Chapter 17
Only then did Daeho smile again and continue the conversation.
“By the way, you got here pretty fast.”
“Of course I did. But hey, how could you come to Korea without telling your agent? Do you know how shocked I was?”
“Do I look like a kid who needs to report every move I make?”
“I got yelled at like crazy by our captain! I thought I was going to die of embarrassment.”
Irene furrowed her smooth forehead, scolding him with a mix of frustration and disbelief.
But Daeho didn’t seem affected at all.
“I’ll call him later. Anyway, which hotel are you staying at?”
“The most expensive one. I booked the Grand Luxury Suite under your name, Richard.”
“Well, room price isn’t a big deal. Let’s go eat first.”
Vroom.
Daeho casually started the car engine.
But suddenly, Irene’s light and cheerful aura changed.
Her tone grew calm and sharp—professional, almost serious.
“By the way, your assignment should’ve been CS. Why are you suddenly in the ER?”
“……”
Just as he was about to drive off, Daeho paused for a moment.
Irene furrowed her brows again, as if she already knew something.
“And why didn’t you tell Andrew you were coming to Korea?”
“He’d just say I came because of him.”
“So you didn’t?”
Irene pressed gently, sounding more like she was worried than suspicious.
Daeho looked at her quietly before replying.
“Irene. I promise you this—I'll make sure Andrew stands again.”
“You said that two years ago. And again last year. And even last month.”
“……”
“I trust you. No—I know you’ll keep that promise. So stop blaming yourself. What happened that day… was an accident.”
Her voice softened at the end, her eyes filled with sorrow.
But the hand gripping the gearshift tightened.
Clench.
“Yeah… maybe it was an accident. But still…”
“Shh. Don’t say it. You’ll just make Andrew sad.”
“…You’re right. Let’s leave it for now.”
Daeho finally nodded.
Irene wasn’t just some assistant who helped manage his affairs.
She was Andrew’s cousin—a close friend who’d been with Daeho since their Harvard days.
To him, she was both a reminder and a burden in his heart.
Seeing the sadness flicker in his eyes, Irene quickly brightened up again.
“Okay! So—where are we going to eat?”
“Where?”
“There’s so many places—Hongdae, Ewha, Sinchon, Gangnam, Cheongdam!”
“The hotel.”
At his blunt answer, Irene dramatically covered her face.
Smack.
“Oh my God, terrible! My first time in Korea, and you want to eat at a hotel lounge?!”
“Let’s just get this over with.”
Vroom.
Daeho answered dryly, the car speeding off into the night.
Later, inside a luxurious hotel suite.
Daeho sat on a plush sofa, flipping through English documents.
Johns Hopkins Medical Seminar Invitation…
Mayo Clinic XX Anniversary Foundation Banquet Invitation…
Each heading sounded prestigious and important.
But Daeho skimmed them without much interest.
Rustle, rustle.
“Nothing useful…”
Then, his hand slowed down. He had found what he was looking for.
Head and Neck Cancer Detailed Operation
Spinal Muscular Atrophy Operation
Paralytic Ileus
Compression Fracture due to Osteoporosis
Every title on the list described rare, complex, and difficult surgeries.
Just reading them was enough to give anyone a headache.
Even the medical fields were all different.
It almost looked like a list of topics for someone preparing for a specialist exam.
But Daeho knew there was a different reason behind this list.
He muttered, his tone sharp with suspicion.
“What’s the point of offering me these ultra-difficult surgeries as the second operating surgeon?”
His voice dripped with disbelief.
Across from him, Irene sat silently, sipping coffee.
Daeho waited for her to respond, then finally raised his head.
“Irene, are you asleep?”
“Hmph!”
Irene puffed her cheeks and turned away.
The warmth in Daeho’s eyes cooled instantly.
Rustle.
“I’m working right now.”
His tone was calm but carried a quiet chill.
Irene flinched, then pouted.
“So what.”
“I bought you dinner. What are you mad about now?”
When he asked, Irene glared at him.
“I’m American! You really think steak counts as a treat for me?”
“It was Korean beef. Two Plus grade.”
“I lived in Korea eating soybean stew every day before moving to America. You think I came back here to eat it again?”
Her argument wasn’t wrong.
But she didn’t realize who she was talking to.
“Yeah.”
“…‘Yeah’? You’d eat it again?”
“Of course. Soybean stew never gets old.”
He even sounded proud of it.
Irene froze mid-complaint.
“…Okay, fair. I’ll give you that one. Anyway!”
“Let’s drop that. You said these surgeries were offered to me?”
“Yup. A love letter asking you to join as a co-surgeon.”
“Quite a passionate letter, I see.”
Rustle, rustle.
Daeho flipped another page, sighing faintly.
Meanwhile, Irene’s confidence returned in full force.
“Hmph, well, it’s because you’re that good.”
“…”
He couldn’t even respond.
But she continued proudly, “You’re not just an ordinary resident, remember? By your first year, you already—”
“Yeah, yeah. Get to the point.”
“If you choose which surgeries you want to join, they’ll send the full data and coordinate the schedule.”
“You want me to decide now?”
He replied lazily, looking utterly uninterested.
Anticipating that, Irene smiled slyly.
“Maybe not right now, but soon. The sooner, the better.”
