Chapter 1
Im Gain was an OB-GYN resident at Hanguk University Hospital.
It was the kind of job most people would envy, but Gain wasn't happy.
She was being excluded by the other residents in her year.
"Did you get all the past exam questions?"
"Yeah. They said last year's questions were exactly the same as the year before, so we only need to study these."
Two of her fellow residents were talking in the OB-GYN department office.
Gain carefully spoke up.
"Could you make a copy for me too?"
Silence fell.
None of the others looked at her.
They all turned their eyes somewhere else, deliberately avoiding her gaze.
"Oh, I just got a call. I should go."
"I'm going to make copies!"
Everyone quickly left.
Is being from a different campus really that big of a problem?
There was only one issue.
Every other resident in the department had graduated from Hanguk University's main campus.
Gain alone had graduated from the Second Campus.
I could've gone to the main campus too.
Back in her final year of high school, her grades had been good enough to enter the medical school at the main campus.
However, she had chosen the Second Campus because it offered her a full scholarship.
Her family hadn't been well-off.
That was why the situation felt even more unfair.
If I'd known this would happen, I should've taken out student loans and gone to the main campus.
Things had at least been tolerable during her internship.
There had been several students from other universities back then.
But once she became a resident and only the main-campus graduates remained, everything changed.
Those people had spent seven years together.
Their group was strong, close, and difficult for an outsider to enter.
They excluded Gain as naturally as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
And this hadn't been happening for only a day or two.
"Want to go get dinner?"
Everyone stood up.
No one invited Gain.
While the others went to eat together, Gain remained alone.
She didn't feel like going to the staff cafeteria.
Instead, she quietly went to the convenience store and bought a triangular rice ball.
By now, she didn't even want to speak to her fellow residents anymore.
She simply focused on her work.
Her shift was nearly over.
Gain had just transferred her final maternity patient to the recovery room when she remembered the coffee she'd left at the nurses' station.
Even if the instant coffee had gone cold, she felt like she needed it to stay awake.
Just as she was about to turn the corner toward the station, she heard hushed voices.
The nurses were talking.
"Doesn't Dr. Im do an amazing job? I wish people like her were the ones who stayed at this hospital."
"She probably won't be able to stay."
"Why?"
"She's from the Second Campus."
There was a short silence.
Gain stopped walking too.
"Right. She's the first Second Campus graduate who even managed to become a resident here. There's no way they'll let her stay as a fellow."
"What a waste."
Gain quietly listened from around the corner.
She knew they weren't trying to insult her.
That only made it hurt more.
Giving up on the coffee, she pretended she hadn't heard anything and returned to her seat in the department office.
I'll just do my best in my position. For the patients.
She deliberately looked for work that other people avoided.
Even when she lacked sleep, she kept going until she got nosebleeds.
Her reputation among the hospital staff improved.
Her fellow residents, on the other hand, complained.
"Because of her, the rest of us are suffering. There's no need to work that hard."
"She answers every call in the middle of the night, so now the nurses call us for every little thing. We're supposed to sleep at night."
Hearing them talk about her from inside the office, Gain didn't go in.
She leaned against the hallway wall instead.
I only did my best at my job.
Gain bit her lip.
She wanted to walk in and confront them.
But she knew that wouldn't solve anything.
That night.
At three in the morning, a call came from the emergency room.
Gain jumped out of bed and rushed downstairs.
"The fetal heart rate is dropping! We need an emergency delivery!"
"Bring her straight to the delivery room."
Fifteen minutes later, a baby's powerful cries filled the room.
Both the mother and her family cried as they thanked Gain.
"We were told it would've been dangerous if you hadn't been here, Doctor."
She heard that same kind of thing again and again.
Overnight shifts.
Early-morning deliveries.
Emergency surgeries.
They piled up one after another.
While Gain worked, the other residents prepared presentations for academic conferences.
They ate lunch with professors.
They picked out interesting cases and put their own names on them.
It was unfair.
It made her angry.
She didn't like the people here, but the research environment was excellent.
That was why she wanted to remain at this hospital.
I want to finish my research.
Hanguk University Hospital was one of Asia's leading institutions for OB-GYN research.
She wanted to stay here and continue studying.
She didn't care if she had no friends.
She also wanted to finish the research she was already working on.
Even near the end of the year, when there wasn't much time left until she finished her residency, Gain continued receiving calls.
Traditionally, fourth-year residents were quietly spared from night duty.
But not her.
While preparing for the approaching board examination without even being able to sleep properly, her classmates ate well, slept well, and studied comfortably.
The morning after one of Gain's night shifts was the day of her interview.
It was the day that would determine whether she could remain at the university hospital.
During the faculty interview, the department head called her name.
"Dr. Im Gaeun, was it?"
As Gain walked out of the conference room after the short interview, she could already guess the result.
The man couldn't even remember the correct name of a resident he'd watched for four years.
Of course she couldn't expect anything.
"...As expected."
Sure enough, she was rejected.
Even so, daily life continued.
