The next day, the security team moved busily early in the morning. It was the day Chase was scheduled to undergo his regular check-up with the steward. Although it was a routine examination, the experience of the previous terror attack made the security even more thorough.
“It’s a relief we have more people this ti,” Mark comnted.
Seth added, “I doubt they’re foolish enough to use the sa thod again.”
Josh agreed with Seth, but he thought it would hurt to be cautious. He silently followed the instructions, moving busily as he checked the car and confird the positions. While he was moving about, Laura approached and spoke.
“Josh, can I talk to you for a minute?”
“Sure. What’s up?”
Josh looked down at her, puzzled, and Laura answered quickly.
“The dicine you picked up last ti… Did you check the count carefully? It was for a month’s worth, right?”
Josh nodded.
“Yes. We decided to reduce the dosage, so it should be less than before… Is there a problem?”
Laura shook her head.
“No, actually, there’s too much left.”
Josh was surprised, and Laura continued, looking serious.
“It seems like Miller is skipping doses. I counted them roughly, and he’s only been taking about half of them… So the number of pills is correct, right?”
“Yes, it’s correct.”
Josh answered firmly, and Laura fell into thought for a mont before speaking again.
“Then I’ll need to tell Steward. But the thing is, Miller has been skipping the doses...”
Josh felt his concern grow as he recalled Steward's warning when they decided to gradually reduce the dication.
Suddenly, he was annoyed. Chase had often skipped the dication when he was with Josh, only taking it when Josh made sure. That ant, if no one reminded him, he wouldn’t take it.
But surely, there’s nothing serious happening.
Josh tried to reassure himself. After all, he hadn’t even known about the skipped doses before. And extre alphas like Chase were less prone to addiction to dications...
Still, knowing the facts made him uneasy. What would Steward decide? Would they stop the dication, or not?
“Josh, we’re heading out.”
Mark’s call snapped Josh out of his thoughts. He hurried to the car. Chase had already gotten in, and a faint scent lingered in the air.
Feeling a little excited, Josh got in the car, and shortly after, they headed to the hospital, leaving a few bodyguards behind.
The hospital hadn’t changed much since the last visit. After finishing his routine check-up, Chase went with Laura into the examination room while the other guards, including Josh, waited in the hallway. Josh surveyed the hallway of the hospital once more. It was still a cold and barren place. The silence was so complete that it felt like you’d lose your mind after just a few hours, yet the hospital staff managed to endure it.
As Josh was thinking about it, he suddenly rembered sothing odd from the last visit. Grayson hadn’t been seen since. After hearing about Chase, Josh had beaten Grayson up. That thought suddenly sparked curiosity.
Could there be sothing behind it?
Though the silence in the hospital was a good thing, Josh started to suspect sothing might be brewing. He rembered how he had promised to kidnap Grayson for Chase and began to seriously consider it.
Maybe I should invite him to a wedding and lock him up there as a present.
It wasn’t a bad idea, although it would take so ti. More importantly, they hadn’t even decided when or how the wedding would happen or what they’d tell the people around them.
What should I tell Pete?
Just as Josh’s mind wandered, the examination room door opened, and Laura stepped out. Everyone expected Chase to follow soon, but only Laura ca out.
“Josh.”
She glanced around the bodyguards before locking eyes with Josh.
“Can you co in for a mont? Steward wants to ask you sothing.”
Josh nonchalantly answered, sensing the curious gazes from the other guards.
“I was the one who picked up the dication last ti.”
The others, including Mark, seed to accept this and stopped asking further questions. Josh walked toward the examination room.
As soon as the door clicked shut behind him, Josh felt the space feel suddenly lighter. The stillness remained, but sohow the room with Chase felt comforting. It didn’t make sense, given that Steward, whom Josh was still suspicious of, was there.
If you are reading this translation anywhere other than Novelight or SilkRoadTL, it has been stolen.
The answer ca quickly. Chase, sitting in a chair, smiled at him. Josh tried to maintain a professional, detached greeting, but Steward’s overly friendly reaction imdiately felt more like he was trying to comfort Josh.
