8:20 AM. The Heart Center at U Medical Centum Hospital was already out of breath, like people who had lived through half a day. The air was filled with a mix of rhythmic beeps from monitors, the sound of cart wheels scraping the floor, and the friction of paper as someone hurriedly flipped through charts. As a new nurse whose name tag still felt awkward, I stood at a corner of the station, spinning the pen in my hand over and over.

Today was my first time being in charge of rounds. And in Cardiothoracic Surgery, of all places... and with Dr. Seo Yeon-woo, of all people.

Seo Yeon-woo. A man referred to by his 'surgery success rate' rather than his name within the hospital. A doctor who creates miracles among patients' guardians, and a man talked about like an emotionless machine among the nurses. There was even a joke that the hallways grew quieter when he did rounds because he spoke so little. I had seen him from a distance a few times. The back of him walking alone through an empty hallway at dawn, wearing a gown over his scrubs. Every time, I found myself holding my breath for no reason.