Hana’s heart thundered in her ears as she paced back and forth outside Dr. Jenkins’ office door. The paper bag containing his coat crumpled between her tightly clenched fists with every pivot of her steps.

“Go in, drop it on his table, and leave”

This was it - the moment she had been agonizing over and psyching herself up forever since that fateful night at Gracie’s came flooding back to her memory.

Drawing a fortifying breath, Hana planted her feet and straightened her spine. She could do this. Squaring her shoulders, she turned and strode purposefully through the office door before she could second-guess herself.

The room was dim, only the lamp on his desk providing a soft halo of light. Hana moved forward on instinct, carefully depositing the bag containing his coat on the edge of the desk. Yes, just leave it there and make a hasty retreat.

She was about to spin neatly on her heel, already working up the nerve to simply bolt from the room. Only to feel the breath catch in her throat as a pointed cough broke the tense silence from somewhere behind her.

“You know, it’s generally considered rude to enter someone’s private office without their permission.”

Hana froze at the deep, velvety baritone that could belong to none other than Dr. Ren Jenkins himself. Slowly, she turned to find him rising from one of the chairs in the corner, an unreadable look etched across his chiseled features.

Their eyes locked and all rational thought fled from her mind in a dizzying swirl. He was here...she was alone with him...he had seen her enter unannounced!

“I...I...um...”

The words simply would not come, even as Ren began descending on her with that intense precision in his stride. His midnight eyes behind transparent lenses remained locked on her, briefly flickering down to the bag on his desk before snapping back to her pale, frozen face.

Transfixed, Hana could do nothing but shrink back instinctively with every purposeful step he took until the solid edge of his desk cut into her lower back. She was utterly trapped.

He didn’t stop advancing until mere inches were separating their bodies, his free hand planted firmly on the desk to either side of her trembling frame. Hana’s breath caught sharply in her throat at his proximity, her doe eyes squeezing shut tightly in a desperate bid to block out the dizzying reality of the situation.

Hana’s lids snapped open, blinking up at him owlishly as he held the package from her loosely in one hand. The barest hint of a smirk played across his lips when their gazes reconnected.

“I believe this...is mine.”

His low, rumbling murmur seemed to vibrate through her core. All Hana could do was nod numbly.

At that moment, she was utterly powerless and at his mercy.

“Y-yes...” Hana’s strained whisper was barely audible, even in the suffocating silence enveloping them.

But then the dam suddenly burst, his nearness seeming to unlock a torrent of words she had been desperate to unleash. “I’m so sorry about that night, Dr. Jenkins. And thank you...thank you for making sure I got home safe. I’m mortified that you had to see me in such a state...and I just feel awful about how Mira had to get involved that night,” Hana continued, wringing her hands anxiously. “Please, just excuse me, I should go...”

The moment the name “Mira” tumbled from Hana’s lips, Ren felt an involuntary sense of relief wash over him.

He mentally shook his head at himself for the brief twinge of...disappointment? Uncertainty? That had flickered through his mind when he first overheard Hana frantically rambling about this mysterious “Mira” person during her drunken meltdown.

She made a hasty move to sidestep around the desk, to put much-needed space between their charged proximity. But Hana gasped sharply when Ren’s hand instinctively shot out, his fingertips grazing her forearm in a gentle vice meant to halt her escape.

An instantaneous tremor rocketed through her at the simple point of contact between their skin. Hana’s eyes blew wide, every nerve suddenly alight and hyper-aware in anticipation of...something.

But in that endless, suspended moment, there was nothing but eerie silence echoing through her mind.

Why? Why can’t I see anything?

So contrary to how her abilities had manifested her entire life, that Hana didn’t immediately register Ren withdrawing his hand. Blinking hard, she finally refocused on his stoic features, his expression now guarded once more.

“You don’t need to apologize,” he stated in that low, grounding timbre. “I simply did what any decent person would do in that situation.”

Hana blinked again, finally untethered from the strange vacuum that had momentarily consumed her consciousness. “Still, I...I’d like to repay you somehow, for your kindness and discretion.” She swallowed hard, tucking a stray lock of hair behind her ear anxiously. “Please, it’s the least I can do after such an incident.”

Her wide, expressive eyes snapped up to meet his again. It plucked an unfamiliar chord deep within his chest.

“Unnecessary,” Ren demurred with a shake of his head. He took a measured step back to put a more professional distance between them once more. “I assure you, there is no need for that.”

But Hana remained insistent, unable to simply let his graciousness slide without any attempt at reciprocation. “Please, I must insist. If there’s any way I can make it up to you, any favors you need...” She trailed off, silently pleading with her eyes.

For a long pause, Ren simply stared at her intently, as if weighing the sincerity of her entreaty. Then, finally, he inclined his chin in a curt nod. “Very well. I’ll...keep that in mind.”

Hana could only nod in turn, a strange sense of defeat washing over her despite having seemingly gotten her way.

