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Chapter 26
Don’t Misunderstand
After receiving Professor Choi Tae-hyuk’s call about going to the health checkup center, Na-young also went down carrying the gift she had prepared.
Having only heard about Mrs. Hwang from Professor Choi and met her through Michelin-level lunchboxes, the thought of meeting her in person made her nervous.
It felt almost like attending a formal family introduction.
If Professor Choi noticed that she was thinking this, she would be utterly embarrassed.
Na-young stared fixedly at the elevator panel to avoid letting her mind wander.
Ding.
The elevator doors opened, and Na-young stepped out, walking forward.
Professor Choi Tae-hyuk, already seated in front of the health checkup center, immediately spotted her.
Next to him, the middle-aged woman looked like she had stepped straight out of a fairytale—a truly adorable lady.
Her soft, gentle features, always wearing a smile, eased Na-young’s tension.
As she approached, Na-young bowed first in greeting.
“Hello. I’m Moon Na-young, a resident under Professor Choi Tae-hyuk.”
At her greeting, Mrs. Hwang’s smile grew even wider.
“Hohoho. Yes, yes, that’s right.”
Na-young glanced at Professor Choi, wondering what he meant, but he stood quietly by her side. Usually, he would introduce the two of them since he knew both, but he seemed completely uninterested in doing so.
Na-young offered the gift she had brought to Mrs. Hwang.
“This is a small token of my appreciation for the lunches you’ve prepared. Please accept it.”
“Oh my! You didn’t have to. I’m just doing my job as a housekeeper, and I get paid for it.”
“Well, since I bought it to give to you, please accept it.”
Professor Choi took the gift from her hands and passed it to Mrs. Hwang. There had been a bit of playful back-and-forth between them, but in the end, Mrs. Hwang accepted the gift with a subtle smile, a mixture of awkwardness and delight.
The interaction felt less like an employer and housekeeper and more like members of a real family.
It was the first time Na-young had seen Professor Choi so warm and friendly, leaving her with a strange feeling.
She had intended to tell Mrs. Hwang she didn’t need to prepare lunches anymore, but saying that now felt like it would ruin the pleasant atmosphere. If she said it, it would feel as though she were simply treating Mrs. Hwang as a housekeeper.
So, she stuck to complimenting the lunch.
“The lunch was really delicious. You’re an incredible cook.”
Mrs. Hwang waved it off modestly.
“Oh, no. It’s nothing. Our elder has such a particular taste…”
“Cough!”
When Tae-hyuk coughed beside her, Mrs. Hwang changed the subject.
“I skipped breakfast because of my checkup, so I feel completely drained.”
“Oh! If you had an endoscopy, you should be having porridge for lunch.”
“It’s fine. I brought my own lunch today.”
She opened her bag and took out a lunchbox, smiling brightly.
Na-young looked at Professor Choi, unsure what to do.
“Then you can take her to the dining area and eat together.”
“Me? Professor, what about you?”
Professor Choi checked his wristwatch and said he had other appointments.
“I have consultations with patients’ families.”
“But if I get a call in the middle…”
He didn’t seem worried about leaving Mrs. Hwang alone.
“Then Hong-sik can call you. Just take her comfortably.”
“She drives well, so it’ll be quick.”
Even though Na-young had never met this Hong-sik, she felt as if he were right there.
Professor Choi left before her, leaving the two of them alone. For a few seconds, they just smiled at each other. It was awkward but also subtly warm—a strange, pleasant feeling.
Na-young realized that Professor Choi had deliberately excused himself using the patient family as a reason. If he stayed with her, they would have drawn attention from others in the hospital.
Thus, the two of them, meeting for the first time, had a quiet meal together.
Since their only shared topic was Professor Choi, Na-young naturally asked Mrs. Hwang about him.
“Who else is in Professor Choi’s family besides his grandfather?”
Mrs. Hwang’s smile faded for the first time as she spoke.
“Well… our Choi grew up a bit lonely.”
She didn’t say anything more about his parents, creating a slightly awkward pause.
“Lonely” could be interpreted in many ways, but Na-young avoided pressing further and changed the subject back to the eel.
“He said that your grandfather used to warn him that he could get kicked out because of the eel you packed. That’s not true, right?”
“Oh dear. Our elder says he’d kick him out so many times. I’ve heard it over a hundred times in the last thirty years.”
The wrinkles on Mrs. Hwang’s face carried the weight of those long years.
Na-young’s mouth fell open in surprise.
“And he still stayed in the house?”
“If I left, the two of them wouldn’t be able to eat together. How could I go?”
“The two of them?”
It seemed she meant the grandfather and Professor Choi, which made Na-young’s expression tighten. So, his parents… weren’t there?
Na-young forced a bright expression and said,
“Your grandfather must be stricter than Professor Choi. He’s already famous for his tough personality at the hospital.”
