Though he had been startled shitless by the sudden twist of the patient's body, Daichi still held on to some semblance of composure.
He quickly began assessing the strange condition of the patient. 'Maybe this person suffered some serious burns. That's why his entire face is stitched. But what about the neck twist? Is there any condition, disorder, or genetic mutation that lets people do that?'
Whether his assessment was dumb or genius, it did make him feel a bit better. If there was a scientific explanation for the patient's condition, the eeriness around him would drop by several levels.
The only issue was that Daichi himself found his hypothesis barely plausible.
'Wait a minute, why am I straining my brain over this weirdo? Shouldn't I just ask the staff and clear my confusion?'
It was fortunate that the faceless patient wasn't moving or, god forbid, chasing him. That alone made things easier to digest and helped him stay relatively calm.
Daichi ignored the twisted faceless patient and glanced to his right. A nurse was standing there, fiddling with her notepad, fully immersed in whatever she was doing.
Occasionally, she swung her hips left and right like a pendulum, as if humming a song. Seeing her so composed eased Daichi's nerves a little.
Surely, if the patient was an anomaly, she would have noticed. Her calmness meant he wasn't being schizophrenic.
With a hopeful smile, Daichi approached the nurse and waved a hand in front of her face. "Uhm, hello. I think one of your patients is acting up. You should check up on him."
The nurse stopped fiddling with her notepad and slowly lifted her gaze to meet his. Her stare was strangely chilling… a cold shiver crawled down his spine the moment their eyes met.
'Fuck… is this hospital full of weirdos? What are the chances she's a patient herself?'
His palms began to sweat. The uncomfortable moisture made him shove his hands into his pockets.
"I shouldn't have disturbed you… I guess you were doing something important. But I'm sure the patient needs help. You should really check up on him."
The nurse continued to stare straight into his eyes, ignoring his words entirely. Daichi felt increasingly uncomfortable.
After several minutes of intense staring competition. He couldn't stand her gaze any longer. He bowed his head and apologized for disturbing her, then turned around in a jiffy without waiting for a response.
In his books, the nurse was a certified weirdo. Even an extremely confident person wouldn't maintain eye contact for over two minutes straight. They would at least shift their focus to the forehead, nose bridge, nose, or eyebrows.
But that nurse just kept staring him in the eyes. He felt extremely uncomfortable because of it.
'This hospital is not good at all. I need to find Ryuga fast…'
He ran deeper into the halls, past the faceless patient and the gawking nurse, and reached another corner.
'Are you kidding me?'
Two people were already waiting for him at the turn. One was the nurse who had stared straight into his eyes. The other was the faceless patient.
'I'm sure, 100% sure they didn't run after me. Heck, even if they did, they would have had to pass by me to get here first. But they didn't… so, how?!'
Daichi wanted to scream the question out loud, but he decided doing so would be foolish. Firstly, he couldn't show them he was startled or scared.
Losing composure was one thing, showing it was another. Sometimes even fake confidence could get the job done.
'Should I go back or run through them?'
After thinking for roughly 30 seconds, he decided running through them was the better option.
So, he sprinted past them. The hallways repeated themselves with the same rooms, doors, plants, and seats.
Another corner appeared in his periphery. And so did the two nuisances. The nurse and the patient stood there again.
'I'm hallucinating… It's only possible if I'm hallucinating.'
But as far as Daichi knew, hallucinations happened to mental patients, or those severely ill, stressed, or undergoing substance withdrawal.
He was none of those.
'I have never once cursed myself for being a good guy… until now. Maybe alcohol isn't that bad.'
He laughed at himself and approached the nurse. There was no point in running if he kept bumping into them. He needed to face the problem head-on.
"Miss nurse, I see you've taken a fancy to me. As much as I'm pleased by your attention, I must say… you're not my type. Soooo, how about you stop pursuing me with your patient? Huh? A beautiful girl like you would surely get many handsome guys like me."
The nurse didn't humour him. Maybe she didn't like his joke, but his words weren't wasted. She finally did something other than stare at him.
Her slender pale arm lifted and reached for his cheek. Out of reflex, Daichi pushed her arm away, brushing her arm aside with the back of his sleeve.
The moment her arm touched the fabric, it burned. Not in a fiery way, but acidic.
Daichi's eyes shrank into pinpricks. He immediately backed away, taking several quick steps to create a healthy distance.
He glanced at his sleeve again to confirm. And it was true… the fabric had charred exactly where she touched it.
His eyes drifted back to the nurse involuntarily, his expression tightening. This time, a chilling shiver ran through him.
Strong enough to make him collapse to the ground.