Chapter 01: The Unexpected Diagnosis
"Sir, your phone is ringing," said Tasmi, a staff member. "Who is it?" Tadashi asked. "Sir, it's your mom."
Tadashi's face darkened. Again? He knew she was going to push for marriage. He hated it. He picked up the phone, and his mother's voice immediately boomed, "Why don't you pick up my calls?!"
"Mom, I am a doctor. I am often busy with patients," Tadashi replied tiredly.
"Whatever! Tonight, go to this address. Quickly! If you don't go, don't bother coming home."
"I'm not going, Mom. You've arranged another marriage, haven't you? This is the fourth time."
"Of course! This time she is my best friend's daughter. Don't refuse! Come in the evening."
She hung up before he could argue. Tadashi sighed, feeling the weight of the situation. He checked with his team if there were any operations. "No, sir," they said. He told them to get back to work while he thought of an excuse. A best friend's daughter? I wonder what she looks like... No! Why am I interested? I need to focus on work.
Later that evening, the Director, Koichi Tazawa, saw him preparing to leave. "Tadashi, I'll call another doctor for the night shift early. You should go. You're 26, you should marry someone."
"Sir, please shut your mouth," Tadashi snapped. "This is my life, don't interfere. Anyway, I'm going."
The Director watched him leave, thinking to himself, You think you can live alone your whole life? Let's see.
After getting off the bus, Tadashi checked the address. It wasn't far, but it was a bit of a walk. On the way, he saw a lady having trouble breathing. He quickly checked her pulse and gave a diagnosis. He escorted her to a nearby clinic and gave the doctor there some money to prescribe her medicine.
As he stepped out of the clinic, he collided with a girl in a school uniform. "I'm sorry," he said quickly, not even looking at her face.
The girl, Rua, looked at him awfully. "All guys say that after hitting a girl," she snapped.
"I am really sorry. How can I repay my fault?" Tadashi asked gently.
Rua thought to herself, this guy is kind of a nerd, talking nonsense. She said aloud, "Well, if you really want to, give me a strawberry drink from that vending machine."
Tadashi bought it for her. All girls like strawberry, even kids can't stay away from it, he thought. After giving it to her, he said sorry again.
"Well, well, stop saying that and go your way!" Rua replied, walking off.
Tadashi was relieved to be rid of her. He always spoke to girls formally and never let feelings develop. He felt being a doctor made him stronger against "love type things." He never even had a girlfriend, yet here was his mom forcing him into a marriage with a stranger.
He realized the girl was walking the same way, but he just walked faster. Soon, he reached a two-way road. "What a problem, which road should I go?" he muttered. There was no one around, and he was getting late. He saw the girl coming, but he didn't ask her for help because he wanted to be cautious.
Then, he saw a college boy. He stopped him and asked for the location. The boy knew the location—it was his own house—but he purposely gave Tadashi the wrong directions. "Thank you," Tadashi said and went the wrong way. The boy, Rei, smirked. "What a fool."
After wandering for a long time, Tadashi's mom called him, furious that he was late. He explained about the boy. "Wait there," she said. "I'll send someone to pick you up."
Rei came back to fetch him. At first, Tadashi didn't notice, and Rei tried to hide his face. But as they walked, Rei realized something. Wait... don't tell me this guy is Dr. Tadashi... He gathered his courage and asked, "Are you Tadashi Hotta?"
Tadashi was shocked. "Yes, I am Tadashi."
Rei turned pale. "Oh... I'm really going to get scolded by my mom."
"What's your problem?" Tadashi asked. "I know you gave me the wrong way, but forget it. I don't mind. Someone is coming to pick me up anyway."
Rei thought, this guy isn't suitable for my sister. How did Mom fix this? He said aloud, "Well... I am that guy from earlier. I am sorry about the directions. My name is Rei Morimoto."
"Morimoto?" Tadashi said. "Well, let's just go."
At the house, Tadashi's mom, Aki, scolded him harshly for being late. He didn't tell her about Rei's prank; he just said he got lost. Inside, Rua's mother, Yoneko, asked him to sit. Tadashi sat there, looking around, thinking of how to escape.
Rua's father asked, "I heard you don't have a girlfriend and aren't active with girls, is that true?"
"I talk to girls," Tadashi said. "But I'm a doctor. I talk to them formally."
Then, they called Rua. Tadashi was eating a biscuit, and when he saw her, he started coughing loudly. Rua was shocked too. Her mother quickly gave him a glass of water. Why is my luck stuck? Tadashi thought. Rua sat beside her mother, looking at him like she wanted to kill him.
The mothers sent them to a room to talk alone. Tadashi's mom whispered in his ear, "Don't think you can manipulate her and get away. Forget that!"
Inside the room, Tadashi acted normal, but Rua looked furious. Suddenly, Rei came in. "I'm just having a silly talk with Tadashi," Rei said.
Tadashi looked at him.Rei," why don't you tell them about my fault?"
Tadashi replied, "What will happen if I tell? You'll get scolded, so I don't think you need to. Thanks, Tadashi! Bye, talk good things to my sister."
Once Rei left, Tadashi turned to Rua. "I don't want to marry you. Not now, not in the future. Forget about that. I want to break the engagement. Just watch."
Then Tadashi went back to the living room. "Parents, love is like a water flow. If you try to cut it, it will overflow. Please don't force me to be engaged to someone I don't know. Marriage is when two souls connect. I want to break this."
The room went silent. Rua's mom eventually said, "If you feel that way, I won't force you."
Rua was happy but also felt suspicious of him. As they left, Tadashi's mom scolded him, but he was chill. His father asked, "What do you really want?"
"Mom, Dad, you both care for me, so I want to care for you too. I want to find my own soulmate."
"And if you don't find her?" his father asked.
"Then I will stay single and take care of everyone. That is my last word."
His father smiled. "Then don't push him. He will find his way."
His mother gave up. "Fine. After four refuses, I give up too."
Tadashi cheered. "Yahoo! Tomorrow, I'll cook breakfast!"