Kiryu Kazusuke briefly explained the situation the two of them were in.
Imagawa Ori had recovered a little awareness by now, but she still had no strength. She could only bury her face in the towel, unwilling to let anyone see her in such a sorry state.
After Watanabe Tsubasa realized things were not as he had imagined, he looked somewhat disappointed.
“Doctor Kiryu, there really aren’t any vacant rooms here.”
“Would you like to use the staff lounge?”
“It isn’t big, but it’s much better than the lobby. There’s an electric blanket, and some freshly boiled water.”
“There’s also a small bed. It can just barely be used for sleeping.”
As he spoke, he pointed to a small door behind the counter.
This was indeed a solution.
Moreover, Watanabe Tsubasa’s suggestion meant the two of them could spend the night in the hotel—in other words, it would let him obtain the reward for “External Fixation Frame Application—Advanced.”
Kiryu Kazusuke was somewhat tempted as well.
Just then, a faint tug suddenly came from his sleeve.
He lowered his head.
Imagawa Ori was curled up, her fingers hooked onto his coat like little claws.
Half her face was still tucked into the towel. She looked up at him pitifully, then gave the tiniest nod.
Though she said nothing, her meaning was already very clear.
Agree to it. Let’s spend the night here.
Don’t call an ambulance.
Kiryu Kazusuke looked into her eyes, hidden behind a thin veil of mist, and understood what she meant.
A specialist from the First Department of Surgery, a prodigy of extraordinary skill—if, in the middle of a blizzard-stricken night like this, she were taken away from a love hotel by ambulance, with a male resident from the same department beside her...
That would absolutely become the biggest news at Gunma University Hospital tomorrow.
Before, there had been no choice.
But now that there was, there was no need to call an ambulance.
“I understand.”
Kiryu Kazusuke reached back and grasped Imagawa Ori’s arm, pulling her up from the sofa.
“Then we’ll trouble you, Watanabe-kun.”
“This way, please!”
Watanabe Tsubasa did not hesitate either, immediately leading the two of them toward the back door.
……
The staff lounge was not large.
Watanabe Tsubasa brought over two folding chairs. The room already had heating, but he still dragged out the electric heater from the corner and plugged it in.
Kiryu Kazusuke pressed Imagawa Ori down onto a chair, making her face the electric heater.
Even though her body was still trembling slightly beyond her control, compared to when she had been outside, the frequency had already decreased by a great deal.
The rise in ambient temperature, together with the cup of hot water she had drunk earlier, had allowed her thermoregulatory mechanism to begin working again.
“Doctors, please sit for now.”
Watanabe Tsubasa was very attentive. He turned and ran out.
Within a few minutes, he came back carrying a tray. On it were two steaming bowls of miso soup, as well as a pot of hot tea.
“This is what was left in the kitchen just now. I heated it up. No one’s touched it, so you can drink it without worry.”
“I brought towels too. They’re all new.”
It had to be said that Watanabe Tsubasa was quite considerate in how he handled things.
After all, Doctor Kiryu’s reduction technique had truly spared him a great deal of suffering. His gratitude was genuine.
“Thank you.”
Kiryu Kazusuke took the tray and set it on the small table beside them.
He glanced at Watanabe Tsubasa.
Even if they knew each other, he could not let the man work for nothing.
Besides, this was still a place of business. Even if it was only the staff lounge, they were occupying resources and consuming food. There had to be some compensation.
Kiryu Kazusuke’s gaze shifted to Imagawa Ori beside him.
By now, she had already lifted the hot soup and was sipping it in small mouthfuls, her handbag resting on her knees.
Although it was only cheap instant miso soup, with nothing inside but a few shriveled pieces of kelp and tofu, it still brought an indescribable sense of satisfaction.
“Hah…”
She comfortably breathed out a puff of hot air, a little color having returned to her face.
Kiryu Kazusuke reached out and directly picked up the handbag from her knees.
“What are you doing?”
Imagawa Ori instinctively tried to protect it.
