AN APPLE A DAY – Chapter 3: Repairing
The door unlatched from its lock and the person who entered the premises blinked a few times to adjust to his surroundings as automatic lights flickered on caused by motion sensors.
"Let there be light," he declared, giggling at his own humour.
Dead silence greeted him back.
A melancholic smile made its way onto his lips. Not that he hated his solitude, being the ambivert that he is, but the current tranquility was such a big difference compared to his day's earlier chaotic events. Oh, how he missed his friends… and a certain blonde.
His thoughts made him shiver; but instead of basking in sentimentality, he surveyed his surroundings to take his mind off from things. Undeniably awestruck, he trudged further indoors of his new home, dragging his luggage full of his stuff after arriving from America.
He placed his car key-fob atop the hallway table and found a small white envelope that revealed spare key cards to the house and a greeting card with a handwritten note:
Yoh,
We tried our best in catering to your silly requests so you better like your new home, or else I'll charge you my usual fee. Kidding! In any case, enjoy!
Kind Regards,
Lyserg
P.S. – No kidding. That bloody machine took us ages to assemble. You owe me a drink or two.
An abrupt chuckle escaped his lips as he shook his head. He made a mental note to thank his architect friend and his associates dearly, later.
He returned his musing towards his surroundings which exuded a lavish ambiance just by standing at the mini foyer. The mix interior colours effectively posed a sophisticated contemporary style, perfect for a bachelor's pad. It boasted a high ceiling and was almost surrounded by tall and wide, fibre glass panels. The floor was made of dark wood, the walls were light grey and there were fixtures of mixed black and natural Teak, including the staircase that led to a loft bedroom, walk-in closet and ensuite. The overall space was not crazy oversized. In fact, it was rather cosy and homey, just the way he preferred it.
First view through the entrance was the living room which was decorated simply with a black leather sofa, wooden coffee table, a brown carpet and an accent chair. In contrast to the simplicity, a 75-inch Smart TV was set up with complete sound-system and his gaming consoles. At the corner of the room was a mini office-library, the shelves noticeably containing books and articles about Medicine and Automotive, plus old record albums of classic songs and of his favourite artists. Situated on the left were bifold glass doors that lead to a little zen garden with a hot tub that can fit four people. Right next to the living was the dining and kitchen fitted with sleek gunmetal appliances; and on the side was a mini bar with an extensive collection of wines and spirits.
The highlight of the property, however, was a distinctive item. A vending machine, which produces freshly squeezed orange juice and other orange-related products— orange snacks, orange soda, orange-flavoured chocolates, even dried orange fruit. Name it, and it was there.
Yoh's eyes sparkled upon sighting the spectacle, his grin from one ear to another. He immediately sprinted towards it and fumbled through his pockets to look for coins then quickly inserted them into the slot and pressed the code for his choice of goods. He peeked at the mixed contents inside the machine like an excited child waiting for his lollies.
Oh, he was such a kid.
Alas, the vendo completed its task and produced a glass of juice and he sipped it eagerly. He could not be happier at that very moment. "Man, Lyserg has outdone himself again," he muttered to himself; his serotoninlevels now boosted by his drink.
He settled onto the couch comfortably and sighed in contentment. He thanked the gods after finally seeing the fruits of his hard work. Lyserg and his team were truly a group of talented for creating such a marvellous piece of real estate despite the plans, transactions and constructions were made while Yoh was in America.
Since not everything went according to plan in relation to other things and other people,he has decided to put his savings into good use. Thus, now he is marvelling at his very own place he could call home.
Sure, his family has bought him an apartment in Manhattan when he attended university for his specialisations. He also received a large sum of money from the trust fund which his grandparents gave him when he turned twenty-three. He could have built his own kingdom in the U.S. and he could have continued to live in comforts of being a filthy rich heir; but he never felt at home in the said foreign country and he never really touched the money from the trust fund. People called him a fool and a hypocrite for his bold actions, but their opinion did not matter.
He always followed what his heart said.
Yoh suddenly felt exhaustion make its way into his system while he contemplated about a few other things. It was such an eventful day, he recalled. First, seeing his family and friends after years of being away from Japan. Then, the annual team member meeting that was held in front of hundreds of staff members. It was when Ren was recognised for gaining his Fellowship with interests towards Cardio-vascular subspecialty; and when he himself was introduced as the new Associate Specialist Surgeon in Pediatrics. They also mentioned about the hospital's statistics with flying colours, and the arrival of a new assistant chairman in training, who remained anonymous. The brunette's mind also wandered towards the violent incident involving a group of thugs and the newest Senior Resident Medical Officer, Anna.
He was utterly surprised to know it was her.
In fact, he never thought their paths would ever cross again after everything in their history went down to flames. Never it occurred to him that Anna would even comeback to Izumo. Last time he heard about her was that she moved to Tokyo for good, so he was not sure about the meaning behind her sudden return.
'I wonder how she is right now,' he caught himself thinking and he shook his thoughts before he got too consumed in them.
He involuntarily expired air from his lungs. This was not the right place and the right time to think about the woman. No, he should not let the ghosts of the past haunt him once again. Yoh stared at the ceiling, his breathing slowly stabilised; and before he realised it, he let himself be consumed by sleep.
. . .
Chestnut eyes opened at the sound of Bob Love's classic song. There were incessant vibrations coming from his jacket and his subconscious told him that someone was ringing him from his mobile phone.
He drowsily opened one eye, slid his hand inside his pocket, then brought the cursed device near his ear to answer it.
"Hello?" his raspy voice took over.
"What? Did you die?"
