Chapter 3

Bernard's face was blank, as if he were briefing a subordinate. It was impossible to tell what was on his mind.

"I'm really busy with work, but I'll try to come home on Sundays to spend time with you. The rest of the time, I don't want you looking for me or bothering me. Don't call me either," he continued.

"What about this one? This game table's pretty nice. You can even use it for poker," the system said to me.

I smiled. "Sure."

Bernard frowned. He finished his coffee and stood up to leave but stopped when he passed me.

"Kaylee," he said.

I turned to look at him. "Yeah?"

Bernard locked his gaze on me, like he was trying to see right through me.

"You used to say you loved being a doctor and didn't want to give it up. Why are you agreeing now?" he asked.

I felt a bit lost. Did I really say that? Honestly, I didn't even hear what he was saying. Maybe deep down, I didn't want to talk to him.

I lowered my eyes and smiled. "We're getting married, so of course my priorities shift to our family. It doesn't matter if I stop being a doctor. You don't like it anyway."

I made sure there were no loopholes in what I said.

Bernard yanked at his tie, clearly annoyed, impatience written all over him.

If he hated it so much, why did he agree in the first place? What a weirdo.

"Bernard, I'm about to head out to the disaster area. Could you just say 'come back safe' to me?" I asked.

I looked at him hopefully.

Bernard pressed his lips together. "Come back safe."

"Thanks," I said.

Then he turned and walked away.

The system scoffed. "What a pretentious jerk. I thought he'd reject me. Then we'd be done with the mission."

*****

I had been here for ten years, working hard at my job.

There had been no disasters here until recently. Now there were frequent earthquakes and landslides.

I worked at the largest hospital in the area, and because of my skills, I was automatically assigned to the disaster relief team.

"Aren't you and your boyfriend getting married soon? I'm so jealous. You have someone waiting for you at home," one of my coworkers said.

She shot me a look full of admiration, like she thought Bernard was the perfect catch.

"You two have been together for ten years, right? Since you were an intern. You have such a great relationship. He must be so worried about you going on this mission," she added.

I smiled and nodded, keeping quiet.

The disaster area was a scene of devastation. Collapsed apartment buildings, huge cracks in the ground, and fire trucks everywhere.

"What's the casualty count?" As soon as I got there, I asked anxiously.

The other doctors shook their heads, looking just as worried as me.

One of them said, "We don't know the exact number yet, but it doesn't look good. This was the first quake. There will definitely be aftershocks.

"The firefighters have pulled out a lot of people with minor injuries. But with this much damage, there must be more people trapped underground.

"I think it's going to get worse. This is a residential area near the mountains. The buildings are close together.

"Even though it's the suburbs, a lot of people live here. Less than a third of them were able to walk out on their own.

"And we're short on staff. Plus, the mountain could collapse at any time."

I frowned deeply. No one wanted this to happen. Right now, the most important thing was to save as many people as possible.

The only thing I could do was treat the injured to the best of my ability.

"Dr. Ochoa, there's a patient in critical condition who needs surgery. The chief wants you over there right away." A young nurse hurried over.

I nodded and rushed there without saying anything else.

The situation in the disaster area was worse than I had imagined. My surgery schedule here was way more packed than anything I had ever dealt with at the hospital.

I wished disasters like this would never happen.

The news about what happened here got out fast, and soon doctors from other places started pouring in. That made things a lot less overwhelming for me.

I wiped the sweat from my forehead. I hadn't slept for three days straight. I was so exhausted I could barely stand when I got off the operating table.

Before I could even catch my breath, a few nurses rushed over. "Dr. Ochoa, the firefighters said they need doctors at the rescue site.

"They're worried people will get hurt during the rescue and can't be moved. All the other doctors are in surgery. You just finished, so we need you to go right away."

Nurses couldn't perform surgery. They could only do basic first aid. So doctors were essential at the scene.

My vision was going dark, but I steadied myself and nodded.

It was my responsibility. And I wasn't at my limit yet.

I drank some water on the way to the site to rehydrate. I felt a little better, but my stomach was still empty.

I followed the firefighters to the collapsed ruins.

I heard a cry for help around a corner. I went ahead alone, since I couldn't be sure how badly the person was hurt.

When I finally found the source of the cries, I was stunned.

It was Leslie.

Leslie didn't look surprised to see me. She had obviously expected me to be here. I pretended not to know her and ran to her side.

"Can you move? Where are you hurt? Do you need a stretcher?" I asked.

I never thought Leslie would actually be here, let alone caught in the middle of the earthquake.

I thought she would be with Bernard the whole time I was busy with the rescue.

"Doctor, help me. I don't want to die here. It hurts. Everything hurts. Please help me." Leslie sounded hysterical, like she was really scared.

"Dr. Ochoa, please help me!" she begged.

She wasn't even trying to pretend she didn't know me.

She didn't have a single scratch on her. She just looked a little messy. Guess she had managed to protect herself pretty well.

Just then, my walkie-talkie crackled to life.