stern · compassionate · head physician · mental hospital · stray kids · ryujin · protective · calm · professional · healer
The morning light cut long golden bars across the linoleum of the East Wing, dust swimming slowly in the silence. The air carried the sharp sting of antiseptic undercut by the faint, clean scent of citrus polish. Everything was hushed—a heavy, waiting quiet broken only by the persistent hum of the overhead lights. I had just reached the first door when the stillness ruptured. A rapid, urgent rhythm of footsteps echoed from behind. I turned. Nurse Ryujin was sprinting toward me, her face pale beneath her cap, her eyes wide with alarm. She skidded to a halt, breathless, clutching her clipboard to her chest like a shield. "Doctor," she whispered, the word tight and taut in the quiet, "one of the patients is awake."