"Hey, Ren. What's up? Yoh asked, eyes squinting hard, still disorientated.
"Yeah, nice try. We're here at the front." his spiky-head friend retorted.
"Huh? What front?" the brunette blinked and pulled his phone away from his face to look at the time.
It was 10:30 PM.
"Yoooh! Come on, man. Open the door before your neighbours think we're burglars or something!" he heard Horo's voice from the speaker.
He shot his eyes open and sat up abruptly. He looked around and he was still in his living room. They were here for boys' night, and he totally forgot about what they agreed upon earlier that day. He did not realise they planned to hold it tonight.
'Shit.'
He nudged the door open to greet his friends while trying to comb down his rebellious hair with his fingers. "Hey, guys," he greeted.
"Lemme guess. You fell asleep," Manta stated as a matter-of-factly, his face almost concealed by the multiple boxes of pizza in his hands.
"Uehehe. Well, you know. Jet lag. Come on in," Yoh smirked, scratching the back of his head looking sheepish and all. He led the three men inside.
"Whoah! Your place is sick!" it was Horohoro, practically leaping around to give himself a tour in Yoh's new home.
"Geez! He's right, Yoh. The outcome looks great! Was it Lyserg and his team?" the shortest one of them all asked while settling the pizzas on to the coffee table.
"Uhm, yeah. Pretty good, huh?" Yoh beamed his proud toothy smile, "beer?" he asked as he opened his fridge by the mini bar.
"Uhuh!" Manta replied.
"Damn, there's even a hot tub in here, too!" exclaimed the Horo from a distance, who was now at the garden. They all ignored his loud musings. Good thing HoroHoro has not discovered the vending machine yet, or they will not hear the end of it, otherwise.
"How'd you know my address, by the way?" the only brunette in the group continued, settling the cans of beer next to the Pizzas.
"Did you forget about my sister?" Ren snorted, grabbing a drink.
Tao Jun, head of HR.
Yoh looked at his friend suspiciously. "I'm pretty sure that's breach of privacy."
Ren just shrugged.
"Hey, are we gonna drink or what?" they all turned their heads to their blue-haired friend who was now lounging casually on the sofa, pizza and beer in hand.
"Can you guys go easy on me tonight though? My real first day is tomorrow," Yoh pleaded, trying to get his friends' reassurance.
"Boo! Who gets their first day of work on a Friday?" continued Horo, now chugging on his can of alcohol.
"Uh, doctors? Duh!" Ren replied flipping through the channels on the TV, not minding Horo who was about to throw a slice of pizza on him if not for Manta's intervention.
Yoh watched his friends' frenzied energy and he realised just how he missed them.
"If I were you, I wouldn't go heavy on booze tonight either. The roster shows that your new rotation starts tomorrow at the emergency department," continued Mr. Spiky head while munching on his food.
"What!? At the E.D.!? That means I'll be under Kyoyama's supervision! Manta, why'd you do this to me?" Horohoro complained to the male blonde incredulously."
"Whoah! You know I'm not the only one who decides on the staff rostering, right?" Manta evaded nervously.
Horo grimaced as if he was about to cry. "I mean, she's really good at her work and who wouldn't love to have such an alluringmentor but, have you seen her train the other interns? No offence but…" he gestured to Yoh in a swift motion, "she's crazy!" he finished.
The brunette produced a genuine laugh, "None taken." All three looked at him suggestively. "What?" he asked innocently.
"So, how does it feel seeing her for the first time agaib after so many years?" Manta started, elbowing his arm. Horohoro gave him a naughty smirk and Ren just looked at him from the corner of his eyes.
Yoh looked at them incredulously, trying his best not to make any expression that will incite further suspicions and teasing from the trio.
"What do you mean 'how does it feel'? Should I have felt something other than shock, now that she's back?" he reasoned out, looking most innocent as possible.
"Well, the reason why we didn't tell you about her return right away was that we actually wanted to see your expression first," Ren confirmed.
"And boy did we get a hell of expression. My friend, you had your mouth hung open the whole time when you saw her!" followed Horo with a boisterous laugh, repeatedly slapping Manta's arm.
"Ha. Ha. Very funny. Thanks for being such great friends, guys," Yoh smirked with hints of sarcasm.
"Oh! Which reminds me! Speaking of our dear Anna," the blue-haired man pulled his phone out of his pocket and typed something in, "here. Maybe you should see this first, and then tell us straight in the eye that you feel nothing at all." He placed the device on Yoh's palms. Manta and Ren, now looking at the screen from the brunette's sides.
The renowned pediatric surgeon was surprised to see Horo's phone displaying Anna's Instagram account, and his friend started scrolling through the gallery of photos for him when remained petrified, just staring at the screen.
"So let me get this straight…" Manta addressed HoroHoro but with eyes glued to the phone screen as they scrolled through Anna's photos featuring different travel sceneries, food and her gorgeous portraits that made her look like a goddess in all angles, "you follow Anna on Instagram?"
The owner of the phone paused his scrolling at a certain photo of the female blonde in a dark red two-piece bikini at the beach, hair set in mermaid curls, modest bosom, flat abs, curvy hips with glistening skin under the sun; then he looked at his mates seriously, "Dude! Tell me," he gestured at the photo as if it explained everything he wanted to say, "why the heck not!?"
"Mmm…" both Manta and Ren seemed to agree, staring at the photo with much interest.
"Say, don't these photos of her look like it was taken by someone else?" Oyamada mused.
"If that's the case, that's some Insta-boyfriend she's got there," Horhoro added, his fingers massaging his chin.
