nurse's station.

@ryan park. Yeah, he knew who she was. She thought maybe it was one-sided; she knew him, but he had no idea who she was… In that case, she would forget about it once he left, and nothing else would come of it again. She would mark it up as some random memory that had popped into her mind and basically nothing else after that. She wished that would be it, at least, but…
There was no way of saying he definitively knew who she was. Her brother may have been a psychologist, but she had the peasant knowledge of general /vibes/. Alina almost wanted to laugh at herself for thinking about it so clinically (maybe her brother really was getting to her), but she managed to keep it in so this prickly guy didn’t get too offset by her demeanour. He possibly knew her and her dumb humour, or he was just an overtired nurse sick of his patient’s bull… In a way, Alina wanted to believe in the former, and in her heart, she did, but… Maybe it was a little more fun when considering the latter.

“Yeah, but, where’s the fun in that?” Alina said, poking the bear. “Was gonna get up and do it anyway. Thank you.” She placed her hands in her lap and smiled, content. The stale hospital scent and the nurse's watchful eyes didn’t allow her to relax completely, but Alina felt her headache start to ease away.

Alina didn’t want to talk about how she got the concussion, pursing her lips at every mention of her injury. She had already explained it more than she needed to in her lifetime, but he was a healthcare professional, and… Well, she needed to get over it. She sighed and looked over at him, her smile turning hard. “Yep. Figure skating. Made a stupid mistake that I’ve been trying to fix for months now.” Alina frowned, then looked away, sighing again. “But, anyway, doesn’t really matter. Do we know each other? You just look really familiar.”

@cheon sarang. the response from her pinches, pulling at his heart's stings. they were over—on and off, they had tried to make it work, but unfortunately, things just couldn't go back to their prime. ryan thought he too had closed the door, but now he began to question himself. there shouldn't be any fleeting spark or thought that they still had a chance to fix things, but truthfully, he knew he did. it was confusing, as half of his mind was trying to convince him that he wasn't overstepping, that it was natural to still care about her, as a friend or acquaintance. the other half wasn't as rational, dangerous even, as it was stating that his logical side was trying to mask the truth. the truth, that he still too, wasn't over their relationship—wasn't over sarang.

"i'm sorry." he sincerely said, letting himself be emotionally vulnerable for just a second. ryan meant it, he was truly apologetic that sarang was still seemingly hurt. he hadn't intended on for her to go through so much, nor for this long. ryan then quickly flashed a small smile, mimicking the one she had just give him. exhaustion from their long day was setting in, he shouldn't keep sarang any longer at work than he had to. "yeah, let's. have a good night." with a wave, ryan then walked to the door.

@alina yu. internally, ryan breathed a sigh of relief. it seemed that alina hadn't remembered their night together, saving himself from undergoing embarrassment. from his reclamation of the night they had spent together, they both had fun, but they both mutually knew it had been a one-off fling. nothing more, no numbers exchanged, they both just said their goodbyes the morning after, rushing home from being hungover. the only thing they had briefly talked about was their like for the music in the club they had been at, and their preferences in drinks. other than that, they really hadn't talked much.

he gave a scoff to her sarcastic comment, although she may be injured, the latter's dry humor was still intact. "you know, you could have just asked for the lights off. or a towel over your eyes." moving over to the light switch, ryan flicked it off. the door that was slightly ajar cast in some of the outside hall's bright lights, so that it wasn't completely dark.

"is that better for you?" he asked. "your nurse went on break. i'm taking care of his patients for him until he gets back." ryan then added. "you might be discharged before he even gets back. the doctor's just waiting on the ct scan results from the radiologist, so you may be going home soon. how'd you get injured by the way? my coworker told me you fell on some ice? do you skate or something?.." ryan questioned, knowing that they weren't in the season for freezing temperatures.

