Part 73

DESTINY

Kang Insung opens the front door, and just like any other day for the last couple of weeks - Han Hyejin is standing in front of him with two bags of food containers. The Chairwomen have been dropping food at Lee Minhyuk house since the first day Chae Hyungwon is discharged from the hospital, and Kang Insung has been put on watch duty since the second day the psychiatrist is home too.

"It's only you today?" Han Hyejin asked as she passes the bags to Insung.

"Yes. Dr. Lee works the morning shift today. Lawyer Lee is still outstation," Insung answered honestly. "Come in," he invited, and the women immediately rejected his offer. "Still not ready to see him?" he asked. He feels a little upset that Han Hyejin refuse to enter her own grandson house, though she comes here every day. "Dr. Chae still refuses to come out from his room. Maybe you can talk to him," he suggested.

Han Hyejin just smiles at the young men. "Maybe next time, ok?" she said before saying her goodbye.

Insung closes the door and pouted a little. He brings the food to the kitchen and immediately put them in the fridge. When he is done, he sees Chae Hyungwon is walking out from his room, and he rushes after the man. "Are you going somewhere?" he asked.

"You told me not to close the door," Hyungwon answered as he is reaching out for his shoes on the top of the shoe rack.

"I have a friend when I was in prison. He was a war veteran diagnosed with PTSD. He got sentenced to life imprisonment because he killed his wife. It's hard to prove that the act of killing occurred because of his PTSD; that's why he got his sentence. He always tells me this, 'Don't ever let your feeling overwhelmed you. The fear that stopping you from stepping outside today may be the reason you are locked up forever."

"I am not afraid of going out."

"Then, what are you afraid of?"

"Myself. After all these times, I thought I was better. I wasn't. I am still a monster. This is a curse, I am cursed"

"Even if it is a curse, you used it for good. It's a good curse"

"If only you know what I have done recently."

"One bad judgment doesn't make you a bad person. It's a mistake. You can fix it, or maybe... one day, the mistake will make sense to you. Just... do not let the door close"

Insung remembers their conversation from last night, as he watches the psychiatrist struggle to put on his shoes. The healing transplant wound makes it harder for him to bend. "Let me help you," he casually helped even though the psychiatrist pushes him away, just a gentle push though. "I will come with you," he said after he is done.

**************************

Minhyuk joins his friend for breakfast in the cafeteria. He takes a seat beside the sleeping Hyunwoo, while Jooheon and Changkyun are sitting in front of them. "What happened to him?" he asked before he takes a bite of his sandwich, taking a careful look at Hyunwoo.

"Kihyun had a nightmare last night. He's on watch, in case it triggered a seizure," Changkyun answered.

"Still no sign of waking up?" Minhyuk asked, sighing a little.

"There are some changes in his brain reactivity. The sleep paralyzes is gone," Changkyun lost in his thought, "... how long since all these happened? Two months? Three months?"

"Three months and five days," Jooheon answered.

"That long and Kihyun is still sleeping, and Hyungwon is still all over the place. He still refuses to leave his room. He doesn't eat, and he doesn't drink. If Hoseok didn't hire Insung to watch over him, Hyungwon would die from starvation" Minhyuk sounded down, "Insung... is such a nice kid. How can the police scapegoated him for murder?"

"Well, his late ex-girlfriend is a daughter of someone powerful in politics. They needed some extra credit," Changkyun simply replying, without realizing how serious his accusation is. "It's tough on Hyungwon. Just give him some time. Even a normal person can feel their donor feeling, and he is clairsentient. Bet he feeling everything," Changkyun stated. "Experience speaking," he added when both Jooheon and Minhyuk are eyeing him. "I contact one of my beyond border friends, asking her about Kihyun. She said she would come after she is done with her tour."

"I just hope he wakes up before the triplets first birthday," Hyunwoo said, suddenly sitting straight - making the other three startled. "That smell delicious, can I have some?" he said to Minhyuk, who instantly feed him a piece of the sandwich. "I thought you are no longer 'interested' in your beyond border program."

"I was planning to go for another tour, a short one. But, Kihyun got pregnant. So, I don't," Changkyun answered honestly.

"Both of us, actually. We plan to take our kids too, some sort like a charity vacation," Jooheon explained.

"That sounds nice. Why did Kihyun get pregnant have something to do with that plan?" Hyunwoo is confused.

"Because it's Kihyun," Changkyun simply replied.

The sentence may not explain anything, but Changkyun's tone of voice says a lot of what is in his mind. The other three just nodded, because they know Changkyun and Kihyun have this unexplained bond between them. At times, they will bicker with each other like a sibling. But most of the time, Changkyun respected Kihyun as if the latter is his mother.

"You are busy keeping an eye on Kihyun and taking care of the kids. Why don't you just take a break from surgery and just do administration tasks? You are the chief. Most chiefs don't really treat patients nowadays," Jooheon said, trying to change the topic. Worried that the father of four will fall sick from overworking.

