Chapter 8

More than an hour had passed, but no one had raised their white flag yet. Her eyelids had gotten heavier. Half of her face, which had been resting on the table, was already red and a bit swollen.

She slightly lifted her head to check on V-03. She frowned when she saw him. 

My Goodness! He's still looking at me, unmoved, like a dummy. Doesn't he get tired? Unbelievable!

He looks like he has no intention of eating his food unless she feeds him. She looks at her wristwatch. She is running out of time. It seems like she lost this battle. She now has no choice but to do as he says, or she will not be able to go home.

She raised her head and sat upright. She took a few deep breaths before standing up and slowly walking towards V-03. She left a distance of three steps between them. Then she looked at him lazily.

"All right, you won. I'm going to feed you. I'll do what you want, V-03, but I'm begging you, please, don't hurt me."

She took one step closer. 

"I'll be nice to you, promise. I'll cook delicious food for you every day! Just don't hurt me, okay?" 

She took another step cautiously. 

"You understand me, right?" 

V-03 did not respond, but she took his silence as a yes. Ugh! Whatever!

She took a deep breath before kneeling to level with him. Then she slowly reached for the bowl in front of him while her eyes carefully watched his movements. She stirred the food first before scooping up a spoon.

"O-open your mouth."

He obediently and slowly opened his mouth for her. She could not help but swallow hard in nervousness. Her hand shook as the spoon she was holding got closer and closer to his mouth. When the spoon touched his lips, he squeezed her eyes and trembled. 

Aah! The spoon touched him! Please, don't hurt me!

She slowly opened her eyes when she felt his mouth closing and opening with the spoon she was holding. She was not hurt, and she felt no danger or threat. 

She blinked at him, baffled by what was happening. He silently swallowed the food while gently looking at her. In fact, he was like a kid enjoying a tasty meal. 

"Oh..."

She breathed a sigh of relief. It looked like V-03 just wanted to be fed.

Because of that successful first bite, her fear of him subsided, so she continued to feed him. Each time V-03 swallowed the food she put in his mouth, she became more relaxed. Her fear and worry gradually disappeared until she became comfortable feeding him.

A few moments later, she started feeling his intense gaze on her. It was as if he had just seen someone up close for the first time. She was not aware of it earlier because of the tension, but now that she was calm, she could feel his eyes piercing into her soul. 

She felt like something was calling her, begging her to look at those raven-black eyes. His fervent gaze was very distracting. She could not help but become conscious because of it. She knew she should not look straight at V-03's eyes, but it was very tempting. 

She slowly raised her head until their eyes met. His raven-black eyes were wild and full of mysteries, but most of all, familiar. She had already seen these eyes before. These are the eyes she saw when she looked in the mirror. Eyes full of longing and sadness. Just like hers.

It was as if something was hammering her heart as she stared into his somber eyes. The harsh reality of his situation suddenly hit her. She glanced at his chains and then looked at his face again with pity. 

Who wouldn’t be sad and lonely when chained and locked up alone in this cold room?

She halted when she noticed she could not scoop any more food from the bowl. 

"Do you still want more?" 

He nodded. She stood up and walked towards the small kitchen. She quickly filled the bowl with food and then sat in front of him again. He immediately finished the second bowl and did not ask for more.

She let out a loud sigh of relief as she stood up. "Oh, finally!" After putting the empty bowl in the sink, she checked her 'To-do list' again. 

"Okay, what's next?"

Next was giving V-03 his medication, which the nurses taking care of him in the morning had already prepared. She was about to point out his medicine on the table attached to the wall right above the yellow line when she saw him standing next to it. He took the pills by himself without waiting for her. 

She smiled slightly. "Oh... Are you trying to help me with my job?"

After emptying the glass of water, V-03 picked up the syringe that was also sitting on the same table and injected it into his neck. She gasped as she watched the blue liquid seep into the veins of his neck. 

W-what is he doing?!

She immediately looked at the list. What V-03 did was the next task. 

Is he really trying to help me by volunteering to do the tasks by himself?

She was startled when she heard a loud thud. When she looked, she saw V-03 on the floor convulsing. 

"He-hey!"