@ryan park. sarang listened attentively as ryan started the conversation in the locker room. her heart raced a bit, partly from the unexpectedness of this private conversation and partly due to the lingering emotions from their past relationship. she couldn't deny that working together again had brought back some feelings she thought she had buried.

"good job today," ryan began, and as he continued, sarang sensed his awkwardness and nervousness. it was a stark contrast to the confident and charismatic ryan she used to know. she appreciated his concern, even though it made her feel a bit conflicted. when he mentioned not taking juyeon seriously because he was a flirt, sarang managed a small smile.

"ryan, you don't have to worry about that," she replied, her voice soft but sincere. "I appreciate your concern, but I'm not really interested in getting to know anyone right now, especially not after... well, you know." her gaze briefly flickered to him before returning to her bag. it was true; she still had feelings for him, and working alongside him was challenging enough without adding any romantic complications into the mix.

she zipped up her bag, standing up and offering him a reassuring smile. "let's just focus on being good coworkers and helping our patients, okay?" sarang hoped that by maintaining a professional distance, she could navigate this new chapter in their lives without getting too entangled in their past.

@cheon sarang. to his predictions, it was no surprise that it was only the first day at her new job and already sarang was adjusting well. there was no doubt that ryan would have deduced the same. sarang was smart—intelligent, but also incredibly diligent. the latter had taken initiative to aid and assist ryan with a lot of tasks throughout his shift. he didn't need to ask if sarang knew certain things, because ryan knew the answer would be that sarang did—she knew. also, because he knew that her nursing experience was more diverse and impressive than his. in all honesty, ryan was pretty sure that sarang had more nursing knowledge than him, overall. she would have no problem becoming a valuable staff member in intensive care.

their day finished with ryan giving handover to the night nurse, which happened to be juyeon again. he didn't need to repeat the whole spiel regarding the patient as juyeon already knew them. only the updates were given; some intravenous antibiotics had been changed for the patient, the patient had an echocardiogram done, and finally that the patient's blood pressure was doing better today. after the verbal exchange, they were done, in which ryan thanked sarang, but only to be cut off quickly by his other coworker; juyeon. juyeon had started chatting to sarang, asking her basic questions about where she had worked previously and such. although ryan had nothing against juyeon as a a coworker, romantically however, he knew that the other male nurse had the tendency to be misleading and messy. ryan was concerned, a bit worried that sarang was going to fall for his antics. she definitely wasn't the first to, nor the last. juyeon was charming, but not a serious guy. sarang on the other hand, could fall for someone quick, which sometimes didn't lead to the best outcomes for her.

he headed to the locker room first, waiting for sarang there afterwards. backpack on and things gathered, he sat on the bench in the locker room, waiting for her. saying bye to his other coworkers, he waited until it was just the two of them—him and sarang, before approaching her for a talk.

"good job today." he started, suddenly feeling awkward and nervous. ryan cleared his throat, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. he frowned slightly, trying to formulate the words to sound as rational and objective as possible. ryan didn't want to come off annoying or as a nagger to sarang about his coworker. more so, because of how they had broken up. "i um, it's none of my business, but just—don't take juyeon seriously. he's um, kind of a flirt. to everyone."

@ryan park. Alina did her best to not stare too intently at the man. She didn’t want him accidentally thinking she was glaring at him. She wasn’t, but maybe she had a reason to. Alina was the type to hold grudges, so she doubted that, but she couldn’t rule out the possibility, just in case. All she knew about him was what she could learn from the first few seconds of their encounter. He was a nurse, pretty attractive, and his name was… Ryan, if she heard him correctly. Alina was an athlete, so injuries of any sort she was familiar with, but it’s not like she was always at the critical care unit or the doctor’s office. She couldn’t have known him from that, right?

Maybe she did because she couldn’t put her finger on why she knew him. It was just at the tip of her tongue, enough to bother her and not really pay attention to what he was saying.

