It was an usual noon without anything special, some of the emergency physicians, including Yu Jin, were having a quick lunch at the hospital cafeteria. They only had about half an hour before they needed to come back to the ER. Yu Jin, Jung Won and Dr. Jeon Jung Kook were eating when another group of doctors, two guys and one girl, approached them.

"Oh hi guys," Jung Kook waved his hand at them.

"Hi Dr. Jeon," they replied in unison and nodded their heads.

"You guys are the new paediatrics residents, am I right?" Jung Kook inquired.

"Yes doc, we are all first-year residents, from PS," the girl smiled at him.

"Lemme see...you are Yu Na, right?" He pointed at the girl, "Then you, the guy with the glasses,  are Jeong In and the one beside you is Hee Seung. Are all correct?"

"That's right doc, it's so heartwarming that you remember all of us, although we are not in your department," Jeong In confirmed with a big grin.

"It's nothing. My best friend works in PS so of course I should know all of you," he gleefully said, "By the way, these two boys are from the ER. They are pre-uni interns, Yu Jin and Jung Won."

"Wow, that's nice. It's really uncommon to see pre-uni interns like you guys. Nice to see you all," Yu Na said and gave the interns a big, friendly grin.

"Hello doctors," both of the pre-uni interns stood up and bowed their heads.

"OK guys, don't need to be so formal, let's all sit here and dig in," Jung Kook said and then reorganised the table so that the PS residents could put their food on it.

They had lunch and chatted together for a while. Thanks to meeting the PS residents, both Yu Jin and Jung Won were able to discover much deeper insights into how working in the hospital would be. After long stories of penetrating experiences in the PS department, Yu Na decided to wrap it up by telling the two new interns not to join it.

"In short, all I wanna say is do not choose paediatrics, it's nightmarish," Yu Na half-jokingly said and laughed.

"Well, I think that I still need time to think it through, but thanks for telling me," Yu Jin shyly said.

"It's alright, don't listen to her, listen to what your heart tells you. My senior also told me not to choose PS and I didn't listen either," Hee Seung laughed.

"Stop it, you have just said that you regretted choosing PS about an hour ago," Yu Na nudged Hee Seung's shoulder.

"In conclusion, if you want to have a good life..." Jung Kook halted to take a bite of his burger. "Then choose ER. You can have a good life-and-work balance as well as do not have to worry too much about...Oh wait!" Jung Kook's phone suddenly rang when it received a call from Chae Won. "Hey Yu Jin, can you press the speaker for me?"

"Yes Dr. Jeon."

"Hi, Jeon Jung Kook's speaking."

"Doctor, a patient's been brought to the ER," she nervously said, "A 35-year-old woman, a traffic accident case. Her head was severely injured, there is bleeding, probably a skull fracture, so Dr. Lee suggested a CT scan. She is unconscious and her left pupil has dilated to about 0.4 or 0.5. Can you come and check on her please?"

"I'd be there in no more than three minutes," Jung Kook stood up and put on his blouse, "What's her BP now?"

"160 over 90."

"OK, I'm going there now," he said and hung up, "Yu Jin and Jung Won come with me. PS, can you guys clear the table up for us please, thanks a lot."

"Sure, we'll take care of it," Jeong In said.

Meanwhile, Yu Jin and Jung Won quickly leaped out of their chairs and rushed after Dr. Jeon. They had not even finished their lunch yet. However, it was apparently not their concern now. They were more worried about the patient's condition.

******

Yu Jin's shift at the hospital ended at two in the afternoon, the time at which he could really have a proper lunch. But that was not all of his day. He still had to go for his part-time job. It was not until about eight in the evening that Yu Jin was done with all his work.

"Hello Eun Chae," he trudged into the house with a lethargic face.

"Hi, have you got dinner yet?" Eun Chae asked.

"No, I haven't," he shook his head.

"Then cook some ramyeon for yourself. I have just bought a new type of instant ramyeon at the convenient store nearby and it's really good."

"OK, I will."

