Chapter 1

While taking photos at a scenic spot, I move around three or four times to find the best angle.

I point the camera at my girlfriend, Ruby Sutton, and loudly repeat three times, "Look here!"

But she seems not to hear me, staring at something in the distance instead.

Then, my friend, Joel Ziegler, clumsily takes out his phone and calls out to her.

"Look at the camera!"

Ruby quickly poses and gives the camera a loving smile.

A young couple sees the photo on Joel's phone and starts teasing them.

"Wow, your girlfriend must really love you. You can see it in her eyes in the photo!"

Joel's ears turn bright red, and Ruby clears her throat awkwardly.

I look down at my camera and see that I only captured a third of her face. It looks like a photo taken by paparazzi.

Since we were kids, they'd habitually ignored me, assuming I had no opinions of my own.

When we were teenagers, they'd always excitedly choose where to go, taking it for granted that I would come along.

Now that we're grown up, the two of them decide to study medicine, expecting me to agree and enrolling me in a medical program.

Later, they become the "ER's top duo" at the hospital. Yet no matter how hard I work, I can only become a nurse.

When I look up, the two of them are already walking side by side toward the next spot to take photos.

They probably assume I will follow.

Instead, I turn around and walk in the opposite direction.

All this time, I have always been the one trailing behind them.

But there comes a day when I no longer want to keep up.

Chapter 1

Shane's POV

Ruby Sutton didn't realize I was gone until three hours later.

Her text message sounded cold and distant. "Where are you? I asked you to grab us some drinks at the park entrance. Did you get lost again?"

I had lost count of how many times she only remembered me when she needed something.

I didn't reply and continued with my work.

The head nurse, Teresa Towne, had just finished her rounds. She looked surprised when she saw me.

"I thought you saved up your vacation days to go on a trip with Ruby and Joel. Why are you back already?" she asked.

My hands froze as I sorted the medication.

They only had to complete one emergency surgery together to earn a week of extra leave.

On the other hand, I had to use my hard-earned vacation days to go on a trip with them.

Yet the trip I had been looking forward to only made me feel invisible.

Three hours later, Joel Ziegler walked into the nurses' station carrying a giant stuffed animal.

"Hey, Shane. Ruby and I pretended to be a couple to win this. We had to hug for 30 minutes straight. I'm beat!" he said. "But if it cheers up my best buddy, it's worth it."

I had suggested joining the hugging contest earlier, but Ruby brushed me off by calling it childish.

So, I never brought it up again.

But when Joel said he wanted the prize, she didn't mind pretending to be his girlfriend.

I was her real boyfriend, not him.

A heavy feeling settled in my chest.

When I didn't take the stuffed animal from Joel, Ruby reluctantly shoved it into my arms.

"You left without saying a word, and Joel was worried about you. What's with the attitude?" she said.

As soon as she said that, everyone around us looked at me with disdain.

Joel shot her a glare and quickly smoothed things over.

"You know she's terrible with words. Don't let it get to you," he said. "Shane, are you still upset about the photos?

"I've got a bunch of embarrassing pictures of her on my phone. I'll show you!"

As if to get even, he opened his photo gallery. Ruby, who was normally so serious and proper, looked playful and downright goofy through his lens.

Meanwhile, the 1267 photos on my phone were all candid shots of her from every angle.

Ruby threw an arm around Joel's neck and started tickling him.

"I told you not to show those to other people. You're going to pay for this!" she joked.

"Ruby, stop! I'm sorry!" Joel laughed as he squirmed.

I stood off to the side in stunned silence, feeling exactly like the outsider Ruby had called me.

…

Later, I went straight upstairs and knocked on the hospital director's door.

"Dr. Carter, I've decided to accept the overseas training program," I said.

Barry Carter lit up, but then he looked concerned.

"I'm glad you accepted," he said. "But have you talked it over with your mentor?"

He meant Ruby.

Joel and I both trained under her when we first joined the hospital, but only Joel was kept on.

I didn't make a single mistake during my internship. I even earned three special commendations, but Ruby said I was only doing my job.

Once, I stayed up all night finishing patient charts and didn't go home for 24 hours. She said I was only working harder because I wasn't good enough.

But when Joel saved an epilepsy patient by himself, Ruby sent several letters of recommendation to Barry's office. She got him into the ER despite the usual requirements.

