Work Text:
It is a known fact that Colonel Yoo Shi Jin is extremely possessive of his wife Dr. Kang Mo Yeon. A decade long marriage and two kids later, the soldier still had to give lethal glares to youngsters and elder men alike in his wife's vicinity. He found it immensely annoying that her patients on the surgery table still had the audacity to flirt with her just because she couldn't wear her wedding ring in the operation theatre and considered her to be "available."
How did he know all this? Dr. Lee Chi-hoon. God bless his soul. The younger doctor was his eyes and ears in Haesung over the years. Anything and literally anything related to his wife was communicated to him within the hour, of course when he wasn't deployed to the department store that is.
What Shi Jin didn't expect was to experience such behavior from one of her patients right under his fucking nose, sending him into a possessive rage like never before. He was at the hospital to visit one of his sergeants who had to have an emergency surgery after suffering multiple stab wounds.
Over the years, his team mates and all reportees had figured out in one way or another that the Colonel's wife was to be spoken of in highest respect. Thanks to her TV show Mo Yeon was a celebrity even at the base and whenever she did visit her husband, which wasn't much per se, everyone knew that she was not to be stared at for longer than necessary. Unless you wished to get 100 laps around the base as a punishment. New recruits always got a punishment so much so that it had become a tradition and hefty bets were made by the higher ups as to who was to be screwed over soon.
Today he had planned to drop by for a quick greeting to his wife's office as well. She had a consultation going on, which he was aware of. Mo Yeon had informed him about it and told him to just let himself in and wait for her since she didn't expect it to take too long. She was in the smaller examination room which was a part of her office and the door was closed of course to maintain patient confidentiality.
Once done, his wife and a guy in his early 30s walked out. He had a decent build and exuded money and wealth. He wasn't as tall as Shi Jin but then his wife's small stature made even the average ones look tall. The guy was constantly staring at Mo Yeon which was not something Shi Jin appreciated one bit but he decided to stay quiet because he was a patient after all.
He normally blocked out people's conversations out of respect for their privacy, but this was his wife. And there was one thing everyone knew for a fact: Colonel Yoo Shi Jin never played fair, if it had something to do with his beloved wife. When it came to her, he had to know every single thing, privacy be damned. He started eavesdropping, while acting to be engaged on his phone. Initially it was just the health updates when all of a sudden the punk said, "Dr. Kang, would you like to go out with me for dinner sometime? I would like to thank you properly for your treatment this past few weeks and maybe also get to know you better." He said it all with a confident but a hopeful smile telling the female doctor that he was most likely asking her out on a date.
She had already seen her husband in the periphery and if his glaring eyes were any indication she knew that Shi Jin would become an imminent threat to her patient's life, if she didn't do something soon to rectify the situation.
Giving the man in front a hesitant smile, she replied, "Ah, Mr. Lee that's very kind of you but you don't need to thank me. Its my job to treat you as your doctor. There is absolutely no need for such offerings." Incidentally Mo Yeon's hands were atop the table since she was writing a prescription when she felt Mr. Lee's hand touch her and the first thing that crossed her mind was, 'if he doesn't take his hand away within the next few seconds, I will have to fix his broken bones soon.' She saw her husband approaching like a predator, jealousy and rage clear on his normally passive face. She took her hand away but Mr. Lee was stupid enough to grab her hand again and hadn't yet registered Shi Jin's presence in the room. Oh lord, this dimwit still hasn't realized his impending doom.
Her husband reached the table in a flash, commanding as always in his army uniform and did two things simultaneously. Caught the wayward fingers of Mr. Lee in a death grip and gently setting his left hand at his wife's nape he fished out the necklace bringing Mo Yeon's wedding ring to the front, for her patient to see. If she hadn't known for sure that Shi Jin wouldn't really hurt a civilian, she would have been scared of her better half's murderous glare. But then almost 12 years with the guy had made her immune to such situations, which were one too many in her husband's opinion.
Looking at Mr. Lee, Shi Jin said, "Thank you for the offer, but I think I am more than capable of taking my wife and the mother of my children out for a dinner. If you want to thank her then take care of yourself, listen to her advice and do all of this from a respectable distance. Got it?"
If it weren't for the possessive waves rolling off of Shi Jin, she would have laughed at her patient's dumbfounded expression. He had the grace to look embarrassed and stuttered, "You're.. married?" She just nodded her head to the family photo sitting on the corner of her desk and introduced Shi Jin, "meet my husband Colonel Yoo Shi Jin." She saw Mr. Lee's eyes bulge and he said, "Damn you don't look married, let alone a woman who has two kids." This made her smirk to the obvious irritation of her husband.
