Chapter 186

Episode 186 Person (End)

‘Whew, calm down, Han Hyeonjae.’

I took a deep breath, looking as far into the distance as possible.

Inhale, exhale.

Inhale, exhale.

Right. Just because she doesn’t step up aggressively to draw a hard line against these rumors doesn't mean she has feelings for me. Thinking that way was taking it way too far. It was on the same level as imagining a wedding just because you held someone's hand once.

If so, what is Smart Baek trying to do…?

‘Hmm, some kind of strategy? Definitely.’

Fiddling with the canned coffee, I finished my own analysis. Leaving the rumors alone without trying to clarify them was a high-level psychological warfare.

In other words, according to Smart Baek’s logic and my life's big data, rumors are things that people enjoy biting into and tearing apart the more the involved parties frantically deny them. On the contrary, if you coolly ignore the rumors with an attitude that shows you don't care whether they think that way or not, people are bound to quickly lose interest and cool down.

A principle of non-response, where she doesn't explicitly deny it but doesn't affirm it either. Yes, like a smart 2nd-year junior, it was a very political and wise survival skill.

Nodding my head, I tried to admire Baek Eunseo's mature handling of the situation.

"Yeah. Come to think of it, that actually makes some sense in a way..."

Expressing my agreement, I turned my gaze back to look at Baek Eunseo in front of me.

"…?"

For a moment, I doubted my eyes.

‘What is this?’

Where did that confident Baek Eunseo go—the one who, until a moment ago, was looking straight into my eyes and saying, "Wouldn't it be okay to just leave it alone?"

Instead, a clump of hair was sitting in front of me, its head deeply bowed.

‘At this rate, she's going to slide right into the drain.’

Baek Eunseo hung her head so low that her hair spilled over, completely hiding her facial features. Like a person who had committed a crime.

‘She blurted it out herself, and now she’s doing this because she's embarrassed?’

Even her hair, which had been neatly tied up until a moment ago—when did she loosen the hair tie? Her long, straight hair was desperately covering her face like a curtain.

Her appearance, trying her absolute best to hide her expression, was so transparent that it was almost absurd.

‘Wasn't it a strategy? Weren't we supposed to brush it off coolly? Didn't you say let's not explicitly deny it?’

Then what was that flirting-like comment earlier?

Watching her drop a bomb and then self-destruct because she couldn't handle the aftermath was somewhat cute, yet so ridiculous that a dry laugh escaped me.

"Whew..."

Letting out a sigh, I called out to her.

"Eunseo."

"Ah, y-yes!"

Startled, Baek Eunseo snapped her head up. Her face, visible through the strands of her hair, was noticeably flushed even under the streetlights.

"So, what are you going to do if people around us ask? We should set a specific guideline."

"About… what do you mean? Ah, our relation…ship. Um…."

Baek Eunseo's lips parted slightly. Her eyes lost their bearing and wandered through the void.

She must have noticed my intention. Because I was asking how we should answer those tedious questions about whether we were dating or not.

Drawing a line, right?

Right?

"Just… that we are not dating! Just like that, very dryly. I think it would be good to organize it cleanly."

"Really? Just say no?"

"Yes! Because that matches the facts the most."

Returning to her original Smart Baek mode, Baek Eunseo answered brightly.

"Hmm…."

Let's stay calm for now, Han Hyeonjae.

Taking a sip of the canned coffee, I fully activated my brain. Is there a high probability that this is flirting, or is it highly likely just the survival skill of a master at social life?

Synthesizing her strange gaze from earlier and this panicked reaction now, and comparing it with the Baek Eunseo in my previous big data...

For now, there were two hypotheses.

Either she felt burdened by a scandal with a senior she respected as a junior.

Or she actually had feelings.

‘Hmm….’

Rather than the former, the latter—meaning there was something going on—seemed correct.

However, if I rashly blurted out, "Do you like me?" and got called a crazy person, I would either suffer from kicking my blankets every night or have to leave the Emergency Room. Haste brings failure. A definitive diagnosis without medical evidence is forbidden!

Besides, the atmosphere back in Geoje Island looked like a confession to anyone watching, but it turned out to be nothing special, didn't it?

I decided to choose the safe path. Pretending nothing was wrong, I tapped Baek Eunseo's shoulder with my finger.

"Right, I get it. If someone asks directly, just say we aren't in that kind of relationship. We're just a senior and junior who respect each other. Shall we wrap it up at about that level?"

"Ah, th-that... rather than saying we aren't in that kind of relationship..."

Hesitating, Baek Eunseo anxiously tapped her clothes with her fingers.

"It's just... not dating..."

"What's the difference?"

If it's not dating, then we aren't in that kind of relationship either.

Thump.

