EXTERN

 The Extern of Service

 

With everything that had been going on, I hadn't had a single chance to visit Per.

 

P'Rak had taken five months of maternity leave, which meant the other two doctors and I had to take on more work and cover far more shifts. As for Per, all I really knew was that he'd broken his leg badly enough to require surgery and metal fixation. It would probably take nearly three months before he could walk and put weight on it properly again.

 

We FaceTimed sometimes...

 

But honestly, I thought seeing his face without being able to touch him only made me miss him even more.

 

"I miss you."

 

I said it straight out without bothering to beat around the bush.

 

I missed him so badly that I'd actually started planning to drive across provinces and back again in a single day just to see him. But if I really did that, I was afraid the next person everyone would be talking about in the past tense might be me.

 

I've been working myself to death lately. With P'Rak away, there was nobody else to help cover the shifts. The other doctor was a senior physician who didn't take overnight duty, which basically meant I was alternating every other night with the other government-service doctor.

 

[I’m fine now. You know that.]

 

"Per... I nearly lost you once already. I want to make every bit of time I have with you count."

 

I spoke as I walked out of the emergency room after finishing a wound dressing and giving injections to a child who'd been bitten by a dog.

 

[Kan.. stop blaming yourself. I'm really okay.]

 

"..."

 

No matter how many times my boyfriend told me that, I still hadn't seen it with my own eyes.

 

I wasn't going to feel at ease until I saw Per for myself.

 

[Darling... are you even listening to me?]

 

Of course I was on duty again tonight.

 

The hospital at night felt strangely lonely compared with how busy it was during the day.

 

I'd moved back into the doctors' accommodation too. Mum and Dad were afraid I'd work myself into exhaustion and then be too tired to drive safely.

 

Well...

 

I barely slept, so they had a point.

 

"I'm listening."

 

[When are you going to be free?... I can't come and see you.]

 

Obviously!

 

He was still limping badly just from walking. He had a neck brace to stop anything shifting, and his body was still covered in injuries.

 

Who the hell was going to let Young Master Per leave the house looking like that?

 

"Five months from now, probably."

 

[That's ages.]

 

For me...

Even one day without seeing you feels long, Per.

 

"Mm... maybe I should go back to the faculty and specialise."

 

Actually, if I'd intended to begin specialist training immediately after graduation, I should've contacted the medical faculty beforehand.

 

But I'd chosen to complete my compulsory service first. So now I had to wait three years. Only three years.

 

[Kan told me before that you have to wait three years before you can go back to study.]

 

"Yeeees."

 

Someone once said that if it's true love, distance can't affect it. So I should believe that, right?

 

Per and I would get through this.

 

It was only three years.

 

"Wait for me, okay?"

 

[I'd wait even longer than that.]

 

Sigh!

 

The more I heard his voice, the more we talked, the more I missed him. Why did absolutely everything have to turn into an obstacle?

 

Kan is stressed!

 

[Six Months Later]

 

"Kan, are you ready yet?"

 

I walked downstairs feeling so exhausted and sleepy I could barely keep my eyes open.

 

For the past six months, I'd worked constantly with practically no days off. And now Mum and Dad were ridiculously excited because we were going to a fashion show being held at a famous shopping centre in another province.

 

The event was launching Khunying Kalaya's newest diamond collection. In other words...

Per's mother's collection.

 

"Why are you so excited, Mum?"

 

I turned towards my mother, who seemed to have become much closer to Khunying Kalaya lately.

 

Well, I suppose that's what happens when two people discover they get along. Two lonely mothers whose sons never had time for them.

 

"This is a diamond event, Kan! It's not often your mother gets invited to a high-society function like this. And this time I've even been invited as a VIP guest. We're sitting right beside the stage!"

 

Yes, yes.

 

Madam's dream had clearly come true.

 

She'd been awake doing her hair and make-up since before sunrise, and she'd spent an entire week preparing her outfit.

 

As for me, I simply wore the fitted navy-blue suit I already owned.

 

Handsome men look good in anything, obviously.

 

"Will Per be coming too, sweetheart?"

 

Mum's question made my heart sink a little.

 

I'd been hoping I'd finally get to see my boyfriend. But apparently not. Khun Kawin had taken Per abroad with him for work. I'd heard he also wanted a friend he knew over there to take a look at the nerve damage in Per's leg.

 

Per could walk reasonably well now, but he still couldn't run or remain standing for long periods.

 

"No. He's in Canada."

 

After answering Mum, I escaped outside and waited by the car.

 

I couldn't really explain how I felt.

 

Sulky.

 

A little hurt.

 

Even though P'Rak had returned to work, she still couldn't cover overnight shifts because she had her little boy to look after. That meant the other service doctor and I were still endlessly rotating shifts until we were completely exhausted.

