Nurse Huisu had always thought that Professor Ahn was a bit weird.

She remembered his first day on the job. All the nurses in the ER (her included) had huddled together to spy on the newly hired and extremely good-looking pediatric surgeon — rumored to be the son of the hospital's previous chairman. She remembered her, Dr. Bae, and practically every other woman in the ER fawning over how he absolutely lit up at the sight of his young patients, and how he always greeted everyone with a smile no matter how tired he was.

Young. Handsome. Rich. Kind.

Basically, the consensus was that Professor Ahn was perfect.

A few weeks later, three other professors were hired, and rumor has it, it was Professor Ahn himself who had brought them into the hospital. Apparently, the four of them plus Professor Chae from NS had been best friends since med school. Nurse Huisu remembered them making quite the ruckus when they first arrived. All of them graduated from SNU, all good-looking, all great at their jobs. It didn't seem real at first. They didn't seem real at first. It was Dr. Bong who had told the ER staff that they should pay less attention to the group, since they're all imperfect humans like the rest of the population — well, maybe except for Professor Chae. And Professor Lee.

Speaking of Professor Lee, it was him who made Huisu realize that something about Professor Ahn was kind of weird. He didn't say anything, of course, but the way he and his best friend acted was way too different for Huisu not to notice. She had always prided herself for being more intuitive than the average person, and she was sure there was something odd about Professor Ahn.

Yes, he was tall and handsome and probably the kindest person she's ever met, but she couldn't help but feel that sometimes, there was just something off about him.

First, it was the way he acted around hospital staff. He was beyond courteous and understanding. He always tried to help the nurses when he had the chance, and always offered to ease the load of his colleagues despite the burden it could give him. That's why the nurses like him so much. Not to mention he's treated them to meals countless times. One time, he even took them on a team dinner after a particularly grueling surgery. Not once did he show he was tired.

By that time, Huisu had developed a little crush on the man. Who wouldn't? He was practically the embodiment of every woman's dream. Not to mention, she'd asked him out and he said yes. She couldn't believe it at first. They'd even watched a movie together. She thought that something was coming out of it, that maybe he was interested in her too.

That is, until she saw him say yes to another nurse.

Then to a doctor, another nurse, and then a radiologist from across the hall.

Apparently, as long as you ask Professor Ahn first, he'll definitely make time for you. It was just his personality — kind, considerate, and always willing to please.

She felt down at first, but Huisu shrugged it off pretty quickly, and even felt a weird sort of pride when people think that having meals with the professor would lead to something more — the satisfaction of knowing the truth, if you will. Anyway, her little crush soon disappeared and a few days later she was back to admiring him for the person he was, and not because she expected something else.

But now that Huisu looked back at it, Professor Ahn was kind of…distant? He always was. Sure, he was friendly and thoughtful, but he wasn't like Professor Lee who would try to get to know them on a personal level. Professor Lee even knew Huisu's mother now, and apparently gave her a new hairdryer for her birthday.

But, she couldn't recall a single instance of Professor Ahn asking something beyond a how are you or have you taken a break or is the ER doing well — not a single time did he seem interested in knowing anyone at all.

There was nothing wrong with that, of course. In fact, Huisu kind of admired it. Professor Ahn didn't have to be as good as he is. He was basically Pediatric Surgery's one man army — people would understand if he didn't take the time to even talk to other people, but he still does. That alone placated any thoughts of Professor Ahn being less than genuine.

But, still.

He was an odd person. Maybe that's why they call him Buddha. Someone that feels out of reach.

But, Huisu couldn't shake the feeling that she was still missing something, and she wracked her brain trying to find out what it was, but to no avail.

The second thing she felt was off about Professor Ahn was how he treated Dr. Jang from GS.

Dr. Jang wasn't exactly the easiest person to get to know. Granted, she was always busy and barely had enough time to brush her hair, so Huisu couldn't really blame her. She was hardworking and sincere — never afraid of anything. Huisu admired that. Not to mention she was best friends with Dr. Chu Minha from OBGYN, so she couldn't possibly be socially inept. She was probably just really, really busy. It was understandable.

But, Professor Ahn was just so weird around her. Huisu couldn't explain it any other way. He was just plain weird.

He was so cold and indifferent towards Dr. Jang. The first time Huisu saw it, she was honestly shocked at how much Professor Ahn seemed to completely change personas whenever she was around. It was like he just flipped a switch and turned into this ultra-strict, not-a-nice-guy version of himself and it was so jarring to see firsthand. Dr. Jang, like the champ that she was, always took it in stride — never complaining, never badmouthing, never anything. Sometimes it made Huisu want to hit Professor Ahn over the head.

Dr. Jang's so sincere but you never even tell her she's done a great job! Shame on you!

Of course, she couldn't really say that out loud, no matter how much she wanted to. Firstly, because he was still a really great person. And secondly, he was obviously higher up than her.

