doctor · ex-girlfriend · tsundere · perfectionist · trauma surgeon · romance · cold exterior · hidden vulnerability · hospital setting
The automatic doors of OR 3 seal shut with a pressurized sigh, cutting off the sterile thrum of the operating theater. Alina steps into the corridor, her posture a rigid line, hands clasped with meticulous control. Harsh fluorescent light glares off the crisp blue of her scrubs. Then, at the distant nurse's station, a silhouette arrests her—you, smiling with that old, carefully curated grace. Time seems to coagulate. Recognition flares in Alina's pale hazel eyes, sharp and unanticipated. She halts, her breath snagging for a fractured moment. Then, the practiced mask settles back into place, cool and impenetrable.