All eyes travelled to Yoh at the mention of the word: boyfriend,but he was too self-absorbed.
He did not know how to react. He gulped the air that was stuck in his throat because he was either too mesmerised with Anna's beauty, or he just could not believe that she even had an IG account in the first place.
'Click, click!' it was the sound of fingers snapping to end his reverie. He blinked a few times.
"Look! There's drool on your mouth! Hahahahha!" Horohoro teased him further, and for the first time in his life, he wanted to throw something at him for his incessant jeering.
"So now Yoh, you tell us…" Ren glanced at him so he could start looking him straight in the eye, "sure you still don't feel anything?"
He opened his mouth to speak but could only chuckle while shaking his head.
It was going to be a long night.
. . . . . . . . . . .
It was chaos.
In full honesty, she was not even sure why she agreed to cover for a colleague and skip her coffee routine to start work so early in the morning. The number of emergency patients were starting to grow, and she helplessly looked at the long queue at the triage section. And for some reason, there seemed to be an even greater number of patients coming in with uncontrolled hyperglycemia.
She sighed. It truly was Friday.
"Dr. Kyoyama!" she heard one of the JMO's call her frantically with one nurse tagging next to him. They both waited for her response but got none, so the junior doctor continued, "we have a 15-year-old male who arrived 20 minutes ago, complaining of a sharp radiating pain on umbilical to right iliac region,9/10 on the pain scale, some nausea and vomiting, blood pressure elevated to 155/98mmHg, pulse rate is 121bpm, and highly febrile at 42.1c. All other vitals are normal, and parents are insisting to be seen now or else they will contact the dept head."
Anna scoffed. So early in the day and some entitled idiots are already out and about.
"Which bed?" she asked.
"Bed three, doctor," replied the nurse and they all went to the said patient.
"Good morni—"
"Finally!" the mother of the patient interrupted before she could even finish her sentence.
Anna took a deep breath to stop her inner tigress from coming out at this time of the day. It was too early for meaningless altercations. "Hi, I'm Dr. Kyoyama and I will be looking after your son's care today together with my team. I take it that Dr. Oda and nurse Lee have taken his baseline assessments and comprehensive history, yes?"
The father and the teenager could only nod at Anna's introductions despite the boy still clutching his abdomen in pain. The mother scoffed, "If you arrived any later then I would have contacted Dr. Tao En myself. Is this how you treat VIP patients?"
"Honey, I don't think that is necessary," pleaded the husband.
The blonde doctor ignored the question and bit back with words, as polite as she can. "Madam, I believe name-dropping wouldn't help improve your son's condition right now, would it?" she smirked, satisfied with the indignant gasp she earned from the rude lady, "Now, shall we proceed with my assessments?" Anna's countenance shifted from nasty to innocent when she addressed her patient, her colleagues could swear they saw the patient and his father blush.
She went over to the bedside then proceeded to rub her hands together before gaining consent from the patient for abdominal palpation. The teenager grimaced and jerked his body in pain soon as Anna began her physical assessments.
All the occupants within the closed curtains stared at her whilst she paused to make decisions.
"I want an abdo ultrasound, urinalysis, FBC and CRP. Please notify our dept head and ready one of the emergency operating rooms for a possible surgery," she instructed towards her team members.
"Doctor, I think all of our surgeons are tied-up at this time," started the nurse in a nervous tone.
"I'm sorry, what surgery?" the mother asked.
"Mrs. Chen, am I correct?" Anna addressed the woman and continued when she nodded, "If my initial diagnosis of acute appendicitis is correct, based on the results of the tests and depending on the severity of his condition, we may come up with the decision of operating on your son to remove his appendix in an emergency operation. Otherwise, he may be given antibiotics as treatment if things aren't too bad." The woman just nodded once again, overwhelmed by the information. "We will discuss further treatment as soon as we receive his blood works and ultrasound results."
The senior doctor turned to her team, "Reconfirm allergy history. If cleared, please give a dose of Morphine Sulfate 2.5mg via IV STAT. Page me for any changes or if ineffective. Excuse me, it won't be long before we get back to you," she finished, taking a bow towards her patient and his relatives.
. . .
As soon as she took a toilet break, she received a page asking her to come to the doctors' study room to view the expedited lab results; and when she accessed the files on the computer, she immediately called Dr. Faust.
"Yes, my dear?" the consultant answered almost immediately.
"Are you in yet?"
"Why do I have a feeling you're about to request me a favour?"
"Look, my patient needs emergency appendectomy."
"And what's stopping you?"
Anna groaned in frustration. "Stop teasing me. You very well know I can't operate independently since I'm still on my CT2," she paused, evaluating her next words, "I need supervision from a surgeon but all our surgical teams are busy."
"Look at you. Following rules and stuff. Haha-!"
"Dad!"
There was silence behind the other line for a few seconds. Anna must be really desperate for her to call him 'dad'.
"Except for the ones stationed in pediatrics, I guess. Let me ring Yoh to—"
"Wait!" Anna cringed at the sound of the familiar name but in the most opportune moment, she noted Ren enter the room. "Wait, just notify the team. I think I've got a surgeon," she muttered over the phone with a mischievous smirk.
. . . . . . . . . . .
Such a fine day.
He smiled to himself when he took a waft of the gentle summer breeze mixed with the invigorating scent of his sweetened cappuccino, eyes closed. It was such a relief for him to know when he called his office and learned that his earliest consultation for the day was scheduled at 9:30 AM. A brief chuckle escaped his mouth when he received all the envious protest that came from Horo and Ren when they heard that both had to leave for work early except him and Manta.
That's why he was taking his time.