 

I'd actually taken today off...

 

But I'd only been given one day.

 

I'd have to hurry straight back afterwards.

 

I'd gone through all the effort of taking leave and I still wasn't going to get to see him.

 

The event was filled with lively music, camera flashes and celebrities wandering back and forth everywhere.

 

I'd never been surrounded by this many actors and famous people at such close range before.

 

Even Mum and Dad seemed ridiculously excited about some currently popular young actors.

 

Apparently they'd already sneaked off to ask for several selfies.

 

"Queen! Sit here."

 

The ridiculously handsome, expressionless man sitting beside me suddenly called out to another extremely good-looking man nearby, who was grinning brightly while raising an annoyingly cheeky eyebrow.

 

Fuck.

 

They were both ridiculously handsome.

 

But...

 

Queen?

 

"Why the fuck are you shouting my name, King!?"

 

"You're shouting now too."

 

The man named Queen walked over, planted his hands on his hips and immediately snapped at the handsome, stoic man beside me.

 

They were probably older than me, but when it came to looks, I had to admit their aura was brighter than some of the celebrities sitting around here.

 

And that immediately made me think about another handsome man who wasn't here tonight.

 

Did he know I was thinking about him?

 

"My name is McQueen. McQueen! Can you please call me Mc? Why do you insist on shouting 'Queen' everywhere? It's fucking embarrassing!"

 

"..."

 

"Move. I'm sitting beside the handsome guy."

 

I turned and watched the cheeky handsome man push at the shoulder of the person beside me until King moved to the next chair.

 

Then McQueen sat beside me instead and even turned to give me a friendly smile.

 

"Just be careful when you get home. You might not get any sleep tonight."

 

"..."

 

My eyes widened as I whipped my head towards the two men now staring each other down.

 

Whoa!

 

Why the hell did it suddenly feel like there was some kind of purple aura floating around them!?

 

"..."

 

"Aha!~ You're going to ask me to play DotA again, aren't you? No, noooo. I'm telling you now, I'm going back on duty tonight. You can sleep alone."

 

"No."

 

I had absolutely no idea why I was secretly listening to these two talk. But if you were sitting where I was, you'd understand. It was genuinely impossible to drag your attention away. The two of them attracted everyone's eyes without even trying.

 

I could see camera flashes firing in our direction even more often than towards the celebrities posing on the blue carpet in front of the backdrop.

 

The music suddenly changed, and models began appearing onstage wearing luxurious diamond jewellery as they walked along the blue runway.

 

Everyone's attention finally returned to the show.

 

"Kan, buy your mother a set."

 

The elegant lady beside me spoke while giving me pleading puppy eyes.

 

Mum...

 

I think you should ask the gentleman sitting beside you instead. He's probably about a thousand times richer than I am.

 

"Don't bother asking Kan. We'll be getting a whole load soon enough anyway."

 

"Exactly!"

 

Then the two of them looked at each other and started giggling.

 

I couldn't help feeling suspicious. What the hell were those two up to?

 

Ring~

 

I lowered my eyes to the message that had just arrived on my phone.

 

ViPer: Miss you.

 

A small smile spread across my face before my fingers immediately began flying across the screen.

 

Strange but true. Simply seeing a message from my boyfriend was enough to make my heart race.

 

Gunin: Miss you too... I'm going insane.

ViPer: Did you go to Mum's event?

Gunin: Yeah. My mum's ridiculously excited.

ViPer: Let me see. Send your darling a photo.

 

Whoosh!

 

Just as I opened the camera to take a picture of myself, every light in the venue suddenly went out.

 

There were no longer any models walking across the stage. Soft music began playing instead, and confused murmurs spread throughout the crowd.

 

Whoosh!

 

The moment the lights returned, I immediately opened the camera app again, intending to take the photo for my boyfriend.

 

FLASH!

 

A spotlight suddenly shone directly onto me. But my eyes were fixed on my phone screen.

 

There was my own face...

 

And behind me stood the tall, broad-shouldered man I'd been longing for. He was smiling at me from over my shoulder.

 

"Per!"

 

I spun around and immediately threw myself into my boyfriend's arms without giving a damn who was watching.

 

And then, for absolutely no reason at all...

 

The tears started falling.

 

"Look at this. Someone's being a crybaby."

 

His soft, deep voice sounded beside my ear.

 

I couldn't do it anymore.

 

I couldn't hold back my tears or my feelings.

 

I'd missed him so much.

 

I didn't want to let go.

 

The person I'd only been able to see through a phone screen for months was finally standing right in front of me.

 

It felt unbelievably good.

 

"Hic! You said you were in Canada."

 

"I came back this morning."

