we will live forever

It probably didn’t help that he made them fear him if they even tried to speak against him. That would make him the ‘boss’, wouldn’t it? A chuckle escaped him as he pushed himself away from the wall to take a step closer, forcing the grin off his face to at least pretend he was serious.

“Well, I can assure you I’m not just a boy, at least where it matters.” His voice was low and calm, speaking as though he was already very comfortable with the situation he was in, despite being mentally alert. “..It is strange for anyone to pass through this place, though. It’s mostly isolated, and while it’s larger than the average town, everyone seems to know each other. Or, they at least know me. I suppose that just comes with being the ‘boss’ around here, doesn’t it?”

Strange for someone to speak so smoothly around him. Though, that was the downside of not being able to get inside her head, which he was still overwhelmingly curious about. That was the whole reason he was talking to her, wasn’t it? It had nothing to do with her looks, or the fact that she was a new face around here. He only wanted to know why he couldn’t get a grip on her feelings, and something told him she did know why that was.

“Ah, do I detect a hint of sarcasm in your angelic voice? Your expression speaks for you, darling. I promise I don’t bite.” He cocked his head to the side, grinning once more while exposing the large scar that decorated the skin on the side of his neck, just below his jaw. 

Mm, mm. What is this now, still putting up that unaffected front or still not being aware of what she’s actually capable of? Although that probably can’t be helped when they don’t have the means of getting insight on individual capabilities like she easily does. His expression is quickly taken note of since it’s not really confusion as she’s expected after casting such a line, but at the same time she won’t fall for a trick that she loves playing on others and believe every single outward show of reaction that she gains from him.

She can safely guess that she must have been one of the very first people he’s come across to have uttered such words, however. That amusement so apparent on his face is sincere enough to take for truth, which is also a favourable outcome for the time being while she takes her time to assess him. If anything it feeds into the idea that she is amicable and poses no threat, in so ensuring that he will at least be caught completely off his guard when she decides that he has outlived her welcome. Lack of preparation, experience or luck will see to it that she can seize even this patch of land for herself if she so pleases- it will be sufficient punishment for failing to display fear when he should have. How loathsome, till then! 

None of this is reflected in the way she looks at him right now, however, although this is in part due to her patience. Just like fishing, it takes a tremendous amount of time and conniving to test the waters first. 

He is also certainly bad at selling his stuff too, youngster of tender age making his turf out to be a less-than-ideal place from the get go! 

“Don’t bite, do you? Well, neither do I, fortunately. I do not like wasting my energy on things unless they provide a significant impact. Anyway, onto proper introductions since I am in your turf and not vice versa. Junyi is my name, simply so you don’t die. I am also a witch, so that you are put on your feet. 

After all, doing so ensures that he’s finished in this line of work as far as she’s concerned, since no one wants a stalker in their midst that could potentially terrorize them next.  

Except maybe – just maybe – that’s too much work for the likes of him, and she’s hardly even interested in doing good deeds for the sake of appearances. A changed opinion matters far too little for her save for the little burst of amusement that dousing someone in metaphorical gasoline and setting him aflame provides, and he’s generally been harmless too if she takes into account the fact that he’s not spectacular enough to oust her from taking her promised perch within this prestigious hospital anytime soon. 

Ah, well. Perhaps just this act of scaring him shitless is enough. Who really gives a shit about whatever he does in his off time, anyway? Not her, at least.  But that doesn’t mean that she’s going to let him off the hook anytime soon, though. Not when he’s so clearly frightened at the prospect at losing his job and then some. 

But it’s just as he’s expected since he already got caught red-handed, she’s really not planning on letting him off the hook until she’s satisfied with pulling him through the mud and making him really get in touch with his own disgrace. He knows her too well to hope for a good result anyway, so right now he’d better start trying to buy himself some leniency, or defy his pride and make himself out to seem as meek and docile as humanly possible. It’s not as though he’s anyone indispensable or gifted in the medical field like she is, which obviously puts him in a potentially dangerous situation when he needs the job and the job itself needs her.  Honestly...why do good things always happen to the worst people? He’ll bet his entire savings account that she doesn’t even care all that much about her occupation and high status; in fact he believes it’s a well-known fact in this entire building by now that she might as well be 

Okay, so he knows the enemy she’s made herself out to be, and the lack of alternatives he can resort to using in order to preserve his reputation while not sacrificing his ego in the process. One or the other, it seems like. Maybe unless wasting her time and convincing her how troublesome it is to report him to the authorities is a plausible method to use? She’s the kind of person who’d throw in the towel halfway through a surgical procedure simply because she was tired of being on her feet- he can count on her lack of incentive for diligence if nothing else...... 

