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It's noon when the patient arrives — a 56-year-old male with a burnt leg, according to Dr. Yang.
Baek Kang-Hyuk can hear the paramedics rush the stretcher through the halls to the OR where both are already waiting.
"Boiling water accident," The woman pushing the stretcher explains as soon as the men get to the patient, "His vitals are stable, but the pain's intense; we had to sedate him en route."
Dr. Baek nods before looking down at the man. His forehead is damp and rumpled even in sleep. He clicks his tongue, intense pain indeed.
He moves to transfer the body, grabbing the upper part — he doesn't need to look up to know who will move to take the lower part.
"N°1, we need to assess the burn degree first. Then, call Gangster and tell her to prepare 5L of water with ice."
"On it, sir." Is the only response he gets, the one he expects from the focused voice, "One, two, three!"
They move the body with trained expertise.
"I need a pair of scissors!" Yang Jae-Won demands, his arms already extended to receive it and moving to cut the man's trousers as soon as a nurse hands it to him.
Kang-Hyuk knows he doesn't have time to feel proud of the doctor beside him, so he most definitely doesn't.
Instead, he moves to thank the paramedics. They bow and turn to leave, but one of them hesitates.
"Uh, Dr. Baek, I think you should know..." The woman shifts nervously.
"Hm?" He hums, head cocking to the side, "What is it?"
"This was the only hospital that accepted us, but he didn't want to come here."
"Ooh, and why would it be?" He wonders, more to himself than to the woman, "Did we fall in the public's opinion?"
The woman in front of him seems almost embarrassed, "Well, actually-"
"Doctor Baek!" It's the voice of his protégé; he couldn't ignore it if he tried, "His lips are blue, he's going into hypovolemic shock, we need to put him on saline IV now!"
Baek Kang-Hyuk's body turns with intent, conversation forgotten,
"Start him on both fluid and blood reposition. We have to clean his wounds."
Nurse Cheon Jang-mi is there already, "Here's the cleansing chlorhexidine, and the room's ready as well."
He nods, heart thumping with the same emotion as ever — taking care of people is always going to be a battlefield.
"Let's go!"
It takes less time to treat the man than for him to wake up again.
He and the man's son are waiting in the patient's room for the man to wake up. It shouldn't take long until it happened but the doctor thought the time would be spent with him trying to comfort the kid, not in this sterile silence.
Baek Kang-Hyuk is not the one to feel uncomfortable in a quiet room, but this boy doesn't seem much older than 19, and it's strange he's not bombarding him with questions.
It doesn't help when Yang Jae-won gets in the room to check the bandages and notices the heaviness. Both medics lock gazes for a moment.
Yang Jae-won nods. And the man tries his best not to feel fiercely glad for his second in hand.
It's been getting harder lately.
"So.." The younger doctor stalls, quiet voice filling the room, "Although it was a 3-degree burn, the nerves weren't too damaged. Your father won't lose any of his coordination."
But the boy only nods.
"It's also a great thing you were there to call 119 otherwise he would be in pain for a very long time." The older man adds, "The anaesthetics creams will be great for his recovery, so you don't have to worry too much."
Another nod followed by silence. He can see Jae-won fidgeting uncomfortably and is sure they're both thinking the same thing.
He knows his student well enough to notice him figuring out what to say so they can gauge what's wrong with the kid.
He's curious to know what will come out, but the boy relents first.
"He's gonna die, isn't he?" The boy doesn't look up when he speaks. He continues when there's no response, "My father's gonna die, and nobody can do anything to help him."
Kang-Hyuk feels he should be used to it by now, to hopeless next-to-kin's, but words always fail him in those situations.
He opens his mouth and does not know what to say, but he hopes — for once in his life — that it is not something as rough as he is known for.
"Of course not," Dr. Yang intervenes gently, daft hands still moving on the bandages. Sometimes Kang-Hyuk underestimates this boy, "Your father had a domestic accident. This kind of thing can happen to anyone. He will be fine in-"
"Stop lying to me, all of you!" The teenager cuts, trembling fists clenched, "He has been having these ' domestic accidents' for six months now. All you doctors can say is that he will be fine!"
N°1's eyes widen in surprise, and this time he's the one without words. It's a fortunate thing, Dr. Baek thinks, that they work together.
"Six months? How come his chart is empty? Has he checked in other hospitals?" If only so they can save each other when the other has no words.
The boy sneers, rising from the chair to give the older man a venous stare,
"You doctors," he almost spits the words, "Are all the same. Even him," The boy nods to his father, "Of course he has checked in other hospitals, the best hospitals in Korea, the same ones he has worked! And they all came with nothing."
