Chapter Text
“Um… Doctor Ryu…”
Gunwoo looked up from the chart of a patient he was reading over. He was sat with an elbow resting on the desktop, chin resting on his thumb, and his forefinger over his mouth as he read, focussed and undistracted by the movement within the E.D around him. He eyes were red and he looked exhausted, and there were two empty cups of coffee beside him and a third that was half full and had gone cold. Ahyeon, in his blue nurse uniform, was stood on the other side of the counter, a chart held to his chest. He was looking at Gunwoo nervously.
“Um, Keundal is here…”
Gunwoo followed Ahyeon’s gaze to the doors leading out to further into the hospital. Keundal was there, heading towards him.
Fuck.
Gunwoo sighed deeply and thudded his head against the desk, as if all the bones in his body had suddenly turned to mush.
Ahyeon flustered and bent down over the countertop to look at him. “H - hyung?!”
“Tell him to leave,” Gunwoo muttered. “I’m not on duty.”
It wasn’t anything personal agaisnt the kid; but Keundal had the unfortunate job of being a messenger from a certain somebody. That bastard is using the kid for his dirty work.
“Um…” This time it was Keundal’s voice that spoke. He sounded apologetic and extraordinarily guilty. “S-sorry, Doctor Ryu. Director Shin has asked you to fill in for the next couple days while he’s at a conference.”
For the next couple days? Was this bastard for real? Did he ever do his own fucking job? Gunwoo was the head of the Emergency Department, did that man think he spent his days counting lollipop sticks?
Finally, Gunwoo looked up. He dropped both elbows on the desk and took off his glasses so he could rub at his eyes and temples. He desperately needed to smoke, but he’d promised he would quit. “Get someone else to do it. He does know that I’m employed as Head of this department, yes?” Medical Director Shin was a madman with a tight run of his hospital. Why in hell he forced the Head of the E.D, of all departments, to act as his ‘acting deputy director’, Gunwoo would never know. He was waiting for the day that madman got fired, yet, somehow, the board loved him. Admittedly, he was good at his job, and good at charming people, like a snake — including the people who gave large monetary donations to this hospital.
Gunwoo held back another sigh. When he opened his eyes, it was to see Ahyeon and Keundal looking at him with puppy eyes. And this is why he gets Keundal to come. Well, at least Director Shin had good taste in choosing his secretary.
Gunwoo sighed again and put the chart he was reading back in the filing he’d taken it from. He tried to make his expression not look like he’s just eaten a sour sweet. It wasn’t Keundal’s fault, after all.
Should I just quit? He had enough saved for a period of job searching. He could find a new job, preferably working in a nice, quiet, rural area (far away from Director Shin)…
He stood up. He picked up the half-filled cup of coffee on the desktop. It had long gone cold, but in the second he stared at it he realised he didn’t care. He took a long swig. “Fine. Keundal, have you called Doctor Jeok to cover for me?”
Keundal nodded. Good. He’d rather not talk to Doctor Jeok.
He resigned himself to his fate. “What do I have to do?”
“There’s a meeting with a donor in fifteen minutes, and then a meeting with the Chair of Oncology…” Gunwoo could already feel the life draining from him.
“Wait, hyung!”
Gunwoo turned around as Ahyeon jogged up to him. The nurse took the cold cup of coffee from his hands and replaced it with a bottle of electrolyte water. He also placed a strip of nicotine gum into the pocket of his lab coat. Ahyeon always seemed to know when Gunwoo desperately wanted to give in and smoke again. Ahyeon patted his chest, over the pocket and gave Gunwoo a caring, stern expression. “Make s-sure you eat. And take a break… And don’t drink any more coffee.”
Gunwoo grunted in affirmation. Some of his irritation melted. “Alright.” He knew better than to argue. He could sneak a drink later, anyway.
“Hyung,” Ahyeon chided.
They must have worked together too long. That time Ahyeon and Doctor Lee had locked the three of them in a supply closet until they made him promise to stop over-working himselfwas still fresh in his mind. They’d actually brought a BP monitor with them, in the closet, and made him take off his coat so they could tie the strap around his arm, all so they could show him that the stress and coffee was effecting his blood pressure. They had made him promise to take up stress-relieving hobbies with them. The crotchet wasn’t for him, but he was still doing the pilates. Ahyeon was giving him that look, the forboding determined one. Gunwoo didn’t want to risk a repeat of that previous scenario.
Gunwoo sighed. “Fine. No more coffee.”
Keundal looked up from his tablet, the one he always carried as he trailed after Director Shin. Whenever Gunwoo saw them together, he always had the image of a small brown puppy trailing after a shark. “Deputy Director Ryu, the sponsor has arrived. Doctor Dae is taking them to the Dirctor’s office. We, we, um, need to go.”
