There's No Love In the Deathzone (BL)
Chapter 672: Side Story 3. Stellar Blossom - 7

Chapter 672: Side Story 3. Stellar Blossom - 7

From the thin shirt and the shorts the doctor wore, it seemed like he, too, was in a pool party like them. There was still leftover sand on his legs, and the white coat didn’t seem to fit him, probably given by a colleague before going to the ward. Radia felt guilty about cutting someone’s hard-earned vacation short--but the guilt only persisted until he saw the doctor’s troubled expression.

Yeah. The doctor knew and agreed to hide it.

"Mister Mallarc, I--"

"I’m sorry to disturb your vacation, Doctor," Radia stood up with his dry, business face as if he had never been in distress for the past two hours. The crimson eyes had regained their full focus. "But I need an answer to my husband’s condition."

It was clear that the doctor was terrified of Radia--after all, the hospital itself belonged to the Mallarcs, and the Director was Radia’s uncle. But the doctor’s hesitation was also palpable from the way he didn’t answer right away; whether it was from a physician’s code to their patient, or because he felt guilty and feared the consequences.

But Radia had no interest in considering all of that.

"Surely whatever it is he told you to keep a secret does not apply in this situation?" he had to hold back from hissing and lashing out, staring at the doctor with fury brewing just below a boiling point.

"Yes," the doctor, fortunately, had no intention of arguing since what he was afraid of had happened."Yes, you’re right," he turned around and gestured toward the hall. "Please follow me."

Along with Han Shin, Radia followed the doctor while the others stayed in front of Joon’s room to wait for any news. Another doctor came with them to bring the result of the examination they had been doing, including Mana Resonance Imaging, before returning after receiving instructions on what they should do.

Inside the doctor’s office, Joon’s doctor looked at the chart and couldn’t hold back his sigh. He could see the disappointment and hurt in those crimson eyes. Knowing Radia Mallarc, the doctor knew that the display of emotion was deliberate, perhaps to make him feel guilty and uncomfortable to hide anything more.

But the doctor felt wronged. He had told Han Joon not to hide his condition from his family, but what could he do if the patient himself was stubborn? It was Han Joon’s right to keep his illness to himself, and the doctor didn’t want to breach the code.

Could anyone even understand how stressful it was hiding the condition of the hospital Director’s nephew-in-law? The husband of the Chairman and the future patriarch owning his workplace? He had no idea whether he would be sued by his patient or fired by his boss.

He even had to take a vacation because of his stress, but what he was afraid of had really happened.

Swallowing another sigh, he raised his head to look at the boss of his boss, who was also the husband of his patient, to deliver disappointing news.

If you told me to tell you what is ailing him, then forgive me--I couldn’t figure it out myself. All I had been doing was helping him reduce his pain and trying not to make his body worsen," the doctor said.

The twitch in the corner of Radia’s eyes was terrifying, and he couldn’t even see the face of the healer, whose bowed face was covered by messy black hair.

"It is not an illness, but a condition," the doctor continued while opening up the patient’s file on his table’s screen. "Well, many conditions pile into one big trouble."

Several files, including scans and MaRI, charts, and even ultrasounds spread across the screen. At the top left corner was the picture of Han Joon’s ID and Esper’s license, still showing him in a military buzz cut several years ago.

The doctor started to explain using the newest result that just came in, with several layers of analysis of Han Joon’s body. What Radia and Shin could derive from the doctor’s explanation was that Joon’s organ system was declining due to excess exposure to cold and pressure. It didn’t show from the outside because everything happened on the inside, and this time, the damage started to crawl to his brain.

It wasn’t a condition that other people typically had, but the doctor likened it to a cancer cell in the form of cold energy.

"The biggest source of this is his trait--intentionally decreasing one’s body heat for a single time was already quite dangerous, but he had been doing it so often for more than a decade that even when he did not use the trait, his body already get affected," the doctor explained further.

It was everything Radia had been afraid of, and he felt a cold wind blow past his neck.

Han Joon didn’t choose this path as an esper by his own will. He became an esper because of his father, and he chose to become an invisible assassin to protect Radia. In the end...wasn’t it because of him?