An awkward beat passed between them before Ren cleared his throat, effectively severing the tension. “If there’s nothing else...?” He arched an inquisitive eyebrow in a clear dismissal.

“No, I...thank you again, Dr. Jenkins.” Hana forced the softest of smiles, willing her cheeks not to burn too brightly. “I’ll let you get back to your work now.”

With that, she quickly saw herself out of his office, exhaling harshly once the door was closed behind her. Hana leaned back against the wall, fingers unconsciously tracing over the point on her arm where Ren’s hand had been only moments before.

What was so different about Dr. Ren Jenkins that her abilities simply...refused to engage?

Ren watched her go, letting the silence linger until she had disappeared around the corner before allowing himself to exhale heavily.

Running a frustrated hand through his hair, Ren turned and walked back toward his office, mentally attempting to unravel the tangled knot of...whatever it was that seemed to coil inside his chest. Too dangerous.

*

Hana came out from the bathroom, a towel wrapped around her damp hair. She found Mira lounging on her bed, tablet in hand and blue-light glasses perched on her nose.

The moment Mira spotted Hana, the tablet clattered to the mattress, forgotten. Her eyes lit up with unbridled excitement. “Well? Spill it, girl!”

Hana sighed, knowing there was no escaping Mira’s nosiness once she got like this. “Spill what? It’s been a long shift.”

“Oh, don’t play coy with me!” Mira wagged a finger. “You can’t leave me hanging after that whole coat incident with Dr. Dreamy!”

Furrowing her brow, Hana sat on the edge of the bed. “How did you even know about that? And how did he get our address?”

Mira let out a dramatic gasp. “That’s what you want to know? Not the juicy details?” When Hana leveled her with an expectant look, she relented. “Okay, okay. I called your phone earlier, I wanted to know if you needed a ride after your party. But some deep, sexy voice answered instead of you.”

She fanned herself comedically. “You could have warned me your phone was stolen by a hot guy! I'm sure his face is just as sexy as his voice.”

Hana rolled her eyes but couldn’t fight the small smile tugging at her lips. “That was Dr. Jenkins, dummy. He must have picked up my phone by mistake.”

Understanding dawned on Mira’s face. “Oooh, I get it now. So, I told him about the key code for our place, huh?” She cringed playfully. “Yikes, my bad. Though he did leave his coat out for you... Now, I really want to see him.”

Hana sighed, plopping down on the bed beside Mira. “It wasn’t like that at all. Dr. Jenkins is - completely professional.”

Mira rolled her eyes dramatically. “Oh puh-lease, that man could recite a medical dictionary and still make it sound sultry.” She nudged Hana’s arm playfully. “So, spill! What happened when you gave dreamy Dr. Ren his coat back?”

Hana felt her cheeks growing warm again just thinking about it. “I went to return it after my shift ended...”

She remembered catching just a faint whiff of his subtle, woodsy scent mixed with antiseptic. Pull it together, Hana, she chided herself. That is your boss!

Mira was watching her friend closely. “Earth to Hana! You’ve got that dreamy far-off look again. Did something else happen that you’re not telling me?”

Hana blinked, shaking her head. “No, no that was basically it. He thanked me and I left.” Though she couldn’t shake the feeling that there had been...a fleeting moment of connection. Don’t be ridiculous, she mentally scolded herself.

“Uh huh, suuure,” Mira said skeptically. “For someone with a ‘glimpse’ into people’s memories, you are extremely oblivious, my friend!”

“Actually, there’s something else...” Hana’s voice took on a pensive tone as she scooted closer to Mira on the bed. “When Dr. Ren took his coat from me, our hands brushed and...”

Mira gasped dramatically. “No way! You had a charged moment?! Did sparks fly? A lingering look into each other’s dreamy eyes?”

Hana rolled her eyes at her friend’s antics. “Not exactly. It’s just...I didn’t get a vision. At all.”

An odd look crossed Mira’s face as she processed this revelation. Hana had to strain to recall a time when simply touching someone didn’t trigger an onslaught of fragmented future glimpses. Her abilities were usually indiscriminate that way.

“Wait...” Mira’s eyes widened with realization. “The only person you’ve ever touched without seeing visions...was Dr. Ren?”

Hana nodded slowly. The weight of that strange occurrence still felt heavy on her mind.

Mira threw her arms around Hana excitedly. “Oh my god! Do you know what this means?” She pulled back, grabbing Hana’s shoulders and staring at her intently. “You two must be soulmates!”

“Soulmates?” Hana sputtered out a laugh at the ridiculousness. “Mira, come on. We barely know each other outside the hospital.”

But try as she might to brush it off, Mira’s words took root in the back of Hana’s mind. She readied herself for bed but couldn’t chase away the image of Dr. Ren’s penetrating gaze and the remainder of his gentle touch.

As she drifted to sleep, her final thoughts were of the mysterious man who seemed to defy her precognitive abilities.