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Ahn Jeongwon was not the best driver, this was a given. His family, his friends, basically anyone acquainted with him were all made aware of this fact and also how he prefers being a passenger instead, constantly mooching off his only four friends. So, it shouldn’t be a surprise that he’s struggling tremendously with the golf cart and is basically a safety hazard to everyone in his vicinity.
In an attempt to cheer him up before his first day of work at Yulje Hospital, two of four of his only friends previously mentioned, Yang Seokhyeong and Kim Junwan invited him to a game or two of golf at a reputable country club Junwan’s been trying to get a membership to for months. Apparently, Junwan gushed that the golf course is one of the best in the city, which puzzles Jeongwon because aren't all golf courses just the same? The minute his membership was approved, he dragged Seokhyeong and Jeongwon to join him which begs the question on who this outing was really benefiting.
Jeongwon pressed the brake on the golf cart, abruptly stopping the vehicle after realizing he almost ran into a petite figure holding a tennis racket, clad in a monochrome tank and tennis skirt, more or less matching with his own striped black and white shirt. He rolled his eyes indignantly. Just like everyone else frequenting this kind of place, she was probably another trust fund baby, daughter of some influential figure, who has too much time to spare. But still, he couldn’t help notice that the petite figure was pretty, or at least her side profile was. Before she noticed him staring at her longer than necessary, he popped his head to the side of the cart and uttered, “Watch where you’re going!”
He was met with a pair of brown eyes, that were, kid him not, fucking sparkling. Was it because of the glistening sun shining down on her welcoming Spring in all it’s glory? Who knows? Whatever it was, his earlier observation was right and she was pretty, very very pretty and he was positive she’d be much more prettier if she wasn’t giving him a deadly glare with an equally unamused frown.
“Me?!?! I should be saying that to you since you were the one who almost ran into me? At the sidewalk?!? Made for people to walk on? Not stupid golf carts and stupid drivers?!?!!” the figure replied furiously.
After considering her words, Jeongwon realized she was definitely right and he was on the sidewalk bringing harm to people’s way, her way to be specific and he definitely intended on apologizing. But there was just something about the way she was shooting daggers at him and her slightly flared nose that made her look more attractive than she already was and for some reason he did not want her to walk away, just yet.
“Are you sure about that? For a sidewalk, it’s pretty big? Are you really faulting me when obviously you were in my way? I mean, it’s a golf cart, did you really not see it coming?” he said with a smirk.
Pretty Girl looked at him incredulously.
“Are you for real? Did you not hear what I said, this is the sidewalk where -”, she didn’t bother to finish her sentence and proceeded to look down while pinching her nose. He saw her let out a tired sigh and he immediately felt bad about egging her on.
“I don’t know why I’m arguing with you when I’m already late but just - keep away from the sidewalk yea?” she said with an air of finality. He didn’t want to keep her from her already late affairs so he shifted the gear on the golf cart indicating him leaving.
“Take care princess, and stop frowning, you look prettier than you already do without one.”
He reversed the cart before heading towards what he hopes is the golf course where apparently Junwan and Seokhyeong are already waiting for him.
“Golf course’s that way, ahjussi,” he heard a voice call out in the distance. He pressed brake to see where that came from and immediately noticed it was Pretty Girl from just now, pointing her index fingers at the other end. She bid goodbye with an eye roll that Jeongwon wasn’t supposed to find hot but he still did even though he was supposedly offended by the ahjussi call out. Did his age really show on his face?
Jeongwon let out an annoyed huff and muttered to himself, “I knew that” before heading towards the right direction.
Today just wasn’t Jang Gyeoul’s day.
She only left the hospital a few hours ago because she was helping out Minha with research for one of her gynae professors and slept through her alarm clock and ended up running late for her tennis practice only to almost meet her fatal end, to some random yuppie - maybe not, he did look older and seemed genuinely offended when she called him ahjussi, maybe a few years older than Jungwu oppa - who probably hasn’t driven a vehicle a day in their life and probably doesn’t even have a fucking license, relying on his parent’s chauffers all this while, just like everyone else who frequents Grandpa Jang's country club.
She wished her day got better after that, but when she finally arrived at the court a good fifteen minutes late, her trainer was not pleased and decided to give extra groundstroke drills, knowing full well that Gyeoul was the weakest at them and hated groundstrokes.
It didn’t help that she kept getting distracted by a series of golf balls flying into the court by some asshole who probably held a golf club for the first time today. After the eighteenth golf ball entered - yes she counted because it’s just honestly so ridiculous for someone to be this bad at golf - she decided she had enough and called reception to handle the issue.
