Chapter Two

2175 Words
Jade turned back the files on her desk. she likes spending her days in the medical world. Every day didn't come with a boring routine. She couldn't coast trough a day on autopilot. The challenges she faced every day required active engagement. She'd learned very early in her career that all problems didn't unfold into glorious outcomes, and yet she found satisfaction in looking beyond the need to rebuild mobility or mend torn ligaments. She cared about rehabilitating the broken spirits of patients who struggled with the healing process. In this profession she'd found her calling. On the flip side where her own emotions ran rampant, she viewed the terrain as foreign and too unpredictable. Her expertise with falling in or out of love could be characterized as either non-existent or as old as the jurassic period. Jungkook , however, had earned the badge of female dominant back in highschool. Her brother had a tepentoire of roles to play- sexy, hot coolly detached. Inevitably, his various girlfriends would be enamored and then devastated when he grew bored of their attention. If Jade allowed herself that slither of space to feel sorry for herself, she'd envy her brothers ability. The few men who had attracted her enough to accept their flirtation soon drop out of her life. Too serious , they all claimed, too strong, one in particular accused. " Doesn't know how to make a man feel like he's the man" said another. Her professional success, finally comfortable lifestyle and independence were supposed to be her so called attractive points, but in the blink of an eye they turned into fodder for men's insecure egos. But her brothers success didn't come without an emotional backlash, Jade reminded herself, Every now and then, Jungkook did fall in love- his version of love- and then the break ups turned messy and loud. Always he came to his big sister for the noble rescue and hand holding mourning period until the next sucker came along. Jade wondered when her 25 years old brother would grow up. Looked like today wasn't to be that day. As for herself, Jade had experienced some men who tried to bulldoze their way into her life, but she refused to let any of them stir up the status quo. If she didn't engaged in such destructions, she didn't have to worry about drama would enter her life. They're parents had a wonderful long marriage before her mother died five years ago. They were the role models that greetings card said " I love you till the end of time" Older , wiser and a lot more cynical, Jade now viewed her parents marriage as product of bygone era, and quite frankly, an item for the endangered species list. With her elderly father on a fixed income in a senior living community and the frenetic case of jungkook lifestyle, along with her unpredictable income, Jade shoulder the responsibility as provider for the family. She didn't mind the role for it taught her how to survive on her own. Being disciplined and tenacious brought success and order to her life. Besides looking at jungkook, and all the other jungkook's types navigating the current social scenes, she had decided that relationships relied too heavily on the heart with inevitable one-sided sacrifice too much compromise and blind faith in trying to change the other person's values. None of that was for her. Her office phone rang, calling her attention back to business. "Dr. Park, Jimin was on the line. The representative from Seoul National Pharmaceutical. He's not taking no for an answer." "Put him through please". she had taken this rep to task for his aggressive sales approach. Now her staff hated dealing with him. Often she'd be called to handle him, he was lucky that a small number of the companies medicines did have fast and effective rehabilitative benefits however he has still an annoying gnat. "Mr. Jimin Dr. Park is here". How may I assist you today?" "Jade, my favorite doc". His nasal pitch poured the saccharin-tainted compliment over her, leaving a slimy residue, " I told them not to bother you, Hey by the way which professional athlete are you healing now, can't believe i caught a glimpse of Atlanta's Chaz the Tiger' Owen's coming out of your office the other day". his chuckled rated on her nerves but then he could blink and that would irk her . Jade had had enough. " I am busy, but I definitely want to talk to you." She turned up the iciness on her tone Because she wanted perfectly to be cleared. " You've been pushing the Benefedra drug my way to the past month. "I've read the companies report." "Impressive right"? And more data is coming in on those early success he interrupted. "Yes. But your case is studies were in Busan not exactly the top list for clinical trials as a matter of fact there are a few cautionary reports from the Seoul Medical Oversight Committee and the Seoul College of Surgeons about the dangerous addictive side effects. Something about psychotic episodes." "There always are the tractors that are working for the competition psychotic episodes where from patients who already had that disposition." The FDA isn't even close to making a decision on the drug," she continued as if he hadn't interrupted. "We expect that the drug will be fast-tracked ". "Then you know something I don't." The man's lack of ethics chilled her spine. She adjusted herself in the chair. He was lucky that he wasn't standing in her office, face to face. I'm a Seoul College Graduate so I trust my colleagues. If they advise that more clinical trials are necessary then your company needs to follow suit. i'm not going to put my patients at risk for an experimental drug". "the drug is beyond the experimental stage i would think that you'd want to be on the ground floor when the bead launch has happened." "No, thanks." Jade had never been swayed by the allure of the pharmaceutical empires large or small. As a doctor she relied on various therapies to bring her patients back to their whole selves or as close to that state as possible. Her job was to determine the best recourse, shift lanes if necessary or cat 1 route and change to another. She wasn't going to overmedicate or dispensed questionable drugs. "But,Jade," Jimin, the