Life, Once Again!

Chapter 919. Crank Up 3

Yoojin arrived with just a backpack. It had been six years since he last saw her, but he recognized her immediately. The eyes beneath the baseball cap moved around busily. Jiseok waved his hand at Yoojin. Brightening up, Yoojin came over. Now they were about 10 meters apart, Yoojin suddenly stopped and took off her cap. Then she started charging at full speed.

Maru instinctively realized that he would be hospitalized for at least three weeks if he stayed still. He immediately dragged Jiseok by the shoulder and placed him in front of him. Yoojin, who was panting like a boar who had just found a potato field, stopped right in front of them.

"You look pretty good considering you cut off all contact all of a sudden."

"Thanks."

"And your shamelessness hasn't changed at all. Forget everything else, and give it to me straight. Are you dating Gaeul again?"

"I am."

"I'll warn you this time, but if you make her cry one more time, I'm going to go to your house even at the risk of being reported. I thought she was really going to die the day after you went to the military. You went even though you knew that things would turn out that way."

"I have no excuses."

Maru could only apologize. After scanning him from top to bottom, Yoojin sighed.

"It's somewhat strange for me to get angry since you two are happy together, so… anyway, you should do well this time. She might look strong usually, but things are beyond salvageable if she starts breaking down."

Yoojin, who patted her own chest in relief, glared at Jiseok this time. Her target seemed to have changed. Maru silently watched as Yoojin fired a barrage of words straight at him. Jiseok was looking at him for help, but he chose to maintain his silence. He didn't want to get caught up in the fire. After uttering all her grumbles and disappointed feelings, Yoojin put on her cap again.

"Is Gaeul in her shoot?"

"Today's the last shoot."

"Isn't the final episode in two days? That's a really tight schedule."

"It's a chronic disease of Korean dramas."

They got in the car. There was only one destination. Maru had no excuse to refuse Yoojin's strong demand to see how they were doing together. He parked the car in the parking lot.

"The view here sure is good. Han Maru, looks like you earned quite a lot of money during the time you cut off all contact."

"Allow me to prepare myself by telling how many times are you going to mention that I cut off all contact."

"Well, I'll see how you do."

From the way she was talking, it seemed that Han Maru was going to become Han Cut-off-all-contact today. He entered the apartment with some groceries that he bought on the way back. He was waiting after pressing the button for the elevator when he heard some footsteps coming down the stairs. A moment later, Suyeon came down wearing a training jersey.

"Your friends? One of you looks familiar."

"Out to exercise?"

"Yeah. I'm going to try and learn flying yoga."

Suyeon walked past him and waved her hand. Seeing her walk out the entrance, Yoojin spoke,

"Gosh, that startled me. I thought it was Kim Suyeon. That big sister has a great figure."

The elevator came down. Maru tapped Jiseok, who was staring at the entrance where Suyeon disappeared through.

"That wasn't senior Kim Suyeon, was it?" Jiseok asked.

Maru just said that she was a look-alike. Along with a bell that signaled their arrival, the elevator doors opened.

"Hyung-nim, what are you doing?"

Geunsoo was standing in front of his door, wearing sunglasses.

"Oh, you weren't home."

"Even I go out from time to time."

Geunsoo looked at Yoojin and Jiseok and lightly nodded his head as a greeting. The two of them whispered to each other and greeted back awkwardly.

"Can you lend me your vacuum cleaner? I don't have one right now because not all of my stuff has been delivered."

"Wait a sec, I'll be right back with it."

Maru opened the door and told his friends to come in. Geunsoo, who stepped off to the side, smiled at his friends as they entered the apartment.

"It's him, isn't it?"

"No, it isn't."

The two of them stared at the front door from the living room. Maru came back out with the vacuum cleaner.

"Just text me once you're done, and I'll go pick it up."

"I'm the one borrowing it, so I should return it myself."

"Okay then. But what's up with the sunglasses?"

"I got laser eye surgery recently. The doctor told me it's not absolutely necessary, but it's better to have one on. Does it not suit me? I think it is a little big for me since I grabbed whatever pair that I could find."

"I suddenly feel uncomfortable with you asking me something like that. You look good in anything with that face of yours so don't worry about it."

Geunsoo thanked him for the vacuum cleaner and went back upstairs. He was starting to feel worried. There would definitely be rumors if the three musketeers snooped around the neighborhood. If Yoo Sooil appeared on top of that, the entire apartment complex might be filled with extreme fans. The residences of famous actors becoming sightseeing spots after being revealed by the media wasn't something that happened once or twice. Once more and more people walked around, he would have a hard time living with Gaeul.

"That was Hong Geunsoo, wasn't it?"

"I said he isn't. He's not, is he?"

The two of them asked as soon as he came back in. Maru said that he wasn't. He just introduced him as a handsome unemployed man. When he asked them back how funny it would be if a famous man like Hong Geunsoo came downstairs just to borrow a vacuum cleaner, the two of them seemed accepting.

