Obedient
(by azyl00 for Mr. Love Dream Date Fanfic Contest)
You asked me to wait,
I told you not to;
But you smiled at me
As if you heard nothing.
<<Flashback>>
“Wait for me.” He said.
“You know I can’t, Lucien.”
“Distance doesn’t matter, as long as we love each other, right?”
“But I’m afraid. I’m scared. You know I’m not ready for a relationship. I need to focus on my studies; I don’t want to lose my scholarship. With the dad getting fired, I have to work part-time to afford school.”
“But I’ll be here supporting you. I won’t leave you alone. I’ll help you pay.”
“I don’t want to be selfish, Lu. You’re the kind of person who gives 200%; you’ll be busy with your internship at the hospital. I don’t want you to drag you down nor want your money. You know how I feel about that.”
“You are stubborn as hell. How can you be selfish when you know I could afford it, the money and the time?”
“I want you to prioritize your patients rather than thinking about me, not eating or not. Plus, the US is not as cheap as here.”
“Even if I’m your boyfriend or your friend, I’ll still be concerned. You look like a stick!”
“I don’t want to fight today, anymore, Lu.” She sighed. “Today is the last day I’m spending time with you face to face; you’re flying to the US tomorrow.”
“Okay. Okay. No more fighting?”
“I’ll miss hanging at this Peach Grove with you.” She said while looking at the flowers around.
“I’ll miss you more.” He whispered while looking at her.
She just smiled sadly at him.
An awkward silence surrounded them as they walked home.
“Lu…”
“Why do I feel like you’re breaking up with me?”
“It’s not breaking up when you haven’t even started.”
“M…” He said but was suddenly stopped as she hugged him.
“Please, let’s stay like this.”
“…”
“I guess this is goodbye, for now, Lu. Take care of your flight to the US tomorrow! Send me chocolates, lots of them when you ever visit.” She said as she lets go, wiping her tears as they slowly fall from her eyes.
“Wait for me, M.,” he said as he helped her wipe her tears away.
“Don’t, Lu.”
He smiled and kissed her forehead. He bid her goodnight as she entered her house.
I wasn’t supposed to hope;
To be with you someday
Unconsciously, I did.
And perhaps, I was obedient.
Lucien arrived safely in the US and started his career while she continued her studies.
They would talk every night; he’d asked her what she has eaten, she’d ask him how many lives he saved. They’ll do it for hours until one of them is asleep or off to duty.
This was their routine
For a Month…
For a Year…
Until both of them were too busy, he was focused on his career; she in her studies.
Talks for hours became missed calls.
Messages sent.
Messages read later.
She graduated while he was awarded one of the best doctors in his hospital.
100-word messages became shorter and shorter.
From stories, they became greetings. “Happy Birthday.” “Merry Christmas.” “Congratulations.”
Messages seen.
Messages unanswered.
On her mind, she dreamt of scenarios seeing him again. She’ll hug him harder than the last time. She’ll wait for him this time. She’ll be much better.
But years passed, and she started her career. They’ve never met.
No more messages.
Just unsent ones.
Then time passed by,
I saw you again,
And you smiled at me
As if you were to say something.
“I hate these kinds of conferences,” Kiki complained. “Why does the boss always assign boring ones to us?”
“What’s boring about a doctor finding a cure to cancer? Surely, it’s worth the headline.”
“There are no handsome guys here, MC.” Her companion sighed. “As per research, Dr. Freeman is a genius, but he looks like a crazy old dude with no sleep. How can I listen to this four-hour conference?”
“There, there, Kiki. That’s why you have me. We’re in this together. Just don’t forget to take lots of photos, okay?”
“Aye. Aye.”
The program started, “Good morning, we welcome you all to this conference on ‘A Step Closer to Curing Cancer.’ We are afraid that Dr. Freeman is unable to come with us due to an illness, but he will be substituted by his assistant.”
“Oh, that’s probably another old guy. I want to bail out.” Kiki whispered. “Why do we always choose to be on the front? It’s hard to stand up without getting noticed.”
“Shh… keep quiet, Kiki, I’ll need to take note of the name for the article.” She answered her colleague back.
“Ladies and gentlemen, I am proud to introduce our speaker, Dr. Lucien.”
…
“Ten Million people per year die because of cancer. It might be strangers, our friends, our loved ones. Ladies and gentlemen, you may have to worry no more. On behalf of my mentor, Dr. Freeman, this is Dr. Lucien, not only saying to you good morning, but we have found a cure.”
“On second thought, I thank you, Madam Boss, for the assignment and you MC for the front row seats. This guy is gorgeous. And his voice, don’t get me started with his voice.”
“…”
“MC, hey.”
“…”
“Earth to MC!” Kiki whispered again as she looked at MC with confusion.
He was here in the flesh. Her friend, is he still her friend even though it has been years since their last message? Exactly 999 days?
He saw her.
Their eyes met,
for one
two
three seconds.
And a smile crept on to his lips.
