EXTERN
Chapter 21
“Kan, you’re bloody amazing!”
The moustached creature sang my praises, grinning widely from his hospital bed after listening to me tell him how I’d managed to win over his beautiful mother, Khun Ying Mae.
Of course, everyone had been shocked when I’d opened the door to the private room and returned with Khun Mae smelling wonderfully fragrant from the spa, a huge smile on her face—a complete transformation from the woman who’d left earlier.
“Obviously.”
I smiled as I sat with my legs crossed, flicking through the television channels with the remote.
Only the two of us were left in the room now: the patient, who was looking far too cheerful and lively for someone who’d just been stabbed, and me—the person Khun Mae had personally given permission to stay overnight and look after him.
“Kan.”
“Hmm?”
I had some free time at the moment before I had to start working at the provincial hospital for a year. After that, I’d have to complete another three years of compulsory service at a rural hospital. My life as an intern was about to begin.
…Goodbye, university life.
Had I talked to Per about any of this yet? Nope.
In just a few months, I’d have to move to a hospital near my family home in another province. With the little time I had left to stay close to Per, I didn’t want him worrying about the distance that would soon separate us.
A fourth-year engineering student already had enough stress trying to graduate, especially in a faculty where finishing within four years wasn’t exactly easy.
“My back’s itchy… I think there’s an ant. Can you get it off for me?”
His demand dragged me out of the thoughts I didn’t particularly want to think about.
I put the remote down and reluctantly got up to walk over to his bed. Bloody hell, you love ordering me around.
“Where?”
I rolled him onto his side and rather unceremoniously pulled up the back of his shirt. The patient immediately grimaced at me. There was still a large dressing over his abdomen, so moving around was difficult and probably still painful.
Whoosh!
Before I could even look for his imaginary bloody ant, the giant poisonous snake used his ridiculous strength and the speed of an actual snake striking its prey to grab me and throw me onto the bed.
My back hit the mattress hard enough to knock the breath out of me. Even though the bed was larger than usual because this was a VIP room, with the size of this bloody octopus, we were still squeezed together. It was lucky I hadn’t struggled too hard against him. Otherwise, he’d probably tear his wound open for fun.
“If your wound splits open, I’m going to laugh at you. Stop doing stupid shit.”
Seriously. If you’d just asked me nicely, I would’ve come over anyway! Why do you have to be so bloody dramatic, Per?
“My wound doesn’t hurt anymore. I just miss you more.”
And of course he didn’t stop at saying it. His hands immediately began wandering all over me. Fortunately, my professor had already ordered his IV removed. All he had to do now was stay another day or two for observation, and then he’d be free to go back to being his usual shameless self.
“Mm… I missed you too.”
I mumbled it so quietly I might as well have been whispering it to a mosquito, then buried my face against his chest to hide. I absolutely did not want him seeing my face right now.
I’m embarrassed, damn it!
“What was that? I couldn’t quite hear you.”
Oh, piss off! Now you’re pretending you didn’t hear me?!
I practically said it directly into your bloody ear. If you couldn’t hear that, you’re deaf!
“…”
I refused to answer and buried my face even deeper against his chest. He was the only person capable of making me this ridiculously shy. However I’d felt about him on the first day, I still felt exactly the same now.
He could still make me blush like it was the first time. He could still make me want to stay close to him.
“Kan, look up and talk to me first.”
“…”
I shook my head against his arm. Nope. I wasn’t looking at the giant bastard. He’d only say something else to embarrass me, and once he realised I was embarrassed, he’d tease me even harder. At that point I’d probably twist myself into a pair of used underwear.
“If you won’t look up and talk to me properly…”
“…”
“Then… I’m going to ravish you.”
“!!!”
WHOOSH!
The moment the sly bastard whispered that near my ear, I immediately sprang away from him.
“Enough! You’re injured! Have some bloody restraint!”
“Kaaan, just a little bitttt.”
I raised the safety rail on the side of the bed to stop the patient from getting down, then returned to my chair to watch television, leaving the giant bastard and his considerably less giant little snake to thrash around complaining on the bed.
