Chapter 5 - Twisted Signals and the Unintended Ride

The bright, stark morning light filtered through the blinds of the International Daehan University Hospital, casting clean, linear shadows across the floor of the orthopedic ward. Inside the quiet room, Kim Do-jung—Junu—was sitting comfortably propped up against his white pillows, idly staring at the ceiling. The heavy wooden door clicked open with a sharp, professional rattle, and Dr. Choi Hyun-woo stepped inside the room.Instead of his usual relaxed, brotherly warmth, Hyun-woo's face was fixed into a completely rigid, tight, and painfully fake smile. He marched straight to the edge of the mattress, clutching his medical tablet with absolute, stiff formality."Good morning," Dr. Hyun-woo announced, his voice dropping into a clinical, icy cold tone. "How exactly are you feeling today, Mr. Jung?"Junu froze completely, his eyes widening in total, paralyzing shock as he heard the sudden, bizarre change in his doctor's demeanor. He rapidly bolted upright on the mattress, staring at Hyun-woo in pure bewilderment. 'What on earth is wrong with this guy?' Junu thought frantically to himself, his mind spinning into complete confusion. 'Why on earth is he suddenly talking to me like I'm a formal corporate stranger?'"Doctor..." Junu blurted out out loud, looking thoroughly puzzled. "Why exactly are you talking to me like this? What happened, Dr. Hyun?"Hyun-woo didn't break his fake smile, his posture remaining perfectly stiff. "Nothing at all. I was simply asking a standard medical question to check on your recovery status. Did I say anything wrong, Mr. Jung?""No, not technically," Junu muttered, wrinkling his forehead in absolute annoyance. "But why on earth are you suddenly calling me by my formal, real last name?"Hyun-woo leaned forward under the pretense of checking the leg cast, lowering his voice into a fierce, rapid whisper inside his own mind. 'This patient right here... he is my beloved Kim Seo-ah's boyfriend,' Hyun-woo thought, his internal jealousy burning with absolute, raw intensity. 'What on earth does a guy like him want from her? How should I even talk to a romantic rival without losing my medical temper?'Junu blinked, staring at the doctor's sweating forehead. "What happened? Is there a problem with my bone scans?""Nothing at all! Just shut up and let me check your vital reflexes properly," Hyun-woo snapped out loud, suddenly yanking the stethoscope around his neck and aggressively starting the physical checkup to hide his inner panic.Junu let out a miserable groan, looking thoroughly exasperated as he thought to himself, 'What is completely wrong with this doctor today? He's acting like a total lunatic.'Hyun-woo's thoughts were racing frantically as he wrapped the blood pressure cuff around Junu's arm. 'Should I explicitly ask him about their relationship? What should I do?' He cleared his throat loudly, trying to maintain his professional authority. "Mr. Junu...""Please, stop saying that!" Junu interrupted fiercely, throwing his hands up in the air. "It sounds incredibly weird!""Yes, Mr. Junu," Hyun-woo answered deadpan, his face tightening.Junu made a thoroughly sour, miserable face at the sheer absurdity of the conversation.Hyun-woo couldn't control his curiosity any longer. He leaned in closer, his dark eyes paying absolute, hyper-focused attention to Junu's face as he popped the golden question. "How exactly do you know Kim Seo-ah?"The moment his sister's name left the doctor's lips, a huge, highly mischievous, and radiant smile broke across Junu's face. He leaned back against the pillows, deliberately drawing out his words to tease the intensely focused surgeon. "Oh, Kim Seo-ah? She is my absolute sweet, cute, and lovely little—""Shut up!" Hyun-woo interrupted in a sudden, booming, and incredibly loud voice, his jealousy completely exploding as he ripped the stethoscope away. "Your physical checkup is completely and successfully done! I'm leaving the ward right now!"Without waiting for a single second of response, Hyun-woo spun on his heel and marched aggressively out of the ward door, slamming it shut behind him with a loud click.Junu sat entirely frozen on the bed, his face twisted into a