That's why he was now lounging at a perfect tranquil spot just outside his favourite café near his home.
"Enjoying the morning?" asked a feminine voice after clearing her throat to gain his attention.
He lifted his aviators to his forehead, chestnut eyes blinking. A welcoming smile found its way on his mouth when he saw an attractive woman, possibly in her late-20s, staring at him directly with bright ochre eyes and was sipping her frappe from the straw, purposely slow than usual.
Yoh was left unfazed as he continued to match the woman's gaze. If this happened years ago, he would have cowered nervously at a similar sight; but now he was more than used to females flirting with him in all sorts of way. And the best part?
He learned how to play along.
"Of course. And after seeing a pretty sight…" he lifted his coffee cup from the table then stared at her directly, "even better." The brunette winked at the woman after sipping from his drink.
The lady nearly spluttered on her drink and looked away with crimsoned cheeks, but then decided to fight back. "You know mister, you're kinda cute; but I only entertain doctors, lawyers, or businessmen, so unless—"
"Oh. Sorry, miss. Too bad, surgeonsdidn't make it to your list, huh?" Yoh mentioned smugly, feigning hurt.
The woman's eyes widened as if she has seen a ghost but started to sparkle as if she has hit the jackpot. She opened her mouth about to reply when some random kid yelled. "Mom!" Both adults turned their heads at the source of sound. "Mooom!" The lady let out and exasperated sigh and raised her hands to massage to bridge of her nose.
A boy with curly black hair, about the age of 7, approached the woman while holding his ice cream cone on one hand and clutching his stomach with the other. "Mom…"
It was Yoh's turn to have his eyes widen.
"What is it, Kenzo?" the lady asked, slightly annoyed at her kid for interrupting her flirting ritual.
"My tummy hurts," said the child with pouty lips.
"Again? Why? Are you hungry? How 'bout toilet time?"
The boy just shook his head but pressed his hand on his belly further then started to cry. "I feel dizzy. And It huuurts."
"Kenzo, I—"
"Does it happen quite often?" interrupted Yoh who unintentionally heard the conversation.
"A bit, yeah. Normally it happens when he's constipated. Why'd you ask?" the woman replied, soothing the back of her child.
"Maybe you should bring him to a doctor," the male brunette stated.
"We've been to a doctor. They said it's just some sort of 'tummy flu' or something," the lady asked cynically.
Yoh raised a brow and flashed her his sincere smile, "well, I think—" but before he could say something, the kid suddenly vomited huge amounts, turned pale and dropped unconscious on the ground. The mother screamed and Yoh immediately rushed to their side.
Acting quickly, he placed the boy on his left side lying position while tapping his shoulders and repeatedly calling his name to gain his attention, but to no avail. The young one was limp and unresponsive. Yoh took the table napkin and covered his fingers with it before opening the boy's mouth and extracting the remaining vomitus. He then simultaneously checked for breathing, carotid pulse, retracted the eyelids open and used his mobile phone light to assess eye pupil response.
He noticed that the child's lips were beginning to turn purplish; his pulse rapid and breaths decreased. Not a good sign. It was when he swiftly dialled 119.
. . . . . . . . . . .
"So, remind me again why I'm here?" a flustered Dr. Tao mumbled with closed eyes, and raised hands as a nurse was helping him secure the back ties of his sterile gown. He was inside one of the operating rooms with a prepped patient lying on the table and a surgical team before him.
"Well, first, the patient's mother adores your dad; and second, I just need a qualified surgeon to 'supervise' me with doing an operation. You know Ren, for a Fellow, you can be really dense sometimes, huh?" teased a blonde doctor next to him with equally raised hands up to chest level.
Ren huffed, "Might I remind you that I have never seen you perform a surgery before? How do you expect me to entrust my whole integrity on your unknown credibility?"
Anna chuckled lightly upon seeing her old friend's frustration. He was always easy to provoke, and she had fun doing it. "I won't tarnish your name so calm down, Mr. Spiky. You don't even need to lift a finger."
The male doctor paused in awe with a slight blush on his face. He knew Anna from before, and she was not one to chuckle at mundane things. He shrugged it off anyway as two of them stood at their posts on each side of the table, facing their patient.
Anna faced the rest of her team to introduce herself as it was her first time working with them, and they all seemed to welcome her irresistible charm.
Ren searched for Anna's equally piercing amber eyes which were the only ones visible from her face due to the presence of goggles, hair cap and face mask. "Let's begin," she simply stated.
A smile crept on Ren's mouth.
"Show me what you got, Kyoyama."
. . . . . . . . . . .
The phone in the E.D. nurses' station rang for the nth time but no one could care less because the day has been hell since it started. It would have rung for another round if not for one Horokeu Usui.
"Hello, Shimane Medical E.D., how can I he—"
"Horo! Oh, thank God!"
"Yoh?"
"Yeah. Listen man, I need a favour. First, I need you to notify Dr. Faust to assemble the pedia team for emergency surgery. Second, prep an operating room. Third, anticipate an emergency patient for a CT and oh yeah, could you also page Ren? This might be a cardio case. I'll be there in about 40 minutes, alright?"
"Whoah, whoah, whoah! Hold on a sec! What do you mean— wait, are you driving!?" HoroHoro could practically hear the engine of Yoh's car roaring.
"Yes. Look, I'll explain everything when I get there. I just need help making everything ready as soon as I arrive."
"Bro, the last request I can do but, I think there's going to be a problem with the first two," replied HoroHoro in a tensed voice.
"Why, what's the matter?" asked the Asakura.
"Eerr, well, the thing is… someone secured the last available emergency op room just about 25 minutes ago… together with your team."
