Your Character (Open Heart)

Your Character in Open Heart is the main protagonist of the Open Heart series.

Although his/her default name is "Casey Valentine", the player can choose to name him/her as they wish. He/She is an internal medicine intern in Book 1 and a second year resident and junior member of the Diagnostics Team in Book 2 at Edenbrook Hospital.

Appearance
Your appearance is customizable according to the player's preferences. You can choose gender, skin tone, facial features and hairstyle. You have a closet available to change your wardrobe.

Personality
"You just need to choose who to put your faith in and forgive yourself when you're wrong."

- Ethan to You

Although most personality traits are dependent on the player (such as being petty or fanstruck or snide), you are generally social and outgoing. You are also intelligent given that you graduated at the top of your medical school, and were accepted into a residency at one of the most prestigious hospitals in the East Coast. However, you doubt yourself from time to time. As Bryce says, you feel the need to justify why you are there, why you're a doctor, instead of believing in your skills and talents. Aurora thinks you have a need to have everyone adore you.

Book 1

 * Chapter 1: The Doctor Is In
 * Chapter 2: Code Blue
 * Chapter 3: Hanging in the Balance
 * Chapter 4: Dolores
 * Chapter 5: Relief
 * Chapter 6: Housewarming
 * Chapter 7: Patient X
 * Chapter 8: Make-Believe
 * Chapter 9: The Pita
 * Chapter 10: Risk and Reward
 * Chapter 11: Whatever it Takes
 * Chapter 12: Panacea
 * Chapter 13: Admission
 * Chapter 14: Triage
 * Chapter 15: Hearing Impaired
 * Chapter 16: The Curious Case of Dr. Banerji
 * Chapter 17: The Oath

Book 2

 * Chapter 1: Prognosis
 * Chapter 2: The Interns
 * Chapter 3: What's Done Is Done
 * Chapter 4: Blind Spot
 * Chapter 5: Influence
 * Chapter 6: Buying Time
 * Chapter 7: Wake-Up Call
 * Chapter 8: Fair Game
 * Chapter 9: Undetected
 * Chapter 10: The Senator
 * Chapter 11: Countdown
 * Chapter 12: Control
 * Chapter 13: Time Bomb
 * Chapter 14: Snowball
 * Chapter 15: Do No Harm
 * Chapter 16: The Kindness of Strangers
 * Chapter 17: Hopeful Hearts
 * Chapter 18: Inevitable
 * Chapter 19: One Last Case
 * Chapter 20: Picking Sides

Book 3

 * Chapter 1: Edenbrook 2.0
 * Chapter 2: More Than Meets The Eye
 * Chapter 3: Look on the Bright Side
 * Chapter 4: Power Struggles
 * Chapter 5: Too Late
 * Chapter 6: Checks and Balances
 * Chapter 7: Team Players
 * Chapter 8: The Die Is Cast
 * Chapter 9: Build Up
 * Chapter 10: Ceasefire
 * Chapter 11: Wedding Belles
 * Chapter 12: Steady Hand
 * Chapter 13: Building Up
 * Chapter 14: Against the Boards
 * Chapter 15: Day in Court
 * Chapter 16: Moving On

Dr. Ethan Ramsey
Ethan is one of your love interests. Dr. Ramsey inspired you to go to medical school. On the first day of your residency, you help him save a woman's life without realizing who he is. Later, you find out that he is your attending. You have several options to talk back to him whenever he makes a rude or condescending remark. You can choose to make a better impression on him in a premium scene of Chapter 1, and talk to him at the bar in Chapter 2. In Chapter 3, you and the other interns round with him and Ines Delarosa. Afterwards, he assigns the patient Kyra Santana to you. In Chapter 9, he accidentally reveals to you that it was his evaluation that got you match to this hospital. He goes on to say that he believes he saw someone who could be truly great when he read your application.