Turning to Mo Yeon he apologized, "Sorry for my disrespectful behavior. It won't happen again" and within the same breath he turned to Shi Jin and said, "Sir, if I may, I must say you lucked out finding such a beautiful woman. If I were in your position, I too would have done the exact same thing. Apologies."
Shi Jin as much as he didn't want to, could read that the guy was being honest, so he let his hand go and straightened up moving to stand behind his wife in a commanding stance. Mr. Lee got up thanked Mo Yeon for her assistance, apologized profusely again and took his leave. When he reached her door, he looked at the doctor's name plate. Turning to the couple with a slight smile on his face he said, "Colonel Yoo, I suggest you convince your wife to add her 'Mrs. Yoo' title below her given name. It would definitely help keep the wolves away." Seeing the Colonel's smirk, Mr. Lee knew he had hit the mark.
Once he left, the Colonel turned to his wife with a small glare and said, "How many times have I asked you to wear your ring, yeobo? I will have to keep batting such jerks for an eternity only because they don't see your ring!"
Mo Yeon sensing his irritation looked at him apologetically, "Mianhe, I just came out of a five hour long surgery an hour ago and completely forgot to wear it before Mr. Lee walked in. Shi Jin ah you know I don't do this on purpose, right? I don't like the attention either" and then just to tease him she added, "but I do love the fact that men still can't believe that I have you and our two munchkins to call my own." This for some reason irked the alpha male because he needed to figure out a way to mark her in such a way that it would send out clear signals to the entire male species that this beautiful human was taken. Period.
Taking a step forward Shi Jin caught his wife by her waist and pulled her in for a possessive kiss. There was no way he could stop himself from kissing her. Given their high designations the couple normally refrained from public displays of affection. But today Shi Jin didn't give a damn. The kiss was hard, passionate and bruising with the sole purpose of marking his wife. By the time he let Mo Yeon go she was blushing to the roots of her hair and was completely out of breath. He enjoyed this look on his wife very much and relished in the knowledge that he was the only man to see the great Dr. Kang Mo Yeon so out of sorts.
Mo Yeon looked up at her husband with a shy smile enjoying her husband's over the top behavior. She had understood quite early on that Shi Jin was not just protective about her but also immensely possessive, bordering on territorial when she was amidst male crowds. She loved how, even after years of marriage, they could still bring out such strong feelings in one another.
She would be a hypocrite to deny her own possessiveness. Her husband being a soldier with a high designation meant he was always in top form. Moreover, him wearing various army uniforms meant his visits to Haesung were seen as personal ramp walks by the females on the floor. She has forgotten the number of times she has had to step in and kiss his left hand highlighting his wedding ring to shoo away the swooning crowds. It amused Shi Jin when a couple of times his wife gave him a quick peck on the lips when some of her non-favorites were in the audience, especially Dr. Kim and the Chairman. Mo Yeon loved to rub their successful relationship in their faces every chance she got.
While her internal monologue was going on, Shi Jin had already retrieved her wedding ring and was pushing it on her ring finger. Looking at it for a moment, he simply said, "Always wear it Mrs. Yoo. You don't want to piss off your handsome husband, do you? "
Mo Yeon decided to be honest with her husband this time and said,"Jagiya, have you ever wondered why I prefer having the ring around my neck?"
She could see that her emotional tone had piqued his curiosity and saw his small nod as a permission to continue. "Because the necklace suspends the most important symbol of our relationship right on to my chest. I see it as a constant reminder and omnipresent support with every single beat of my heart. It's weight reminds my heart to keep pumping no matter what, because I have you as my soulmate and we have two children to show for as the clear sign of our love. Not that I don't like wearing it on my finger, but the ornament which sealed our fates so beautifully always spreads the warmest assurances through my chest on some of the coldest days of endless deaths and sufferings of my patients. It assures me that I am still alive and have a lot to be happy and grateful for in my life. Moreover, during your visits to the department store, wearing the ring was the only indication that I was surviving because my heart was anyways in your fists in whatever corner of the world you were fighting in, to maintain the peace of our nation."
She had tears in her eyes by the time she finished, remembering all the hard times her wedding ring had endured along with her as a rock solid presence. Sensing her husband's silence she looked up only to see that he too was shaken with her honest confession.
His wife's take on the significance of having her wedding ring close to her heart made his own heart beat faster and he felt as if he was once again falling in love with her.
He pulled her in for another passionate kiss to show her how much her words meant to him and to assure her that he wasn't going anywhere. Ever. If he had his way, she would never be alone to face the ups and downs of life. And if there's one thing that everyone agreed on then it was the fact that Colonel Yoo was tenacious as hell. He would move heaven and earth to succeed once he had his eyes set on his target. He will definitely succeed in reminding his wife every single day, starting today that he will always be by her side. Till death do us apart.