“Oh, um…” Alina tripped over her own train of thought and was now scrambling to try and figure out what he just said. He was a nurse; that was probably why she recognized him. “It’s doing… Well, it’s not doing any better at all, but I feel a little better laying here in this fluorescent-lit room than down on the cold ice.” She gave him a sarcastic grin before dropping the act and taking the medication offered to her. It would take a while to kick in, so she probably shouldn’t overwork herself to figure out this little puzzle… But…

Her curiosity would get the better of her.

“Where did my other nurse go to?” She didn’t care, but she hoped that this line of conversation could keep him in the room long enough for her brain to recall where she knew him from rather than let it bother her until she was in Alex’s company and would blurt it out. It’s not like she expected the reason they knew each other to be a little… Not safe for work, but she would much rather the possibility be kept between them than involving her brother. He would take care of her until her concussion and ankle got better; she didn’t need him going into cardiac arrest because she had her “A-ha!” moment too loudly.

Now that she thought about it... If point one, Ryan being a nurse, wasn’t the reason why she knew him… And, of course, the third point, his name being Ryan, only barely scratched the itch in the back of her brain… Maybe point two, her finding him attractive had something to do with it…

@alina yu. why he had decided to pick up at shift in the emergency room was beyond him. ryan should have stayed home. morning and into the afternoon, it had been busy, unloading ambulance after ambulance with a new patient. giving a bunch of iv medications, cleaning up after a bunch of people, drawing numerous bloodwork, and giving a whole bunch of patient reports to the various aditting units nurses—the whole day had been chaos. until late afternoon, he had repeated such tasks, with no breaks. finally, into the evening, the day was settling down, and the number of sick, ill and injured people were coming to a slow.

knowing that his shift partner had to come back the next day, ryan offered the generosity of giving them the first break. he was only here for the one day. the next few days he was off, so it would only be a few more hours until he could truly relax. many of their patients had already been discharged or had been admitted to their respective units, so at least there weren't many patients that were remaining between the both of them.

everything had seemed fine, his partner was go on a quick break to eat, then ryan would go, and then shortly thereafter, it would be shift exchange, and soon enough, home time. it /was/ a good progression, until the fact that the last patient that his partner had reported on was someone he knew. specifically, it had been a girl he had slept with—a one night stand. the rest of the shift was going to be substantially uncomfortable for ryan.

usually, he didn't think anything of one night stands, but this girl, he definitely remembered. alina had been her name. she was here due to a possible ankle fracture and concussion. as stated by the doctor, she was probably going to go home once the ct scan of her head was cleared by the radiologist. thankfully for ryan, that meant the girl wasn't going to be around for much longer. hopefully, the girl didn't recognize who he was, concussion or not.

ryan sighed, stopping his charting. he saw the time at the bottom corner of his computer's screen. his partner had told him that the particular patient had pain medications due at this time. getting up from his workstation, he went to the medication cart, grabbing the pain medications. he then got another nurse nearby to check and sign off on his dose, since they were narcotics. putting the 2 pills into a medication cup, he then walked over to the patient's room, knocking on the door.

"hi, it's just the nurse. i have you pain medications." not hearing any protest to him coming in, ryan opened the door. "hello alina? i'm ryan. i'm just covering for your nurse that was here before. how's your ankle doing? any changes to your headache?" ryan handed her the pain medications, for her to take.

@ryan park. juyeon's words cascaded like a waterfall of medical information, each drop of data meticulously captured by sarang's pen as it sketched out notes on her pad. amidst the sea of facts, her gaze involuntarily drifted to ryan, his focus apparently absorbed by the cup of coffee he held. the sight triggered a flood of memories—a silent reminder of their shared past, now juxtaposed against the backdrop of their roles as colleagues.

with the comprehensive briefing drawing to a close, the room settled into a quiet anticipation of the tasks ahead. as the weight of medical knowledge hung in the air, sarang braced herself for the practical challenges that lay ahead, the promise of hands-on experience looming.