“Yah Jeongwon, you’re embarrassing me, how can you miss THIS many shots,” Junwan said exasperatedly, glancing around to make sure no one else is witnessing his best friend’s abysmal performance.
“It isn’t me, it’s the goddamn wind ugh,” Jeongwon replied begrudgingly.
Seokhyeong, who the duo last checked has been watching New Journey to The West at their golf cart for the past half an hour, jogged to them casually.
“Yah Jeongwon, the receptionist called, apparently all your missed shots ended up in the tennis court nearby, you can see it from here,” Seokhyeong said already pointing to the direction of the possible tennis court.
Junwan let out an annoyed sigh.
“You’re pissing everyone off today, just go get the damn balls,” Junwan replied on Jeongwon’s behalf which resulted in an eye roll from Jeongwon.
“Has anyone told you you’re super annoying when it comes to golf?”
“Yeah but at least I can still play, now go.”
Jeongwon wordlessly flipped him off before heading towards the golf cart to pick them up.
‘Of course it involved the golf cart menace from earlier,’ Gyeoul sighed internally as she noticed him entering her court. She was currently on break after being annihilated by her trainer who was petty as heck just because he was displeased with her tardiness, but she knew better than to repeat the mistake later on.
“Ah of course it’s you,” Golf Cart Menace mused enthusiastically, mirroring her exact thoughts a few seconds ago.
“Is this your first time handling a golf club? You’re rather shite,” she exclaimed.
“I told my friend a minute ago and I’m telling you now, it was the goddamn WIND,” he replied clearly annoyed while picking up the golf balls.
“It’s okay,” Gyeoul replied with a fake pout and nearing him.
“Some people are just better with their hands, and in the grand scheme of things and some are just not, and honestly there’s nothing wrong with that,” she said teasingly while dusting imaginary dust off his shoulders. Upon closer look she noticed how broad he actually was and she didn’t want to know how she felt about it honestly.
What she said must’ve struck a nerve because suddenly here he was towering over her 5’3 frame, golf balls forgotten.
“You’re right, I’m probably trash at golf but these hands you’re talking about saves lives while your little trust fund baby self is probably idling around here with no actual purpose in life wasting daddy’s money away.”
Now that stung.
It wasn’t the first time she heard such remarks, but his tactlessness was a stark reminder that it won’t be the last. His words shouldn’t mean anything. He was a complete stranger who baselessly judged her and went with the stereotype he deemed fit best, but full disclosure, it still fucking hurt.
She has literally been to hell and back to get to where she is now, and on her one day off, this happens. She huffed indignantly and wordlessly approached the tennis ball machine nearby.
After the words left his mouth, he immediately regretted them. Besides being known as an awful driver, he’s also known for talking out of his ass. Like all the time. In the most inappropriate times too. This was one of those times. He knew she was teasing and there was no malice to her words. But he just, snapped.
It could be the anxiety looming over him about starting his new post at the same place his dead father used to work, a place he honestly didn’t even want to work at. A profession he was still unsure of after all this time. It could be his older brother’s subtle plea over suju and barbequed meat about sticking it out for just one more year before doing what he thinks is what he really wants to. It could be over how baffling it was that despite only meeting her a few hours ago, for some reason he just could not get her off his mind resulting in the golf balls ending up here, to her.
His mind is all over the fucking place leaving him frustrated and he unfairly decided to take it out on her.
He didn’t even notice her backing away until he felt a sharp jolt of pain near his calves making him drop the last of the golf balls he just picked up.
“What the hell?”
Another tennis ball hit him just by his ankles.
“Yah, stop it!!”
“Get. Out. Of. My. Court.”
Another one hit him.
“Wouldn’t want my daddy’s money to be wasted even more huh,” she said spitefully.
He missed the next one, thankfully.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean - ”
Another one came near him and with his quick reflexes, he evaded that one too.
“Jang Gyeoul! Are you attacking someone with the machine?! That’s harassment,” a foreign voice screeched, who Jeongwon assumed was the trainer.
The tennis balls stopped attacking his lower body and he took it as his cue to collect the remaining golf balls and leave. He quickly went to his golf cart and made his way back to his friends, pleased that he managed to slip in an apology and was somewhat relieved and also equally disheartened by the fact he would probably never meet Pretty Girl again.
“Oh my God, Chihong oppa was right, you do in fact look like shit,” Chu Minha, the second year resident who was one of Gyeoul’s closest friends at Yulje said matter-of-factly as she set down Gyeoul’s favorite milk and cream cheese bun on the desk inside the GS office.