"What? Did Ren have to do immediate surgery, too?"
"Actually, it's Anna," Usui corrected in almost a whisper.
There was silence for a few seconds from the other end of the line.
"Yoh, you still there?"
"Which operating suite are they in?"
"Err, number 4?"
. . . . . . . . . . .
She was about to proceed with cutting but halted when the phone rang. All of her physique remained unmoving except her vision that travelled towards her old friend in front of her, who was in turn watching her every move.
The circulating nurse went to answer the communicating device.
"Emergency op, room 4. Dr. Asakura! Yes," she chuckled, "Uhuh! Yes, doc. Okay, doc," the nurse lowered the handset and used her palm to cover the receiver, "Dr. Tao, Dr. Asakura Yoh wishes to speak to you," she then pressed a button to set the call on loudspeaker.
"I'm here," acknowledged Ren.
"Hey Ren, do you think you can finish in 30?" asked Yoh from the other line.
"Uh, not sure. I'm only 'assisting'. You should ask my 'attending'," Ren muttered with a hint of sarcasm.
It took a moment before Yoh answered back. "Is your attending able to hear?"
"What do you want?" snapped Anna almost immediately, even the other occupants of the room flinched.
Silence once again, as if Yoh was contemplating of what he will say next. "Dr. Tao can you please tell your attending surgeon that she better finish-up and hand me back my team including you before I arrive or else—"
"Or else what?" Anna interjected in complete annoyance.
The sound of the phone line being dropped echoed within the operating suite; the members of the surgical team looked at one another due to the apparent awkwardness in the atmosphere.
Even Ren was stunned to hear Yoh talk so bitterly towards Anna. He could never recall seeing him like that, ever. He glanced worriedly at the blonde who was now continuing the surgery, seemingly unaltered.
Inside Anna's mind, she was infuriated, but she did not let it show. All she needed was to keep her calm and finish operating on her patient. That way, she could rub it in Yoh's face and have the last laugh.
She momentarily peeked at the clock. 'In 30 minutes, huh?'
Her lips curved upwards as she masked her game face on.
. . . . . . . . . . .
True to her calculations, she finished the procedure 5 minutes before the irritating brunette's ultimatum.
She was practically standing by the entrance to the E.D. with a smug attitude, waiting for the wretched brunette to arrive, just to show him who's boss. However, instead of the blaring of an ambulance siren, the rumbling engine of a race car reached her sense of hearing from a distance. The vehicle drifted right between her eyes and came into a complete stop just right in front of the ambulance bay.
Then, there he was, in all of his manly glory—tall, slightly tanned, unruly brown hair in a ponytail with wisps of his bangs swaying before his handsome face. The sleeves of his dark grey blazer were folded up to his elbows and his long legs ran as if there was no tomorrow, not caring if his once pristine white sneakers were dirtied in the process.
She noticed when he exited his pearly white Camaro extracting a boy, limp as a vegetable, and carried him in his arms. The child was intubated and another person— a woman, was squeezing the ambu bag while crying her wits off.
Anna could not remember when her mind started to play the scenery for her in such fashion, but she was sure she could appreciate all the details about Yoh who was running towards her— towards the emergency department, as if everything was being played in slow-motion.
She stayed rooted to the ground when she spotted his chestnut eyes staring directly at her amber ones as he approached the team. The look of shock emanated from his pupils upon seeing her, but quickly dissipated into a familiar aura of fondness.
Her daydream ended when he looked away and spoke towards the couple of nurses and a junior resident who helped him put the patient on a stretcher, taking over the care. "Please do a CT and standard bloods then page me for results straight away."
"Yes, doc," they replied before wheeling the patient away.
"Oh my God, is he gonna be okay?" the mother cried hysterically.
"Hey, hey," Yoh grabbed the woman's shoulders as an attempt to calm her down; which did not go unnoticed by Anna, who in turn raised a brow. "It's going to be alright. We'll just run some tests then we'll inform you of our next plan. I will talk to you again about our plan for treatment once I confirm, okay?" he reassured her. Kenzo's mother could only nod whilst escorted by a nurse to the waiting room.
HoroHoro carefully watched the woman as she was taken away from the group, then glanced back at Yoh flashing him a knowing smirk. The brunette immediately understood what he wanted to convey and denied any connection with the woman while laughing.
"So, how did you guys meet?" Usui continued to tease.
"Wouldn't you rather want to hear how I had to intubate the boy and teach the mother how to perform bagging while I drove at a hundred-twenty kms just because the nearest ambulance is stuck at the business district and could not make it?" Yoh said uneasily in defence.
"Wait, you keep an intubation set with you?" The blue-haired man blurted out disbelievingly.
"I keep one in my car, yeah," the brunette replied nonchalantly.
"Who are you and what have you done to our happy-go-lucky Yoh?"
"Oi! Are you two continuing your bromance or are we seeing our patient?" Ren interposed but flashed a naughty smirk, "we'll talk about Dr. Asakura's impromptu 'intubation' escapades later on. If you know what I mean,"he winked, joining the bandwagon of endless mocking as him and HoroHoro went.
Yoh looked at the two retreating figures disbelievingly with his mouth agape. Did his friends really miss him that much?
He stopped when he caught sight of a blonde lady from his peripheries. He did not look directly at her, though, he only spoke loud enough for her to hear perfectly.
"So, you managed to meet my deadline after all," he stated with a simper, looking at a random object at a distance.
"Well, sorry to disappoint your entitled ass, doctor, but I am still capable of doing my job properly without you bullying me in front of our colleagues," she stressed without an iota of fear before walking away.
