On-Call Doctor

. . .

Miura Takumi felt weak. As if he was soaring above the clouds from the thought of killing so many people in a snap, the fall from having his anticipation cut took a toll on his senses. His deprived thirst for blood shook him to his cores and he had to calm himself down somehow.

"Willy... my chocolates," he muttered in a low and shaky voice.

His subordinate immediately stepped forward with a golden box of chocolate. The moment his nostrils were greeted by its pungent and sour smell, he was able to stop his hands from shaking.

"Did you call someone to fix that girl already?" he asked after a while and Willy nodded, "Yes Miura-dono. A doctor is already on his way here."

"Good. How's the situations inside that stupid mall?"

"They've just turned the lights on again. All the preparations are still in place in case Miura-dono wants to continue the show."

Miura Takumi shook his head while massaging his temples. "No. Save it for tomorrow. I've already lost my appetite."

Willy nodded. He was about to step out of the room to leave Miura Takumi on his own, but eventually his master spoke. "By the way... where's the boyfriend now?"

"I've been informed he was gone by the time the lights went back. They're still looking for him as of this moment."

. . .

On the mansion's third floor, Zeirenne was looking around the room. Like an old castle, all the ornaments and furniture were antiques. She even recognized world-renowned paintings that were supposed to be inside museums—but were declared stolen months ago.

"Hmmm. Mona Lisa..." she said while gazing into the famous portrait, "Such a dire situation we're in, right?"

Gaining no reply from her only companion, Zeirenne shook her head before walking towards a gothic bed. She spun her eyes to gaze into its entirety just to find dusts piling on the top of the sheets—a clear indication that no one's been sleeping on it for years.

She covered her mouth before dusting the linens off. Even forgetting her wound, she used both hands to pound the pillows before feeling a searing pain.

"Oh," she sighed, raising her left arm to see how the cut started bleeding once again, "There's got to be some first aid kits here."

She settled the pillows on the bed before checking the century-old drawers. Having opened half the dressers inside the room, everything was empty. Only dust and webs with spiders doing their usual weaves were inhabiting them. Except one.

The last drawer she pulled out had something stuck at the very edge. She started reaching for it just to find it was stuck on the crevasses. About to pull the entire drawer out, a knock on the door halted her secret inspection. She immediately sat on the bed before saying, "Come in."

"At least they're not rotten enough to suddenly barge inside a lady's quarters," she thought to herself before being greeted by a plump doctor in his white coat.

"Good Evening, Miss," the doctor, who looked like he was in his thirties greeted her, "I'm Dr. Gomez. I'm here to check your wounds."

The man standing guard outside her room closed the door and the doctor started opening his medical kit. He started checking her wound and Zeirenne noticed how his hands shook terribly before he clenched them into a tight fist.

"We need to stitch this up," he said, "I'll have to put you under anesthesia."

Zeirenne opened her fingers in front, waving them while saying, "It's alright. I can bear the pain. Please stitch it up." Being injected with any kind of substance while inside her enemy's territory was the last thing she'd want to do.

"This is going to hurt a lot," the doctor said, "Please reconsider. Please."

From the tone of his voice, Zeirenne found his words unusual. He was practically begging as if he was begging for his life.

"Did they threaten to kill you if you don't get me anesthetized?" she asked, and the man looked up to meet her gaze. "If they did, will you put yourself in danger for a complete stranger?"

Zeirenne furrowed her eyebrows. It was not an unusual question in the situation they were in. But somehow, their conversation struck her in confusion. There was something off, she just couldn't pinpoint what it was. Something was amiss. Like a forgotten word on the tip of her tongue, or a face inside her memory.

"I might think about it," she said, expecting the doctor would rejoice from a little bit of hope. Instead, he seemed more agitated from her answer. Even taking deep breaths as if he had just heard the worst answer he could possibly get.

"Did the uncertainty put him into despair?" she thought, finding herself in a dilemma. There were lots of things that seemed out of place and her thoughts sprung out to different directions.

Her mind was trying to fit some things together before freezing completely when the doctor said, "Zeirenne Lynn, you're unbelievable..."

Zeirenne had to cover her mouth to suppress a gasp when the realization sank in. How could she possibly not recognize someone she'd spent her whole life with?!

"Jin Yang!" she hissed while restraining her voice, "What are you doing here?! You're not supposed to be here!"

"And you are?"

Zeirenne ruffled her hair before darting her eyes on his, "Jin Yang..." taking a deep breath, she burried her face under her hands, "I'm gonna kill you after this!"

Where did things go wrong? She asked herself.

Somewhere far from the city, she had a safe-house under someone else's name to where she had Dylan stationed in. As if they've rehearsed this type of scenario a thousand times before, she texted him a simple: Lock him in—and he knew for sure who the him was.

Zeirenne was sure her plans were falling into place. She had everything planned out.

While Willy was confronting her inside the comfort room earlier, she was fast enough to move on the sly without him noticing. As quickly as possible, she tucked her necklace inside a tissue. She wrote nothing but coordinates before throwing it under the sink, knowing Jin would search every nook and cranny once he finds out she was gone.

If Jin went and stayed were the numbers brought him, she would be at ease right now. He was supposed to be inside that house with Dylan, but now he's right in front of her.

She had plans. Different plans. But with him being inside this very room, everything was on the verge of getting spoiled.

"Jin Yang..." she uttered in despair, her face still buried in her hands, "You're stupid... what in the world are you doing here?"

Even before he could answer, Zeirenne pushed him away. "What am I supposed to do if they find you, you jerk!"

"They won't-"

"You're the worst!" she hissed in complete frustration—her hands still covering her face. With a weakened voice, she helplessly uttered, "How can you possibly forget you're my weakness too?"

. . .