“I’d like to have patient Han Areum discharged,” said Byun Baekhyun.

The doctor behind her desk sighed. She fixed her glasses that managed to gradually slip down the bridge of her nose.

“Baekhyun-ssi, I find that request very hard to work with. You see, Areum is only 17 years old. This means that she is still underage in South Korea. Therefore, only with the consent from her parents, will she be allowed to leave the hospital. Otherwise, she is to be kept in that very room until she is of age and healthy enough to be granted a discharge from us,” she explained.

Baekhyun’s head dropped at those words, along with his spirit. How exactly could he get Areum out of the mental hospital that she didn’t even belong in?

“What can be done, Dr. Kang?” Baekhyun asked, a look of resignation evident on his face.

Kang Haesoo reluctantly took her file containing all the information of her patients and skimmed through the pages. When she found the one she was looking for, she paused and scrutinized the details.

‘Name: Han Areum.
Date of Birth: 14/02/1995’

She smiled; glad she had found a loophole to be of assistance to the handsome young man that sat before her.

“Baekhyun-ssi, I might have a solution for you,” she grinned. “The date today is the 14^th of January. There is exactly a month to Areum’s birthday, when she will turn 18. Then, she will be able to make her own decision to leave this hospital, as long as she is healthy enough to be granted the discharge by me. I hope this is okay for you.”

Baekhyun’s look of resignation immediately disappeared. He now had a smile that was filled with anticipation and hope.

“This is okay, Dr. Kang. This is more than okay. Thank you.”

---

The subtle yet glaring ray of sunlight peeked into the room through the shutters that long hid her away from the light she would rather avoid. Areum looked around where she was, half-expecting her shelf of old books, her study table, her black-screened computer, her bedside lamp, her bright yellow wall, to be staring right back at her. None of those were. Instead, a pale white surface she dreaded most was all she could see.

Everything was mocking her.

The white table with the two white chairs on both sides was mocking her. The big, white door was mocking her. The white bed sheets and blankets were mocking her. In the long run, it was inevitable that you would eventually come to hate that pale colour that stared at you the first thing in the morning and the last thing at night. But, only these white objects knew what has truly occurred in that very room. Only these white objects knew anything about the person sitting inside, the person that has even grown to be a part of these white objects.

With much effort, Areum pushed herself up, making small, quiet steps to the shutters. The light was calling for her.

Her pale, skinny fingers ran themselves along the shutters, looking for the string to pull. When they found it, they pulled, letting the light reveal its full strength. Once Areum was used to the brightness, her eyes scrutinized the empty streets and the rubbish that scattered around. There was no sight of people.

This hospital was a mental hospital, meant for mental patients who suffered psychological issues. Some of those patients included people like the mute, suicidal boy, Kim Jongdae, the violent and aggressive man, Park Chanyeol, and in some cases, the completely insane individual, Kim Minseok. Those were only some people that Areum has met in that hospital. While she believed Minseok had still some sanity left, the hospital didn’t. They soon began to believe Areum was losing it too, and placed her in the white room, just like they had with Minseok.

The building was placed in the most abandoned part of Seoul, where it could be considered the ghetto area. The hospital wasn’t big, only well-knowned to contain the mentally-disabled individuals who are considered to have no other hope of recovery. Yet, not many knew about the place.

The surrounding area was dirty and littered. Yet, there was no voluntary work held to clean the place up. Most of the residents of Seoul, whether they knew or not the existence of the hospital, chose to stay away from the area. Not that there had been any cases of crime in the area, they stayed away because the area was simply spine-chilling.

Yet, there he was, the male who had walked into Areum’s room, the one who was the last person Areum wanted to meet, not after finding out what had happened to Lu Han, her only true friend.

Baekhyun smiled a soft, reluctant smile. “How are you, Areum?”

There was no response.

He walked closer to her, but stopped when he noticed she had turned her back on him. He understood, that she didn’t want him any closer, and stood a bearable distance away from her.

“What are you looking at?” he probed.

Areum remained silent. She tried her hardest not to imagine the things Lu Han had went through to end his life, not to imagine how much courage it had taken. But, it was hard when Baekhyun, the person who reminded her so much of him, stood barely a meter away from her.

Baekhyun didn’t talk for a while, knowing he wasn’t about to get any response from the thin girl, but it was the wrong choice he didn’t know he had made.

