Not the ER

Evelyn was rounding the corner to the block where her apartment was when she heard someone groan. If her music wasn't in the middle of switch songs, she wouldn't have heard it so audibly. Confused, she scanned her surroundings and her sharp eyes fell on a figure slumped over behind a large potted plant that sat to the side of her apartment lobby.

Normal passerbys wouldn't have been able to spot this person because he was slumped perfectly in a corner covered by the plant and natural shadows. Evelyn was not a normal passerby.

Her medical instincts went on hyperdrive. "Sir!" she rushed towards the figure dressed in black. "Are you hurt? What's your name?" she shouted as she kneeled by the person. A few people on the other side of the street looked up with curiosity. Evelyn reached up to pull this man's hat off when her wrist was suddenly grabbed by that very same man slouched over.

"Don't," he said in a barely audible whisper. He was obviously weak, but the grip he was holding Evelyn's hand with tightened, "I have to - keep it on" he continued in between heavy breaths.

Evelyn scrunched her brows together, "Okay fine, I won't take it off but can you let go of my hand? I just want to check your temperature." She used the most reassuring and calm voice she could muster.

She was a nurse after all. It was part of her job description to have a calm demeanor. He let go. She felt his forehead and gasped, 'he's burning up!' she thought. "I think you need to go to the ER" she told the mystery man.

"No! Not the ER!" he shouted and looked up at her. Evelyn was caught off guard. His eyes were staring into hers with such desperation and pleading. Then he passed out and started to fall over. "oh gosh," Evelyn held onto him with a surprising strength that didn't match her petite figure. She gently leaned him against the potted plant to prevent him from laying on the ground.

This is quite the dilemma. Evelyn's first instinct was the call 911 and have an ambulance come take him to the emergency department to get checked up. But something about the way the man looked at her she felt hesitant.

'First things first I guess. Let's check his ID,' she thought to herself. Rummaging through his sweater pockets she found his wallet. It was a typical men's black leather wallet but it felt worn as if it was used for many years.

Opening it, she found is ID card that had his name and date of birth. It read, "Dae Hyun Kim, 27 years old." Right behind his ID was a business card, "K Entertainment" and listed a manager's name and phone number. There was also pen writing on the back, "If found, please call! This man is too reckless!"

"Ah Damn it. Fine." Evelyn cursed out loud and made a decision. She looked around to see if anyone was watching them. The streets were typically pretty empty in the early mornings, especially since it was a Sunday most people would be sleeping in.

Evelyn swung her backpack so it was hanging in the front and took the mystery man's arms and slung them over her shoulder. She crouched and with some effort, she picked the man up on her back. 'Oof, he's a lot heavier than he looks,' she thought as she made her way to the apartment lobby doors.

Anyone who saw what was happening only had one thought, 'Holy crapola, what's with that girl's strength??'

-Up in Evelyn's apartment-

Evelyn was struggling with the door. It's kind of difficult to open a door with a key when you're carrying a full grown male on your back. It didn't help that her front door was also heavy.

After dropping her keys twice, she finally got the door open.

Her 1 bedroom apartment had a beautiful floor-to-ceiling window that was currently blocked with black out curtains due to Evelyn's current night shift schedule. The living room had a couch that faced a flat screen television and sat on top of a fluffy rug she found at a vintage thrift store. The most prominent thing about her apartment was the sheer amount of plants she had.

Evelyn's other love was indoor plants. She had hanging ivy that wound around the walls of her living room and a large snake plant that sat next to her tv. Close to the large window was a shelf that was intended for books but instead was covered in small potted succulents. Overall, her apartment gave off a very homey greenhouse feeling.

Inside the entrance hallway, Evelyn shook her shoes off. The man on her back was still completely passed out. 'At least his breathing is a little steadier than it was earlier' Evelyn thought to herself. She had been monitoring his respiratory rate ever since she got him into her building.

"If he gets worse, I'm calling the ambulance," she said aloud to herself. She didn't want to be responsible if he deteriorates, she had enough problems to deal with already.

With a loud, "Oof!" she plopped him onto her large but soft couch. He didn't wake up even with this. Evelyn put a pillow under his head and straightened him out. Once she was satisfied with how he was positioned, she got out her emergency bag with her medical tools.

The bag contained some basic emergency first aid tools like band-aids, antibiotic ointment, and gauze. Evelyn had modified it to her personal preferences. She added a manual blood pressure cuff, disposable gloves, a pair of shears, and her second-favorite stethoscope. After fishing out a pen and some paper and making a quick phone call, she got to work.

After all, she was a nurse; her nursing instincts kicked in and temporarily switched off her desire for sleep. She was trained in CPR, Stroke, and Triage as it was necessary for her job. Evelyn wrote down his vital signs and continued to monitor them for the next few hours.