Troublemaker
Chasing Silence
"Hello this is the 119 operator what is your emergency?"
The nurse looked shocked for a second, Miyoung was speaking much too clearly for someone that just woke up from a coma, it' was like she was never in one at all. She shook the cloudy thoughts out of her head and rushed to the man taking notes on a clipboard at the foot of Miyoung's bed. She whispered something in his ear.
"Don't worry, just a few weeks. You were in an accident," the older man looked up again with stony eyes, "Wait. You don't remember?"
"Do you remember anything?"
Miyoung couldn't help feeling like there was something the doctor wasn't telling her, the way he looked anywhere but her eyes, and his fingers fidgeted with his pen. She opened to argue, insist he tell her, but the doctor's pager beeped, he turned to check it.
"Hello? I need help! I..I need help."
"Please calm down sir, where are you?"
"I don't know, a highway somewhere. I-I don't remember. I don't know what to do, I need somebody to come right away!"
"Can you give me a visual of your surroundings?"
"I need help! A girl just--"
"Sir, please tell me where you are."
"I-I can't-..there's a sign...I think it says..um.."
click.
"..."
"Sir?"
"..."
"Hello?"
Miyoung's eyes blinked open, but she couldn't see anything. A patterned curtain was drawn around the bed--a hospital bed. The room was eerily silent, nothing could be heard but Miyoung's own breathing.
"Hello?" She called, her voice small from who knows how long of sleeping. Her head, it hurt. It really hu--
The curtain swung back suddenly revealing a young nurse with wide eyes, "She's awake!! Doctor!" she screamed and trotted away, not even bothering with a 'hello'. Footsteps echoed around the white walls, lots of them. The nurse from earlier appeared again, followed by three others. They took the girl's temperature, checked her vitals, her heart rate, other things. They acted like Miyoung was important.
"Where am I?" Miyoung rubbed her eyes, and noticed a bulky heart rate monitor hooked on her finger. She considered tugging it off, but decided otherwise.
"You're at Seoul central hospital," a standing nurse answered her, astonished Miyoung was awake at all.
Miyoung didn't like the nurses, or how busy they were, or how nosy, "Can I please speak to the doctor?"
The nurse looked shocked for a second, Miyoung was speaking much too clearly for someone that just woke up from a coma, it' was like she was never in one at all. She shook the cloudy thoughts out of her head and rushed to the man taking notes on a clipboard at the foot of Miyoung's bed. She whispered something in his ear.
"What is it?" the man raised his eyes beneath small spectacles to meet Miyoung's. He wasn't extensively old, just a few wrinkles in the corner of his eyes, laugh lines ran down his cheeks, a few grey hairs stood out from the black.
"Can I speak to you," Miyoung inspected the crowd of nurses, "..privately?"
The doctor casted his juniors a cold glare and the nurses scattered. She supposed it pays to be the one in charge.
"How are you feeling?" the doctor dragged a nearby chair to her bed. He had a name tag, but she couldn't read it. Why couldn't she read it?
"I'm... not sure. I feel really fuzzy." Miyoung blinked once to help focus on the older man.
"I see," he jotted something down on his clipboard.
"What are you writing?" Miyoung asked mindlessly, biting her tongue at the doctor's condescending eyes. The doctor got patients like her all the time, the kind that had too many questions. He sighed.
"I'm taking notes on your condition."
"What is my condition?"
The doctor shifted his weight and tapped his pen against the clipboard, "you were in a vegetable state this morning, but I'm not quite sure now," he confessed.
"A coma?" Miyoung's heart stopped, "for how long? How come?"
"Don't worry, just a few weeks. You were in an accident," the older man looked up again with stony eyes, "Wait. You don't remember?"
"No," she shook her head, "not really."
"Do you remember anything?"
She shook her head again. Miyoung briefly searched the crevices of her mind, places where facts about her lifetime should be. Hidden there should have been faces and names, her favorite color, the restaurant she likes, her address. Her hands started to shake and she gripped the blankets to steady them. There was nothing there. She couldn't remember.
The doctor sat up straighter and looked at her harder. "Can I ask you a couple of questions?"
Miyoung knew better than to say no, even if saying yes terrified her.