Gunwoo motioned his chin, gesturing for him to lead the way. He looked back at Ahyeon and held up and tilted the bottle of water in his hands. “Thanks.”
Ahyeon nodded, a little shyly.
He followed Keundal out of the E.D. “Cancel the meeting with the Chair of Oncology.”
Keundal held down his smile. “Hyung,” he said, now they were in the elevator alone. “You can’t avoid Doctor Jin. He’s nice.”
Sure. If you like them chatty.
“It’s fine,” Gunwoo pressed. “Reschedule it for when Director Shin returns.”
“You know what Doctor Jin is like. He’ll only come find you.”
Gunwoo sighed. Keundal handed him a healthy energy bar. One of those with nuts and fruit. He even opened the packaging for him so he had to eat it. Gunwoo gave him a very dry side-eye, holding the bar in his hand. Keundal smiled at him, trying and failing to look innocent. “Hyung?”
Gunwoo just looked forward and took a bite. It tasted nice, at least.
The elevator dinged and they stepped out onto the floor. Gunwoo put the half-eaten bar in his pocket and put on his best pleasant expression.
Think of the money. The money.
He kept thinking this to himself for the entirety of his time with the donor.
Word spread quicky: Medical Director Shin was gone for three days and everyone knew what that meant.
“Director Ryu!”
“Acting Deputy Director,” Gunwoo gritted. He’d just gotten out of the donor meeting. Why was he even surprised?
Keundal was walking beside him, and now Doctor Kwon fell into step with them. Gunwoo held back his sigh.
“Ah, yeah, Deputy,” Doctor Kwon grinned. “I have a proposal. If I email it, can you sign off on it before the big bad guy gets back?”
“Have you shown it to the Medical Director before?”
“No.” Doctor Kwon pouted and pressed his hands together cutely. “Can’t you just look at it? Please? Pretty please?”
“Even if I sign it, I can’t guarantee he won’t rescind it later.”
“Nah, that’s not a problem. He lets you do anything. If you approve it, it’ll happen. Please, please, please!” Gunwoo stared at Doctor Kwon’s puppy dog eyes with an unmoved gaze.
Tsk. “Fine. I’ll look over it. I can’t make any promises, however.”
That was all the man needed. Doctor Kwon jumped in the air. “Yay! Director Ryu, you’re the best!”
Acting Deputy, damn it.
He rubbed at his eyes under his glasses. It was best to let some things go, if not for the sake of his blood pressure.
Doctor Kwon skipped away. They got into the elevator to go Oncology. Alone, Gunwoo leaned back against the wall and let his head rest back on the wall. It was then his phone buzzed in his pocket.
‘Medical Director Shin.’
“Director,” Gunwoo greeted, toneless.
There was, possibly, a low chuckle. “Oh, good. You answered.”
Was I not supposed to, asshole?
Horrifically, this bastard was still his boss.
“I need you to fire Doctor Dae,” the Director said.
Gunwoo paused, then snorted. Doctor Dae was a notorious arrogant loudmouth. None of the nurses working with him liked him. “You want me to do your dirty work. Do I even have the authority to fire him, as acting deputy medical director?”
But Director Shin just laughed and said, low, quiet, and a little sly, “I know you don’t like him, Gunwoo. Don’t tell me I never do anything for you, hm?”
That tone made Gunwoo’s eye twitch. “Can I fire you, Director?”
Dirctor Shin laughed. “Oh, only if you take on the role of my replacement.”
Gunwoo said nothing.
He could hear the other man’s smile. “Look over his severance agreement before you show him. You can make any changes you see fit. Ah, apologies Gunwoo, I have to go.”
He ended the call just as the elevator doors opened.
There was a crowd there. Was there some kind of goddamn beacon they lit whenever he was acting as the Deputy Director here?
“Oh,” Keundal said faintly.
“Hyung!” Doctor Cha grinned. “I got dibs! I get to talk to you first!”
“No –” Doctor Kim startled, then said calmly to Gunwoo, “I have an urgent matter, Acting Deputy Director.”
“Ah,” Doctor Ryu Chungwoo said apologetically, though his eyes crinkled. He smiled at Gunwoo. “I’d like a word after, actually.”
“Doctor Ryu! Would you review this before the scary guy returns?” Doctor Jung Yulgi grinned at him, bouncing on her feet.
“I’m sorry, Deputy Director,” Doctor Park Minha said from behind her. “But I also have something I would like to discuss with you urgently.”
All of this was said in a rush as soon as they saw him. Gunwoo quickly stepped out of the elevator before they all rushed him and trapped him in the elevator. Keundal followed closely, and the crowd followed behind them.
None of this was urgent, he knew. They just wanted him to agree to things before Director Shin returned.