“Go to sleep. It’s late.”
I turned and warned my still-restless junior. I’m a man. I knew perfectly well what his problem was. But doing anything here, right now? Probably not appropriate. If a nurse opened the door and caught us, I’d become a hospital legend.
“Kaaaaaan.”
“Kan—”
“Shhh.”
I pressed a finger to my lips and froze, my eyes darting suspiciously around the room before stopping at the balcony door. The person on the bed followed my gaze with interest.
“What is it?”
Per stared at me with innocent eyes. Have I ever mentioned that besides hating kids…I also really enjoy scaring them?
“It’s almost midnight… I suggest you hurry up and go to sleep.”
“W-why?”
Per immediately lowered himself onto the bed and pulled the blanket right up to his chin.
Oh shit.
It actually worked.
“…”
“…”
I didn’t answer. I let him squirm with curiosity while I shook out my own blanket and prepared to lie down. I really was exhausted today.
“Kaaaaaan! What is it? Tell me! Otherwise I won’t be able to sleeeeeep.”
The enormous, muscular creature continued to pester me. At least it seemed he’d completely forgotten his horny mood from earlier.
“I’m just worried that if I tell you… you’ll really be unable to sleep.”
That got his attention. His eyebrows twitched, his eyes widened innocently, and he rolled onto his side to stare at me, desperate for an explanation.
“Ahhh… I’m not scared.”
Okay! You want to know that badly? Fine. We’ll see whether you manage to sleep tonight.
“Really? Good. I wasn’t going to tell you at first because I thought you’d be scared, but if you’re not, then I’ll tell you.”
“…”
Mr Big Mouth actually started biting the edge of his blanket as he listened intently. That only made me want to torment him more.
“…I’m not completely sure which room it happened in because I only heard the story passed down from the seniors. But I remember it was this building… this floor… and it was a private room…
“Just like this one.”
I slowly looked around the room. Per’s eyes cautiously followed mine. This was my university hospital. Naturally, there were countless stories passed down through generations, some true, some probably complete nonsense.
“…There was a woman who tried to kill herself by drinking toilet cleaner after discovering that her husband had a mistress. Fortunately, her neighbour found her and rushed her to hospital in time…”
“…”
“The attending doctor also requested a psychiatric consultation while she recovered in a private room… on this very floor.
“But do you know something?
“Her husband never visited her.
“Not even once.”
“…”
“So the professor asked the nurses and medical students to stop by regularly and talk to her, hoping it would ease her sadness…
“Until one day…
“The day everyone realised it hadn’t worked.”
“…”
Silence enveloped the room. Only the quiet murmur of the television news and the hum of the air conditioner remained. The balcony curtains were closed, obscuring the outside, although moonlight and the lights far below still filtered faintly through them into the darkened room.
“The patient’s mental state deteriorated. She couldn’t accept having to live without being able to eat normally because the chemicals had severely burned and damaged her digestive tract, from her mouth and oesophagus all the way down to her stomach.
“And she couldn’t bear people thinking she was crazy…”
“…”
“So she decided to kill herself again.
“And this time…
“She succeeded.
“That day, when they opened the door, the patient was nowhere inside. Only the balcony door stood wide open, the curtains billowing in the wind…
“Her body was found below, surrounded by bright-red blood covering the road.
“What remained of her body barely looked human anymore…”
“…”
“And every night at midnight, people supposedly hear her crying, mixed with agonised screams…
“Every single night.
“Some patients who stayed in that private room even claimed they saw her standing on the balcony…
“Crying.”
I stopped. Then I looked at the person who’d been so desperate to hear the story. The white blanket had now risen all the way over his head. Only a pair of sharp eyes remained visible, blinking nervously at me.
“Good thing you’re not scared. Anyway, I left my phone charger at my condo, so I think I’ll head back and get it, then come back later to stay with you.”
“Uh… er…”
Mr All-Talk clearly wanted to say something. His expression practically screamed, Please don’t leave me.