"Madam Han hired a caretaker for me. You guys keep dropping by to watch over us too. I don't really do everything alone," Hyunwoo replied. His eyes are focusing on the television screen. "Guess, the gossip I heard when I was clocking in this morning is true."

"What?" Changkyun is the first to check the television, followed by Jooheon and Minhyuk. "The former Chairman of CHA Group is suffering from a mysterious health condition?" he reads the headline.

"I heard the nurse talking that he is rushed to ER last night for experiencing unexplained pain. His test result is normal, but he keeps experiencing pain. So, they got him admitted," Hyunwoo explained.

"That sounds like a somatic syndrome disorder. I remember Hyungwon treating one patient who experienced a bodily pain with no medical evidence before" Minhyuk stated.

"Isn't that caused by some kind of anxiety?" Changkyun asked. "Can Cha Juhyeon feel anxiety, though?" he frowned. "There was news a few days ago. It reported that Cha Juhyeon is diagnosed with Antisocial Personality Disorder, and he also has some brain component underdeveloped..it says that he is ASPD with psychopath trait," he informed the others.

"No wonder he shows no remorse at all at the funeral," Minhyuk commented.

"Somatic syndrome disorder and antisocial personality disorder.... this two mental health doesn't seem to relate to each other," Hyunwoo said.

"Actually, I think Hyungwon visited him two weeks ago," Jooheon said.

"What do you mean?" the other three asked in unison.

"The day he was discharged, he asked me to bring him to prison. I assume he wanted to meet Dr. Jee. But, then I find out that Dr. Jee and Cha Juhyeon is in the same prison. But a different block. After asking around, the block we are going is where Cha Juhyeon is being held," Jooheon explained.

"Do you think he pulls the same trick as he did with Choi Yeojoo?" Hyunwoo whispered after looking around. "I know the investigation report shows that the handcuff is malfunctioning; that's why she can jump out of the car. But... do you really think she will kill herself like that? If she is really suicidal, she will just kill herself when she finds out that Kihyun lives well without her. I never heard of suicidal people abducting someone before."

"You are saying Hyungwon planted that idea in her?" Minhyuk asked.

Jooheon gasped.

"What?" Changkyun sound concerned.

"That's the word he said. When I force him to tell what he was doing in prison on our way home, he didn't explain anything... he just tells me that he was planting a seed" Jooheon can feel a shiver down his spine.

They become silent.

"I know we are all loving him with all of our heart, but still... let's make sure to never betray his trust," Hyunwoo said after a moment of pondering.

The four of them quietly linked their finger and stamped on their promise.

**************************

"Are you better now?" Dr. Jee asked.

"I've been worst," Hyungwon simply replied. "How about you? Are you making good mend with your father?"

"Kind of. His cell is next to mine. We have the same schedule in here... I've been trying to fix his mental distortion in secret too. Without all those lust and money drives, he seems like a very nice person," Dr. Jee answered honestly.

Hyungwon smiles. "I am sorry," he blurts after a few moments.

"For what?" Dr. Jee is a little taken aback. He expects a lot of things from the psychiatrist, but 'sorry' is not one of them.

"For what my father has done to you."

"You are a victim yourself. There is no need for you to apologize on his behalf..." Dr. Jee leans forward, "... it makes me hate him more. Even after he is dead, someone is still cleaning the mess he has caused" he takes a careful look at Hyungwon, "Dr. Im is doing a good job at keeping you hidden in the hospital. I heard nothing about you. He punched me once he finds out I was involved with what happened to you. He didn't break my face, but still hurts until today."

"You should get that check-up. He was probably aiming to give you a facial paralysis," Hyungwon jokes, but Dr. Jee seems to believe him.

"You know what he said to me?" Dr. Jee leans forward a little, "I don't care if you are good at a mind game, I am a neurosurgeon. If I destroy your nerve system, you can go to hell with your mind game," he whispered.

Hyungwon cannot help but smile. That's really sound like the Im Changkyun he know, Changkyun who can be sweet and also scary at times. "What?" he asked when he notices Dr. Jee is looking at him, lovingly.

"You really look like your mother. Especially with that smiles," Dr. Jee stated.

"You seem to know my mother very well," Hyungwon replied.

"She is my childhood crush. But, I move away... didn't keep in touch," Dr. Jee confessed. "I was shocked when I find out that she is Owen Grey's mother. Then, she told me that her son is working at the same hospital as mine - and she tells me everything about her family. I didn't know that she is married to Chae Jihoon. Only find out about her husband after Chairman Cha come to me asking for help. Apparently, you mother keep watching over you from a far"

"You like my mother?" Hyungwon asked.

"Always. After my mother, she is the first one who actually accepts me for who I am. Maybe the reason why you catch my eyes since the first day you come for your internship is that you remind me of her"

"She would live a happy life with you," Hyungwon accidentally said his mind out loud.

Dr. Jee sighed. "Never cross my mind you are blood-related to me. It's good to see you grow up well without the signature trait of the Chae's - the tendency to do something for own benefit and profit"

"You don't know that. I might have done something really bad," Hyungwon replied as he takes a deep breath.

