Author's Note: (Read to avoid confusion)

This is a special chapter, a filler chapter. This one took place a few weeks/days before the boys got admitted to the mental hospital. This is like a flashback but it does not necessarily mean that the characters are thinking about it. This is the continuation of Sanghyuk's special chapter in Chapter 5.5

Sanghyuk's Special Chapter

Sanghyuk’s dream would come true. He would finally be able to enter the mental hospital—as a guest, not a patient, of course. It took him a lot of effort to beg his parents to let him visit the hospital that they were funding. His parents had nothing against the hospital or the patients in there but they were worried about Sanghyuk and Sanghyuk’s interest on the mental hospital. Once, in an essay, Sanghyuk wrote about how he wanted to get married in a mental hospital or at least visit the place like a tourist. It was not something anyone’s parents would be proud of.

But there he was, standing in front of the tall white building. He was smiling brightly like a ball of sunshine. He had never been so happy in his life—except when he had his beloved Gopchang but that was a completely different story. “So, this is what it feels like to be in a mental hospital.” He muttered to himself, walking towards the building.

“Are you Mr. Han Sanghyuk?” A nurse asked with a smile on her face. She was a young nurse who seemed to be nice enough.

Sanghyuk nodded his head, grinning. He could not contain his excitement. He could even roll around like a buffalo—he was a big fan of EXO, don’t judge him. He was just so happy because he could finally step a foot on a mental hospital. He felt like he could understand how it felt to climb the Mt. Everest—even though he was not sure how that was related to going to a mental hospital.

“Your father told us to let you walk around freely so that you can observe the people around here and how they are treated. But he also directed us to closely watch over you. So, please, don’t wander around too much alone.” The nurse told Sanghyuk.

“Yeah, don’t worry. I know that I am in a mental hospital and I know that I should not joke around this place.” Sanghyuk assured the nurse with his innocent smile playing on his lips. “I can handle it just fine because it’s like a dream come true for me, you know? I can talk about it for hours and never stop but that would make me seem like that weird musical actor on TV so I won’t do such thing.”

“Oh, Mr. Han, you came.” A tall and handsome doctor appeared. He walked towards Sanghyuk in a slow yet elegant manner as if he were in a fashion show. His name tag proudly showed his name—Choi Siwon.

“Good morning, Dr. Choi!” The nurse greeted the doctor, bowing politely.

“Wassup?” Sanghyuk coolly greeted because he was not very polite. He was not known for being evil for nothing. He was referred to as an evil kid for a reason. “Can’t we get inside now? I’m getting more and more excited now. I want to see if the place is as awesome as it seemed like outside.” He excitedly told the docor and the nurse, sounding like a child who was just about to try a rainbow ice cream.

The doctor was quiet for a second. He was taken aback. He wondered what Sanghyuk found so interesting in a mental hospital. It was painted with a dull white color, the name of the hospital was written in plain silver sign, and the gate was just a big black one. What made it seem so special for a twenty-one-year-old? The doctor had no idea but he was not planning on ruining a poor kid’s dream because that was just too harsh. “S-sure, let’s go inside.” He said, though he was still a bit taken aback.

Sanghyuk nodded his head. “Please lead the way.” He gestured for the doctor to go ahead.

The doctor did so. While Sanghyuk trailed close to the doctor, the nurse was looking after him behind him as if making sure that the troublesome kid would not find another trouble to be involved in.

Sanghyuk could not care less about the world. The moment he set foot on the white tile of the mental hospital, he felt the magic. It felt so magical that it was hard to explain. It felt like he just managed to make a million dreams of his to come true in just one single step—the step that made his most precious childhood dream to come true. He did not know that a single step could change someone’s life. He then took a deep breath, inhaling the unfamiliar scent. He liked the scent. It was like no other. “So… this is the air that patients here breathe…” He nodded his head slowly, inhaling the scent even more.

Dr. Choi and the nurse were both speechless as they watched how Sanghyuk close his eyes in order to appreciate the supposedly attractive scent of the mental hospital.

“It’s not too bad.” Sanghyuk commented, slowly opening his eyes. “I mean, the air is refreshing. I think it’s good enough. There is no pollution which is great, I believe.”  He added. “Just a suggestion though, why not changing the air freshener? It smells so flowery. Who chose such a scent?” He turned to the doctor and the nurse just to give them a judging look. No, he was not mocking them, he really was judging them. Who would let such a mysterious place smell so flowery? Flowers were good but Sanghyuk did not think that it fitted the place.