"By the way, tomorrow it's Sunday so do you wanna watch a movie tonight?" Eun Chae excitedly asked.

"Sure, but can I choose the movie," Yu Jin pinched her cheek.

"Yes you can, but put your hand off my cheek first," she pouted and peered at him.

That night, Eun Chae came to Yu Jin's room so that both of them could watch a movie together on his laptop.

"Which one do you like, Yu Jin?"

"Train To Busan, I guess."

"What?" Eun Chae snorted, "I didn't know that you do watch horror movies."

"I don't wanna watch it. It's just that my senior told me that watching horror movies will help me get used to seeing blood. I'm trying to train myself," he said and smiled.

He put his laptop on one side of his bed while he and Eun Chae sat on the other side. Throughout the movie, Eun Chae seemed not to be scared at all. She did not flinch or scream even once. In stark contrast, Yu Jin was huddling under his blanket although the room was not too cold, being terrified by the macabre images on the screen. He could feel his hands quivering while his skin was prickled by goosebumps.

"Hey, are you really that scared?" Eun Chae looked at him and laughed.

"I am not, stop teasing me," Yu Jin said in irritation.

"If I hug you, then will you feel better?" She gave him an affectionate stare and inquired.

"I...guess so."

Without a moment of hesitation, Eun Chae right away looped her arms around Yu Jin's body and hugged him tight. Being enveloped in her warm, reassuring embrace, he felt as if all the fear had gone away.

"Don't worry, I'll protect you," she snorted, "I won't let any zombie bite you, OK?"

"Thanks!" He shyly said with his face blushing like a tomato.

They remained in that posture and watched the movie in silence for a while until Yu Jin decided to ask Eun Chae an unexpected question.

"Hey Eun Chae, what's the relationship between us?"

"What? What do you mean?" She looked at him with her flustered face.

"I mean...ermmm...how should I phrase it?" Yu Jin said, "How do you define it? Is it love, or friendship, or something else?"

"Huh?" Eun Chae was rendered speechless for a few seconds, "Well...we are definitely more than friends. But you are not my boyfriend either," she placed her chin on his shoulder, "I guess it's something in between."

"I see," Yu Jin nodded his head, "Do you prefer it to be like this, or you wanna make things clearer?"

"Just stay like this, it's fun to be like how we are now, isn't it? By the way, why do you ask me? Do you have feelings for me or what?" Eun Chae naughtily laughed.

Eun Chae's spontaneous jest seemed to tap into Yu Jin's own sentiment with eerie accuracy. He could not pinpoint the exact time when he began to have such a special feeling for her, but he knew that it was undeniable. His heartbeat raced whenever he was in close contact with her. He felt happy whenever she smiled, and he was also hurt every time he saw her crying. His heart had fallen in love with her. But his head was incessantly telling him to keep all those feelings to himself as he was afraid that it might put their relationship at risk. And having listened to what she said, he was even more confident that his decision to safeguard his friendship was so far right.

"Me...what?...Of course I don't like you...I mean, not in a romantic way. You know that I'm not planning on dating anyone, right?" He tried to prove her wrong, but the way he spoke was a little defensive. Lucky for him, Eun Chae was not able to spot it out.

"Oh OK, I just ask," she chortled, "Now let's come back to the movie, shall we?"

Yu Jin did not dare to get out of his blanket until the movie was over.

"OK Eun Ch..." He looked at Eun Chae, "Oh...she's sleeping."

Eun Chae fell asleep as the movie played on without even noticing it. Not to wake her up, Yu Jin silently closed his laptop and gently put it on the table. Then, he tenderly draped a blanket over her to ensure that she would not be cold. He also gave her his bolster so that she would have a good slumber. Only after having done all of that for his friend that he could peacefully go to bed. It was so surprising that Yu Jin now found no qualms sleeping on the same bed with Eun Chae. The trust and comfort they found in one another had been growing so rapidly that they felt as if there was no longer any distance between them. It was an unbreakable bond that might be even stronger than that between a boyfriend and a girlfriend.