In her panic, she dropped the list and attempted to run towards him when her feet stopped on the yellow line. Mrs. Dapit warned her countless times about crossing the yellow line. It was her number one rule to survive in this room. 

She felt scared again. She could not move. But when she saw blood coming out of V-03's nose, her hesitation disappeared. She quickly ran to him and laid his head on her thighs. 

Whatever the danger was by crossing the line, this was still a person in front of her. How could anyone just stand and watch?

"Hey! What's wrong with you?!"

She wiped the blood with her handkerchief. After a few seconds, he stopped convulsing. Then he slowly opened his eyes. 

"Are you okay?! What happened to you?"

He did not answer. He just stared at her like a man missing his beloved woman. His gaze was full of longing, pain, and sadness. She suddenly felt her heart clenched at seeing those beautiful but sad eyes.

At that moment, Lesley realized something. This person was the same as her. V-03 was locked up in this cold, quiet, depressing room alone with his hands and feet chained. While her cage and chains were invisible, she too was imprisoned in her insufferable fate of being alone. She never knew her birth parents and never had a deep connection with anyone. She was always begging for affection, especially from Amanda. 

The corners of her eyes almost watered as she sympathized with his situation. She gently stroked his face. 

"V-03... I'll take care of you. I'll be the best night caretaker you ever had."

She did not know if that was the hypnotism Mrs. Dapit was talking about, but her hand seemed to have a life of its own. She carefully moved the hair covering his face out of the way.

Her breath hitches as she unravels the face hiding behind those bangs. Lying down on her lap was the most beautiful man she had ever seen. Who will think that this notorious V-03 is this handsome? 

Most of all, he has an undeniable sexy face. He has a narrow facial shape with less fat. His dark and thick eyebrows perfectly matched his thin eyelids, which had long, beautiful lashes fluttering at his every blink.

She swallowed when her eyes noticed how his lips were full and symmetrical. His lower jaw and chin are both prominent and very manly too. What a dream guy!

Is this real?! Am I being hypnotized right now?!

She did not realize she had been staring at his face for more than a minute now. She only came to herself when V-03 held her hand that was touching his face. She blushed profusely. She immediately averted her eyes in embarrassment. She can feel her heart pounding hard in her chest.

"U-uhm, a-are you okay?" 

She carefully helped him sit.

"Wh-what happened to you? Why did you suddenly act like that? Are you sick?" 

V-03 touched his neck, which was still red from the injection. Then he pointed at the syringe on the floor near them. 

"You collapsed because of that?" 

He nodded with a puppy look on his face. Her eyes sparkled at the adorable sight in front of her.

Whaa~ How cute! Why are people so scared of him? Look at him! He's like a kid! 

She cleared her throat and controlled the excitement she was feeling. She wanted to punch herself for having shameful thoughts.

"Are you feeling better now?"

He nodded. She sighed and then smiled softly at him. 

"That's good. Sit here for a while so you can rest."

She stood up and picked up the list she accidentally threw in a panic earlier. It noted there that what happened to V-03 was a side effect of the blue drug in the syringe. Fourth on the list is to wait for the convulsions to subside and then clean up any mess after, like blood. There is also a note here that V-03 and his surroundings must always be clean.

There was also a note that she should call two nurses before she could cross the line. Not only that, two armed security personnel will automatically enter to ensure their safety.

She frowned at the paper she was holding. She felt like the people in this hospital were overreacting. V-03 did not seem dangerous to her, contrary to all the scary gossip she heard about him. 

As a matter of fact, he obediently let her feed him. He behaved throughout, and he did not hurt her. She does not think she was hypnotized even for a second, except when she saw his face. She still could not believe he could do that by looking in the eye or that it was possible for any human. Although, there was no denying that she got spellbound by his handsomeness. 

Anyway, V-03 did not show any aggressiveness towards her or anything that would worry her. She even stepped in the yellow line, touched him, talked to him, and then walked out alive. She broke this ward's number one rule, but nothing terrible or scary happened to her.

She shook her head in disapproval of the hospital's remark against V-03. She saw no reason to fear him. She sighed and then focused back on the paper in her hands. 

"Okay, what's next on this list?"