June's ears rang, and at that mont, he couldn't hear anything but the beating of his heart.
The beating—he might not even hear it soon if Dr. Oh was right.
"What...do you an?" June asked, still in disbelief.
Dr. Oh sighed and raked his fingers through his hair.
"I also don't know," he said.
June clicked his tongue. "How could you not know?"
Dr. Oh shook his head. "Based on these test results, you shouldn't even have enough energy to sit right now. In fact, you should take very special precautions, just like your Grandma, if you want to continue living."
"However, you're here—appearing asymptomatic aside from those dizzy spells and headaches you occasionally have."
"Maybe you're really part lizard. It's amazing how healthy you look right now!" Dr. Oh exclaid.
June sighed in frustration. "Just tell what I have...and what I can do to solve this problem."
Dr. Oh pursed his lips.
"Well, we still need to undergo a few more tests if we want to know your specific disease. However, based on your blood tests and imaging results all alone, it is likely that you have a similar disease to your Grandma."
"In fact, it's much worse. It looks like you're in the latter stages," Dr. Oh said.
June looked up at the ceiling, not knowing what to feel.
"And, in terms of what we can do, it has been recomnded by the German laboratory to go for palliative care."
"Palliative?" June asked. "Supportive, you an? Does that an I'm going to die?"
Dr. Oh looked down at his lap. "Well, all people die at one point, right? So just die earlier than others."
"Based on your CT scan, so tumors have also grown, which might explain so of the headaches you have gotten. However, these tumors are so fine, barely noticeable, that it would be hard to get them out without damaging the other areas," Dr. Oh continued.
"So, I can't have surgery, too?" June asked.
Dr. Oh once again pursed his lips. "We can always try. However, the outco is not determined. There is a possibility that you'll get better, but there's also a possibility that you'll get worse, get stuck in a coma, or even die. It's all undecided until we try it ourselves."
June let out a shaky breath, looking down at his pale hands.
Death.
It had never scared him much.
In fact, if it weren't for i Ling, June wouldn't have minded death when he was in his past body.
However, he now had t people he loved very dearly, a job he was passionate about, and millions of people who relied on him for strength.
Now, death has beco a scary concept.
"How many months?" June asked, his voice losing strength.
Dr. Oh pursed his lips, finding the situation weirdly emotional. He knew he should always stay neutral when talking to patients, but Dr. Oh felt that it was such a sha.
"I don't know," he said.
"A month?" he continued.
"Three months?"
"Maybe, even by the end of June, based on the severity."
"But then again, we will never know," Dr. Oh concluded.
June chuckled, staring off into the distance.
Dr. Oh pursed his lips and looked down at his lap as June erupted into full-blown laughter.
It was funny.
In fact, June found the entire situation hilarious.
"End of June, huh?" he muttered with a small smile.
Dr. Oh reached out for his hand and squeezed it tight.
"It doesn't have to be your end, June."
June softly sighed.
"But it could be," he said. "You said so already. Nothing is certain."
Dr. Oh sighed in frustration, leaning against his seat.
"The human body works in mysterious ways," he started off. "There might be a miracle."
"Do miracles really exist?" June asked.
Dr. Oh scratched the back of his head. "I've witnessed it plenty of tis."
"What will happen if I get any treatnt?" June asked.
Dr. Oh sighed.
"Well, as I said, surgery is out of the options. It's too risky, and I'm afraid that you'd only get stuck in this hospital and continuously pay the bills. However, you don't have to worry about that. As the owner of this hospital, I'll make sure to treat you for free—"
June impatiently sighed.
"Just get back to the point, please."
"Chemotherapy is another option," Dr. Oh said. "However, that, too, would be risky since you already have a starting auto-
immune response. This ans that your normal cells might deplete too much to the point that you'd beco a vegetable...or Jake Gyllenhaal in that movie where he was stuck in a bubble for most of his entire life."
"Dr. Oh," June warned, causing the crazy doctor to chuckle.
However, deep inside, this was his coping chanism.
Even if they weren't related, Dr. Oh had beco closer to June.
Finding him in such a situation was heartbreaking for the doctor.
"Right," he said, finally getting back to the point. "Radiation therapy might also work but not without any risks. These are all the treatnt modalities that we can try."
"Do I have to stop working?" June asked.
"That's a given," Dr. Oh said. "You have to take a long break—not the week-long one that you just had. In fact, you'd have to rest for much longer if the treatnts do work."
June sighed, feeling at a loss.
He looked around the office and finally realized why Dr. Oh was in shambles.
It seed like he was finding the cure to June's sickness.
"At the end of the day," Dr. Oh continued. "It will be your decision. I will send you the list of treatnt modalities and their pros and cons, and get back to when you're ready."
"However, don't take too long. Ti is your enemy here," he continued.
"How am I even going to make a decision?" June muttered.
"I know that it's very difficult," Dr. Oh said. "In fact, I wouldn't be able to make a decision if I was in your shoes, too."
"However, whatever you choose, I'll make sure to support you with full efforts. You don't have to worry about the treatnt—
that's my job."
"Just....just think about what you want and what will make you really happy," Dr. Oh said, feeling a lump in his throat when he saw June's defeated expression.
The two of them sat in silence for a few more minutes, none of them daring to break it.
Then, Dr. Oh cleared his throat and stood from his seat.
"Do you want to accompany you back to Grandma's room?"
June shook his head and stood from his seat, still absent-
minded.
Because of this, he stumbled on his own feet, causing Dr. Oh's eyes to widen in surprise.
Dr. Oh quickly went to his aid and held onto his arms.
"Are you alright?" he asked in a concerned, almost pitiful tone, causing June to click his tongue.
"I'm fine," he said firmly before standing on his own.
"I'm fine," he repeated in a much calr voice this ti.
"You don't have to see out," June continued, walking over to the door.
"June," Dr. Oh called, causing June to halt. However, he didn't turn around.
"Take care of yourself, okay?"
June pursed his lips. How could he take care of himself when he was literally dying?
"Got it."
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