The doctor breathed deeply.

From the furthest wall she stared at the door. Her eyes twitched around that spot, her mind hopping from one memory to another, from one possibility to the next, from one conclusion to the next. Sana’s breath shortened, becoming quicker and quicker the closer she drew to...

Her mind stared at the red void.

“Sana.” The doctor looked up. “H-how’re you feeling?”

“Dahyun!” Sana jumped onto the prodigy, gripping her coat tightly as she buried her head in the crook of the younger’s neck. “I’m so glad to see you!”

“It’s okay, Sana.” The doctor took comfort gentle on her back. “It’s gonna be okay.”

Sana looked behind her friend to see her boss, leaning against the wall. She eyed the corners, the walls, anywhere but Sana. Chaeyoung sighed, causing Sana to tense against Dahyun’s relaxing hug.

“Why is she here?” The doctor leaned away from Dahyun’s hug. “I’m not dangerous, am I?”

“Sana, relax- “

“Don’t let her pull out the syringe,” she yelled. “I’m not an animal, I’m a doctor, get me out-!”

“Sana, listen to me!” Dahyun gripped the older’s shoulders, jerking her once to pull out her sense. “Chaeyoung’s not going to do anything, she’s just here to check on your reports.”

“Then let me out, so I can- “

“She wants your verbal report,” Dahyun quickly said. “Think of it like an exercise, place yourself in the patient’s shoes.”

Sana raised an eyebrow before leaning back against the padded walls.

“Then why are you here…?”

Dahyun gingerly scratched the back of Sana’s ear.

“B-because I got worried,” Dahyun said. “I didn’t want Chaeyoung to do anything drastic so I begged to be placed here.”

“When was your last meeting?” The two girls looked to the small boss, who had her pad and a pen in hand. “Who was your last patient?”

Dahyun gulped before turning to Sana with a worried look. The older doctor furrowed her eyebrows, her mind scratching at her memories. It seemed like yesterday that she had Jihyo in the morning, followed by Momo in the afternoon. The younger patient she remembered because there was a delightful discussion about burgers where the words keep getting replaced and Jihyo kept smirking like she was being sneaky, but it was just her Tourette’s. After that…

“All I remember was just red,” Sana said. “I mean I had a meeting with Jihyo, but I…”

“What about Ms. Hirai Momo?” Dahyun asked. “Did you get to meet with her?”

“I…” Sana screwed her eyes shut, trying to remember traces of the fool after Jihyo’s appointment. “I can’t really remember. I must’ve passed out.”

“You kinda did,” Dahyun muttered off-handedly. “Do you feel like there is a big blank or a wall in your memory?”

“All I can see,” Sana said before pausing. “Are a pair of wide eyes…”

Dahyun looked back to Chaeyoung, who stopped writing to widen her own eyes in shock.

“There was a flash of blue in the corner of my vision,” Sana recalled, her eyes darting to the memory. “But the notable thing I can see was this deep, deep scarlet…”

There was a heavy silence in the cell. Chaeyoung moved forward to tap Dahyun in the shoulder. The prodigy turned, allowing the boss to lean into her turned ear.

“She’s getting close,” Sana heard. “But what if-?”

“’What if’ what?” Chaeyoung jumped back. “What’s wrong? Why am I still here?!”

“Sana, calm down!” Dahyun gripped the panicked doctor’s shoulders. “We’re trying to help! We just need to assess-!”

“Then why am I locked up?!” Sana grabbed one of Dahyun’s wrists and wrenched it away. “I’m not an animal, I’m a perfectly capable doctor, and-!”

“Doctor Kim! Doctor Son!”

Everyone snapped to the shaking intern at the door. The young doctor-in-training hid behind the door, quickly her long, black hair. She was still shy of the scary looking doctors inside. She peeked her head in once more, pushing her heart out for the news.

“Th-there’s a problem!” Chaeyoung strode over to the rookie. “D-D-Doctor Yoo escaped!”

