Lost the Game

Ryan did not know where his fake girlfriend was planning to take him. However, he had no choice but to follow her around with her threat.

He sat in the passenger's seat while glancing at Violet who was humming to a song happily. The look on her face made him frown. 

"Where are you taking me?" Ryan asked after staying quiet for a long time.

Violet merely glanced at him before continuing to focus on her driving.

The car stopped at a red light. Violet looked at Ryan and flashed him a smile. "Don't worry, whatever it is, I won't be selling you to a human trafficker."

Her words made him scoff. 

Ryan gave Violet a lookover.

With the woman's small figure, he did not think that Violet would be capable of doing anything to him.

As the thought came to his mind, Ryan began to relax.

He decided to follow Violet and see where she was going to take him.

His brow furrowed when Violet pulled over the car in front of a shopping mall. Then, the crease deepened when Violet dragged him into one of the shop lots.

Ryan was having a hard time processing what was going on. Perhaps, he was just too tired and was unable to think straight.

When he finally snapped out of his trance, Ryan was holding a gun in his hand. 

He raised his head and saw a smiling Violet.

Before he could say a word, Ryan was pulled into a dark room. He was standing face to face with Violet.

"Laser tag?" Ryan stared at the device in his hand. "You made a scene at my hospital and blackmailed me to come along with you just to come here?" He stared at her in disbelief. "Why on earth would you want to play laser tag?"

Violet pulled him and hid behind a wall. "I think you need something to distract your mind."

"But laser tag?"

"What's wrong with laser tag?" Violet said and adjusted her vest. "My brother and I usually play this for fun! Sometimes Sarah would join us too."

Ryan turned around to leave. "I'm not playing any rounds of this stupid game."

"Oh, don't be such a wimp!"

"Wimp? You're calling me a wimp?" His eyes widened. 

The sound of someone shooting towards them could be heard.

"Watch out!" Violet barked. She yanked Ryan back, causing his back to hit the wall. "What are you doing? You have to be careful of your surroundings or we'll lose this game in no time!"

"I'm sorry?"

"Weren't you listening to me when I explained? Look, all we've got to do is to steal the opponents' flags and take it back here to win this round." She told him. "And we need to protect our flag. Don't let them steal ours. Do you think you can do that?"

Ryan blinked his eyes a few times. He was speechless at how enthusiastic she was with laser tag. Finally, he nodded. He did not know anything about laser tag but, Violet's expression was telling him that it was not the right time for him to argue with her.

"Good," she gave him a pat on his shoulder. "Alright. Now, you'll attack from left and I'll go right."

...

Ryan sat on the bench and stretched his body. He was worn out after two rounds of laser tag game. He closed his eyes and relaxed his tensed shoulder. He could feel the air conditioner blow on his face.

"Hey," Violet called out as she walked towards him with two bottles of mineral water in her hand. She handed one to Ryan and smiled. "You're not so bad for a first-timer."

"We lost the game."

"Yes." Violet nodded and sat on the bench next to him. "But you had fun, right?"

Ryan laughed. He uncapped the bottle and drank half of the water. Then he wiped his mouth with his hand. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." She acknowledged. Violet gulped down her water and licked her lips. "We should do this again sometime. As friends, of course."

"You know, you didn't strike me as a person who plays laser tag for fun."

Violet shrugged. "There are plenty of things you didn't know about me."

Ryan blew his breath softly. His eyes were on a few boys behind the glass door with laser guns in their hands. He observed the boys' game for a while and decided to break up the silence. "This isn't my first time, you know."

"What? Laser tag?"

"No. I meant, watching my patient leave while there was nothing I could do about it."

"Oh." Violet lowered her gaze when she realized that Ryan was talking about his operation earlier. She wasn't sure of what she should say to console him. 

"But I never get used to it. I've always thought that there must have been something that I could have done to save them," Ryan said. But the death of Mr. Stevens was harder on him as the deceased remind me so much of his father. "Apparently, I couldn't. And it feels worse to be the one to tell their family and friends the bad news."

"I think that the most important thing is that you have done your best to help them. I'm sure they were content knowing that you've tried your best. You're a good doctor. I know that you cared so much about your patient. And they know that you cared about them."

Ryan laughed quietly. "How would you know that I'm a good doctor?"

"I was once your patient, remember?" She laughed when he raised a brow. "I have watched how you interacted with your other patients. You were so attentive to them. And they all seemed happy when you came and talked to them."

"You watched me?"

"I did that out of curiosity." She hit him playfully on his shoulder. "Hey! I've got to know what kind of man my dad wanted me to marry. You seem like a good guy, but not the kind of guy I would want to marry." Her lips curled to a smile that did not reach his eyes. "You're too annoying."

Ryan laughed. He closed his eyes and felt a bit lighthearted at her words. He felt like whatever that has been upsetting him scattered away. 

There was a long silence between them.

Ryan glanced at Violet again and cleared his throat. "That... Violet, I still have to thank you for today."

Their gazes met for a while before Violet looked away. "You're welcome."