"Of course," she forced her eyes to look into the man's, dragging the corners of her lips up into a polite smile.
"Alright," the doctor flipped a paper over his clipboard to get to the next page, "what is your name?"
Miyoung opened instinctively, but caught her breath.
Something was wrong.
"It's...It's.."
She furrowed her eyebrows and dug through her mind. She definitely had one. Definitely.
"Okay, that's fine," the doctor his lips and proceeded to the next question, "what is your phone number?"
The fake smile felloff Miyoung's face like a dried leaf from a dead tree. In that day and age, everyone had a phone, she knew this for a fact. So, of course, she too must have had one. But what color was it? What model?
"I don't know," she answered honestly, avoiding the doctor's eyes.
"What were you doing the night of October 12th at 7pm?"
She was...what was she doing? Maybe out with friends, or at home watching TV, something normal people do. Miyoung felt smaller and smaller each time she didn't have an answer to the man's questions.
"I was at home," she lied, just wishing he would leave her alone.
"You were at the hospital. Miss Jin," he said sternly, "You don't have to lie."
Miyoung's face turned red at the discovery of her lie. She wished she could just go back into the coma where no one could make her feel stupid.
"I think you have memory loss from the accident," the doctor concluded, "you did suffer some damage to your head, and it's very possible that's the cause."
"Can I get it back?" Miyoung's eyes flew up, her heart fluttered like a bird in a cage.
"I can't guarantee anything."
Miyoung bit her lips and clinched the blanket so tight her knuckles turned white. It was scary to know absolutely nothing.
"Miss Jin?" the older man had a hint of concern in his voice.
"What's my name?" She asked, feeling stupid she had to ask a stranger to find out.
"Jin Miyoung."
Miyoung breathed. So that was it. Miyoung.
"What happened?"
"Don't worry about it yet, Miss. It's better to avoid stress in your condition."
"Did someone get hurt? Was it my fault?" Miyoung's heart sped up.
"No, we don't think you were greatly involved. You were just at the scene," he huffed, trying to not sound as exhausted as he was. The doctor had already had a long day. He was off in a few hours. After forty years at this hospital he'd grown a certain tolerance for the curious, but he didn't care for patience then, though he did feel a certain pang of sympathy for the girl. She didn't need to know what happened, not yet.
"Please refrain from asking further questions until your health is a bit better."
"Oh no, not again!" He grumbled, then angrily shoved the beeper back into his pocket. He rose to his feet quickly and said, "my apologies," then trotted out of the room towards whatever emergency awaited him. Slowly his footsteps grew softer, until the hospital room filled with an unbearable silence.
"So much for that," Miyoung mumbled.
Baekhyun glanced over his shoulder anxiously. Nerves and excitement wrestled in his stomach and he wasn't sure which one was winning. He hobbled faster, cursing the wretched cast for making him so damn slow. Not to mention it hurt, too.
"Mr. Byun! Mr. Byun!"
Baekhyun pressed himself tightly against a wall as a nurse with short brown hair darted by muttering curses. He smirked proudly, knowing he was causing some bit of trouble. But the smile disappeared quickly and was replaced by a look of determination. He pushed off the wall and continued down the hallway, scanning the labels on the hospital rooms for the one he was looking for.
Miyoung thought about remembering, there must be some way she could. She wondered when she could get out of the hospital, and what she would do after she left.
The hospital room was so empt, no balloons or flowers in the window sill, no photos by her bedside. There was no evidence anyone had ever come at all. Miyoung felt a bitterness in her heart, was it really that she had had no friends, or was it just that none of them cared to visit her?
A knock sounded on the door, just a nearly silent tap. It was so quiet the first time Miyoung wasn't even sure if it was real or she was imagining it. Then it came again, louder this time, someone was definitely knocking on the door. She craned her neck to see who it was.
In the open doorway stood a young man with round pale cheeks. He smiled as he lowered his hand from the door.
He had thin lips and a dimple on his right cheek, his hair was black and a little messy, but still brown on the ends where the dye hadn't washed out yet. Miyoung recognized his clothes as a male version of the same hospital gown she wore.
Miyoung smiled back, even though she didn't know who he was.
It seemed he took that as an invitation, because slowly he made his way inside. He braced himself along the way on the hospital bed frames, he winced a few times and Miyoung noticed a thick cast on his leg. No wonder he was limping.
