24 | The Existence of Happiness
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I was so surprised that I just stared wide-eyed, and the professor smiled brightly, as if finding my reaction cute. I remained dumbfounded for a moment, then it occurred to me that the professor was teasing me.
Didn't you sleep?
Yeah, I have insomnia.
“You surprised me… I didn’t know you had insomnia, Professor.”
You're cute, really.
"Um, but I think we're too close."
Feeling embarrassed, I pulled away from the professor. He looked disappointed, then met my eyes and remained still. Feeling a tickling sensation in my heart, I spoke to the professor.
Don't look at me like that.
"why?"
My heart feels strange when you look at me like that.
“It looks like some kind of symptom. Tell me as a thoracic surgery resident.”
"… love?"
Correct answer.
/
As the professor visited me more frequently and our relationship grew, my stress gradually decreased. In fact, our relationship improved to the point where I felt my happiness level had increased significantly.
My stress always used to come from my parents, but seeing that my stress now stems from interpersonal relationships, I feel that I have improved a lot. Seeing my relationships improve as well as my work and studies, it feels like my stress has disappeared.
For some reason, I felt like all of this was thanks to the professor, and thanks to my grandmother watching over me from heaven. Even though I always thought of my grandmother, I wasn't depressed. That was because the professor was by my side, comforting and encouraging me.
I thought I would be stressed by the professor during our first meeting. But that was my misconception. The professor has now become a source of happiness for me.