Sure enough, the nurses’ station was in chaos.

“Wow, that’s crazy. Saying she’ll have both of them to their faces… totally bullshit.”

“I don’t understand No.2 just taking that one. Doesn’t he have self-respect?”

“She’s pretty, that’s why he is there.”

“I don’t care how pretty she is, you should never accept that shit. She’s spoiled. And No. 2, if I looked as good as him, would I get laid by the new girl based on looks? He doesn’t need it.”

“Well, what can you do when your dick takes over your brain? It sometimes happens in life. Let’s just hope that others can understand. Plus, I’m kinda okay with the whole ‘non-monogamy’ thing.”

“Well, over 90% of males would die before they could even get near a female like that. In nature, females are the ones who choose.”

“But how does this play out? Does this mean that No. 1 is the main and No.2 is the side?”

“On the contrary, shouldn’t No.2 be the main because he has a bigger heart?”

The male nurses and security guards were in a heated debate.

From the moment Won entered No. 2’s room, all eyes in the nurses’ station were on them. The presence of a member of the opposite sex in a room, alone, should be a red flag in principle, but is not always the case.

What could be more interesting than someone else’s love life in a boring, closed ward? No. 2 had confessed to Won before.

In anticipation of what was finally going to happen, the staff spontaneously gathered around the monitor, and that’s how the group viewing began… Everyone was thrilled by the drama unfolding.

It was a pretty good drama.

“Isn’t that polyamory or something? Like having multiple partners?”

“But No.2 would never agree to that. Do you think he will put up with this?”

“Does that mean we’ll witness a dog fight?”

They were giggling, imagining what was to come.

“What are you guys talking about, without me?”

A foreign voice interrupted.

There was a collective gasp from the excited staff. The voice’s owner, pacing lazily in the darkened nurses’ station, spoke again.

“What’s going on? Should I not be here? Did I barge in without realizing it?”

“Yes” wasn’t an option. A leeway reserved for the top, confident that no one would dare say such a thing.

“Ah! No, sir, it cannot be so.”

“What brings you here, sir? If you had called us, we would have come.”

“I’m trying to walk a little for my health. I see you all huddled together in front of the CCTV monitors. Is there something interesting going on?”

“Oh, yeah. The new girl just made a declaration to No.2 that she was going to date both him and No.1.”

“Oh.”

Dr. Madison chuckled at the explanation.

“The patient is greedy.”

“I’m sure she is, but the fact that No.2 is going along with it is crazy. I wonder what the hell he is thinking…”

“Hmmmm, that’s kind of weird.”

Dr. Madison’s eyes narrowed. He pushed his glasses up with his hand and muttered to himself.

“I know because I see him regularly, but he isn’t the most open-minded person. He isn’t the most prideful person, either, but he won’t accept anything as long as it is acceptable to her. He’s the kind of person who’s going to ask her to pretend the confession never happened, then walk away. By the time it was brought up again, he had already lost his confidence.”

Dr. Madison looked up, rubbing his chin as he talked about his analysis.

“The ‘dating,’ are you sure you’re talking about love?”

He didn’t even wait for an answer before giving his instructions.

“Play the video, let me see.”

The employee in charge grabbed the mouse. It wasn’t hard to find the scene so he quickly replayed the footage.

“What do you want to know?”

“Why not me?”

“Huh? What…”

“I can do it better than he can.”

Dr. Madison’s gaze lingered on their interlocking hands. The man’s large hand covered hers, and he couldn’t even see hers.

“Well, it’s hard to just choose one, so why don’t the three of us meet together?”

“Three?”

The man’s reaction reflected on the screen was surprising, and then he frowned.

“… I mean, if that’s what you want to do, fine. There is no law that says you have to choose just one.”

“You’re right, there is no law.”

“Yes, it would be nice if you chose me, but if you want both of us, then we’ll have to make do with the three of us.”

“Again.”

They did as Dr. Madison ordered, and the staffer replayed the scene over and over again. The sight of him watching the screen with a keen eye filled them with dread. If something was wrong, it would be their fault for not catching it.

