The footsteps outside the Room 712 didn't stop but slowed.
Xinyue felt it immediately, the subtle shift in the air, the way Taehyun's body went from still to alert without wasting a single moment. He didn't reach for a weapon nor didn't glance at the door rather he simply adjusted his stance, shoulder angling, placing himself closer to her than before.
Too close. Her back brushed the edge of the bed. "Someone is coming," she murmured.
"I know."
"Probably a hospital staff?"
"No."
That single word tightened something in her chest. The voice outside were low and controlled which masked in a professional cadence. Maybe some securities or men good enough to be sound like them. Xinyue hated that she could no longer tell the difference.
She shifted instinctively, trying to step around Taehyun, but he moved at the same time blocking her path with quiet certainty. His arm came up, bracing lightly against the bed rail beside her, caging her in without touching her at all.
Her breath caught at the action. "This is not necessary," she whispered sharply.
"It is," he replied, just as quietly. "They can't see your face."
"Taehyun…"
"Trust me," he said. "Just this once."
The door handle turned. Xinyue's heart slammed so hard she was sure they could hear it. The door opened just a fraction and the slight light spilled into the room.
A ma's voice followed. "Room seven – twelve. We're here to confirm a transfer."
Taehyun leaned in closer. His chest was inches from hers now. She could feel his warmth, the steady rhythm of his breathing – clam, controlled, infuriatingly composed. His hand rested near her hip, not touching, but close enough that that every nerve in her body lit up.
"This is insane," she took a sharp breath.
"You're doing great," he murmured back. "Try not to stab me with your elbow."
"That was one time."
"And I still have the bruise."
Despite herself, the flicker of tension broke – just a crack. Then the man outside stepped further into the room. Xinyue didn't look at them.
She focused on the rise and fall of Taehyun's chest, on the faint scar near his collarbone, on anything but the reality that someone was standing barely a meter away from them, looking for a patient who wasn't supposed to exist.
"Doctor?" the man called.
Taehyun didn't move an inch but his jaw tightened. His gaze dropped to hers, sharp and warning.
Don't answer. She swallowed at the warning.
Another voice joined the first. "There's no attending physician listed."
"Because there isn't one," Xinyue said suddenly.
The word slipped out before she could even stop them. Taehyun's eyes flashed. And the men turned towards the voice.
Xinyue stepped forward, forcing herself out of Taehyun's space despite the way his hand instinctively brushed her wrist as if to stop her, to pull her back to his protection.
She ignored it.
"I'm covering," she said coolly. "Is there a problem?"
The two men exchanged a glance. One of them studied her badge, his gaze lingering to it a fraction too long. "We were told this patient was cleared for the transfer," he said.
"That's incorrect."
"Administration says otherwise."
Xinyue smiled tight, professional. "Administration doesn't override medical clearance. Not legally."
Silence stretched after her response. Behind her, Taehyun stayed close. Not touching her but still guarding. The man cleared his throat. "We'll…. verify."
"Please do," Xinyue replied. "And next time, announce yourselves properly. This is a hospital, not a warehouse."
They left without replying to her. The door shut and the lock clicked in.
Only then did Xinyue realized her hands were shaking. She exhaled slowly, closing her eyes for half a second. When she opened them, Taehyun was right there. Still too close to her.
"You didn't have to do that," he said quietly.
"I know."
"That wasn't a compliment to you."
She looked up at him, irritation flaring. "You don't get to decide when I speak or not."
"I get to decide when you're safe."
"And I get to decide when I'm involved," she fired back. "You don't get to put me behind you like a furniture."
His gaze darkened. "I wasn't hiding you."
"You were shielding me."
"Yes."
"Without asking me."
"Yes."
"That's the problem."
For a moment neither of them moved. The air between them was tight with unspoken things, complicated emotions and something dangerously close to intimacy. "You stood too close," she added, quieter now.
something unreadable crossed his face. "I had to."
"No, you just wanted to."
He didn't deny it this time, because he knew she was right.
"That's not your call," Xinyue said.
"Then whose it?" he asked softly. "Because the moment you decided to keep that man alive, you crossed into my world."
"I didn't ask to be dragged into it."
"And yet, you keep stepping deeper" he said.
Her pulse jumped traitorously at his words. "Don't twist this," she warned him.
"I'm not, just telling you the truth." He replied.
She turned away, suddenly needing space, only to realize how little of it the room offered. The patient shifted faintly in the bed, a reminder of why this was happening at all.
"This hospital is compromised," Xinyue said. "People are erasing records, moving patients and watching me constantly."
"I know."
"And you knew before I did."
"Yes, I did."
Anger flared sharp and hot. "Then you should've warned me." He was silent for a beat too long. "That's what I'm doing now," he said finally.
She laughed once, a bitter one. "After the fact?"
"You wouldn't have listened."
She turned back to him, eyes flashing. "You don't get to decide that either."
Taehyun stepped closer again slow, deliberate, infuriatingly clam. "Then listen now," he said. "This isn't just surveillance. It's escalation."
Her stomach dropped. "Define escalation."
"They are testing how far they can push without any consequences."
"And you are letting them."
"I'm watching them and there is a difference," he corrected her.
She crossed her arms. "So, what am I? a bait?"
"No," he said immediately. Too fast. Too sharp.
"Then what?"
his gaze softened at her. "A variable."
"I don't like being variables," she said.
"I know that too."
"You keep saying that, but it's not helping."
Silence fell again, heavier this time. Outside, the hospital continued its steady hum of machines beeping, distant voices, the illusion of normalcy intact.
Xinyue broke it first. "My mother called right," she said.
He stiffened. "What did she say?" "That people don't erase names unless they're afraid." "She's right."
"She also said she can't protect me from everything."
"I can." She scoffed at him. "You already failed."
He didn't argue.
"That patient," Xinyue continued, nodding toward the bed. "They'll come back for him." "Yes."
"When?"
"Soon."
"And what happens when they don't find him?" Taehyun met her gaze steadily. "Then they'll come for you." Her chest tightened but she didn't look away. "Good," she said. That surprised him. "You want that?" he asked.
"I want answers," she replied. "And I'm done being kept in the dark."
He studied her for a long moment, as if reassessing something fundamental. "You're dangerous," he said. She smiled faintly. "You noticed." His mouth curved despite himself.
Then his phone buzzed. He checked it once and everything in his posture changed. "They moved," he said. Xinyue's pulse spiked. "Who?"
"The men from earlier. They're not leaving the building." Her stomach dropped at it. "They're staying?"
"Yes."
"For me?"
"For leverage," he said quietly. "And now they know you won't step aside."
Her breath steadied, resolve hardening. "Then neither will I." Taehyun looked at her, really looked. "You don't back down," he said. "No," she replied. "I will adapt."
For a moment, something passed between them respect, recognition, something that felt dangerously like alignment. "Stay close," he said.
She raised an eyebrow. "Now you're asking?"
A faint smirk. "I'm learning."
"Good," she said. "Because next time you stand that close without warning, I will stab you with knife."
"I'll take my chances." They left the room together.
And down the corridor, unseen eyes watched them go.