The Hospital Room and the Face Behind the Mask

The VVIP hospital room fell into silence after the medical staff left, leaving only the soft, rhythmic beeping of medical equipment filling the air. Ailine lay half-reclined on the bed, her face still pale, yet noticeably more alive than it had been a few hours earlier. The painkillers had finally taken effect. The sharp pounding in her head had eased, and her vision was no longer swimming.

On the left side of the bed, her mother sat while gripping Ailine’s hand tightly, as if afraid her daughter would disappear the moment she let go. On the right side, her father stood with his arms crossed, his expression tense—a mixture of worry, anger, and unspoken guilt tangled together on his face.

“You…” her mother’s voice trembled, “why didn’t you tell us sooner, Lin?”

Ailine gave a small smile. “I was afraid you’d panic, Mom.”

Her father snorted quietly. “And you think your father isn’t panicking now?” He let out a long breath. “Going to a disaster zone, getting sick, collapsing, and now needing surgery. The full package.”

Ailine turned her head, looking at him gently. “I’m sorry, Dad.”

A brief silence lingered between them before her mother finally brought up the question that had clearly been weighing on her mind.

“That doctor from the airport…” her mother asked hesitantly. “Owen, was it?”

Ailine nodded slowly.

“Are you close?”

That simple question made Ailine’s heart race. She inhaled deeply, then answered honestly, “I… I like him, Mom. I’ve liked him for a long time. Since we were in school.”

Her father straightened immediately. “Since school?!”

“Yes.”

“And him?” her father’s tone rose an octave.

Ailine fell silent for a moment, then said softly, “He… rejected me.”

She chose not to explain that she and Owen had once dated in the past. To her, what mattered was their relationship now, not what had already ended.

Meanwhile, her father’s expression changed dramatically, as if he had just heard the most ridiculous joke in the world.

“He REJECTED you?” He pointed at Ailine from head to toe. “My daughter—beautiful, smart, kind, a superstar, hardworking, wealthy—and she got REJECTED?”

Her mother quickly patted his arm. “Ssh.”

“Wait a minute.” Her father began pacing back and forth. “Where did he go earlier? Why hasn’t he come back yet? I want to see him. I want to ask him properly. Or—” his fist clenched, “—I’ll invite him for a ‘discussion.’”

“DAD!” Ailine shot him a sharp glare. “Don’t you dare hurt Owen. If you do anything to him, I’ll sulk. For a month.”

Her father froze mid-step. “A month?!”

“Yes.”

Her mother sighed deeply, holding back a smile. “That’s enough, dear. Don’t use your fists.”

Her father grunted in annoyance but finally lowered his clenched hand. “Hmph.”

Suddenly, the door to the room opened.

All heads turned at the same time.

A man entered with calm, measured steps. This time… without a mask.

“Ailine.”

At the sound of that voice, Ailine turned quickly. Her eyes lit up instantly. “Owen…”

But the reaction from her parents was entirely different.

Ailine’s father… froze.

Her mother went silent, her eyes widening.

The man standing before them was far—far too handsome to be called an ordinary doctor. His jawline was sharp, his gaze calm yet deep, his demeanor mature and composed. Even Julian Feng, who appeared frequently on television, suddenly felt… inferior in comparison.

“That…” her mother whispered, “he’s…”

Her father swallowed. “My God.”

They exchanged glances, then looked back at Owen.

And suddenly, the memory surfaced.

“Dad…” Ailine’s father narrowed his eyes. “Isn’t he the doctor from that viral video? The one at the disaster zone?”

Owen nodded politely. “A viral video?” He raised one eyebrow, genuinely confused, as he truly had no idea what they were referring to.

“Dad, Mom, this is Doctor Owen from earlier,” Ailine explained softly. “Because of his job, he’s used to wearing a mask almost everywhere.”

Owen simply stood there, unsure how he was supposed to react. In the end, he only gave another polite nod.

Ailine’s parents fell silent once again. This time, not because of anger—but because they felt… intimidated.

No wonder. No wonder their daughter had been rejected. No wonder.

Footsteps echoed outside, and soon Emma appeared while holding a folder. She had just escorted Layla out of the hospital to arrange an extension for Ailine’s leave.

Seeing the oddly silent atmosphere, Emma immediately gave a small grin.

“Oh,” she said casually, “so you’ve finally seen his face, Uncle, Auntie?”

Ailine’s father turned quickly. “Emma, is he really that doctor?”

Emma nodded enthusiastically. “A young surgical genius. Not just at Centra Medica, but in the entire Country Z. Graduated top of his class from a prestigious medical university in the Netherlands, completed his master’s and doctorate in record time. In the near future, Doctor Owen is expected to receive a professor title for discovering a new surgical method in the medical field. I guarantee all of this information is accurate and reliable.”

Ailine glanced at Emma. “Did you stalk him?”

Emma shrugged. “A personal assistant who loves her artist has to do her research.”

Ailine’s father let out a long sigh, then looked Owen up and down. The anger that had been boiling inside him earlier… seemed to have vanished.