Radia clenched his hand so hard his nails dug into his palm.

"The cold energy, in abundance, is never good for a human’s body. In his body, especially..."

"What do you mean?"

"Mister Han’s condition itself is not good," the doctor sighed, pulling out older records. They had a different frame that was unique to government-related bodies. "He had a lot of physical trauma from his childhood, and he worked his body too hard during his adolescence without ample rest. Not to mention that the...pardon me--that the abuse did not stop."

Beside the stiffening Radia, Han Shin flinched and finally raised his head. The black eyes trembled along with the rest of his body. His face, naturally fair before, looked as white as a hospital sheet.

"Honestly, I have no idea how he could do it with that condition. If he had come to me during his teenage days, I would have already told him to stop and take it easy," the doctor shook his head.

"That’s why..." Radia muttered.

That was why Han Joon had never gone to a doctor. It was because he knew he couldn’t stop or take it easy. He might even think the doctor’s words would hinder him. What if they told him to stop doing what he did and his father got even more disappointed in him? He could get beaten more, or worse...

Those eyes might shifted to his little brother.

Radia knew very well why Han Joon never checked his condition; why the man could hold on with a broken body. But the doctor didn’t.

"Excuse me?"

Radia shook his head. "No, please continue."

"Well...I have only been his physician after he became the Captain of Mobius," the doctor continued. It was normal, since lower-level soldiers could only use military doctors. "At that time, his condition was already bad--but nothing like this."

Radia clenched his fist. "When did..."

"It got considerably worse before he went to prison. I examined him before the New Year, and he was asking for more medication than usual. He said he was going on a long mission," the doctor paused, trying to recall things that happened a few years ago. "But it got much, much worse when I examined him in prison."

Once again, the doctor had no idea why, because Han Joon never told anyone. But Radia and Shin knew what happened during that time; the increased rate of searching for the main server of Kronos meant Joon had to use his trait often. During that time he disappeared, he probably had to use it every day--no, all the time.

Han Shin, for the first time, opened his mouth. The question was filled with desperation. "Do you really not know how to..."

The doctor shook his head slowly. If he could, he wanted to be able to cure everyone, but this was not something taught in medical study.

"The cold itself is coming from his mana core, and I had been giving him treatment to keep the cold energy inside his core so it wouldn’t damage his organs," the doctor said, showing the list of treatments he had been doing. Most of it had to be done in the hospital, during his monthly check-up. There was also a heat energy pill he had to take every day, which was small enough that he could take it without anyone knowing. "But as with any kind of treatment, the effectiveness decreases with repeated use, so I had been advising him to try solving the core problem."

Something suddenly clicked in Radia’s mind. "The alternative treatment."

"...yes, I guess you could call it that," the doctor replied, rather surprised that Radia knew about it. "But it seemed like, in the end...that also couldn’t help."

How confusing; it was like Han Joon wanted to hide it, but also not. Or perhaps, he let Radia know because hiding it completely would just garner suspicion. By acting like he didn’t hide anything, Radia actually believed that nothing was wrong with it.

Or maybe--just maybe...Joon wanted to let him know gradually. It was just his condition worsened out of his prediction.

"...where--" Radia stopped when he realized his voice had become hoarse. He took a breath and asked again slowly. "Do you know the place he goes to for this alternative treatment? In Shiroin."

"He never told me, but..." the doctor frowned and tapped on his table to ponder. "If it’s Shiroin, then maybe--"

He pushed his chair back and leaned down, rummaging through his lower cabinet for a while. It took him around a minute to pull out a card.

"Here," he placed the card on the table. There was only a logo instead of a name on one side, and on another side was a mana map--a map that could only be seen when someone poured mana in their eyes. "This person is said to be an expert in handling core. But they are elusive and hard to meet, so you can’t even reach them through the link. People only know about them from mouth to mouth."

"I see," Radia stared at the map to commit it to memory. No wonder they used a mana map--it couldn’t be copied to the link. "Do you know how long--"

"Sir!"

Before Radia could ask the doctor further, the door to the office opened harshly.

"Mister Han has regained consciousness!"

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