Differences
Chapter 5: Nightly Admirer
I still remember the way… his hands felt against my skin, our fingers intertwined perfectly, his heart reverberated against his chest, his husky breath caressed my cheeks, and how my entire body felt the tingling sensations of both an ignited flame and an icy chill.
And yet I wonder why he opened his heart to me. Throughout all the tournaments, I have never been able to see a single emotion escape his cold exterior. But within the past two days, I saw into the heart of a completely different man. Was the man I resisted a kiss from only moments ago the same legendary Jann Lee? Was this truly the same person who would never speak a word to any of his opponents? And if so, why does the mere thought of him continue to make me feel a certain way that stands no chance of being explained properly? There are so many questions that lie unanswered about this handsome warrior…
Brring!
"Huh?" shocked by this new disturbance, Lei-Fang had realized that the device responsible for causing the disruption was hidden inside her purse. She scrambled through, looking for the source of the noise. Finally, once her cell phone was found, she placed it against her ear and answered, "Hello?"
"Lei-Fang! Oh my god! Where the hell have you been! I left sixty-three messages trying to find you! There's thirty-two on your house phone and thirty-one on your cell. I was planning on making it even by making this one be the thirty-second message, but you just HAD to pick up!"
Recognizing that the voice on the other side of the line was Tina, she laughed at her friend's unbelievable performance at being so blonde. "Real funny Tina. So what do you expect me to do? Hang up so you can leave a message?"
"It's too late now! You already screwed up. Great job Lei-fang!"
Lei-fang scoffed at how stupid Tina was being. "Thanks. Anyway, why did you feel so compelled to call me sixty-four times?"
"Because I was worried about you. Duh!"
"Worried? Oh come on Tina, I'm a big girl now. I promise you that I can take care of myself."
"I know that! How stupid do you think I am?" Lei-fang held back her hysterical laughter. "Okay, bad question. But anyway, you were supposed to come visit me last night. I stayed up the entire night until dawn wondering what was taking you so long. I called but no one picked up. What happened?"
Having remembered that she was supposed to visit Tina before she headed back to the United States, Lei-fang was fully overwhelmed by guilt. The idea stormed into her mind as though a raging stampede fleeing from total destruction. "Oh my god! I'm so sorry! Where are you? Did you get to America yet?"
"No… I never left," Tina said in a voice that was a bit too calm.
Lei-fang was utterly surprised. "Huh? Why not?"
"I didn't feel right leaving if I wasn't sure that you were safe."
Suddenly grateful that she had Tina as a friend, regardless of how clueless she acts at times. She sighed gently full of happiness and appreciation. "Wow, thanks…"
"No problem. Anyway, where exactly have you been?"
Beep. "Uh-oh… my battery's low. Umm, I'm heading to… hold on a sec," she cupped her hand over the speaker and spoke to the cab driver, "Excuse me, sir, but umm… which hospital are we headed to?"
"The Prince of Wales Hospital, hon. Is that all you need?"
"Yeah thanks," she took her hand off the speaker and continued her conversation with Tina. "It's the Prince of Wales Hospital in Hong Kong."
"Hospital!?!?!? Wait a second, what happened?" she screamed with horror, dumbfounded and scared for the life of her close friend.
"Umm, I'll explain later. Just meet me there but I gott-" The conversation was cut short which left Tina hanging onto the phone afraid and flabbergasted.
* * * * *
Knock. Knock. Knock.
"Come in."
A tall dark-haired man with deep blue eyes walked into the door. He was extremely good-looking with a mature, sophisticated look. He was not wearing the average doctor attire, but a red sleeveless workout shirt and black nylon pants. His muscular arms were fully visible and his hair was not neatly combed back, but rustled thoroughly combined with sweat. But despite her doctor's windswept look, she could not help being attracted to him. "Hello Lei-fang. I'm Dr. Carter and I'll be in charge of your surgery for today."
He watched the woman as she stared bewilderingly at him. He realized that he was not wearing the proper clothing and remarked, "Sorry, about my appearance. I must look like a mess. I just got back from the gym and rushed over here when the receptionist told me that there's a hot patient that needs her nose fixed up."
She giggled at his last comment and said, "Oh really?"
He smirked and said, "Yeah. I've gotta admit that the receptionist has got flawless taste."
"I'm flattered. But I must admit, I'm sorry if I offend you, but isn't that a bit shallow?"
