In The Name of Love

21

"Your Highness, it seems your fever has subsidized but your-"

Minji sneezed out loud, right into the experienced doctor who was wise to scoot to a side.

"-that is what I'm going to say about your running nose. Same old remedy - drink more water and rest plenty." Dr Kang advised as he carefully unwound the bandage of her left forearm, as the girl remained seated upright on the bed.
It revealed a tender-looking stitched line, causing the said girl to flinch slightly. It certainly didn't hurt as much as it looked; the stitches spanning 4 inches in length. Then again, she had fought in a state of adrenaline rush; that had probably numbed all pain.

Dr Kang held his glasses in position, inspecting the wound meticulously.

"Looks clean and fine. I'd given you a tetanus jab just in case since you were cut by a broken glass but there is still a need to check your temperature twice daily in case of possible infection." The statement rolled out of his mouth naturally. He swiftly took a fresh roll of gauze and under his dexterous fingers, her left forearm was neatly re-bandaged in no time.

"The abrasions on your back should be of no problem. Lady Bae will attend to it shortly."

"So, I guess you know about me huh." Minji asked out of curiosity.

"That you're now His Royal Highness Prince Minji? Yeah. I pretty much got an idea from Sir Jae."

"Thanks for getting it a secret. I mean, Hanni seems to be unaware of it yet."

"Don't thank me too early. It's just a matter of time before the truth will be out. I hope you've a backup plan for it," Dr Kang spoke in a solemn tone.

Minji shifted her gaze in avoidance. She wished she could just tell Hanni openly but the ominous dream kept haunting her repeatedly. Every time she tried to think about the ways to tell Hanni, the image of the dying girl etched deeply in her mind would flash right across.

"Your Highness? Your right hand please?"

"Your Highness?" This time, Dr Kang raised his voice slightly, finally catching the girl's attention.

"Oh, sorry, I was spacing out. What was it again?"

"Your right hand. I need to examine the stitches again to make sure it stays on tight this time," he spoke with a mild chiding tone. Minji managed a meek smile and held up her right hand gingerly. The royal physician immediately noticed the faint shaking.

"When did it start?"

"Pardon?"

"The tremors. Your hand is trembling." Now that the doctor had asked, she began to notice it herself. There was also an odd numbness spreading across the back for her hand.

"Maybe it's the medications. You know I'm still a little drowsy. Look! My left hand is also shaking." Minji held up both her hands in a feeble attempt to explain, "Nothing is wrong seriously!"

Dr Kang gave a skeptical look as he repeated the same process, removing the bandage. "Are you sure you don't feel anything?"

Minji nodded fervently, "It's really just tiredness, and besides, it isn't painful or anything."

Once the top layers of bandage were uncovered, the first tell-tale sign of tiny blood blots told a different story. He hastened the speed and saw the mildly swollen zigzag stitches across the back of her hand. Minji eyed at the messy-looking stitches with a slight unpleasant expression.

"Looks like you need another dose of antibiotics," he frowned slightly, "And this doesn't look pretty because someone did not listen to me when I said to refrain from exerting too much force. Now, this will take longer time to heal!" Dr Kang chided as he cleansed the wound, dabbing it with an antiseptic cotton swab while Minji turned away abashed.