Chapter 21

It’s been an hour since Eiharu left the hospital. Kanryou stares at his phone screen, looking at the last message he sent to Eiharu, which is still left unread. Though Eiharu is never a fast responder, he usually, rarely, changes his online status into something else, except when it’s his sleeping hour. However, under his profile picture, his online status was two hours ago; an hour when he was in Kanryou’s office, another hour after he left the building.

-Is he home yet?-

Kanryou can’t stop himself from sending another message.

[Eiharu-san, when you’re home, tell me. I want to know if you’ve arrived safely.]

Kanryou sighs and shoves his phone into his pocket. His worries are unreasonable. Eiharu didn’t always tell him his whereabouts, and Eiharu wasn’t always online; sure enough, as reserved as he is, Eiharu still left the house every so often. Yet, this time, Kanryou feels restless for no particular reason.

And he’s about to find out the source of his restlessness.

On his way to the Director’s office, Kanryou sees a face he doesn’t want to see in his lifetime, just closing the door of the room he’s about to enter.

“Oh? Look who’s here.” Toshiya smiles gleefully, in contrast with Kanryou’s scowl. “Good afternoon, Dr. Yukisada.”

Kanryou doesn’t reply to his greeting. He just stands there in the middle of the long corridor at a safe distance from Toshiya, waiting for Toshiya to move away from the door. His expression remains flat even though he doesn’t hide his displeasure at all.

“How are you, Doctor?” Toshiya walks closer to Kanryou. “I hope you don’t overwork yourself.”

Kanryou slightly squints his eyes, feeling suspicious of the way Toshiya addresses him. Though, in Toshiya’s case, Kanryou prefers if the man pretends like they don’t know each other.

“Have you have lunch yet? What about having lunch together with me? My treat.”

“I had one. Even if I didn’t, I still won’t eat with you.” Kanryou glances at the door. If Toshiya was meeting the Director, it means he has been here for a while. “...how long you’ve been here?”

“Me? Hmm… a little bit more than an hour.”

-Eiharu-san left the hospital around that time, didn’t he? I hope he didn’t bump into this guy-

“Hmm… so you had lunch already. Too bad. I want to have a little chat with you.” Toshiya didn’t notice the slight change in Kanryou’s gaze and looked at his wristwatch. “Though, it seems I have no time for idle chat anyway. I’ll save it for later, then. See you, Doctor.”

Toshiya waves at Kanryou with a smile. Kanryou’s pleased look as Toshiya leaves kind of reminds him about the guy he tried to help before.

“Hmm… I wonder if he’s alright.” Toshiya murmurs under his breath. “I don’t want to be a witness if something happened to him right after we parted ways.”

Kanryou frowns seeing the man murmur as he walks out, though he can’t hear what he is saying. He shakes his head, trying to clear his mind before knocking and opening the door to the Director’s office. Behind the desk, a man in his late 30s seems busy reading a paper in his hand. However, he isn’t the owner of this office. Not yet.

“Sir, you called?”

Yonehara Yusaku raises his head. His polite smile was faintly plastered on his visage. With a silent gesture, he pleases Kanryou to sit on the empty chair across the table. When Kanryou sat down, he found more medical reports than the last time he was here. As always, Yusaku is always busy with papers whenever he isn’t in the operating room.

“Yukisada, do you remember the patient we took care together?”

“Sir Raizou? Yes, I still remember him.”

“His guardian--I mean, his partner was here just now.”

“Partner?”

Kanryou raises an eyebrow. Was Yusaku talking about Toshiya?

“Partner? Employer? Hmm.. I’m not sure how to describe their relationship. I just want to say, Yuzawa was here just now. Maybe you bumped into him on your way here.”

Kanryou doesn’t reply immediately. Lying to him is inappropriate, and Kanryou has no reason to lie anyway.

“...yes.”

“He praised you a lot. He said, thanks to you, the patient recovered in such a speed.”

“I did the bare minimum.” Kanryou slightly tilts his head. “If I’m allowed to ask, Sir… how did you know him?”

“You mean Yuzawa? The Director introduced us a while ago. He said if I ever need help with law-related problems, I should go to Yuzawa. He is one of the best in his field.”