“What?” Sana froze as her colleagues ran out of the room. “Jeongyeon escaped?”

“Tzuyu, get me some tranquilizer darts,” The smallest doctor ordered. “Dahyun, get me my dart gun.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Sana watched in confusion as her two colleagues disappeared behind the door with the fake doctor. Her curiosity pushed through, pulling her to the door just as it was swinging to a close. The doctor placed her foot on the small gap to stop it from fully closing, relieved when there was no force shoving against it. She slowly pushed the cell door open, looking around for the commotion. Echoes of rushed footsteps and yells were coming from the clear hallway to her right.

Her feet carried her as her eyes darted for any person that could put her back into her cell. Sana leaned against the corner to the left, freezing just as an inhuman shriek pierced her ears. Blood froze, immobilizing her against the wall. Her hands were shaking, her breath shallow but rapid. Her heart raced, drowning out the footsteps that came from around the corner.

“S-Sana…”

The girl’s eyes landed on her short-haired friend’s panicked pupils. Jeongyeon’s eyes slowly fluttered closed. The blue pin was missing from her hair. Something gentle brushed against Sana’s coat pocket and a weight dropped in. The wieght just scratched at the surface of her memories, peeling away cracks at the red wall. There was a lie somewhere, she knew it. She was caught in it. But where?

The girl jumped when a hand clapped her shoulder.

“Sana, are you okay?” She looked down to Dahyun. “How did you get out of your cell? You poor thing.”

“What did you do to Jeongyeon-unnie?” Sana waved off the arm. “You treated her like an animal.”

Dahyun paused, looking away from Sana.

“They were necessary precautions, unnie.” Dahyun crossed her arms. “She did something horrible, and that meant- “

“So why am I locked up too?!” Sana took a stomp forward, causing the little prodigy to jump back. “What did I do that turned me into the cell?!”

“Sana, calm down,” Dahyun hushed. “We mustn’t speak of this here.”

“Then when are we going to speak of this?!” Sana took another stomp forward, her pent up fear heating her veins, pressuring her fingers to twitch. “I better get some answers within the next few minutes, and it better not be in that cell!”

“Sana-!”

But the little genius’ words were cut off by the two hands that suddenly grabbed her coat collar. Dahyun’s eyes widened as she was lifted off the ground, the sight of her angry friend stabbing her heart. Dahyun couldn’t meet her gaze, looking away to the halls. She hoped someone found this commotion soon enough.

Sana dropped Dahyun just as quickly, staggering back to the wall as she began to hyperventilate. The small doctor quickly moved in, sensing something was amiss. She placed her hands on the tall doctor’s arms, keeping them still as Sana looked down to her shaking hands. Dahyun bit her tongue, knowing that she might only get one answer before the doctor fainted.

“Sana, what’s wrong?” Dahyun asked strongly. “Sana? Is there something on your hands?”

“Th-the butterflies!” Dahyun raised an eyebrow at the taller girl’s bare hands. “They’re- They’re eating! The blood just came, soaking my hands and the butterflies-!”

“Sana calm down,” The small doctor ordered. “It’s just a hallucination.”

“How can it be a hallucination?!” Sana was hysterical at this point. “Their pricking and eating my bloody hands!”

“Sana!” Dahyun was at a loss as her heart sank with the crouching psychiatrist. “Sana, wake up!”

But it was too late. Sana’s rolled into her head, her eyes closing shut. Her body dropped to the side, unconscious against the stark white wall. Dahyun shook her head, realizing that she was shedding icy bullets down her spine. She wiped the cold sweat off of her forehead, breathing deeply to regain her composure. She heard more footsteps coming and knelt in front of her friend, pushing away a stray hair from the older’s face.

“I wish to tell you everything, Sana,” Dahyun whispered. “But I don’t want to break you. We can't afford to. You need to remember this by yourself.”