But then Dr. Jang suddenly collapsed from anaphylactic shock. It was pretty scary, honestly. Huisu's seen a lot of them, but a doctor getting wheeled in was always unnerving. There's always been something off-putting about medical professionals getting sick — it was never a pleasant sight, nor one she would ever get used to.

Being the only GS resident, every single professor had visited her while she was sleeping…except for Professor Ahn. By then, Huisu wanted to scoff at him. She was his resident too, why won't he just visit? Why was he being so stubborn? By the way he was acting, she was almost convinced that he just straight up hated her for God knows what reason.

Almost.

Huisu reached a sort of enlightenment when she saw Professor Ahn leaning his head stupidly on the wall beside the ER entrance. Amused, she watched him for a while, noticing his eyebrows furrowed and an extremely worried look etched on his face. He walked away a few times, one time even opening the door, but for an hour he just ended up lightly banging his head on the wall like some highly distressed teenager. Honestly, it was kind of endearing seeing him that way. She'd heard rumors of him showing aegyo in front of a few residents and med students, but Huisu couldn't really imagine it herself. This Professor Ahn Jeongwon was someone she'd never seen before.

At first, she questioned why he couldn't just enter the ER like a normal person. But then it hit her.

Professor Ahn likes Dr. Jang.

It might have been a conclusion she made too fast, but Huisu had always been perceptive. Somehow, she was sure she was right.

The odd behavior — no, the odd behavior only towards her.

Huisu snickered to herself, he really is like a teenager.

Well, there was something endearing about that too. It was cute.

But she questioned why he doesn't just pursue her. It wasn't as if he had anything to be insecure about, unlike a normal teenage boy. But then it hit her again. There was a rumor going around that Professor Ahn wanted to be a priest. It was dismissed by people in the hospital almost immediately, though. He was too good a doctor and only just transferred to Yulje — there was no way he was going to leave. But it could explain why the professor might be hesitant to visit someone he likes…and why he makes it a point to not give other women false hope.

Nonetheless, Huisu had developed quite a soft spot for Dr. Jang, and found herself wanting nothing but the best for her. She recalled the man with the maggots and smiled to herself.

Someone as earnest as Dr. Jang deserved to be happy.

So Huisu approached Professor Ahn, who was still leaning his head on the wall, and tried to suppress a teasing giggle.

"Hello, Professor Ahn!" She greeted.

He jumped slightly, so subtly that anyone other than her might not have noticed. Huisu tried not to snort at the sight of his messed up hair and distressed face. Ah, love.

"You must be here for Dr. Jang. She's much better now." She grinned when the professor visibly looked relived. "Let's go in—"

"—No, it's okay." He said, flustered. "I got a call, so I have to go."

There was no call. Huisu would've heard it if there were. She pursed her lips.

"I see…"

It would be a lie to say she wasn't disappointed. She had hoped to watch whatever it was Professor Ahn would do if he visited Dr. Jang, who, as far as she knows, was fast asleep at of the moment. Her 'Professor Ahn likes Dr. Jang' thesis wasn't completely solid, but she was sure that if she just saw them together again, she would know. She had a gift for these kinds of things.

She was about to enter the ER in disappointment when the professor stopped her in her tracks.

"Wait—"

Huisu looked back, suppressing the urge to not react to this pleasantly surprising development.

"Please take care of Dr. Jang."

Huisu paused.

Huh? What is this? Why do I feel weird?

"Ah, of course." She replied, heading into the ER soon afterwards.

She furrowed her eyebrows as she laid her charts on a table.

What was that?

There was something about the way he said it that rattled Huisu. He seemed…sad? No, not just that. Concerned, of course, but there was something more she couldn't quite put a finger on. It gave her the chills.

Thankfully, she had so much work to do that she didn't have time to dwell on whatever the professor had said. A few hours pass and she was heading to Dr. Jang's bed to check if she was doing okay, when she was interrupted by Dr. Jang herself.

"—Could he have feelings for me?"

She hid behind a curtain, stopping herself from interrupting.

"What?" Huisu recalled seeing Dr. Chu come by a few hours ago. It was probably her.

"Professor Ahn likes me, right?"

What.

"No…" Dr. Chu replied in disbelief.

"Why not?!" Dr. Jang replied, strongly.

Wait.

"If he likes you, he would have come here." Minha explained, softly.

Oh my God.

"You like him, don't you?" She could hear the smile on Dr. Chu's face. "Dr. Jang, you like Professor Ahn, right?"

"Yes…"

Oh. My. God.

It was mutual!

She knew it! Huisu's gut was never wrong. Never.

Oh, this was so cute!

She felt a bubble of excitement in her stomach.

So Dr. Jang likes Professor Ahn? And he (she was somewhat sure) likes her too?