as the transition settled, juyeon, the very colleague who had just imparted the briefing, assumed a relaxed posture near the workstation. his smile carried a faint playful edge as his attention shifted to sarang, blissfully unaware of the intricate history she shared with ryan. "sarang, since you're new here, how about we exchange numbers? It could be great to give you a proper welcome or maybe share lunch sometime?"

sarang's surprise mingled with a trace of amusement as she briefly glanced at ryan, who was seemingly immersed in his coffee yet exuding an acute awareness of the unfolding scene. suppressing a soft chuckle, she met juyeon's gaze with a subtle glint in her eyes. "sure, juyeon, that sounds like a plan. here's my number." with a poised hand, she jotted the digits onto a corner of her notepad, passing it over to him.

"okay, I'll give you a call. " he shoots his playful winks and leave the room for the two.

with a soft smile that carried echoes of both nostalgia and lightheartedness, she gently breached the silence. "it appears your penchant for coffee remains as steadfast as ever."

@cheon sarang. at the back of his mind and in the depths of his heart, he knew it wasn't fair for sarang to be dealing with his presence, especially on the first day of her new job. as if the life adjustment wasn't already hard to begin with, now she had to deal with their messy past. but, work was work. ryan's only goal at the moment would be to get sarang comfortable with the unit, so she could become a competent nurse and staff member.

"so, i think it's best you just shadow me today, see what it's like here in intensive care. i'll ask you to help with bed baths or changing the patient's briefs, and wound care. the patient we have today, he's got a lot of them. does that sound cool with you?" ryan suggested to her, as he pulled up another chair by the work station outside of his assigned patient's room. "take a seat. my coworker juyeon here is gonna give us report. the guy that we're gonna have, he's burn victim, with about 15% of his body surface area burnt." ryan then sat at the computer, beside sarang, introducing her to juyeon. with a wave and quick greeting, juyeon began to tell everything and anything medically about the patient.

taking a sip of his coffee that he had brought in his tumbler, ryan nodded and hummed at certain parts of the verbal report. asking questions only when clarification was needed.

@ryan park. Stupid. Stupid mistakes.

Alina stared up at the white ceiling in the emergency room, taking a deep inhale of the sterile air as she tried to will herself to push away the anxieties that came from being in this position. Her brother had gone out to get her some food, and she had no idea when he would return. He knew she didn’t want him back until he had to drive her home, so maybe he was taking his sweet old time. She wanted to be alone.

She got used to the pain that pinched at the nerves in her ankle, but that didn’t subside the way her jaw clenched, and her nails punctured the skin of her palms. She hated asking for painkillers, but she really needed some. Alina felt her world get a little more dizzy with every passing second, and while that could either be the pain, the blinding lights overhead, or the possible concussion she got from falling down on the ice… Alina really felt it was something else.

It had been a few minutes since she asked for painkillers; at least, that's what she believed. She put her phone aside since they suspected she might have a concussion, and there were no clocks in this tiny room. As she sat there alone with her thoughts, she didn’t really know how time passed by her.

The door opened, and Alina struggled to sit up. She didn’t say anything, even as she finally sat up and caught eyes with the new nurse who walked into the room. Instantly, she recognized him but… She didn’t know from where. Maybe it was the concussion, but Alina was never good at putting names to faces. Well… For now, she decided to keep quiet and listen to him do his… Nurse spiel.