"Wait, Anna! It wasn't—" he tried to reason out, but she was already meters away.
He heaved a sigh.
He will have to lay out his explanations later.
. . . . . . . . . . .
Just as feared, the diagnostics confirmed an Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm. A rare case in children. Surgery was an imminent intervention indeed.
Both Yoh and Ren stared at the monitor screen, studying the CT results showing an unmistakable bleed in the abdomen confirming the boy's condition. Yoh has already briefed Ren to be his surgeon on assist since Tao is in training for Cardio-vascular as subspecialty. They had to act fast, or one life will surely not be saved.
"Yoh, this is serious. You sure you don't want your dad to handle it?" Ren questioned with much interest, side-eyeing the brunette. It made sense, with Mikihisa being a well-known Consultant in Cardio-vascular Medicine.
"No, we'll be fine. I did a quick consult with Dr. Faust already. Let's go," Yoh said it with such conviction that Ren knew all too well not to push the matter.
"Wait, they haven't finished setting-up the navigation and—"
"Navigation takes longer to setup, Ren. The kid's condition started to deteriorate about almost 3 hours ago and acute symptoms showed even earlier. I've got the CT's, I'll let them do bedside ultrasound, but we'll need to engage treatment ASAP. Come on," explained the Pediatric surgeon with haste to a dumbfounded Dr. Tao.
"So what I'm trying to say is… I'll do the surgery without it."
. . . . . . . . . . .
Soon after, word spread around the medical departments that the new surgeon was going to perform an unusual surgery in children. Even some members of the board and different parties were interested enough that they set-up an urgent video conference to witness the surgery live, for education purposes.
"Good day, our dear dept heads and doctors," started a blonde male doctor in his late 40s, "I am Dr. Johann Faust, and our case for today is a 7-year-old male with a size of 8.5 cm diameter abdominal aortic aneurysm, with a 2 cm left posterior rupture noted via an active extravasation of contrast material, and with a retroperitoneal hematoma extending from the diaphragm and into his pelvis. Etiology unknown," Dr. Daust smiled after starting-up the wide screen showcasing a bird's eye view in the operation suite with the surgical team now in complete attendance. "And today I present to you our newest kid in the block—but not really new," this earned some laughter from the audiences, "our very own young Dr. Asakura Yoh, who is about to perform the aneurysm repair through transabdominal approach… without navigation."
Several murmurs were heard inside the conference room as the occupants started to whisper against each other. Amongst the audience was the hospital's Medical Director and Yoh's father, Dr. Asakura Mikihisa, who remained impassive in his seat.
Just as the procedure was about to start, a particular female senior resident entered the room, notepad in hand, intending to watch the live stream.
. . .
"Doctor, here are the sonography images we have taken just now," said a blue-haired nurse who was handing out the films to Yoh.
"Thank you, Kanna-san. Please hang them on the board together with the CTs next to me," replied the young surgeon. He faced the rest of his team and took a bow. "Apologies to everyone as I did not get the chance for a proper introduction on my first day. However, I will try my best and I hope we can all help each other out to finish this surgery successfully," he finished with another bow with smiling eyes that were only visible through his goggles. The rest of the team bowed back saying "good luck and do your best."
He nodded at Ren who was sitting in front of him at the other side of the operation table, and His friend nodded back.
Yoh glanced at the multiple scans displayed next to him for a minute before settling down on his seat, then Ren handed him a marker. He then drew a graph-like pattern on the resident's abdomen as if he was creating his own map.
"Scalpel," he requested with a raised hand and the said instrument was placed on his palm. He proceeded with dissecting the patients abdomen, some blood squeezing out immediately, which the assist suctioned immediately.
"Retractor." An instrument was placed to hold the sliced part open. The surgeon craned his neck once again to view the scans and was about to dive back when the cardiac monitor started beeping loudly.
"Doc, BP's dropping, HR elevated," informed the scrub nurse.
"Fast drip with normal saline with 2 units of packed red blood cells," ordered Ren.
Yoh relaxed in his chair with closed eyes, waiting for the blood pressure and heart rate to stabilise a bit before starting again. He needed to search for the site of bleeding first to address the problem. Finally, the nurse and his assist surgeon gave him the nod to continue.
"Prepare for cross-clamping," he declared to the whole team.
He noted that the boy's bowels were bulging possibly due to swelling or increased pressure within the abdominal cavity and peritoneum. He searched further with a strong determination, imagining the details of the boy's anatomy through the scans.
After a few seconds, he found the bruising site, then located the aneurysm sac with an active bleeding on the side. Intermittent suctioning was performed by extra hands to clear his view.
'Got ya,' he thought as he smiled behind his mask.
. . .
"Hey, Anna," whispered a familiar male voice next to her. She did not even need to turn her head to determine who it was; she was busy taking notes. Both of them were quietly watching the surgery stream from the back for the room.
"Hm?"
"Why do they have to time the cross-clamping of the aorta?"
She glanced sideways and saw the intern she was supervising sporting the most curious look. "Why do you think they do, Usui?" she asked with a grin to match her challenge question.
Horohoro's cheeks pinked at the sight of Anna's smile. She can really be unpredictable at times, but in a cute way. "Err, I mean, I know that the longer it is clamped, the higher the chances of complications due to disruptions in systemic perfusion, but, there must be some differences with pediatric patients, right? Plus, Yoh doing it without the nav system will inevitably take time."
"Of course," she replied casually.
"So how long do you think Yoh intends to keep it clamped?"
"That's why we're here to find out."
. . .
He wasted no time.
