Where love blooms amidst paperwork and patients, a love story witnessed by the hallways of a hospital that only saw death.
First is a senior Cardiologist, working for the Bangkok National Hospital for years. His only motto in life is to serve his pa...
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The meeting room at the Director's office buzzed with a tension unknown. Director Prakarn studied the faces of the doctors and head nurses. Tension crackled in the room as Dr. Puitrakul and Dr. Wongratch glared at each other. They were seated infront of each other, and no one could miss the immense tension bubbling under the guts. They looked like they would start arguing any minute now. The other shareholders of the hospitals sat at the table, waiting for the meeting to start.
Babe whispered under his breath to Earth, who was sitting upright, his eyes on Mix. "You should tone it down a little bit." He spoke, and Earth jerked his face to look at the other. "Tone down what?" He asked, confused. "You're gaping. You look like you wanna jump in between those two. It's not a good idea, trust me." Babe said, his gaze flitting between the two.
His gaze landed on Doc Suppapong, who was staring right ahead, his face twisted in a curl. Babe rolled his eyes.
"Doc Puitrakul here made it very clear in his email last week that we will need new doctors. I called this meeting today to inform you that we will have two new resident doctors, who will be working for this Hospital." Director Prakarn said, successfully breaking the glaring contest between the two.
"And we will also have another medical student who is going to intern under you, Doc Tanatat." Director Prakarn said, and Babe folded his hands and bowed to the director. Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw Mix and First smile at him, and he spared both of them a glance.
"The two resident doctors that will be assigned will be joining from tomorrow. Please treat them well." He said, passing down three files on the table. First picked up one file of the new resident doctor joining and opened it.
KHAOTUNG THANAWAT RATTANAKITPAISAN
Age: 29 years BOD: 1995.10.13
Specialisation: Emergency doctor,MD in Medicine
There was a lot of information, including his parents' name, and some personal details. First skimmed through those details. He placed the file back on the table. He sighed a little in relief.
Finally, no more night shifts!
🫀🩺
First sat in his office, alone, massaging his head, as he wrote two prescriptions. There was so much work left. He wondered silently, when was the last time he had been able to take a break. He probably had forgotten. Maybe it was the time when he had been drunk driving and broke his leg and his pinky. That was the only vacation he remembered taking, but the pressure of work had loomed over his head then too.
He stopped typing on the monitor, pausing to lean against his chair as he pulled out his phone from his pants pockets. Opening his albums, he swiped through each picture, trying to relive those memories, even in his head. There were pictures of him and Mix. the entire trio, his brother, his parents. He stopped swiping when he reached the only pic of his ex-girlfriend that he ever had.
Namtan.
Namtan and he were a sporadic burst, two people colliding against one another. What they had, First couldn't call it love. It had never been love. It was a fleeting interest, one of a kind, one that everyone approved of. Only First couldn't bring himself to love Namtan fully. It had always felt like something had been missing. And when both of them had broken off, did First realise that Namtan and he were never meant to be. It shouldn't hurt First, but it did. First had always wanted consistency in his life, the kind to keep him grounded. He chased after consistency like an Olympian chasing for an award. So, when his consistency left, First took two years, building up his consistency once more. it had been difficult for him, to suddenly get used to something different.
Life was full of changes. First hated every single one of those changes. he hated changes since his parents moved, and he found himself unable to adjust. When he lost old friends, he squirmed in bed at night and worried. When Mix found a boyfriend and started to spend less time with First, he found it hard to spend days in Medical school. When Babe started sharing his dorm, he remained cold and aloof to him for months.
He took time, he knew that. He didn't accept changes as easily as everyone else did. For him, he loved life's monotony. Constant surprises and changes made him anxious.
He gets lost in thoughts, the various scenarios running haywire in his head when his phone lights up on the table. First is immediately shaken out of the thoughts as he sees the caller ID.
"Hello Hia" He speaks tentatively, his voice low. His Hia on the other side of the phone chuckles as he answers.
"Hello Nong, how have you been? You've been completely MIA since you left home." His brother chuckles, but First could feel the hurt in his voice. He doesn't want to admit, he wants to go back home, but...
"My duties keep me here Hia." And it is the truth. First has too many duties, and he hates slacking off. His colleagues call him a workaholic, but that's what he is like, a man who can only focus when he is working.
"I know that my nong is extremely hard working. But sometimes, it would be nice if he visited his brother." His brother spoke, and guilt consumed First. When was the last time he had gone home without a prior commitment? He didn't remember.
"Alright Hia, but you know me, I've been really busy these past few days..." He hopes he can convince his brother.
"No nong, I won't hear excuses this time. You have to come to my anniversary this year, and I'm not kidding. Please, do it for your Hia. Na na na?" First laughed bitterly. His brother's anniversary. He hadn't even attended his brother's wedding. He was so unfilial. He wondered why, after all these years, his brother still kept the connection with him.
"Okay, Hia. I promise to come" and his Hia squealed on the phone, very unbecoming of him, but First always thought his older brother was a dork.
"Thank you, Nong. See you on the 15th. Good night." And he hung up, and First was left staring at the phone.
Relationships were so complicated. That's what First decided. He packed his bag, grabbed his things and closed his monitor, not before sending the patient's prescription to be printed. He locked his office door, and headed to the lobby, checking himself out. He sat in his car, opening a few windows, taking in the fresh air.
Tomorrow can wait, he just passed tonight...
Author's note: Don't be silent readers, please comment and let me know how your thoughts. Hope you all enjoy it!
