sleepless cinderella ☆ ten | ✔

03

Just a couple days later found you in the VIP lounge, legs tucked underneath you as you sat in the corner of one of the plush couches. Your notebook was in your lap and pencil in hand as you listened to Ten. He was sat in the middle of the couch, body turned to face you and arm resting across the back of the couch. You were well aware of how close his hand was to you, relying on your voice recorder placed on the cushion between the two of you as some kind of boundary. Not that Ten's proximity made you uncomfortable, but he was almost startlingly beautiful up close, and you had to stay back for your own good.

Like now, Ten had been telling you about the procedure he'd done at the hospital late last night, and instead of actually paying attention to what he was saying, you were transfixed on his pink lips.

Hearing that he had paused—clearly waiting for a response from you—you dumbly nodded and offered a non-committal noise, pretending to write something down. Thank God you had your voice recorder, you could listen to the story again later.

"Y/N, I asked how your day was. And—" he then imitated the noise you'd made "—is not an answer."

"Sorry, a lot on my mind," you shook your head, offering him a tight-lipped smile. "My day has been okay, thanks for asking."

"Okay? Why hasn't it been great?"

"Because nothing great has happened," you informed him with a short sigh before changing the topic. "Now, tell me about your team."

"You're with me, isn't that great?"

"Not when you don't answer my questions."

"Ouch, okay. I'll tell you about my team."

And so you carefully took down notes as he spoke, compiling a fairly thorough list of his operating team:

- Duan Aojuan: was his protégé and now does her own surgeries; will occasionally still assist him on bigger operations

- Wang Linkai: the only anesthesiologist he trusts to give patients proper dosages as to not wake up while being sliced open

- Li Quanzhe: the only surgical tech he trusts to make sure the room is properly prepared and everything is sanitized

- Lai Meyun: his current top resident and choice pick for assisting him during surgeries; gets annoyed at Ten's tendency to banter over open chest cavities

- Zhu Zhengting: the operating nurse who is the real linchpin in the OR; makes sure they cut the right thing

- Li Yingchao: used to be his top resident choice until he threw up on poor Wang Linkai during a particularly gory surgery months ago and has only recently been allowed back in the OR, but only to observe

After he had finished with the horrible story of Yingchao throwing up on Linkai, you had half a smile on your lips as you finished scribbling it down, "Sounds like you could make a sitcom out of you and your team."

"Yeah, they're special," Ten agreed. "You should come by the hospital and meet them sometime. I would've recommended a dinner, but the only time all of us are off is in an alternate dimension."

"I might have to take you up on that offer, it'd be good for the article."

"Although maybe you shouldn't meet Aojuan, she has way too many embarrassing stories of me. Zhengting too, he's been there longer than I have, saw me during my residency days. Those were dark times."

"I'll make sure to specifically ask for them then," you said only somewhat teasingly, a fond smile resting across your features as Ten chuckled.

"I shouldn't have said anything," he shook his head.