SWNOVELXO Chapter 16: Mina...?
Theron Daril.
A side character with barely ten pages in the original book, but Rin remembered everything about him.
He was a runaway noble who ditched his inheritance, his title, and his cushy life all because he actually wanted to help people. What a weirdo. He wanted to heal, not be buried in family banquets, politics, or dusty financial reports. Passionate? Sure. But he was also notoriously strict when it came to his field. And now, here Rin was... a total fraud in a lab coat, standing in the exact spot Theron would hate the most.
Perfect.
Rin didn't even need a mirror to know he looked guilty.
He stood awkwardly as the nurses taking care of the female lead squealed like schoolgirls at the entrance.
"Oh, head doctor, welcome back,"
"You look dashing as ever, Head doctor,"
"I'll carry your bag, head doctor."
"Girls!" Elna called out, clapping her hands. "Control yourselves,"
They shrank back like scolded kittens, cheeks pink as they returned to tending to the patient... though their eyes kept sneaking glances at Theron.
Elna stepped forward, more composed than the rest.
"Welcome back, head doctor,"
"Hmm... It's been a while, Elna," he replied. His voice was low, rich and smooth, like it cut through the noise like a blade wrapped in velvet.
Rin felt odd because his voice sounded so different. Soft. Girlish. Too odd.
He touched his throat and lifted his head and his eyes met with Theron's cold grey eyes. Rin flinched and looked away immediately.
"Are you interested in men your age? Is that why you've refused to spread your legs for me?" Lucien's whisper brushed against his ear from behind like smoke.
Rin turned his head slightly, giving Lucien the deadliest side-eye he could muster.
"Shouldn't you leave already?" Rin hissed under his breath. "The head doctor is here and..."
"You're scared of getting caught by him." Lucien chuckled. "Relax. I'll leave. I can't wait to train you harder tonight, Rin Elric,"
Rin felt his body tense as he heard his name from Lucien. He has never called his name before. It's either he called him pet names like... baby lamb, scaredy cat, little omega, pretty thing, and tease, but never Rin. Never Rin Elric.
He felt something weird in his chest as his breathing hitched for a few seconds.
Just as Lucien left the clinic, Theron walked closer to Rin. He wasn't alone. Elna was close to him, masking her excitement with a business smile.
"This is Rin, he's our new staff member," Elna introduced with a polite smile.
"Staff?" Theron repeated with that same deep and masculine voice. Rin bowed, with his hand on his chest.
"Greetings, head doctor," he greeted and there was no response from Theron. Rin's head still remained lowered.
'He definitely hates me. Great. Of all people to bump into... it had to be this grumpy dropout'
"Rin Elric," Theron read aloud and Rin lifted his head even as Theron didn't respond to his greeting. He saw him with a file that contained Rin's information.
"You're twenty-five years..." He said, closing the folder with a sharp snap. "That's quite young. When did you study medicine? How long was your training? Are you certified or did you just walk in and lie on the form?"
Rin stared at him.
'Does any of that matter in this stupid world?' Rin rubbed his chin like a sage monk deep in thought.
'There's literally no answer I can give that won't expose me as a fraud.'
"Are you listening to me?!" Theron's harsh voice snapped him back to reality as Rin shook his head.
"I... uh... no formal training. I'm just an assistant and I do... assisting stuff."
"Assist? Huh?" Theron arched a brow and looked around the empty bed and saw the female lead. Theron pointed at her, the one person Rin didn't want to deal with.
"You'll be in charge of taking care of that student,"
"What? I don't want the female lead..." He almost yelled, and everyone looked at him with a confused expression on their faces.
"What?"
"What is 'female lead'?"
"Is it food? Can we eat it?"
"I mean, I can't take care of that student. Please assign me somewhere else... head doctor,"
Theron didn't budge.
"No. You'll monitor her. Make sure she wakes up. Once everything is done, give me a full report on her condition,"
"Head doctor," one of the nurses chimed in nervously. "The student hit her head pretty badly. She may need constant monitoring, at least for a few..."
"That's enough. Let the new 'staff' handle it," Theron said coldly. "No one is to assist him,"
With that, he turned and walked into his office. Elna followed without sparing Rin a glance. The door slammed shut behind them.
Rin blinked at the room that had then become quiet and awkward. The other nurses looked like they were attending his funeral with a sad look on their faces.
He cleared his throat and offered them a thumbs-up.
"Haha... It's fine! I've totally got this!" he chirped like an idiot as he dragged himself over to the girl's bed.
He yanked the curtain shut and dropped onto the stool like a sack of potatoes.
He totally got nothing!
He knew nothing about medicine, not even how to open a bandage box properly. He was supposed to pretend to be a healer in front of a girl who... oh yeah... was the centre of this world's romantic plot.
Of course, this was happening.
He sighed and leaned in toward her motionless body.
"So... what did they say happened to your head? You better not die on me. Lucien will gut me like a chicken," he mouthed softly so the unconscious female lead would hear.
There was still no response from her.
"Hey, system... can you heal her? Maybe do some of your sci-fi sparky tech magic?"
DING!
[...Negative]
"Why the dramatic pause? You're not keeping something from me, are you?" Rin furrowed his brows.
DING!
[...Negative]
Liar.
Still, there was no way to get the truth out of the system right now. Fine. Whatever. He'd just have to fake his skills and pray he didn't kill anyone by accident.
He had to find a way to treat the female lead for him to retain his job. He thought Elna would speak for him or maybe, help him, but she couldn't do anything.
'Maybe, she couldn't do anything because she was close to the head doctor,'
He sprang up from the stool and cracked his knuckles.
"Well, let's do something," he muttered.
Just then, a soft voice called his name.
"Uh... Rin?"
He froze, then peeked out through the curtain. One of the nurses stood there, eyes darting nervously toward Theron's office
"Here" she whispered, slipping him a small glass vial. "It's a basic recovery potion. She just hit her head. She'll be fine with this."
After handing it to me, she bolted like a ninja from that anime... Naruto.
"...Bless you," Rin muttered and yanked the cork out with his teeth.
He gently poured the potion into the girl's mouth. Her throat worked as she swallowed, and slowly, the colour returned to her cheeks.
His eyes beamed when he saw her struggling to open her eyes on the bed.
'She's waking up! Thank all the heavens. I can't wait to shove this in the doctor's smug face,'
He reached for the curtain to call someone when...
"Ugh! What is this bitter taste? It tastes worse than mom's Yeoju"
Rin had almost shifted the curtain when he heard what she said.
Rin froze.
Yeoju?
That was his mother's monthly herbal concoction. It wasn't supposed to exist in this world. No one else should've known it... except...
He slowly turned to meet the female lead. She already sat up on the bed, with a grin on her face.
"What's up, Myungie!" She said with a playful wave.
His soul left his body.
"M... Mina?" Rin whispered.