Later, I realized that the harder I tried to catch up to them, the farther behind I fell.

I shook my head and gave a small, resigned smile.

"There's no need to discuss it with her. I've made up my mind."

Chapter 2

When we left the hospital that night, a heavy storm was already raging.

Ruby opened the only umbrella and pulled Joel close without a second thought.

I had forgotten mine and could only stand behind them in a daze.

She paused for a second and looked back at me. "I'll take Joel to the car first. Then I'll come back for you."

Before I could answer, she rushed into the rain with Joel, shielding him.

The wind was cold, and the rain soaked me through. I couldn't stop sneezing.

An hour passed. When I called Ruby, I was shaking from the cold.

She didn't answer until 20 minutes later.

The sound of a game came through the phone. Ruby sounded irritated at the interruption, with a brief moment of confusion in her voice.

"Sorry, I forgot," she said. "You're unbelievable. If you couldn't wait, you should've just called a cab home. Why did you wait this long?

"Wait there. I'll get you a cab."

The next moment, Joel's complaints came through the phone. "Quick, cover me! We're about to lose!"

She hung up without another word.

I stood outside the hospital as rain and tears ran down my face. No matter how I tried, I couldn't wipe them away.

I ran two miles in the rain before I finally hailed a cab.

The driver handed me a pack of tissues. He couldn't help but say, "There have been quite a few stabbing cases around here lately, and you're out here alone in the rain?

"Didn't your family come pick you up?"

Hearing his words, I finally realized the danger. The hair on the back of my neck stood up.

There really had been a murder near the hospital recently.

Back then, Ruby ordered self-defense gear online and put it in Joel's backpack.

She never got one for me.

When she saw how disappointed I looked, she leaned against me and said, "You've got your girlfriend going to work with you every day. Why would you need one?"

But at this very moment, I had neither the company nor the self-defense gear to protect me.

…

When I got home and opened the door, I saw Ruby drying Joel's hair. He was wearing the matching pajamas Ruby and I had.

When she heard the door open, Ruby turned off the hair dryer, and her expression darkened.

"You're finally back," she said. "Joel and I were so worried. If you had been gone any longer, we would've come looking for you.

They were both wearing matching pajamas, fresh out of the shower with their hair dried.

Neither of them looked like they were about to go anywhere.

My eyes stung. All the hurt I had been holding back came rushing out.

"Did it ever cross your mind that something could've happened to me in the middle of the night? I'm your boyfriend, not him!" I snapped.

Ruby was stunned for a moment, and Joel's face turned bright red. He pushed her away and stormed out without looking back.

Ruby clicked her tongue and was about to chase after him, but then she stopped.

"What's with you today? Are you stupid, or are you just looking for a fight?" she asked. "Joel and I are on shift tomorrow. If there's a surgery, you'll assist us. Consider that your chance to make up for it."

With that, she ran after him without looking back.

I stood there soaked to the skin. Mud covered my pant legs and the ground around my feet.

I was always the one waiting for their decisions, and I didn't even have the chance to say no.

…

The next morning, I woke up in a daze. When I checked my temperature, it was nearly 104 degrees.

My head was spinning, and I didn't even have the strength to open my eyes.

I called Ruby and Joel dozens of times, but neither of them answered.

In the end, I had no choice but to call an ambulance.

The moment I heard Ruby's voice, I felt a spark of hope.

"Ruby, I have a fever," I mumbled.

"Why is it you?" Her tone changed at once. "You called the emergency line just because I didn't answer your calls? You're a healthcare worker. How can you treat your job so carelessly?"

Chapter 3

Joel's panicked voice came through the phone.

"My mom suddenly twisted her ankle. She can't move right now. I just called the emergency services. Ruby, please help me!"

His anxious voice drowned out my plea for help, and the call was disconnected instantly.

In the end, a coworker noticed I hadn't shown up for work and called an ambulance for me.

When I opened my eyes again, the doctor on duty sighed and said, "Brain damage caused by a fever can't be reversed. You work in medicine, so you should know that."

I did, but as an attending physician, Ruby should have known better than I did.

It was well after midnight when Ruby found out I was in the hospital with a fever.

She had just returned from making her rounds. Still wearing her white coat, she picked up the chart beside my bed and looked it over.

"Your fever hasn't fully broken yet," she said. "We'll add another medication and see if that helps."

