Ashley came out of the OR in the dawn. She managed to remove the metal spike inserted in her skull with her team. It took quite a few hours to do so. The girl's condition was not good. She was sent to post-op but the timing was critical. She was kept in observation for the next seventy-two hours. She sat on the chair in the hallway of surgery blocks unable to stand even for a second.

Dr. Shawn came out from the OR beside.
Ashley stood up and looked at him with eagerness.
He just shook his head from side to side.
Ashley thumped back on the chair and leaned on the backrest. The mother didn't make it.

Ashley got up and went for her office.

"Dr. Saul wrote something about the post-op of the stroke patient," Park Aera came in.
"Can you check this one out? Gosh, his handwriting is pathetic!" She stopped as soon as she saw tears pooling in Ashley's eyes.

"Hey! What happened?"

"She didn't make it," Ashley answered as she wiped away her tears.

"I heard. It's ok, you've made a choice and a right choice. Don't beat yourself over it."

"I can't," Ashley put her head on the desk.

"Hey.......let me walk you through the situation. Tell me, why did you make the choice."

"The girl....she was so young. She had a full life ahead. The mom spent her life and she'd have nothing left if the girl was gone, she'd be just living like a zombie for the rest of her life. But the girl.....she had still a long way to go, a lot to see, a lot to experience."

"Don't bluff yourself with that," Park Aera stopped her. "You are not a philosopher. What you did was not based on emotions, rather on science. What was it?"

"Chances of the survival of the girl were higher. Probably fifty-fifty. The mom was not good, chances of survival were probably thirty percent? If I tried to save the mom, the girl could have died, the mom could have also died in OR which she did. But I choose the girl, cause if the mom died, at least I'd be able to save one. And I  asked Dr. Shawn to operate on the mother in E.R cause it could have done there and Dr. Shawn was good at it. But the girl seriously needed the OR cause operating on her in E.R was practically impossible."

" The mother got into OR twenty minutes later," Park Aera confirmed.
"Surgery started in the E.R right after you left and then she was moved into OR. She died on the table there. Just like you predicted that she wouldn't make it."

"Unnie..."

"It was a hard choice to choose death for the patients. You did what you had to do kid. You did good," Park Aera patted her shoulder. "Now, go home. Everything is cooled down, some patients were transferred to another hospital while you were operating. I'll make sure to call you if anything is needed."

Taehyung called her in the noon, she was still asleep.

"Did I wake you up?" Taehyung said with concern.

"I'd be up anyway by now. How are you?"

"Good. We'll be back in few days."

"Aera unnie caught us. She knows about us," Ashley yawned.

"How? When?" Taehyung panicked.

"She told me yesterday."

"Can we trust her?"

" We can if you care to bribe her with an autograph or something," Ashley smiled.

"Gladly!" Taehyung sighed in relief.
"What happened yesterday? You ran for an emergency."

"Let's not go there," Ashley hid a sigh.

"Did something bad happen? I am sensing something unusual."

"Yeah. Work stuff, don't bother."

Taehyung didn't push her further.
"I think Eun Jin was a little disappointed that you didn't come," he chuckled.
" Probably having a girl crush over you!"

" She is a sweetheart. So is your brother. Say sorry to her from me. Will ya?"

"Ok."

"How is Mr. Kim?"

"You've got a fan club over here. Oh, speaking of the devil, eomma is here."

"Hello dear."

Ashley gasped in surprise as soon as her voice came through the phone.

"Hello Mrs. Kim," Ashley managed to say gently getting up from the bed.

"How are you?" her English was broken.

"I am great, thank you. How about you?"

"I am fine. You had your lunch?"

Ashley could hear Mrs. Kim correcting her translation from Taehyung once in a while.

"No. I'll cook now."

"Breakfast?"

"No...I was fast asleep after I came back this morning from the hospital."

"You should prepare something beforehand. Do you like kimchi?"

"Yes, It's growing on me," Ashley smiled.

"I'll send some foods with Tae, don't bother to cook when you are tired. Just concentrate on your study and practice."

"No, no Mrs. Kim. I don't want to bother you," Ashley protested fast.

"I prepare foods for Tae too when he stays away, it wouldn't be a problem. I insist."

"Thank you very much, Mrs. Kim."

"Just stay healthy and eat, ok?"

"Alright. It was nice talking with you," Ashley replied gladly.

"So?" Taehyung's voice came through.

" What so? You could have given me a heads up. I was mortified!"

"Don't worry, she likes you."

"Whatever you say," Ashley rolled her eyes and got down to the kitchen to cook something for herself.

"I wish you'd be here with me now," Taehyung smiled.

"Me too. Gonna cook something. Talk to you later."

"Ok, I love you, Ash,"

"I love you too."

"Wow, you are learning to say it back!" Taehyung teased.

" You had been a good boy these days. Who knows, if you be like this, I may end up inviting you over ramen, perhaps?!" Ashley smirked at herself.