"Unless you ever harm someone else safety, I mean the public at large... it's not really a bad thing. Hurting one or two people is often a mistake or an act of self-defense," Dr. Jee replied before he leans back to his chair. "Feeding an unconscious mind is not a criminal offense," he gives out a hint.

Hyungwon sends a 'you know?' look.

"Do you know why I like psychoanalysis therapy a lot? Because it focuses on the three concepts of the human mind, the conscious, subconscious, and the unconscious. Many people may think that the conscious is what holding these three together, but it actually the unconscious that was often affecting our decision or behavior in daily life. It has no rationality, so if you put an idea into your unconscious mind.... your body system often acts on it without fail. The unconscious mind is a very powerful thing. For example, when I replace my patient drives to cause hurt to people with a pain sensation... every time my patient think about hurting people, he will feel pain. It is a bad thing, but I need to take extreme precautions to protect the public interest," Dr. Jee impliedly talking about Cha Juhyeon's mysterious condition.

Frankly, ever since Cha Juhyeon experiencing his first excruciating pain, and the prison doctor failed to diagnosed him - they asked help from Dr. Jee. That's how he knows about this. It's easy to tell it is Chae Hyungwon's' artwork' as other ordinary people will need a long time to plant an idea in the unconscious mind. Even himself, the expert of psychoanalysis therapy needed months to do so. He didn't mention this because he knows the guard is listening, and directly addressing the matter may cause a problem to Chae Hyungwon, which he doesn't want to.

Hyungwon takes another deep breath. "That patient of yours, does he go back to his normal behavior when the unconscious mind is fixed?"

"The thing about us, human... our program is decided way long before we have the conscious capacity to take control of programming. The ideation of pain that I implanted in the unconscious mind of my patient is like a bug. It can be fixed, of course. But the program is no longer working the same. In order for you to fix the bug..."

"You need a system upgrade," Hyungwon completed the sentence.

"Exactly. The system can only be improved to a better version than the previous one" Dr. Jee gives Hyungwon a 'you did a good job' look.

"You keep talking like a human is a technical mechanism," Hyungwon replied as he clear his throat. "Then, how do you fix a system with a booting problem?" Hyungwon asked.

Dr. Jee has heard of what happened to Yoo Kihyun from Prosecutor Kwak before; he can't help but sigh heavily. The fact Chae Hyungwon comes to see him about this means Yoo Kihyun still hasn't wake up. 'The booting problem which stated that there is a drive failed and preventing you from restarting the system?"

"Yes, that one."

"Well, guess you need to find out which drive is actually causing the failure. It sounds easy, but it is really hard to fix... especially if you can't go past the blue screen"

"How do I find out which drives is actually causing the failure?" Hyungwon mumbles to himself.

Dr. Jee stares at the young psychiatrist you seem lost in his own thought, "You know how. You are just doubtful. You have a new heart now, you are strong enough to do it"

******************

Hyungwon sits on the chair next to the bed, staring blankly at the sleeping Kihyun. After a moment, he finally brings himself to touch Kihyun's hand. The machine beep once. "You are responding to my touch. But, blocking me from getting in" he said as he gently plays with Kihyun's hair. "Jinho is gone, but I still can feel him around. You are here, and you are always with me... why can't I feel you now? Where are you, Kihyun? Are you lost?" his voice starting to cracked from being emotional, "How can I help you when you are shutting me out? You need to let me in"

Hyungwon smiles when he remembered he had said those words before years ago. "I said the same thing to you before, didn't I? When you was pregnant with Sang Wook-ie and Dasom-ie. Do you want me to do that again?" he take a look at the door. Insung is no longer standing there. He slowly stand up and goes to the door, he closed it and make sure to lock it. Then, he return to Kihyun - skillfully taking off the brain activity monitor. "We don't want any disturbance, right?"

Like this story? Give it an Upvote!
Thank you!

Comments

You must be logged in to comment
hazhatt #1
Chapter 98: male population is increasing thanks to hyunwoo and kihyun
yellowtulip123 #2
Chapter 98: aaaaa kinda sad when the baby was not a girl, but the last sentence really make it up haha. finally dasom is back. thank youuu for the update
Sunflower_Heart
#3
Chapter 98: Yeay!!? The baby is here!!!
hazhatt #4
Chapter 97: Thank you for the updates XD
Sunflower_Heart
#5
Chapter 97: I'm so happy while reading this chapter. Thank you so much for your update
Neny_haneul
#6
Chapter 96: thank you for the update!! another baby is coming yeayy 😁
yellowtulip123 #7
Chapter 96: omg omgg there's an update and is the baby girl's coming??? thank youuu so much for the update. really need to re-read again so i remember the feel haha anyway thank youu so much for coming backk
Grabila #8
Chapter 96: Can't believe it that there is an update in 2023! Welp yaye I missed it and very happy you're back
Sunflower_Heart
#9
Chapter 96: Yeay you're back with new update.

Yeay too for the new baby
Yha-mhine #10
So touching.. ❤