Snow had just blanketed the city, turning everything into a sparkling white wonderland.
The wind cut cold through the air, sending scattered snowflakes drifting down, melting quietly into the thick blanket below.
As Natalie Bennett stepped out of the toasty cab, the chill hit her like a slap in the face. She zipped her puffer coat all the way up without thinking.
Even though it was the first day of the Lunar New Year, the hospital was still buzzing with people—some anxious, some looking downright miserable. The whole New Year vibe just didn’t belong here.
She went straight to the self-service kiosk and picked up her appointment slip:
Orthopedics, Comprehensive Building, 5th Floor, Room 201, Number 11.
Just as she was scanning the signs for the elevator, her phone rang—it was Charlotte Harris.
"Babe, you okay? Want me to swing by and keep you company?"
"I'm good," Natalie said, eyes still scanning for the elevator. "My dad’s just being paranoid about my ankle. He practically dragged me here to get it checked."
Truth was, she'd just had crap luck. She was texting back a message while going down the stairs and missed a step. Her ankle twisted funny. At the time, she iced it and figured it was no big deal. But a few hours later, it was swelling like crazy.
"Good thing it was only three steps," Charlotte scolded on the other end. "Seriously, can you stop messing with your phone when you're walking? You're not invincible."
Natalie lowered her voice like a student admitting guilt. Charlotte was a high school teacher, and sometimes her tone totally gave off that “strict homeroom teacher” vibe. Made Natalie feel like she was back in school again—extra polite and obedient.
She promised, again and again, that she’d learned her lesson and hung up with a sigh.
Then she squeezed into the elevator with the crowd.
Once she got out, she found the reception desk and handed the nurse her appointment slip.
The nurse glanced at it, then gave Natalie a quick once-over, curiosity flickering in her eyes.
Natalie was in a black long puffer, no makeup, her shoulder-length hair thrown up in a messy bun. Her face looked fresh and clean, with bright round eyes, a small nose, pale skin, and lips with a natural rosy tint. She had that soft, pretty look that seemed harmless.
The nurse couldn’t help thinking: Another one, huh?
"Hi there. What seems to be the issue?"
Natalie noticed the strange look but didn’t dwell on it. "Twisted my ankle this morning. Missed a step on the stairs."
Hearing that, the nurse raised an eyebrow, clearly unfazed. She glanced back at her screen and said, "Three patients ahead of you. We’ll call your number when it’s your turn."
Natalie thanked her, took the slip, and headed over to the waiting area.
As she sat down, she couldn’t stop thinking about the nurse's odd reaction. She pulled out her phone and messaged Charlotte.
Natalie: [The nurse at the desk was acting low-key weird!]
Charlotte: [???]
Natalie: [She asked what happened. I said I twisted my ankle on the stairs.]
Natalie: [Her look totally screamed “Are you for real?”]
Charlotte: [Were you expecting a medal or something?]
Natalie: […]
Welp. That ended the chat. She opened her socials instead, scrolling through the latest celebrity gossip.
By the time she looked up, Room 201 flashed Number 10 on the display screen.
"Patient Number 11 for Room 201, please get ready."
Natalie stood up immediately and followed the nurse’s directions.
The door to the room was still shut tight. She couldn’t see what was going on inside, so after a quick glance, she let her eyes wander around the corridor.
Each clinic room had someone waiting outside. This was the ortho floor, so injuries were all around. The middle-aged dude next to her had his arm in a sling and a cast.
She was still zoning out when someone next to her spoke up.The guy with his arm in a cast smiled at her and said, “You came all this way just to see Dr. Redshaw too? Gotta say, coming out during the New Year takes dedication!”
“Huh?” Natalie Bennett blinked in confusion.
“Elliot Redshaw, you know?” He gave her that “I get it” look. “These days, the girls are all about good looks.” Then he rubbed his face with his uninjured hand and muttered, “But hey, guys like us with inner beauty aren't so bad either.”
Natalie was completely lost and was about to explain when the exam room door opened. A pretty girl with long curly hair rushed out with her head down.
“C’mon, miss! Don’t be shy!” the guy next to her got excited again. “Good luck!”
Natalie: “...”
It’s just a foot check. What’s there to cheer for?
She pushed open the door and froze for a split second. The doctor inside was shockingly young. White coat over a black turtleneck, sharp features, dark eyes like ink, straight nose, thin lips pressed into a line, and that jawline—come on, was this guy real?
As she turned to shut the door, she caught that dude outside winking at her, which made her weirdly self-conscious. She quickly closed the door all the way.
Elliot Redshaw picked up a blank medical form, glanced at her, and then looked down again, voice cool and crisp. “Name.”
“Natalie Bennett,” she replied automatically. “Natalie as in ‘abundant every year.’”
His pen paused for a split second.
“Age.”
“Twenty-four.”
...
Once the basic info was filled in, Elliot finally looked up at her. His gaze scanned her quickly, but he didn’t see anything obviously wrong.
Natalie, sensing him evaluating her, straightened her back a little without thinking. Internally, she complained—how could a young, hot guy like him be an associate chief physician? Wasn’t that kind of title supposed to go with middle-aged and balding?
Noticing her zoning out, Elliot’s brow twitched, and his tone dropped a degree colder. “What’s bothering you?”
