The atmosphere in the room seemed to lighten at his words, a collective sigh of relief from the nurses and residents.

Max let out a tense breath, a smile on his face. "You did it, man. Well done. The media circus would've been exhausting otherwise."

He just nodded outwardly. Inwards, he was scoffing. Max was worried about the media circus? His whole life was about to be a circus, and he felt like the central clown.

Anyhow, he wrapped up the things in the operation theatre, as he removed his gloves. The nurse who, for some reason, had been standing in front of the man's face, moved, and Elias finally caught a glimpse. There was no doubt now- it was definitely Raphael. His face looked the same- the same face he'd glanced at all those times they'd slept together. The same face he'd sometimes touch when the other man was asleep, his slender fingers ghosting over the tanned skin. But of course, he'd never dared to actually caress- that wasn't the sort of relationship they had. Loving caresses, caring for each other, or anything beyond physical- it wasn't in the package.

They'd met in a club- an appropriate start of their...arrangement. And it seemed to have an appropriate end too- They just stopped calling each other. Well...More like Raphael stopped calling him. And Elias was too proud to ask why or ask for explanations when the other person didn't seem to want to provide any. That'd be clingy- he didn't want to be the needy one in the relationship.

So Elias also acted just as uncaring and callous in return, like it didn't bother him at all. But it did. He was...just the type of person who forms a connection with the people he had relations with. He couldn't help it- He just wasn't a just one night stand kind of guy. Yet he'd had a relationship like that. But of course, just as nothing had shown on his face then, nothing did now.

He walked out of the OT. His hands, which were about to remove the surgical mask, stilled. Might as well keep it on for now.

A young woman, in her mid 20s, sprang up from her seat as soon as she saw him approach. She was dressed in a professional looking blouse and skirt, a concerned expression on her face.

"Doctor!" She came to a stop in front of him, her perfume making Elias crinkle his nose slightly. He was suddenly glad for the mask.

She continued, "How- How is he? He'd just come in at the office, and- Mr Morgan just clutched his chest and fainted. I called the ambulance as soon as he fainted-"

Elias patiently listened, replying in a calm, 'doctor' voice. "Yes. He suffered a cardiac arrest. Don't worry, Ra-" he hurriedly stopped himself. The woman, in her panicked concern, didn't seem to notice. "-Mr Morgan is stable now."

The woman released a breath in relief.

"That... That's good. I almost had a heart attack myself when he suddenly dropped. Thank you, doctor...?"

"Kang."

The woman nods. "Thank you, doctor kang. I'm Mr Morgan's assistant- His family will be arriving shortly."

He nodded silently. Family, huh. Come to think of it, he'd never met Raphael's family. It was a college fling, after all- Meet the family was the last thing that's happening in that. He couldn't help but feel morbidly curious, though. Well, it seems like he'd get his curiousity sated today. Since he'd operated on Raphael, it was inevitable that he'd have to meet the patient's family too.

He could pass Raphael's case to one of his residents since the patient was stable now, but...no. He felt a sense of responsibility. And doing that would mean he couldn't bear to be his doctor or had ang lingering feelings- which absolutely won't do. So he'll just be professional, do his job, and show that it didn't bother him, at all. If he could do it once, he could do it again.