Hahaha!
“I’ll be back.”
I headed straight towards the door. I hadn’t actually forgotten my charger. I was just messing with him. I was planning to go downstairs and buy something to eat.
“K-Kan… could you not go?”
I hadn’t even reached the door when the tiny, trembling voice coming from the huge man wrapped in his blanket stopped me.
“What are you—”
Huuuu… sob… huuuuuuu…
Before I could finish, the sound of a woman crying drifted through the room. Both of us immediately turned and stared at each other.
“K-Kan… d-did you hear that?”
“Er…”
No fucking way! The story I told wasn’t even about this building! It happened in another one… Wait!? Or have I remembered the wrong bloody building?! But whichever building it was, people had died in all of them. This is a hospital!
Sob… huuuuuuu… huuuuuuu…
YANK!
The crying continued.
Meanwhile, I crossed the room in approximately two giant leaps and launched myself onto Per’s bed. Then I squeezed myself beside him and started fighting him for the blanket. Having another person nearby was obviously better than being alone!
“Er… it’s probably not this room… right?”
The owner of the arms I’d burrowed into spoke nervously, clearly asking for reassurance.
“Y-yeah… definitely not. We’re probably imagining it.”
HUUUUU!
Nooooo!
I shook my head furiously in denial and pressed myself even closer against his thick body.
Come on! I’ve been an extern for ages, and I’ve never been haunted before!
Huuu… sob… huuuuuuu…
The crying continued.
When I listened carefully, it was definitely a woman. And she didn’t sound particularly old. Actually… The sound seemed to be coming from… right outside the room.
“I don’t think that’s a ghost.”
I offered my hypothesis. It sounded like an ordinary person crying. Maybe someone had just received bad news and had come to sit outside the private room to cry.
“Er… Kan…”
“It’s probably someone crying in the corridor.”
I shifted slightly.
And then my thigh brushed against something rather large and distinctly hard pressing against me.
“…”
“…”
I slowly looked up. The patient was already staring at me. His arms tightened around me, pulling me even closer. Did I seriously just jump straight into the snake’s nest myself?!
“Kan…”
Per shifted into a half-sitting position and pressed me down against the bed before moving over me.
“This is a hospital!”
I hissed at him. But apparently Mr Horny wasn’t going to be stopped that easily.
Oi!
What happened to the ghost story I specifically told to kill your bloody libido?!
“Anywhere with Kan is fine with me.”
And he didn’t stop at words. He lowered his face into the crook of my neck, his beard brushing over my skin and sending shivers through me.
Then there were those sharp eyes and that sly smile on his lips…I immediately froze and forgot to resist. Bloody hell. He was ridiculously attractive.
“We’ll make too much noise.”
I mumbled as the larger man removed his hospital shirt, revealing the defined muscles of his torso, the white dressing over his abdomen the only obvious sign that he was injured. I couldn’t move anywhere with him pinning my upper body and arms in place.
“Then I’ll be gentle.”
Yeah, right. Like I’m going to believe you.
I looked away, refusing to meet his eyes. Right now, that heated gaze of his was so captivating that I was fairly sure I’d melt if I stared too long.
“You talk too much.”
Per didn’t wait for another word. He leaned down and captured my lips with his. The kiss was slow and tender, every touch soft and lingering. His large hand moved up to cradle my face gently as he kissed me.
“Mmm…”
The kiss gradually deepened and grew hotter, and I could feel my own desire responding. My hands began moving affectionately over the firm muscles of his chest. I loved every part of him. Everything about him.
I loved him.
Rustle!
My shorts and underwear were quickly pulled down before I could protest. His warm hands slipped beneath my shirt, teasing my body until a shiver ran through me, his mouth following and making my entire body react.
Grab!
His strong arms guided my legs apart. My eyes widened slightly when I realised the patient had already removed his own trousers and was clearly more than ready to continue.
“B-be gentle, okay?”
I hurriedly warned him. Trying to stop him now was probably hopeless. At this point, I could only let the horny brat have some release.
“Yes.”