In Chapter 15, you beg Ethan to testify on your behalf at the Ethics Hearing, when it comes to light that he cannot and that he is frustrated that he has never been able to help anyone he truly cares about, including you. Emery would not allow Ethan to testify on your behalf because he is too biased. Which you both acknowledge as true, leading to the realization that you and Ethan no longer work together. After this, you can take a premium scene and have the chance to sleep with Ethan, something he tells you he had been wanting for so long. He will then share that he read your file before you came to the hospital and that he knew you would be a perfect doctor and that he just had to push you as hard as he could. He says he tried not to fall for your character, but he could not resist. If you don't choose to take the premium scene, you will be mad at him and simply storm out of his apartment.

In Chapter 17, Ethan regains his job at the hospital. This makes you both realize that you cannot live your relationship freely anymore (if you have one), so you must once again cut it off to be professional.

In Book 2, you gain the position on the Diagnostics Team and work with Ethan, as well as Dr. June Hirata and Dr. Baz Mirani.

In Book 3, you remain with the Diagnostics Team with Ethan, but welcome Dr. Harper Emery and Dr. Tobias Carrick to the team when they fill June and Baz's vacant spots respectively.

Dr. Jackie Varma
Jackie is one of your love interests. You first meet Dr. Varma when you go to the lockers to change out of your bloodied scrubs. She is also a resident in the Internal Medicine department. She assists you on your first Code Blue and Dr. Ramsey gives her full credit in Annie's case. In Chapter 2, you can choose to kiss her in a supply closet and/or dance with her at the bar. If you decide to wear the premium outfit instead of scrubs, you find her staring at you as you change. In Chapter 5, if you are wearing the premium outfit, you can choose to kiss her (again).

Dr. Bryce Lahela
Bryce is one of your love interests. He is in the locker rooms with Dr. Varma when you enter. He is a surgical resident. You can choose to be comforted by him in Chapter 2, and later kiss him in the closet and/or bar. He calls you the best medical intern to his fellow surgical interns and teasingly asks you if you want to jump ship (change from internal medicine to surgery). You get to first hook up with him in Book 1 Chapter 6 after your housewarming parties when he is done cleaning your house.

Your relationship with Bryce began and built around mutual support and respect. Bryce was one of the few friends in your small circle who had never doubted or betrayed you throughout the entire series, along with Sienna and Rafael. He would occasionally show up to ask about your well-being and sometimes assist you in getting what you wish for. If you romance him, these occasions are more frequent. But even if you don't, he would still do albeit less often. Bryce is also one of those people who believed in you from day one. If Bryce found you in the supply closet in Book 1 Chapter 2, he would tell you that he didn't take you for a quitter, in which you will reply that you just barely met on your first day of internship. He reassured you and gave you inspirational advice so that you wouldn't be too scared of making mistakes. He also supported you when your relationship with Jackie and Landry turns weird in Chapter 10, saying that he's also in the same shoes and that you shouldn't hold back your greatness. In Book 2 Chapter 11, you become a victim of an assassination attempt. Bryce was internally shaken by the news which he received while doing a surgery, but fought to remain calm to finish the surgery until he got the chance to see you and reassure your safety.

While he constantly makes teasing suggestions for you to jump ship to surgical internship, he always supports your medical interest. He talked to you about Naveen Banerji because he thought you would be interested and sneaked you into operation room to watch your attendings treat patients when the interns were not allowed to. He used himself as a bait, either by flirting or annoying your residents depending on your choice, to let you spy your attending's mystery patient. When your pregnant patient passed away, he noticed you were having a tough day and brought you to the surgical ward to cheer you up, showing that your other patient who just had a surgery was doing well instead.

There are a lot of opportunities for you to bounce ideas and share different perspectives between medical and surgical department with Bryce. In Book 1 Chapter 3, when you ask him why he picked surgery, he asks you back why didn't you want to do surgery. If you said that you want to really know your patients instead of just small talks before the patient is under, he will tell you that surgeons talk to their patients too. The only difference is that, they end up cutting them afterwards. You also get the chance to seek his advice and opinions when you get involved with political dilemmas such as the issues with pharmaceutical company in Book 2, and the Bloom takeover in Book 3, in which both times he showed his pragmatism.