“Is that so…”

“I haven’t experience his service so far, but according to the Director, his work ethic is perfect for someone that young. He is gentle too.”

Kanryou scowls inwardly. Since he knows what kind of snake is hiding behind that gentleman’s facade, Kanryou couldn't care less about how good Toshiya is with his work. If he ever needs an attorney in his life, Toshiya is the first he blacklisted. He will never come to that man, no matter how good he is at the court.

“Do you need my help, Sir?” Not wanting to talk about Toshiya any further, Kanryou shifts the topic.

“Ah, right.” Yusaku inhales. “The Director… My father-in-law is bedridden again.”

Kanryou doesn’t feel surprised by the news. After all, Sir Yonehara is old. He often got bedridden. “Since when?”

“A couple of days ago. It was a mere cold, but with his old age, even the lightest cold could be dangerous for him.” Yusaku shakes his head. He looks mentally exhausted. “He refused my offer to take care of him. He said the hospital needs me more.”

“He has a high hope for you, Sir. However, I understand that you’re worried about leaving him to work.”

“Yes.” Yusaku smiles sadly. “I don’t… want to let the same thing happened.”

Kanryou fell silent. It’s not a secret how Yusaku lost his wife and unborn child due to an accident when he was undergoing surgery at the hospital and how guilty he was towards the Director for failing to save his only daughter. Though the Director never blamed Yusaku for what happened--they are both doctors; he knows how they have responsibility over their patients--, the accident weighed him too much. The Director is his only family now. Kanryou understands Yusaku won’t be able to forgive himself if he loses the Director because he prioritizes his work.

“If possible, you better delegate your share of works to others.” Kanryou carefully suggests. “I’m sure you’re busy enough with the position transfer. There are a lot of competent doctors in this hospital, so you can rest assure and focus on the Director.”

“I feel bad, but… that’s the most reasonable thing I can do. As for the position transfer, I told the Director I’m not ready. But he insisted.”

“You don’t want to take over the hospital?”

“I don’t want to… take what isn’t my right. The position belonged to my wife.”

“However, she is… no longer here. Pardon my rudeness, Sir. I think by taking over the hospital is a better way for you to honor both your late wife and the Director.”

“...how so?”

“Would you rather have someone else rolling this place?” As Yusaku fell silent, Kanryou continued. “The Director believes in your skill, Sir. It wasn’t only because you are his son-in-law.”

“You think so?”

“I am a new guy here, but even someone like me can tell you’re that capable. I’m sure I’m not the only person who has that opinion.” Kanryou smiles. “And… I’m also sure your wife thinks the same way.”

Yusaku looks at him. If the older man has an apparent weakness, it would be his long-deceased wife. Kanryou never knows what kind of person the late lady was, but he has heard many stories about the couple. He heard how much Yusaku loved her and how her death affected his life until this very moment. When it comes to the hospital, Yusaku is prone to talk about his wife as if she is still alive. Taking advantage of his fondness towards the deceased, Kanryou merely gives a light push. He loves working in this hospital, and he wants to show his gratitude to Yusaku as the one writing him a recommendation letter. If his small encouragement helps Yusaku make a better choice, Kanryou would gladly do so.

“Thank you, Yukisada. I will… think about it more.” Yusaku’s smile looks lighter and more genuine. “As to why I call you here…” He looks for a specific document from the stack and pulls a file. “There is one important patient I have been handling. He is one of the old patients The Director previously took care of.”

Kanryou takes the file and skims through the medical record. “Is he currently using the VIP room?”

“Was, yes. But since his condition improved significantly, I discharged him a couple of days ago. However, he’s still need to be monitored closely.”

Walk-in treatment isn’t included in Kanryou’s job desk, that’s for sure. However, this is a special request from the Vice Director himself. It won’t negatively affect him if he rejects the job, but if he accepts, he will gain extra credit. Kanryou is an opportunist, a low-profile one. There is no way he will refuse.

