Dr. Hills

As time passed by…

Kinsley's impatience slowly increased. The awkward silence between him and the man went on as the man remained mum while silently scrutinizing him.

Just as he was about to explode in anger, the man suddenly opened his mouth, "I'm sorry for being rude. I just thought that you look quite familiar. Have we met somewhere before?"

Kinsley was taken aback at the man's question. He thought for a moment and frowned before he pressed his lips into a thin line and replied. "No…"

Seeing Kinsley's cold attitude, the man didn't look in the least bit offended. Instead, he quietly looked at him and apologized once more, "I see… it turns out that I'm mistaken about this. I'm truly sorry for inconveniencing you."

He then stepped aside and gestured with his hands the way out of the elevator, "Please," his manners were sincere and gentlemanly.

Kinsley didn't say anything and just thought that since the man already apologized, it would be too inappropriate for him to argue with the man. Thus, he let out a grunt of acknowledgment and silently stepped out of the elevator.

…

When Kinsley exited the elevator, the man silently stared at his receding back before he took an exquisite silver pocket watch out of his suit pocket.

His eyes revealed his confusion as he muttered, "Is it him? But why did the watch not receive any reaction? How strange…"

***

At this moment.

Kinsley had no idea about the man's thoughts about him. He was hurriedly tracing the direction to the doctor's office when he noticed that there were only two minutes left until the time of the said appointment.

He only stopped walking when he finally arrived in front of a plain white door. There was a long metal nameplate attached to the door that displayed the name of the doctor working inside.

[Dr. Ronald Hills, M.D.]

Kinsley turned the doorknob and gently pushed the door open. He saw a slender and beautiful woman silently sitting inside.

She had a gentle and calming aura that made others feel closer to her. Her long straight hair was tied into a bun and a bunch of soft frills covered her exquisite forehead.

Her face looked small and delicate like a frail white lotus that would break with the slightest touch. She was wearing a clean white floral dress that only made her look all the more gorgeous.

At this moment.

The woman finally noticed Kinsley's presence. She looked at him in surprise before she stood up in a hurry and softly greeted him with a shy smile.

"Hi, Kinsley! You arrived at the perfect time, Dr. Hills just finished the last patient's consultation a minute ago and is already waiting for you inside," she said.

Kinsley smiled and nodded. "I understand. Thank you, Sam." he gently closed the door behind him then strode towards the door to Dr. Hills' consultation room.

When he pushed the door open, he was greeted with the room's clean environment. The room had a white marble floor and ceilings.

There were various medical paraphernalia placed atop the brown wooden cupboards such as a mini model of the human body's blood vessels, a fake bone that revealed the bone marrow inside, etc...

In the middle of the room was the doctor's wooden table where a glass nameplate was placed on top.

The engravings on this nameplate were the same as the other one hanging on the door outside.

Kinsley smelled the faint scent of medicine silently lingering in the room. He looked around the room and found a middle-aged man standing beside the floor-to-ceiling windows as he held a thick stack of papers in his hands and quietly flipped through them.

Surprisingly, the man and the woman outside had several similarities on their faces. Their tall nose and lips looked especially identical.

However, compared to the woman's delicateness, the man looked more mature and cold. His pitch-black eyes were especially remarkable as they exuded an unfathomable feeling like a deep ocean that hid something terrifying in it.

At this moment.

The man had a tight frown on his face as he repeatedly massaged his temples as if he suffered a sharp headache from reading the thick materials in his hands.

He subconsciously glanced at the door and saw Kinsley silently standing by the door while foolishly staring at him, seemingly hesitating whether to greet him or not.

Kinsley acted like this because he naturally couldn't just act in front of the man like how he used to. He felt a deep respect and gratitude towards the man as he was the one who helped him the most when he and Elliot left the orphanage ten years ago.

Thus, he remained silent when he entered the room and didn't disturb the man. He only greeted the man when he noticed his presence, "Hello, Dr. Hills. How are you?"

Dr. Hills' sharp expression softened a bit when he saw Kinsley. He nodded before he went back to sit on his chair and said,  "I'm fine. Come, take a seat."

Kinsley nodded and took a seat in front of the doctor's table then waited for Dr. Hills' to start the topic for this appointment.

Prior to this, he had no idea what issue his body had because when he sent his annual health examinations, the doctor suddenly called him and asked him to take this test and that.

It wasn't an easy and pleasant time for him either, because all those tests were quite painful and left him in pain for a few days.

Thus, the moment the doctor called him saying that he already received the test results, he immediately scheduled an appointment the next day to determine the problem of his body.

Right now, he felt nervous as he faced Dr. Hills and waited for him to talk about his body's condition. He didn't know why, but when the doctor's face turned solemn, he suddenly had a bad premonition in his heart.

Kinsley couldn't remain silent any longer, "W-What is it, Dr. Hills? Is there any problem with my body?" his voice sounded rather anxious.

Dr. Hills looked at him with a sad and anguished expression on his face. He sighed and thought that it wouldn't do him any good if he hid this matter from Kinsley.

So, he didn't hesitate any longer and said, "You have Stage 3 Acute Myeloid Leukemia…"

He then continued to explain to Kinsley the complications of this disease, what it would do to his body, the treatment options, etc…

However, the man whom he explained those words to seemed to have gone deaf as he only stared at the thin air in a daze.

Kinsley didn't listen to Dr. Hills's words, or rather, he couldn't listen to any of his words when his head was already filled with the words 'Stage 3 Leukemia'.

He only treated the rest as white noise and let them enter one side of his ear and eject them to the other.

Like this, half an hour passed by unknowingly.

Kinsley didn't even notice how he managed to fumble his way out of the room. He only realized that he was already standing in front of the elevator doors long ago.

If not for the kind passerby that tapped his shoulder asking him if he was okay, then he wouldn't have snapped out of his daze and remained standing there for hours instead.

He took several long deep breaths to suppress his inner turmoil. Acting down and depressed wouldn't help him out of his situation at all and would only affect those around him negatively.

Thus, he cheered himself up and temporarily set this matter aside. He thought for a moment before he decided to use the stairs to go down the floor.

Kinsley thought that it might help him unwind some of his gloominess. So, he walked a few meters away from the elevator and found the stairs not long later.

***

When Kinsley arrived in the hospital lobby, his expression now looked noticeably better than before.

He was just about to walk out of the lobby when he felt his phone vibrate. He fished his phone out of his pockets, unlocked it, and saw that it was a message from Elliot.

Kinsley then clicked the message open and read its contents.

[LilBro~♡: Brother, I'm sorry, something came up and I don't think I'll be able to help you cook food for our Christmas Eve. But, I'll be back before 7 or 8 o'clock, I promise.]

Kinsley couldn't help but feel worried about his little brother. He hesitated for a moment before he typed in. [It's fine. I could just cook them myself, but what happened anyway? Are you okay?]

He received Elliot's reply a second later that said, [It's nothing. My friend said that he wanted to throw a party in his apartment. I couldn't turn down the offer since he's already about to leave the country tomorrow...]

Kinsley was relieved when he saw this then replied. [ I understand. Have fun and don't drink too much alcohol in broad daylight, alright?]

[Brother, you know that I don't drink alcohol, right? In any case, I'll be back before Christmas Eve, so wait for me and don't eat the dishes by yourself, okay? I'll see you later then~!]

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Word Count: 1561