According to researchers, it takes a man seven seconds to fall in love.
Sometimes, seven encounters work too.
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ER doctor Eugene Northwood meets a simple woman called Freya Wang. A series of unexpected encounters leads to our lonely main character w...
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SEVEN TIMES | FIRST ENCOUNTER
The first time Eugene Northwood met her was at work, in the ICU.
Eugene was on a break, sipping his tea and reading the news, when a flustered nurse came to his office and told him that a patient had just been rolled in. Along the way, he told him that the patient suffered from gunshot wounds and blood loss.
When Eugene reached the operating room, he caught glimpse of a lady and a small boy sitting by the waiting area. It was only a glimpse, and Eugene had pushed the thought away as he cleaned his hands. He had a patient to take care of.
The operation was fairly simple, but it had made Eugene slightly angry that a young boy - can't be older than a middle school student - like him had to endure a gunshot wound. He should be studying in class, not lying down on an operating bed covered with blood, he said to himself.
An hour later, the operation was complete. While the nurses rolled him outside and into a vacant room, Eugene took off his bloody gloves and washed his hands in the bathroom, before going to check the young boy.
He saw the lady again, who - after a closer look - wore a pencil skirt and white shirt. The boy beside her wore a similar uniform to the young boy he had just operated on. Eugene quickly assumed that this woman was his mother, taking her work day off to tend for her son, and the boy beside her was his brother. She was fidgeting, occasionally taking her glasses off and rubbing her eyes.
"Excuse me-"
"Doctor!" She jumped to her feet, eyes wide. "Doctor, how is my brother? Is he alright? He made it, right?"
Ah..wrong assumption, Eugene cleared his throat. "Yes, Ma'am. He made it. He lost a fair amount of blood, but he's a strong lad. You can visit him, if you'd like."
The lady breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank God..thank you so much, doctor."
She was about to go inside, when her phone rang. She quickly picked it up, her once relieved expression turning into a sour one as she sighs and said, "my brother is in the ICU and you want me to what?"
The lady kept listening, before agreeing to whoever talked to her and ending the call. She turns to Eugene, who was still standing behind her, and said, "I have to go back to work. Please take care of my brother and tell him that his sister will visit him tomorrow."
She then turns to the boy. "Owen, take care of your friend, okay? I have to go."
The boy named Owen nods.
I made another wrong assumption..how embarassing.
"Sure." He nods. "Good day, Miss. Stay safe."
"You too." The lady nods back, and scurries away.
"Can I visit him, doctor?" Owen turns to him, eyes wide and hands fidgeting.
"I don't think he's awake yet, but yes, you can." Eugene nods. "I'm gonna visit him too."
The two entered the quiet room, only accompanied by the steady sound of the heart monitor. As Eugene checked his vitals, Owen sat beside the young boy and squeezed his hand.
"What's his name?" Eugene asked, trying to break the tense air.
"Griffin Wang. He's my classmate." Owen replied. "The lady is his sister, Freya."
"If you mind me asking, what happened?" Eugene checked the needle on Griffin's arm.
"We were having lunch at the park when a masked guy suddenly came and made a ruckus. The security got a hold of them, but Griffin took a bullet for me." Owen softly explained, before adding, "he didn't deserve this."
"Nobody deserves this, Owen." The young doctor takes a seat beside him. "You have to be here for your friend, okay?"
He nods.
"It's getting late. You should head home." Eugene stands up. "Go ahead and call your parents."
