Hurt

Haruki felt the man's gaze fixed on him even as he walked to the waiting vehicle. He felt the urge to look back at those light brown eyes but holding back that urge, he entered the car, and the door was closed after him.

He looked back now as though the car would shelter him from the piercing gaze of those eyes. The doctor stopped his assistant and whispered some words before moving away and bowing slightly towards the car like he was certain Haruki was watching him through the dark-tinted glass of the window.

Haruki looked away but when his assistant entered the car, he asked, "What did he tell you?"

The assistant looked back at Haruki with a confused expression before nodding as he understood what his boss was asking. "Oh. . . he told me to call him if anything goes wrong with your wound."

Haruki looked outside the window and the man had gone. "That is expected after all he did the job. He dies if anything goes wrong," Haruki murmured as the cars began leaving the villa.

"I will remember to do that, sir," his assistant going into a serious work mood received the orders.

Haruki furrowed his brow slightly wondering how his assistant was able to hear what he said when he had said it so low. "I never told you to kill Yamamoto's son. If you do . . ." Haruki began but he was unable to complete that sentence. He wanted to say they won't have a doctor for the chairman but he was sure there were quite some doctors who would be willing to sell their souls to become his doctor.

"I won't do that then," the assistant was wise enough to accept the correction making Haruki sigh in relief. He was perhaps the only person alive who knew how ruthless his assistant was and he was sure that if he had given that as an order, his assistant would not hesitate to kill the man in a way no one would suspect has anything to do with him or his family or his body might never be found.

Haruki slept peacefully at night but when he woke up, he felt the wound hurt. He had plans for that day as he has been away from the headquarter for a while. With his plans on his mind, he took the drugs his assistant set aside for him and went to work.

It was a busy morning and by lunchtime, he felt too tired to go on. This was the first time this had ever happened to him as he had never had any pain serious enough to keep him away from work.

He had a meeting to attend after lunchtime and the last thing he wanted to do was call in sick. He was the chairman of the group but he loved discipline and did not want to do otherwise.

"You don't look too good," his assistant observed as he walked into his office.

"Is it time for me to take my pills?" Haruki asked as he walked to the ceiling-to-floor window to prove his assistant wrong.

"No, I gave you the second dose only an hour ago," his assistant replied.

"Okay," Haruki murmured looking out of the window. He could swear that he had not taken any pills for the pain he felt if he had not remembered the instance his assistant gave him the pills.

He sighed, the pain was getting worse, at this point, he was seriously considering punishing the doctor for all the pain he felt since this was the first time this was happening to him.

After the meeting which he attended stern and serious throughout, he did not bother to go to his office as he felt he might pass out with every step he took. From all his past illness and pain, he had come to understand his body well and what was coming was not something he could overlook by staying in his office.

He glanced at his assistant who hurried to his side and asked, "Sir, is there anything wrong?"

"Get the car, I will return home right now," he told the assistant firmly. He watched his assistant nod and hurry off. When Haruki walked out of the building followed by his secretary and his guards, the car was waiting for him. His secretary bowed. Haruki was too busy trying to keep the pain away from his eyes that he could not respond to the lady (his secretary).

He walked into the car when Kiyoshi opened the door of the car for him. He reached for his handkerchief as the wetness of his brow was in excess. The handkerchief was immediately soaked in sweat.

Kiyoshi did not need to ask why. He could notice the paleness of his boss. He tried to offer his boss a helping hand when they got to the parking garage of the apartment building Haruki stayed in during the weekdays (because it was closer to his office) but seeing the coldness of Haruki's glance, he thought against it.

Haruki walked into the elevator and when Kiyoshi tried to get in, he met his gaze and shook his head firmly. "Go back to the office, I want you to help Satomi out, she has a lot to do," Haruki ordered his assistant.

"What about your meeting with Ren," Kiyoshi asked although he seriously wanted to see his boss get some rest after the busy morning they had.

"Ren?" Haruki asked remembering the stern expression of his mentor and added, "Have him wait for some time before you tell him I can't make it."

Seeing that his boss still had enough energy to plot against his mentor, he could not hold back a sigh of relief as the elevator door closed. He hoped his boss was really as strong as he looked standing up straight despite his pale complexion and sweaty brow. With that on his mind, he made a phone call.

Inside the elevator, Haruki continued to maintain that posture as he looked at his reflection on the door of the elevator and he could understand why Kiyoshi was worried. When he walked into the penthouse and sent the housekeeper away, he lost that composure and leaned against the door to catch his breath.

He was like a lone wolf who stays in a quiet corner to lick his wounds. He was not able to do so but he was able to walk to the bathroom to see the wound. The wound looked ugly in the mirror and he reached for his phone to make a phone call.

The phone slipped down from his hand before he could dial the number on the screen and when he reached for the phone, there were two phones. The first he reached for turned out to be his double vision. The next was his phone but he had lost too much energy to keep standing. He slid down to the floor of the bathroom.