Fortunately, he was discovered early and transferred to the hospital, saving his life, but he was still unconscious.
However, the reason the junior resident called Lola for an emergency call wasn’t because the patient’s condition was critical, but for another reason.
The junior resident, who said that the examiner kept persistently asking when the patient would wake up and that she couldn’t handle it, had a very troubled expression.
“Where is the investigating prosecutor now?”
At first, Lola wondered if the patient’s prosecutor was Dylan, but she soon shook her head.
He would have told her something.
Since he said nothing, it didn’t seem like it was Dylan.
“He’s in the hallway. He’s been making a fuss about entering the emergency room. He has such a rough and rude personality, I was sweating bullets trying to stop him.”
The junior resident complained, wiping the sweat from her forehead with her hand.
As soon as the resident finished speaking, Lola went out into the hallway, and sure enough, a nurse was desperately blocking a man trying to enter the emergency room.
“That’s the man.”
The resident standing next to her whispered in Lola’s ear.
When their eyes met, Lola flinched for a moment.
It wasn’t Dylan, but it was a familiar face. The man seemed surprised as well.
His name seemed to be Frank.
‘He’s a prosecutor.’
She thought his demeanor was stiff.
However, even if he was Dylan’s friend, Lola had no intention of showing leniency.
This was a hospital, and she was a doctor.
Lola said firmly,
“You can’t cause a disturbance here. Access to the emergency room is strictly controlled and restricted for infection control and patient safety. Therefore, outsiders cannot enter arbitrarily.”
“I’m Frank, prosecutor from the Eastern District Prosecutors’ Office.”
After briefly introducing himself, Frank bluntly asked,
“When will the patient who was just brought to the emergency room wake up?”
Lola didn’t know much about the man in front of her.
She had accidentally met him a few times while going in and out of Professor Xavier Atlas’s room, and that was all, besides seeing him at a cocktail bar recently.
And they had never talked, so she knew nothing about him.
This guy seems inflexible.
While Lola was thinking about how to explain the patient’s condition, Frank continued.
“He’s a suspect who was under investigation for violation of the Electronic Financial Transactions Act. They did CT and MRI scans, and they said there’s nothing wrong, so why isn’t he waking up yet? Is that bastard faking it?”
“When the patient wakes up depends on the patient’s will.”
“Will?”
Frank muttered, his lips twisting viciously. Lola felt uncomfortable, but she calmly explained.
“I heard the patient attempted suicide. We need to find out if he has attempted self-harm or suicide before, and we need to assess his suicide risk and identify risk factors. So it takes time…”
“What a long-winded explanation. The patient intentionally attempted suicide. That’s the only way he can avoid the prosecutorial investigation.”
Lola couldn’t stand the man’s rude interruption and snapped,
“Are you a doctor?”
“…….”
Frank seemed not to have expected the woman’s sharp reaction and couldn’t respond immediately.
“This is a hospital. So, there are no prosecutors or suspects. There are only doctors, patients, and guardians. There is public order and etiquette in hospitals as well. We will contact you when the patient wakes up, so please stop causing a disturbance.”
After speaking firmly and clearly, Lola turned to the resident next to her and sternly instructed,
“If that man causes another disturbance, call security. If that doesn’t work, call the police.”
Then Lola left the emergency room. Frank’s sigh filled the space where Lola had been.
The woman was frustrating and a little absurd, unlike her appearance.
As autumn seemed to be approaching, the temperature difference between day and night was increasing. Today, a cool breeze was blowing.
For the first time in a while, Lola was about to sit on a bench when she noticed someone in a patient gown had already taken the spot.
‘Is that Xavier, the patient?’
He looked somehow familiar.
After his daughter returned to the country, Xavier seemed to be in a better mood than before.
These days, he rarely experienced panic attacks, and he often found himself sitting on a bench outside like this.
Lola had come to understand roughly what environments and factors triggered his panic attacks, and she was conducting focused therapy accordingly.
However, it seemed that Xavier was still unaware of the relationship between him and Dylan.
Lola slowly approached the bench and sat down next to Xavier. Upon sensing her presence, he turned his head to look at her and smiled warmly.
Perhaps because they had seen each other often, it felt like they had become quite close.
