Dantae's POV:

Today is my first day of work...

After studying for so many years, I finally became a psychiatrist officially.

Sunny mental health hospital is where I'm supposed to work from now on, and I'm incredibly excited but also anxious at the same time.

Wearing dark grey Fastoni trousers and a long-sleeved white linen shirt, along with the watch my mother gave me for graduation, I changed into a formal look.
I brushed my hair out of my face to look neater and grabbed my leather black bag off the table, then stepped outside after exhaling a deep breath.

I glanced up to the sky and couldn't help but feel a sense of anticipation. I had no idea what was to come, but I was ready for it. I took a step forward, ready to take on whatever came my way.

~

After 30 minutes of driving, I finally arrived at the hospital. As I entered, I asked the information desk where I should go, and they led me to the president's office, Dr. Joe, an old professor in charge of managing the hospital.

After a knock, I walked inside, and Dr. Joe welcomed me with a handshake. "Hello, young man!... You must be the new doctor!"

I smiled and said, "Yes, I'm Seo Dantae. Thank you for having me!~... "

He laughed a bit and replied, "I'm happy that a young, handsome man joined us! This will give nurses some motivation to work better~... haha~..."

I laughed along with him nervously, "I'll do my best!~"

Then Dr. Joe called the head nurse to guide me to my office room and show me around the hospital.

The head nurse, Miss. Choi was a middle-aged woman with tanned skin and brunette hair, a bit chubby and short. As we greeted each other, she showed me the whole place.

The hospital was a large, imposing building with four floors and a big yard at the back.
The first floor was filled with medical clinics, examination rooms, a reception desk to check in or out and guide people, and also a cafeteria, while the second floor was dedicated to patient rooms and offices for medical staff with a library filled with different kinds of books.
The third floor was dedicated to administrative tasks, and the fourth floor was dedicated to research and development. In the back, the yard had a garden and a playground for patients. The hospital was designed to provide an environment of safety and support for those seeking mental health care.

My office room was placed on the second floor, obviously. My office was cozy and had a great view of the garden, and I loved that as I walked in there.

~

Miss. Choi said, "This file that I placed on the table is the information of your first patient, and you'll be just in charge of him for now."

I picked up the file, "Thank you, Miss Choi!" and glanced at it.

[ Last Name: Park, First Name: Myung,
Age: 28, Diagnosis: Severe depression, CPTSD*, Eating disorder, Self-harm.]

As I flipped the pages and read furthermore, I was taken aback by the information.

I asked Miss Choi that was still standing in my room, "I'm sorry but why did all the doctors here reject him?!... And there's no clear information about this patient, like what has caused him to come here or anything else! They just wrote down a short summary of his behavior."

She answered calmly, "He has refused to talk. He just stares out the window blankly and doesn't react to anything else, so all of our doctors have lost their hopes for him in these 11 months since he's not willing to get better.
They weren't able to find the trigger to make him speak either...
And there was a time that... "

She stopped hesitantly...

"Em~... It's on the last page, so you'll find this out anyway... there was an incident when the last doctor was with him. "

I asked, "Incident?"

She nodded, "Yes. For your information, we have never had a patient with severe conditions. In most cases, patients are cooperative and are soon discharged.
So our staff is a bit inexperienced at controlling and treating someone like him.
That day, we don't know what she had told him up to this day, but he suddenly snatched a pen out of her hand and stabbed it into his own body a few times causing him to bleed from different places meanwhile he was laughing loudly, and she couldn't stop him.
She stood there panicked and frozen before the nurses rushed into the room and injected some sedatives to make him unconscious. In the end, the president scolded all of the staff badly, and afterward, they're just scared of taking care of him. "

I thought, "So they're just cowards that don't want to take responsibility for their own jobs and actions. What an immoral thing to do... leave him alone like that when he needs to help the most..."

Then I said, "Thank you for explaining everything, Miss. Choi. You can leave now..."

"Okay, Dr. Seo..." She left the room after saying that.

Thankfully, I've been experienced with these cases during my residency, so I think I can handle this case. However, I need to find out how can I communicate with him...

What would possibly make him react to me?!...

It would be nice to speak with his acquaintances to get some information, but his file says that his parents don't know what happened to him...

~

I left my room and walked down the hallway, trying to find Park Myung's room.
Since he's in intensive care, he must be at the end of the hallway...

I entered the PICU* and asked security if I wanted to see Myung as his new doctor, then he led the way, and I followed him.
I noticed that Myung was indeed the only patient there as I looked at the empty rooms.

I took a look at the small window on the door, and saw a young boy from behind, with his black hair grown up to his shoulders, a slim pale body in a white gown, standing in front of the room's window.

The room was absolutely empty since he was banned from anything that could've been dangerous to prevent him from self-harm. All he had was a bed, a single leather armchair, and a bathroom with no door or mirror.

I stepped in silently, and he didn't seem to notice me. His eyes were fixed outside the window, and his facial expression was emotionless. I didn't know what he was thinking, but I could feel his desperation, his loneliness. He was trapped in a prison of his own.