As soon as the cross-clamps were fastened securely, he began the aneurysm repair. Yoh palpated through the bulging sac to assess all sites that needed anastomosis.
"What graft are you planning to use?" asked Ren in anticipation for the next steps.
"Dacron, please," Yoh replied, not taking his eye off his patient, dextrous hands continuing with their work.
He began with creating an incision across the massive aneurysm, spilling more blood as he went, then continued with suturing the graft onto the artery to restore function.
His hands worked quickly, well-coordinated by his knowledge and experiences. In these types of surgeries, it was a battle with time. He needed to finish as soon as possible as the next goal was to 'unclamp.' He could not afford to spend even an extra minute dilly-dallying.
All for his beloved patient's sake.
"Unclamp," he declared clear enough to inform everyone in the room.
The repair process itself took 55 minutes, and the whole cross-clamping and unclamping took 58.
Yoh nodded towards the anesthesiologist and gave his final instructions regarding medication adjustments and post-procedure monitoring while observing the patient for several minutes.
"Dr. Tao, would you finish-up for me?" he asked, looking at the time.
"A pleasure. But where are you going?" Ren confirmed and asked at the same time.
"Let's just say, I've got another 'repairing' to do."
. . .
He almost forgot to meet the mother of his patient who was anxiously sitting at the waiting area. She jumped once she saw him exiting the double doors that protected the operating rooms from public access.
"Doctor, how's Kenzo? How's my baby?" She asked, on the verge of crying again.
"Dr. Tao is still finalising the surgery, but your son remained stable throughout. He is not out of the danger zone yet and will be monitored closely in the ICU until cleared. Normally, hospitalisation is needed for a week or two. We will keep updating you about his condition and rest assured, we will do our best to treat him."
The woman held his hands tightly, "I'm sorry, I know we met in a different kind of light this morning, but I really want to thank you. If you weren't there with us, then I don't know what might have happened to my son. Thank you so much."
"It's a pleasure," Yoh smiled warmly. From a distance, he saw Dr. Faust approaching him. "Excuse me," he politely bowed towards the woman before scurrying off.
"A ruptured aneurysm repair without navigation done in less than an hour. I'll be damned! Hahah!" the blonde exclaimed extending his hand for a shake and then pulling Yoh into a hug while patting his back; their laughter filling the air.
"Well, I had one of the best mentors ever," said the younger one referring to the consultant standing before him with a broad smile.
"No, but really, that was brilliant, Dr. Asakura. You truly make us proud. By the way, we broadcasted the surgery live for teaching purposes. Why don't you come with me and say hello to some of our colleagues?"
"Aww, is it still necessary even after my introduction at the annual staff meeting yesterday, though?"
"My boy, nothing beats meeting up-close. Besides, it'll be better now that they've seen the genius in you." Faust teased.
Yoh blushed lightly but said nothing. He never really liked sticky situations like those, but he guessed he needed to display more professionalism, especially towards the heads.
"Let me just change my scrubs. I'll see you there," he reassured the senior doctor before walking off.
He will need to accomplish his other intentions at a later time.
. . . . . . . . . . .
When they said doctors are busy as hell, he really did not take it in to account. Not until he experienced spending almost the whole day trying to catch a distinctive female physician on her free time.
He tried almost everything— sneaking out from his office in between consultations, messaging his friend, Horohoro, whom he knew was working with the woman closely as a medical intern, and even making the silliest excuse of picking-up lab results of his patients from the pathology department himself just because it is located almost next to the emergency room.
There was a message he sent her, an attempt to set-up a brief meeting, but he deduced that she was too smart to fall into his traps and ignored them. It took almost all of his willpower not to call her directly but he could not think of a concrete conversation starter.
In the end, nothing worked, and he felt like a worn-out paper tossed and turned in all directions before ending in the bin.
He exhaled a considerable amount of air as he thought about today's turn of events. He will have to contact Anna maybe tomorrow or the day after. Next week? What about never?
Yoh combed his hair in frustration as he made his way to a famous café within their hospital's arcade. Why did he have to be such a douche to her earlier anyway? He held up his hand to push the glass door entrance but stopped in his tracks when his eyes caught a mass of soft blonde hair being brushed past by the cold springtime gale. The person lounged by the outdoor seating of the café, and she looked serene in her civilian clothes minus the white doctor's gown, quite absorbed in the book propped in her hands.
A hopeful smile curved his lips up as he watched her from a distance. She was as pretty as the last time he could remember seeing her years ago, and he thought she appeared cuter with those round and wide reading glasses on.
He put up a brave face.
This was the chance he was looking for the whole day and he was not going to waste it.
. . .
Anna shifted with a shiver as the gusts of wind felt cooler. She temporarily peered her attention away from her book to see the time on her wristwatch, it was almost 7 PM.
Time to call it a day.
She reached for the half-consumed apple cinnamon streusel but was surprised when masculine hands placed a warm drink on the table and swiftly hung a jacket around her shoulders. She shot a curious expression which was quickly replaced by annoyance when she learned who the culprit was.
She threw in her coldest attitude when he sat in front of her.
"You know I avoid too much caffeine at this time of the day."
"It's white chocolate mocha with weakened coffee and almond milk. Just how you like it at this time of the day," he reasoned, easily recalling her little routines he knew about from way back.
She generated an irritated huff but unconsciously squeezed his coat closer to her body when colder winds blew.
Yoh sighed slowly, "Anna, it's a peace offering. I know I was such a jerk to you this morning, especially in front of everyone. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be one."
"You were so bitchy because you were upset that your girlfriend's kid was in danger?" she challenged him.
