Ironic

Lisa was flustered as she stared at the imposing doctor. He was looking at her like she was a common thief-- in a demeaning manner. The look was making her uneasy and self-conscious. She had half a mind to yell at him that she was just doing her job and suggest that he did his instead of butting his nose into her business. Despite her sassy thoughts, she didn't have the courage to voice her opinions.

"Oh, she's my sister. Don't mind her. She can be a little shy sometimes"

Only Lisa turned in the direction of the rich female voice. The other doctor didn't turn, however, and still had a cynical look as he bored holes into her face with his eyes.

The other doctor who had just arrived was Ji-eon, and she had a pack of takeaway food, something that drew Lisa's attention. Her stomach grumbled, although only she could hear it. She had been starving, and she wondered where her older sister had gotten the food. She made a mental note to ask her when this conversation was over.

"Your sister, huh? She's still in college?"

Ji-eon laughed out loud, her voice resonating through the entire hallway. Her eyes lit up when she did so, making her look very pretty. At least in Lisa's eyes. Ji-eon was really pretty, anyway. The stereotypical Korean Beauty Standard kind of pretty, and it suited her very well. Her pale skin, straight brows, big eyes, slim and curvy figure, and heart-shaped face. She could have easily been a model for a popular fashion designer or even an idol, but she didn't want to put her brains to waste.

The way Ji-eon looked at the doctor made Lisa realise that he was someone she liked. She had to be very nice to him because Ji-eon's friends were her friends too.

Lisa got that reaction a lot. Because of her smallish size--5 feet and an inch-- and baby face, a lot of people believed she was younger than her actual age. She has just graduated anyway, so she looked the same age with college students. She wasn't surprised that the doctor thought she was a college student. Ji-eon, however, didn't respond with a yes or no. She playfully slapped his muscular arm.

Lisa took a moment to study said arm. He had muscle, but he wasn't so muscular. He was just perfect enough that he could pack a mean punch, but not so that he looked repulsive. (For reference: Daniel Cegielski(⁠◠⁠‿⁠◕⁠))

"If you're free now, would you like to have lunch with me?" Ji-eon held up the pack of takeaway food with an inviting expression. Lisa was about to eagerly accept the offer when she realized her older sister was talking to the other doctor.

"I'm busy now" He simply stated, turning around and walking away, leaving a disconcerted Ji-eon, who glanced at Lisa silently. It was clear that although Ji-eon liked him, he didn't like her. He looked like he didn't like anyone at all.

Lisa opened her mouth to say something, and her tongue was finally cooperating. But the look on Ji-eon's face made her stop just short of the first syllable.

"What was that?" Ji-eon asked.

"Oh, it's nothing..." Lisa cleared her throat. In second thought, she decided to finish her thought. "If you want, I can join you for lunch since he's busy"

The annoyed glare Ji-eon returned made her regret her words. I should try cutting off my tongue one of these days she thought. Her tongue always seemed to get her into trouble around her family members.

"Get back to your work"

She rudely trudged away with the food, and without a back glance. Lisa flinched at the reaction. A simple 'no' would do. She would have to buy her lunch herself. Turning around and walking into the closet, she lifted up the piece of cloth under which she had hidden her purse. Her heart jumped into her mouth when she realized her purse wasn't there.

I could've sworn I kept it here

Lisa didn't lose her cool initially, as she decided she must have kept it someplace else and forgotten where.

After searching thoroughly for twenty years, the only thing she had was a messed up closet and no purse. She broke into a cold sweat when she realized someone had taken it. The purse contained here lunch money, her phone, credit cards and coupons, and her house keys.

"There's no way it could have disappeared. Calm down, Lisa. Just search again"

She told herself that about three times before giving up finally. Someone had stolen her bag...but who? It couldn't be Ji-eon-- she had way better things to do, and she wasn't so petty. Or was she? Lisa wasn't sure anymore. Why was Ji-eon playing a cruel prank on her?

Walking to the reception, she met Minji, the girl she had met in the morning.

"Excuse me, can I borrow your phone for a minute?"

The expression Minji had on her face was evidence that she didn't really like Lisa. She examined the young girl in front of her from her head to her toe with an expression of displeasure.

"Why?"

"I need to call my sister, and I can't find my phone" She mumbled.

"What? You can't find your phone? Where did you leave it?" Minji suddenly seemed more interested and concerned about the situation. She seemed surprised that something of that sort had happened in the hospital. Who would go to a hospital to steal a phone?

"Actually, it was in my purse along with my money, credit card, my keys and some other stuff. I left them in the closet"

"The closet? You should've given them to me instead. But who would steal from the closet?"

She said 'you should've given them to me' as if she had been the nicest person to Lisa. That was not what was on her mind at that moment.

"So, how's Ji-eon going to be of help?" She seemed doubtful.

"Maybe she's playing some joke. I'm not in the mood for that right now" Lisa sighed.

A patient came in and Minji had to attend to him, leaving their conversation for a while. Lisa impatiently cracked her knuckles, her eyes dating from the pristine walls to the impeccable marble flooring which she had personally cleaned. Her pensive reflection started back at her with worried eyes. This has better be a joke, because she wasn't sure she found take it any longer.

Minji caught her eye and have her a look that said calm down. Obviously, she didn't know how hard Lisa was trying to do so. For a moment, she wondered if it was clear from her facial expression that she was in some kind of trouble. It was kind of ironic that after being accused of being a thief, someone pilfered her own things.

"Okay, there's an opening in consulting room one, go ahead"

The man gave Lisa a glance as he walked past her down to the assigned room. Minji then turned her attention to Lisa, pulling her phone out of the pocket of her jeans, unlocking it with her fingerprint before handing it over to Lisa. Lisa bowed slightly as she received the device, then typed in her sister's number which was saved as Dr. Kim on the phone.

Ji-eon picked up almost immediately.

"Do you have my phone?" She went straight to the question without a greeting.

Ji-eon was silent on the other end, staring at her phone like Minji could see her.

"You sure you're alright, Minji? You're using your phone to call me"

"It's Lisa"

"Ohh" Ji-eon's voice dropped. "You lost your phone?"

Nodding, Lisa affirmed the situation. "Do you have it with you?"

"Why would I be with your phone? And you know I bought that phone for you. You'd better find it 'cause I'm not getting you a new one"

Before Lisa could get a word in, Ji-eon had already hung up. She shared a look with Minji who seemed a bit apologetic. "At least now we know she's not with it" Minji tried to console her.

That was hardly a consolation. If it wasn't with Ji-eon, then it was with someone else who they didn't know. She couldn't help breaking into a cold sweat as she wondered if the thief had already used her credit card. She didn't have much funds, but she didn't want to end up in debt.

"If it's not with Ji-eon, then we'll never know who has it" Lisa felt hot tears prickling at her eyes as she handed the phone over to Minji who had suddenly become her friend despite their interaction in the morning.

"Calm down, we'll find your things. We have surveillance cameras here, and I can used the register to find out who took it, alright?"

"You have cameras here?"

"Yeah. I'll check with the security men and we'll find it, I'll just tell Dami I'll be back"

Although Lisa was a bit consoled, she wondered what she would have for lunch, as she was extremely hungry. Although there was a high chance her purse would be found eventually, she didn't think it would be on the same day.