Ugh, anyways he can’t listen to his instinct to disengage. Drag it out, make her think it’s too much fuss is the best course of action, otherwise he’ll never hear the end of it, and he might just find himself on the streets because of those fucking 50 calls. 

None that she picked up either, god dammit.  

“No! No, fuck, no. You got it all wrong, mostly. W-we had a falling out a little bit ago, alright? One of those ugly but really pointless arguments that won’t interest you, okay? And yeah, sure, she got annoyed, like you would imagine obviously. My bad from the beginning.” 

That’s actually the truth, too. Partially. 

“Then I guess while I was drunk I didn’t want to just keep quiet without even trying to say that I was sorry, so I called her all those times. I don’t know about you but when I drink sometimes I just don’t fucking remember what I’m even doing, and I don’t know how much I had that time. C’mon, you know very well that I’m already struggling just to stay afloat with all this work on my hands as it is, so please,” how disgusting that word is! “please just throw me a line here. I don’t even want to ask you for advice on operations anymore, and I’ve just been doing as you said, marking your attendance as you asked. There’s honestly nothing to report here. I was just fucking deluded out of my mind. Just drop it. Please.”

Also, she looks quite proud of him as she applies the cream to his injured hands, so that’s one more achievement he can add to the few he’s gleaned from today’s events. In fact, he feels invigorated already, even without the proper rest that he probably needs after getting into that one fight - all of it thanks to her positive reaction. Besides, he doesn’t think he would be able to tolerate anyone speaking ill of her and being let off scot-free for that; he would most certainly teach whoever it was to reconsider that pettiness if he ever found out. 

And if said target chose to insult her while cornered…then he couldn’t be blamed for lashing out, could he? On her behalf. 

“’Course I did. What other outcome could there be? Even if people found out what secret I have it wouldn’t have made much of a difference - that is, if they can even talk about it among themselves after I’m done. Anyway, all that’s settled now, coast clear for us.” 

In reward for his efforts he’s just going to let her do some of the bandaging work instead of taking the supplies off her hands – he can take this opportunity to stay close to her while she’s occupied with the task, so there’s that. 

Doing all these things aren’t difficult by any means anyway, so this time wasted on coddling him is actually more worth it than she can fathom. Soften and fluff up his ego so that he will be even more inclined to do her bidding and satisfy her whims than he already is. After all he’s implied it himself that people around them are less likely to get on her nerves once they realize it’s him pulling the punches (only literally, not figuratively), she doesn’t need to point out his own strengths to him when he’s definitely more aware of such than her. Plus, this is the best possible outcome that could come about out of this so long as no one ever dares to point fingers and question her lack of talent for as long as it’s convenient. 

Just her luck to have picked up such a good combatant for herself, she praises herself as she continues to spread the salve over his hands evenly. Better yet that he’s put their relationship before anything else, saves her trouble and effort. 

Beaming, she finishes up the task of aftercare, before quite intentionally retaining his hands in hers for a moment or two longer and letting him go. Now he has no more reason to frown anymore, right? 

*✩₊˚ PRODUCE 101 PINKY ˚₊✩*

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Doesn’t that expression on his face suit him? Anyone his beau or beloved would’ve have their heartstrings tugged at if only they were here to see him, because as he is right now he looks absolutely pitiful being caught red-handed like this. How does a man like him get away with doing such inane nonsense? Swear to fucking christ, if she were ever sought out in such a stupid manner there would be no end to the degradation that she would promptly heap onto his head. Even make a lawsuit out of it if she found it funny enough; no hospital would want a doctor prone to stalker tendencies.

Not to say that she particularly wants to stand up for this person being subjected to his incessant calls and texts – she doesn’t even know that other girl except that she was just another colleague on the same ranking as him but proven inferior to her in ability. But it’s still best that he begin playing his every single card with twice as much caution and prudence, since she’s quite bored indeed and this seems to be shaping up nicely as entertainment. 