Gyeoul rolled her eyes in response but took the food gratefully.
Her tennis practice yesterday ended later than usual and she barely got any rest afterwards since she received an emergency page and ended up at the hospital to assist in a sudden colectomy procedure. The patient wasn’t supposed to go under the knife for at least two more days, but with one of their organs suddenly failing, Dr. Kwon had no choice but to perform the surgery then.
She’s been on autopilot since and is planning on crashing in the break room but not until she welcomed the new pediatric surgeon joining the GS team today. Truth be told, the new addition scared her a bit since she was already overwhelmed with being the only GS resident attending to eight surgeons, wait - nine now including this new surgeon, and she doesn’t want the upcoming workload with attending to a new professor to affect her overall performance so far - she’s one of the best and everyone in GS knows it and she’s hell bent on ensuring it stays that way.
The good news is she’s always been interested in pediatric surgery and plans to specialize in it if she ever lives to go through and pass her board exams, so despite everything she’s excited to learn all she can from them even if it means sacrificing another piece of her sanity away, whatever that’s left of it that is.
“Chihong oppa and I’s money are still on the fact that he is the late chairman’s son, even if you vehemently believe otherwise and not only is he good with his hands in the OR, but good on the eyes too,” Minha said suggestively wiggling her eyebrows trying to get her best friend’s attention, however her statement falls to deaf ears as the person next to her is more engrossed in the cream cheese bun instead.
“Ugh whatever, just report to us during lunch okay, I’m gonna make sure there’s an empty bed for you at the break room,” Minha said already heading towards the door currently ajar.
Gyeoul held out the finger heart sign to Minha as she left and immediately registered the sounds of chatters coming from the other side of the entrance, who Gyeoul immediately deduced being her GS professors who took it upon themselves to show the new surgeon around.
“Ah here she is, our golden star, and the only resident under GS, Jang Gyeoul! She only just helped me this morning with a sudden colectomy,” Dr. Kwon exclaimed excitedly.
“Graduated at the top of her class in Yonsei, completed her internship at our sister hospital and even spent two summers under Doctor Without Borders in Haiti and Jordan, shadowing under her mother, the acclaimed Dr. Kwak Hyunbin, the leading ENT specialist in the country when she was still in university!” he rattled on, purposely emphasizing his last line.
She inwardly groaned at the last statement, because of course no one with insight on her family can introduce her without name-dropping her mother like Dr. Kwon did, or her father, the well-respected Dr. Jang, in-house trauma doctor stationed at countless army bases around the country and not to forget Grandpa Jang and the infamous conglomerate, owning almost half of Korea from skyscrapers, country clubs and even an array of stores. Anything seen along a street that has Jang on it, is probably under Grandpa Jang. It’s almost as if once the truth of her heritage becomes known, people immediately refuse to see her as anything more than the daughter of X or successor of Y, as if she isn’t her own person with her own accomplishments and quirks and just - Gyeoul.
She let out a sigh only she could hear and proceeded to wipe whatever remains of her breakfast and stood up to bow to her new professor. As she stood back up properly, she found the new pediatric surgeon / professor already looking at her intently in sheer disbelief. All color drained from her face as recognition settled in, leaving her faced with no one other than the damned golf cart menace from yesterday, apparently her new superior. The exact superior she had to impress and was eager to learn from and work with, if he’d even let her in the OR now, probably not, considering the turn of events yesterday.
Him.
Her mouth pulled into a tight smile as she extended her hand.
“I’m Jang Gyeoul. Third year GS resident. I look forward to working with you, Professor?” she asked timidly, a complete contrast to her rather brazen self yesterday.
“Professor Ahn. Ahn Jeongwon and likewise,” he replied curtly, the initial disbelief on his face just a few moments ago completely disappeared, his face now masked with nonchalance, pulling her into a firm handshake.
She should be focusing on his full name, on how Chihong and Minha were right after all, that he was the late chairman’s son and she now owes them 50,000 won each or on how to make up for yesterday’s events, because she will definitely not allow what she does out of work to interfere and completely mess up the progress she’s had so far in Yulje but instead all she can focus on is the faint smell of Acqua di Parma’s Colonia Intensa and she knows exactly what it was because she gave the exact same cologne to Junsu and Jungwu oppa for Christmas, and how tall and defined he is not to mention how ridiculously handsome he is up close, and lastly she can’t stop focusing on the spark that rushed through her as they shook hands and despite her mind immediately trying to diagnose and make sense of clinically of what that was - she just needs one rational medically induced explanation to set straight on what the actual fuck was that spark - it was to no avail.
Well, shit.