"The Problem"
Beep, beep.
Beep, beep.
Beep, beep.
The pager existed to ruin the peace in a doctor's life. It was not scientifically proven yet, but it did not take a genius to know that it did. A patient lived to stay sick—or the small town known as Tomoeda, would never stay out of trouble, was what Li Syaoran liked to think.
Beep, beep.
The beeping sound nearly drove him insane before he decided to rise from his lying state on the uncomfortable bed.
He looked around the room before rubbing the sleep from his heavy-lidded eyes. The room looked so familiar to him, even though his eyes had not adjusted to his surroundings yet. After they adjusted, he remembered where he was.
This room was like his second home, along with all the other doctors. It was known as the on-call room, or what most of the doctors loved to refer it to, the doctor's mess.
This was the room for the doctors, nurses, and interns, who worked at the hospital for those long hour shifts, or the ones who were expected to be called in, early in the morning.
It was seldom that any of them received the privilege to occupy that room, though. The hospital was often chaotic in Tomoeda, considering that it was the only hospital in town, so they were always running around like chickens with their heads chopped off.
Syaoran stood from the bed and reached over to grab his estetoscopio. He allowed it to rest around his neck before he rushed out of the room. It seemed like today would be one of those days at Tomoeda Central Hospital.
He rushed to the floor of the hospital where the emergency entrance was located. His eyes scanned the room until they landed on the source of the chaos. There was a uniformed cop lying on a gurney while being pushed by several nurses and the other doctors and interns were tending to his wounds.
The cop had been shot several times throughout his body so there was blood all over his uniform with torn pieces. The gurney was filled with his blood as he laid unconscious on it.
"Dr. Li! He's been shot four times!" one of the doctors shouted over the entire ruckus that was being caused in the hospital.
One of the nurses explained everything about the man's current condition before Syaoran concluded what should be done.
"We need to stop the bleeding and apply a sterile dressing over Officer Jing's wounds. I hope no one has applied any physical contact with any of the wounds."
Everyone shook their heads, or addressed that they had not, so he continued. "We need to immediately administer antibiotics to treat any and every infectious bacteria that could have possibly been carried into the wounds by his clothing or even the debris from the bullets itself," he instructed to everyone as they all rushed to the room, while several of the doctors and nurses were trying to put pressure on the areas where the blood poured out.
After they reached the room, the officer's uniform was being cut open with scissors quickly so they could have a look at the wounds on his body. When his uniform shirt was cut opened, Syaoran saw that he had no bullet proof vest on.
What cop goes out on duty without a bulletproof vest? He wondered.
There were holes located on his brachium, abdominal, and the top of his acromial looked like it was grazed with the bullet. The side of his head was also grazed by the bullet from what an outsider could see of his wound. His entire torso was covered in blood as cloths were being placed over each of the holes that the blood was spilling from.
How the hell was this man called on duty when he had no form of protection on?
After they stopped the bleeding and tended to the wounds, an X-ray was ran on his body since there were no holes on the opposite side of the man's body. That meant that some of the bullets were still located in his body somewhere.
Syaoran stared at the results of it and began to contemplate what should be done with the man.
He turned to all of the workers in the room after figuring it out. "Two of the bullets will have to remain. This one here," Syaoran pointed to an area on the monitor. "It's too close to one of his vital organs—his spine. Removing it will cause possible further damage. If it's removed, there could be a high risk for an anesthesia and surgery that could create a bigger problem than the bullet already has."
Everyone looked at the screen, looking deep in thought about Syaoran's conclusion.
"Well, let's get him to the second floor so we can remove the bullets that need to go and get him patched up," he instructed and everyone obliged to his demand.
Tomoeda Central Hospital had the best doctors in the country, so the outcome of the process should be that the man lived if there were no stupid accidents made.
"Good job today, everybody! We saved lives and revived some who were nearly close to death. You should all pat yourselves on the back for that," Syaoran praised everyone at the end of the day.