@ryan park. as ryan introduced himself with a friendly smile, sarang's heart raced, and her palms felt slightly sweaty. she gripped her clipboard a bit tighter, trying to maintain her composure. this was a situation she had never anticipated when she decided to join the nursing unit as a new intern. of all the places she could have been assigned, it had to be where ryan worked.

suppressing the swirl of emotions inside her, sarang extended her hand and shook ryan's with a careful balance of professionalism and politeness. "hi, ryan. I'm sarang. nice to meet you too." her voice came out steady, but her mind was a whirlwind of memories, the echoes of their past together.

she quickly turned her attention to her clipboard, hoping the task at hand would help keep her emotions in check. working side by side with ryan was something she hadn't anticipated, especially after the way their relationship had ended. as they began discussing the patient she was supposed to orientate with, she focused on the medical details, allowing herself to get lost in the familiar rhythm of nursing work.

throughout the orientation process, sarang found herself occasionally stealing glances at ryan. It was difficult not to feel a sense of nostalgia as she remembered the good times they had shared. but she knew that those memories were in the past, and their dynamic had changed. she wondered if he felt the same awkward tension that she did, or if he had moved on more easily.

@cheon sarang. walking into the unit, ryan greeted his coworkers one by one, before looking at the big whiteboard that was on one wall of the nursing station. the whiteboard was where all of the working staff on the current shift were listed, as well as their assignments. spotting his name, ryan let out a small sigh, it was going to be a long day, as his assignment consisted of a heavier, medically complicated patient. taking a piece of paper from the nearby paper tray, ryan walked to the bed number he was assigned to, so that he could take report about the patient from the night nurse. however, just as he was about do so, the charge nurse had called him over.

"what's up—" ryan started, before stopping his sentence. although his facial expression remained neutral, on the inside, he was genuinely shocked. there stood sarang, his long ex-girlfriend, standing before him, in the unit he worked on. it had been months since they had last spoke, or maintained any sort of contact. oddly enough, they still followed each other on social media. he knew he really should have just deleted her, as having access to view sarang's personal life was more harmful than good. especially, regarding the process of fully letting their previous relationship go. but, he was curious; wondering and pondering how she was faring, if she was okay—when she'd get over him.

"she's a new hire, can she orientate with you today? you're the one who has the most experience out of everyone here today." the charge nurse stated to him.

he didn't answer at first, debating whether to privately pull the charge nurse aside, for an honest disclosure. ryan thought about telling his superior that maybe sarang should be paired with another nurse, given the fact that they had been in a relationship previously, but now that they weren't, he questioned if it really mattered. he also didn't want to disdain sarang's first impressions to the unit and staff in any other way, and he felt that discussing his past love life was no longer irrelevant, and wasn't going to do anyone any favors. juyeon knew as a nurse that sarang was highly professional, and wouldn't do anything to jeopardize her career.

"sure." he finally said. turning back to sarang, he looked to her, reaching out a hand. "i'm ryan. nice to meet you."

@elyse tu. "alright, sounds good." he responded, keeping his lax tone, one that hadn't been too different from when he was teaching, but less instructional. additionally, the student seemed so humble and grateful of a learner, an aspect that he wanted to foster. he only got so far in his career and practice due to the many mentors and instructors that had taught him, so it was only fair that he did the same. his philosophy was all about approachability, and making students feel comfortable to ask for help, as future graduates like elyse some day were going to be his possible colleagues and coworkers.

ryan started walking out of the room, heading to the cafe that was on campus. he took a glance back, to make sure that elyse was following behind him. seeing that she was, he walked into line to order. telling the server what he wanted, he then turned back to her. "it's elyse, right?" he asked, making sure that he wasn't mixing her up with another student. he was certain that was her name, as usually there weren't many noticeable standouts in his classes, but the particular nursing student truly seemed knowledgeable. elyse also demonstrated her academic excellence in a way that wasn't obnoxious either—the girl acted far off from a know-it-all.

@ryan park. elyse watched as he gathered his things, her gaze lingering on his focused demeanor. it was clear that he took his role seriously, and she couldn't help but feel a sense of respect for someone who was dedicated to teaching such important skills. the weight of responsibility that came with the task was evident in his posture, in the way he carried himself amidst the students who had just completed the course.

when she addressed him and his attention shifted to her, she noticed the brief moment of weariness that crossed his expression before he responded. he appreciated his willingness to engage in conversation, despite his obvious preoccupation. his casual agreement to her suggestion made her smile; it was as if they were both seeking a distraction from their own thoughts in that moment.