“Welco, Bailey. It’s been a while.”
Steward extended his hand to shake, continuing, “I’ve been curious about how things have been with you.”
“Sa as always.”
Josh’s short answer made Steward hesitate for just a mont. After a few seconds, Josh could tell that Steward was probably thinking about asking him about Grayson. Steward stroked his chin thoughtfully, then asked carefully.
“Soone had an argunt in my office before. I wanted to know how things turned out.”
“Why not ask the person involved?”
Josh avoided answering, thinking that if Steward was so curious, he could just ask Grayson. Unexpectedly, Steward gave a cynical smile.
“Well, I wish I could, but I haven’t been able to contact him since then. It seems we’ll have to wait until the next check-up. There’s nothing we can do about that. Anyway, shall we move on to discussing Chase?”
Steward quickly changed the subject, and Josh silently waited for him to continue. He glanced at Chase, but he didn’t seem uncomfortable at all. Looking away, Josh focused on Steward again.
“You’ve been off the dication for a while. You haven’t taken any in the last three days.”
Josh reflexively looked at Chase. He answered confidently.
“That’s true.”
“Chase… Miller?”
Steward quickly corrected himself, but Chase paused and then continued.
“I don’t have any trouble without the dication now. I don’t have the sleep problems anymore. So, can’t I stop taking it now? We were planning to reduce the dosage and eventually stop anyway, right? Look at , I’m perfectly fine.”
He looked directly at Steward and declared, “I don’t need any more prescriptions.”
“….”
Josh silently stared at Chase. Hearing that, he realized Chase had intentionally stopped taking the dication. Steward seed to notice it too, but he didn’t comnt on it. The important thing now was what to do moving forward.
Chase had a point. Josh thought. Even though it wasn’t planned, if Chase was fine without the dication, perhaps it was okay to stop. After all, no one had noticed he wasn’t taking it.
He’d been taking a lot of dication.
Josh didn’t even realize his expression had softened until he looked down at Chase. Steward, who had been watching them, spoke up.
“It’s not okay.”
Steward’s firm words caused both Chase and Josh to stiffen. Josh looked away from Chase and focused on Steward. Gone was the usual friendly face, replaced with a serious expression as he continued.
“I told you, stopping suddenly is very dangerous. Withdrawal symptoms can occur, and if it goes wrong, it could even lead to shock and death.”
“...You’re just trying to scare , aren’t you?”
Josh asked in place of Chase, who remained silent. Chase only looked at Steward, and Josh, as if to reassure him, placed a hand on Chase’s shoulder. Chase put his hand over Josh’s, gripping it tightly. The pressure was so intense that Josh’s fingers tingled, but he kept his poker face. His distrust of Steward wasn’t shaken, and he thought it was only natural to stay cautious. Steward, whether aware of Josh’s discomfort or not, continued without reacting.
“To be honest, it’s not certain. It’s just a possibility. The side effects of the dication have been proven through experints, but when all of those side effects combine, the result is unknown.”
Steward spoke seriously, then suddenly smiled.
“Of course, if you want to test it out yourself, I won’t stop you.”
Josh suppressed a groan, unable to believe how low Steward was stooping by offering a choice while subtly forcing the decision.
That’s when Chase finally spoke.
“So, what’s the plan? You want
to keep taking the dication?”
Josh and Steward both looked at Chase, whose face showed no emotion, making it impossible to tell what he was thinking. Steward, staring at Chase, answered.
“Yes. As originally planned, we’ll gradually reduce the dosage and monitor the situation. If side effects occur, we’ll take action then. We need to be flexible. We can’t guarantee it will be fine in the future.”
“Miller stopped taking the dication.”
Josh spoke up, and Steward’s expression didn’t change much.
“The fact that nothing has shown up yet is just luck.”
At that mont, there was a knock, and a staff mber entered, handing Steward a docunt. After a brief greeting, Steward glanced at the docunt, and after the staff left, he finally spoke again, breaking the silence.
“The results aren’t bad.”
Steward said with a smile still on his face. Josh couldn’t shake the feeling that the smile was fake.
