Chapter 41 - Dr. Kim

The elevator door opened and Ye Rim entered the floor where Dr. Kim's office at The Ji Hyeon Foundation was located.

She looked here and there for decoration details that attracted her attention. The place was modern and elegant but not too imposing, even though it was, according as they say, one of the hippest plastic surgery clinics today. Across the wide hall, a large panel with several embossed quotes about beauty, inner beauty in particular, caught her eye.

"True beauty is beyond what is seen."

She muttered to herself the quote that stood out for her, advancing toward the front desk. 'Isn't interesting that a plastic surgery clinic is talking about inner beauty? Doesn't they make their living on outward beauty?'

The large reception room was empty except for the elegant secretaries. Ye Rim wondered which one had sent the ill-fated flowers. 'The older one, or the one with the snub nose?'

"Welcome, Miss." They greeted in unison, and Ye Rim saw by their eyes that they had not been warned of her visit.

She tossed her hair to one side, smugly sighing. She could have some fun, couldn't she?

Ye Rim was sporting a nice look and makeup for her next appointment, so she was feeling particularly beautiful and dramatic. 'Who could resist enjoying such a moment?'

"Hello, good afternoon." She greeted with the usual bow. "Dr. Kim asked me to come late in the afternoon to see him. Maybe he forgot to warn you."

They exchanged glances that Ye Rim interpreted as being their code for 'another lady trying to scam us to get an unscheduled appointment with Dr. Kim.'

She put the bag with his shirt on their desk with some drama.

"His seamstress, Nam Ye Rim, came to bring the clothes she mended."

She stressed out her name, making it clear that she wanted them to recall it. The younger one intercomed, talking quietly to the doctor, but Ye Rim concentrated to catch some of the conversation. The junior secretary sounded quite literal, and Ye Rim held back a laugh.

She felt discreetly inspected by the older woman, so she turned and asked,

"A week ago I received flowers from Dr. Kim. Were you sending flowers last Wednesday?"

She noticed a slight flicker in the woman's eyes, but the secretary kept the best poker face she could. But the youngest, as Ye Rim could catch from the corner of her eye, looked agitated as she rose to take her to the office door.

"I hope you enjoyed it, Miss Nam. But maybe we got confused by something. I apologize for our misconception, and we hope we didn't offend you in any manner."

'My Gosh, I may have exaggerated. They must be thinking I'm having something with their boss now. But… This is so much fun!'

"Oh No! I really liked the flowers."

The senior secretary leaned toward her, nodding, before Ye Rim turned to follow the other secretary, who led her to Dr. Kim.

'Aigoo, he looks great in his doctor coat.' It was her realization upon entering the large office, which was as beautifully decorated as the outside. Kim Jun Hyeon was standing, waiting for her in the center of the room, and came toward her with a welcoming smile. He picked up the bag from her hands and placed it on a piece of furniture_ the epitome of the perfect gentleman_ and turned to her:

"So what can I do for you?"

"Your clinic is very beautiful. Congratulations."

"I'll pass the compliment on to my members, but thank you very much."

"Is this how you receive your patients?"

"Usually, yes."

"And then, what else?"

He made a pout, assessing the seriousness of her question, and then said, coming toward her, and directing her to a mirrored wall.

She looked at herself with the doctor behind her. And she liked what she saw.

"Tell me what you don't like there."

"I think perhaps this purple belt is a bit too much. Don't you think so?" She smirked into the mirror but turned over her shoulder to look at his real face. Then the doctor put his hand on her shoulder and gently turned her forward again, though he was laughing with pleasure.

"I like that. Your self confidence. But look again."

Sensing him one step behind herself with a hand on her shoulder, made Ye Rim's heart thump hard and the back of her neck get goosebumps.

"Oh, uh…" She made a generic circle in the air, encompassing much of herself in the mirror. "That."

"From nothing to everything, in one leap? This doesn't even sound sincere."

"Ah! What do you want to hear, Dr. Kim?"

"You are the one hiding something from me."

"Oh. Okay. On here. And here." She pointed to her b.r.e.a.s.ts and h.i.p.s.

"What happens there?"

"They could get better."

"I can't believe a person as expressive as Ms. Nam can't tell a doctor what she thinks of her own body," he taunted her with a wry smile.

"Right. The b.r.e.a.s.ts could be bigger and rounder. And the h.i.p.s…" She poked her side with a pointy finger. "Maybe a liposculpture?"

