Chapter 7
As sunlight filtered in through the small window, Sajun slowly blinked his eyes open and realized he wasn’t in his own room.
Turning his head, he saw Yeonwoo fast asleep beside him.
Unlike his own lodging, which constantly smelled of leaking water and rotting grass, this room was filled with Yeonwoo’s unique scent and the fresh aroma of soap.
Thanks to that, Sajun had slept more soundly than he ever expected, and he now silently watched Yeonwoo’s sleeping face.
Was she dreaming?
She was grinning and mumbling with her small lips, which made Sajun smile without realizing it.
Even the way she slept was cute.
Like she was some kind of strange, fascinating creature, Sajun stared at Yeonwoo for a long while.
He knew it was rude, but he just couldn’t look away.
…Crazy bastard.
Letting out a self-deprecating chuckle, Sajun looked up at the ceiling.
What should I do with this girl?
Even if she returned to Korea after this mission, she was likely to move on to another activity site.
He needed to guide these little lambs onto the right path.
Wasn’t that what an older brother was supposed to do?
1+1.
Should he send Yeonwoo and Seyoung together to Cheongbong?
There was a shortage of hands here, but rural areas in Korea with poor medical infrastructure weren’t much better off.
There were countless cases where patients in critical condition couldn’t receive timely treatment and died in transit.
The reason Sajun went around the world doing medical volunteer work and honing his skills was essentially the same.
At least in Cheongbong, he didn’t want to see lives lost because of being bounced around from one hospital to another.
Just like his own mother who gave birth to him.
Anyway, he planned to settle in Cheongbong next year.
Talented people were rare.
Passionate, talented people were even rarer.
Coveting something valuable wasn’t a crime, so being the first to claim it shouldn’t be either.
Maybe that was the better option.
As a doctor, one inevitably faced their limits.
At the very least, Sajun felt like he could become something that would help Yeonwoo overcome hers.
Lost in thought, Sajun quietly slipped out of the tent.
Before stepping outside, he glanced back to see Yeonwoo smiling happily, as if she were having a sweet dream.
The dazzling morning sunlight greeted Sajun, as if there had never been any rain.
It was the beginning of a refreshing day.
“Cut.”
Sajun softly called out after finishing the suturing.
“Great work, everyone.”
“That was perfect!”
The OR staff began showering him with praise.
Not to be outdone, Yeonwoo’s eyes sparkled as she congratulated him on the successful surgery.
He had saved the leg of a young patient who was at risk of amputation due to a gunshot wound.
The fact that the child could now walk on both legs was enough to bring cheers of joy.
“You want to do surgery with me every day, don’t you?”
Startled by the sudden question, Yeonwoo blinked.
He had spoken in Korean even though all the other staff were around. She was curious what he meant.
She glanced at him, her lips twitching behind her mask.
“I’m good, aren’t I?”
Yeonwoo gave a firm nod.
Good? More like amazing.
But was he really complimenting himself?
She already knew he could be a little shameless, but seeing it up close left her speechless.
“Why aren’t you answering?”
“…Excuse me?”
“I’m the best, aren’t I?”
The other staff looked on with confused expressions, unsure of what they were hearing.
“Y-yes, you’re the best. Incredible.”
Honestly, compared to their previous team leader Lucy, Sajun was in a whole different league.
That’s why she had worked so hard to join his surgeries.
Almost as if he could read her mind, Sajun tilted his chin up arrogantly.
So shameless, but still… kind of cool.
“You’ll get to see me every day. No—I’ll make it so you can do this too. How’s that? Happy?”
That devilish grin on his face, paired with those gleaming black eyes, felt like the temptation of a demon.
Yeonwoo quickly glanced at the others, then lowered her voice.
“Are you serious?”
But remembering there wasn’t much time left on this mission, her excitement quickly faded.
“Of course.”
How, though?
As she looked at him with wide, hopeful eyes, Sajun gave her a charming smile.
Thump, thump.
Her heart pounded uncontrollably.
If it meant she could really do that, right now she felt like she could do absolutely anything.
“Ahh! What is all this?!”
Seyoung’s precious dented pots and plastic cups were floating around in the rainwater.
The rain had eased for the moment, but after pouring down like crazy for an hour, the low-lying areas—like the tent quarters and living tents—were flooded.
The water inside was slowly receding, but without a proper drainage system, there was no telling when it might flood again.
At least the hospital building was safe. That was the one bit of good news.
Everyone had planned to sleep in on their day off, but that went out the window as they were all called out to clean up the mess.
Wearing knee-high rubber boots from who knows where, Seyoung grumbled as she prioritized gathering up her precious kitchenware.
“Our Yeonwoo lives for coffee and bread. What’s she gonna do now? I swear, this is unbearable.”
“It’ll all be a memory someday.”
“Yeah, some memory.”
“Hey Young-ah, there’s a yellow cup floating over there. Grab it.”
“Where?”
“Under the table.”
Yeonwoo tried to comfort Seyoung’s tearful expression as she focused on scooping out water.
“By the way, where’s Doctor Beom? Don’t tell me he’s sleeping through all this chaos?”
At Seyoung’s words, Yeonwoo straightened up and looked around.
“I doubt he’s sleeping… He’s probably hauling water somewhere.”
With his tall, strong build and boundless energy, Sajun always took the lead.
Everyone at the hospital liked him.
Liked him so much that Yeonwoo sometimes got jealous, but still—she liked that he was a fellow Korean.
“Maybe. But seriously, when are we going to finish cleaning this up? This is a disaster.”
Just then, Sajun appeared.
Wow…
Wearing a sleeveless shirt and short shorts, his muscular body was on full display.
His tanned skin glistened with water, catching the eye.
So… ripped.
“Doctor Beom!”
Seyoung’s face lit up the moment she saw him.
And then they noticed—he was holding something.
Looking closer, it appeared to be a rechargeable water pump.
“There you all are.”
Smiling brightly like the morning sun, Sajun began expertly operating the machine, quickly draining the water outside.
What would have taken hundreds of scoops vanished in moments, revealing the floor beneath.
“Wow.”
Yeonwoo and Seyoung stared in awe as the water disappeared.
Having grown up with brothers who were utterly useless with machines, Yeonwoo felt like her eyes were opening for the first time.
“You’re amazing, Doctor Beom.”
Seyoung muttered in a dazed, half-hypnotized voice, and Sajun, clearly hearing it despite the noise, shrugged proudly.
“I get that a lot.”
Even his slightly arrogant attitude looked impressive.
Cool, capable, handsome, strong…
Yeonwoo gave him a thumbs-up and added her own heartfelt praise.
“Doctor, there’s nothing you can’t do. You’re really amazing. I think I might fall for you.”
Before she even finished speaking, the pump’s motor, which had been whirring loudly, suddenly went silent.
He had turned it off.
“Princess, what did you just say?”
With one hand on his hip and eyes locked onto hers, he asked the question.
Maybe she had gone a bit overboard with her compliment?
“…Sorry?”
“I didn’t quite catch that.”
Liar.
He had understood Seyoung’s comment just fine earlier in all that noise.
He was definitely teasing her.
“You keep falling for me like this, it’s going to be a problem.”
He gave her a playful wink and smile, clearly enjoying her flustered reaction.
