Broken Reliance, Renewed Longing

The newcomer's eyes were filled with tears and I could see her distress as I tried to focus on my experiment. To lighten the mood, my boyfriend, in a misguided attempt at humor, gave my right shoulder a sharp, playful slap.

“Haha, look at her,” he said, grinning at the girl. “She’s totally stunned! Ray, give me a smile—I’ve just slapped her to cheer you up!”

Despite his intention to amuse, the girl's forced smile was quickly overshadowed by her laughter, which felt more like a backdrop to the growing discomfort in my hand. As I tried to keep my concentration, the broken edge of a pipette tube suddenly jabbed into my palm, slicing through the skin and causing a painful injury that ultimately required hospitalization.

Later, when he encountered issues with his experiment and needed a batch of cells rechecked, I was the only person in the company who could handle it. Thanks to his callous actions, which had led to my hand injury, I was unable to help him. His thoughtless behavior had not only inflicted pain but had also rendered me incapable of assisting him with his project.

The same hand he had recklessly harmed was the one he now desperately needed. Every time I thought about the extent of his negligence, my resentment grew.

——

Everyone envies me for having a thoughtful boyfriend. He not only dutifully hands over his salary but also surprises me from time to time to keep our relationship vibrant and romantic.

That was until recently, when a new girl joined the lab.

My boyfriend's behavior changed. He began treating her differently—calling her with nickname and being so touchy with her.

Watching her spend her days idly playing games, I, as her senior, couldn’t help but say, “Stop playing with your phone. If you don’t know how to conduct experiments, at least help with some of the simpler tasks.”

Rachel looked up slowly at me. Her eyelids fluttered as tears welled up in her eyes. Her eyes reddened as she bit her lower lip. The tears filled her eyes but she stubbornly refused to let them fall. Her appearance made her look so fragile, like a jasmine petal falling from its stem and I felt a pang of sympathy.

I couldn’t force her to work, so I said what needed to be said and left it at that. That day, I threw all my effort into finishing the experiment after hours. 

Out of nowhere, Benjamin, my boyfriend, popped up behind me and gave my right shoulder a hard smack. It caught me off guard, making my heart race and the tools I was holding drop to the floor with a clatter. Instinctively, I whirled around, trying to make sense of the sudden interruption.

“Haha, look at her,” he said, grinning at the girl. “She’s totally stunned! Come on, Ray, give me a smile—I’ve just slapped her to cheer you up!”

For a brief moment, Rachel threw me a resentful glance, her face streaked with tears. The sadness was palpable, but she quickly tried to pull herself together. She covered her mouth with one hand and let out a giggle, her laughter ringing out like a bell.

Benjamin's eyes sparkled with a mesmerizing light. It was as if he were completely entranced. The intensity of his gaze seemed almost hypnotic. It was blinding to realize how much a smile could hurt. I couldn’t fathom that my boyfriend would go so far—causing me pain—just to see her smile.

In that moment, I wanted to cry, but the pain was so intense that I couldn’t even shed tears. I tried to move my right hand slowly with my left, but any movement brought an indescribable agony. 

It’s not an exaggeration to say that my hand was killing me.

The piercing pain radiated from my hand through my nerves to my brain. The sharp, unfamiliar sensation was terrifying and I struggled to hold onto the last bit of sanity.

“It hurts,” I whimpered. 

“There you go. There’s nothing that can’t be resolved with a little joke” Benjamin said, completely oblivious to my suffering. 

“Frowning doesn’t suit your pretty face. Don’t be sad just because of his scolding. Promise you won’t be sad anymore, okay Ray?” Benjamin extended his hand, intending to touch Rachel’s chin. He kept showering the smiling girl with compliments and jokes, completely absorbed in his mission to make her laugh.

Meanwhile, I was trying to manage the intense pain he had caused, struggling to keep a brave face. As he focused on brightening her day, I was left grappling with the excruciating discomfort of my own injuries, feeling utterly invisible in the midst of his careless cheer.

“Take your antics somewhere else, Benjamin. This is a laboratory, a place for work, not a stage for your nonsense,” a woman's voice cut through sharply. Her tone was firm and cold. “Don’t disturb Cora, she’s focused on her work.” A woman’s voice sounded. Her tone was firm and cold. She was a senior lab Benjamin patted my right shoulder twice more. 

“Cora is the ace operator in your lab. Her physical and psychological resilience is top-notch. I couldn’t affect her even if I tried.” Then he turned casually to me.

“Isn’t that right, Cora—”

His smile faltered and then froze as his eyes fell on my bloodied right hand. His expression shifted from playful to horrified as he took in the sight of my pale, ghostly face.