the restaurant.
Nayeong walked to the hospital with Donggeon, and her phone rang.
A message came, assertive as always:
<Wait at the convenience store in front of the hospital. – Professor Choi Taehyuk>
Funny. Who does he think he is?
She snorted, putting the phone back in her pocket, but it rang again:
<If you don’t wait, I’ll have no choice but to come to the office. – Professor Choi Taehyuk>
Nayeong frowned and glared at her phone.
The professor, so great in the OR, now acted like a bad man as soon as he left the hospital.
There was no in-between—either extremely admirable or extremely bad.
“I’ll stop by the convenience store. You go ahead, Chief.”
Nayeong sent Donggeon off alone and sat under the store’s umbrella to wait for Professor Choi.
Cherry blossoms glowed under the streetlight—it was fully spring.
She had been trapped at the hospital so long she didn’t even notice the season had changed.
Clack-clack.
The sound of heels approached. She turned to see Professor Choi walking toward her.
He stopped before her.
Pink petals fell from above, landing on his shoulders.
His gaze exuded raw pheromones that could tempt reason.
“Can I sit next to you?”
She almost wavered, but thankfully she stayed in control.
Good thing she hadn’t been drinking.
She sat up straight and used her hand to gesture to the front seat.
“No, you should sit in front, Professor.”
Her words meant to keep distance, and Taehyuk raised an eyebrow slightly.
He put his hands in his pockets and said:
“We’re outside the hospital now.”
She politely smiled in reply:
“We’re right in front of it, though.”
Taehyuk clicked his tongue briefly and reluctantly sat in the seat she indicated.
“After bringing you out here, you’re making excuses.”
It sounded as if the gathering was specially for her, but it wasn’t.
The party was just to celebrate the successful transplant.
Nayeong decided to assert herself before he tried to unsettle her.
“Actually, Professor Choi, you’re not really my type.”
Her provocation made Taehyuk flush.