Dr. Choi also turned to the nurse and gave her a judging look as if it was his first time smelling the scent.

The nurse shook her head in a rapid manner, waving her hands to emphasize her point. “Please don’t look at me like that. I was not the one who changed the air freshener. There’s this patient who suggested to use that type of air freshener and forced everyone else to agree. No one agreed but that patient still managed to change the air fresheners. He also threw away the brand we use before.” She explained.

Dr. Choi nodded in understanding. “I see. Is the patient you’re talking about the same person I am thinking about?”

“Yes, Dr. Choi. He said that our former air freshener smells like a horror movie though I am not very sure about what a horror movie smells like. Still, he insisted to change it. He demanded the staff to adjust it for him and nagged until he got what he wanted.” The nurse explained.

“You could have had tried to stop him.” Dr. Choi said.

“We did try but that man is so annoying! Remember how he made us play the alarm for his playtime? And how he made sure that that the alarm tone would be a hiphop song? He’s just too much to handle.” The nurse complained, whining a little. Just by listening to the nurse, Sanghyuk could already tell that the patient was hard to handle. How lucky was he that he did not have to deal with the said patient.

Dr. Choi sighed upon remembering the event that the nurse just mentioned. “Where is Nurse Park? Is she not planning in handling that patient? Don’t tell me that he doesn’t listen to her because that would make him our most notorious patient yet.”

The nurse shook her head. “Even Nurse Park gives up because of him. I and the other nurses worry that she might suddenly die of heart attack because of her extreme annoyance towards him. You do know that she is not young anymore.”

“That patient seems to be a very annoying person. I wouldn’t want to deal with him.” Sanghyuk chuckled. “I cannot even imagine how it would feel like to share a ward with him. It’s like entering a lion’s den. He seems like a person that no one could tolerate, really.”

“Well, actually—” The nurse started but she was cut off by Dr. Choi.

“How about we look at the other rooms for now?” Dr. Choi hastily said as if he was hiding something. He looked very suspicious, any one could tell that he was trying to conceal something. Even though Sanghyuk was known to be evil, he was not a nosy kid—he would say but the truth was he was not a sympathetic person and that was the reason why he did not care.

Sanghyuk nodded his head, not minding the fact that the doctor was acting a bit strange. “That’s the reason why I’m here.” He shrugged his shoulders. “Let’s just explore the every bit of this paradise.” He grinned before walking ahead.

“Sir, are you sure that it’s okay to keep the innocent kid here?” Dr. Choi asked over the phone. His facial expression showed how worried he was. “It’s like keeping an angel in hell.”

“That kid isn’t innocent, Dr. Choi. Also, for him, it’s like keeping a devil in heaven. Just let him stay there please. His addiction to gopchang and mental hospital scares me. Please do everything that you can to help him while he stay there and help him improve his mental health.” The man over the phone said.

“But to keep him with the other patient is too much. Those patients scare me and Nurse Park too. Kim Wonshik seems normal but he might suddenly lose his mind completely. Lee Hongbin is so obsessed with himself and his mirrors. Jung Taekwoon might murder everyone else anytime. The newcomer, Lee Jaehwan, needs no diagnosis to confirm his symptoms. Not to forget, Cha Hakyeon is willing to ruin anyone’s life. I’m begging you, spare your son from all this chaos.” Dr. Choi pleaded. “If we let him stay here, he might really lose his mind.”

The man over the phone—Sanghyuk’s own father—chuckled. “Sanghyuk is really hard-headed. He can only learn like this. If he isn’t my son, I would say that he has completely lost his marbles especially whenever he goes ballistic because of a piece of gopchang. I trust you, Dr. Choi.” He said before hanging up and leaving the doctor no choice.

“This mental hospital will be the death of me. This isn’t even a kindergarten but a mental hospital.” He could only hit his own forehead. “Now, I have to tell the poor kid that he has to stay here so that we can observe him.”

The person who practically ruined Sanghyuk’s life was no other than his father.

Author's Note: (Next Update?)

Missed me? I said next week but I updated after a month lol

I just noticed that it's already the 30th chapter and congratulations to myself, it still doesn't make any sense. OTL

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