"ryan, got it," she replied with a friendly nod, absorbing his preference for a more informal address. as he threw on his backpack and checked his watch, her curiosity deepened. the offer he extended was unexpected, but not unwelcome. she saw an opportunity to continue their conversation in a more relaxed setting, one that held the promise of delving into her own aspirations.

"oh yeah, i have some time now," she answered, her tone carrying a mixture of gratitude and genuine interest. "coffee sounds great, and i'd love to talk more about it." as she said this, her thoughts drifted to her dream of becoming a nurse, an aspiration that had intensified after her father's unexpected illness. she had always been drawn to helping others, and her father's experience had fueled her desire to make a meaningful impact in the healthcare field. "i appreciate you taking the time," she added with a warm smile. "lead the way whenever you're ready."

@elyse tu. luckily for him, everyone that had attended the course had passed today. there wasn't going to be any awkward sentiments in the air as he gathered his things to leave. usually, he would feel the gazes of the one or two students that hadn't passed, firing off silently at his back. if it weren't that, he'd feel bad that he had to have failed someone, knowing that sometimes failing to obtain the cpr certification meant a delayed job, volunteer, career or placement opportunity. however, in the long run, if someone didn't know the basic resuscitation skills, it would become a safety issue—more costly, than him being painted as the villain in the room.

hearing his apple watch sound, ryan checked for any notifications. as soon as he saw the preview, he let out a small sigh of exhaustion—a particular friend, whom had been annoying him the entirety of the week. he didn't even bother reading the rest of the message. clearing the notification, he then looked up, hearing someone address him.

"hmm?" ryan looked up, seeing that it was one of the students that had just partaken and completed the course. she had definitely passed, for the girl had aced and breezed through the course with absolutely no issues. "oh yeah, sure, no problem." he told her, nonchalantly. anything that could deter and delay him from responding back to his needy friend, was going to be sought out. "by the way, call me ryan. mr. park is way too formal." throwing his backpack on, he then looked back to his watch for the time. "do you have some time now? if you want, we can grab a coffee and talk about that. it's just i think there's another seminar or something in here soon, so i have to empty the room."

@ryan park. as elyse walked through the corridor of the clinic, her anticipation mingled with a flutter of nerves. today marked the start of her cpr course, an essential skill for anyone in the medical field. she had always been committed to her studies, determined to be well-prepared for her future as a healthcare professional but today was more than just a course; it was a step toward becoming the person she aspired to be.

with each step, her heartbeat seemed to echo the rhythm of her purpose. she arrived at the practice room, where other students were already gathered, chatting and going over notes. elyse took a deep breath, steadying her resolve, and entered the room. the atmosphere was a mixture of eagerness and tension, a shared understanding that this was a significant moment in their medical journey.

as the session progressed, she found herself fully engaged in the training. the instructor, ryan park, had a commanding presence that radiated expertise. his explanations were clear, and his approach to teaching was both informative and practical. she observed his interactions with the other students, noting how he managed to strike a balance between professionalism and approachability. nonetheless, after the session concluded, she lingered behind as the room emptied, waiting for an opportune moment to approach him. she had heard that he was also involved in coordinating clinical placements, and this was her chance to seek guidance and clarity about what lay ahead. her mind buzzed with questions, thoughts of the upcoming placements, and the mix of excitement and trepidation they brought.

taking a deep breath, she approached him with a polite smile. "excuse me, mr. park," she began, her tone respectful yet earnest. "my name is elyse, and i'm really looking forward to the clinical placements. i was wondering if you could provide some insights or advice to help me prepare mentally? i want to make the most out of this experience." she hoped her genuine curiosity and determination would convey her eagerness to learn and excel although she began feeling nervous while speaking to him.