Oh, so the unconscious man is a doctor himself. Interesting.
"Mr. Kang, I think you should-" Jae-won starts, eyebrows curving worry.
"Oh, shut up you too!" He turns to the other doctor, eyes filled with disgust. Baek Kang-Hyuk can feel the vein in his neck rising at the kid's tone, "You're just like them as well. Spineless and irrelevant. When he wakes up, he will make you all fold like he did with the others!"
Now, that's about enough. The ex-military has a thing or two to say to this brat. He rises from the chair as well.
"HEY, CUT IT OUT!" Dr. Yang yells before moving to stand in front of the boy. Kang-Hyuk instinctively steps back when he sees those rowdy eyes piercing the boy in front of him.
'Oof', he thinks with amusement, hands moving to rest inside the pockets of his coat,'I wouldn't want to be on your skin, kiddo.'
The boy falls silent then, mouth hanging open with shock.
"Listen," Jae-won says, voice level once more, "I get you're afraid for your father, but diminishing Dr. Baek's- our work won't solve anything. If you just calm down and explain what's happening, we'll help you. If you're not interested in that, then Dr. Baek and I will leave the room and come back when he's awake to discharge him."
Oh, god.
This can't be good. His heart's not supposed to race like that when someone goes out on his defence, and his brain should not shut out like it did when his protégé says his name with such resolution.
He knew the last part was likely a bluff but still-
He would follow Yang Jae-won outside and into anywhere after that.
Oh, god.
He blinks once, twice. His blood can't seem to stop rushing to his cheeks.
It's only when the kid starts crying he manages to regain his balance. Kang Yeon-han looks down while tears flow down his eyes. No one speaks for a long time.
"Come on," Jae-won speaks again, kindness flowing in the hands he puts on the boy's shoulders, "You haven't had dinner yet, have you? Let's grab some pork soup in the cafeteria, you should put some fat into your system." When Yeon-han doesn't respond, he shakes the boy lightly, "It's my treat, okay? Your father will probably be awake by the time we get back, and you'll be able to scold him as you see fit."
Baek Kang-Hyuk is a soldier wherever he is, and he knows a lost battle when he sees one — Yeon-han lets out a small laugh.
This boy never stood a chance.
In all fairness, few people do when it comes to Yang Jae-won.
They leave the room not much later, with Jae-won giving one last meaningful look to him before closing the door.
'I'm sorry I got angry.'
It's only when he can't hear steps moving away that Dr. Baek allows himself to fall back into his chair, his fingers moving to pinch the bridge of his nose.
He's fucked.
When Nurse Cheon enters the room, neither the patient nor the doctor has come back to life.
"Hey, Dr. Baek" She calls, voice snapping the room like a whip. Kang-Hyuk does not startle from his chair, "What's wrong with you? Are you feeling good?"
"Huh? Sure, excellent. Just waiting for the patient to wake up and for Jae-won to come back with his son."
Her head tilts like a cat's but she remains silent while turning to change the antibiotics bags.
Baek Kang-Hyuk is almost grateful. But of course Gangster wouldn't let him off the hook so easily,
"How's Doctor Yang? I saw him walking with a crying teenager."
"He's fine," The response comes fast, way too fast, "Dad seems to be hiding something, but I'm sure Jae-won got the child to spit it out by now."
The look she sends in his direction makes him cross his arms in defiance, "What?"
"It's one of his many charms, isn't it?"
Baek Kang-Hyuk is a man of war. He does not stutter,
"What?"
"He knows how to get people to do things. You know, teenagers to talk, thugs to feel..."
"What the-"
"Anyway, my shift's over!" She says, already moving to the door. "See you tomorrow, boss."
Jang-mi throws a salute at him before leaving the room, and Kang-Hyuk feels the urge to run after her. He settles for ruffling his hair in frustration instead.
"This damn woman."
It's always the same when a patient wakes up: the squinting and grunting as if the light hurt, only for the frown to turn into a smile like they were happy to still be able to feel pain.
Baek Kang-Hyuk was human, then. If only for a moment, he was neither a doctor nor soldier, he was only a person sharing another's happiness.
Kang Sun-ju was no different at first.
"Where am I?" He asks, still dazed.
"Hankuk National University Hospital," The response comes easily as Kang-Hyuk moves to check his vitals, "You had a 3-degree burn in your left leg and went into hypovolemic shock when you got here, so we had to-"
"What?! Hankuk?! How come they brought me here when I specifically asked not to?" And now the doctor knows where that kid got all that attitude from.
He does his best not to roll his eyes,
"Well, we were the only hospital to accept you and-"
"And get me treated by a nobody?! What kind of excuse is that?"