Taken aback by her last question, he replied, "True. I don't necessarily refuse to accept helping others less attractive, but who could resist the offer of such a stunning young lady."
She was incredulous of this man's playful antics, "I suggest you quit while you're ahead, doctor."
"Yeah, I suppose you're right."
"Lei-fang!!! There you are! Thank god you're okay!" Tina rushed into the door and leaped onto her friend, pounding Lei-fang onto the bad.
"Jesus Christ, Tina! Get off of me!" she ripped her friend off of her and gave her a stern look. "I was in the middle of a conversation with Dr. Carter."
Suddenly realizing that the two were not alone, Tina stood frozen in her tracks. She felt as though she could barely budge but somehow managed to turn around. "Hi…" she said, embarrassed and fully flushed in the face.
"Hey," he responded smiling, apparently happy that there were now two beautiful girls standing before him. He turned to Lei-fang and said, "Umm, well, I suppose I'll be leaving now. Umm, I'll be back in about forty-five minutes to begin your surgery. Is that okay with you?"
"Yeah, sure. That'll be great."
He smiled back for a final time and walked out of the room.
Once Dr. Carter was completely out of sight, Tina was finally able to release her glee which was building up inside her. "Holy god! Did you see how hot your doctor is?"
"Yes, Tina. I've realized that he's gorgeous."
"Geez. It makes me want to get hurt really badly, as long as he's the one fixing me up," she grabbed the telephone beside the bed, "Here, Lei-fang. Hit me over the head with this. Maybe I'll get knocked unconscious and he'll be the one standing over me when I wake up."
"You're insane. Now shut up because the door is still open."
Tina gasped and hid beneath the bed.
* * * * *
After Lei-fang's surgery was over, everyone seemed to be content with life. Tina got a date with Dr. Carter after he heard her rant on and on about his good looks. As a result of this, Dr. Carter let Lei-fang and Tina stay the night in the hospital rather than paying at some hotel. But at 1:00 a.m., Tina did not return back to Lei-fang's quarter, so she assumed that Tina probably chose to spend the night with her newest boy toy. She decided that she might as well go to sleep instead of waiting up all night for her.
* * * * *
The next morning, Lei-fang awoke to the smell of roses that filled her room. Her bed was draped in the petals of the romantic flowers, and as she looked down, the floor was too. "Huh? Oh my… What's all this?"
"About time you woke up you lazy bum. It's almost 12:00," Tina jokingly said.
Remembering that Tina was on a date last night, she asked, "Did Dr. Carter give you all this?"
"Dr. Carter, who I now refer to as Dean, did not give me all this last night. Actually I was just as surprised as you are to see all this. But if you look at the card beside your bed, it's got your name on it."
She reached for the card that imprinted on it said, "Lei-fang." Inside was a note written to her in a neat, but definitely not feminine handwriting.
Lei-fang,
I'm sorry for the way I acted the last time I saw you. But I was hurt that you were not willing to accept my kiss. Nevertheless, I acted like a fool. I opened my heart to you within a short period of only two days. I was different, and I could not understand why. You brought out some sort of emotion in me that stirred a completely new character to awaken. I never even realized that such a feeling could be true. As addictive as it is, I must remain far from it. It made me weaker than I've ever been before. I was vulnerable to a pain unimaginable. I cannot allow such a thing to be a part of my life. This shall be the last piece of evidence that shows that even if I do act inhuman, I still have a heart. And for a short period of time, that heart belonged to you. I'm sorry if I can never be as kind to you as I once was, but I must be the best. If only I did not have such a strong hatred for failure, then maybe things would be different. You have made an impact on me and I thank you for the lessons that you've taught. Goodbye.
Jann Lee
Lei-fang was filled with anger and annoyance at how arrogant and egotistical this man was. whispered to herself, "He won't fall in love because if he does, then he won't be the best. What an asshole."
* * * * * * * * * * *
Author's Note: Hey! How was that? The last chapter made Jann Lee seem so out of character. That was a part of the plan by the way. It made him open up, but later realize that he can't do that or else he would show his weaknesses and let his guard down. Oh, and by the way, the Prince of Wales Hospital is a real hospital in Hong Kong. I actually looked it up. Dr. Carter is fake though. Well, anyway, I hope you enjoyed this and please review! I'll really appreciate it. I'll try to update soon rather than waiting a month again. Bye!