Mrs. Hwang lamented that it was all inherited and placed a piece of cod roe omelet into Na-young’s bowl.
“Eat a lot.”
Na-young took a big bite, and Mrs. Hwang watched her with a satisfied smile.
“How can she eat so prettily? No wonder Professor Choi would fall for her.”
The comment was loud enough for Na-young to hear, so she laughed awkwardly.
In the end, she couldn’t bring herself to ask about Professor Choi’s parents, and she didn’t think she ever would.
The place Professor Choi had gone to allow Na-young and Mrs. Hwang some private time was Oh Seung-jun’s research lab. His own housing situation hadn’t been resolved yet.
“It’s because of Moon Na-young, isn’t it?”
Seung-jun asked angrily. Professor Choi replied nonchalantly.
“Yes.”
“You have any conscience? Asking me to give up my home because of a woman!”
Hearing from his sister Seung-hee that he’d have to move out so Na-young could live with him, Seung-jun suddenly understood why Professor Choi was acting this way. He should have realized it from the beginning: whenever Professor Choi acted strangely, it involved Na-young.
“I didn’t say give up entirely. I just said come stay with me for a while.”
“That’s not the same! I’m already working hard to pay off the mortgage for that house.”
“Then I’ll pay the interest on the loan.”
“Forget it! Don’t even mention it if you’re not covering the principal.”
“That would make you the thief.”
“No, you’re the thief!”
Bang!
Seung-jun slammed the door in frustration and left. Even someone who usually lived lightly and smiled easily, like him, could not be casual about house matters.
Professor Choi frowned and looked at the closed door, then pulled out his phone to send a message to Seung-jun. If this didn’t work, there really was no solution.
<I’ll set you up on a blind date. There are plenty of women Cha-hyun knows.>
About five minutes later, Seung-jun returned with a serious expression.
“One time isn’t enough. Until it works.”
Professor Choi nodded.
“Pay the mortgage interest too.”
“….”
Again, Professor Choi nodded.
“Make breakfast too.”
“Do it reasonably.”
He had only asked him to move, not to be a pushover.
[Move out of our brother’s house! Bring your stuff immediately.]
Na-young was stunned when she received Seung-hee’s call. She never imagined this would actually happen. How had Professor Choi convinced Seung-jun? She wanted to believe it had been resolved like adults.
When she told her father she had found a roommate, he finally couldn’t strongly oppose it. Still, he set conditions: if any problems arose while living there, she had to return home immediately, and on hospital days off, she had to come home.
Her move was simple. She packed her things from the hospital dorm into bags and transferred them.
Colleagues teasingly mentioned holding a housewarming party.
“Ask the landlord first.”
Na-young smiled, knowing the landlord was Professor Oh Seung-jun. No one dared congratulate her because of that.
She also had one important thing to do: express gratitude to Professor Choi for helping her live independently. She spent some time thinking about how to thank him properly—not too much, not too little.
Na-young briefed Professor Choi on a patient transferred from internal medicine.
“This patient developed liver failure due to methimazole.”
Liver toxicity from hyperthyroidism treatment is extremely rare.
Professor Choi carefully examined the patient’s medical record.
“The patient already had underlying liver disease before starting thyroid treatment.”
“Yes, they had cirrhosis.”
Even after stopping the medication, the liver function hadn’t recovered, leaving a critical condition. The patient would need a liver transplant to survive.
After the briefing, Na-young glanced at Professor Choi.
After helping her with the housing situation, he had said nothing further. The same person who had emphasized Mrs. Hwang’s courage and sacrifice over a single eel was surprisingly silent regarding the much bigger matter of her new home.
Finally, she spoke first.
“Professor, I’d like to invite you to a housewarming. When would be convenient?”
After much thought on how to express her gratitude, inviting him to a housewarming seemed most appropriate.
Professor Choi, reviewing a patient’s CT, turned to look at her.
“Housewarming?”
She nodded.
“Are you inviting me?”
Again, she nodded.
“So, you mean outside the hospital?”
She couldn’t nod this time. He was looking at her with expectant eyes. It wasn’t wrong, but it didn’t carry special meaning. She was simply thanking him for his help.
“Don’t misunderstand.”
“Oh! If I go, you’d misunderstand. Then I shouldn’t come.”
Na-young felt uneasy about him misunderstanding, but she felt worse if he didn’t attend.
“If I don’t express my gratitude properly, I’d feel too embarrassed to stay in the house. So, won’t you come?”
It was rare for her to plead like this. But she was so polite that it almost made things awkward.
“So, you don’t want to be in my debt?”
His question made her stop talking.
“I just want everything accounted for accurately. Without sentiment.”
Na-young felt a queasy sensation in her stomach.
