YOU ARE MY LIGHT

CHAPTER 2: THE MESSAGE THAT CHANGED EVERYTHING

The acceptance email came in at 7:42 p.m.

Everything inside me stopped.

I stared at my phone screen, heart thudding as I read the words again: We are pleased to offer you the nursing internship position at Skylike Medical Center...

Skylike.

The hospital.

My dream.

My hands shook. I read it over and over, afraid the words might vanish if I didn’t hold them tightly enough. Then it hit me.

I got in.

A laugh bubbled out before I could stop it. After weeks of doubt and second-guessing, it was real. I was in.

I immediately texted Joy.

Me: I got it!!! Skylike accepted me!!

Joy: YESSSSS!!! My bestie is officially joining the chaos. We’re celebrating tomorrow night. Club. No excuses. I’ll pick you up at 9.

Before I could reply, she hung up.

The next evening, Joy dragged me to a hotel club. “Tonight is your celebration,” she said, pulling me inside. “No hospital thoughts. No stress. Just fun.”

Joy had been working at Skylike for almost a year — a full nurse in the emergency department, always moving like she owned the place. She was loud, fearless, the kind of friend who yanked you out of your shell whether you liked it or not. I was the opposite.

I hesitated at the entrance, but followed her in anyway.

The club was loud, pulsing with bass that vibrated through my chest. Colored lights swept across the dance floor, and the air smelled of perfume, sweat, and sweet cocktails. I wore a simple black dress I rarely touched, my hair tied back neatly. I looked like someone who didn’t belong in a club.

At first, I just stood there, watching Joy dance wildly, waving her head to the beat. Then something shifted inside me. For once, I wasn’t thinking about my father, or fear, or the walls I’d built so carefully.

I pulled the band from my hair, letting it fall loose, and started dancing. Slowly at first, then freer. I waved my head, losing myself in the music.

“Juliet, what’s wrong with you today?” Joy shouted over the noise, laughing. “You’re really enjoying yourself for someone who’s never been here!”

“I have to celebrate!” I shouted back. “For getting into Skylike. For getting a little freedom.”

Maybe Skylike was where my freedom would start.

Guys approached, wanting to dance. I waved them off or shook my head with a smile. “I can see you really enjoy your single life,” Joy teased. I just laughed.

We danced until our feet hurt, laughing at nothing and everything. Joy kept buying shots, and I let the alcohol warm me, loosening the constant tension in my shoulders.

Halfway through the night, Joy leaned close, her breath tickling my ear.

“Juliet… someone has been looking at you the whole time.”

I glanced around, cheeks flushed. “They might already think I’m crazy.”

She nodded toward the balcony above us. “Up there. Dark balcony. He’s been watching you.”

I tilted my head. A figure stood still in the shadows. The lights didn’t reach his face.

“Maybe he isn’t looking at me,” I said.

“He is,” Joy insisted.

“Joy, let’s forget about men and just celebrate,” I shouted, pulling her back onto the dance floor.

She burst out laughing. “That’s my girl!”

When we finally stumbled to the bar to pay, the bartender shook his head with a grin.

“Your bill has already been settled.”

We froze, then looked at each other.

“Are you sure?” Joy asked, still grinning.

The bartender smiled. “It’s on the house tonight.”

“We’re really lucky,” Joy slurred happily. “Maybe it’s one of your secret admirers, Juliet. Something good is coming your way.”

“I hope so,” I said, laughing.

We thanked him and headed out, giggling like teenagers, a little dizzy and far too light. Joy insisted I sleep over at her place. I didn’t argue.

The next morning hit like a truck.

My alarm screamed for who knows how long. I bolted upright, head pounding, mouth dry. The clock glared: 7:58 a.m.

“s**t!”

Internship orientation started at 8:30. No time for breakfast, no time for anything.

“Joy, you really killed me!” I shouted.

She laughed from the other room. “Didn’t you enjoy it?”

“I really won’t go anywhere with you next time,” I said playfully.

I threw on my clothes, grabbed my file and badge, and rushed out the door. The streets felt too bright, too loud, too slow.

The convenience store near the hospital was my only hope. I burst in, snatched a canned coffee and a packaged bread roll, paid in record time, and sprinted back out — lid half-open, coffee already sloshing.

I wasn’t watching where I was going.

I slammed straight into a solid chest.

Hot coffee spilled across his white shirt in a dark stain.

I froze.

He didn’t flinch. Not even a little.

“Oh my God, I’m so sorry—” I blurted, reaching up instinctively to wipe at the mess with my sleeve. “I didn’t see you… I really didn’t… I’m sorry!”

My fingers brushed firm muscle under the damp fabric. Strong. Warm. Real.

Too real.

I snatched my hand back as if burned. What am I doing? Touching a stranger?

Slowly, I looked up.

And the world narrowed.

He was tall — definitely taller than me. Broad shoulders, sharp jawline, dark eyes that caught the morning light. Handsome in that effortless way I only ever saw in dramas. The kind of beautiful that made my stomach drop and my carefully built walls feel suddenly paper-thin.

My heart cried out in warning… and for the first time in years, I got distracted by a man.

“미안해요…” I whispered softly. I’m sorry. It sounded small. Lost. Embarrassed.

He stared down at me, silent.

Then his phone rang.

He didn’t say a word. Just pulled it from his pocket and answered, voice calm and low as he turned and walked away — as if I didn’t exist.

My stomach dropped.

Did I just ruin my image in ten seconds? Does he think I’m crazy? A maniac? A man-chaser?

Heat flooded my face. How could I embarrass myself like that in front of a complete stranger? All because of Joy and last night’s stupid confidence.

I couldn’t let it end like this. I didn’t want to owe anyone anything.

I rushed after him, fumbling in my bag for cash. Catching up, I shoved a few bills into his free hand.

“I’m really sorry…” I whispered again.

He lowered the phone halfway, lips parting as if about to speak.

I didn’t wait.

I turned and ran toward the hospital entrance, coffee dripping from my fingers, bread roll squished in my other hand, heart hammering louder than my headache.

I don’t have time for this.

Then my phone rang. Joy.

Speak of the devil.

I picked up, still half-running.

“Girl, I forgot to tell you — I woke up early and wasn’t feeling good. I wasn’t carrying cash, so I took some money from your bag,” she said casually.

I froze. “How much did you take?”

“Hmm… I don’t really know. But what I left was a dollar.”

Silence.

“What?!” I shouted, spinning around to look for the stranger.

He was already gone.

“What’s wrong?” Joy asked.

I groaned.

I had just embarrassed myself in front of a stranger like a crazy person — and handed him what little money I had left because of Joy’s mistake.

But it didn’t matter.

It shouldn’t matter.

Surely I wouldn’t meet him again.

That’s what I told myself.

Maybe.