-Haruka POV-
-Le Enore Restaurant-
"Levi! It's been a while." A familiar voice spoke, hitting my eardrum. I know this voice really well, despite it's been a long time since we last met.
"When you say someone wants to see me, is that Miss Boucher?" Before we entered the private dining room we had reserved, I questioned Levi.
"You're right. She said there's something she wanted to ask you." Levi replied, and we entered the room together.
"Mr. Auclair, it's been ages since I last saw you. I did see you in the advertisement, btw. You look really good in that." Miss Boucher said to me while smiling. Right, she's Chloe Boucher, Levi's best friend. The last time I met her was about four months ago, when I had lunch with Levi.
"Thank you. It's good to see you again, Miss Boucher." I said that awkwardly.
"Oh, please. Just call me Chloe. I'm not used to that, hahaha." Miss Boucher said it while laughing. Right, that's just how she is, after all.
"You're so loud, four eyes. Did you order the food already?" Levi suddenly inquired, changing the topic.
"I haven't. I don't know what Mr. Auclair's preference is, so I just waited for you both to come first." Miss Boucher replied. Well, she does talk normally with Levi.
"Let's just order first, the. Mr. Auclair, what would you like to eat?" Levi asked me in a gentle voice, completely different from when he was talking to Miss Boucher.
"I'll take a look at the menu first." I said that and then took the menu.
"Okay, take your time. Four eyes, you already know what you want to eat, right? Call the waiter, and I'll be having my usuals." Levi said that to Miss Boucher with his poker face.
"Seriously, it looks like I'm the waitress now." Miss Boucher said it while pouting. So she also knows how to make a face like that.
"Like I care. You're the one who wants to eat here. Mr. Auclair, have you decided on what you want to eat?" Levi asked me again, while Miss Boucher called for the waiter.
"Emm, I guess I'll be having pan-seared duck breast." I said that, with my eyes still on the menu.
"Is that all? What about the desserts?" Levi asked me with a smile. Of course, he knew that my meal wouldn't be complete without dessert.
"Well, chocolate mousse and fruit tarts." I replied.
"Okay, cool. Still, you should order more. It's on four eyes today. Four eyes, you heard that right. Mr. Auclair's order." Levi said that to Miss Chloe. He really does treat her like a waitress right now.
"We'll be having the desserts for later. Okay, that's all. Thank you" Miss Boucher said to the waiter before he bowed and left.
"So four eyes, get into business. Why did you want to meet Mr. Auclair today?" Levi spoke as soon as the waiter left.
"Geez. Levi, you really don't give me a chance to take a breath, right?" Miss Boucher said while sighing, but I know she didn't actually mean it.
"Well, fun fact, I know that you don't even need time to breathe. Knowing that smart but actually stupid brain of yours always does crazy things despite knowing how to breathe properly." Levi said it in a sarcastic tone.
"Arguing with you is also included in those crazy things. Forget about it for now. So, Mr. Auclair, I've been meaning to ask you. You worked as a doctor at your family's hospital until five years ago, right?" Miss Boucher's words clearly shocked me. I looked at Levi for a moment. Did he?
"It's not Levi who told me. I found out about it on my own. Seriously, since our last meeting before, I couldn't shake off the feeling that I've known you somewhere before. So, I did investigate it by myself, and I found out that our company has been collaborating with your family's hospital for six years. And if I remember correctly, I did meet you a few times then. As a doctor, of course. So I asked Levi yesterday, but he didn't tell me anything. He just said, 'you should meet him yourself', so here we are now." Miss Boucher explained everything to me. That makes sense. We did meet a few times before when she's still new, working at their family research centre. That's the reason why I've been keeping myself away from her before. I'm afraid that she might know my identity and tell Levi.
"Hah. You're right. I've been working as a doctor at my family's hospital until 5 years ago." I said that calmly.
"I knew it. No wonder Levi didn't seem that surprised when I asked him yesterday. But why did you quit being a doctor?" She asked. Hah. This is the reason why I didn't like telling people the truth. They're going to ask me the same question.
"Do not ask too many questions and just get straight to the point, four eyes." Levi said that while flicking her forehead. Thanks, Levi, you saved me.
"That hurts Levi. I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable, Mr. Auclair. The thing is, my team is now working on making the vaccine for the marburg viruses, which are now spreading aggressively again in Rwanda these days. Actually, I've been working on this for a long time, even before the outbreak in Rwanda." Miss Boucher explained to me, but I don't understand why she's telling me that right now. Not to mention, marburg virus is a very dangerous virus. I didn't expect she'd be willing to take the risk in making the vaccine.
"I see, but why are you telling me that, Miss Boucher?" I asked her, and I could hear Levi squeak.
"Tch. I told you to get straight to the point." Levi said that while glaring at Miss Boucher.
"You don't have to glare at me like that. Okay, Mr. Auclair, what I'm saying is that I'd like to ask for your help with this. So…"
"You're telling me you're going to involve Mr. Auclair in this crazy experiment of yours? No, you can't. You know how dangerous these viruses are." Levi cut Miss Boucher off before she could finish her words.
"I'm not done talking, Levi. So, you see, we're done producing the vaccine and testing it on animals, and it turns out fine. There's no side effects, but when we tested it on some healthy volunteers among the company staff, some of them developed very serious side effects. So, I was wondering if…"
"Are you going to make Mr. Auclair your test subject too? No, you're not. He's too fragile. He couldn't even stand exposed to the sun for a long time." Levi cut her off again. And why did he mention about me being fragile too? Ugh, this jerk.