“It’s better than I expected. In fact, it’s improved since last ti. Now, the real decision is whether to keep the dication or stop it and monitor the situation. Of course, I recomnd continuing, but I can’t force you. The patient’s choice cos first.”
“I’m not a patient.”
Chase pointed out, and Steward smiled, asking,
“Shall I call you a custor instead?”
It wasn’t exactly incorrect, but it wasn’t the right term either. After a mont of silence, Josh spoke up.
“Seems like you still prefer the idea of reducing the dication and monitoring the situation.”
“There’s never been an extre alpha who took so much dication for so long.”
Steward smiled again, this ti looking more genuine, but that made Josh feel uneasy.
“To be honest, I’m really curious to see what happens if we stop the dication now. As a doctor, I shouldn’t say that.”
“….”
Steward remained silent as if awaiting a decision, but the only sound was the silence between them.
“Click.”
Laura turned in surprise as the door opened.
“Steward, what happened to Miller? Is the check-up done?”
“Yes, Laura. He’ll continue with the dication.”
Laura looked at the closed door, puzzled.
“What about Miller? Is there still sothing left to check?”
Steward answered smoothly, as usual.
“He and the bodyguard needed to talk, so I made space for them.”
“Oh... Is that so?”
Laura seed to accept that and looked away from the door. Steward casually continued.
“Just make sure the dication is gradually reduced, but don’t let him skip any doses. It’s been a while since he missed so, so side effects might appear later. If there’s any problem, contact
imdiately.”
Laura nodded, looking tense. Steward added so formal warnings and then asked casually.
“By the way, what’s up with that bodyguard? I heard he’s temporary, but he’s still working. Looks like Chase trusts him a lot.”
“Oh, yes.”
Laura answered without thinking much.
“He was involved in the last attack, and we still have so guards who haven’t returned... so since the contract was made, we extended it until filming ends.”
“The whole team?”
“Yes.”
Laura nodded, and Steward blinked in surprise.
“All for one, huh? Miller’s generosity is impressive.”
“Huh? What do you an?”
Laura asked, puzzled, and Steward smiled slyly.
“Just thinking out loud.”
In the examination room, silence remained. After being left alone, neither Chase nor Josh spoke. Josh had asked Steward to leave the room, but now, it was difficult to initiate the conversation. But if he didn’t speak now, it might be harder to get the chance again. With a sigh, Josh gathered his thoughts and spoke.
“Chase.”
“Sorry.”
Suddenly, Chase apologized. Josh, who had been about to place his hand on Chase’s shoulder, froze. Chase, still with his hands clasped on his lap, glanced down and continued.
“I’ve been impatient. I won’t skip any more doses.”
“…Okay.”
Josh, who had been trying to persuade him, found himself lost for words. He awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck and spoke up.
“Let’s just wait a few months. Things will be fine soon.”
Chase nodded briefly, then Josh asked, looking down at him.
“Did you want to stop the dication quickly?”
“….”
“Why?”
At Josh’s quiet question, Chase remained silent. Josh thought to himself that maybe it was just another whim. He had no reason to worry, but he still wanted to remind him about his behavior after he had snuck off during the last guard duty.
“…Just.”
After a long pause, Chase murmured.
“I didn’t want to die this way.”
“…So, you wanted to stop gradually, right?”
Josh asked, confused, but Chase went silent again. Josh patiently waited for him to speak. Then, without warning, Chase suddenly stood up and looked at him.
“The dication should be ready by now. Let’s go.”
Josh hesitated for a mont, but Chase promised,
“I won’t skip any more doses.”
Chase gave him a light kiss and smiled as if telling him to relax. Watching Chase walk ahead, Josh couldn’t say anything and simply followed. As he did, the words that Dane had said ca to mind.
“People always deceive others, Josh.”
Josh furrowed his brow slightly as he looked at Chase’s back. Could it be... that Chase is deceiving ?
What is he hiding?
Josh thought hard, but until Chase said sothing, he wouldn’t be able to know. Days passed, and eventually, Josh buried his thoughts in his busy routine and forgot about it.
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