Everyone nodded their heads in agreement with huge grins on their faces. Some even clapped their hands to the assertion.
Being a doctor was probably the most gratifying job a person could ever have. Having the power to fix someone with your own hands was incredible, because not everyone had that gift.
"You may clock out for those of you whose shifts are over. The rest of you, stay on your duties and don't slack. Be sure to keep your pagers on you at all times."
"Yes, sir!" And they all dispersed, except for one of the interns.
Maiko...
She was an intern with long, brunette hair and hazel eyes. If someone asked Syaoran, she was not the best-looking female around, but there were a few perks about her that he liked. She would have to do for now.
He sent her one of his signature smirks before walking down the hall, to the elevator. He pressed the highest floor, and waited for the elevator to ding. Luckily, everyone had already left the hall so he did not really have much to worry about.
He walked to one of the rooms that were not occupied by anyone, as usual. Everyone had gone home for the night, so there would be no interruptions if things panned out how they were supposed to for him.
His body had been feeling the urge for the past four hours, but with everything going on at the hospital, he had been completely distracted. Things were calmer now and all the patients were resting their eyes, so he had the chance to get what he had craved for hours.
Five tortuous minutes passed before the door slid open, revealing the one and only Maiko.
Finally!
"Sorry for making you wait, Dr. Li."
She walked towards him slowly, swaying her hips in the process. It was obvious what her intentions were, but they were not really doing Syaoran any good. He did not normally need anything extra to get him going because he was always ready.
He met her half way, taking larger steps instead and grabbed her by the waist, pulling her to him.
"About damn time you got here."
He pressed his lower body against hers and kissed her lips, roughly. She automatically responded back as Syaoran's hands began their ministrations on her body.
It did not take him long to get the woman turned on before he was able to get his own release from her. It took approximately fifteen minutes for him to finish with Maiko.
They were now pulling their scrubs back up and fixing their clothes after Syaoran discarded the used condom.
"Thank you, Dr. Li. See you around." She sent him a wink.
He gave her a slight nod and she slid the door opened, slipping out the room like nothing ever occurred between them.
Syaoran sighed and sat on the couch in front of the table, feeling a little exhausted. His body was not nearly satisfied yet, so he concluded that he might needed to find someone else to do the job.
Before he had the chance to think of a woman, the door slid opened and a groan slipped from his mouth after seeing who it was.
"What the hell do you want, Hiiragizawa?"
Eriol chuckled and walked in the room, closing the door behind him. "You guys weren't necessarily quiet, if that's what you're asking."
He pushed up his wired-glasses with a smirk on his face that never failed to piss Syaoran off. They had known each other longer than a decade and Syaoran hated the man. There was something about Hiiragizawa Eriol's existence that pissed Syaoran off and he never even cared to know why.
Syaoran glared at him. "You wouldn't have heard anything if you weren't looking to find anything that you could hear."
Eriol chuckled again and Syaoran grew more infuriated with the man than necessary. "What's so damn funny?" he barked at the navy-blue haired man.
Eriol held up his hand. "Calm down, Dr. Li. You know more than I do to get your blood pressure so high," he said mockingly.
Syaoran's fists clenched, itching to punch the smug look off his face. "What do you want?"
"I can't just come up and have a nice conversation with the chief?"
"You're normally trying to get at something whenever you're around."
Eriol held up his hand defensively again. "You caught me. I was just checking to see if you decided to get any help with your problems yet."
Syaoran's fists slammed against the table loudly. "Get your damn nose out of my fucking business!"
"Calm down, I'm just being a caring cousin, worried about your health. You should take this and check it out." He sat a small card on the table.
Syaoran looked down at it, confused out of his mind about the strange piece of laminated card. He turned back to the man sitting across from him. "What the hell is this?"
"Assistance to your mental health." He stood from the seat and pushed his glasses up again with a mischievous glint in his eyes.
"I'll see you later," Eriol said with a smirk on his face and walked out.
