Carina and Suzi exchanged a perplexed glance before following Xinyu to a door marked "Infirmary." Inside, the large room was equipped with several beds, cabinets filled with various medications and instruments. Stacy took the lead, bringing Minho everything he needed : a tube with a filter and needle, an O- blood bag, and set them in front of him with surprising ease.
— But how is this possible ? he wondered aloud. How did you get all this ? And this place ?
— Short answer : it's a bunker, I found it, and everything was already here. Now hurry up, Xinyu replied.
Despite being urged to hurry, Minho never wasted a second of attention. When he asked questions, he could just as easily talk and treat a patient at the same time. He connected the blood bag to a tube with a filter, and all that was left was to insert the needle into a vein, but doubt took over, and he stopped.
"He's injured in both arms. I can't insert the needle there, or the blood might flow out through the wounds. But I don't know any other veins I could use. It would be too dangerous to try somewhere else, and what if I missed, and made things worse ?Carina and Suzi carried him here. Stacy revealed this hidden place so we could find the equipment. If I fail, all their efforts will be in vain. These people are doing their best, and I can't even do this."
— What are you doing ? Xinyu pushed him.
— I'm not sure…
— You don't have time to hesitate ! Try something, at least.
10 years ago
A ten-year-old boy was being attacked by a group of bullies. Suddenly, a girl arrived and took them all down one by one, with impressive ease. Although she was very small, she executed judo moves with deadly precision, sending them crashing to the ground. The bullies struggled to get up, and after a final look of defeat, they left without saying another word. She then approached the boy, who was crying, and helped him to his feet, a soothing smile on her face.
— Are you okay, Minho ? Did they hurt you too much ? Come on, don't cry anymore.
— They knocked over all the medicine I bought with my savings for my mom and stomped on it. He started crying again. I wanted to be helpful, do my best to help her, but I'm too weak. I can't even protect her from my dad. I wish I were as strong as you.
— Me ? I'm not strong at all ! I'm even weaker than you, you know ?
She wiped away his tears.
— You're lying. You're just saying that to cheer me up. I saw how you took down all four of them.
— It's true, maybe I beat them, but they're not who I want to defeat. I still haven't been able to beat my brother. No matter how many times I train, it's never enough. I try as hard as I can, even on days I don't have judo training, but nothing works, he's always stronger than me. So no, I'm not strong, because I haven't reached my goal. I haven't managed to defeat my only enemy.
— Really ? I think you're very strong though.
— Haha, thank you. She smiled. But I don't do this for the compliments, I do it to be useful, like I just was.
— But how could I be stronger than you, then ?
— Don't you know ? You managed to gather enough money all by yourself and buy medicine for your mom. I don't even know how to earn money, and you did it like that. You protect your mom as best as you can. You're doing everything to reach your goal, and you're doing it amazingly well.
— Not this time…
— It's okay. You can just try again, you know how to do it, after all.
— But this medicine isn't enough to heal her wounds. I don't know how to do that.
— Then you'll just have to learn ! If anyone can do it, it's you, right ? I know a library where we can find books on medicine.
— Do you think I'm capable of it ?
— Are you kidding ? You're probably the only one who is.
— How can you be so sure ?
— Because I'm the one who knows you best.
She gave a little satisfied smile. She grabbed his hand firmly and pulled him along.
— Come on, let's read together.
— What do you like to read ?
— Romance stories ! My favourite part is when the boy kisses the girl. When I ask adults what it's like to kiss someone, they always get embarrassed and don't know how to answer, they're so funny. But deep down, I really want to know.
Minho placed a hand on Anastasia's cheek and pressed his lips to hers.
— I think this is how it's done…
Anastasia blushed intensely and placed a hand on her lips. She felt her heart pounding in her chest.
— Thank you…
She squeezed his hand tighter.
Minho was just as embarrassed as she was, because he realized something very important. He looked her in the eyes.
— Anastasia, I want you to promise me you won't do this with another boy.
— I… I promise. She turned away to hide her face. W…well, let's go now.
— Yes. He smiled.
Mon. 04/09, 14:44
"She has always believed in me, and has never doubted my abilities. I have to live up to her expectations. Otherwise, I won't be able to look her in the eyes."
Minho inserted the needle into the arm with fewer cuts and started the infusion. He also tightened the bandages one by one.
"If I can't do it any other way, then I might as well do it as best as I can. By tightening the bandages, there would be less leakage, and if it still leaked, it would only be a small amount. I just need to change the blood bag if it's insufficient. It's an amateur job, but so be it. The goal is to reach my objective !"
His plan in motion, he changed the blood bag twice. A huge amount of blood had spilled, but that wasn't a problem. The focus shouldn't be on the mistakes, but on the result. Little by little, Zayn's pulse stabilized, and he was now just having a peaceful nap.