******

It was a not really eventful morning at the ER. There had not been so many patients moved into Yulje hospital, which was a positive sign. Because it was a weekday, Jung Won needed to attend school while Dr. Lee had to have a day-off because of some family matters. As a result, only Dr. Jeon, Chae Won and Yu Jin were available at the ER.

"Hey Chae Won, there are a few issues at the ICU so I gotta go there. Can you take care of this place?"

"Yes doctor, I will. If you need then just go to the ICU."

It was so unlucky that the morning was peaceful only until when Dr. Jeon left. Ironically, he was occupied at the ICU right at the moment when the ER needed him. After he left only a few minutes, the ER received a patient, a really severe case. That was a high school student who was found to be hanging himself as a suicidal attempt. He was unconscious and his heart had already stopped beating. The paramedics tried to perform CPR on him but it could not restore his heartbeat.

"His pupillary reflex is still good," Chae Won said, "Yu Jin, can you ask the nurses to continue doing CPR on him and monitor his vitals. I gotta call Dr. Jeon."

However, no matter how many times she tried, she could not contact Jung Kook. He was probably not with his phone while working at the ICU.

"Darn it, pick up the phone please?" Chae Won muttered.

"Hey Chae Won, his oxygen saturation is dropping very fast, has Dr. Jeon picked up yet?" Yu Jin nervously inquired.

"No," she shook her head.

"We shouldn't wait any longer, can we call doctors from another department here to help us?" One of the nurses asked.

"We can call CS, but it will take a while for them to arrive here," Chae Won nervously walked around.

Meanwhile, the nurses were still desperately trying to perform CPR on the boy but his heart remained unresponsive. Beside the gurney, his mother was weeping uncontrollably. All of Yu Jin's effort to reassure her was in vain. Her sobs filled the room as she kept crying, echoing the rising tension. The pressure made Chae Won unable to think through. She was flustered and panicking as she did not know what to do. Dr. Jeon was dealing with some problems at the ICU so Chae Won was the only doctor at the ER, unguided and baffled. She was tousling her hair and aimlessly walking around. As the seconds ticked away, one of the nurses broke the silence by turning to Chae Won with an urgent query "Dr. Kim, what should we do now?"

"Yeah, we gotta do something now, his oxygen level is still dropping and it's not gonna stop," another nurse said.

"Just stop it please," Chae Won suddenly shouted out loud and rubbed her eyes, "I'm just a first-year resident, I really don't know what to do, just continue with the CPR."

"But I don't think it works, his vitals haven't improved much although the nurses carried out CPR on him," Yu Jin said.

"Holy crap," Chae Won mumbled and covered her face with her hands. "Oh wait, I know what to do," Chae Won suddenly ran away and then quickly came back with a dose of epinephrine.

"Dr. Kim, are you gonna give him epinephrine?" One of the nurses asked in horror, "You cannot just do that, you need to consult Dr. Jeon first, it's against the rules for you to administer it on your own!"

"But I couldn't call him. This is the only thing I can do now, if anything happens, I will be responsible."

She said and then rushed over to the bed where the boy was lying and gave him intravenous epinephrine. In most cardiac arrest cases where CPR did not work, then epinephrine could be administered to make the heart beat again. But not all doctors had the authority to do that, and it was apparent that a first-year resident like Chae Won was not allowed to do such things. This regulation was to prevent the risk of complications after the patient was given epinephrine. However, she had no other choice as she needed to act fast. Although the CS people were coming, each second being delayed would put the boy's life at a greater threat. Facing this dilemma, Chae Won chose not to put off the treatment as she thought that it was the best she could do for the boy, even though she might be punished or, in the worst case, lose her job.

"Hey Yu Jin, remember this," she said while injecting the substance into the patient's body.

"Yeah," Yu Jin nodded his head in confusion.

"Don't do what I'm doing under any circumstances, understand?"

Thank you very much for making it this far! If you enjoy reading my story and are excited to find out what is going to happen next, don't forget to click the star to vote for me as well as recommend my story to your friends. You votes really motivate me a lot^^