Later at night when she was heading to bed, while her husband took a shower, she noticed a small blue Tiffany's box by her bedside. Knowing the brand quite well she wondered what it was doing there. She opened it hesitantly only to find a gorgeous and simple diamond ring inside. A thin band studded with tiny diamonds all across stared back at her. Shi Jin walked out of the bathroom to find his wife admiring the ring he got for her and it immediately sent a surge of happiness through his entire being.
"Yeobo, do you like it?", he asked. She instantly replied, "Like it? I love it! It's subtle but the design is wholesome and classy." She paused, looked at him curiously and continued, "But jagiya, what's the occasion for the sudden gift?"
Shi Jin gave her an adoring smile saying, "That my love, is your new wedding ring. The one I hope you will wear on your finger." She was taken aback for a moment and asked in surprise, "What's the need Shi Jin ah, I already have a perfect ring! Why would I want another?"
Her clueless question after confessing her deepest thoughts on the wedding ring earlier in the day made her so lovable in her husband's eyes. She just didn't know the extent of the charm and warmth she exuded amidst the people she loved dearly. She was an amazing surgeon, a caring colleague, a strict but a supportive mentor to her interns, a highly empathetic mother to their kids and an open book to her husband. Shi Jin could read every single emotion on his wife's face as clear as day. Just like she could read his unspoken words like no other. They didn't need words between them to tell each other how much their partnership mattered or how long and how difficult their journey had been. It wasn't easy, but still they weathered the storms together.
"Mo Yeon ah in the 12 years that we have been together, I have always known that you are someone who wears her emotions on her sleeves. You just try to deny it in order to protect your heart. You, nae sarang , are the most loving person I know. So I am not surprised that your wedding ring holds such significance in your life, which inevitably means that it is also important to me. What I regret to some extent is that I didn't try and figure out earlier your habit of having the ring around your neck majority of the times, stems from your inherently caring and loving nature; be it for your patients, colleagues or our family." Shi Jin saw that his wife's eyes were once again brimming with unshed tears and he could see how much she appreciated his understanding on the matter.
"But knowing me you shouldn't be surprised that I got you a new ring for your finger because I am your possessive nampyeon. Your were, are and always will be mine."
This statement had Mo Yeon laughing in no time. "Aigoo, even after a decade of marriage you still like to stake your claim every chance you get. Pabo! I bore your kids. How much more proof do you need that I am yours? Forever."
While taking out the ring and slipping it on to his wife's left hand, Shi Jin replied, "I know and I couldn't be more grateful that you decided to become my partner. However, I absolutely hate it when your patients flirt with you. Even in the operation theatre. I mean come on, I can't kick someone's ass just after their surgery!!"
His wife was admiring her ring lovingly but after hearing what he said, she gave him a sharp look, "Wait a minute, how do you know about this?" and saw the color drain from her husband's face. "Shi Jin?"
"Ah, yeobo its nothing." But he knew that his wife was way smarter than that. "Yoo Shi Jin! How?"
Use of his full name meant that the Colonel better start talking, if he didn't want to sleep on the couch for the next few days. He faintly mumbled "Lee Chi-hoon," hoping that his wife wouldn't catch that but no such luck. He glanced up and her narrowed eyes meant that the younger doctor was going to have his ass handed to him next morning. Dammit! He needed his spy in the hospital because he was indeed obsessed with his wife.
He gave her the most innocent look he could muster and tried to salvage the situation be saying, "Mo Yeon ah, its just that I prefer knowing, if you are safe at all times." and he added with a smirk, "Plus you don't see me complaining about you getting your updates on the happenings at my military base from your obvious sources." It was his wife's turn to look embarrassed now. This was the reason both of them were perfect for each other. They both were equally possessive about each other and liked knowing every single detail about their spouse.
"Mo Yeon ah, how about you add your 'Mrs. Yoo' title as Mr. Lee pointed out as a compromise. In return I will not dig around the base to find out your spies' questionable ways of keeping tabs on me."
From the contemplative look in her eyes, Yoo Shi Jin knew for a fact that he had hit the nail. Because he was absolutely sure that her sources were using some seriously underhanded (not harmful or perverted, but questionable nonetheless) techniques to keep a track of his day-to-day activities. When he got an affirmative nod from his wife, Colonel Yoo Shi Jin felt as if he had just won a war for his country. Because winning such negotiations against a tenacious and stubborn as hell Mrs. Yoo definitely deserved a celebration on her husband's behalf!
Two weeks later when Mr. Lee returned for his scheduled check up, it was no surprise that Mrs. Yoo was a proud addition to the Kang Mo Yeon's office door. Wonder why that is....