The hospital halls were dimly lit in the late-night hours as Ren emerged from one of the patient wards, chart in hand. He stifled a yawn - these overnight shifts always wore him down, but he took pride in giving his full attention to each case.

“Long night, Ren?”

He turned at the warm, familiar voice to see Dr. Lia approach with a sympathetic smile.

“You know how it goes,” he replied with a weary shrug. Despite his exhaustion, he felt himself instinctively straighten up in her maternal presence.

Lia gave his shoulder a playful nudge. “Well, I’ve got a lonely cup of coffee waiting in my office with your name on it, if you’re done making rounds?”

A chuckle escaped Ren’s lips. He should have known Lia would have his back, as always. With a nod of acceptance, he fell into step beside her.

As they wove through the dimly lit corridors, they passed a cluster of giggling nurses huddled at the station. Ren didn’t miss the way their eyes followed him and Lia - likely imagining something illicit between the two close friends. He shook his head at their persistent rumors.

Lia seemed utterly unbothered, throwing a wink toward the nurses that set off another wave of hushed laughter. She looped her arm through Ren’s as they continued, leaning in to murmur, “Don’t forget, dear, you’ll always be my favorite work husband.”

Despite himself, Ren felt the corners of his mouth twitch upwards at her teasing.

“Now the nurses will never believe that we’re just friends,” he thought wryly to himself.

Ren rolled his eyes internally. He had learned long ago to mostly ignore the whispers about his closeness with her.

As they approached her office, Ren side-eyed his friend with mock exasperation. “You know, one of these days you’ll put those gossips into early graves with surprises like that.”

Lia threw her head back with a rich laugh, giving his arm a squeeze. “Oh, let them talk, my icy friend. We both know the truth behind this partnership.” Her eyes danced with mirth. “Besides, think of the entertainment value in keeping them guessing!”

Shaking his head fondly, he allowed himself to be ushered into her office, the familiar banter already reviving his energy for the remainder of the night shift.

Ren sank gratefully into the plush chair in Lia’s office, letting out a long exhale as she busied herself with the coffee maker. His mind was uncharacteristically preoccupied tonight.

“Your mother called me lately,” Lia’s voice broke through his daze. She shot him a pointed look over her shoulder. “Someone’s been avoiding her calls again.”

He felt his cheeks flush with embarrassment that his mother had roped Lia into her shenanigans. “Just ignore her.”

But his friend just laughed, turning to face him with two steaming mugs in hand. “I know, I know. Your mom can be...a lot.” She set a mug down in front of him. “But that can’t be what’s got you so distracted tonight. What’s going on in that head of yours?”

Ren said nothing, avoiding her probing gaze as his eyes involuntarily drifted to the coffee. A fleeting image of Hana flickered through his mind.

“Ah...” Lia’s bemused voice snapped his attention back. She was studying him with raised brows. “You seem awfully happy just staring at that coffee.”

Heat crept up the back of Ren’s neck. He cleared his throat gruffly, struggling to reassert his trademark impassive demeanor. But Lia’s expression told him she had already put the pieces together.

As her mouth opened - likely to tease him mercilessly - Ren raised a hand to stop her. “Don’t...” He all but growled the word.

Lia’s lips curved into an impish grin. Rather than push it, she simply lifted her mug in a mock toast before taking an exaggerated sip.

Ren shook his head but couldn’t deny the faint smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth. He snuck a sidelong glance at his friend as he took his first bracing swallow of coffee.

The comfortable silence stretched between Ren and Lia until he suddenly blurted out, “The dreams have started again.”

Lia’s perfectly groomed eyebrows shot up. “I thought those had stopped for a while?” She kept her tone casual.

Ren gave a curt nod, refusing to meet her inquisitive gaze. “They did. But now they’re back...and clearer than before.” He let out a mirthless chuckle. “Not that I can ever recall them clearly when I wake up.”

“Have you considered seeing a psychologist– ?” Lia suggested, genuine concern in her tone.

Ren waved a dismissive hand, his body language closing off. “I’m fine, Lia. It’s not a big deal.”

Mercifully, the weighted tension was broken by the office door flinging open. Rowan blustered in without so much as a knock, taking in his two closest friends.

“Seriously? Having a bestie time without me?” He went for levity, but couldn’t quite mask the hint of genuine hurt in his warm brown eyes.

Lia just shook her head in exasperation, lips quirked upwards. “You know you’re always welcome, you giant child.” She rose to her feet. “Coffee?”

“Please, Mother!” Rowan plopped himself down on the couch beside Ren, who instinctively leaned away from the human tornado of energy. Rowan pouted at him. “What’s got your scrubs in a twist, Ice Prince?”

Before Ren could deflect, Lia chimed in nonchalantly from the kitchenette. “His mother wants him home for that big family gathering coming up.”

A look of understanding crossed Rowan’s face at the reminder of the dreaded “special occasion.” He shot Ren a sympathetic wince before sinking back into the cushions with an overly loud slurp of his fresh coffee.

Ren remained stoically silent, taking a long draw from his mug. The dreams and his mother’s demands were the last things he wanted to dwell on right now.