Kang-Hyuk blinks slowly, "What did you say?"
"Hah, don't pretend you didn't hear me, boy! I know the emergency doctor here is a nobody with no prestige! He has no renowned degree or certifications and I clearly refused to be treated by someone like that. His resident is only slightly better, but he's still as green as a pea."
On any other day, this would be fine. Really. But today something, someone, has shaken his balance and it's not the time.
"A nobody? Green as a pea?" He hisses, "Who do you think you are, huh? Do you think you know me? I am Korea's greatest emergency surgeon and Dr. Yang is my student, we save more people in a month than you did in your whole career. Less than four hours ago, we saved your life. Don't you dare-"
"Dad, what are you doing?!" Yeon-han demands, entering the room.
Jae-won follows him closely, but his eyes are set on scanning his professor's face.
"Yeon-han, let's get out of here right now." The man demands, shuffling in his bed, "I don't know who decided to transport me to this hospital but it was a terrible idea, next time just-"
"YOU WILL DIE!" The boy screams, shocking the older man into silence. But he's not done. Same temper indeed, "Next time something like this happens, you might die. Do you even want to know what's wrong with you?!"
"I-"
"Because it doesn't look like you do! Always calling on favours so your chart remains clean after an accident and pretending to sleep in so you can act like I don't know you're in pain in your room. ARE YOU SATISFIED TO BE DYING ALONE?!"
Jae-won places a grounding hand on the boy's shoulder then, "Yeon-han-ah, calm down. Your father has just woken up, he must be in pain and as scared as you."
If the scene alone wasn't enough to startle Kang-Hyuk, his previous anger forgotten, the next part certainly would do the trick,
"I'm sorry, hyung."
Yang Jae-won was-
"As for you, sir Kang Sun-ju, your son has told us about your current condition. Besides sudden faints, nausea in the morning and weakness in the limbs, is there another symptom?"
There's a heavy silence stretching for long enough that Baek Kang-Hyuk is about to lose his patience again.
"Dad, please." But the kid is faster, "They are good. Jae-won hyung told me they could send you to a great diagnostician and treat you."
Finally, the man relents,
"No, it's just that," He doesn't look at the physicians in front of him, "I was a dermatologist my whole life, so I have no idea about what's wrong with me. Well, besides the obvious, which I have checked already." He turns to his child then, arms reaching to grab his hand, "Yeon-han-ah, don't worry, your dad doesn't have cancer."
Wonderful.
Kang-Hyuk decides it's time to intercede when the kid's about to bawl again.
"Come on," He sighs heavily, breaking the tension, "Let's write your referral chart. I need you to tell me what's happening, symptoms and treatments since the beginning."
There are two sets of footsteps echoing through the empty corridor.
Both men are dragging their bodies to the on-call room, and even if he's never as exhausted as Jae-won, even Kang-Hyuk's mind feels muddy today.
It was too much to process, maybe tomorrow.
When they get there, Dr. Baek can see in the younger's face he's not there anymore.
"Had too much today?" He asks, opening the door for Jae-won.
The gruff grunt he receives as an answer is enough to send a wave of amusement through his heart.
"Come on, go to your bed. We still have to deal with Kang Sun-ju tomorrow."
The groan lasts longer this time, but Jae-won obeys and heaves his body to his bed like a marionette.
Dr. Baek smiles and turns to change his shoes,
"Hey, Yang Jae-won, it's freezing today. Cover yourself."
This time, there's no sound but a sequence of deep breaths.
"Yang Jae-won, are you sleeping already?!" Nothing.
"Oh, this brat. Come on." He grumbles, moving to the metal stairs of their bunk and climbing until he can see the sleeping man.
The younger man has his closed eyes and creased cheeks right in front of him. Kang-Hyuk cannot help but mutter a curse under his breath, his heart panging once inside his ribcage.
He shakes his head before reaching for the sheets tangled at Jae-won's feet and spreading them over him.
Kang-Hyuk moves to asses his work once before going to his own bed and almost falls back when he sees a pair of black eyes oozing into his.
"I-" He breathes.
But the sounds never make it past his throat, not when Yang Jae-won smiles sweetly at him and leans over until their lips are touching.
Kang-Hyuk's whole body is made of warm jelly now. It's only the years spent on the battleground holding him in that stair.
Jae-won pulls back with a happy and sleepy sigh.
"Thank you, hyung." He says, before closing his eyes again.
Baek Kang-Hyuk doesn't need to call to know the younger is already asleep once more.
Nor does he need his fully functioning head to understand a fundamental fact,
"Fuck."