A competent doctor can cure everything

‘Oh, this is something…’

Somehow, I ended up becoming Mika’s primary physician.

It’s bad enough with the disgraced third-year resident, but Mika’s cheerful demeanor earlier was even more ominous.

‘Could it be that she’s trying to get revenge because I don’t know her well?’

And that ominous feeling turned out to be correct.

Mika started calling for the intern at any time she could….

‘How many times is this today already?’

I couldn’t ignore the patient calls.

It’s even more frustrating when I go up to the 12th floor only to find it’s something trivial.

For example:

“Choose a stage costume for me! Is this better? Or this one?”

…Or:

“I had a headache earlier, but it’s better now. Hehe.”

…And so on.

Moreover, whenever I try to get upset, she pretends to cry.

“Is the kind intern upset right now?”

“The professor said to call him anytime.”

…And said things that flipped me inside out.

Anyway, the reason Mika called me this time was:

“I’m bored.”

Mika said, her eyes sparkling as she hugged the blanket.

I gritted my teeth.

“Where’s the manager?”

“She’s busy too. She can’t be here all the time.”

Don’t act all grown-up while making the poor intern suffer.

I sighed and adjusted my glasses.

“Is there anyone else to take care of you? Family, perhaps?”

“No one.”

‘?’

Didn’t her expression seem pretty dark just now?

But Mika soon burst into laughter.

“So, hurry up and fix me so I can be discharged. Otherwise, I’ll keep bothering you.”

I must have seen it wrong earlier. Seeing that she still has the energy to joke around.

“Alright, we should also prevent ticket refunds.”

I replied in kind.

But Mika suddenly got serious. This time, I wasn’t seeing things wrong.

“Who’s worried about that?”

Just stay calm, stay calm.

I patiently asked back.

“Wasn’t that what you were worried about? Like the manager earlier.”

Mika pouted her lips.

“I don’t care about the company, but I do for myself. Money is just something you can pay.”

“Then what’s the problem?”

“…I don’t want to say because you’ll laugh at me.”

“Alright, suit yourself.”

As I stepped back easily, Mika looked at me in disbelief.

“Hey, intern. You don’t have a girlfriend, right?”

“?”

“What I mean is, I’m not asking you because I don’t want you to laugh. I just want you to listen without mocking!”

Sigh. Really something…

“What is it?”

As I adjusted my glasses and asked, Mika mumbled in a sulky tone.

“I only have fans, and I’m afraid of disappointing them.”

When I remained silent with a forced smile, Mika grew frustrated.

“See? I knew you’d laugh. I’m serious!”

“Oh, yes. I’m listening seriously, so please continue.”

Mika sat with her knees pulled up and wrapped her arms around them.

“I started training as a trainee when I was 10 years old. Because of that, I don’t have any friends and don’t know what a normal daily life is like. Do you know what my wish is? To eat tteokbokki at a snack bar and chat with friends.”

She then buried her face between her knees.

“So I’m not unhappy. It just means that fans are very important to me. I’ve traded my life for that.”

Given the depth of her concern, I struggled to come up with comforting words.

“Still, would it be a disaster if you missed one concert?”

Mika abruptly lifted her head.

“Would you want to meet a friend or family you haven’t seen in a long time while wearing a mask?”

“…….”

“Even though the ticket costs 200,000 won, there’s a battle online to get them. Fans are coming not only from other regions but also from abroad just to see the concert.”

Mika spoke gloomily while twirling her long hair around her finger.

“But I can’t even imagine such a terrible situation as performing with a mask in front of those precious people.”

This time, I couldn’t bring myself to offer any comforting words.

* * *

“Uh, um, Teacher Lee Joon…!”

In the middle of a busy afternoon, all the medical staff in the ward were occupied.

Suddenly, Minhwa appeared, looking pale, and grabbed my arm.

“?”

Min-hwa showed me an anonymous post on a certain website using his phone.

“This is ridiculous…”

I frowned as I read the post.

There was a rumor saying that Mika was currently hospitalized at a certain hospital and had gone for plastic surgery before the concert.

The comments on the post were all negative.

“Is… is Mika okay? This post seems to have spread all over the internet… I’m worried she might be crying…”

Min-hwa was anxiously pacing back and forth, looking distressed.

‘Damn… Why isn’t anyone calling during times like this?’

“Thanks for letting me know.”

I quickly went up to Mika’s hospital room on the 12th floor.

I thought she might be struggling and cursing at how unfair everything was.

But when I arrived at the room in a hurry:

“Miss?”

When I opened the door, Mika was calmly reading a book.

“Hmm? What’s up?”

Seeing my worried face, Mika seemed to realize something and added:

“If you’re worried because of the rumors, don’t let it bother you.”

“Are you… okay?”

I carefully observed Mika’s expression.

“Oh, well. It’s not true anyway, so it’s fine.”

Her calm attitude left me speechless. Mika then shrugged her shoulders.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“No, it’s just….”

I was surprised by her composure.

“Well, how tough must life be for them to act like that? You have to accept it as part of fame.”

Mika said this with a faint smile before turning her gaze back to the book.

