(BL) Mafia Love; He who falls the hardest loses-Chapter 99: The call

"Hello," a familiar voice hoarsely spoke as soon as he brought the phone to his ear.

Haruki paused for a while as his brow furrowed deeply and his grip on the phone tightened. So, finally, that man thought it fit for him to contact him. After how many days?

He took in a deep breath as the man repeated himself, "Hello."

Haruki cleared his throat as he fought back the sudden urge to show he was angry by hanging up. "Hello," he finally responded.

"I am so sorry I didn’t inform you before I left. My brother was ill and I needed a family member’s presence," Hiroshi began blabbing on speaking faster than he usually does.

Haruki pressed his lips together. He didn’t respond to the man’s apology even after Hiroshi paused for a few seconds. He felt like an addict given a shot of the drug they were deprived of for too long.

His heart pounded in his chest, and he found himself taking in a deep breath and releasing a sigh of complete relief as his body relaxed significantly.

"Hello, can you hear me? I know I have offended you and if I could, I would not be simply making a phone call, I would be heading back to you to apologize properly but I can’t.

"Aki. . . Aki fell ill and I thought he was going to get better but it only got worse after the first day and he had to receive in-patient care. I had to stay close to him, I am so glad I went to him because it would have been bad if he had no one to care for him when it got worse. freeweɓnøvel~com

"He is getting better now and I am sure he will be ready to go back home soon. I will be back as soon as I can. I took a two-week leave from the hospital so I should be back in some days’ time."

Haruki could hear the tension in the man’s deep voice. He could feel the man meant every word of the apology and as the man spoke, he could easily imagine what expression he wore with every word said.

Hiroshi had stopped talking but Haruki remained silent as he leaned against the backrest of the leather swivel chair and closed his eyes. He took in one deep breath after the other.

He was so tempted to tell the man to keep talking. He wanted to hear more of that deep music that was beautiful and soothing even after its quality was significantly reduced over the phone call.

How beautiful would it be to hear those words so close up in his ears, but this time, with the man close to him physically not over the phone kilometres away from him?

At that moment, his brain seemed to have locked up everything he was worried about and could only focus on Hiroshi. If only he could bring the man over with a snap of his finger, he would bring that man over and lean close to him, inhale his scent, listen to him speak and . . .

"Mhh," he murmured as his imagination got more detailed.

"Are you angry with me?" Hiroshi murmured with uncertainty on the other end. "I know I made a mistake as your doctor, I should never have left without informing you. I know I deserve whatever punishment you decide to give me."

The doctor’s words got him to snap out of his thoughts. He opened his eyes and sat upright before clearing his throat. "I am glad you are aware of your wrongdoings," Haruki said with a level of indifference that almost could not hide the relief in his voice.

"Could you give me a few days to return?"

"Sure, Aki needs your help. I am glad he is getting better," Haruki replied.

"Yes, thank you. I will return as soon as I can, I am sure Aki will get a lot better in time for me to return." Haruki was not sure but he could hear a bit of solemnness in the man’s voice.

It was different from his nervous apology both of which were a bit different from the man’s usual tone. It seemed he had come to his senses as he noticed a slight difference in the man’s voice, there was a hoarseness that gave him the feeling that the man might be the one sick, not Aki.

He wanted to ask if he was all right but he wondered if Aki was in a very bad shape that the man was so saddened by it that it affected his usual demeanour. "Are you sure Aki is getting better?"

There was silence on the other end for a few seconds before the doctor responded, "Yes, he is getting better. He has one of the best doctors in the city taking care of him. He will get a lot better soon." Hiroshi’s voice only got lower with that response making it a bit hard for Haruki to believe him.

"Is there any other problem?" Haruki was forced to ask him when he felt like the man did not sound very happy. It felt like a cat’s paw was gently scratching against his heart, not enough to hurt but enough to cause a discomfort he could not ignore.

"No, nothing, just a bit of sore throat," the doctor responded with much joy in his tone it sounded as though he was announcing something that warrants celebration rather than an illness.

Haruki paused tilting his head slightly as his eyes narrowed slightly. He had not asked about the man’s wellbeing or at least that was not the response he had expected from the man. He wondered how he would respond to the man’s words.

He had never felt this awkward. It was a situation that shouldn’t have caused any awkwardness but the fact that his brain seemed to have logged out and unable to come up with the right response to give the man, caused him to freeze a bit unsure of what to say.

"I think you should also get checked into the hospital," Haruki finally came up with a response unwilling to think it through if it was the best response to the man’s words or the possibility of a better response. It was a simple one, the man was sick, so he should go to the hospital.

He heard a low chuckle from the other end before the man coughed and cleared his throat. "I will do that right away."

"Send my regards to Aki."

"Okay, I will. Bye."

Haruki hummed a response and proceeded to pull the phone from his ear.

"I miss you."

Taken aback by those words, he looked down at the screen of the phone but the man had already hung up. He shook his head wondering if he had begun hallucinating.

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