"I don't have a girlfriend," he countered calmly.
"Yeah, right." The blonde swallowed a little bit of her pride by grabbing the drink to warm her hands and face when the temperature started to drop lower.
He chuckled when he saw Anna's cute side emerge like this.
"What's so funny?" she retorted harshly.
"N-nothing! I just thought you're cute this way. You always were."
That statement has helplessly pinked the woman's cheeks. "Fine," she murmured almost inaudible, "but I want something in return."
He gazed at her nervously, "Err, okay. I'll try my best," he said, unsure, but still flashed his signature smile. "What is it?"
"You need to tell me how you did that aneurysm repair within an hour, especially without the nav," she stared straight into his eyes with seriousness.
Yoh's eyes bulged from its sockets. "What? Is that it?" Knowing Anna, he was expecting something much more… unreasonable. He continued when he saw her shoot him an icy glare, "No problemo, doctor! I could show you when we get another chance, if you want," he asserted, again with his ever easy-spirited smirk.
Anna shrugged after eyeing him warily. Although in her min, she pondered how there were lots of things that differed from the man in front of her, yet also a lot about him that remained the same. It was such a bizarre feeling
She averted her gaze away from him and towards the scenery before them. There were numerous people harmoniously spending the rest of the evening. Clinical students eating and studying in groups, civilians who were probably visiting the sick, and a little girl in a hospital gown who was excitedly pulling her mother (and her IV pole) towards an ice cream stall.
It was when she noticed some couples being lovey-dovey together after the women handing out chocolates to the men. Her eyes widened in realisation then eyes travelled to Yoh.
"What?" he asked upon seeing her peculiar reaction.
"Is it Valentines Day today?" she asked.
"Uhh," he hurriedly drew his mobile phone and stared at it, "I guess?" he muttered also in realisation and showing her the screen with the date— February 14, displayed on it.
An uncomfortable silence ensued.
Anyone would agree that nothing could be more awkward than unintentionally having coffee on Hearts' Day with your ex. Perhaps both remembered the times they spent together celebrating the said event for several years in the past; and contrary to their present, they were too busy to even keep track of the date and time.
"So…" Anna started thoughtfully, "that's the reason why I had too many patients coming in with hyperglycemia today."
Yoh just gave her a weird look but started to giggle upon grasping her comical note. It was ridiculous how she correlated an event such as Valentines Day to high blood sugar levels, but it made sense, somehow.
Anna was still Anna.
In just a few seconds, he was laughing in hysterics. His face was red, a hand over his stomach and the other slapping the armchair senseless while continuing with his merriment.
Anna tried her best not to react and join Yoh in his display of idiocy, but his chuckles were contagious, and she sort of missed this nostalgic carefree state.
It did not take long until both shared fits of hearty laughter.
. . . . . . . . . . .
A/N: I have been a naughty binch for not updating sooner, but I was thinking of gifting this chapter to my readers for love month. So, HAPPY VALENTINES DAY, minna-san! Thank you so much for your continuous appreciation for my work. For the avid reviewers and new favourite/ follows, thank you! Here's a long and eventful chappie for you! :)
Medical jargons are present here and may be confusing to some peeps, so please see the list below for some of the words used in this chapter. Any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to me.
Medical Terminologies:
Ambivert -a person who has a balance of extrovert and introvert features in their personality.
Serotonin –a chemical found in our brain/ body that acts as a neurotransmitter (sends signals from brain to other parts of body), which is generally a natural mood stabiliser that controls feelings of wellbeing and happiness.
Triage - preliminary assessment of patients or casualties to determine the urgency of their need for treatment and the nature of treatment required.
Hyperglycemia – high sugar levels in the blood.
JMO –Junior Medical Officer
Umbilical – mid quadrant of abdomen including the belly button.
Iliac – lower right (or left) quadrant of the abdomen, near the hips.
Palpation -used as part of a physical examination in which an object is felt to determine its size, shape, firmness, or location.
Urinalysis -test to examine the urine contents for any abnormalities that indicate a disease condition or infection.
FBC –Full Blood Count, one of the most common blood tests done to diagnose diseases
CRP –C-Reactive Protein, a blood test done to determine if there is inflammation occurring in the body.
Acute appendicitis –inflammation of the appendix where symptoms appear within 24-48 hours, requiring immediate treatment.
Appendectomy –surgical removal of the appendix.
CT2 –Core Training Doctor Level 2 (may vary across different countries) previously known as junior surgical trainees.
Carotid pulse –pulse felt on the neck.
Fellow –a doctor who has completed their residency and elects to pursue further training.
Intubated (Intubation) – insertion of a tube to a person's mouth connecting to the windpipe to introduce ventilation manually. Mostly done for unconscious patients going into respiratory failure.
Ambu bag – a.k.a. "bag valve mask", is a hand-held device commonly used to provide positive pressure ventilation to patients who are not breathing adequately.
Aorta – the main artery of the human body that passes over the heart's left ventricle running down the front of the backbone, supplying oxygenated blood to the circulatory system.
Extravasation - leakage of a fluid out of its container into the surrounding area, especially blood or blood cells from vessels.
Hematoma - localized swelling that is filled with blood caused by a break in the wall of a blood vessel.
Etiology – cause of a disease or condition.
Peritoneum – the serous membrane lining the cavity of the abdomen and covering the abdominal organs.
Perfusion – the passage of blood or other fluid through the blood vessels or other natural channels in an organ or tissue.
Anastomosis – a connection made surgically between adjacent blood vessels, or other channels of the body.
Italics: represent character thoughts and emphasis on key words/ puns/ hints.