Episode one introduces the fresh out of school protagonist, a nurse just moved back South from a big city in the North. It’s been years since she lived at home, and she feels like a failure, returning with a degree in a career she began to hate while in school.

Her first day on the job she accidentally insults a coworker, as every drama protagonist does, and the prejudice against her as a Northerner (picture a Seoulite moving to Jeju) coalesces into active dislike, despite her protests that she grew up in the town.

The bullying gets worse in the next several episodes, the nurses her age refusing to acknowledge her when she talks, the older ones looking askance at her lack of accent and awkward conversation topics. She is easily made a scapegoat in those first few months, only able to hide and cry when someone yells at her once again.

She tries to befriend some of the secretaries and aides, only for it to backfire as they find our heroine a buzzkill on their night out drinking (what can she say, she does think it dangerous to down beer like water before an hour drive home). She’s not invited out again.

Like all Candy’s, she is a single and singularly inexperienced twenty something when it comes to romantic love. And, like so many of those too sweet Candies, when the social work life is all talk of sex and alcohol, sharing pictures of the latest thirst trap met on dating apps, she has nothing to contribute, and hits up the library instead after her shift (and after getting obligatory PPL Taco Bell (hey it’s my story and I never eat at Subway or Pizza Hut).

There is an awkward episode in the middle when the constantly peppy, constantly oversharing manager corners her while she works to ask for spiritual advice. Huh, I guess our heroine really is a Fanny Price character.

There’s turmoil at episode eight, not because of a kiss, but because of the large hospital downtown closing. Enter new characters as doctors, nurses, and aides transfer over, trying to hold onto their jobs (there is a running social commentary about the for profit nature of this healthcare system, that burns through both staff and facilities, both emotionally and physically). There’s a lot of bitterness over the closure, with the current staff at odds with the new staff, despite the definite experience the cynical newbies bring.

The peppy manager, still in the middle of her life crisis, transfers away to a different department, and is replaced by a punk country nurse who is constantly tired because, surprise, cancer. (Punk country is what I like to call pink hair, gauged ears, and a redneck accent thicker than the smoke of a bonfire).

The secretary who was once hoped to be a friend now also bullies our heroine, ignoring her and loudly talking about socially “inexperienced” who think they are better than others. There is an entire episode revolving around the incident of the protagonist requesting that staff not discuss their communicable diseases in the hallways outside patient rooms, only to receive a series of angry text messages from the secretary denouncing her for her insensitivity and narcissism. This same secretary then merely continues on with graphic sex stories while grieving families stand close by the desk, even going so far to flirt loudly on the hospital landline with her crush in another department, because it’s not her personal cell so she can’t be punished for it.

Our heroine buys the Kubler Ross book on grief and death to try to become better at dealing with people in crisis. (Oh Lord I’m starting to hate this protagonist myself, such a goody two shoes)

During this time our lead is befriended by the leader of the girls who originally bullied her, that clique currently fighting amongst themselves, during a late night junk food run (picture obligatory PPL as they sit outside of Taco Bell, looking at the sky and giving character exposition). They talk of their hopes and dreams, the bully saying that her dream really is to be a mother, regardless of what else, she wants a baby of her own. The same woman is busy flirting with one of the new young doctors, and wants our protagonist on her side, disappointing our lead who had found the doctor’s sincerity and kindness refreshing, until she saw him eyeing the, ahem, assets of the often unkind woman.

The fight between the clique, by the by, reaches the point where administration is involved to decree that they are not allowed to work together anymore. Too bad the ward is too short staffed to actually follow that decree.

The secretary attempts suicide in the parking lot (while walking with a group of people she lays down in front of a car because she wasn’t invited to join the clique at a waterpark), and quits soon afterwards, loudly asserting only heartless people can work in healthcare.

Oooh, before I end that plotline, I just want to mention this secretary’s crush’s racist comments towards the heroine that had her debate calling HR on him, only to decide it wasn’t worth it with people like him.

At this point in the story, let’s call it episodes 10-13, the heroine finds her PPL Taco Bell runs joined by various other characters who use it as a chance to give exposition and badmouth each other. Our girl keeps her mouth full and wonders idly why she bothers socializing (I guess she really isn’t as kind as Candies usually are), and supposes she shouldn’t be surprised when one of them tells her rumors that the other had spread about her.

The leader of the bullies has decided that the heroine is once more her enemy, as they both are up for the same promotion. One of the managers goes into seizures while at work, another leaves after sending a very public email to all the administration and medical doctors, and the relief manager is hit by a Truck of Doom. The post of manager is now open.

Things are also heating up between the bully nurse and her naive doctor, sneaking around in break rooms and the like, until one of her “on the side” one night stands declares himself her “SNS official” boyfriend. The doc didn’t know she was still seeing other people, and promptly switches to night shift to nurse (hehe) his broken heart.

Episode 14 sees our girl working as manager,

struggling with the outright animosity of some of the staff. Now she gets in trouble for not reining in the clique, who have devolved into “jokingly” telling sexual, emotional, and health information about the others at the nurses station as a means of backstabbing.

Episode 16 ends this nightmare of a melo with our lead interviewing for a job in a different city, telling them that she appreciates the myriad experiences of her current position but is ready to move on. She smiles at the interviewer as she expresses gratitude to her coworkers for teaching her so very much.

Later, back at her job she is shunned again since the clique has made up, but now she merely raises her eyebrows and asks after their patients, which usually sends them scattering. Busy trying to decide how to break it to her boss that she too is quitting, she hears loud voices trying to whisper down the hallway about a staff pregnancy, where no one knows who the father is.

“Really,” is all she can think, “what kind of makjang is this?”

Yes, I did write myself as a protagonist of a medical drama, and yes, I did cast Park Shin Hye to play me. What can I say, she has great hair.

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Wow Coco what a story 😱
Anyway congrats , fighting and good luck
We should’ve send the assassinations squad to break some necks/bones 😉😉