Did he wait? Did he still love her? All those questions were on her mind as he was speaking to the audience. They were mesmerized by him like she was. Lucien was still Lucien, but he was brighter than ever.
You were supposed to wait;
To be together, you and I,
But then you didn’t.
And sadly, you were obedient
“MC, you were so spaced out during the whole conference. Are you okay?”
“Yes, Kiki. I was just a bit shocked.”
“Did you get star struck? Or fall in love at first sight? So that’s your ideal guy, MC. I’ve never seen you dating since we started working.” Her friend pondered.
“Uhmm.. he just looked familiar.”
“Oh, wait, there he is!” Kiki said as she dragged her through the people who were crowding the star.
“Lucien!” Someone shouted, and a woman suddenly was in the middle of the crowd hugging the doctor.
“Jade! I didn’t know you’d be here,” he said as she smiled at her and kissed her cheeks.
“Wow! What a beauty!” Kiki said as both of them got shocked by the newcomer. “I want to see them closer, I want a picture. They look cozy.”
“You can go to them, Kiki. I’m going to go ahead.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, I’m hungry, and I need to go to the office so that it can be printed tomorrow.” She said to her friend as she bid her goodbye.
Thoughts run on her mind as she was walking away.
In the end, he fulfilled her wish;
Not to wait, but to move on.
In the end, she fulfilled his wish,
To wait, even though she told him not to.
Months have passed since that meeting.
Her article was a hit earning her praise.
He flew back to the US to continue the research.
She was sad, but that didn’t stop her in life. She still worked, went out with friends, and thought of him less and less.
Maybe they were not just meant to be?
No other guys she has met ever piqued her interest.
Maybe she was meant to be single?
Maybe?
Maybe not?
Maybe?
Maybe not?
She said as she plucked the leaves on the fallen flower.
She was alone on her sanctuary, at the peach grove, until she hears footsteps.
Until she saw him.
“Hey.” He said cautiously.
“Lu… Lucien?”
“I was looking for you everywhere, I almost forgot we hung out at this spot.”
“You were looking for me?”
“Yes. I’ve tried going to your house, but the tenant said you’ve already moved.”
“Oh yeah. You could’ve messaged me.”
“I wanted to see you.” He said as he looked at her. “At the conference, I was looking for you, but your friend said you were back in the office. I forgot to ask your number from her; you changed your’s way back.”
“Yes, I was busy writing the article about the cure for cancer.”
“I read it. It was an amazing article.”
“Your research was marvelous, how’s it by the way?”
“We are actually on Phase 2 of testing, we are conducting one in the US, and I’m assigned here.”
“Oh,” she was shocked. “So, you’ll be staying here?”
“For good, hopefully. We can conduct researches and coordinate them online.”
“That’s good. I’m happy for you.” She said as she smiled at him.
They spent a few minutes of silence together, admiring the beauty of their peach grove.
“M?”
“Yes”
“I missed you, you know.”
“You’re not the only one who did, Lu.”
“You were right.”
“About what?”
“That forcing it back then would have destroyed us. I would’ve been busy with the patients, then the research, I would have no time for you.”
“And you would’ve blamed yourself for not putting me first and pushing me away. That’s why I did it first.”
“I understand that. I guess it’s the perks of being an adult, yes?”
“True. I would probably hide from you forever if we broke up back then.” She laughed at the notion.
“Six years, and you still laugh the same.” He told her.
“Six years, and you are still as observant as ever.” She countered back.
“And single as ever.”
“You never dated?”
“Too busy with the research.”
“I thought you were dating that pretty girl at the conference?”
“Do I smell jealousy there?”
“No!”
“It was Jade. Her husband was one of my colleagues at the hospital. Both of them were actually there at the conference.”
“Oh.”
“I’m actually waiting for this stubborn girl, but she told me not to.”
“Oh.”
“M … I’m still waiting for you. The moment I laid my eyes on you, I knew you were the one. But that time, back then, wasn’t ours. I hope now is the right time.”
“We were best friends back then, Lu. Right now, we barely know each other.”
“We’ll take it slow. Let’s hang out like we used to, start being friends again. Then go on dates, adventures, more dates?”
“What about work?”
“The perks of being head researcher means I have many people I can delegate my work to. No more late nights. How about you?”
“No worries on my side. Ever since I started working, everything went well, Dad’s job is stable, and I guess we have no more financial problems.”
“You in? Slow and steady?” he said as he extended his hand to her.
“I’m still scared, Lu.”
“We’re always a good team, M. We can do this together.”
“I know.”
“So? You and me?”
“Yes, you and me.” She said as she held his hand.
They both hugged each other.
Harder than the last.
Harder thinking it was their last.
But actually, it was one of their many firsts.
Their first hug as a couple,
Their first date,
Their first kiss.
He asked her to wait,
the stubborn girl he loved.
To be together, she and him
And he thought she didn’t.
Time has passed
And fate let them meet again
Luckily, she did
The stubborn girl was obedient.
