Chapter 27 — The White Coat Oath

On a rare weekend morning with clear blue sky, the opening ceremony took place warmly at Associate Professor Truong's house, with the full attendance of both families and a few closest people. Yen's mother, dressed in a light blue traditional ao dai, could not hide her excitement and happiness when officially representing the bride's family to exchange gifts with the groom's family.

"Today, our family would like to officially ask permission from the bride's family to allow Khoa to marry Yen," Associate Professor Truong spoke solemnly, his voice filled with sincerity in the presence of both families. "We believe that you two will build a happy and fulfilling married life together."

Yen's mother responded with sincere blessings, unable to hide her emotions as she officially agreed to marry her daughter to the family that had loved and cherished her all this time. The ceremony took place in a solemn yet warm and close atmosphere, exactly like the spirit that both families wanted to achieve.

After the main ceremony, both families had an intimate meal together and chatted about specific plans for the upcoming wedding. Yen, in a traditional red ao dai, sat next to Khoa, unable to hide her happy smile as she listened to the stories and blessings from both families.

"It feels like a dream," Yen whispered to Khoa in the middle of the party, her eyes sparkling with happiness. "Only three more weeks until we will officially become husband and wife."

"And I believe, this will be the most beautiful beginning we've ever had," Khoa replied, gently squeezing her hand under the banquet table, his eyes filled with love.

The following days passed in a whirlwind of busy preparations for the final stages of the wedding. Yen and Khoa went together to each selected location for a final check, from the wedding restaurant, the fresh flower decoration team, to trying the food that will be served at the party.

"I think, we should choose a menu that includes specialties from your hometown," Khoa proposed when they both tasted the dishes at the restaurant. "Giving everyone the opportunity to enjoy that special flavor is also a way for me to show my respect for your homeland."

"You're so thoughtful," Yen smiled, touched by that delicacy. "I think the sour sea fish soup that my mother often cooks would be very suitable to put on the menu."

Besides preparing for the wedding, the two still maintain busy work at the hospital, skillfully balancing professional responsibilities and personal preparations for the upcoming big day. The patient safety program that Yen is in charge of continues to develop strongly, expanding to two new lower-level hospitals participating in the technical support program.

One afternoon, while busy checking the guest list one last time, Yen received a surprise call from Dr. Son at the district hospital, announcing the good news about the results of an independent assessment from the Department of Health, recording a significant improvement in the quality of patient safety at facilities participating in the program.

"Miss Yen, we just received the official evaluation results," Dr. Son announced, his voice full of excitement. "The Department of Health highly appreciates our hospital's lower-level support model, even proposing to replicate this model throughout the province next year."

Yen could not hide her joy at that unexpected news and immediately shared it with Khoa when he had just finished his shift. "Can you believe it, our program is about to be expanded throughout the province."

"I'm not surprised at all," Khoa replied, his eyes filled with pride. "You have built a solid foundation that deserves to be recognized and expanded. This is truly the most meaningful wedding gift that life can give us."

That news quickly spread throughout the hospital, making the atmosphere of their wedding preparations even more exciting, filled with double joy. Associate Professor Truong. When he heard the news, the could not hide its pride and decided to organize a small honor ceremony for the program development team right before Yen and Khoa's wedding.

"This is a rare opportunity for us to both celebrate the success of the program and bless the personal happiness of our two children," he said during the briefing, his eyes filled with emotion. "I think there's nothing more meaningful than combining these two great joys together."

The honoring ceremony took place warmly right in the hospital hall, with the participation of the entire team who had accompanied the program for more than a year. Nghia, with his indispensable role in building the technology platform, was also honored along with Yen and Khoa, unable to hide his pride when standing on the podium to receive the certificate of merit.

"I never thought that from a small project that started just because I wanted to help you two collect data, it could develop into a program with such great influence," Nghia shared in a short speech, his voice full of emotion. "Thank you Yen and Khoa for trusting me and giving me the opportunity to accompany you on such a meaningful journey."

Minh Thu, sitting in the audience, could not hide her pride when witnessing her close friends achieve such great success. "I'm so proud of all three of you," she said when the ceremony ended, hugging Yen in shared joy.

After the ceremony, Yen stood silently looking around the hall, recalling the entire arduous but also extremely meaningful journey she had gone through - from the first day she stepped into the hospital with the pain of losing her father still imprinted in her heart, to the incident with Dr. Phat spent sleepless nights building a reform project, and now it's a program that has spread its influence beyond just one hospital.

"What are you thinking?" Khoa asked, noticing her thoughtful eyes as they both walked out of the hall.

"I'm thinking about the journey we've been through," Yen replied, smiling emotionally. "From a personal heartbreak, I never thought it would lead me to something this meaningful — not only finding the love of my life, but also having the opportunity to create positive change for a larger system."

"That's what makes me admire you the most," Khoa said, holding her hand tightly as the two walked under the gradually falling sunset on the hospital yard. "You turned pain into strength, loss into motivation to create good values for so many others. That's something not everyone has the courage to do."

That night, before saying goodbye so everyone could go home to prepare for the next day's work, Khoa suddenly stopped and pulled out a small box wrapped in simple paper from his pocket. "I have a small gift to give you, before we officially enter the last busy days before the wedding."

Yen surprisingly received the small box, opened it slowly and couldn't hide her emotions when she saw inside was a simple silver bracelet, engraved with delicate small letters: "White shirt vow — forever together." "So beautiful," she whispered, tears in her eyes. "When did you prepare this gift?"

"I ordered it custom-made, hand-selected every small detail, right in my last days in Singapore," Khoa replied, his voice full of affection. "I want something to remind us both, no matter how busy and challenging our married life will be in the future, we will always remember the original vow that brought us together - the vow of those who wear white coats, vowing to devote their lives to the lives of others."

Yen put the bracelet on her hand, watching it sparkle under the streetlights, her heart filled with an indescribable feeling of happiness. "I will always wear it, as a reminder of the wonderful journey we have gone through together, and will continue to write in the future."

She looked up at him, her eyes sparkling under the warm yellow streetlight, her voice soft but firm. "Thank you, for always finding unique, sincere ways to remind me that I am always completely loved, even in the smallest details." Khoa smiled warmly, bent down and gently kissed her forehead before the two parted ways and left, each person's heart filled with excitement towards the approaching big day, a day that they had both been looking forward to together, cultivating together throughout a long journey full of challenges but also full of love, since the first fateful moment they happened to meet each other during that controversial shift.