CHAPTER 23
THE PATIENT WHO WASN'T SUPPOSED TO EXIST.
The emergency ward was quieter than usual, but suddenly a man arrived in stretcher fully covered in blood. The first thing Xinyue noticed was he arrived without a name.
Not the blood – though there was plenty of it, not the shallow breathing, or the way his pulse fluttered weakly beneath her fingers like a trapped bird.
Instead, it was the absence of ID band, admission slip or any electronic alert preceding the stretcher.
It was just a body wheeled in through the emergency doors at 2.17 a.m., accompanied by two paramedic who being very suspicious and refused to meet her eyes.
"Trauma incoming," one of the said, the voice was flat. "Male, in thirties and found unconscious."
"Found where?" Xinyue asked them, already snapping gloves on her hands.
A pause, too long.
"Does it matter?" the other paramedic replied bit arrogantly.
Yes, Xinyue thought. It always mattered, even though she was displeased with them.
But there was no time to argue. The man convulsed lightly as they transferred him to the bed, blood soaking through the torn fabric at his side. The wound was too deep and ugly, too precise to be accidental, too clean to be a street violence. It seemed like an intentional attack.
She felt it then, the cold prickle kind of feeling along her spine. And it wasn't a random feeling, she knew it.
"Vital?" she demanded.
"BP dropping, pulse irregular."
Xinyue leaned over him, fingers firm but careful. "Sir, can you hear me?"
No response.
She glances at the chart tablet clipped to the bed and frowned. It was unexpectedly blank.
"Where is his file?" she asked.
The paramedic's jaw tightened at the question. "We were told you'd handle it."
Told by who exactly?
Xinyue didn't ask. She already knew the answer would be a dead end no matter what.
"Prep OR Two," she said sharply two her nurse assistants. "Now."
They hesitated because it was new.
"Is there a problem?" she snapped at them.
The older paramedic exhaled slowly. "Doctor…. This patient isn't supposed to be admitted."
Her hands stilled at the new found information.
"I don't care who he's supposed to be," she said, voice law but firm. "He's bleeding out in my ER."
Silence stretched between them, thick and uncomfortable.
Then the younger paramedic nodded once. "OR Two" he echoed and pushed the stretcher forward with the help of the nurse.
As they moved Xinyue caught a glimpse of something tucked beneath the man's clenched fist.
A metal.
Her heart skipped at that,
She reached for instinctively but before her fingers could close around the object a hand appeared for nowhere and gently but firmly caught her wrist.
"Don't," Taehyun said.
She looked up startled. He stood far too close, dressed in the dark clothes that didn't belong in a hospital, eyes sharp and assessing the chaos with unsettling clam.
"What are you doing here?" she hissed.
"Same as you," he replied quietly. "Trying to keep him alive."
Her gaze flicked back to the man. "You know him."
"Yes."
"Then start talking."
"Late."
Ahe pulled her wrist free from him. "That's not how this works"
"It is for tonight."
She bristled but the patient groaned, drawing her focus back where it belonged.
"Move," she ordered Taehyun, already pushing the stretcher again. "Either help or get out of my way."
To her surprise, he followed her.
Inside OR two the light was harsh and unforgiving. The surgical team moved on instinct but there was an undercurrent of tension she had never felt before. As if the room itself knew this man didn't belong.
She scrubbed in quickly, mind racing. No name, no file. An unmarked wound. Taehyun's presence, this was no coincidence. "Scalpel," she said. As she worked, she felt Taehyun's gaze on her not intrusive, but watchful. Like a man guarding a fragile line.
"Gunshot?" she asked without looking up.
"Yes," he said.
"Who shot him?"
"That's complicated."
She shot him a glare, "You're running out of time for vague answers."
He leaned closer to her, voice dropping. "He wasn't supposed to make it here."
Her hands stilled for a fraction of a second. "And yet he did."
"Because someone wanted to see if you'd save him."
Her chest tightened at that, "This isn't a test."
"It is for them."
She resumed suturing, jaw clenched. "I don't play games with patients."
"I know," Taehyun said softly. "That's why they chose you."
The words settled heavy between them. The surgery stretched on, every second taut with unspoken stakes. The man's vitals stabilized slowly, reluctantly, like life itself was unsure whether to stay.
When it was finally over, Xinyue stepped back, exhaustion hitting her all at once. "He'll live," she said. "For now."
Taehyun exhaled a rare crack in his composure. "Good."
She peeled off her gloves, eyes narrowing. "Now tell me why a man who 'wasn't supposed to exist' ended up on my table.
" Before he could answer, a nurse rushed in, pale-faced. Dr. Lin," she whispered urgently. "Administration is asking questions. They want to know why OR Two was used for a non-registered patient."
Xinyue laughed softly, incredulous. "That didn't take long."
Taehyun's gaze hardened. "They're closing in."
She turned to him. "Then this is the part where you explain everything."
"Not here," he said. "Too many ears."
"Then where?"
His eyes flicked to the unconscious man. "Somewhere they won't think to looked.
Her pulse spiked for a moment, "You want to move him."
"I want to keep him alive."
She hesitated, but every instinct screamed at her that crossing this line would change everything. But 'she'd already crossed it, hadn't she?'
She nodded once. "I'll arrange a private room."
Taehyun studied her, something unreadable passing through his expression. "You don't have to do this."
She met his gaze evenly. "Yes. I do." As they wheeled the man out under the cover of routine, Xinyue felt the weight of unseen eyes pressing in from every corner.
Somewhere above them, someone was watching.