The operating room was a battlefield. A dozen hands moved in perfect sync, voices clipped and efficient, but at the center of it all was Baek Kang Hyuk, a force of nature wrapped in scrubs and surgical precision. He barked orders without hesitation, wielding a scalpel like a weapon and stitching arteries with the speed of a man who had once operated under gunfire.

"Intern!" His voice cut through the chaos like a gunshot. Your body snapped to attention. "Y-yes, Dr. Baek?"

"Why are you standing there like a deer in headlights? Suction!"

You scrambled to obey, nearly knocking over the instrument tray in your hurry. The scrub nurse sighed. The anesthesiologist chuckled. Baek Kang Hyuk? He barely glanced at you—too busy saving a man who had been half-dead when he arrived. "Heart rate stabilizing," one of the nurses reported.

Baek Kang Hyuk smirked, a flash of triumph in his sharp eyes. "Of course it is. What did I say? If you keep the heart pumping, the patient lives. Simple."

You swallowed hard, trying not to be flustered by how ridiculously cool he looked while casually defying death. "Tsk. You're too slow. What, are you distracted by my face again?" Oh god. Was this about your clumsy suction technique? Or had he somehow noticed the way you stared at him like a lovesick fool? You hurried after him, nerves tangled in knots.

As the surgery wrapped up, he pulled off his gloves with a snap and turned to you. "Intern. Walk with me." You mentally prepared an excuse to respond to the abusive tirade you thought you were in for, but instead he led you into the hospital cafeteria, opening the doors for you like a gentleman and ordering a sandwich for both of you. "Eat."

You blinked. "Pardon?"

"You look like you might faint. If you pass out in my OR, I'll be annoyed." He took a massive bite of a sandwich and frowned at you.

"I—uh—" you stammered, flushing.

"Eat," he repeated firmly.