"Are you wearing a padded bra?"

She opened her mouth in protest, but then remembered that she was talking to a doctor. "Oh no."

"So your b.r.e.a.s.ts, which are considerably smaller than what's desirable, as you say, don't bother you to the point you want to disguise them all the time?"

"Well, sometimes I use it. But not all the time."

"And your h.i.p.s? What bothers you?"

"Well, what does Dr. Kim think of them?"

"That if they were perfect you wouldn't be here today, returning my shirt you borrowed after the dress you wore tore open. But I also think that it will get a lot better just with exercise, than with surgical intervention."

"Oh!" This time Ye Rim suddenly turned, red-cheeked, taking it personally since he had broken the medical persona. "OH! OH! How dare you say that, oppa?!"

He looked down at her. They were very close to the point where they could see themselves reflected in each other's eyes. Ye Rim hold her breath for a moment. Dr. Kim released her shoulder and stepped back.

"Do you think it's wrong for a doctor to try to suggest exercise and a diet rather than surgery?" He asked, raising his eyebrow sardonically.

"No, but…"

"You keep bragging around that you're beautiful. I have never seen a more conceited person than you, by the way. You don't even have a problem of insecurity with your image. Just when I asked if you really had nothing to be dissatisfied with, you started thinking about it ... And anyway: no, that's not how I talk to real patients. Just a bit close to it."

"..." She's got speechless.

"But that's not bad either." He started to take off his coat. "It would have been easy to send you home."

Ye Rim watched him for a moment in his activity of folding the lab coat and put it inside the bag she brought, along with the other shirt. 'He has such elegant moves!' And when he turned to her, she asked,

"So, are you that kind of doctor who tries to dissuade people out from plastic surgery?" She was already curious about this and many others things, but asked in a way that she thought to be polite enough.

"It's not like it. I can't judge how much a person needs corrective surgery when that's not obviously apparent. I mean, I may have an opinion on that, but… Usually people don't have a very clear view of what they look like. What makes a person want to change their exterior is quite complex. Many things that need to be changed outside also need to be changed inside. I just try to understand if I can really help with what I can do. Many times, I cannot. So I try to send them away." He left her for a moment while she thought about it.

When he returned from the adjoining room, he had a jacket on, and a leather backpack in his hand.

"Shall we?" He showed the door, walking ahead and leading the way. Ye Rim followed him.

"Do I have a good ratio?"

"I'm done with my work for today."

"Don't you do any pro bono?"

"I do, but not for you."

"Why not?"

"You don't need one, you just need to start running and occasional padded bras."

"God, are you going to wear everything I say against me?!"

"Everything is a whole lot." He greeted the secretaries in his exiting. "Good night Secretary Ma, Secretary Kang."

"Good night Dr. Kim," they said, watching the couple walk toward the elevator. Ye Rim hurriedly greeted them as well.

"Do you have a preference for a cafe, Ye Rim? We can go wherever you want." He pushed the elevator button, casually asking without looking at her.

"Oppa, I would love to drink coffee with you now, but I have an audition in 40 minutes."

He shifted his backpack, and was silent for a moment, then wrung his neck slightly, seeming to be comfortable again. "You should have said it before."

He sounded calm, but a little disappointed. But Ye Rim tried to soften her fault: "Well, look. I was wondering if we could have coffee after my audition…"

He gave a crooked smile, looking intrigued and willing to listen, so Ye Rim continued, "Lee oppa invited me to audition at HTN. But it was the only time they could fit me in the schedule. I thought that, if Jun Hyeon oppa took me there, we could have coffee later, before I go to the Pearl."

"Ah, so hyung got an audition for you?" His tone was slightly mocking but still intrigued, and he made that move with his neck again, as if relaxing his muscles. As Ye Rim just expected. Apparently she was getting used to identifying some of the doctor's mannerisms. "And, that's your way of getting a free ride?" he asked.

She stifled a laugh, entering the elevator when the door opened, followed by him. "Busted. I was trying to embrace the world. Getting my audition, getting some coffee in a fancy place, getting a ride to my gig later…"

"Are you sure you want a ride in my car?"

"Oh, I forgot. Your car. That car."

"Yep."

"So, is it okay, oppa?"

"What?"

"Are you taking me to the audition?"

"Sure. I'm free tonight." He said, and Ye Rim had the clear impression he wasn't pleased on knowing about MP Lee.