Into Blondes

"The patient you sent for a blood test has been dismissed. Did he come by your office again?" Su-hyeok leaned into Alex's office from the door, making Alex looked up from his desktop monitor to see who it was.

"Mmhmm"

Su-hyeok and Alex weren't close. At all. Su-hyeok seemed very obnoxious to Alex, and the only reason he kept Su-hyeok around him was because all attempts to push him away were futile. It was like that with Ji-eon too. She was smart and seemed to be nice and pure, but he was aware it was all a façade. He didn't understand why she was pretending, though, because she was terrible at acting.

Before she had gotten married, Ji-eon actively pursued him to the extent of even acting like they were dating. She stuck to his side like gum, and as much as he tried to get rid of her, it got almost impossible. When she had gotten engaged, she gave him their wedding card personally, but he had declined. Ji-eon was delusional enough to think he declined the invitation because he was jealous. What a laugh that was.

Su-hyeok let himself in and sauntered to the chair across from Alex as Alex leaned into his seat in a relaxed posture. He thought about his discovery that afternoon since his mind was already on the topic of Ji-eon. Ji-eon had a younger sister...

"You're close with Ji-eon, right?"

Su-hyeok was surprised at the sudden topic. Alex hardly ever said anything to him, and he was startled that he would want to discuss about Ji-eon and her family.

Su-hyeok sighed, wondering how much information he should share with Alex on the topic.

"Yes...? Why do you ask?"

Alex noticed his hesitant tone and locked eyes with Su-hyeok silently, turning off the desktop. He crossed his arms in front of him, observing the man in front of him.

"Does she have any siblings?"

Su-hyeok nodded, getting uncomfortable at the topic of Ji-eon's siblings. "She has a brother and a sister, but she's the oldest"

Alex nodded. "What are their names?"

"Her brother is Eun-hyeok, and her sister is Lisa. Why?"

"Nothing, I just met her sister so I was, I'll say, just curious"

"You met her sister? Where?"

Alex was already done with the conversation, so he didn't reply to Su-hyeok's question. Su-hyeok didn't push further, knowing fully well that he wouldn't get anything out of him anymore. But his mind went to his ex-fiancée.

He had actually ended their engagement because he found her boring as she wasn't into trying new things. And she was a total prude. He decided he couldn't deal with her after five months of dating. But now that he remembered her, he couldn't help wondering how she was doing.

...

The security officer was an old man of about Lisa's father's age. He had salt and pepper hair, and was a bit shorter than even Lisa, and she was generally considered short. But he had a wonderful smile that seemed to light up his eyes and the entire room. Lisa however was not drawn in by those eyes because she was still upset about her lost purse.

"Don't worry, we'll find the purse, alright?"

Lisa was feeling a bit impatient as they walked slowly towards the monitor which had surveillance videos of all sides of the hospital. She could feel her heart pounding in her ears as the security officer rolled the tape backwards towards the time when she left the closet. He fast forwarded it until they reached the frame of a dark figure entering the closet.

"Wait!"

The security officer had paused the video before she even got the words out of her mouth. The person strode in and out of the room confidently, not even looking like anything had been stolen.

"Okay, we'll find out who it is and their whereabouts and inform you, if that's alright"

"Ah! Thank you very much" she bowed profusely, grateful she could find her things. She wasn't quite sure they would get the person, but she was thankful they had gotten this far.

"No need to be so formal. It's my job, and I don't like accepting thanks for my work"

Lisa straightened up, her hands behind her back. Minji who stood beside her nodded, turning around so they could leave the office. Lisa followed closely after her newfound friend, staring at the chocolaty brown mass of hair in front of her.

The last time she had friends, they had made her life hell. She didn't realise how toxic their friendship was until her older brother talked her out of the friendship. The reaction she had gotten from them after that, and the way they treated her differently made her realise how right Eun-hyeok was. Ji-eon told her she was a total simp, and she realized she was right after all.

Minji stopped suddenly, making Lisa who was lost in thought bump her face on the back of her head.

"Ah!"

She rubbed her nose from the pain she got on impact.

"Oh, sorry" Minji apologised profusely on turning around and seeing Lisa in pain. Realising that she had only hit her nose, Minji couldn't help laughing despite the glare she got from Lisa.

"I'm sorry, it's just..." Minji could barely form a coherent sentence as she doubled over, laughing with guilty pleasure.

After a moment of watching Minji laugh at her, Lisa could feel the corners of her mouth twitching. Thinking the whole situation over, it _was_ funny. Not long after, she burst into her own fit of laughter, her eyes crinkling at the sides. On finding her laughing, Minji no longer felt guilty anymore. They both laughed in the middle of the hallway, getting weird glances from passers-by.

"I was checking my watch" Minji finally got a complete sentence out of her mouth. She straightened up, and Lisa noticed her gaze on her had conspicuously softened.

"It's my lunch break, do you want to come with me?" Mini started walking in a direction and Lisa followed her after a beat.

"Come with you where?"

"Oh, I forgot you're new here. The hospital has a cafeteria where you can eat"

"Oh" Lisa remembered she had lost her purse and had no money. "I'm not hungry"

Minji's expression was disbelieving. "You're not hungry? You've been working since morning without a break, how are you not hungry?" Minji had been having snacks and simultaneously working all morning and she was hungry.

"I... I'm on a diet" Lisa responded, her full lower lip ending up between her teeth.

Shrugging, Minji kept on walking. "You know it's more appropriate to eat something healthy than to starve"

"I'm already used to it"

Minji pushed a door that led to an open room which Lisa figured out must be the cafeteria. The room had a lot of doctors and nurses dressed in scrubs eating and chattering about what doctors and nurses chatted about. There were also a few ordinary people sitting and having their meals.

Her heart jumped however, when her eyes landed on a familiar pair of almond-shaped eyes, eyes that had once looked at her like she was the only woman in the world.

"So, I talked to the head cleaner, and she said you're going to get your uniform by tomorrow or the day after"

She was vaguely aware of Minji saying something as those eyes landed on her, and the owner of the eyes raised his brows in recognition and then surprise. Lisa looked beside him and saw a nurse sitting next to him with her palm firmly clasped in his and her eyes staring straight at him with intense feelings behind them.

Lisa turned her face away almost immediately, trying to shove any thoughts about Su-hyeok into the back of her head. He had hurt her, and she had to forget him.

After Minji had placed her order, she turned to Lisa, staring at her curiously.

"Are you okay?"

Was it obvious that she was flustered? She avoided Minji's eyes, deciding to use her phone in order to look busy. As she reached beside her and felt for her purse, she realized she had lost it.

"I'm fine, thank you"

"You look a bit pale, like you've seen a ghost or something"

"I'm just sad about my purse. I hope they find out who has it"

"Hmm"

Lisa hoped that was convincing enough for Minji, not wanting to think about her past with Su-hyeok. It would be better for both of them to move on, and clearly, Su-hyeok had moved on just fine. She couldn't help sneaking a glance at the resplendent blonde beside him. I should have known he was into blondes. Maybe that's why he broke up with me.

Lisa then scolded herself. Eun-hyeok had told her times without number that she should stop blaming herself for people's decisions and choices. She turned away from the romantic couple and back to Minji who had just been handed her order.

"Let's go meet some of my colleagues. I'll introduce you"

"Alright"

Lisa followed closely behind her, her eyes observing her surroundings as Minji walked in the direction of Su-hyeok's table. Lisa did not realise that was where they were going til Minji started the introduction.

"Everyone, this is Lisa. Lisa, this is Eun-ji, Kang-hoon and Su-hyeok"