Baby, You and I

Some days, Park Yeolchan gets tired of being a doctor. He has to sacrifice a lot of his sleep since he works in ER and most of the time, the emergency calls are at ungodly hours. During the moments when he has only little to no rest, he sometimes regrets signing an agreement with Kim General Hospital to be almost, always available on call, as long as they can reach him.   At first, it was fun because being an ER Doctor also meant having a shift. He never had a regular schedule but at least he had a specific schedule, and he just needed to time-in and time-out. But after becoming part of the administration due to his performance, schedules became more difficult.   Now, he also needs to look over intern reports and resident observations, on top of reviewing important notes, CT, lab results, X-ray, and occasional Ultrasound images. These things take up more time than his actual face-to-face encounters with ER patients. Yeolchan just doesn’t understand how he agreed to handle a bigger role.   Part of the bargain may be the result of his closest cousin, Kim Seojin, convincing him to sign it because it’s what they have always wanted since they were kids—to help people at all times, especially when they can. Seojin’s schedules are less complicated, though, since he chose to stay as a regular ER Doctor with irregular shifts that are unsurprisingly always under his convenient control.   Good thing, Yeolchan shares the same unfortunate fate with his best friend and colleague, Lim Jaesoo. A few months after he was promoted into administration, he quickly made an impressive recommendation that got Jaesoo into the same level of busy profession. He can still remember how much Jaesoo tried to dodge the chief’s offer, but eventually gave in after Yeolchan’s constant whining. Now, seeing Jaesoo as occupied as he is during their shifts, he finds a bit of peace.   The two of them are the youngest Junior Emergency Physicians to become a part of the Kim Medical Group Administration. He consoles himself with this idea, thinking it’s not that bad, as long as he sees his friends suffering, too, in a manner that helps other people get relieved of their suffering. Sadly, he can’t do the same trick on Seojin since the bastard is the chief’s only son and he gets to have a say in everything once he uses this card on his own father.   Unsurprisingly, the only entertainment he finds during his duty is whenever the two—Seojin and Jaesoo—cross paths in the hospital hallways or in operating rooms. Ironically, despite Yeolchan being close to the two, Seojin and Jaesoo never see anything eye-to-eye and the two have been like this since medical school, arguing over endless cases, with Yeolchan always ending up being the mediator.   Today is no exception.   “Yeolchan deserves a rest, Seojin.”   “Hey, Dr. Lim, I believe the conversation is only limited to this area,” Seojin argues like a child, gesturing his hands in the air around Yeolchan and himself.   They are currently on the hospital’s rooftop garden after hours of attending to emergency room patients. It’s almost midnight, and they’re out of the hospital in a couple of hours, but Yeolchan thinks they need this break. He also needs to tell them about his talk with the chief and figures this could be the best distraction.   When Seojin confessed about mixing the triage information of the last two patients, Yeolchan suggested that the three of them take a fifteen-minute break—since he’s the senior among them and he doesn’t want them to act on impulse due to exhaustion or accidentally do unnecessary things that would be difficult to undo. Seojin immediately agreed, not even contradicting Yeolchan when he invited Jaesoo, too. Perhaps, the guy is already too exhausted to complain about everything which he usually does. Apparently, when it comes to this conversation that Yeolchan brought up after they got here, Seojin’s urge to antagonize Jaesoo, as always, resurfaces like a rejuvenated spirit.   Jaesoo rolls his eyes. “He’s been working his ass off since residency and now that your father, the chief, is giving him a time off, you wouldn’t even let him go. Are you having separation anxiety or something? Maybe you’d want to consult Dr. Zhang?”   Seojin huffs. “I know Yeolchan needs rest. There’s no way I’d miss his efforts, what, with you always reminding me that he’s overworking himself. My ears are getting allergic to your everyday nagging, Doctor.”   “And yet you won’t let him go on break. You’re not even his senior. You’re just guilt-tripping him into not leaving you, asshole. You’re such a baby.”   “Guys, quit it,” Yeolchan intervenes. “Chief only asked if I wanted a short break. I never said anything yet.”   “My Chan-chan,” Seojin dramatically breathes out, clinging his arms around Yeolchan’s neck. He's also purposefully leaning most of his weight onto Yeolchan. “Don’t leave me here. I’d die young if you leave me alone with this horrible monster.”   “Yeolchan doesn’t even need to leave for me to kill you,” Jaesoo deadpans.   Seojin shakes his head. “Nope, I’m not talking to you, you red Angry Bird.”   Yeolchan gently unlatches Seojin’s arms from around him. “Seojin, why are you so afraid of being left alone to work with Jaesoo? It’s not like he’s going to eat you or something. You’re not even going to be left alone with him completely.”   Jaesoo hits Yeolchan’s shoulder violently. “You mean, it’s not like I’d want anything to do with him. He’s just scared of me because if he commits a mistake, which is always, you won’t be here to cover up his sorry ass and I don’t give a s**t if he’s the chief's only kid. I’d kick his ass and file an incident report.”   “Yeolchan, don’t leave me,” Seojin wails exaggeratedly, draping his arms back around Yeolchan’s neck. “Your ER cooties are all over my coat now,” Yeolchan complains mildly. But Seojin is relentless. “Didn’t we promise to suffer together? This is what we’ve always wanted.”   “Except when I became a part of the admin and s**t got real,” Yeolchan snidely remarks. “But it’s alright. Seojin, I just need to get back in Busan for some days and get Chanhyun ready for his first school year. He’s going to start and we have a lot to pack. And besides, I want him to be a little familiar with how Seoul is again before the school year begins. He’s been away for too long, he might have already forgotten what it’s like to be—”   “HOLD THE FVCK UP,” Jaesoo interrupts, raising a hand. “Did you just say ‘Seoul’?”   Yeolchan places a hand on his nape with an awkward smile and a small nod.   “s**t,” Jaesoo grumbles. “You’re seriously bringing back the kid here? You mean, you’re going to father him again full time?”   And for the first time, Seojin seems to be rowing the same boat with Jaesoo on this when he says, “Yeolchan, are you kidding me? I mean, Chanhyun is a lovely kid and all, don’t get me wrong. I love that kid. But if he’s going to move in with you again, at this rate, you’d never find a minute of rest.” “That’s rich, coming for someone who didn’t want Chan to get a rest," Jaesoo snaps. “I’m serious this time," Seojin snaps back.   “I hate to say this, Yeolchan, but this i***t is actually right.” Jaesoo shakes his head, running fingers through his hair. “And besides, your parents want to be with him, too. You’ve already sacrificed some years of your life, raising him. You were supposed to be having a little fun when we were still in the last years of school, but instead, you always had to get home early and take care of your sister and this kid. Seriously. Your parents already accepted him, by God, just let them take care of him before you get him back under your responsibility. At least, wait until he’s old enough to get himself to school so you won’t have to exhaust yourself taking care of other people.”   Yeolchan just gives them a weak smile. “He cries every night, Soo. It’s been a year since I left him under my parents’ care and mom says he’s still looking for me every time he wakes up or before he goes to bed.”   “Well, you have got to let him learn things the hard way, Chan,” Seojin says in a serious tone, finally letting go of Yeolchan and fixing his own white coat. “He’s just a kid but he would soon understand why you can’t act like his father yet. You came from a well-off family, Yeolchan. You don’t need to worry too much about Chanhyun because I’m sure his grandparents would give him anything he wants with a snap of his fingers. And it’s not like you don’t call them every day to ask how he is.”   But Seojin and Jaesoo would never understand Yeolchan’s attachment to the kid.