For the next ten minutes, I didn’t write a single word.
The medical report in front of me remained completely blank.
Not because I didn’t know what to write.
Because my brain was still trying to accept the impossible.
Dr. Lucas Reed.
My terrifying supervisor.
The man who corrected every mistake.
The man who looked at me like my existence was another problem on his schedule.
Was the same man who had spent six months listening to my complaints every night.
The same man who called me “honey.”
The same man who knew I cried after difficult shifts.
The same man who knew I secretly hated hospitals but loved helping people.
I looked at him across the room.
He was reading patient files.
Completely calm.
As if he hadn’t just destroyed my entire understanding of reality.
My phone vibrated.
A message.
From him.
Virtual Boyfriend: Are you avoiding me?
I stared at the screen.
Then slowly typed:
Me: No.
Three seconds later:
Virtual Boyfriend: You’re lying.
My eyes widened.
How could he know?
Then another message appeared.
Virtual Boyfriend: You always become quiet when you’re nervous.
I looked up.
Lucas was still reading.
But the corner of his mouth moved slightly.
That tiny smile.
The same one from the chat.
My heart almost stopped.
The next morning, I arrived at the hospital earlier than usual.
I had one mission.
Find out the truth.
No more guessing.
No more panic.
I entered the staff room.
Lucas was already there.
Coffee in hand.
Reviewing reports.
Of course.
Even at seven in the morning, he looked like someone who had never made a mistake in his entire life.
“Dr. Reed.”
He looked up.
“Dr. Carter.”
I swallowed.
“Can I ask you something?”
His expression remained neutral.
“Depends.”
“Do you know someone named… Emma?”
A pause.
Very small.
But I noticed.
“I know many people.”
“Someone who likes strawberry cake?”
Silence.
“Someone who hates thunder?”
His eyes finally lifted from the papers.
For a second…
The cold mask disappeared.
Only for a second.
Then it returned.
“Many people hate thunder.”
I nodded.
“Right.”
I turned around.
But before I left, his voice stopped me.
“Dr. Carter.”
I looked back.
“Your report.”
I frowned.
“What about it?”
“Don’t write it based on frustration.”
I stared at him.
“What does that mean?”
His eyes softened slightly.
“It means you’re better than you think.”
Then he returned to his paperwork.
Like he hadn’t just said the nicest thing I had ever heard from him.
That evening, I opened the chat again.
My fingers hovered over the keyboard.
Finally, I wrote:
Me: Why didn’t you tell me who you were?
The reply came instantly.
Virtual Boyfriend: Why didn’t you tell me who you were?
I froze.
A second message appeared.
Virtual Boyfriend: You never mentioned you worked at my hospital.
I looked at the screen.
Then typed:
Me: You knew?
The typing bubble appeared.
Disappeared.
Appeared again.
Finally:
Virtual Boyfriend: I suspected.
Me: Since when?
A few seconds later:
Virtual Boyfriend: Since the day you complained about a “terrible doctor” who corrected your handwriting.
My face became hot.
Because I remembered.
That was two months earlier.
I had written:
“That man is impossible. He corrected my notes because my letters weren’t aligned.”
His response had been:
“Sounds like a very responsible doctor.”
I had laughed.
I had no idea.
The next message came.
Virtual Boyfriend: I wanted to tell you.
Me: But?
Virtual Boyfriend: But I was afraid.
I stopped.
Lucas Reed.
Afraid?
Impossible.
Me: Of what?
The answer took longer.
Virtual Boyfriend: That you would stop talking to me if you knew.
I stared at those words.
Suddenly, everything made sense.
The cold doctor.
The distant boss.
The man everyone feared.
He wasn’t emotionless.
He was careful.
The next day, Ryan returned for a follow-up appointment.
When he saw me, he smiled.
“Emma.”
“Ryan.”
Lucas walked in at that exact moment.
His expression changed.
Barely.
But I noticed.
Ryan noticed too.
He looked between us.
Then smiled.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
“Doctor Reed.”
Lucas looked at him.
“Mr. Shen.”
Ryan laughed.
“So that’s the famous doctor?”
I immediately felt nervous.
“What famous doctor?”
Ryan looked at me innocently.
“The one you complain about.”
My eyes widened.
Lucas looked directly at me.
Silence.
Absolute silence.
Ryan realized his mistake.
“Oops.”
After Ryan left, Lucas placed the file on my desk.
“Famous?”
I looked down.
“Not famous.”
“Interesting?”
“No.”
“Terrible?”
I covered my face.
“Please stop.”
For the first time…
He laughed.
Actually laughed.
Not a small smile.
A real laugh.
And I froze.
Because the man everyone called cold had been hiding this entire time.
Later that evening, Lucas asked:
“Can I tell you something?”
I looked at him.
“Yes.”
He hesitated.
“I liked talking to you before I knew you were my intern.”
My heart skipped.
“And after?”
He looked at me.
“After…”
A pause.
“It became harder.”
“Why?”
“Because I realized the woman who made me smile every night was standing in front of me every day.”
I didn’t know what to say.
So I asked the only thing I could.
“Then why were you so strict with me?”
His answer surprised me.
“Because I knew you were capable of more.”
I blinked.
“That’s your excuse?”
“No.”
He shook his head.
“It’s my mistake.”
A few months later, I finished my internship.
Lucas was still strict.
Still demanding.
Still impossible sometimes.
But now I knew something nobody else knew.
Behind that cold expression was the same man who listened when I had bad days.
The same man who remembered my favorite dessert.
The same man who secretly worried when I worked too hard.
The world saw Dr. Lucas Reed.
The brilliant, intimidating hospital director.
But I knew the other version.
The man who typed messages late at night.
The man who called me honey.
The man who was afraid I would leave if I knew the truth.
One year later, someone asked me how I fell in love with the coldest doctor in the hospital.
I smiled.
Because the answer was simple.
I didn’t fall in love with Dr. Lucas Reed.
I fell in love with the person hidden behind him.
And the funniest part?
For six months, I thought I was hiding my heart from my virtual boyfriend.
But the whole time…
He was sitting five meters away from me.
Watching me complain about himself.