Her touch was gentle as she checked my forehead, but my gaze was cold.

"I told you I had a fever. Why didn't you come help me?" I asked.

Ruby's movement froze, and she frowned.

"Older people are different from younger people. What if she had broken a bone? You're a medical professional. You should know which situation was more urgent," she replied.

Yet she always said all patients were equally important.

Just then, Joel walked in, looking guilty.

"It's all because Mom got hurt at the worst possible time. If she hadn't needed that ambulance, Shane wouldn't have ended up hospitalized."

Ruby shot me an icy look before turning to comfort him. "Accidents don't choose a good or bad time to happen. Besides, Shane has always been overly sensitive. You know that."

My voice turned cold. "Our hospital has more than one ambulance."

The smile on Ruby's face disappeared. She looked annoyed instead.

"Aren't you okay now?" she said. "Joel was so panicked that I lost my head. I didn't think about anything else because I knew you could handle yourself."

Maybe the ones who cry the loudest are the ones who get cared for.

Or perhaps I'd never come first for Ruby.

But this time, I almost died. It wasn't like all the other times she took his side.

All the hurt I had been holding in came rushing back, but I forced it down and said, "Ruby, let's break up."

With that, I turned over and closed my eyes.

Joel grabbed the corner of my shirt, his voice trembling with panic. "Shane, I'm really sorry. Blame me if you want. Please don't be mad."

Ruby's bitter laugh came from behind me.

"You know exactly what he's like," she said. "He probably picked this up from some movie. He's just playing hard to get.

"When has he ever had a temper? He's only started acting like this lately. Who knows what's gotten into him."

The two of them went back to making fun of me for being so quiet, just like they always did.

Neither of them noticed the flight notification that had just popped up on my phone.

Chapter 4

The last surgery I assisted with before leaving was one with Ruby and Joel.

A male patient had just been in a serious accident, and he was in critical condition.

During the surgery, I reported the patient's vital signs exactly as they were.

"Heart rate 120. Prepare to administer the medication."

But unexpectedly, Joel gave a dose meant for a heart rate of 125.

The monitor let out a sharp alarm.

As the ER director, Ruby suddenly shouted, "Both of you, get out! Have Dr. Sands take over!"

After three hours of resuscitation efforts, the two of them worked together to complete the surgery successfully.

Ruby walked out of the operating room and pulled off her mask. Her expression was dark with anger.

"What the hell happened there? How could you make such a rookie mistake?"

Joel's eyes immediately welled up with tears. "I thought I heard 125. It's my fault for getting it wrong."

Ruby immediately looked at me with suspicion.

I tensed up and quickly explained, "Everyone heard me. I said 120."

Ruby looked at me with impatience. "A mistake is a mistake. You have to own up to it."

Then she wrote a large "Failed" across my performance review.

The year-end award wasn't just an honor. The recipients also received a bonus worth three times their regular year-end bonus.

I had worked harder than anyone else. I treated the hospital like my home and often worked 24 hours without a break.

I fought back tears of frustration, my voice hoarse as I said, "Everyone voted in favor."

But Ruby merely answered coldly, "It has to be reviewed as a whole."

Behind her, Joel smiled to himself.

All my five years of hard work disappeared in an instant.

…

My flight was leaving in five hours.

I packed my things from the nurses' station into a cardboard box. The other nurses looked at me like I had the plague and stayed as far away as they could.

Ruby walked over with a group of residents.

"I won't punish you too harshly this time," she said. "I'll transfer you to the reception desk. You're patient, so you'll be a good fit there.

"Write a formal apology to the patient and his family. Once that's done, we'll put this behind us."

She stared down at me, expecting me to lower my head like I always did and keep apologizing.

But I didn't say a word. I picked up the heavy box and walked out of the hospital.

When Ruby texted me again, telling me to turn in my written apology, I was already on a plane out of the country.

…

Third-person POV

Joel was assigned extra shifts as punishment, and Ruby stayed with him at the hospital for three straight days.

She figured she could let Shane stew for a little longer.

When the punishment ended three days later, Ruby went to the nurses' station early to pick up Shane after work.

She ran into Teresa, who had just come out. "Could you get Shane for me? I'm here to take him home."

Teresa stared at her in surprise and said, "Dr. Sutton, Shane already left for an overseas training program."