"Levi, let me finish talking first, will you?" This time, Miss Boucher glared at Levi. So she did know how to make this kind of expression too.
"Ah, sorry. Go on." Levi said it with a poker face.
"Okay, let me continue. So, I was wondering if you could help us in identifying the reasons that happened. We've been trying to find the reasons but still couldn't figure out the solution we should do." Miss Boucher said with a low voice, but her eyes are looking deep into mine. As if she really hopes I will help her.
"But why me? You know, I used to be a surgeon before. Biotechnology is not my field, Miss Boucher." I tried to turn her down politely.
"I heard that you are involved in producing the Moderna vaccine for Covid-19 viruses. You used to be a doctor, right? That might be the reason why you help them, right? Don't you want to save those people who've been affected by the viruses?" Miss Boucher's words surprised me again. How did she learn that I helped the Moderna Company produce the vaccine?
"Hah. I guess I can't turn you down now, right? So, what is it you wanted me to help with?" I asked. Right. I can't possibly turn her down right now.
"Is it possible if I tell you later at my office?" She asked me. So, she's intending to take me to her lab.
"Huh? Are you telling me that you wanted to drag Mr. Auclair into that dangerous and filthy lab of yours? I can't allow you to do that. Do you even take a proper bath before coming here?" Levi said that to Miss Boucher rudely, but I guess that doesn't matter for them to speak that way. That's just how their friendship is.
"That's rude, Levi. I even take three stages of showering, that makes me more clean from you. And I'm not going to drag Mr. Auclair to the lab, just my office." Miss Boucher responded with a glare. She's handling the dangerous viruses, so of course there's a lot of preventive measures.
"Hah. Whatever. So, when do you need Mr. Auclair?" Levi asked, still with his poker face.
"Well, if that's okay with you, can we do that today?" Miss Boucher asked while looking at me. Today? That's too soon. I looked at Levi, and he just smiled at me.
"That should be fine. Mr. Auclair doesn't have any work left for today. And I don't have any meetings after this, so I'm going to tag along. Let's go right after lunch. For now, let's just have lunch first." Levi said that, and soon after that, the food was served on the table.
//SKIP//
So, here we are now at Boucher Association of France Research Centers. This is my first time here, despite having collaborated with them for 6 years already. Their company is really big. We're now on our way to Miss Boucher's office.
"Please take a seat first, both of you. I'm going to look at the data files first." Miss Boucher said as soon as we entered her office.It's big.
"This is my first time coming here. Surprisingly, your office does look like a working person's place." Levi said that sarcastically after he took a seat on the couch, and I did the same.
"Hah. I do know how to organise my place too, you clean freak." Miss Boucher said while looking at the files on her office table.
"Tch." Levi squeaked, and I just remained silent.
"Here. All the details about the virus and vaccine are here." Miss Boucher said, putting down all the files on the table. She then took a seat with us here.
"Okay, let me see." I said that, then took a look at all the data.
After 15 minutes, I'm done reading the important parts.
"What were the side effects shown after the trial test?" I asked Miss Boucher while looking at her.
"Well, few of us only have one day of fever or headache, but the majority of us experienced long fever up to 7 days, muscle aches, rashes, nausea, and even vomiting." Miss Boucher answered. Wow, that's pretty much a bad side effect. But wait
"When you said 'us', were you also one of the volunteers?" I asked her, in disbelief.
"Of course she is. She's a crazy scientist after all." Levi answered that instead of her.
"Levi's right. I'm one of them, too. Luckily, the side effects I had were not severe. Maybe because I already had too many viruses inside my body." She said that proudly. Now, I agree with Levi. She's really crazy.
"Ahem. I'm glad you're okay, Miss Boucher. Well, according to this report, your team did produce DNA vaccines and protein subunit vaccines. But both of them have been showing severe side effects, correct?" I asked Miss Boucher. I feel like I'm acting like a doctor right now.
"Yes, you're right." She replied to me in a professional way.
"Why didn't you try to develop an mRNA vaccine instead of a DNA vaccine? You said you knew I had previously helped the Moderna company. You should know that I'm the one who suggested they develop the mRNA vaccine." I asked her. Right. With their technology, they should have no problem producing the mRNA vaccine.
"That's because full regulatory approval necessitates extensive clinical trials and safety data, and it might be a little bit difficult since the marburg virus is not yet considered an emergency or pandemic." And I'm afraid there will be more severe side effects. Well, I'm worried about my team's health too." Miss Boucher said in a low voice.
"Wow. I didn't expect you to be worried about your employees despite dragging them to be involved in this crazy research of yours." Levi suddenly spoke after being silent for a while.
"Ahem. Mr. Ackerman, you shouldn't say that. Well, Miss Boucher, you should try to develop the mRNA vaccine. The vaccine promotes speedy development and a strong immune response. People might develop side effects, but they should only last for 1 to 2 days. Well, I'm willing to be one of the volunteers since I recommended it." I said that confidently.
"No, you're not. You're not going to be the subject of her crazy experiment." Levi objected to it strongly.
"It's not a crazy experiment. It's the vaccine development, and I've been a volunteer before, so it should be fine." I tried to convince him.
"No, you shouldn't. I'll be a volunteer. I'm the strongest in the Ackerman Family after all."
TO BE CONTINUED!!!