T h e  M o r g u e

*

Taekwoon doesn’t expect many things when he reached the nearly vacant hospital which had many police patrol cars surrounding it, a few policemen dusting around the place for evidence:

Taekwoon didn’t know what he was expecting when he takes a few steps into the hospital, completely frazzled by the confused looks a few nurses give him as they roll out a dead body, blood dampening the white sheets that covers the motionless person. His mother has told him to stay away from the fourth level for the deaf, completely trying to get him out of trouble.

He doesn’t even expect himself to wander up to the fourth floor aimlessly, a new curious feeling attracting him to the very first door he sees. And so, he did, taking barely hesitant steps closer to the silent door, his hand automatically reaching for the silver doorknob after he had sanitized his hands before coming in, making a note to himself to do the same before going out, just like his mother has told him to do before stepping through the automatic doors of the hospital.

When the door opens, he also doesn’t expect to find two young boys surrounding the window, a forgotten tray of food sitting on the table in front of the hospital bed. Without speaking a word, he scolds himself when his ear catches the light lilt and fear in a mellow voice. Maybe the patient didn’t know he was there, and so, the two boys were talking—muttering to each other as fear taints their tone, the patient’s voice shaking, trembling as he clutches a single note in his hands.

“Sanghyuk,” The boy murmurs, trying to get the other boy’s attention, “you don’t think that he’ll actually find me, right?” He continues, his voice is barely audible as the wind clashes against heir window, sending an eerie atmosphere flying into the room. Taekwoon shifts uncomfortably on his legs, wanting himself to be known, but a simple movement isn’t enough.

The other boy—Sanghyuk sighs and shakes his head, “No, I’ll convince your mother to move you into another room.” He states, patting the elder on his shoulder. Taekwoon didn’t want to listen to their conversation, but he also couldn’t bring himself to say anything to make his presence known to the two boys. “Come on, hyung, let’s—are you the new volunteer?”

Taekwoon lets out a slight gasp as Sanghyuk finally notices him, confused that the other boy didn’t bother to turn around when Sanghyuk did. The volunteer gives a small, curt nod, shyly glancing at the boy who still gazed out the window, his chocolate brown eyes glazed with fearful tears. The boy—who is probably deaf considering him being on the fourth floor, a ward for the deaf—finally turns around when Sanghyuk taps on his shoulder, giving Taekwoon a bright grin. Taekwoon doesn’t understand how a person can still smile truly when stuck in this situation.

“Did you hear about the man who apparently threw himself out of the window?” Sanghyuk questions as the three gather into a private circle after establishing that he will be their friend as long as Hakyeon trusts him enough. Taekwoon gives a nod, still too anxious to speak. “We have a few suspicions about his whole death. Sure, he has a bad life and he has brain damage, but who would throw themselves from the second floor and immediately die? That’s impossible.” Taekwoon continues to nod, finding much logic in the younger’s explanation. After a few minutes of chatting, Taekwoon also notices how silent Hakyeon’s been. Taekwoon can see the urge in his eyes to open his mouth—after all, he looks like the type to chatter about the smallest things. But what is keeping him from doing so?

“Anyway, we need to investigate the corpse in the morgue. Since you’re a volunteer, can you possibly gain access to the place?” Sanghyuk questions the male, a slight shiver in his voice as if he is afraid of what Taekwoon will say. Inhaling a deep breath before finally speaking, Taekwoon opens his mouth to let the word fly out of them.

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