Syaoran sighed and laid back on the couch, feeling exhausted.
The urge was gone, so he decided that sleep was the better option for him now since he barely did that.
He closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.
"Alright, your stitching is all done, Ms. Chiho."
"Thank goodness. I don't know what I'm going to do with those crazy kids. They drive me insane every second of the day."
Ms. Chiho was a middle-aged, widow woman with five boys who were all under the age of 12. Her husband had died just a year ago in a car crash, leaving her to fend for them by herself. She was a regular patient in the hospital because of the many injuries her rambunctious boys' behaviors caused.
Syaoran chuckled and shook his head. "Are you starting to think that they're doing things on purpose to hurt you, Ms. Chiho?" he teased.
She burst into a fit of laughter and slapped his arm softly, shaking her head. "Now that you mentioned it, I think you may have a point there, honey."
"Do I need to give them a reason to be scared to cause danger to their mom again? You know I have your back."
"Please do. This was an accident, though. I can assure you. The twins were playing rough with each other with things they weren't supposed to have. They had blades—which I'm not even sure where they found them. I'm sure there are no blades at the house, so they must have taken them from someone at school." She shook her head again, looking deep in thought suddenly.
"Where could they have found such a thing? I'll have to talk to the principle at their school. Those rules need to be pressed more about no weapons at school, don't they?"
"Of course, they do. Are the kids here now?"
"Yes, they're in the waiting room with their uncle. I don't even trust the boys to sit in a room together without a guardian. The twins—who are the oldest, are still grieving their father's death and are taking their anger out on any and every one." She looked down at the bandage on her arm that he had just finished wrapping.
"How about I give them a little pep talk whenever I find some time off? Maybe I can hang with them."
Her eyes began to water as she looked up at him, hopefully. "Will you really? I don't know what else to do with them and they are refusing to see a therapist."
His fists clenched at the mention of a therapist, feeling slightly triggered by that word. "Definitely, I will be sure to make time for them. How about I get someone to get them now so they can see their mother's okay after their outrageous behavior? They're probably worried sick about you." He wiped the tear that had streamed down her pale cheek with a smile on his face.
She let out a short laugh and shook her head. "Look at me being all emotional in front of my doctor. Of course, I want you to go and get my kids, boy!"
Syaoran chuckled and popped her forehead lightly. "You know I'm not just your doctor. I'm much more than that." He kissed her forehead and then called for one of the interns to come over.
"Yes, Dr. Li?"
"Go and get Ms. Chiho's kids so they can come and see their mom."
"Yes sir," he said before leaving to follow the order.
He turned back to Ms. Chiho, who was smiling at him warmly. "Have you decided to get help with your problem, honey?" she whispered, so he was the only one who could hear her.
His body stiffened and he looked at her questioningly. "What are you talking about?"
"Don't play dumb with me, boy. I know too much for you to be trying to take me for a fool," she softly chastised him.
She had known for years about his problem, but he never acknowledged any of her confrontations. He could never do it.
He sighed and looked back to find that intern he had just sent away to get her kids.
"You're not getting out of this that easily, young man. I've been keeping your name clean around this town long enough. I want you to get better—"
"Ms. Chiho, please. Can we not talk about this—here of all places? I'm perfectly fine."
She gave him a knowing look and he groaned in annoyance. "Alright, alright, I won't press on it too much. I still want answers at some point of time. You know the mess that I had to get you out of some years back."
"Thank you, your kids are coming now," he announced when he saw them running up to the two of them.
"Mom! We are so sorry. We won't play any of our games for a week—"
"No, two months! We really are sorry and didn't mean to cause you to get hurt—"
"Please forgive us?"
Ms. Chiho smiled at the two boys and opened her arms for them. They both jumped into her arms and hugged her tightly as the other three boys sat back, watching.
"No tv, games, or sports for the rest of the month and next month. No hanging out with any of your friends outside of school either. You will be coming straight home and do your homework for the next two months straight," she said in their ears dangerously.
