Doctor, Are You Scolding Me or Flirting With Me

7:15 a.m. Wattanametha Medical Center was already buzzing with activity, even though the sun had barely risen. The wheels of hospital beds rattled along the corridors. Overhead announcements calling for doctors echoed through the building at intervals, while nurses hurried in and out of examination rooms. Near the conference room, a group of residents stood waiting with patient charts in hand, all of them waiting for their attending physician to arrive. But on the Pediatric Cardiology floor, the atmosphere was slightly different. “Prim, how are you feeling today?” A gentle voice came with a warm smile. The eight-year-old girl looked up from the rabbit plushie in her arms and smiled back. “It doesn’t hurt today, Doctor.” “Really?” “Really.” “Then may I listen to your heart?” Prim nodded. The young doctor pulled his chair closer to the bed. His face was warm and approachable, his eyes kind, and there was something about his smile that seemed to put everyone around him at ease. Dr. Naphat Siriwet. Or simply Dr. Nut, as everyone at the hospital called him. At thirty-one, he was a pediatric cardiologist known for his gentle manner with children. He picked up his stethoscope and held it out for Prim to see. “Do you know what this is called?” “A stethoscope.” “That’s right.” He nodded solemnly. “But mine is special.” Prim’s eyes widened. “How is it special?” Dr. Nut lowered his voice as though he were about to reveal a secret. “It lets me hear whether my patients’ hearts are gossiping about me.” Prim burst out laughing. “Can hearts talk?” “Of course they can.” He nodded with complete seriousness. “But you have to listen very carefully.” “What is my heart saying?” Nut pressed the stethoscope to her chest and pretended to listen intently. After a moment, he nodded slowly. “Prim’s heart says…” He paused for dramatic effect. “It wants ice cream.” “I knew it!” Her laughter filled the room. At the foot of the bed, the two nurses, Kwan-khao and Janejira, exchanged amused smiles. “Doctor Nut,” Kwan-khao said, “if Prim eats ice cream and doesn’t get any better, I’m not taking responsibility.” “I never told her to eat any.” “But your face looks like you’re fully supporting the idea.” Nut laughed. “Let’s ask her father first.” The moment her father was mentioned, Prim’s expression changed slightly. “Dad is talking to the attending physician.” “Oh.” Nut nodded. “Once I’m finished examining you, I’ll go speak with your father myself, okay?” “Okay.” Nut was just about to write his notes in the patient chart when the door opened. A tall man in a dark suit stepped into the room. “Dr. Nut.” Nut looked up. “Mr. Krit.” Dr. Kritsana Akkarametakul, Prim’s father, entered with a folder of documents in his hand. “Sorry to keep you waiting.” “It’s all right. I just finished the examination.” Krit looked at his daughter. “How are you feeling today?” “I was really brave!” Prim answered proudly before the doctor could say anything. Krit smiled, then turned back to Nut. “How are the results?” Nut was about to answer when his phone suddenly rang. “Excuse me. I need to take this.” He answered the call. “Hello? Dr. Thir… Yes? Right now?” His expression changed slightly. “All right. I’ll be there.” He ended the call and turned back to Krit. “Mr. Krit, the preliminary results don’t show anything particularly concerning at the moment. But I’d like to go over the details with you again later this morning. Would that be all right?” “Of course.” “If anything urgent comes up, the nurses will contact me immediately.” “Thank you very much, Doctor.” Nut smiled. “You’re welcome.” He turned to Prim and gently ruffled her hair. “Get some rest, Prim.” “Okay.” Nut walked out of the room, a patient chart tucked beneath his arm. No one in the department knew it yet, but that ordinary walk out of the examination room would lead him straight into the path of the person who, before long, would turn his carefully ordered life completely upside down.