“Hm…” he muttered. “If that’s the case… then…”

Her mother pressed a hand to her chest gently. “Dear, it seems we have to accept reality.”

Her father glanced at Ailine, then at Owen. “Hmph. Fine.”

Ailine eyed her father warily. “Dad?”

He sighed in defeat. “I’m not going to hit him.”

Ailine smiled in satisfaction.

Hit him? Owen frowned slightly. What exactly were they talking about?

Owen stepped closer to the bed, his gaze soft as it rested on Ailine. And for the first time, Ailine’s parents realized something—

That look… was not the look of a doctor toward his patient.

It was the look of someone who had loved her for a long time—and had never stopped.

“Doctor Owen,” Ailine’s mother spoke gently. “She’s quite stubborn. We’ve tried persuading her, but she’s very difficult. Could you help us?”

Owen nodded. “I’ll do my best.”

“Thank you…”

Ailine’s parents and Emma left the hospital room, leaving only Ailine and Owen behind.

“Do I need to explain once again how dangerous your condition is?” Owen began immediately, going straight to the point. “I’ll explain it exactly the same way Doctor Lisa did.”

“I’m willing to have the surgery,” Ailine replied softly. “As long as you promise you’ll always be there for me.”

“Yes,” Owen answered without hesitation. “I promise.”

Ailine looked at him and smiled. “Thank you.”

“If you’re scared, that’s normal. It’s okay,” Owen said gently. “Once you’re under anesthesia, you’ll fall asleep in a garden full of flowers and won’t feel anything.”

“But afterward, it will still hurt, right?”

“I don’t want to lie to you. That’s true. There will be pain.”

“You’re so honest about this. You could’ve sweet-talked me so I wouldn’t overthink.”

“It would hurt more if you found out later.”

“I guess that’s true…”

Owen looked at her. “It’s almost midnight. You should sleep now. I suggest fasting so we can proceed with treatment tomorrow. I’ll have your guardian sign all the necessary procedures.”

“Okay…”

“Don’t think about unnecessary things. After the surgery, once the tumor is removed, you’ll be able to return to your normal activities.”

Ailine smiled again. “Hey, Owen…”

He was about to adjust her blanket when he paused. “Hm?”

“Where’s my good-night kiss?”

“Huh?”

“You don’t want to?” she pouted. “I’m sick, Owen! Be a little nicer to me.”

“What does being sick have to do with kissing? There’s no correlation.”

“Owennn…” she whined.

And then she felt it—a soft kiss placed gently on her forehead.

“There. Happy?”

Ailine nodded happily. “Yes… hehehe…”

Owen sighed softly and wished her good night before leaving the room to meet her parents and discuss the next procedures.

---

The next morning, Ailine had already taken a shower. She was accompanied only by Emma, as her parents were having breakfast at the cafeteria.

“So, Miss Ailine,” Emma began curiously, “how’s your relationship with Doctor Owen progressing? Your effort of following him to the disaster area wasn’t in vain, right?”

“Hm… I think it’s safe to say things are improving. There’s definitely progress,” Ailine replied. “Because back then, he and I…” She covered her face, blushing at the memory of what happened under the stars that night.

“Hey, what is it?” Emma leaned closer. “Don’t make me curious! Come on, tell me already! What happened there?”

“I kissed Owen, Owen kissed me back… then he… that… um… aaah, I’m embarrassed…” Ailine pulled the blanket over her entire body.

“Miss, don’t tell me you two did that?” Emma gasped. “You gave yourself to Doctor Owen in the middle of a disaster zone?”

Ailine immediately threw the blanket down. “What?! No! It’s not like what you’re imagining! We almost went there, but it was just some heavy kissing and things got a bit heated… oops…” She covered her mouth. How could she even say things like this to Emma? This was supposed to be a private memory.

“Ohhh… almost, huh?” Emma grinned wickedly. “I bet you were frustrated it didn’t happen, right?”

“Owen’s faith is too strong.”

“My goodness… Miss, out of all people in this story, you’re the devil here! That’s terrible.”

What exactly were the two of them even talking about? It was truly an absurd morning.

“But Miss,” Emma continued, “after all that, what’s the status of your relationship? Are you two dating?”

Ailine fell silent instantly. “Eh?”

“After that incident, were there any more romantic developments?”

“Hm… we spent a lot of time together at the disaster site. We shared jokes and awkward laughter. He protected me and helped me while we were there… and then… last night, he kissed my forehead. Even though I asked for it…”

“Did he ask you out on a date?”

Ailine weakly shook her head. “…”

Emma smacked her forehead. “What kind of romantic relationship doesn’t involve dating? You’ve already kissed passionately but don’t have any kind of commitment? Don’t joke around, Miss Ailine!”

Before the famous artist could respond, the hospital room door opened, revealing Owen with Ailine’s parents, followed by several nurses and Doctor Lisa.

Ailine quickly turned toward them.

“Owen, I don’t want to have the surgery.”

“WHAT??”