Syaoran had to suppress the urge to laugh in their faces.
"No TV?! But Mom—! "
"No tv, games, or sports for the next two months or hanging out with our friends Mom, right Kiro?" The older twin gave his brother the look that says, 'your ass better agree or you'll be the one in this hospital bed.'
Kiro sighed and nodded his head. "No tv, games, sports or hanging out with friends for the next two months, Mom," he repeated after his brother, sadly.
"Good. Now move it you two, I need to hug my favorite boys," she joked before gently pushing the two boys out of the way.
The other three boys moved over to her and hugged her. "We're glad you're okay, Mom," one of them said in her neck.
They really were good boys, but they did need a male figure in their life or simply someone that they could look up to.
"Your Mom's going to be able to leave the hospital soon, so why don't you boys go back in the waiting room so we can get her discharged, alright?"
"Yes sir, Dr. Li." They all scrambled out of the room after entangling their arms from around their mother.
He chuckled, looking after them. "Yes, I'll definitely find time to get together with the boys."
She smiled at him softly and rested her hand on his. "Thank you, Syaoran. You really don't know how much that means to me. They already look up to you for the hard work you put into your job."
"I'm glad about that then—really, I am. You know that I'm always willing to do anything for you anyway, Ms. Chiho." He winked at her.
Her cheeks colored before she smacked his head, laughing. "Child, your charms will not work on me like they do on all these other young, foolish girls in this town," she said, standing up from the bed.
He gave her his signature smirk and she rolled her eyes at him.
"You wound me. I'm not that bad, though, come on, admit it. "
"Get the damn papers, so I can get out of this hell-hole, boy."
Syaoran chuckled and grabbed the papers and started to write up the discharge orders on her chart.
"Oh, Dr. Li! Harder!" His hips pounded against the blonde's bum harder, succumbing to her demands. She was on her hands and knees, one of his favorite positions to take a woman in.
He thrust faster, before his climax came faster than he had anticipated it to.
His breathing became normal after a few more seconds before he pulled out of her, being sure to hold her weak form up. He slid the used condom off before discarding it like he always did.
It was like a routine for him. He would never tire from it, even if he tried to. He never thought to change it either because he was obsessed with it.
The feeling that he had when sliding that piece of article off his body was so satisfying. It made him feel like he had just accomplished something after satisfying his body. The piece of article that was always discarded was just a physical symbolism that showed that he was satisfied. It was not like a used condom could really make him satisfied. It was the act itself, which was being inside of a woman.
Being inside of a woman was probably the most beautiful feeling in the world to him. To feel her walls enrapture his manhood was an indescribable feeling that no one would ever understand like he did. Not a single person would ever be able to compete with his desire to do such a thing, he believed.
Shaking his head from the thoughts, he pulled the scrubs up his legs and stood from the position before helping Haruko up from the floor.
"What is this?" she asked, holding up a small, square card.
Syaoran retrieved it from her hand and examined the piece of laminated card.
It was a business card, but not any business card. It was the business card that his cousin had left a few days ago.
"It's nothing. I'm going to head out. Thanks..." he said awkwardly and slipped the card in his scrub pocket.
"You know that I'll always be around if you need a good fucking, right?" she said seductively, letting her slim fingers slide up his scrub shirt.
Syaoran smiled at her, not feeling the least bit turned on by her. He grabbed her hands under his shirt and pecked her lips lightly. "I know. I'll be sure to call you when I need it," he lied, and then slipped out the room, away from her.
This was almost a part of his routine when the girls would not leave after the sex. It was like a cycle that never seized to disappear. He would have to lie to them and make them feel special, like they meant something to him or they offered him great sex.
They were not terrible, but his expectations were high because he had been with the best. He probably knew every prostitute in the small town. He had been to every strip club in the town and had experience with all those women when he needed a release.
It was not like the women he slept with were not aware of the boundaries that he held, though. Sticking around and talking was not necessary when there were other better things to do. The faster they finished, the faster he could recover before his body felt the urge again.