In Book 1 Chapter 8, you tell him that you envy his attitude and approach in work and life, for he never doubts himself. But when you said that he lives in honesty and spontaneity without any secrets, he hesitates and says he never said that he doesn't have any. In subsequent chapters and books, you will soon learn that he comes from a white collar criminal family, which he ran away from by applying for the farthest school which happens to be Stanford University. He is always looking to be free from their shadows, and expresses that feeling from hobbies such as surfing, car racing, and sky diving. It also explains why he is reluctant to be tied down in a relationship until he opens up to you. Later in the series he tells you that he realises being in a relationship doesn't mean being tied down, rather it's about searching freedom together with your partner. If you romance him, he will tell you that he feels the most free when he is with you.

Bryce's support for your character was reciprocated in multiple occasions, such as the moment when the surgical interns and residents isolated him and took him off the duty, when he had problems with his sister and mother, when he messed up his surgery, and when he lost his patient on table during surgery. He was at his lowest in Book 3 Chapter 12 where he said he was very unsure of himself. It was the first time that you see him doubt himself and you get the chance to comfort him in his turmoil.

Towards the end of Book 3, Bryce tells you that nothing makes his world better than seeing you shine. Regardless if you romance him or not, Bryce will tell you that you and him are solid and he will always have your back, whether you choose to stay at Edenbrook or leave the hospital.

Dr. Aurora Emery
At orientation, you find out you are partnered with Aurora for your first day of rounds. However, after seeing your first patient, she leaves you to answer a page and you don't see her again until close to the end of your shift. Luckily for you, that is the only day you are partnered with her. In Chapter 13, you have partnered with Aurora again, and the two of you argue in front of a patient and his mother. You later have the option to either call her out for benefiting from nepotism, or simply ignore her and leave. However, you make peace with her by the end of the chapter, as you realize she has not been sabotaging your progress.

At the end of Book 1, you invite her to share your apartment with your friends, filling Landry's vacant room.

Dr. Harper Emery
Although you see Harper during orientation and a few times in passing as she talks with Aurora, you do not interact with her until Chapter 8, when you find a loophole for your patient to receive the medications she needs to treat Hepatitis C. Harper admires your moxie, as it reminds her of Ethan. However, she looks surprised at your closeness to Ethan. At the end of Chapter 12, she calls you to her office to discuss Mrs. Martinez and the circumstances surrounding her death. You get to interact with her more in Book 3 when she joins your Diagnostic Team. While it started smoothly, your relationship becomes rocky when she wrongly suspects you of rigging Elijah's research. You get to confront her later in the book and she will admit that she probably didn't treat you as equal and apologise.

Dr. Landry Olsen
You meet Landry at orientation but he doesn't introduce himself until later. Like you, he admires Dr. Ramsey. You can try to hide behind him when Dr. Ramsey approaches or work up the nerve to make a better impression. Later, after your shift is over, he joins you with the other interns at the bar. If you are wearing the premium outfit in Chapter 5, Your Character has the option to kiss him either on the cheek or on the lips while at a game. Afterwards, Jackie remarks that she thinks you broke him. It is divulged at the end of Chapter 13 that he is the one who's been sabotaging you. In Chapter 14, he reveals that he was jealous of Your Character. He states that you were getting preferential treatment from Dr. Ramsey, even though you had done less work than he had. When he gathers his personal belongings to move out of your shared apartment, talking to him sparks an idea and you figure out what is wrong with Dr. Banerji. You both work on it, and it is your choice to give him credit when speaking to Dr. Banerji and Dr. Ramsey. If you remain cordial, he tells you in the end that he is transferring to Mass Kenmore.

Dr. Sienna Trinh
When Dr. Ramsey begins to chew you out about your first patient, Annie, Sienna pulls him away and sends him to find Dr. Toussaint. It was a lie but she says "we interns gotta stick together, right?" After drinking at the bar, she suggests you, Jackie, Landry, Elijah and her rent a place and split it five ways since it has to be better than the individual hellholes you each live in. In Chapter 5, you have the option to kiss her if you are wearing the premium outfit.

Dr. Elijah Greene
Although you meet him at orientation, he doesn't tell you his name until you're wandering the halls with a lab sample in your hands. You bond over the fact of being lost. In Chapter 5, you have the option to kiss him if you are wearing the premium outfit.