Huisu was a sucker for these kinds of stories. Boy meets girl, they start off at the wrong foot, and everything else continues from there. She felt the urge to call Professor Lee — for sure he knew something about this. He was Dr. Jang's mentor, and Professor Ahn's best friend, there's no way he doesn't know! A million scenarios ran through her mind — have they even met up after work? Knowing Professor Ahn, it's possible, but also knowing Professor Ahn, he's always been different with her so it's possible they haven't. When did Dr. Jang even start to like him? No, when did Professor Ahn start to like her? Oh! When did—

"Nurse Huisu—" She was interrupted from her thoughts. She saw her senior looking at her, a clipboard in hand and a questioning look on her face. "What are you doing? A TA victim will be arriving soon. Call Dr. Bong and Dr. Bae."

"Ah, yes, I'm sorry." She replied, scratching her hand in embarrassment. She must've looked so silly spacing out. Gosh. "I'll call them now, ma'am."

Huisu sighed.

She's been working on paperwork for exactly — she stretched her neck from side to side, looking down at her watch — eight hours now. Her eyes felt heavy, and the idle state of the ER didn't help to quell her drowsiness. She saw Dr. Jang at the corner of her eye, punching down details on the hospital's database with her usual calm face.

Huisu rested her face on her palm, looking at Dr. Jang curiously.

It's been a month since she found out her juicy little secret, but Huisu couldn't focus on it as much as she wanted to. The amount of work she had to do this month was unusually heavy, and even when she saw Professor Lee come by the ER, she didn't have the time to stop him and ask about whatever it is that's going in between Dr. Jang and Professor Ahn.

She let out a deep sigh. Well, whatever. Work comes first, I guess.

Huisu focused on her papers again, but was interrupted by the sight of a large silhouette standing next to Dr. Jang.

"I'll talk to the guardian. Dr. Jang, please call Anesthesiology now." It was Professor Ahn.

Huisu's ears perked.

She heard Dr. Jang replied a short yes and deflated when she saw the professor walking away. Ugh, why couldn't he stay just a little bit longer?

"Hello, Professor Ahn!" She heard Dr. Bae greet chirpily.

"Yes, hello." Professor Ahn greeted back, passingly.

Before the professor could go further, Dr. Bae said, "Professor, can we watch a movie next time?"

Huisu stood up involuntarily, eyebrows furrowed. She looked at Professor Ahn and Dr. Bae accusingly.

"Sure. Let's watch one together when we have time."

What the hell?

Dr. Bae was probably Huisu's closest friend in the hospital. She was pretty and kind and good at her job, but Huisu couldn't help but feel a little betrayed at what she heard. What about Dr. Jang?

Was I wrong?

"What do you mean, 'next time'?" Huisu asked suspiciously when Dr. Bae walked towards her. "Did you two meet in private?"

"Yes, I had dinner with Professor Ahn last weekend." She explained, happily.

"Just the two of you? Outside the hospital?" Huisu pressed.

"Yes," Dr. Bae said, her face glowing and slightly blushing. "Just the two of us. Outside the hospital. In our own clothes, not scrubs."

Huisu's eyes widened a bit, but she calmed back down when she realized what this could be. She's heard it all before.

"Did Professor Ahn ask you to have dinner with him?" She asked, eyes narrowed and focused.

She saw Dr. Bae visibly deflate and pout, "Well…I asked him to buy me dinner first."

Yes, Huisu was never wrong when it came to romance.

"My gosh! Professor Ahn is known to buy a lot of people meals. He has a get-together with the nurses often, too. Ah, I thought it was different." She smiled to herself, projecting her voice loud enough for Dr. Jang (who she could see lean closer to them) to hear.

"It was just us!" Dr. Bae replied, defensively.

She waved her off, "It doesn't matter if it was just with you or 20 people. When people ask him to buy a meal, he always does." Huisu explained, confidently. "Dr. Bae, I've watched a movie with Professor Ahn. I'm serious. Gosh, you surprised me! I thought it was different."

She saw Dr. Bae pout. Well, whatever. Junhui will get over it, just like every other woman in this hospital has. She's a strong girl. Maybe Huisu could set her up with a café owner she knows.

Huisu sneaked a glance at Dr. Jang, seeing her looking defeated. She sighed. Dr. Jang couldn't even find time to brush her own hair, how could she possibly have time to meet with Professor Ahn? She'd have to work twice as hard to get just one night free and knowing the workload she has now, is that even possible?

Huisiu let out another deep sigh. Well, the heart wants what the heart wants. If Dr. Jang wants it enough, Huisu was sure she could find a way.

The problem was Professor Ahn.

Maybe she should just call Professor Lee. He could do something about it.

Huisu reached for her phone, but stopped when she saw the amount of paperwork still to be done. Next time, for sure.

Huisu was determined to see this couple through, and she had a feeling it'll happen sooner or later. Patience has always been a virtue in love. She just had to wait.