Episode 1 – Sleepless Nights
The night was quiet, but the city never truly slept. In her small room, Mira sat cross-legged on the floor, notebooks and textbooks scattered like fallen leaves. Her pen scratched furiously across the page, the dim lamp casting shadows that danced with her exhaustion.
Her eyes burned, her fingers ached, yet she pressed on.
"I have to top this. I have to…" she whispered to herself, voice cracking under the weight of desperation.
Later that night, when the clock struck two, Mira leaned back against the wall. The room was silent except for the ticking of the clock and the faint hum of a distant train. She closed her eyes for a moment, whispering into the darkness:
"If I can become a doctor, I won't let people die helpless like I watched before… I'll save them. No matter what it takes."
Across town, Jae Min hunched over his own pile of books, eyes bloodshot but determined. The lamp by his desk flickered as if fighting to stay awake alongside him. His fingers traced the edge of a notebook, mind racing with equations and the heavy weight of his own promise.
"One day… I'll protect people. I'll never fail anyone. Not like this. I'll be someone who can stand between danger and the innocent."
He leaned back in his chair, staring at the ceiling where faint cracks branched like maps. He imagined himself in uniform, standing tall, earning the respect of people he vowed to protect. And then, uninvited, Mira's face drifted into his mind. Her focused eyes, her stubborn determination.
"She's the only one who studies harder than me… Why do I keep thinking of her?"
The next morning, the classroom was heavy with tension. Mira and Jae Min sat at opposite ends of the room, yet something invisible seemed to pull them together. Every glance was brief, every small sigh a shared secret.
During lunch, Mira stared out the window, watching birds dart between trees. Jae Min approached cautiously from behind.
Jae Min jumped from behind and said, "You didn't sleep again, did you?"
Mira startled "I… I can't. Too much to do."
Jae Min half-smiling, exhausted "Same here. You know… sometimes, I wonder if all this studying is worth it or not."
Mira said softly, "I wonder if I can be a doctor or not. I saw too many people die just because they didn't get the proper treatment. I want to serve them… at any cost."
Jae Min said to her, "So both of us want to save people at any cost. Right?"
Mira looked away, uncomfortable with how closely their thoughts aligned. She muttered under her breath, "Why does he follow me everywhere?"
Jae Min grinning, calling out "I can hear you, Mira-ya."
Flustered, Mira ran back to her seat, burying herself in the safety of textbooks and revision. Jae Min watched her retreating figure, his eyes lingering with a softness he didn't dare show.
"No wonder she avoids me every single time… She's carrying the weight of the world on her shoulders. I just wish she can achieve her dream, like she said." He sighed, gathering his books before heading back to class.
And as the day passed, both Mira and Jae Min carried the same silent truth in their hearts the sleepless nights weren't just for their dreams anymore… but for the strange, undeniable pull between them.