I took my distance from him since I still don't know anything about him, and approaching a stranger like me could've made him scared.

I calmly cleared my voice and said, "Hi... "

However, I didn't get any response. I observed his facial expression, the deep darkness in his black eyes, and his tiny pale lips.

I added, "I'll be the doctor in charge of you from now on."

I won't tell him my name until he has asked about it himself. I need to make him curious about something...

As I was standing there watching him, a practical nurse entered the room. A tall young boy with short dark hair and brown eyes, a normal face, and a masculine body. He was taken aback by seeing me at first.

"Ah! You must be the new doctor!" He stated curiously.

"Yes, I am..." I replied.

Then he said, "Nice to see you! I know that I interrupted, but I should give him his medicine."

"It's okay, go on," I answered while my eyes returned to Myung. I flinched as I noticed that he clenched his fists slightly...

..." So he's aware of his surroundings, but he decided not to react, huh?"...

The nurse grabbed Myung's arm tightly, dragged it, and made him flop in the leather armchair in the corner of the room.

He opened Myung's mouth with his hand and forced him to swallow his pills, which caused Myung to cough and poured water inside his mouth...

"ACK!... (Coughing)..." Myung trembled a bit.

I was frustrated by the nurse's behavior and said, "Can I talk to you outside?"
Then he nodded, and we walked outside.

~

When we stopped in the hallway, I asked, "What's your name?"

-"I'm Kim Seo-An~"

+"Mr. Kim, why would you treat him like that?"

-"Like what, Doctor?"

+"You shouldn't use unnecessary force on him!... "

-"But he won't have his pills if I don't force him!"

+"You still can be gentle, right?... In this case, he's a patient who requires special attention. It's impossible for him to heal if everyone treats him badly! Plus, his condition could get worse..." I grumbled while glaring at him fiercely.

-"I'm sorry~ Doctor~... "

+"Be careful from now on!"

-"Yes!"

+"You can go back to work now."

He nodded and left the PICU. I sighed and looked back at Myung from the door's window. Sitting still in the armchair, spacing out again...

..."What a first day!..."...

I felt a wave of sadness wash over me. I knew that this was going to be difficult for both of us. I just hoped that I would be able to help him get through it.

~

I walked out and headed to the first floor to get a coffee. I sat behind the counter with my Americano, thinking about Myung and what has led him to a place like this at the age of 28...

As my cell phone rang, I felt as if my thought thread had been broken. I answered the call, and it was my mom, "Hey, mom."

-"My son~... Are you at work?"

+"Yeah~ why did you call?..."

-"I just wanted to know how your workplace is? Are they treating you well?..."

+"Yes, mom. They're nice to me."

-"That's good then!~... I'm proud of you, my son."

+"Thanks~... "

-"I won't bother you anymore, go back to work. Take care, son. Bye~"

+"bye"

I sighed after I hung up...

"Mom, your son is freaking out already!"...

At first, I was confident, but now I'm not sure since it's the first time I'm going through this alone without anyone's help.
Also, they all have abandoned my patient...
And his nurse is a jerk...
This hospital seems shady...
I sighed again and drank my coffee...

~

After I was back on the second floor, I grabbed a random book that the cover looked interesting and took it with me to Myung's room. I'm aware that I can't take anything else to his room rather than a book.

As I stepped inside, he was lying down on the bed facing the armchair across the room, so I sat there to be in his sight.
Then I opened the book and started reading quietly. Me before you by Jojo Moyes, was the book that I picked by chance...

Meanwhile, reading the book, I kept checking Myung's movements with peeking. During the time I stayed there silently, he occasionally closed his eyes for a few minutes and then opened them again, staring blankly in my direction.

I just stayed with him the whole day without saying a word, and when my shift was done, I closed the book and stood up, then said, "See you tomorrow, Myung" and walked away.

As I returned home, I slumped down on my bed and fell asleep right away after a hot shower. All my energy had been drained since it was a tough start.

~

Days passed quickly, and Myung did not respond to my presence in his room at all...

I kept reading the book in his room in that armchair despite the fact that I didn't like romance, I couldn't change it anymore because me reading a book in front of him was just a way of trying to make a connection with Myung.
Also, by staying there all the time, I controlled Kim Seo-An's actions toward Myung carefully, and he finally did his job correctly...

After two weeks, I was getting disappointed eventually as I didn't gain any of his attention... Thinking if I should try another method on him...

I walked into his room, completely gloomy, and said, "Good morning, Myung."

Then I sat down and sighed while opening the book.
When I noticed that I only had 10 pages left to complete, I got anxious uncontrollably...

After twenty or fewer minutes, the book was done finally...

I closed the book and mumbled frustratingly, "Why would you give up on your life so easily when you just found your loved one?"

Then I heard a faint voice saying, "Because he didn't want to live with regrets since he wasn't able to do it the way he wanted anymore..."

I froze in shock, unable to breathe. My eyes widened, and my gaze was fixed on him as he looked at me while sitting on the edge of his bed...

HE SPOKE!!!!!!!...

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