"That's true. From what I know, Hong Geunsoo lives in an office-tel in Gangnam. I watched it on TV before," Yoojin said as she organized the groceries.

She opened the fridge and the cupboards without hesitation as though she had been here several times before. She did everything without having to tell her what went where. Meanwhile, Jiseok wrestled with the dogs. It was his job to calm down the dogs asking him for a hug.

"When's Gaeul coming?"

"Today's the last shoot, so she'll come home after a get-together. They shot throughout the night last night, so they should finish things off early today. The get-together should be a simple one since there's a separate afterparty. She'll be back by 9 if she's early, I think."

"I should text her to come quickly."

Yoojin put down her phone after texting and brought some beer from the fridge.

"You want to start drinking already?" Jiseok said.

"We have a lot to talk about, so yes, we're drinking starting now. We won't drink enough to get drunk. Just enough to talk."

Yoojin put down the beer and the snacks on the floor.

"Now then, tell me what you've been doing all these years that you've been staying out of contact."

"It's not that interesting though, because I didn't do much."

"I'll listen to you even if it isn't interesting, so tell me. I'm curious about why you just disappeared without a sound. After that, we should discuss how shallow our friendship was."

"You're putting me in a difficult position before we even start."

"That's why I told you to drink. Jiseok, you come here too."

Jiseok sat down next to Yoojin with the Pit Bull in his arms. While he grumbled that he knew everything already, he was obediently following what Yoojin said. Maru grabbed a can of beer.

"So, should I start from the day I went to the military after breaking up?"

* * *

Gaeul looked at the man sitting next to her. This man, who succeeded his father and was sacrificed to the politics of the hospital, single-handedly fought against injustice. He was a foolish man who made losses against the strong because of his unrelenting attitude, and against the weak for giving away everything he had, but that was why she loved him even more.

"Isn't it cold?"

The man shook his head. Gaeul wrapped a blanket around the man's shoulders and grabbed his hand. The man's hands, which once conducted intricate surgeries to the point that they were called the hands of a machine, could now no longer hold a scalpel. It was the consequence of saving a child's life. An iron beam penetrated his hand, shattering his bones and snapping his nerves. Even as his career as a surgeon came to an end, the man checked the state of the child in his arms.

Gaeul wanted to become his hands. His war had just been shifted from one that was conducted on an operation table to the entirety of the hospital. There were still many patients as well as doctors who waited for his actions.

"The board director left the fate of doctor Kang to me," said the man.

"What are you going to do? Strip him of his gown?"

"No, his skills are too good to go to waste. There are places that need his skills. I'll put an eye on him so that he will not have any time to think about anything other than surgeries. Of course, if he doesn't accept my offer, then…."

"Then?"

The man looked at the old pine tree in the hospital park. It was something that his father had planted.

"Then I should persuade him until the end. So that he can save other people's lives; so that his medical skills are put to the right use."

Gaeul gripped his hand even tighter. He always acted like a fool. That was why she couldn't take her eyes off him. She tapped on his cheek as though to tickle him before kissing him. She placed her head against his shoulder and looked at the pine tree, one that had always been watching over them like a father.

"Cut! That was great!"

A voice echoed inside her ears. Gaeul took two deep breaths. That was how she returned to her original self after being a character. She immediately stood up. She did not forget to wipe her lips with the back of her hand either.

"Thanks for your work," said Giwoo, who was sitting next to her.

Gaeul faintly smiled at him before turning around. It was a blessing that all of her personal emotions disappeared once she started acting. It allowed her to whisper love and even kiss that horrific face. She wouldn't have been able to do it if she was sane.

"You worked really hard, unni."

Mijoo ran over and put a thick jacket on her. She warmed up her lips with some hot tea since they were cold from holding an ice cube in her mouth before.

"Gaeul, that last expression was really good. I was originally planning on demanding some more since it was the last episode, but you made me change my mind. It was really good."

"So only at the very end do I get to hear a big compliment from you, director."

"When did I ever not compliment you? I did it every time."

"I was joking with you. Thank you for your job too, director."

"I never want to do a medical drama again. It's too much of a pain."

"I know you'll do it if you get a good scenario."

"If there's something like that, then I will. I do have to make a living. You know that we're just having a light meal before splitting up, right? It's not good to go for 2nd and 3rd rounds since there's an afterparty."

"I agree. I want to go back home and rest."

"You're quite a home person too, huh? Did you hide a pot of honey at your home or something? Why are you so hung up on going home all the time?"

"Yes, in fact, I do have a pot of honey at home."

The director smiled at her and walked over to Kang Giwoo this time. She could hear his excited compliment all the way here. Everyone looked good because the last shoot was finished. She looked at the staff from right next to the heater. The cleanup process was quicker than ever. That was the energy created by the word 'final'.

"Everyone gather up! We'll take a photo."

Gaeul grabbed Mijoo's hand and walked to the old pine tree. The entire cast and staff of Doctor's Office gathered up. It came to her that this was really the last time.