Barely breathing, they waited for the results.

After running the video a few more times, Dr. Madison straightened his hunched upper body. He was touching his chin with a dubious expression.

“I don’t see anything particularly off, but…”

He held her hand so casually he wondered if No. 2 had handed her something, but Won’s expression was too nonchalant. It’s natural to be surprised if something slips into your hand.

It is human instinct. It’s human nature to flinch and recoil when something unidentifiable touches you unless they were trained to control that reaction.

Dr. Madison thought of Won’s naked body. He thought about how toned she was; lean, toned abs, a firm butt, and elasticity everywhere he touched.

He assumed she must have been doing pilates and fitness back then, but if…

“Hmmmm.”

His eyes dangerously glinted behind his glasses.

“I’ll have to give it a try.”

At Dr. Madison’s offhand remark, the staff tensed.

His eyes were cold and made them shiver. It wasn’t just his status as a doctor that made them feel uneasy around him, it was also his chilling aura. It was as if he were a snake in human form.

He mildly smiled at the staff who avoided his gaze and ordered.

“Patient Won. Find a suitable;e excuse and send her to the stabilization room sometime today or tomorrow.”

“Understood.”

***

‘Three, no, four.’

Picking at her side dick with her chopsticks, Won counted the number of staff members staring at her.

The first time she noticed the strange atmosphere was yesterday afternoon when she visited the nurses’ station to get coffee. Apparently, the hospital staff had been watching her every move since she left Black Cat’s room yesterday.

At first, she shrugged it off, thinking it was her conversation with Black Cat that caught their attention. As time went on, it was clear that wasn’t the case.

They weren’t looking at her with disdain nor rebuking her, and they weren’t talking amongst themselves. They only observed her.

‘Observing’ isn’t the right word for it. It was like they were looking for something.

‘I must have aroused your suspicions.’

The fact that Black Cat was writing on her palm would have been impossible to see on the CCTV, but someone with a keen eye might have detected discomfort.

Won reflected on her behavior at the time. Her eyes briefly widened, but she didn’t make any significant mistakes.

There is no way to confirm it and even if there is, it would be minimal.

‘I’ll be careful with my behavior for a while.’

The mindset of a person who is suspicious of someone falls into two main categories: suspicious but waiting and watching, and the other is suspicion and desire to root it out immediately.

Humans who choose the latter are not usually normal.

The person who found her suspicious was probably the latter. It seems that she asked the employees to make up an excuse to bring her in so they could take a look at her once and for all.

There is only one way to respond. Don’t give them any leeway.

The ward isn’t normal, but it has to put up some appearances. They can’t just drag her away, so they look for an excuse to do it. In other words, she‘s safe as long as she doesn’t get caught.

Until they got tired of watching and just dragged her away, Won was confident she wouldn’t give them any opportunity.

‘That’s about as good as it gets for amateurs, not professionals.’

With that thought, Won put down her chopsticks and was about to get up from her seat when the patient next to her bumped her plate with his elbow, cursing the chopsticks to fall to the floor. Everyone was quietly eating, and the crash was so loud that it was hard to believe it came from wooden chopsticks.

Won watched the scene from her half-risen, half-sitting position. If she had only one free hand, she could have easily snatched the chopsticks, but both of her hands happened to be grabbing the chair legs as she pulled it back, just enough to keep the chair from making a sound.

When you’re driving a car, no matter how good you are, you’re not necessarily safe. If someone comes out of nowhere and crashes into you, you have no choice. She never thought she would realize that truth.

“The other day, an old man was sent there because he accidentally dropped his chopsticks at mealtime and they said he made a scene.”

Ju-hee’s words echoed in her head.

The footsteps were getting closer. She didn’t have a chance to see who was approaching.

“It’s forbidden to cause a disturbance at mealtime.”

The nurse’s voice carried a hint of satisfaction at having accomplished her goal.

“Let’s go to the stabilization room.”