Gunwoo knew it wasn’t because he looked more approachable than Director Shin. This had happened ever since he had the idea of hosting a K-pop concert for the little boy with cancer a few years ago, and had gone through with it, and then Director Shin hadn’t said anything about it, even though the Board wouldn’t have approved. After that, people had hesitantly approached him, he’d approved good ideas, Director Shin had let it happen, and so it had all started.
Well, despite the consequences he now lived with (Re: the herd behind him), obviously he’d make the same decision. He just wished he’d made Doctor Jin keep quiet about that first incident, because now the punk had blabbed to every other department in the entire hospital.
Gunwoo took the thin binder of papers Doctor Jung held wordlessly. “I’ll read it over. I’m making no promises.”
“Yes! Of course! Thank you!”
“Doctor Park, send me an email with your urgent matter.”
“Yes, Sir! Right away, thank you!”
“Director-nim~!” a voice called sweetly. “Wow, you’re so popular~!”
Gunwoo turned his head, and there was a grinning Doctor Lee headed towards them from the other end of the corridor, tall enough to be easily visible over the others. “Deputy Director-nim~! I came to save you!”
Then what’s that file in your hand, punk?
“Everyone, everyone, please, you know the drill guys! No crowding! We all have our agreed timeslots!”
What?
Doctor Lee’s eyes caught on Gunwoo’s. “Ah, it’s nothing to worry about, Director-nim. You just continue with your day. I’ll sort them out.”
“Right!” cried out Doctor Cha. “It’s my timeslot!”
“If you’re request is the same as last time, my answer is still no,” Gunwoo said.
Doctor Cha pouted. “But the kids say you’re the best trot singer in all of Korea.”
God, that was one time.
“No.”
“Acting Deputy Ryu,” Doctor Raebin said, the only one to ever get his title right, “I’m sorry, I only came here in person to try to prevent Cha Eugene from harrassing you with this same matter — ”
“ — I was not — ” So that’s why his clothes looked crumpled.
“— I’m sorry. Also, I have sent Assistant Keundal the relevant materials regarding my proposal. If you have time to read it, I would be grateful.” He bowed slightly.
“Sure,” Gunwoo said. “I’ll take a look. Thank you Doctor Kim.” He watched with some amusement as Kim Raebin stong-armed Cha Eugene away.
By the time Gunwoo was back in the elavator to head up to the Director’s office, it was just him, Keundal and Doctor Lee.
“Though, it really would make the kids on the ward happy if you sang with them again. And given your hobby—” Gunwoo knocked a fist agaisnt Lee Sejin’s arm. The fact that Gunwoo sang karaoke to de-stress was not something pertinent to a work setting.
Perhaps I would, if someone from PR hadn’t posted the damned pop*con singalong online.
“Perhaps I’ll give them a recommendation for someone else.”
“Ah, hyung! I wouldn’t mind, actually, but you’re the one they want!”
“Um, hyung!” Keundal had just looked up from his tablet with wide, panicked eyes, “Doctor Jin is —”
Ding. The elevator doors opened. A beautiful man with blonde hair smiled brightly at them from the other side. “Hello~! Jaehyun-hyung said you’re filling in again! He left snacks for you, I thought I’d bring them along. How was your date the other night, by the way? Jaehyun-hyung mentioned it.”
And there was that. Gunwoo could see Doctor Lee’s shoulders shaking in the corner of his eye.
Once, Jin Chaeyul had seen Gunwoo and Shin Jaehyun sat together at the same bar. It had been complete coicidence. Gunwoo had seen him and wanted to leave immediately, but their eyes had met, and it wasn’t like he could blank his boss like he’d wanted to. The incident had re-ocurred since then. Director Shin was a doctor after all, and had, sometimes, rarely, given iritatingly good advice. But for some reason Jin Chaeyul had gotten it into his head that they were friends, and then worse, dating because Director Shin kept mentioning the incidents, and because Director Shin kept sending Gunwoo photos of his dog and Doctor Jin had once seen one of the text notifications.
“It wasn’t like that,” Gunwoo said for the millionth time. “We happened to meet by chance.”
“Mm!” Doctor Jin gave them a smile and a thumbs up. “Of course. Don’t worry, I get it.”
No, no you don’t. Don’t wink.
Gunwoo took out the nicotine gum from his coat pocket and put it in his mouth, deciding it best to ignore Doctor Jin for the sake of his blood pressure.
“Oh, wow,” Doctor Lee said, drawing Doctor Jin’s attention, “are those mango flavoured? Can I try one?”
“Hm? Oh, I mean, if Gunwoo-hyung doesn’t mind!”
“Hyung,” Keundal said quietly, tugging gentlyon his sleeve, “I’ve reschedueled the afternoon. You have a meeting with Bae Sejin from the legal department and then with Kim Youngrin from the Board.”
Gunwoo nodded his thanks. It was nice to have allies in the chaos.