Cherreads

Chapter 3 - Chapter 3: A Glimpse of the Past

Haesin Hospital – Department Break Room

6:20 AM

The day hadn't officially begun, but Dr. Seo Yoon was already reviewing charts in the quiet break room, a cup of black tea resting beside her hand.

Outside the frosted window, the morning fog clung to the hospital's glass exterior like an uncertain breath. It was the kind of weather that erased everything—shapes, shadows, and maybe even sins.

> "Early again, Dr. Seo?" a nurse asked softly, popping her head in.

"Always," Seo Yoon replied without looking up.

Her tone was pleasant. Calm. But behind that stillness, her mind moved like a scalpel—sharp, precise, always dissecting.

---

City Police HQ – Evidence Room

9:03 AM

Detective Hyun Woo tapped his pen against the cold metal of the evidence cabinet.

He had made a habit of returning to the scene photos—zooming in, mapping locations, checking victim histories again and again. They were clean crimes. Too clean.

> "There's a pattern," he muttered to himself. "But it's invisible."

He glanced at his notebook, where he had scribbled a single question in capital letters:

WHO BENEFITS FROM SILENCE?

His gut told him something. Not someone seeking fame. Not revenge, either.

> Someone fixing something.

Or someone... healing?

He shook the thought away. It was too abstract.

---

Outside Haesin Hospital – Café Cart

11:30 AM

It was one of those rare slow hours between surgeries. Seo Yoon stepped out of the hospital for fresh air and approached a small coffee cart run by an older woman who knew her usual.

> "No sugar, extra milk, green tea," the woman said, smiling.

Seo Yoon nodded politely. "Thank you."

Just as she reached for the cup, another hand brushed past hers. A taller figure stepped into view.

> "Sorry," the man said. "Didn't mean to cut."

She looked up.

Detective Hyun Woo.

Unshaven, sharp-eyed, mildly apologetic.

For a brief moment, their eyes met fully.

This time, it lingered.

> "You again," she said softly.

"Me again," he replied with a small smile. "We must like the same quiet places."

He didn't recognize her yet. But something in her eyes made him pause.

A strange calm.

> "You work here?" he asked, motioning to her white coat.

"I do. Cardiothoracic surgeon."

"Impressive. That's... precise work."

"Precision is my habit."

He tilted his head slightly, studying her.

> "I'm Hyun Woo," he offered.

"Seo Yoon."

They shook hands. Her grip was firm, controlled.

> "Well, Dr. Seo," he said, sipping his coffee. "Hope you never see me on your table."

"Likewise," she replied, her voice unreadable.

---

Later That Day – Hospital Basement Archives

2:10 PM

Seo Yoon descended the stairs to the old archive level. It wasn't commonly used anymore—digital records had replaced most of it. But she liked the silence down here. Dust filtered through sunlight like floating memories.

She pulled out a patient folder from seven years ago. The name read:

> Nam Tae Jin – Heart Valve Repair

She remembered it well.

He had come in smiling, charming the nurses. But during pre-op, he'd made two cruel comments to a young intern about her looks and offered to "take her out" post-surgery if she "behaved."

She had said nothing. He had survived the operation.

But he was no longer alive.

Seo Yoon closed the file quietly and slipped it back.

---

Police Station – Case Board

5:48 PM

Hyun Woo added another thread to the board.

Three deaths. Three untouched criminals.

And now — an emerging pattern of access.

Each victim had been hospitalized at some point in the past five to ten years. Not always in Haesin, but connected to major hospitals.

> "We're not looking for a serial killer," he whispered to himself. "We're looking for someone with... standards."

He paused. That word again.

Healing. Precision. Balance.

Something didn't sit right. Something he couldn't yet name.

---

Haesin Hospital – Rooftop Lounge

9:22 PM

Seo Yoon stood near the edge, looking out over Gangneung. The lights flickered like distant stars on the sea.

In her hand was a folded slip of paper. A list. No names. Just initials.

She traced a finger over one line, then closed it and slid it back into the pocket of her coat.

Her phone buzzed.

A message from the nurse's desk:

> "Patient 317 asking for you. Says it's urgent."

She walked down calmly.

---

Room 317 – ICU Observation

9:35 PM

The patient was a middle-aged man with heavy scarring and a cough that rattled like metal. He looked at her with fearful eyes.

> "You... you're the one who operated on me, right?"

"I was," she said.

He coughed again, then leaned closer.

> "Do you ever get tired of saving people who don't deserve it?"

Seo Yoon didn't flinch.

> "My job is not to judge," she said softly.

"Then whose job is it?" he whispered.

There was no answer.

Just the rhythmic beep of a machine and the reflection of her white coat in the observation glass.

---

More Chapters