Chapter 150: Chapter 149 - Future Doctor
"You’re free on Saturday, aren’t you?"
Yui’s unexpected question threw Kuro off guard.
At the moment, the group was heading home after school.
Yui abruptly stopped in front of him.
Kuro looked up from the glass he was drinking from.
"... Probably."
"Great."
Yui nodded.
"Can you come to assist me?"
Akari immediately reacted with dramatic flair.
"Now she needs a sidekick-doctor!"
"I don’t even think I’m going to become one."
Yui pointed out.
"Just because."
"Really."
The others chuckled.
Kuro rolled his eyes.
"What do you need me to do?"
"You’ll see," Yui answered.
"With pleasure."
"You don’t sound very sure about yourself," Kuro added.
"I don’t know what exactly."
"... Why me?"
"I don’t know," Yui admitted.
"I just have a hunch."
There was no point arguing with Yui when she used that voice, so Kuro reluctantly gave in.
"...Fine."
---
Saturday came rather quickly.
Like last time, the teaching hospital appeared rather busy.
Doctors rushed through the hallways.
Nurses with carts filled with medicines moved along corridors.
Patients waited quietly for their appointment.
It all was very organized.
Everyone had their place to go.
Yui came to meet him in simple white coat.
Not a doctor’s yet.
But somehow...
It seemed perfectly fitting to Kuro.
"You look different."
Kuro observed.
Yui smiled.
"You do too."
"How? I’m wearing the same hoodie."
"I meant your face."
"... Oh."
She laughed quietly.
"Let’s go."
"The session starts in a few minutes."
---
In the training room were about twenty medical students.
A few senior physicians stood in the front.
Today’s lecture was dedicated to talking with patients.
"One of the main skills of a good doctor is communication."
A senior physician started to address them.
"And not the one which is based on textbooks."
Yui silently glanced at Kuro who looked rather uncomfortable in this company.
He hadn’t noticed anything.
"... Come on."
---
The first practical exercise was about approaching the patient and presenting yourself.
It went smoothly until one elderly man entered the room.
He seemed rather nervous.
And that was an understatement.
His trembling didn’t seem to cease.
One of the trainees stepped to introduce himself.
"Good day."
The patient didn’t react.
The other student tried his luck.
With similar results.
Yui murmured to Kuro:
"He is rather scared."
"He always gets nervous in hospitals."
"Really?"
Kuro looked at the man from the back of the classroom.
Without giving any thoughts to it...
He walked over there.
The doctors looked at each other curiously.
Yui seemed to wonder what exactly he was doing.
Kuro stood in front of the old man.
Instead of asking any medical questions...
He examined the fishing keychain he saw in the man’s bag.
"You fish?"
The man blinked.
"... Used to."
"What for?"
"River trout."
"My grandfather used to say that the trout were smarter than fishermen."
The patient looked confused for a second.
Then laughed.
"True."
"I spent days trying to catch them."
"So have I."
The old man visibly relaxed.
He stopped trembling so much.
For the next few minutes...
The conversation never returned to medicine.
Instead, they discussed fishing.
The weather.
Their favorite rivers.
Where they caught the largest fish.
After some time one of the trainees joined them quietly.
"May I ask you some questions now?"
He got a natural response.
"Sure."
Conversation went without any problems.
And when they finished, the patient thanked Kuro and bowed before leaving the classroom.
A heavy silence descended.
All students understood what had just happened.
"Who are you?" one of the senior physicians asked.
"I’m not a student here."
"Not a student."
"Not a doctor?"
"Neither."
The physician put his hands behind his back.
"Fascinating."
"I did something wrong?" Kuro inquired.
The physician chuckled.
"On the contrary."
---
During the lunch break, the senior physician invited Kuro and Yui to eat with them in the cafeteria.
Some of the trainees followed, trying to find out what exactly happened in the class.
The physician took his plate and addressed Kuro:
"You know what you did?"
"Tried to make a conversation," Kuro replied.
"Exactly."
"But why does it matter?" the boy asked puzzled.
"You didn’t try to comfort him," the physician explained.
"I didn’t."
"You didn’t try to impress anyone," he added.
"Definitely not."
"But what did I do then?" Kuro scratched his cheek awkwardly.
"You simply regarded him like a person."
A silence ensued.
And then the physician continued:
"Many young doctors nowadays become so focused on the disease..."
"They forget about the human being."
Yui silently nodded, taking everything seriously.
The senior physician looked Kuro right into his eyes.
"And this can’t be learned," he continued.
"It can’t?"
"Can’t be."
"You either sincerely care about your patient..."
"Or pretend to."
He smiled again.
"People will always be able to see the difference."
Kuro rubbed his cheek nervously.
"I just felt that he was alone."
"Indeed," the physician smiled.
"And that’s the reason why he felt comfortable talking with you."
---
Several hours later the afternoon session ended.
Kuro and Yui left the teaching hospital and headed for the nearest station.
Neither of them started a conversation immediately.
They were silent for a while...
Until Yui unexpectedly addressed him.
"You know..."
"What?"
"I’ve spent years studying medicine."
She looked at her watch.
"Learned all the anatomy."
"Pharmacology."
"Pathology."
"And many more things."
"I get you."
Kuro nodded understandingly.
"But today..."
She looked ahead.
"...I understood something."
He looked at her.
"The easiest thing for a doctor is studying medicine," Yui smiled faintly.
"Right."
