Should I Take it?

When Jean was done answering Casper's question, it was now time for Jean to get to know what was contained in the container.

At this moment, Jean's eyes were locked on the container, with a series of thoughts crossing his mind.

'I just hope it is the same medicine, because the chest aches are still there. I am just praying that the pain shouldn't be as a result of internal bleeding. Hopefully the medicine is all I need to fend off this excruciating pain.'

During this moment, Casper was staring at Jean with interest.

'What could he be thinking of?'

Casper thought to himself.

A few minutes past without anyone uttering a word.

Moments later, Casper cleared his throat, thus snapping Jean out of his reverie and in the process, Jean immediately turned in Casper's direction.

With a startled expression on his face, Jean scratched the back of his head while gazing in Casper's direction.

"I think it is time for me to fulfil my promise"

Casper said with a smirk.

As soon as Jean heard this, his ears perked up as he increased his concentration, ready to hear what Casper was to utter next.

At the back of his mind, he knew very well that Casper was about to tell him about the brownish liquid in the container on the table. And since this thought about the liquid has been tormenting him for a while now, he couldn't help but wait for Casper's explanation with bated breath.

In the next moment, Casper went mute.

This unexpected act from Casper made the heart in Jean's chest beat wildly as the tense silence hanged between the two.

A minute later, Casper let out a smirk and continued.

"You see this container…."

Pausing for a moment, Casper gestured at the container resting on the table in between the two.

Following his gaze, Jean momentarily stared at the container before gazing back at Casper.

"…it has all you need right now"

Casper continued after a short moment of silence.

A bit confused by Casper's statement; Jean stared at him with questioning eyes.

'Why is he not going straight to the point? All I need to know is what the liquid is.'

Jean mused.

As if reading his mind, Casper let out a light smile and then added,

"The liquid inside can help your body in recovering. So, all you need to do is to drink all that. When you are done, you are free to go and have a rest"

Casper explained in a neutral tone.

When Jean heard this, his eyes widened in bewilderment as he eyed the container in front of him with interest.

'Just as I thought. I must be lucky to have met such a specialist at my critical moment. Such lucks don't repeat themselves very often.'

Jean thought with amazement.

When he analysed his current condition with the aid he was receiving from Casper, he couldn't help but feel lucky to have ended up in his hands.

Whether his long term stay that he was planning on having with Casper was safe or not, that didn't matter at the moment, as his health would be at stake if he decides to leave immediately.

After a few moments of awkwardness between the two, Jean sighed and glanced at Casper with a "Should I take it?" look.

As if understanding the intentions behind his gaze, Casper instructed with a nod.

"Go ahead and take it."

Immediately Casper was done with his statement, Jean immediately picked the container from the table with a mischievous smile. He then gave Casper a furtive look before bringing the container closer to his mouth.

As soon as the smell of the liquid reached Jean's nose, he shuddered and gulped. Unlike the previous medicine which didn't have a smell, this medicine had an alluring smell.

The smell was so alluring that Jean doubted if the liquid he was holding was truly a medicine. With this realisation, Jean retracted the container from his mouth and gave Casper a sidelong glance.

When Casper noticed this, he immediately looked away and acted indifferent to Jean's actions. The moment Jean saw this, he snorted and thrusted the container back to his mouth.

He then tightly closed his eyes and gulped a mouthful of the medicine down his throat. Almost immediately, Jean jerked the container from his mouth with a contorted face and squinted his eyes abruptly. With a subtle groan, he quickly lowered his gaze and peeked in the container with a complicated look.

Contrary to the alluring smell, the medicine's taste was bitter. The bitterness was so lively to the point of making Jean study the medicine with a thought that he was taking the wrong medicine.

When he confirmed that it was the same medicine with the alluring smell, he shifted his gaze towards Casper.

At this point, Casper had a cheeky smile plastered on his face.

When he noticed Jean gazing at him, he gave him a sidelong glance and winked at him.

This awkward act from Casper infuriated Jean so much that he grounded his teeth in annoyance. With a surge of anger in his chest, Jean immediately lowered the container back on the table and glowered at Casper.

Almost immediately, Casper's expression turned serious. When Jean noticed this, his gaze softened in an instance.

"If you care about your health, you must finish that medicine"

Casper instructed in a commanding tone.

Gazing at the container with a surprised expression, Jean recalled Casper telling him about finishing the medicine in the container some moments before he took it.

The container lying on the table in front of Jean was a litre and a half container. If the bitterness of the medicine was put into consideration, Jean couldn't imagine the extent at which the huddle lying in front of him would test his resilience.

'Where is the other medicine? I think I should take that one instead of this…at least that one was not bitter like this one.'

Just at that moment, Jean raised his head and faced Casper with a frown on his face.

"I think the other medicine was better. So, I would like to take that one instead of this"

Jean said in a shaky voice.

In an instance, Casper was stunned. After lingering for a few moments, he burst into laughter, thus shocking Jean in the process.

This reaction came as a surprise to Jean. He had not expected Casper to take his statement as a joke, and the fact that he has succeeded in making the guy laugh for the first time since they met, he felt that something was wrong with his statement. But since he couldn't point out what exactly was wrong, he decided to wait for a hint from Casper himself.

With a frustrated sigh, Jean stared at the laughing Casper with a deadpan expression.

A few moments later, Casper seized laughing an let out a stiff cough before glancing at Jean.

"This is my first time discovering that a patient can also prescribe the right medicine for himself?"

With that, he leaned towards Jean and blinked for a couple of times.

Feeling flabbergasted, Jean scratched the back of his head and gazed at the container on the table before gazing back at Casper.

Of course, Jean was smart enough to understand what Casper was trying to imply. With this realisation, Jean decided to frustrate him a bit.

"What if the patient is a doctor?"

With that, Jean pouted.

Suddenly, a confused expression appeared on Casper's face. After a short moment of silence, Casper smiled wryly and clicked his tongue.

"Are you trying to disapprove my point?"

Casper asked in an amused tone.

Just as Jean was about to answer him, he continued.

"To answer your question, let me tell you this; there are some possibilities of a doctor prescribing for himself the required medicine. But that would only be possible if he or she isn't in a critical condition, and he or she is a specialist when it comes to the kind of disease that is suffering from.

If you may answer me. Why did you ask me that question in the first place? Or could you be confirming to me that you are a doctor or what?"

Jean was dazed for a moment.

'See what my question has brought. I have to be more careful with what I utter from my mouth as I might ruin my precious opportunity of recovering.'

At the back of his mind, he knew very well that if he offended Casper this early, he was going to have a hard time recovering and hiding from his adversaries.

With that thought, Jean shook his head.

"No, I am not a doctor. I only said that to vent off my frustrations"

  Jean stated with a light smile.

"Now let me tell you why I can't give you the medicine you are demanding for"

Casper said in a gentle tone.

Immediately Jean heard this, he leaned towards Casper and increased his concentration.

With a snort, Casper continued.

"Immediately I found you lying unconsciously outside the forest and studied you. When I noticed the condition that you were in, I immediately thought that you were dead not until something told me to check on your vitals.

Judging by the condition that you were in, I knew that you would experience some serious pain as a result of the injuries that you suffered by the time that you would be waking up. So, I decided to prepare the medicine I gave you.

But the main reason to why I won't give you the medicine is because, first, it is finished and second it is not meant for healing purpose."

With that, tense silence settled in the room like a third person.

"~~♤~~"