 

I wiped my tears against the expensive fabric of his suit.

 

We hadn't seen each other for so long, yet somehow he'd become even more handsome, mature and distinguished than before.

 

But there was one thing that hadn't changed at all.

 

The emotion in those beautiful coffee-coloured eyes.

 

Eyes I could stare into all day. The steadiness in his gaze only made me love him more. Made me feel even more attached to him. I didn't want to let him go.

 

"Shh~ Don't cry. I'm here now."

 

"..."

 

All I could do was nod repeatedly.

 

And then, just like everyone else in the venue, I froze in shock.

 

The tall man standing in front of me suddenly lowered himself onto one knee.

 

He looked up at me while holding an open blue velvet ring box.

 

"Woooooooow!"

 

Inside was a large, brilliant diamond surrounded by smaller stones that glittered beneath the spotlight, all set into white gold.

 

The sight of it immediately sent excited murmurs rippling throughout the venue.

 

"I don't know what our future is going to be like."

 

Per looked directly at me.

 

"I can't predict how many unexpected things we're going to face again."

 

His voice remained steady.

 

"All I know is that whether it's this second, tomorrow, next month, or any year that comes after this..."

 

His eyes never left mine.

 

"...I still want my doctor beside me."

 

"...Per."

 

"Marry me, darling."

 

The tears pouring from my eyes weren't from sadness.

 

They came from the overwhelming emotion swelling inside my chest.

 

My heart felt so full that I almost thought I could fly.

 

Per was right.

 

Life was uncertain.

 

We had absolutely no idea what the future would bring.

 

But I knew how I felt.

 

I knew who I wanted standing beside me from now on.

 

Because right now...

 

He was already standing in front of me.

 

"Yes... I'll marry you."

 

Per broke into a huge smile.

 

Then he carefully slid the ring onto the ring 

finger of my left hand and pressed a gentle kiss against it, as though deliberately emphasising that I was his.

 

"YEAHHHH!!!"

 

Grab!

 

Ignoring everyone's cheers, Per stood and immediately pulled me into his arms.

 

Camera flashes exploded around us until my vision blurred, but the warmth of the person holding me made everything inside me finally relax.

 

Thank you for coming back.

 

Thank you for turning this into another beautiful day for me.

 

Thank you, darling.

 

"And that is the exclusive diamond ring specially commissioned by Khunying Kalaya to welcome her very important daughter-in-law!"

 

The MC's announcement caused another enormous wave of excitement throughout the venue.

 

"And its value is so extraordinary that it's practically impossible to put a price on it!"

 

But at that moment, I couldn't have cared less how valuable or expensive the ring was.

 

I only cared about what it meant. Because it was a symbol confirming exactly what we were to each other.

 

"We haven't been here in ages, have we?"

 

Per and I escaped from the media trying to interview us and simply drove around together without knowing where we were going.

 

Eventually, we somehow ended up back at the university auditorium.

 

It was closed, so all we could do was walk around the park in front of it.

 

"Mm... university life."

 

We dropped down onto the grass beside the fountain, which was still running beneath the lights surrounding its base.

 

A few people were jogging and exercising nearby.

 

"You must be more attached to this place than I am. You studied here for six years."

 

The poisonous snake beside me now had the beginnings of a moustache and a faint beard. He smiled at me.

 

"I spent almost all my time over at the medical faculty. It's not like I came onto the main campus that often."

 

A light breeze drifted across us, making me relax.

 

We'd both taken our suit jackets off and were sitting there in shirts with the sleeves rolled up.

 

Looking back now that we were older, a lot of the things we'd done back then seemed incredibly childish. But I suppose that was the colour of university life.

 

"You still had a boyfriend who was a student here."

 

The sly bastard grinned and shuffled closer, wrapping an arm possessively around my waist.

 

"Who said that?"

 

"Hm?"

 

"A husband, actually."

 

The moment I said it, the handsome man beside me gave a deeply satisfied smirk. Then he leaned closer, gradually closing the distance between us.

 

"Talking like that... what do you want?"

 

With his handsome face suddenly so close, embarrassment rushed straight to my ears until they burned.

 

This damn poisonous snake didn't even need to bite me to get venom into my bloodstream!

 

"Can I have this person..."

 

I lifted one finger and pressed it gently against my boyfriend's firm chest.

 

"...and keep him beside me forever?"

 

Per laughed softly in his throat before tightening his arm around my waist and pulling me even closer.

 

And then the rest of the world seemed to fall silent.

 

Our breaths blended together as one, saying everything that words couldn't. We weren't going to be separated again. In the end, there had to be some way for us to stay together.

 

When the time came...

 

All we needed was to love each other.

 

And trust each other.

 

That was enough.

 

- THE END -