"... What is the hardest?" Kuro asked curiously.
Yui stopped walking.
"Understand people."
The words hung in the air between them.
Yui looked at Kuro with rather unusual seriousness.
"You were able to do something today..."
"... That most medical students struggle with for years."
"I talked with him," Kuro responded.
"You connected."
She corrected him.
"You calmed him down."
"Seriously?" he asked sarcastically.
"Yes."
"Not even a little," Yui added with a quiet laugh.
They walked in silence again.
Then Yui unexpectedly asked:
"You would probably be great in healthcare."
"... Absolutely not," Kuro rejected her proposal immediately.
Yui stared at him surprised.
"That was quick."
"I disagree."
"You didn’t even think about it," she argued.
"Yeah, but for only one second."
Yui laughed again.
"Why?"
"Because..." Kuro hesitated for a second.
"Firstly..."
"If you are going to be as long," Yui interrupted him.
"Okay..."
"... Because I would faint during one surgery."
"Agreed."
"I also can’t memorize half the medical terms."
"That’s fine."
"And I would prescribe orange juice."
"That’s not how prescriptions work," she noted.
"Exactly."
"I wasn’t suggesting you became a doctor," Yui concluded with a smile.
"You know it."
"But that was not what I wanted to say," she turned to Kuro.
"... People feel better when you are around."
He didn’t respond.
Just didn’t know what to answer.
By the time they reached the station, Yui studied Kuro with curious eyes.
Her mentor had noticed it.
So did she.
And even Minami.
Everywhere Kuro went...
People relaxed somehow.
They smiled more.
Talked more.
Open up more.
This wasn’t a medical skill.
And certainly not something one could learn from a textbook.
But it was real.
When the train left the platform...
Yui wondered whether Kuro was destined to choose his career not among different professions.
Maybe...
He was meant to find out why everyone trusted him automatically.
Kuro had already made his decision.
"I’m definitely not going to be a doctor," he stated with determination.
Yui burst into laughter.
"How come..."
"I guess this wasn’t a surprise for you."
"You were expecting it?"
"Well, yes."
The train departed to take them home.
Neither of them knew that today’s visit had impressed the senior physicians much more than both of them could imagine.
While Kuro and Yui left...
One senior doctor was smiling to himself.
"That young man..."
"He would become a wonderful caregiver."
No matter if he would ever wear a white coat.
While Kuro and Yui were on their way out from the hospital, a nurse ran to them.
"Excuse me!"
They both stopped.
"They asked us to deliver these papers in the rehabilitation ward since they are a bit short-handed today."
"Sure, I can do it," replied Yui.
"I’ll join you, too," said Kuro.
The nurse thanked her and went inside.
---
The rehabilitation ward seemed to be more peaceful compared to other parts of the hospital.
Patients tried to walk and practice under therapists’ guidance.
Some of them started using their arms once again.
And others struggled to stand up.
Each step was their victory.
Watching this from behind, Kuro stayed silent.
No one rushed or competed.
They all took their steps at their own pace.
When handing the papers to a nurse, they saw an elderly gentleman wave his hand.
"Hey, you young fellow."
Kuro turned his head.
"... Me?"
The elderly man smiled.
"There’s no one else around except for you."
Kuro approached him.
"May I help you?"
With a point toward a chessboard on the table next to him, he continued:
"My grandson was going to visit me today."
"But he couldn’t come."
He smiled slightly embarrassed.
"Could you play with me? Just once?"
Kuro looked at Yui.
"All right, go ahead."
---
The game lasted for about twenty minutes.
Both opponents were not good at chess.
But the elderly man kept telling funny stories while playing.
Stories about his young years.
About fishing adventures.
And about how he met his future wife.
Listening to him, Kuro occasionally interrupted him with a question.
Sometimes he laughed.
At the end of the game, the old man seemed even happier than before.
"I lost," he laughed.
"But I had some fun."
"Yes, I had, too," replied Kuro.
The old man held his hand towards him.
"Thank you."
"It can get pretty boring sometimes here," he explained.
Kuro shook his hand.
"Remember your words."
---
Coming out of the rehabilitation ward, Yui saw something unusual.
Some nurses stared at Kuro.
Not because he did anything amazing but because he had not been treating the old man as a patient.
He had just listened and played chess.
One of them whispered to her colleague:
"He is a medical student, isn’t he?"
"No, I think not."
"He seems to have such a comforting presence..."
The other nurse nodded.
"I know what you mean."
---
Stepping outside into the fresh night air, Yui looked at Kuro.
"You know..."
"What?"
"I think that we didn’t help patients today."
Kuro looked confused.
"Why?"
Yui smiled at him.
"We didn’t do any medical actions."
She grinned widely.
"But I believe that we have shown a lot of kindness."
Kuro thought about it.
"I see... Maybe..."
"You see?" Yui laughed.
"Everyone keeps saying that you would make a good doctor."
"You just don’t know how you influence people."
He acted disappointed.
"I swear they are trying to recruit me."
Laughing, Yui looked at the hospital building.
"Maybe..."
She turned her eyes toward Kuro.
"Or maybe they’re noticing something similar to you."
Turning their heads, they both looked at the hospital.
It stood majestically above the sunset.
There were so many people in it struggling for life.
Some needed a medical treatment.
Others - surgery.
And the others simply wanted to be heard.
While walking to the train station, they both kept silent.
But Kuro felt a doubt.
What if helping people does not mean to become a doctor...
