Chapter 4: Act 1 Ch 3

The sun fell to Earth as the moon took its place in the starry sky.

Dmitri yawned, rubbing his eyes in sleepiness from a day’s work. The clinic was relatively deserted all throughout the day. Patients usually came in surges, depending on the mission's struggles between the upper echelons within the Solntsevskaya. A positive sign. Nothing good arised from being too busy as a doctor. Turning his attention away from the desk, Dmitri peered at Mikhail.

 

“Mikhail, it's fine if you leave now. With the way things currently are, I doubt any patients will arrive by the end of your shift.”

 

“Yes, doctor. Thank you for your time.” Turning around, Mikhail looked at his watch out of habit. 

 

But the doctor wasn’t finished.

 

“Mikhail. When are you going to stop smiling at me like that? Do I look like a newcomer patient to you?”

 

His student never seemed to drop his flawless mask. From morning until night, his young protege had treated every patient with perfect respect, an amicable smile glued to his face. There was a grunt worker that defamed his abilities to aid patients. A prostitute with honeyed words in the past. No matter who it was. Mikhail’s never batted an eye. Never slipped a single word of complaint. Curling his mouth, Dmitri glared at him. He refused to believe Mikhail’s placid nature. A mere perfunctory design. An image that Mikhail had crafted as “Dmitri’s student.”

 

Mikhail laughed a little, amused by his words. Always pleasant. Four years of superficial pleasantries. Dmitri could feel his annoyance increase.

 

“No doctor. Not at all.”

 

“Then?”

Dmitri twitched his eyebrow.

 

“I’m simply… paying my due respect.”

 

“And that you are. Simply respectable. Idiot…I’m not that much older than you, kid.” The doctor teased him.

 

“It's not about age. It’s simply a sign of respect in regard to your knowledge. How can I be disrespectful to my teacher?”

Dmitri felt a headache rising up once again. Rubbing his temples, he responded. 

 

“My student. Does anyone tell you that you have to stick up your ass?”

 

Mikhail maintained a placid smile in response to his words.

 

“I have been told on another occasion, but I don’t see the point of bringing it up now. What is the correlation?” 

 

With a light pause, Dmitri responded.

“I haven’t seen you complain once under my tutelage. Neither have you ever mentioned anything beyond work. “Doctor, there’s a patient.” “Doctor. I’m unable to find out the reason’s for her dizziness.” That’s all you say.”

 

“There was simply never an opportunity for those subjects to come up.”

 

“I’ve known you for four years, idiot student. Yet I still know nothing about you.”

 

“...”

 

Mikhail became silent. A look of hesitation crossed his face.

 

“I…”

 

After opening his mouth once again, he crept back into silence.

 

Dmitri stared at him a while longer. Then he sighed, and waved his hands at him in a shooing motion

 

You are reading story On the Basis of Self Love at novel35.com

“Leave, you idiot child. This retired old man has enough of bullying you.”

 

It was enough that he hesitated. The second year, Mikhail hadn’t even bothered to even look him in the eyes, a cautious rabbit unable to express anything besides the most basic of emotions, if any at all. Only time will tell. At least, that was what Dmitri comforted his doubts with. Yesterday, and the day before that, the doctor had reassured himself Mikhail would come around one day...which is why he prepared a little gift for his disciple. 

 

"Ah, before I forget to mention."

Dmitri's signature grin cum smirk made its appearance once again.

“Meet Andrei in front of headquarters. You have a mission.”

"Yes?"

"...in eight minutes."

A smug expression flitted across the Doctor’s face. A little trouble could never hurt anyone. They often say the older one is, the more they enjoy teasing those younger than them. Yet like a little child, Dmitri personified the instincts of a four year old brat angry at his mother for ignoring him.

But this was his little revenge. Dmitri was curious. What kind of expression would he express this time? His usual smile? Or perhaps-- annoyance? Shock? 

"..."

After seeing Mikhail’s smile freeze for a millisecond, Dmitri let out a boisterous laugh. Overjoyed with himself, the Doctor felt a sense of peace rise within his heart. Anyhow, it was all just a game Dmitri and Mikhail tacitly agreed on. The rules were simple. Mikhail was taken under his wing to learn from him. As payment in his eyes, Dmitri would play around with his student every so often, trying to elicit a reaction out of him to break down his barriers. After multiple years of losing, Dmitri finally scored a win. And so, with a light heart, the doctor returned to his work.

“Thank you for the reminder.” 

 

However, Mikhail recovered quickly.

 

“Whatever. I won’t waste your time anymore, my cute student.”

 

A light smile departed  from Mikhail’s face. Grabbing his luggage in a hurry, with a pleasant expression, he nevertheless ran out the room in a flurry of action. Eight minutes to the Solntsevskaya operational sector headquarters. The doctor was not a perfunctory and time conscious man, and would only mention a time limit if there was a necessity. 

 

Mikhail pondered on what task he would receive this time. As part of the operational sector, Mikhail was liable from tasks such as acting as a bodyguard or going undercover to gather and report intel. It had not been long since he fulfilled his previous job. Mikhail shook his thoughts away. There was no point in considering his task if he couldn’t even get to Andrei in time. 

 

Bracing his left foot and keeping the center of his body lowered, Mikhail closed his eyes shut as he breathed in the crisp air of Russia’s capital. From the masseter muscles of the face to the achilles tendon of his feet, he braced himself. And sped into a run. 

 

The scenery around him passed by in a blur of motion. Powerful, long sprints combined with a practiced running form. Humanity’s potential in athleticism was maximized in Mikhail’s genetic build-up. Combined with harsh training and a detailed understanding of maintenance, the young man was akin to a whirlwind of motion. He passed the first block. Second. Third. A tinge of panic began to arise in his heart, but he quickly shoved it aside. Instead, he focused on increasing the speed of his run. 

 

Four minutes were remaining. Mikhail arrived at Odessa express, the underground commuter system. Taking a moment to get rid of the sweat dripping off his eyebrow, he kept a steady eye on the different train lines despite his heavy pants. 

 

First step. Check the surroundings. Second. Maintain distance with the target, if necessary. Third…

“Maintain optimal strength at all costs.”

 

Muttering under his breath, Mikhail maintained eye contact with the train routes. Yet the young man could feel the exhaustion creeping up, catching up to his winded body.

 

He began to stabilize his breathing, fighting the urge to sink his body down, to burden his knees with the weight of his upper trunk. There was something else he needed to do first. 

 Fourth. Collect intelligence on the situation. 

 

Yet the train has still yet to arrive. With his heart hammering and pounding inside of him in anxiety, a second past, and then another. And exactly 3.45 seconds afterwards. 

 

The train had arrived. 

 

In the silence of the night, an isolated figure stumbled towards an empty compartment as if he were a drunkard. His swept back hair shimmered underneath the floating lights. His usual impeccable scrubs and coat were stained by his precipitate. 

 

Yet a minute glimmer of joy seemed to fluctuate the former solemnity of eyes as blue as the sea. Like a splash against the sand, Mikhail’s eyes expressed the promise of mischief-- akin to that of the doctor. A small whisper traveled throughout the empty compartment. 

 

“This round, I win again.”

 

In Russia’s coldest hours, a shivering soul smiled gently.   

You can find story with these keywords: On the Basis of Self Love, Read On the Basis of Self Love, On the Basis of Self Love novel, On the Basis of Self Love book, On the Basis of Self Love story, On the Basis of Self Love full, On the Basis of Self Love Latest Chapter