The night diner operated as usual, serving night owls even amidst the reduced foot traffic on the streets due to the impact of the novel disease. But this hadn't greatly affected the business of the small eatery.
"The impact of this new disease is quite significant, huh? Even the bar across the street has closed down, saying it's to prevent gatherings and spread of the virus," a regular custor removed his face mask and took a sip of beer.
"Exactly! We were saying we'd go for a drink after work, but now we can only co here to the boss's place," Two custors sitting opposite the regular, who seed to have just finished work, chid in upon hearing his remarks.
Perhaps sowhat wary of contagion, the two didn't sit together as usual but instead left two seats empty between them.
Hearing the custor's comnt, the owner, who was wearing a mask, poked his head out of the kitchen and jokingly asked, "What, is the liquor here not good enough for drinking?"
"Boss, we can only drink three glasses here, can't really enjoy ourselves to the fullest!" The custor complained half-jokingly. The rule of a maximum of three drinks per person was well known to all the regulars, and no one had ever broken this rule.
However, the owner was unfazed by the custor's complaint, "Drinking less is good for your health. Place an order, what would you like to eat?"
"Two servings of curry chicken rice! And two more bottles of beer," After exchanging a look with his companion, the custor placed their order.
"Just a mont, coming right up," the owner nodded, placed two bottles of beer and cups in front of the two, and then returned to the kitchen to make their curry chicken rice.
As the owner busied himself with the cooking, the door to the diner was pulled open.
"Good evening, boss. Can I have a serving of stead clams with wine and a cheese pork cutlet over rice?" Yu Chen placed his order with the boss while sitting down alongside Hiromi Jounouchi.
Hiromi Jounouchi pulled her mask down to her chin and called out to the boss as well, "Boss, a serving of fried chicken nuggets and a pork set al, please."
"Doctor Chen Yu, Doctor Jounouchi, have you just finished your shifts?" The boss greeted the two from the kitchen upon hearing their orders.
"Yep, it's been sowhat busy at the hospital recently." Yu Chen nodded, glanced at the other three custors sitting in the diner and couldn't help praising the boss, "Business seems good here today, huh!"
"It's just a few regulars. With the current situation, even the regulars may not dare to co," The boss replied with a wry smile. While it appeared that there were a few custors that day, the business had indeed been affected lately.
However, as the owner of the diner, he didn't complain to Yu Chen, rely smiled before asking, "I heard there was an attack at your hospital a few days ago, and soone died, right? It hasn't affected your work much, has it? How could such an attack happen in the hospital?"
"The hospital has very strict security asures now, so there hasn't been much impact, and the police have sent people over. The problem is the reporters—hovering at the hospital entrance all day, hoping for a big scoop. The previous attacker managed to sneak in a knife within a cara tripod, so now, nobody really likes the presence of reporters," Yu Chen explained to the boss. Although he didn't care much about the attack itself, the impact of the reporters on the hospital was tangible.
Because of the large number of reporters blocking the entrance, patient appointnts were even affected. When Yu Chen and Hiromi Jounouchi were leaving work, reporters were still lingering at the hospital entrance, forcing the two to employ a little trickery to exit the premises.
"It's because your hospital has been in the news, right? After all, such a major incident happened, and the experint was even broadcast on TV. It's normal for reporters to be camping out," The regular custor seed used to such incidents and said with a lancholic tone, "I rember over a decade ago, when a famous rock singer was hospitalized, I went there as a fan, but the entrance of the hospital was almost completely surrounded by reporters, and we couldn't even push through.
If only you had been there, Doctor Chen Yu, she might not have died from falling down the stairs."
"Such is life—unpredictable. The matters of life and death, who can say for certain?" The words of the regular custor seed to strike a chord with the boss, and he couldn't help but interject.
However, Yu Chen shook his head in response to their sentint, "Sure, being alive is what everyone looks forward to, but who knows if death isn't just another beginning? Perhaps, for those who have passed away, they might be happier than when they were alive."
"Indeed, becoming a Buddha after death is better than suffering in this world," Perhaps due to his age, the regular custor seed to resonate with Yu Chen's words.
"I don't think so. Being alive is what's most important. Once you're dead, there's nothing left! So, living well and enjoying every minute of life—that's what matters most!" Another custor, one of the two younger ones nearby, suddenly disagreed, voicing the concerns of soone younger who cared more about enjoying life.
Yu Chen didn't wish to add further comnt on their perspectives. Though the topic had started with him, he found such debates pointless since there was no definitive answer. Whether life or death is happier is rely a matter of perspective.
While the regular custor and the two younger custors debated, the boss served the als ordered by Yu Chen and Hiromi Jounouchi.
"It slls delicious! Boss, how do you make these stead clams with wine? I've tried making it at ho but can never get it as fragrant as you do," Hiromi Jounouchi praised while tasting the delicious broth and tender clam at from a clam she picked out of Yu Chen's bowl.
"Heh, it's just a very common thod, you take the clams…" The boss was about to explain his thod for steaming clams with wine to Hiromi Jounouchi when the diner's door was pulled open again.
The boss was visibly taken aback by the person who entered, but his expression fell when he saw another person behind her. He turned and went back into the kitchen without greeting them, apparently not wanting to speak with these two people.
"Daddy!" The woman who entered called out softly to the boss, who had his back to her, after biting her lip for a mont.
And at that call of "Daddy," everyone in the diner felt a bit surprised. Even the regulars didn't know the boss had such an adult daughter.
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