Most of the women were aware that he did not want anything from them, besides sex. It was that simple. The man did not have much that he could offer them anyway, besides money and sex. Loyalty and commitment were out of the equation. No one necessarily wanted to take a man like him home to their parents.
Syaoran was the guy with the red flags every girl looked for; the guy that women would never take serious in a relationship. This was the reason that he did not have a girlfriend, nor had he ever had the desire to want one. With as much sex he wanted, no one would ever want to take on that baggage.
He had girlfriends in the past, but they never lasted. He never cheated physically, but he required too much work and the women could not take it.
Syaoran sighed, shaking his head from the thoughts as he headed home after changing out of his scrubs, putting them in the locker room. He clocked out, feeling extremely tired that day. It was 1am and he had to be right back up at seven the upcoming morning.
Being a doctor was very rewarding for him, but it could take a huge part of his life away. That was just another added on reason why he did not have a girlfriend. He never had the desire to find time for women, unless it involved sex.
When Syaoran arrived home, he slipped out of his clothes and changed into more comfortable clothes, sitting the other ones on top of the laundry basket.
Something dropped to the floor from his pants pocket. He looked down to see that it was the same card Eriol had given him again.
He groaned in frustration, believing that the card was haunting him. He picked it up, examining it again, but instead, he started to read the details on it this time.
It was a card to a psychologist in town named Kinomoto Sakura. There was an address to the location of her office and her phone number.
His fists clenched, while reading what she specialized in.
He knew that his cousin was giving him the card for a specific reason, but he did not know why he would. Syaoran had always known that his cousin thought that he could tell everyone what kind of problems they had, even if he did not know them.
For years, Eriol had told him that he had an addiction, but Syaoran never believed him because he knew himself more than anyone could. He never thought that there was a problem with wanting to have sex with multiple partners a day. He believed that it was completely normal to do, even if he kept it a secret from the public eye. No one needed to know about his sex life anyway. It was no one's business what he did in the bedroom. Or the hospital.
He threw the card down on the washing machine angrily, feeling bitter about the business card suddenly.
He already had his mind set about psychologists anyway. They were all the same in his eyes, thinking they know everything about people because they attended school for six to eight years.
He had done school for more than twelve years, so he automatically assumed that, that could make him think that he was smarter than most, but he did not think like that. He liked to think of himself as a humble person who was on the level of everyone else.
To him, psychologists had some sort of mind-reading capability, while they rested their lazy asses in a chair behind a desk with a notepad in their hands, pretending to care about people problems while they bawled their eyes out about life.
They were greedy, manipulative people who were after money. It was at that moment when he concluded that this Kinomoto Sakura was not going to get a red dime from him.
He retrieved the card back in his hand and headed to the kitchen angrily. He folded it in half and then threw it in the garbage can.
He moved over to the refrigerator, opening it to grab out the large bottle of vodka. He chugged down a large amount of it from the bottle, wanting to get rid of the feeling the card had caused him to have.
He did not have any problems, so he did not need any help from anyone. His cousin had to have been messing with him because it was like Eriol to fuck with his head and make him question things about himself. That was the reason he hated him in the first place. Eriol was the insane person, not him.
He chugged down more of the vodka, enjoying the burning sensation that it caused to the back of his throat. Alcohol was disgusting, but the sensation that it caused could make a person addicted to it. Too bad he was not that much of a big fan of alcohol, though.
He took another chug of the vodka before sitting it back in the refrigerator, feeling a little light-headed. He left the kitchen and headed back to his room, collapsing on the bed tiredly.
Kinomoto Sakura.
His fists clenched as that name ran through his head repeatedly, almost tortuously.
Shaking his head from the ridiculous name, he came to the final conclusion that no person was ever going to try and get in his head and toy with it. Especially not a psychologist by the name of Kinomoto Sakura who probably believed that she knew everything.
Our greedy, manipulative psychologist will appear in the next chapter!