gnat, wheedled. Condensation coated his words. "We are giving you a great incentive. I'm not making this offer to anyone. The potential for being one of our early clients for this drug would be a financial boon to you." Jade grabbed her pen. The only sound in the room was clicking of the pen. Her pupils constricted and white hot-anger surged from her core and spread through her limbs with laser like speed. Her hand tightened around the phone to clamp the reciever closer to her ear. "Jimin, I'm only going to say this once, "Do not talk to me as if I'm an i***t trolling trough your used car sales lot. Do not treaten me with financial loss or dangle an incentive for a questionable product. As a matter of fact don't call this office." I will be in touch with your company. And let me conclude this conversation with one more thing I'm Doctor Park to you. Good day she slammed down the phone before emmiting a growl through clenched teeth the man had made the mistake of trying to take advantage of their business relationship. She'd cut him off at the knees before she let that happen. Jade remembered her mother's advice after she passed her medical board examinations. Doctors could be social engineers or social piranha as she defended the medical profession with such that her father had to intervene in their many heated discussions. In Jade's opinion her colleagues all had taken the hippocratic oath and live with and followed high principles that guided there every decision she truly believe that bad doctors were in rarity how could she be.? In the news sordid members of the medical profession demonstrated their lack of ethics the poor judgement caused by their oversized egos and greed for the almighty dollar one bad doctor was one doctor too much no matter how many were caught there were still another person ready to feel the dubious role. Now she understood the message her mother had insisted that she understand. She wanted to be that social engineer who work for the betterment of the person but also for the community if she didn't focus on that standard she could be loose her soul. Once that downward spiral begun then she could find it too easy to violate her oath to muddy, the purpose and mission that led her to this calling and to dishonor her mother's wishes. Her anger simmered no idiotic pharmaceutical sales person with the personality of a toad could tempt her with the pursuit of "dirty" money Jimin could go to hell with that mess. And certainly no patient should detrack her from her calling not even a devilishly handsome race car driver. "Kim Taehyung you have just met your match i'm not want to fall in a swoon." Jade grab her keys and mobile phone she need to calm down after telling her stuff that she was headed to lunch she walk to the nearby parking garage to retrieve her car. Somedays her routine had no spark to shake up her nerves, then there were days like his that constantly had their gritting her teeth one-by-one a race car driver his younger brother and the sleazy sales representative had came through like back-to-back microburst throwing up her day with their unique turbulence. "What was next ,or "Who was next? Now that the question had been thrown out there she feared that it might be answered in a way that would leave her ready to pull out her hair. Behind the wheel with nowhere in mind Jade shifted gears with the engine and headed for the back roads that wound a curvy route through the farms. Being responsible was 99% of her mindset some days like this one the 1% of her deepest wishes had to surface like steam out of a pressure release valve. She dreams of escape from everything and everyone didn't mean that she didn't want to return just that she wanted to push a pause button on her life and when she was ready she would push resume. With full gas tank the r&b radio station on blast mode with an oldie from the temptations of a glove compartment full of twizzlers Jade had all she needed for an hour long drive to nowhere. Her pause button allowed her to leave everything behind, people and their careers, people and their emotions, people and her responsibilities. Seoul South Korea, busted with all the trappings of a growing city, but outside the city there remained attached of the country that had not been developed. Family owned farms, still held fast against the push or need to sell, single lane roads marked the countryside, connecting one small town to the other. Instead of dealing with the traffic congestion crowded lunch spots and then of population. Jade sought the easy drive through the fields. Her schedule didn't allow the street often. But she didn't miss any opportunity to play hooky. A half-hour later her cell phone buzzed with an incoming text, it was the office time to push the button to resume her responsibilities, time to act like a grown-up. Jade turn down the music, close the convertible top and headed into the high way toward the city and her office. The schedule for the remainder of the day had one surgery and to follow up appointments since she'd invited jungkook over. She couldn't stay late. That meant she'd have to bring work home and put it in a few hours after jungkook left to get caught up. She rubbed her stiff neck it was going to be a long night. Jade turned off the fire under the various pots. she'd finish cooking dinner, a task that she enjoyed but really had time to do her father who likes his independence insisted on cooking for himself at his apartment. With her badgering he'd relented to having her cook for her weekly sunday visit with him. They'd usually catch up on the week's news more often of late did reminisce about earlier times. She found a way to sneak food into his fridge, by cooking larger quantities. He'd mindly protest up on the discovery of the various dishes stowed away in marked containers but by the end of the week the containers would be empty. Jade pretended that she didn't know the game her father might even sneak in a request for a certain mill rd serve as an innocent observation that he hadn't had a dish in a while and that he couldn't get it out of his thoughts.
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