look of absolute, hairy confusion. He stared at the empty doorway, thoroughly bewildered. "But... he should have at least stayed to listen and find out that she's my sister! Why on earth did he just run out into the hall first? Honestly, I have absolutely no clue what has happened to his brilliant medical brain since the moment he met Kim Seo-ah. I can't understand a single thing about this romance loop. Whatever, let it go."Meanwhile, Dr. Hyun-woo stormed down the quiet corridor and burst straight inside his private doctor's break room, slamming the heavy wooden door shut. He collapsed against the desk, running a frantic hand through his hair as his mind replayed Junu's interrupted words."Wait..." Hyun-woo whispered to himself, a look of sudden, paralyzing shock hitting his features. "Why on earth was he calling her his sister? Did he mean... little sister?! Oh my god, I am completely, entirely confused! Did I just blow my temper at her actual brother?!"Right at that exact microsecond of raw panic, the private office door swung wide open without a single warning. Nurse Han Ga-on stepped straight inside the room, carrying a stack of medical files, completely failing to check if the doctor was occupied."Dr. Hyun," Nurse Ga-on announced with an affectionate smile. "Your senior medical director has requested your presence in the executive wing immediately—""Don't you understand basic rules?!" Hyun-woo roared out in a sudden, booming voice of pure frustration, his built-up stress exploding directly at her. "Do you completely lack the manners to knock firmly on the wood panel before coming into my private room?!"Nurse Ga-on froze completely, her jaw dropping in absolute horror. The harsh reprimand punctured her pride instantly, and her eyes welled up with heavy, flowing tears."Oh, Dr. Hyun..." Ga-on cried out, her voice breaking into a painful sob as she clutched the files tightly against her chest. "How on earth can you talk to me in such an awful, disrespectful way?! You have never once spoken to me like that during our entire hospital shifts! You are terrible!"Without waiting another second, she spun around in tears and violently stormed out of the private office, sobbing heavily into the hallway.Hyun-woo let out a sharp, cynical groan, patting his throbbing head in deep annoyance as the door shut. "Oh, what on earth is there to cry about? You follow my steps everywhere I go anyway! My mind is already completely lost and short-circuited about Kim Seo-ah and this brother misunderstanding!"He stopped, taking a deep, calming breath as his logical executive training kicked back in. "Yes... I shouldn't have gotten angry or lost my temper on the hospital floor like that. I need to get a grip before tomorrow's party."The golden evening twilight settled over the city, casting a warm glow through the modern glass windows of Hanseong Architecture.The clock on the wall chimed, signaling the official end of the shift. All the employees began shutting down their desktop towers, gathering their bags, and walking toward the main elevator lobby to head home."Goodnight! Bye, everyone!" the staff members chorused cheerfully as they left the floor."Bye, guys. See you tomorrow at the party!" Kim Seo-ah called out with a warm smile, organizing her design files at her desk.Right at that exact second, the heavy glass door of the executive cabin clicked open, and CEO Choi Sun-woo walked out onto the floor, dressed immaculately in his tailored charcoal business suit. He stopped directly beside their desk aisle, his sharp eyes locking onto Seo-ah."Miss Kim, are you formally leaving the office floor right now?" Sun-woo asked, his tone calm and professional.Before Seo-ah could even clear her throat to answer, Ma Ha-rin instantly stood up from her rolling chair, grabbing her handbag with a swift, dramatic movement. "No, Sir! I am the one who is going right now! Goodbye!"Seo-ah's jaw dropped in absolute mortification at her roommate's blunt, sassy attitude. She frantically grabbed Ha-rin's arm, pulling her back with a harsh whisper. "Ma Ha-rin is just being incredibly funny and ridiculous today, isn't she, Sir?! Please shut your mouth right now, Ha-rin! Excuse us, Sir, she didn't mean to be disrespectful."Sun-woo offered a rare, mild nod of absolute amusement, keeping his focus on Seo-ah. "Okay, anyway, it's fine. I asked you because I am leaving the building complex right now as well, so I can easily drop you both off at your destination in my car."Seo-ah quickly forced a polite, formal smile, frantically waving her hands to reject the lift. "No, Sir, there is absolutely no professional need for that trouble. Thank you, but I have somewhere else entirely to go this evening."Sun-woo narrowed his eyes slightly, a sharp corporate plan forming in his thoughts. 