"Do you only like women?" He clutches his chest and looks at me with sorrow in his eyes. His eyes are getting misty.
"Yes, I only like women." I keep my voice cool. He seems to believe me. Honestly, I don't like men. I don't ever plan to get into a relationship.
Suddenly, He bursts into tears.
Maybe I am seeing it wrong. A grown man won't cry like this at a public place. He's a freaking doctor.
His tears don't stop.
The women are watching me like I have betrayed my species. The men are shaking their heads in pity.
What did I just do?
"You don't like men one bit?" He asks again, tears rolling down on his face.
"I don't…" The moment I say it, he puts his face in my lap and sobs as if he lost everything. Everyone is silent except for him. I wonder what kind of sins I committed in my past life to go through this?
Wait! Where is he rubbing his face? I grab his hair and pull his head away from my lap. The accusatory words die in my throat. The corners of his eyes are red. It looks like he's heartbroken for real. I let out a sigh. It's better this way. "Doctor Sanguine, this is unprofessional behaviour."
I don't think that he's been behaving professionally since I woke up. He doesn't seem to care about public opinions either.
He moves closer to my face and looks into my eyes. "If I turn into a woman, will you go out with me?"
Sound of metal clattering against the floor mixed with loud gasps fill the air. I am having some difficulty absorbing those words. Eli Sanguine is looking at me with expectations. If I say no, I am afraid that he might join me in my next suicide attempt. Also, people are watching me like hawks. I don't know what would happen if I hurt this marshmallow more.
"Yeah." It's not like I will live long enough. I am going to end this life after I get the money out of the bank tomorrow morning. He will change his mind after I am dead.
My phone vibrates. "Doctor Sanguine, my cab is here."
He grasps my arm. "You need to stay at the hospital."
And make the bill bigger? I jerk his hand away lightly. "I have already signed the AMA form. You can't keep me here. I am sure that a lot of patients are waiting for you. Don't waste your time on me."
Everyone is staring at me. I ignore the whispers and walk out of the hospital. I get inside the passenger seat of the cab. I lean against the window. Thanks to Eli Sanguine, I feel so tired. I can't forget his teary face.
***
"Doctor Sanguine, are you okay?" A fellow doctor reaches for his hand. She has never seen him act like this for a woman.
He steps away before she could touch him. He smiles at her as if he wasn't shedding tears like an abandoned concubine a moment ago. "Doctor Anderson, I am alright. "
"But…" The woman doesn't get to finish her words. Eli is already running toward the exit. However, he's a few seconds late.
"She's in such a hurry to get away from me." Eli puts his hands on his waist. "Tsk! Tsk! To go as far as lying about liking women…I must have scared her a bit. Did she really think that I was going to eat her for real?"
He scratches his head. She doesn't know what he is. Then, what is she scared of? Is he misunderstanding something? He will ask her next time. Eli walks toward the parking space with a soft smile. She even touched his hair today. He didn't expect her to do that. What he wouldn't do to feel her fingers in his hair again? He releases a heavy sigh. It might never happen.
But he's not completely rejected. She did say that she would go out with him if he turned into a woman. A male ghoul to becoming a female ghoul? It might be a little uncomfortable, but it's not impossible. But she doesn't like women in such a manner for real. That's a relief. It doesn't mean that he's going to let this go.
The cab is little ahead of him. It's better to guard her until the culprit is caught. Right now, the person who is most dangerous to her life is herself. She might do something again. She doesn't have any will to live. If death comes for her, she will embrace it gladly. The corner of his lips tilts down. Should he have a talk with the reapers? However, she can do considerable damage to her body even if he tells all the reapers to not purge her soul. Then, one can't be sure if some reaper won't betray him.
Who is calling him at this hour? Keeping his eyes on the cab, he puts on the earpiece. "My dear Benny, why are you not asleep?"
[Eli, where are you?]
"I am on the highway, chasing a woman like an idiot. What about you?"
[Is that woman, by any chance, the human female?]
"She might or might not be that person."
[Tell me you are doing these things because you see her as your prey.]
"Prey? She doesn't even like me, Benny." Eli's voice turns sad. "Am I not good looking?"
[...]
"I have been completely rejected." Eli could only voice his 'pain' to his lawyer friend. "I think that I will die as the most single ghoul of this world."
[You have gone crazy.]
"That's strange." Eli curves his brows. "She also said the same thing."
[Because you are acting crazy.]
"Maybe." He watches her get out of the car. "I didn't know that it hurts this much to see someone else suffering like this. I want to hug her and tell her to live for me, but she's likely to slap my face if I do that."
[I am afraid that you have a strange illness.] After a short pause, his voice rings out of the phone again. [Your human has an interesting background. She's --]
At the same time, Eli hears a loud scream. He bolts toward the house. With a single kick, the door is broken into fragments. Eli clenches his fist, ready to thrash someone; however, his face becomes expressionless when he realizes what's happening in front of him.
Nell is pointing her quivering finger at the leprechaun on the floor, who is equally as shocked and pale as her. "Y-Y-You, why did you become this ugly thing? You were cuter as the cat."
Leprechaun: "..."
Eli: "..."
"I was wondering why I didn't see you all day." Nell crosses her arms and shakes her head. She glances at Eli and frowns deeply. "Doctor Sanguine, you can also see him. Does that mean that you are not real either?"