“COME with me,” he told her. “Your wound must be treated.”

He grabbed her by the wrist and tried to pull her, but Lien stood still on her ground. The doctor turned to her with narrowed eyes.

“Why won’t you come with me? I won’t do you harm, I promise.”

“I… I don’t go with strangers,” she said.

“You still call me a stranger when I live next door, and I already saved your life.” There was a hint of irritation in his voice. He let go of her hand. “Fine, if you don’t want to get treated, it’s your choice. I am just worried that your wound might get infected, and you’ll suffer from pain on the next couple of—”

“Would a train come out of my wound?” she asked.

“W-what?” he suppressed a laugh.

“Well…” She raised her scratched elbow. “Grams used to tell me when I was a kid that if my wound doesn’t get treated, a train or a bus will come out of it later on.”

“Look…” The doctor shook his head. “A train cannot even fit inside your body. It’s a lie. Your untreated wound might get infected, and that’s a fact supported by Science.”

“Then how can you be so sure that I would be in pain sooner or later?” Lien doesn’t like pain, may it be physical or emotional. She has a low tolerance when it comes to pain.

“Because it’s fresh and untreated. Well…” He shrugged. “It’s up to you if you will come with me or simply treat that wound on your own.”

The doctor walked away, leaving her completely torn.

And then, something came to her mind. Maybe he has no bad intentions. He was a doctor, with a name and reputation to protect.

“Okay, Lien…” She heaved a sigh. “Stop being overly dramatic and judgemental. It won’t get you anywhere. Right...” She ran to him. “Wait for me!”

“So. You finally came up with a conclusion that I am not a bad person?” He glanced at her.

“I could use my little knowledge with martial arts…” She gave him a side-way glance. “if you won’t inject me some sedatives you hide in your home.”

The doctor laughed. His naturally narrowed eyes almost disappeared.

“I wonder if you could still see me when your eyes were like that as you laugh.”

“Yeah, I still can. So don’t you dare make faces,” he warned, grinning.

They rode the elevator down to their floor.

“What kind of doctor are you?” she asked, breaking the deafening silence inside the elevator.

“I’m a family medicine doctor,” he replied.

“Oh… you seem smart.” Lien looked at him from head to toe. He looked sophisticated and confident too.

He laughed shortly. “Really?”

“Uh-huh.”

Finally, the elevator reached their floor.

“After you,” he said when the elevator doors opened.

The doctor was not just a good-looking-confident-smart one, but he was also a gentleman. Does he even have flaws?

Lien shook her head to remove that kind of thoughts that kept coming on her head. What the hell is wrong with her brain?

She followed him to his unit.

The moment his door opened a cute munchkin ginger cat ran toward him and rubbed its body on his leg. He picked the cat immediately and gave it a quick kiss on its nose.

“Waaah! That was the cutest thing I’ve seen today,” she uttered.

“You don’t have a pet?” he asked.

Lien slowly shook her head in response.

“I suggest you get one. Pets will give you unconditional love, and they’re somewhat good for someone’s mental health. Adopting one from a pet shelter would be nice. I can recommend you a pet shelter where you can easily adopt one. I can vouch for you since I am one of their sponsors and that is where I got this cutie here.”

The cat meowed softly as if it understood what its owner was talking about.

“I don’t think so,” Lien said somberly. “I don’t get to live a good life. How can I raise a pet? I’m afraid I might only give it a hard time.”

His expression softened.

“Anyway, let’s get in.” He opened the door widely. “And ah, please remove your slippers and get a clean one on the rack.”

She looked at him. “Do all doctors hate germs? You should befriend them because its what makes people sick, and when someone is sick, they went to the hospital to get treated.”

His jaw dropped open and closed again.

“I should get offended, but you have a point.” He closed the door. “Have a seat on the couch. I’ll just get my first-aid kit.”

The doctor left with his cat.

Lien sat on the couch and looked around. Everything in his house was organized and sparkling clean. She wondered if he was a married man with a good housewife, or he simply cleaned it by himself.

“I’m sorry. I forgot to offer you something.”

She flinched when she heard his voice in the kitchen. He was in front of the open fridge, holding the first-aid kit with his right hand. When did he get there?

“Don’t bother. I don’t accept—” She cut her sentence midway when she suddenly realized something.

Lien left the couch and went to the kitchen.

“Hey.” She poked his back.

“Oh, yes?” He turned to her.

“You said we are not strangers at all, but we haven’t introduced ourselves to one another.”

“Ah, right.” He extended a hand. “Vince… Vince Yoon.”

Lien accepted his hand and said, “Lien Joy Esguerra.”

The moment their hands clasped, she felt something warm crept from her hand going up to her chest. She pulled her hand first.

“Shall we do it here?” she asked afterward.

“It’s more comfortable in the living room. Come.” He walked pass by her.

She followed him.

Vince opened the first-aid kit. Lien instantly felt her body froze when she saw syringes inside the box.

“Y-you won’t inject anything on me, right?” Her voice was trembling.

“Easy.” He laughed as he dipped cotton on the antiseptic. “I’ll just clean your wound. We don’t need anaesthetics for this kind of procedure. Relax.”

“W-will it sting?” Lien’s voice was too low, it was almost a whisper.

“A little.” Vince turned to her. “Raise your elbow.”

She did with her eyes shut tightly.

“Aaaahhh!”

“Why are you screaming? The cotton hasn’t touched it yet.”

Lien opened an eye to peek.

“Cola… Do you have cola?”

He leaned closer to her ear. “I am not from pediatrics.”