“Twisted my ankle.”
She added quickly, “Right foot. Missed a step while looking at my phone.”
He didn’t react much. Just turned his chair to face her, eyes locking on her right foot. “Shoes off.”
“Uh.” She froze.
Totally normal, she knew that. But something about having to take off her shoe in front of this ridiculously attractive doctor felt… awkward. Like she was ruining a piece of art or something.
She looked up and saw something firm and non-negotiable in Elliot’s dark eyes. After bracing herself, she quietly slipped off her gray snow boot.
And bam. There it was—her bright red sock, printed with that big double happiness symbol.
Natalie: “!!!”
Oh god, the red socks.
She’d just grabbed the ones her mom handed her when she was leaving the house. Complained about them then, but still wore them. Now she regretted everything.
It was her zodiac year, turning twenty-four right after New Year’s. Her mom, Margaret, had packed her bags with red clothes like it was a tradition survival kit. She’d only caved on the socks, but… totally forgot foot checks meant taking shoes off!
If there was a crack in the floor right now, she’d crawl in and disappear.
When Elliot noticed the socks, he looked confused for half a beat, but then his attention shifted straight to the badly swollen area, visible even through the fabric.
“Socks too.”
“Okay,” she replied, voice resigned.
She tugged them off clean and fast, like she’d already accepted her fate.
Elliot put on gloves, knelt in front of her, and gently lifted her leg with one hand on her calf.
Natalie’s foot was small and usually pale, but the swelling had puffed up her instep, and her ankle was a nasty mix of purple and blue—honestly, it looked painful just to see.
He held her toes with one hand, the other moving carefully as he started the exam.Natalie Bennett felt a bit awkward. She pressed her lips together slightly and let her gaze wander. Unlike Elliot Redshaw's left hand, which was shielded by her pant leg, his right only had a thin layer of glove between his cool fingers and her skin.
"Let’s go get an X-ray first," Elliot said after a moment of checking. He gently lowered her foot, stood up, peeled off his gloves, and headed over to the sink. Squeezing out some hand soap, he began washing up following every step like he was straight out of a textbook.
Natalie couldn’t help watching his hands—long, clean, every knuckle clear-cut. She felt like her own foot was still being handled, her cheeks starting to flush again. And that was before she remembered he was only washing his hands because he'd just touched her foot. Yep, even more embarrassing.
After rinsing, Elliot grabbed a tissue to dry his hands carefully. The bright lights hit his features in just the right way, making the sharp lines of his face pop even more. Strong brows, focused eyes—still giving off that cool, “don’t-get-too-close” vibe. He honestly looked like he belonged on a snowy mountaintop somewhere.
"You’ll need to go next door to Radiology,” he said flatly. “Get an anteroposterior and oblique X-ray. We need to check for any fractures or dislocations." He handed her the papers. “Bring the film back to me once it’s done.”
Natalie took the medical record and payment slip without a word, silently swallowing the urge to say, “Can’t I just slap some herbal oil on and call it a day?”
She paid quickly at the kiosk, went to Radiology, got everything scanned, and was told to come back in an hour for the results.
Letting out a long sigh, she slumped onto a couch in the waiting area like a half-dried fish, zoning out completely. One second her brain replayed her bright red socks, the next it dialed back to Elliot crouching down to hold her foot. She blinked, then shook off the mood and grabbed her phone.
Logging into the site where she posted her webcomic, she figured she’d skim some comments—but nope. The whole list? Just people begging for updates.
Natalie had been in the art game for a while. She’d been a visual arts student since high school, got into a top-tier college with an art history major, but her real love? Comics. She’d started her current series right after the college entrance exams and had been going full-time ever since—six, maybe seven years now. Sold some rights, built a name for herself. Definitely not a newbie anymore.
Just as she exited the site, a message popped up at the top of her screen. As soon as she saw the sender’s name, she inhaled sharply and started typing back super carefully.
Fishy: "[Editor’s Name] Happy New Year!! ·v·! Still on the grind during the holidays—pretty sure you deserve a workaholic award!"
A second later, the replies came flooding in like a thunderstorm.
Watermelon: "I’m not fine! Why did you ghost us again today? You’ve only posted one chapter in two weeks!"
Watermelon: "Forget awards—I think you just earned the gold medal of slacking."
Natalie sighed and rushed to defend herself.
Fishy: "I swear I’m not slacking this time! I twisted my ankle. I’m literally at the hospital right now!"
She snapped a photo of her medical file and sent it over.
The response was fast—and merciless.
Watermelon: "You draw with your hands, not your feet!"
Watermelon: "Final warning—upload the new chapter by noon tomorrow."
Natalie tried bargaining for more time but was shut down immediately.
Realizing she was outmatched, she reluctantly gave in. Good thing she’d actually been productive lately. The next chapter mostly just needed to be wrapped up. If she pushed a bit, she could still make it.
—
She ended up getting the X-ray film earlier than expected. Staring at the black-and-white image didn’t help much—it still looked like abstract art to her.
Thankfully, the report clearly said her bones were fine.
When she got back to the exam room, the door was open and no other patients were inside.
She knocked lightly.
“Come in,” came the calm voice from inside.