" What is the fastest way to come back?" Taehyung said with a hurried voice.

Ashley laughed, "Bye."

" Bye," Taehyung smiled and added the last word teasingly, " Noona."

Ashley laughed again and ended the call.

"Going home?" Park Aera smiled at Ashley.

"Yeah," Ashley sounded tired.

"Your patient, she just woke up."

"Yeah, I heard. Gonna go check out on her before I go," Ashley nodded. It's been two days since the surgery.

"Want me to come along?"

"If you want," Ashley started towards the ICU.

"Hello, I am Dr. Ruth. I did the surgery on you."

The girl looked at her with lifeless eyes.

The attending nurse mouthed her,
"Her mother."

"Hey, you..." Ashley started but she cut her in midway, " You killed her."

Ashley froze in place.

"You killed her, you hear me?" she whispered.

She was speaking Korean, but it was enough time around for Ashley to understand her clearly.

"It's Kim Jieun, right?" Park Aera came in front.

The girl didn't answer nor took her eyes off Ashley.

"Jieun, I am so sorry for your loss, but the Dr did everything they could. If you...."

"Why did you do it? Why me? You could have saved her!" The girl's eyes were full of tears and deep resentment.

"I....I..." Ashley was at loss for words.  She was terrified to break loose the emotions that the girl was holding. She was trembling from her core, unable to resist the waves of regrets and panic.

"You had no right, you had no right!" she broke down in tears.

"Jieun, calm down girl," Park Aera patted slightly on her hand sitting next to her.

"She thinks she did a great job, right?" Jieun was complaining about park Aera. "But what will I do without my mother? she was my everything! I am left all alone here!"

"Do you think your mother would be well off without you if you didn't make it out? She just did her job kid, don't blame her," The elder one was trying to comfort her.

"You are a murderer. You let her die!!" Jieun was screaming this time.
" You don't know what mother is. Didn't your mother raise you? I wish your mother dies in front of you while you decide to get busy to save yourself."

Ashley tried to control herself. She took a step towards her. "Jieun... "

"Don't come here. Go away! You are a monster."

Park Aera looked at her to say something but she was quick to get out of there.

Taehyung knew Ashley would be in the hospital at this time. He parked in the underground parking lot and called her. But she didn't pick up. The phone rang continuously. Was she in surgery? But she said she had no surgeries scheduled for today. After almost fifteen minutes, Taehyung decided to step out and go search for her. He came straight to the fifth floor and went to the nursing station. Ashley mentioned Park Aera's name that day.

"Excuse me?"

The elderly woman behind the counter was busy with some paperwork. She looked at him, "yes?"

"I was here for Dr. Ruth? Is she here?"

" Oh my god!" her hand came up to cover her mouth, she recognized Taehyung though he was in his face mask and cap.

"Aera noona, right?" Taehyung looked at her nameplate.

"Y...yes!" her voice was shaky.

"I heard about you. It's nice to meet you," Taehyung offered his hand.

She shook it unsurely and said, " I am still not believing it! You are here!"

Taehyung nodded and park Aera could see his smile in his eyes.

"Well, noona? If you could just inform her that I was here I'd be very glad. I can wait in her office, it's kinda risky standing here."

"She, she is gone," The elder one finally composed herself.
" I think you should hurry to her place. She had a breakdown a while ago."

"What?"

"She was already disturbed about the case, but today the patient made it worse." She explained the situation in short.
"She is not picking up my calls. Can you please confirm for me if she's doing ok?"

"Y...yeah," Taehyung was at lost.

"I think you should hurry."

Taehyung nodded and rushed back to his car. He reached her apartment in the shortest possible time. He entered the passkeys and went in.

"Ash?" he shouted, "Ash, where are you?"

There was no reply.
He was panicking. He ran upstairs. There was none. "Ash?" her phone and backpack were on the ground.

"Ash?" this time he heard the sound of the shower.

He rushed to the bathroom door. He was calming down slowly with relief.

"You there, Ash?" he touched the door only to realize it was unlocked from inside.

Still no reply, he put his ear on the door, "Ash?"
He heard nothing but the flowing water.
"Ash?" concern was taking over his voice again.

"Hope you are decent. I am coming in," Taehyung didn't wait for her reply.

He pushed the door open and entered the bathroom. There she was, sitting on the floor, back against the wall. Her clothes were soaking wet under the shower. Her hands were clutching at her hairs with knees bundled up against her chest. She was probably trying to make herself disappear from this reality. Taehyung went straight to her, turned off the shower. He took the towel from the counter and wrapped it around her and kneeled in front of her and held her against his chest.

"Ssshhhh, it's ok, it's ok. I got you," He murmured against her wet hairs. The water was cold and he was soaking but he didn't care.
How much time he was there he didn't know. All he knew, she was burning up.

Taehyung didn't know how did he end up making her change into dry clothes and put her on the bed.

The next thing he knew he was storming his brain out on phone with his mother to know how to reduce fever.