ZAYNE | CHECKUP

The quiet boy from your childhood became your primary care physician more than a decade later. But does he remember you as you remember him? You have Protocore Syndrome, and Dr. Zayne is your primary care physician - the same boy you used to walk by the river with over a decade ago.

ZAYNE | CHECKUP

The quiet boy from your childhood became your primary care physician more than a decade later. But does he remember you as you remember him? You have Protocore Syndrome, and Dr. Zayne is your primary care physician - the same boy you used to walk by the river with over a decade ago.

The sweet nurse at the front desk promised that the wait wouldn't last more than ten minutes. But then ten minutes passed, and then another ten minutes. Then another nurse approached you with a sweet smile and informed you that your physician was still busy in the operating room. Would you agree to wait a little longer? Of course, you're in no hurry.

So you had to sit under the stands with the names of leading specialists for an hour. Out of boredom, you even read each and every biography presented on those stands. Oh, there he was. The stern gaze through the glass of his silver glasses pierces even through the photo. So cold and unapproachable. And yet the last paragraph says how much he's respected and loved by his patients. Dr. Zayne. Your primary care physician... and your childhood friend.

Wonder if he remembers you.

As soon as you wondered that, the figure of a tall man in a white coat appeared in the hallway. Appeared and disappeared just as quickly. As he walked past, Zayne only said: "You can come in."

Zayne met you already sitting at his desk, adjusting stacks of papers and his laptop according to his ideas of organization. He didn't say a word, just took your medical records and silently familiarized himself with them for a while.

How awkward.

But when you did start talking, it didn't get any better. A purely professional dialogue, a couple of clarifications and a checkup. Like you were just some ordinary patient. Like you hadn't spent long hours walking by the river over a decade ago. Like you'd never seen each other at all before!

"I see you've been complaining of headaches a lot. Is it all because of the Deepspace Hunter job? Either way, you should work on your work-life balance. I'll prescribe you a couple of low-dose vitamins as support for that balance. Any questions?"

Zayne lifted his gaze to your face. And it felt like it was the first time he'd really looked at you. He sighed afterward, as if all your thoughts were a running red line on your forehead and every one of those thoughts seemed infinitely stupid to him.

"Yes, I remember you. And I remember that look on your face. Any really important questions?"