Dr. Ines Delarosa and Dr. Zaid Mirani
Ines and Zaid are the senior residents overseeing your work. Their approaches differ like day and night, where Ines is warm and inviting while Zaid is blunt and irritable. You meet Ines in Chapter 1, when she takes your picture for your hospital ID, and depending on your actions, you either meet Zaid informally in Chapter 2, or formally in Chapter 3.

Rafael Aveiro
Rafael is one of your love interests. You first meet him in Chapter 4, when he brings your patient in the ambulance. He is a paramedic and pilot. In the premium scene in Chapter 5, he tells you about his uncle who was a pilot in the Marines and shows you his neighborhood. In this same scene, you can get flirty with him and he tells you he would like to share a drink in another moment. You can also hold his hand.

If he is your love interest, you find him reunited to his childhood sweetheart in Book 2 and see him kiss him/her. You become uncomfortable and sad about it. He and Sora break up later, and if he is your love interest, Sora feels you are a part of the reason that they grew apart.

Esme Ortega
Esme Ortega is your intern when you enter your second year of residency at Edenbrook. During Book 2, you can help encourage or hinder her from becoming a great doctor. When she is suspected in aiding patient Levi Coates in his death, you have the choice to believe she is innocent or guilty. If you choose the first, you two remain friends. If you choose the second, she doesn't hider her animosity towards you during your third year at the hospital.

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Trivia

 * A version of your character is shown on the cover of Open Heart, Book 1, Open Heart: Second Year and Open Heart: Third Year.
 * The MC shares the same default first name as Twin Sibling from the High School Story: Class Act series.
 * In the English-speaking culture, Valentine (default surname) is used to refer to someone in love or to his lover.
 * In Book 1, Chapter 4, if the player picks to go look for Dolores' stuffed frog for her son, Your Character finds it to have ended up down a storm drain. Subsequently, Your Character makes a reference to IT in this premium scene when he/she says to Ethan Ramsey: "Oh hell no. I am not going down there! Haven't you seen 'IT'?".
 * In Chapter 5, a conversation with Dr. Ramsey can mention that the Main Character is $100,000 in medical school debt.
 * In Chapter 9, it is revealed that Ethan Ramsey handpicked Your Character to come to Edenbrook because of his/her potential as a doctor.
 * In a premium scene in Chapter 9, Your character mentions to have a brother. Your character mentions that you wanted to be a doctor since preschool and practiced medicine by putting bandages on your teddy bears and monitoring your brother's vitamins).
 * As of Book 1, Chapter 15, Your Character is suspended by the Edenbrook Hospital board until they come to a conclusion on whether he/she acted ethical or not.
 * Standing in the Intern rankings for the Diagnostics Team fellowship:
 * Week 1: 19th (Chapter 6)
 * Week 2: 10th (Chapter 7)
 * Week 3: 8th (Chapter 9)
 * Week 4: 1st (Chapter 9)
 * Since placing 1st, Your Character has been sabotaged in the following ways:
 * Pager shut off (Chapter 10)
 * Chart went missing (Chapter 11)
 * Rumors of you dissing the nursing staff spread (Chapter 12)
 * In Book 1, Chapter 17, Your Character is cleared of all charges - or put on probation - and gets his/her badge back. He/she also gets to be a part of the diagnostics team, now headed up by Ethan.
 * On June 20, 2019, it was revealed that in the update for the Choices App on this day, one of the new ads for the app features a version of Your Character and Ethan.
 * The first chapter of Book 2 grants the player the ability to wear outfits with a white lab coat. In casual settings, the lab coat is removed, but the outfit is otherwise normal.
 * Chapter 1 of Book 2 features a flashforward of Your Character attending the funeral of someone close to him/her.
 * In Chapter 4 of Book 2, your character says that s/he used to babysit.
 * In Chapter 5 of Book 2, your character recalls the scandal of Bryce's parents being exposed as criminals from when they were in high school.
 * In Chapter 5 of Book 2, your character recalls the scandal of Bryce's parents being exposed as criminals from when they were in high school.