‘She has an unexpectedly mature side… and a professional attitude.’

At first, I had only seen her as a naive princess.

But now I think I understand why she is so popular.

At that moment, there was a commotion outside the door, and three women burst in.

“Oh? Sisters!”

Mika’s face instantly brightened.

“Why are you here even though you’re busy?”

“No matter how busy we are, we have to visit our youngest!”

“Here, we brought the concert choreography video. Watch this for now.”

‘Are they members of the same team?’

Though all three were wearing hats pulled down low and masks covering their faces, their slender, well-dressed appearance radiated star power.

“Hey, look at her face. It’s totally funny, haha.”

“Ahh, sis! Don’t tease the patient! That’s mean!”

Their playful banter showed how close they were.

Then, the blonde woman with a bob cut approached me with a warm smile and spoke.

“Hello, you’re Mika’s attending doctor, right? I’m Bria, the leader of Purple Angel.”

“Oh… yes, hello.”

“I’ve heard from Mika. She said you’re taking great care of her.”

‘What? Great care?’

As I was puzzled internally, the woman handed me a gift set of drinks.

“Please enjoy this while you’re here. I’m sure it’s been tough because of Mika.”

Unable to outright deny it, I noticed the woman shyly covering her mouth with her hand and smiling.

“We tend to spoil her a bit because she’s the youngest and so cute. She can be a bit of a brat when she’s angry…”

“Quite rough, indeed.”

When I said it frankly, the woman smiled awkwardly and trailed off.

“Yes… but she’s not a bad person. Please take good care of her.”

The woman bowed and hesitated before adding one more thing.

“She tends to be more of a brat and troublesome with people she likes, so it seems she really likes you. Please don’t take it too harshly.”

I looked on in bewilderment at Mika, who was surrounded by her group members and laughing happily.

* * *

That night.

Whoo-oo-oo—

I woke up in the duty room when my phone rang, blinking my eyes open.

The internal number displayed on the screen was, as expected, the 12th-floor ward.

It was already 1 AM… what could it be this time?

‘I hope it’s nothing serious.’

I slipped my arms into the white coat hanging on the bed’s headboard and headed toward the elevator.

“Ah, Dr. Lee… Mika is calling for you?”

Coincidentally, Min-hwa, who was passing by the elevator, cautiously spoke to me when he saw me.

I yawned and nodded.

“Wow… I’m so jealous. I wish I could get a call from Mika too…”

Min-hwa muttered while drooping his shoulders.

“Jealous, huh? It’s tough dealing with her calling for trivial things when I’m alone. She should bring a family member or someone to take care of her.”

Min-hwa looked at me in surprise, as if startled.

“Is that all?”

Mika’s mouth turned upwards weakly in response to my question.

“Wasn’t that a scary dream?”

“Is it?”

“From Purple Angel. Bri sings well, Rapha raps well, and our leader dances well. So what do you think my role is?”

Mika stared blankly at the wall opposite and began to speak.

“Everyone calls me the visual member.”

Her voice trembled more as she spoke, possibly overwhelmed by emotion.

“Isn’t it funny to be called the visual member? They say my role is just being pretty. So if I get old and ugly, my role will disappear, right?”

“…….”

“To me, my face is everything. I’m already getting older, and now I’ve got facial paralysis… What if there are lasting effects? What am I supposed to do then…”

Mika buried her face in her hands and sobbed.

“Don’t worry too much, or you’ll stress yourself out and make things worse.”

My awkward reassurance seemed to annoy her more.

“Ugh, seriously, that damn stress, stress…! How can I not worry when I’m so worried?!”

“I hear that it will heal well without leaving any aftereffects.”

“Really?”

“Yes, I’ve seen the future and it looks like it heals up nicely.”

At my serious tone, Mika stopped crying and managed a small smile.

“And about using swear words…”

“Don’t do it? Why, should I only use proper and polite language?”

Mika scoffed. I continued in my serious tone.

“No. I just thought you might not know how to use swear words properly, so I wanted to tell you.”

“……?”

“Swearing has the effect of relieving stress and showing those around you that you’re angry. The first effect can be achieved internally.”

Receiving Mika’s curious gaze, I continued.

“The latter effect loses its impact if used too frequently. So save it for when it’s really needed.”

“What? Save swearing? That’s so ridiculous. I’ve never heard of that.”

Mika began to laugh as if she had never been crying.

“What’s your MBTI? You seem like you’d be a total T.”

“T?”

“Don’t you know what MBTI is? It’s a personality test. T is for analytical and logical types.”

“I don’t really know.”

“Seriously? You’ve never taken an MBTI test? Not even once?”

Mika searched for something on her phone and then shoved it towards me.

“Come on, quickly. Do this.”

MBTI free test…?

“Are you serious? You want me to do this now?”

I asked in disbelief, but she stubbornly nodded.

Who would have thought I’d be doing an MBTI test in a patient’s hospital room in the middle of the night?

‘Why are there so many questions?’

As I grumbled and went through the test, I heard steady breathing after a few minutes.

Mika had already fallen asleep without even covering herself with the blanket.

I set the phone down, properly covered Mika with the blanket, and quietly left the room.