'I mean, I think Hyun-woo explicitly told me on the phone that she is going to the hospital to meet that patient today,' Sun-woo thought to himself, a determined glint hitting his gaze. 'This is the perfect opportunity. I will drive them there myself and find out exactly who this mysterious man is.'"Yes, please! I am completely ready for a free lift, Sir!" Ha-rin blurted out cheerfully, bypassing Seo-ah's warnings entirely as she shouldered her bag.Seo-ah instantly stepped forward, forcefully stopping Ha-rin's movement with a sharp nudge. "What on earth are you doing, Ma Ha-rin?! Stop it!"She turned back to the CEO, her face burning red. "Thank you so much, Sir, but you will get incredibly late from your corporate schedule because of us. We can just take a normal taxi.""No, that's completely okay," Sun-woo countered smoothly, his executive tone leaving absolutely zero room for argument. "And I genuinely want to do it, so I will drop you both off safely. I will go down and get the luxury car out of the basement parking lot right now. You both come down immediately."Without waiting for another protest, Sun-woo turned on his heel and walked away toward the elevator lobby with long, firm strides. 'Now we will finally find out who this mysterious boyfriend is,' Sun-woo thought to himself with a satisfied smirk as the elevator doors shut.Back at the desk, Seo-ah threw her hands up in pure, panicked frustration, glaring at her friend. "Ma Ha-rin! If you don't even like him and constantly call him a strict monster, why on earth do you want to go in his car with me?! Why are you accepting his lift?!""Yes, I know I don't like him," Ha-rin giggled loudly, grabbing her shopping bags. "But if we are getting a premium luxury lift for free, won't it save us the taxi bother? Yes, let's just go! Stop overthinking!"Seo-ah let out a heavy, defeated sigh. "Fine, fine! Let's go!"The two girls hurriedly gathered their things and rushed out of the office floor toward the parking level.The sleek, high-end sports car was waiting smoothly along the curb of the building exit, its engine purring softly. The door clicked open, and the two girls approached the passenger side.Sun-woo lowered the window, offering a brief nod. "You both have successfully come down. Okay, then please sit down inside. Let's go.""Yes, Sir," Seo-ah nodded, reaching for the rear door handle. "I'll sit comfortably at the back seat."Ha-rin instantly grabbed her jacket, forcefully whispering, "No, Kim! You go and sit in the front passenger seat next to the boss!""Absolutely not," Seo-ah hissed back, opening the rear door and sliding inside the plush interior. "I am perfectly fine sitting right here at the back. You go ahead."Ha-rin let out a soft laugh, adjusting her skirt as she opened the front passenger door. She looked at Sun-woo's sharp profile, putting on her best cheerful, polite smile. "Yes, please sit down comfortably, Sir... I am joining you in the front!"Sun-woo looked at her with a calm, deadpan expression, his hands steady on the leather steering wheel. "Yes, I am already sitting down, Ma Ha-rin. Do I mandatory have to step out and open the door for you to get inside?""Yes... I mean, no, noway! Let's just go!" Ha-rin gasped, her face turning bright pink as she quickly slid onto the leather cushion and fastened her seatbelt.'Don't even stand near his radar, Ha-rin... just look straight ahead,' she screamed fiercely inside her own thoughts, her heart pounding as the luxury car slid smoothly into the Seoul traffic. Sun-woo stepped on the gas, driving straight toward the university hospital to finally unravel the grand family secret.