“I visited him yesterday, and he’s aware of The Director’s deteriorating health.” Yusaku continues, “While he said nothing about his own treatment, but he doesn’t want other doctors to tend him. It was either me or The Director himself. However…”

“I understand. I’ll visit him first and try. Let’s hope for the best.”

“Thank you very much, Yukisada. I believe I can count of you. Still, this is out of your normal work load, so I already prepared a bonus for you.”

“Let’s talk about it after the patient accept me.” Kanryou closes the file. “Is there anything else, Sir?”

“That’s all for now. You can return. Thank you for your help.”

“No problem. I’m heading back, then.”

As the elevator brings him to the lower level, Kanryou sees Haruna walking away in the distance. He rushes toward the older woman without a second thought, and only half regrets his impulsive action when she has already responded to his greeting.

“Eiharu?” Haruna raises an eyebrow. “Wait, is he still here?”

“No, he left more than an hour ago. It’s just… he hasn’t respond to my texts, so…”

“Well, Eiharu is always like that. You don’t have to worry about it.”

“You’re right, but for some reason, I just… can’t shake my worry. I mean, he was unwell, so…”

Haruna gives him a look. Eiharu’s worst living habit caused a lot of health problems, and getting a heatstroke is so common that Haruna is already numb despite her spontaneous response when he looks pale or something. It’s not Eiharu’s first time going home with a heatstroke, ignoring her phone calls or texts, and locking himself in his bedroom for a few days. While she feels happy to see Kanryou is worried about her son, the uncommon event makes her react a bit late.

“Ah… yeah, you’re right. We have to check on him.” Haruna nods her head and takes out her phone, pressing Eiharu’s phone number. “Hmm… he doesn’t answer. Maybe he is sleeping?” Haruna glances at Kanryou, and the young doctor just staring back in silence. He isn’t convinced. “Okay, I’ll try again.” but her calls won’t get through. “He doesn’t pick it up. I’ll just text him, then.”

“I did, actually. He didn’t read my texts yet.”

“Is that so? I think he’s just fast asleep, Yukisada-kun. You don’t have to worry that much.”

“I… hope so.” The thing is, Toshiya was here. The timing was dangerous. Still, it’s not something he can openly reveal to Haruna, so he only smiles his way off. “You’re right. I guess I’m being overreacting since this is my first time with him.”

“You’ll get used to it eventually. But I’m happy to know you’re worried about him, Yukisada-kun.” Haruna chuckles. “How about this? My shift is almost over, so I will see whether he’s really home or not. In any case, I will immediately contact you as soon as I see him.”

“Yes, I appreciate the offer. Sorry for the trouble, Seishichi-san.”

“Sigh, Eiharu always make people worry, isn’t he?” Haruna shakes her head. “He’s already that old and hasn’t learn his lesson yet. He really needs to socialize more. Good thing, you are his first friend. Imagine if it was someone else who care less about him. If something happened and no one bothers to check, what’s going to happen to him?”

Kanryou says nothing and lets Haruna blabber. He stands there with a gentle yet faint smile on his face, patiently waiting until Haruna finishes talking. With the words flowing out of her mouth, it become a background noise as his head is still thinking about Toshiya. He can’t help but ponder whether Eiharu saw him or not. And if he did, whether Eiharu recognized him or not. Judging from how Eiharu still holds a grudge, if the latter happened, most likely Eiharu would be significantly affected by the accident meeting. Add to his unwell condition, the impact is going to be severe.

I hope they didn’t meet. Such a coincidence doesn’t happen that easily… right?

“Eh, I talk too much, ain’t I?” Haruna gasps. “I’m so sorry for holding you, Yukisada-kun. Don’t mind me and leave. I promise I’ll contact you, okay?”

“Mm, thank you. I’ll be waiting for the news, then. See you later, Seishichi-san.”

-People go in and out of hospital every day. Even if familiar faces were around, we don’t always notice each other’s presence-

Kanryou thinks it’s too much of a coincidence if Eiharu also meets Toshiya after so long. But if it happened, he has no means to justify the coincidence logically. For someone who doesn’t believe in fate, his head refuses to accept it.

But, if it does, then…

Whatever it is, he’s worried about Eiharu’s condition.