Chapter Sixteen
The young doctor that passed through the countless corridors of the hospital that day in the ward of his charge seemed cheerful enough. Genrou had enough common sense to know that lives depended on him here, and that while he was involved with his work, at least, he couldn't afford to be distracted. And so, he had been carefully avoiding Hikou's ward, even during his free time when he could have dropped by any of his patients.
But the day was drawing to a close, and he was heading to his last assigned patient of his schedule. He stopped abruptly before the door, and took a deep breath, savagely shoving back the urge to just sink to the floor and cry. Then he plastered a smile on his face and opened the door, greeting the nurse there and turning his attention to the young girl on the bed.
"Hello, how are we feeling today?"
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Houjun sat back in the chair, feeling every one of his muscles screaming in agony. He had spent the last few hours catching up on all his lost sleep, but it hadn't been a particularly comfortable recovery. As soon as he was fully awake however, his mind zoomed in to the thoughts that had been plaguing his dreams.
Genrou…where are you? How am I supposed to find you and explain if I don't even know where you are?
He looked at his watch. Perhaps tomorrow he would go to the hospital Genrou had been working at. He needed to know where the doctor had gone. I don't care where you ran off to, Gen…I'll find you if it's the last thing I do.
The room was dark, and it was cold. Kourin lay fast asleep on the other couch, her fingers twined snugly with the sleeping Hikou's. A small touched his lips and made his spirit lighter, if only for an instant, but the sight of the couple only served an overall cause of making him turn away and close his eyes.
I miss you, Genrou.
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By the time he trudged back to his office, his shoulders were aching and his feet were sore from running. I'll never get used to being a doctor, he marveled to himself as he unlocked the door and stepped into the cool, dark room. Turning, he tapped the switch, and light flooded the place. Yet he loved it. It was good, knowing that he was saving lives, to know that people were being kept happy and healthy, with his help. It was the reason he had chosen medicine in the first place.
Wasn't it ironic that here he was, bleeding inside, and he couldn't do one thing about it? He laughed to himself, a short bark of mirthless amusement.
Why did you come today, Houjun? Is breaking my heart once not enough, but you have to come and grind the pieces into dust? How did you find me? He had specifically told Nyan-nyan not to let anyone know where he was being posted next. Well, damn. He wasn't going to change his post again. Let Houjun wait forever. He would avoid him as long as he had to.
Well, now, that was mature, a tiny voice in his head mocked.
"So much for giving him a chance to explain," he muttered to himself as he placed the stack of files he had been cradling in his arms carefully on the table. He walked around the table to throw himself into the black plush chair. It squeaked in protest as he reclined, too tired to even curse anymore.
But even exhaustion couldn't dislodge the images.