But her movements were too slow. The handbag had already fallen into Kiryu Kazusuke’s hands.
“Paying.”
Kiryu Kazusuke looked as though it were only natural.
“Watanabe-san, this is our thanks.”
As he spoke, he pulled open the zipper, took out a ten-thousand-yen bill, and handed it over.
Watanabe Tsubasa froze for a moment, then hurriedly waved his hands in refusal.
“No, no!”
“Doctor, you set my arm for me. I haven’t even thanked you yet!”
“How could I take money for something this small?”
This was not some great favor. A staff lounge plus two bowls of hot soup was not worth this much money.
Moreover, this lounge was barely used anyway. Usually, in pursuit of excitement, he and his girlfriend would do it behind the counter window out front...
“Take it.”
“This is Doctor Imagawa’s gratitude. She wasn’t the one who set your arm.”
“She’s very rich. She doesn’t care about this little bit.”
Kiryu Kazusuke directly stuffed the money into the pocket of his work uniform.
Watanabe Tsubasa scratched his head. He wanted to refuse, but he was also somewhat hesitant, and in the end, he still failed to resist the temptation.
“Then... then thank you, Doctor Imagawa!”
He bowed to Imagawa Ori, his face blooming with a smile.
“I won’t disturb your rest.”
“I’ll be outside. Call me anytime if you need anything.”
After saying that, he very tactfully withdrew, even closing the door behind him on the way out.
Holding the soup bowl, Imagawa Ori watched as her Fukuzawa Yukichi entered someone else’s pocket just like that, and suddenly felt that the miso soup had become a little bland.
“I’m very poor. I care about every single yen...”
She muttered in a low voice, her cheeks puffing up like a hamster hiding food.
Kiryu Kazusuke simply pretended not to hear.
He sat down on the other chair and shifted the electric heater slightly toward himself.
When the human body encounters extreme cold, in order to protect core organs such as the heart and brain, it constricts the blood vessels in the limbs and reduces heat loss.
This causes the blood temperature in the limbs to become extremely low, even approaching the ambient temperature.
If one were to soak in hot water at this point, or roast the limbs, the peripheral blood vessels would rapidly dilate, causing cold blood containing large amounts of lactic acid and potassium ions to immediately flow back to the heart.
At that time, not only would the core body temperature fail to rise, it would drop even further.
This kind of abrupt temperature change, coupled with the impact of acidic blood, could easily induce ventricular fibrillation, leading to rewarming shock or even cardiac arrest.
This was the “afterdrop” effect.
Therefore, the correct method of rewarming had to be gradual, and had to begin with the core of the torso.
Imagawa Ori naturally knew this as well.
She bent over.
Her fingers, not quite obeying her commands, pried off the high heels soaked through with snowmelt, then laboriously peeled off her damp pantyhose, revealing jade-like feet chilled ice-cold.
Then she grabbed a new towel beside her, wanting to dry the moisture from them.
But her hands were too stiff from the cold.
Several times, the towel failed to wrap around properly. Instead, it rubbed over her fragile skin and nearly chafed it red.
“Tch.”
Kiryu Kazusuke could not watch any longer. He crouched down and snatched the towel from her hands.
“I’ll do it myself.”
Imagawa Ori drew her foot back, somewhat unused to this kind of contact.
“What do you mean, you’ll do it?”
Kiryu Kazusuke did not raise his head. With one hand, he forcefully held her ankle and pulled her foot back again.
“Your peripheral nerves are sluggish right now.”
“If you rub recklessly and break the skin, it’ll be very easy to get infected in this kind of environment.”
“Stay still.”
He did not rub hard. He only used gentle pressure to absorb the moisture from the surface of her foot and calf.
Imagawa Ori lowered her head and looked at him.
The rough texture of the towel lightly brushed against her skin, bringing a faint stinging sensation.
Her senses were recovering. That was a good thing.
It was also then that she suddenly bent down, leaning in close.
“Kiryu-kun.”
“Everything you did tonight—is it because you like me?”