Chapter 2

Just a Patient

The rain continued to pour, washing away the scattered shards of glass around the damaged sedan.

"Sir, are you hurt anywhere else?" Yoon Min-jae asked, keeping one hand ready in case the stranger lost his balance.

The man looked at him with unreadable eyes.

"I don't think so."

"You don't think so?" Min-jae frowned. "That's not exactly reassuring."

The stranger remained silent.

Min-jae let out a quiet sigh.

"Can you walk?"

"Yes."

"Good. Then stop standing in the rain and come with me."

Without waiting for an answer, Min-jae turned toward the hospital entrance.

After a brief pause...

Footsteps followed.

Inside the emergency department, the warmth of the building replaced the cold rain almost instantly.

Several nurses looked up as the soaked pair entered.

One nurse hurried over.

"Doctor Yoon?"

"Minor traffic accident," Min-jae replied while grabbing a towel. "Possible head injury. Let's get him checked."

The nurse nodded.

"Right this way, sir."

The stranger ignored her.

His eyes remained fixed on Min-jae.

"Doctor..."

Min-jae looked over his shoulder.

"Hm?"

"You'll examine me?"

Min-jae blinked.

"Unless you'd rather wait three hours for someone else."

"...No."

"Then sit."

The man obeyed.

Min-jae slipped on fresh gloves.

"Name?"

Silence.

He looked up.

"I asked your name."

"...Seo."

"Just Seo?"

"Kang-jun."

Min-jae typed it into the chart.

"Age?"

"Thirty-one."

"Any allergies?"

"No."

"Medication?"

"No."

"Medical history?"

The slightest pause.

"...Nothing important."

Min-jae stopped typing.

"There is no such thing as 'nothing important.'"

Another pause.

"Healthy."

"That's better."

He gently moved closer and examined the cut above Kang-jun's eyebrow.

"It'll need a few stitches."

"It isn't necessary."

"It is."

"It will heal."

Min-jae clicked his tongue.

"Do rich people all hate hospitals?"

For the first time...

Kang-jun looked genuinely curious.

"What makes you think I'm rich?"

Min-jae pointed toward the watch on his wrist.

"The watch."

"My watch?"

"It costs more than my yearly tuition."

Kang-jun glanced at it as though he'd forgotten he was wearing one.

"I see."

"And your suit."

"Hm."

"And the car."

"..."

"So unless you stole all three..." Min-jae smiled. "...you're probably rich."

A corner of Kang-jun's lips lifted.

"You notice details."

"It's my job."

"No."

Kang-jun's gaze lingered on him.

"I think it's just who you are."

For reasons he couldn't explain...

Those words made Min-jae unexpectedly uncomfortable.

A nurse returned carrying the suture kit.

"Doctor."

"Thanks."

Min-jae pulled a stool closer.

"This might sting."

"It doesn't matter."

"So brave."

"I'm not."

The answer came so quietly that Min-jae almost missed it.

He looked up.

For a brief second...

The man's calm expression seemed almost lonely.

Before he could think about it further—

The emergency room doors burst open.

"Emergency!"

"Multiple vehicle collision!"

Three stretchers rushed inside.

Everyone sprang into motion.

Min-jae immediately stood.

"I'm sorry."

He handed the suture needle to another doctor.

"Can you finish this?"

"Of course."

Turning back to Kang-jun, he offered an apologetic smile.

"Duty calls."

Then he was gone.

For the next hour...

Kang-jun remained seated.

He should have left.

The hospital director had already arrived after receiving an anonymous phone call from the company's security team.

So had two bodyguards.

Even Ji-soo had rushed over.

"Vice Chairman!"

She stopped the moment she saw him calmly sitting in the emergency department.

"Are you injured?"

"No."

"The driver?"

"Only minor injuries."

She visibly relaxed.

"We've informed the chairman."

"I didn't ask you to."

"...He found out."

Her eyes shifted toward the busy emergency room.

"...Shall we leave?"

Kang-jun didn't answer.

Instead...

He watched Min-jae.

The young doctor moved from patient to patient without stopping.

Blood stained his sleeves.

His hair was a mess.

He hadn't eaten.

He hadn't sat down once.

Yet every patient received the same gentle smile.

Even after losing one.

Even after saving another.

Ji-soo quietly followed his gaze.

"The doctor?"

"What about him?"

"He's interesting."

She almost laughed.

"In what way?"

"He doesn't look at people differently."

She frowned.

"I don't understand."

"When he looked at me..."

Kang-jun spoke softly.

"...there was no calculation."

No fear.

No admiration.

No greed.

Just concern.

It had been years since anyone had looked at him like that.

Two hours later...

Min-jae finally stepped out of Trauma Room Three.

Completely exhausted.

He froze.

"...You're still here?"

Kang-jun stood.

"You were busy."

"So?"

"I waited."

Min-jae stared at him.

"You waited two hours... for stitches?"

"...Yes."

Min-jae rubbed his forehead.

"No."

"No?"

"You're impossible."

Despite himself...

He laughed.

"Come on."

"I'll finish them before you decide hospitals are optional."

As Kang-jun followed him down the quiet hallway...

Neither of them noticed Han Ji-soo watching from a distance.

She had worked beside Seo Kang-jun for six years.

She had seen ministers bow to him.

Business tycoons beg him.

Executives tremble before him.

But tonight...

For the first time...

She had seen him willingly follow someone else's lead.

And that frightened her far more than the accident ever could.

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