At my criticism, Baek Eunseo dropped her head again. This time, even her ears were red.

‘If I tease her any more, she might actually explode.’

Well, I grasped the general nuance.

"Hey, stop looking down, Nurse Baek."

"I just... like observing ants..."

"If you do this, what happens to your confident suggestion from earlier? If you react like that, they'll suspect us more."

Only then did Baek Eunseo slowly raise her head. Tucking her loose hair behind her ear, she smiled bashfully.

"Yes. Then, roughly, just, uh... I will wrap it up at that level. If it goes any deeper, I don't think I can... handle the aftermath."

"Right, handle the aftermath later. Let's go to work."

"Yes! I'll head inside first!"

Baek Eunseo bowed quickly and disappeared toward the Emergency Room door with hurried steps. Was it just my imagination that her retreating figure looked lighthearted for some reason?

Clack.

I tossed the empty coffee can into the trash bin. Even though a cool breeze blew, my face still felt hot.

"How flustering."

As soon as I returned from Geoje Island, I got caught up in a massive project, and now a scandal. It really is spectacular.

...

Ziiing—

The automatic door of the Emergency Medical center opened smoothly. As the door opened, a cool breeze carried the sharp scent of disinfectant.

‘Mmm~ the smell of the ER~ I absolutely hate it~’

Pretending nothing had happened, I put on the most peaceful, business-like expression in the world and tried to walk past the triage desk.

"Oh, Dr. Han! You're here?"

Sitting at the triage desk, a senior nurse whom I saw quite often poked her head out from behind the monitor.

"What were you talking about outside just now?"

I was almost flustered for a moment by the 160 km/h fastball thrown right at me. Pretending to be unbothered, I rested my arm on the triage desk and began explaining.

"Pardon? What talk? With whom?"

"Just now, in front of the entrance with Nurse Baek Eunseo. You two were standing in front of the vending machine for quite a while. I wondered if you were having some serious conversation."

The other teachers nearby also stopped what they were doing and pricked up their ears. There really are no secrets in this hospital.

I struggled to maintain the coolest voice possible.

"Ah~ it's nothing major. Just regarding the rumors."

I cleared my throat. I just needed to say it. The words that I agreed upon with Baek Eunseo earlier—that we were nothing.

"A fact-check to ensure neither of us spread the rumor or leaked it through a slip of the tongue, and a confirmation on how to handle it in the future? We had that kind of discussion. It's an extension of work."

"Is that so?"

I nodded my head brazenly.

"Because clearing up a misunderstanding is important. Also for work efficiency..."

"Right. Misunderstandings should be cleared up. Of course."

She nodded, then shot a glance at the nurse next to her.

"Dr. Han, come here for a second."

"Yes?"

"No, give me your hand. The color of your hand looks a bit bad."

"My hand? It's perfectly fine."

It happened the moment I carelessly reached out my hand. Another nurse who was waiting grabbed my wrist and, in an instant, slipped something onto my index finger.

Snap.

It was a portable pulse oximeter flashing a red light.

"Whoa! What is this...!"

Terrified, I tried to pull my hand back. This was something used temporarily at the patient desk before sorting them.

"Uh-uh, don't move. It'll show an error."

"If you speak, it won't be accurate. Shh."

I struggled to pull away, but the grip of the triage teachers was stronger than expected. Actually, maybe I had just resigned myself to being sacrificed for one of the few sources of entertainment in this ER.

Short upward and downward waveforms flowed sideways at an incredibly fast speed. My heart was betraying my will.

[SpO2 99%][PRbpm: 114]

One hundred and fourteen.

A normal adult male's resting heart rate is usually between 60 and 80. If it exceeds 100, it's tachycardia. A reading of 114 meant either I had just finished a light jog, or I was extremely nervous...

"Hmm... it's tachycardia, Dr. Han. At this level, wouldn't it be about a KTAS 3? And here you said you were just discussing work."

"Ah~ that... I am a little, yes."

I hurriedly pulled off the pulse oximeter, breaking out in a cold sweat. I could practically hear my heart pounding in my ears. This damn autonomic nervous system.

‘If your master is playing innocent, you should help me out a bit, body.’

An excuse. I needed an excuse. A powerful excuse that was medically plausible yet capable of dispelling the rosy suspicions.

‘What should I say as an excuse?’

That I drank too much caffeine? No, the canned coffee from earlier was all I had.

That I have hyperthyroidism? No, not that either. Suddenly thyroid issues?

‘I have a chronic illness? Arrhythmia?’

‘Or that I just ran up the stairs?’

The romance rumor with Baek Eunseo was on the verge of solidifying into a fact.

Crash!

Ziiiiing—

Before anyone could even press the automatic door button, someone violently crashed into the automatic door in a rush.