Chapter 9

Lucas pressed his lips together and shrugged lightly.

“I don’t know. I can’t be sure of anything right now.”

“Either way, I’ll protect Mrs. Harrington no matter what happens. You can trust me completely, Dr. Harrington.”

Lucas nodded slowly and opened the car door.

“I’ll see you again later. If anything happens, call me anytime. Don’t worry about day or night.”

“Yes. I will.”

The matte black sedan sped across the Harrington estate’s garden and disappeared. The sky was painfully blue, as if mocking everything.

If Jonathan really was connected to the shooting, then he would have already erased every trace of evidence and every possible witness. Which meant that no matter what he did, getting to the truth would be nearly impossible.

Feeling that he had almost no way of exposing the twisted fraud happening right before his eyes made Lucas’s chest tighten with frustration.

He loosened his shirt buttons and exhaled a long breath. He rolled the window all the way down and rested one arm outside.

Just then, Suji’s sleeping face flashed through his mind. The way she’d dozed off like some forest fairy, small and soft, leaning against his palm like a little rabbit. That odd sensation still lingered, uncomfortable and strange.

And lately, Suji’s behavior had been different. If he was right, she seemed to be avoiding him. He hadn’t meant to, but he’d been treating her unusually well these days. He spoke gently. He even offered her his shoulder while she slept.

Could it be…

She was embarrassed because he saw her drool in her sleep?

If that was the case he could understand it. But avoiding him entirely felt excessive.

The light turned red. While he waited, his phone vibrated. Lucas reflexively reached for it.

Dr. Harrington, are you available for next week’s community service event.

It was a message from Alexander Fairfax, the chief resident.

How many people are participating so far.

Five at the moment. Two interns volunteered, Fitchaya Bunnak and Suji Park.

Lucas stared at Suji Park’s name for a long time. A faint laugh escaped him before he pressed the accelerator as the light changed.

* * *

Suji first met Lucas when she was five years old. Back then, her family was struggling financially. Her grandparents and parents worked constantly to make ends meet.

Her mother ran a convenience store. Her father, Sangil, took whatever jobs he could find, one of which was maintaining the garden of a mansion on the Upper East Side.

It was rare for a spot like that to open, but he got lucky and managed to work there temporarily. He’d earned a month’s worth of pay in just three days, he said.

Since they couldn’t afford kindergarten at the time, Suji followed Sangil to work.

At first, she simply enjoyed running around the beautiful gardens behind him. But eventually the boredom crept in. The grounds were vast, yet there was no one her age to play with. And Sangil was far too busy to watch her.

So she wandered off into her own little world and explored the estate. That was when she stumbled across the boy who looked dazzling enough to steal her breath for a moment.

“Hi.”

Suji had been shy, but desperate enough for a friend that she squeezed every bit of courage up from her belly.

But.

The blond boy recoiled like he’d seen a bizarre creature, stepping back in shock. It hurt her feelings so much she burst into tears. Hearing her cry, Sangil came running and asked what happened. But Suji didn’t tell him that the boy scared her and made her cry.

She was afraid he might stop bringing her to the mansion if she complained.

Later, she learned the truth. Lucas had turned away simply because he was startled. It was the first time he’d ever seen an Asian person that close and he didn’t know how to react.

Sangil occasionally continued tending the Harrington garden when the full-time gardener couldn’t work. Not as a regular job, just a fill-in.

Around the tenth time Suji saw Lucas there, he finally lifted a hand and waved at her. She thought maybe she could become his friend. But shortly after that, Sangil stopped the side job entirely. Which meant Suji would never again go to Lucas’s house.

She slowly learned more about Lucas’s family through news. His background was far more extraordinary than she had imagined.

His grandfather was the founder of Harrington Media. His father was the head of a major law firm. His mother was the director of a modern art museum. Suji had never dreamed his family was that exceptional.

She had admired him quietly from afar until one day she saw an article in a local paper that shocked her like a bolt of lightning.

“Rebellious son of a prestigious family Lucas Harrington chooses pre-med.”

For Suji, who had dreamed of becoming a surgeon since childhood, the news felt like fate.

His grandfather was a media mogul. His father was a lawyer. So who would expect the heir to choose medicine. The tabloids and local papers had a field day talking about his future.

Years later, the two met again in medical school. Unfortunately, Lucas didn’t seem to remember the little girl from his garden at all.

The more Suji watched him up close, the more impressive he was. His skill, his brilliance, his striking looks. Maybe that was when she began liking him without even realizing it.

But people had to know when to let go.

She told herself she’d confess three times before giving up. But the second rejection had been brutal enough.

Any more than this and it would cross into stalking.

She looked at her swollen face in the mirror, puffy from crying, and made up her mind. Her shift was soon. She had no idea how she’d go to work looking like that.

Lucas, I’ll let you go. Goodbye, my first love.

* * *

Her stomach growled loudly.

She had barely caught her breath after finishing surgery when an emergency call came from the ER. She was pulled straight into ER rounding. Lunchtime passed, and she still hadn’t eaten a thing. She finally decided to grab something simple.

Suji bought a ham-and-cheese sandwich and an orange juice from the cafeteria, then headed to the outdoor healing garden. It was a popular lunch spot for staff. The sun was warm, her tense muscles loosened, and her mood lifted slightly.

She took a big bite of the sandwich and automatically checked her phone.

Her chewing slowed to a crawl.

“Su. Why’d you leave without me.”

Liam was waving from a distance. They had assisted the last surgery together.

“You said we’d eat lunch together.”

“Sorry. I forgot.”

He laughed awkwardly, not wanting to scold her when she already looked guilty.

“I can sit with you, right.”

“Of course. Why even ask.”

Suji gave a faint smile. Liam unpacked the turkey sandwich he brought and took a huge bite. He washed it down with a sip of latte.

“Man. I feel alive again.”

“You must’ve been starving. I thought I was gonna die too.”

“Let me take one more bite then I’ll talk.”

He chomped down on the sandwich again, too fast, and thumped his chest. The sight made Suji burst into laughter.

Still chewing, Liam lifted a thumb.

“Suji, you know…”

“…”