Then again, how good is he at the operating table? Is he even a threat to her? Debatable, hm… 

That’s a difficult feat by the way. There’s no denying that Huo has all the negotiating clout of the child of grand and untouchable tycoons; that kind of power will be relevant whenever she decides to use it for her own purposes. He’s never been made more aware of his humble familial background just by having her cajole him, let alone make the statement that she’s going to report him and possibly get him fired. He’s not a fool if he’s so painstakingly climbed up the ranks here, the department head is a greedy old sop who would rather cut him loose rather than get on her wrong side. How to survive in the working world 101, isn’t it.

Ugh, he really shouldn’t have done something so outrageously stupid. Or been caught out like this. Why didn’t he put a lock on his phone sooner? She’s right in saying that drunkenness is no valid justification for anything he does. But then again, he only made a slightly weird number of calls that night. Nothing serious, right? What should he even say here? 

“Actually, I didn’t this time. Amazing, huh.”

Surigo crosses his arms, watching (and also memorizing where those bandages are – he’ll have an easier time getting himself patched up without anyone’s notice next time) as she begins to look for them. Honestly, it’s part and parcel of life to get into a few brawls once in a while, no? Why the fuss, seriously…

"How exciting! So you ended up wrecking house, huh? I can tell. You’re gonna get brawler’s knuckles at this rate and any person with half a brain will see what your game really is. Still, you won, I expect. I can’t see how you’d come back here if not~~” 

She’s going to fetch one of the stronger, menthol-laced salves from the bottom of the drawer, along with the bandages that at this point are going to feature more permanently as an accessory if he persists with this sort of pastime. She doesn’t mind it of course, far from mere tolerance- he knows it as well, after all their time spent together. All the better if he bashes in the heads of people standing in his way up the power ranks, too. Then her own climb will be so much smoother... 

The smile that she wears at the thought is still etched upon her lips as she turns around and reaches to take his hands in hers, daubing a generous amount of mint-scented cream onto the backs of one bruised hand. 

Still, there’s no harm to playing along, is there? Regard it as compensation for all the times that he should have done his fair share of pretending in the past but didn’t. It doesn’t hurt to admit, either: that’s the first time in a while he’s managed to get a chuckle out of someone in a very long time since he first began his upward climb back into the reaches of sanity – and honestly? He’s rather pleased by that for some inexplicable reason. Maybe it’s because it’s always nicer to hear laughter that belongs to someone else real and proper, not figments of his own imagination or simply pulled from his own throat while he’s being steeped in his own madness.

Or maybe such laughter actually brings him back a spell: to earlier and happier times with others, with more people…

“A couple decade’s worth of moon cycles, I guess. I’m not too great with numbers, unfortunately. But I can tell you I’m very much all grown up. Way past school age, madam.”

He tilts his head sharply to the side, adjusting the scarf that’s swathed around his neck in a habitual, reflexive motion before bringing his stare back to focus intently on the Sorceress before him. What a person! — is this going to be the start to some good day? A good omen? Because right now his spirits are lifted enough for him to come around and set aside some of the growing despair that’d started to well up in him; be distracted by his own brightening mood.  

Although there’s no talk from him about his familiars and no questions about her lack thereof, much unlike how other magic users would converse. 

In actual fact, he’s even looking and seeming relaxed in their total absence, which gives her the idea that maybe they’re laying in wait and observing this encounter under the cover of someplace that she can’t sense- blasted detection magic of hers being pilfered to that pitable extent by her incompetent, gibbering wreck of an ex-familiar! Thank the lucky stars that she hasn’t gotten wind of her whereabouts, because when she gets her hands on the girl she’s going to wring her neck and bleed her dry for all the trouble caused. That’ll teach her the significance of subservience and respect....

 This boy has been displaying an acceptable amount of that virtue so far, thankfully. She has such a woefully short fuse for those who cross her; she will continue to be magnanimous henceforth till it no longer suits her.

Painted lips curve crescent as she simmers down from her furore, dark eyes hooded as though pleased with his words. In a way she is satisfied, especially at his ending statement- he would definitely do well to heed his own advice, smart boy.   

“I would greatly enjoy your company, be it down this road or longer. I have been walking for a long time alone, so I hope you understand the appeal of airing out words that have been buzzing about in my head for that amount of time.