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The Day After Tomorrow

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EPISODE 3

“Son, she is the doctor of your youngest sibling,” the mother said in anger.

Suddenly, the expression on the man’s face her supposed son changed.

“So you’re the greedy doctor who wants us to pay almost one million? What kind of doctor are you?!” he insulted me.

“We can talk about this matter in my office,” I said calmly.

“Stop speaking English to us!” said one of his companions with dyed, streaked hair.

“You’re probably still young, that’s why you look like you only care about money. Did you just use your looks to become a doctor?” another tattooed man insulted me.

“I became a doctor not because of my physical appearance. I am a doctor because I have principles and capability,” I replied. “Right!” I heard Dr. Marcus agree.

“A doctor with principles? More like a fake doctor! Pfft!” the son of the woman sneered. The three of them looked at each other and laughed mockingly.

“That guy is so annoying!” Dr. Marcus said as he was about to rush toward them, but I stopped him.

“It’s better to let them be. If we match their anger, the result will be worse,” I said calmly, so he only glared at them.

“You coward doctor, old man! Because of your service and rotten principles, you pretend to be perfect, but you’re all greedy and evil!” they continued insulting.

“You’re going too far. Your words are inappropriate,” I said sharply.

My temper was starting to rise as well. I hated how they were disrespecting doctors like me people who genuinely care for patients’ lives. They were already stepping on our dignity and clean intentions in the medical field.

“I thought we shouldn’t get angry? But she’s the one getting angry,” I heard Dr. Marcus whisper to Nurse Cha.

“Shut up! You’re not helping,” Nurse Cha hissed back. “Be quiet.”

Even without seeing her, I knew Dr. Marcus was frowning.

“Why are you angry? It’s true, isn’t it? You doctors just want our money,” they continued insulting.

“And you’re saying women shouldn’t be doctors? That we have no capability except handling men’s money, right?” they added disrespectfully.

“With all due respect, if it weren’t for Dra. here handling your child’s case, your son would have already been dead and buried!” Dr. Paul angrily interjected.

At that moment, things were clearly escalating because of them.

“Damn this doctor!” the green-haired man said, grabbing Dr. Paul by the collar and punching him.

“Are you saying my brother should just die?!” he shouted, continuing to punch him.

My eyes widened in shock. I didn’t expect him to do that.

“Oh, f*ck!” Dr. Paul cursed loudly as he tried to stand, but he fell again due to the force of the blows.

“What the—!” Dr. Marcus shouted in shock.

“Oh my God! Dr. Paul!” Nurse Cha also screamed.

We were all frozen in place from shock this was the first time something like this had happened.

I saw the burning anger in Dr. Paul’s eyes. He hadn’t expected the sudden attack, which was why he was taken down like that.

Even though he wanted to fight back, he couldn’t there are laws against violence. He could only defend himself if weapons like knives or guns were involved.

“Be thankful there are rules, or your jaw would already be broken,” Dr. Paul said. He was a black belter in taekwondo, so what he said wasn’t impossible.

“That’s why you’re a coward! You hide behind laws and hospital rules!” the green-haired man insulted again.

“I don’t want this situation,” I said firmly, trying to control myself as my patience was running out.

“Just because we don’t fight back doesn’t mean we’re cowards. We simply follow rules so we don’t worsen the situation,” I added.

“Just because we let you speak doesn’t mean you can hurt people who are only trying to help you,” I continued.

“Help?!” the red-haired man laughed sarcastically.

“You call charging huge bills ‘help’?” he said mockingly.

“We help as much as we can. We are human too, just like you we work hard,” I said again.

The surroundings became silent except for breathing and murmurs.

“We doctors and nurses also have needs. Just like you, we feel pain when we see our patients bleeding,” I explained.

“We don’t want your bills to be that high, but hospital policies must be followed. Otherwise, we won’t have proper supplies,” I clarified.

“Our goal is to save lives. We don’t work here just for money like others think,” I said with a faint smile.

“Do you know what we think inside the operating room? No you don’t, because you’re not in our position,” I said, my emotions slowly building.

“It’s easy to judge, but gratitude is hard for many. Even asking for forgiveness is difficult,” I continued.

“What we think about are the families waiting outside, crying those sounds pierce us inside,” I added.

“And all we think about is saving a life that could turn into a corpse if we give up,” I said as I looked at them, now silently listening.

“Ma’am, to be honest, your child should already be gone. The machine is what is keeping him alive. There is a chance he may wake up, but without it, he would have already passed away,” I explained.

“So you’re saying we should just remove the machine?!” the mother shouted, now crying.

I sighed deeply as Dr. Marcus also sighed.

She misunderstood what I meant.

“No, ma’am. What I mean is that with 18 stab wounds, many hospitals already refused your case because it is critical,” I explained again.

“And the machine keeping him alive is not ordinary. Even the medications are extremely expensive,” I added.

“To be honest, many hospitals already rejected your case, but I insisted on operating because I saw your desperation and love that night,” I said.

“This is actually your fourth hospital,” I continued.

“I really don’t like hearing people beg,” I admitted quietly.

There are consequences for accepting that operation. I could even be suspended for taking the case during my off-duty hours.

“So it’s my mother’s fault why you accepted the case?!” the green-haired man shouted.

“No. I’m only explaining why your bill is like that,” I replied.

“My perception of female doctors will never change. Women like you should just study and learn how to handle your husband’s money,” he insulted again.

I looked at the mother.

“Look closely. You are also a woman. You have no right to speak to a woman like that,” I said sarcastically.

“Because you were also born from a woman!” I added firmly.

“The woman who gave your brother a chance to live I am a woman, yes! But you don’t even know what a woman like me is capable of,” I said strongly.

“Dr. Paul, check the previous bills of patient Keil Lackson. Let them see everything the original amount and my discounts. It’s in my office, black folder. Only one copy,” I ordered.

“Copy, Doc,” Dr. Paul said and ran.

“What will that change?! Will you even increase it?!” the mother shouted.

“You have no heart!” they continued.

At that moment, police had still not arrived, and tensions were rising.

“First, ma’am, your bill is 2.5 million pesos for surgery, 25 packs of blood, internal bleeding treatment, machines, IVs, medications, and room charges,” I explained.

They stepped back in shock.

Dr. Paul returned and handed me the folder.

I opened it and showed them the records.

“You can see the hospital charges here. Because of the 18 stab wounds, we had to do everything to save him,” I explained.

“The original amount is 2.5 million pesos. But because I felt compassion for you, I gave an 80% discount instead of the usual 30–50%,” I added.

“So what you will pay is only 250,000 pesos,” I corrected their misunderstanding of 950k+.

Whispers spread around the room.

“I can’t believe how much she reduced it…”

“Doctors like her are rare…”

“She’s truly a hope for patients…”

“Even after everything she did, they still blame her…”

“That’s true people often don’t see kindness, only flaws.”