“Wait, wait...family gathering?” Rowan perked up, a mischievous grin spreading across his face. “Are we invited to this shindig?”

Lia rolled her eyes fondly as she rejoined them, settling back into her armchair. “Rowan...it’s a family gathering. I’m pretty sure your last name isn’t Jenkins. But yes, we were invited” She took a pointed sip of her coffee.

“Could have fooled me with how much time I spend putting up with this one,” Rowan shot back with a wink at Ren, jabbing a thumb in his direction.

Ren merely grunted in response, refusing to get dragged into their typical back-and-forth needling. His mind had gotten stuck on something Lia said earlier.

“Isn’t this family thing also your parents’ 30th wedding anniversary?” Lia mused aloud, catching Ren’s pensive expression.

A crease formed between Ren’s brows as he processed her words.

“You mean to tell me the esteemed Dr. Jenkins forgot his own parents’ anniversary?” Rowan’s eyes danced with amusement at having caught Ren in a rare lapse.

Ren shifted in his seat, suddenly feeling uncharacteristically sheepish under their scrutinizing gazes. He reflexively straightened his posture. “I’ve just had...other matters occupying my mind lately.”

The curt response didn’t deter Rowan’s self-satisfied grin one bit. Lia, however, watched Ren with a distinctly more contemplative look - one that made him feel like she could see straight through his thinly veiled excuse.

Clearing his throat, Ren took another long draught of coffee, allowing the rich taste to ground him.

A heavy silence fell over the trio as Ren’s shoulders tensed, his knuckles tightening around the warm ceramic mug. Rowan and Lia exchanged a glance, recognizing the telltale signs of their friend retreating inward.

Ren stared unseeingly into the depths of his coffee; jaw clenched. Thinly veiled passive aggression, volleys of backhanded comments between his family members, nothing ever changed… nothing.

Ren checked his wristwatch and sighed. “I should get back to my rounds.”

He drained the last of his coffee and rose fluidly to his feet. Lia and Rowan exchanged a knowing look as their friend made his excuses to leave. Ren was shutting down, reverting to his tried-and-true emotional evasion tactics.

Without another word, Ren turned on his heel and strode toward the door. The two friends remained silent, recognizing that pushing him now would only lead to him retreating further behind his icy veneer.

As soon as Ren emerged into the corridor, he pulled his phone from the pocket of his white coat. His thumb hovered over the contact information for his cousin Jiro before finally pressing the call button.

It rang twice before Jiro’s surprised voice came through the speaker. “Ren? This is unexpected...”

“Why didn’t you tell me my parents’ anniversary was coming up?” Ren didn’t bother with pleasantries, his words clipped.

There was a muffled noise in the background like Jiro was covering the mouthpiece as he spoke to someone else about postponing something. “But they’re not my parents,” he finally replied, sounding distinctly distracted.

Ren exhaled a harsh breath through his nostrils. Of course, his cousin wouldn’t be oblivious to such family matters. Pinching the bridge of his nose, he decided to make this quick.

“Never mind. I won’t be attending, so you can report back to my mother.”

“Wait, Ren, I really think you should -” But he didn’t let Jiro finish. With a forceful jab of his thumb, Ren ended the call.

Shoving his phone back into his pocket, Ren ran his fingers roughly through his dark locks. He could feel the start of a dull pounding at his temples. Wonderful.

Drawing in a steadying breath, Ren smoothed his hands over the front of his coat and squared his shoulders. He had patients to see, and people’s lives to prioritize over his familial hangnail.

*

The early morning hours were always the most serene at the hospital. Hana relished these peaceful moments before the daily rush, using the quiet to get herself centered before her shift truly began.

She made her rounds, checking vitals and ensuring her patients were resting comfortably after being handed off by the night nurse. With a hot cup of herbal tea in hand, Hana settled at the nurses’ station to input her findings into the computer.

The familiar clickety-clack of computer keys and the low murmur of hushed voices created a soothing white noise. Hana felt her shoulders instinctively unlatch some of their tension as she sipped her tea. Moments like these were all too rare. Waking up early for morning shifts was still hard to get used to.

A sudden burst of movement in her peripheral vision shattered the peaceful atmosphere. Hana’s head swiveled just in time to see Dr. Ren burst through the doors of the ER like a man possessed.

His razor-sharp jaw was set in a hard line, eyes blazing with an emotion she couldn’t quite place. Urgency and agitation seemed to roll off him in waves as he walked forward with decisive strides.

The few nurses lounging about the station froze, exchanging shocked looks. In all the time Hana had known the perpetually composed Dr. Ren, she couldn’t recall ever seeing him in such an unsettled state.

He rushed past without sparing them so much as a glance, his broad shoulders tense and posture radiating a nearly palpable intensity. Hana’s breath hitched in her throat as he reached the automatic doors and smacked them impatiently, waiting just long enough for them to slide open before disappearing outside.

A heavy silence hung in the air, broken only by the ambient noises of floors being waxed and the distant ringing of phones. Hana slowly turned back to her abandoned terminal, fingers frozen over the keys as her mind whirred.

Her gaze flickered to the ER doors through which he’d stormed out.

*********************