The emergency room at Akso Hospital was chaos.
Nana sat on an examination table, her hunter uniform torn and bloodied, watching nurses rush past with equipment and doctors barking orders. The Class A Wanderer had been neutralized, but not before it had done serious damage—three civilians injured, two hunters down, and Nana herself sporting a nasty gash across her shoulder that her aether core couldn't fully heal on its own.
"You're an idiot," Tara had said when she'd arrived at the scene.
"Reckless," Nero had agreed, helping her into the ambulance.
"Suspended from solo missions for two weeks," Captain Jenna had declared over the phone, her voice sharp enough to cut steel.
And now, waiting in the ER at 3 AM, Nana felt thoroughly scolded and thoroughly exhausted.
The curtain around her examination area pulled back, and Nana's breath caught.
Dr. Zayne Li stood there, tablet in hand, looking exactly as composed as he had in the forest just hours ago. Not a hair out of place. His white coat crisp and clean. Surgical mask hanging around his neck. Those hazel eyes scanning her with professional detachment.
He was just in the forest, Nana's mind screamed. Sealing that ice cave with impossible powers. And now he's here like nothing happened?
"Miss Wang." His voice was cool, clinical. He stepped closer, setting his tablet on the counter. "I'll be examining you tonight. Dr. Chen is handling the other patients."
Nana nodded mutely, suddenly very aware of how she must look—covered in Wanderer residue, hair a complete disaster, probably smelling like sweat and blood.
Zayne pulled on latex gloves with practiced efficiency and began his examination. His touch was gentle but impersonal as he checked her vitals, his fingers cool against her wrist as he took her pulse.
"Elevated heart rate," he murmured, noting it on his tablet. "Expected given the aether core exertion."
He moved to check her shoulder wound, carefully peeling back the temporary bandage the paramedics had applied. Nana winced.
"The laceration is deep but clean. No signs of Wanderer corruption." He reached for antiseptic. "You were lucky."
"I know," Nana muttered.
Zayne's eyes flicked to hers briefly before returning to his work. "Lucky isn't a strategy, Miss Wang. It's a variable you can't control."
He pulled out a device that hummed softly—an aether core scanner. He held it over her chest, and Nana felt the familiar tingle as it measured her core's energy levels.
The readings made Zayne's frown deepen. "Your core is at 43% capacity. You pushed far past safe limits tonight."
"The Wanderer was going to kill those people—"
"And you nearly killed yourself in the process."
His tone remained calm, but there was something underneath it now. Concern? Frustration? With Zayne, it was impossible to tell. "Forcing your aether core beyond its threshold doesn't make you stronger. It makes you a liability."
Nana's face flushed, and she looked away, crossing her arms. Great. Another lecture.
"I get it, okay?" she said, hearing the pout in her own voice and hating it. "Tara already yelled at me. Nero gave me the disappointed look. Captain Jenna suspended me. I don't need another person telling me I messed up."
Silence fell between them.
Zayne methodically cleaned her wound, applied a specialized healing gel that would work with her aether core to accelerate recovery, and wrapped it in clean bandages. His movements were precise, almost mechanical.
But then he paused.
Nana glanced up to find him studying her face with an expression she couldn't quite read. The harsh fluorescent lights of the ER made his features look sharper, more angular, but also... softer somehow. Tired.
Did he even sleep after leaving the forest?
"You're pouting," Zayne observed quietly.
"I am not—" Nana caught herself. She was absolutely pouting. "...Maybe a little."
Something flickered in those hazel eyes. Without a word, Zayne reached into his coat pocket and pulled out something small and wrapped in cellophane.
He placed it in Nana's palm.
She blinked down at it. A strawberry candy. The expensive kind from that boutique shop downtown, with real fruit flavoring.
"Here," Zayne said, his voice carrying the barest hint of warmth. "Don't pout and go home."
Nana looked from the candy to his face, completely thrown off balance. The stoic, ice-cold Dr. Zayne Li just gave her candy? Like she was a child at a dentist's office?
But somehow... it worked.A smile broke across her face, bright and genuine despite her exhaustion and injuries. "Thank you, Doctor Zayne!"
She unwrapped it immediately, popping the candy into her mouth. The sweet-tart flavor of strawberry exploded across her tongue, and she hummed happily, her earlier frustrations melting away.
"This is really good,"
she said around the candy, completely unselfconscious.
"Where do you get these?"
For several seconds, Zayne didn't respond. He was staring at her with an expression that a nurse passing by actually did a double-take at—because beneath his surgical mask, which had slipped slightly during the examination, the corners of his mouth had lifted.
Dr. Zayne Li was smiling.It was subtle, almost invisible, the kind of smile that wouldn't register to anyone who wasn't looking closely. But it was there—genuine and soft and completely at odds with his reputation as the Iceberg Doctor.
"Linkon Sweets," he said after a moment, his voice carefully neutral again as he pulled his mask back into place. "On Fifth Avenue."
"I'll have to check it out!" Nana swung her legs happily, the candy clicking against her teeth. She was completely oblivious to the way several nurses were now openly staring at them, whispering behind their clipboards.
Did Dr. Li just smile? At a patient? Is the world ending?
Zayne cleared his throat, professional mask sliding back into place.
"Your shoulder will heal in approximately five days with proper rest. No strenuous activity. No missions. Your captain's suspension is medically advisable."
"Ugh, you sound like a robot again,"
Nana teased, but there was no real complaint in it.
"I'm a doctor. Clinical terminology is expected."
But there was something different in his tone now. Less cold. More... human.
He handed her a prescription slip and care instructions.
"Come back in three days for a follow-up. Make sure to—"
"Rest, hydrate, don't push my aether core, I know, I know."
Nana hopped off the examination table, testing her shoulder carefully. It was sore but manageable. "Thanks, Doc."
She headed toward the curtain, then paused, looking back at him. Zayne was already updating her medical chart, his expression back to that familiar mask of detachment.
But Nana had seen the smile. Had felt the gentleness in his touch. Had tasted the sweetness of the candy he'd given her.
He's not as cold as everyone thinks, she realized.
"Doctor Zayne?" she called softly.
He looked up. "Yes?"
"You're actually really kind," Nana said, grinning. "Not like a robot at all."
Before he could respond, she disappeared through the curtain, leaving behind only the faint scent of strawberries and the echo of her bright laughter.
Zayne stood alone in the examination area, staring at the space where she'd been.
His hand moved to his coat pocket where he kept a whole bag of those strawberry candies—bought months ago after he'd overheard her mention to Tara that they were her favorite.
He'd been carrying them ever since, waiting for... what? An excuse? The right moment?
Since the first day they met at the Linkon Cafe.
He thought of her eating pasta like a chaotic hamster. Thought of her smile just now, so bright it could melt ice. Thought of the ice cave in the forest and the secret he could never tell her.
Thought of how, in another timeline, in a realm between life and death, he would confess these feelings while becoming a monster.But tonight, in this ordinary hospital, at 3 AM, with strawberry candy and soft smiles, Zayne allowed himself a moment of something he rarely felt:
Hope.
Then he picked up his tablet and moved to the next patient, the Iceberg Doctor once more.
The nurses were still whispering.
.
.
.
.
.
To be continued.