Areum’s mind travelled to an unfamiliar bathroom that was fully decorated in the sickening colour of white, where Lu Han must have done it. She pictured him sitting fully bare in the white bath tub filled with warm water, polluted with blood from the previous cuts he had created on his body that hadn’t managed to cut the vein he was aiming for. In pure desperation, his long arms shivered out of the tub, as his long, slender fingers searched for the bottle he had placed beside his tub. They found it, and they picked it up. Using the same right hand, he poured the pills that were found inside the bottle into his small mouth, hoping there was enough to kill him. His unstable throat swallowed the pills but that, including his cuts, was not enough to end what everyone called the gift he was given: his life. He was then very desperate. His left hand fell along the side of the tub, where the toothpaste was located. He flipped the cap open and he squeezed out whatever it had inside, swallowing it earnestly. But even then, none of his efforts were enough to kill him. He cried the most painful tears he had ever cried, feeling his insides churn. But, nothing – nothing at all – that he had done had managed to take away the curse he called his life. His arms fell back along his sides; almost resigning to the fate he had been granted. But, when he did that, he must’ve felt the weapon he had been depending on for most of his painful years: the penknife. He must’ve pulled it out of the water to scrutinize it, then, put it to his wrist, aiming it right this time. Next, he must’ve proceeded to press the blade on the skin that he hates being under. It pricked his skin, causing pain and bloodshed, but that was not enough. It was never enough. Lu Han must’ve realized it too, because after that, he pressed harder and pulled it along the other parts of the skin yet to be pricked. The sharpness of the blade must’ve teared the innocent vein that he was born with to circulate the blood in his body, stopping blood flow. His hand injured hand turned cold, and he could finally feel the feeling he was looking for. The numbness spreaded from his hand, and soon, it had taken over his whole body. That was the very moment that Lu Han had breathed his last breath and bid his goodbye to the world.

At that thought, Areum finally snapped out of her trance. Her lids lifted and she met the eyes of a worried Baekhyun.

“What happened?”

Wrong question.

Areum fell to the floor, her body curling into a ball. Tears fell profusely and sobs left her lips. The images of Lu Han dying, with a smile, too, haunted her mind. Why wasn’t he there when she needed him the most?

Baekhyun bent down next to her. In genuine worry, his left hand went to cup her shoulder, coaxing her to tell him what had visited her mind to make her that way.

Wrong move.

She slapped his hand away in a defensive manner, using her feet to push her away from him as a scared look showed itself on her face. Baekhyun’s heart pounded, afraid of his next move, not wanting to aggravate the suffocation she must be feeling. But, it pounded even harder when he saw the look in her eyes. It was that of defensiveness, broken-ness and loneliness. She was scared to her wits, and of him, the male that was known to be sensitive, heart-throbbing and soft-hearted wherever he went. It confused the brain that had grown to have the same thoughts of himself as others had.

His silence had been wrong, too, as a bloodcurdling scream filled the hallways of the hospital.

The door bursted open and in rushed Dr. Kang in large footsteps.

“Baekhyun! Baekhyun, are you okay?” she asked in worry.

Baekhyun shook his head, but not because he wasn’t okay. He pointed to Areum, telling them to tend to her who was in pain. They mistook his gesture as one that told them that Areum had hurt him. Dr. Kang had three nurses enter the room and hold Areum down. Areum struggled, more tears fell from her eyes.

“Put her to sleep. She’s losing control of her sanity!” Dr. Kang ordered.

Baekhyun tried to reach out and tell them that Areum was not ‘losing control’ but only suffering a nervous breakdown from whatever had bothered her mind, but Dr. Kang had stopped him before any words could be uttered. Dr. Kang tried pulling him out of the room but he was reluctant, eyes remained on the frail, suffering girl that was struggling out of the grasps of two nurses. He saw one of them, the biggest of the three nurses, took a syringe from the tray she had brought in with her, and jabbed it into Areum’s arm. As the nurse pressed the liquid the syringe contained into Areum’s body, the struggling gradually stopped as Areum’s eyes became droopy and she laid limp in the arms of the nurses.

Baekhyun wanted to watch what they would do to her next, hoping they didn’t do anything bad that would’ve been done to a real violent patient, but Dr. Kang pulled him out of the room.

“You don’t have to watch what happens to Areum. It won’t be a nice sight. She is going to lose the last bit of her sanity soon,” Dr. Kang told him, her tone insensitive.

Baekhyun looked at Dr. Kang in defiance. “I’m sorry, what?”

A look of fear flashed in Dr. Kang’s eyes, afraid she had said something wrong, which she definitely had.

“Ms. Haesoo, in there, is the girl my best friend had loved with all his heart. I, Byun Baekhyun, has been ordered by him as part of his last wish, to bring her to a normal place not meant for mental patients, and help her recover! That is my reason to be here. I am not here to fool around with a doctor who has no sense of professionalism. That girl in there, although with parents who are still alive and healthy, they do not care about her. That leaves me to be her guardian. And, let me tell you that, while I am here, there is no putting Areum to sleep or anything at all that isn’t deemed a ‘nice sight’. Lu Han, the man who has ordered this, was a very powerful man and I will not hesitate to use the power he has leave me with on this hospital. Am I clear about this request?!” Baekhyun yelled.

His anger was rising but being the kind of person that he was, he softened immediately. Yet, the cold demeanor did not leave his surroundings.

Dr. Kang bowed her head. “I’m really sorry, Baekhyun-ssi. Yes, I understand your orders. I sincerely apologise. I will be careful next time.”

Baekhyun took a last look on the body that was now lying on the white bed. He was honestly getting sick of that colour, that being the only colour found in the hospital.

Her body looked more vulnerable now that it was unconscious. Her closed eyes looked like it was looking away from the danger that was coming for her. But, Baekhyun wasn’t one to see that.

There was a reason he, of all people, was the one ordered to take the job of taking responsibility over Areum after Lu Han’s death. There was a reason behind everything that was going to happen, and it was going to take a long time to try and tell Han Areum that.

I sincerely apologise for the long break between updates. I make no promises of continuous updates though I am having a lot of thoughts about this story :)