"Do you need any help?"
He stopped to rest on a bed frame and waved her off, shaking his head lightly. One by one he peeled his fingers away from the frame, then took a step on his own. He almost fell but caught himself, Miyoung's fingers tensed around her sheets.
"Don't push yourself," she pleaded, not wanting to have to call that doctor back in. The boy nodded with a gentle smile and raised his eyes to meet hers. Up close she could see his eyes were perfect almonds, and they glimmered in the white ceiling light.
"Are you lost?"
The boy smiled apologetically, then tapped his neck gently with his fingers, and shook his head.
"What?" She asked, furrowing her eyebrows.
"What?" She asked, furrowing her eyebrows.
He opened his mouth, and pointed his finger at it, then crossed two fingers to form an X.
"You...can't speak?" Miyoung dared to ask.
He half-smiled with raised eyebrows, tilted his head, and shrugged, as if to say 'it is what it is'.
"I'm sorry," Miyoung whispered, just being glad she still had her sight and hearing and voice, even if her memory was gone. She could always start again, but you couldn't regain something like that.
"You're not lost though, are you?"
He shook his head as if to say 'no, I'm just fine'. His smile faltered for half a second when he switched his balance to the other leg, holding onto the end of her bed frame for support. He wanted this cast off, he wanted his leg to stop hurting and he wanted to talk again. He stared up at her with desperate eyes. She was definitely the one he was looking for. He remembered her perfectly, from the curves in her hair to the wrinkles in her lips. She was Jin Miyoung all right. The boy winced again, he had rested on his cast for a few seconds too long.
"Do you wanna sit down??" Miyoung shuffled to the side, pulling her legs out of the way. The boy raised his eyebrows and pointed at himself, she nodded. He bowed his thanks and limped over to the bed.
Miyoung wondered how old she is, because maybe he was younger than her, or maybe he was older. Either way he couldn't have been older than 20-something.
"I'm Miyoung," she said, not knowing what to say to a stranger who can say nothing in return.
The boy nodded, and reached forward to tap her chest. Miyoung hadn't even noticed she was wearing a name tag.
"What's your name?"
The boy pulled a notepad out of his pocket and scribbled something on it. Then he held it up. The shapes on the paper looked like nothing but that to Miyoung--just shapes.
"I don't remember how to read..."
The boy furrowed his eyebrows, searched his mind for a way. How did he get so unlucky to deal with a girl who can't even read? Then he had an idea. As slowly as a baby taking its first steps, he moved his lips, and breathed hard as he did so, trying desperately to produce a noise.
"B....ayy.." He wheezed, then stopped. The sounds wouldn't come out. He felt like slapping himself, way to go Baekhyun. Girls just love guys who sound like dying antelope.
"Bay?" Miyoung asked, Baekhyun nodded.
"Bay...joon? Bay-su? Bay-jung?"
The boy shook his head in disgust at all of the names, how could she be so wrong? They weren't even close.
"Oh well," Miyoung sighed, she tried her best. She forced a bright smile back onto her face, "You know my name. That's enough."
"Bay...joon? Bay-su? Bay-jung?"
The boy shook his head in disgust at all of the names, how could she be so wrong? They weren't even close.
"Oh well," Miyoung sighed, she tried her best. She forced a bright smile back onto her face, "You know my name. That's enough."
He dwelled on the words, then slowly nodded and smiled. Sure, that works if she wants it to. Though he would have liked for her to know his name.
"It must be nice to remember your name," Miyoung confessed, "I just learned mine a minute ago."
She didn't have to tell him, Baekhyun already knew. He heard her talking to herself about remembering when he lingered in the doorway. He wasn't brave enough to come barging in like he usually does. Something about her made him nervous.
"Mr. Byun! Mr. Byun where did you go? Aish!" A young nurse passed by the doorway, huffing and puffing like a steam engine. She looked mad.
Baekhyun startled and nearly fell off the bed. That nurse was on a roll today, she never found him this quickly. His eyes darted around for a place to hide, he could pull the curtain shut... Yes, he could pull the curtain shut. Perfect! Baekhyun darted forward and grabbed the patterned cloth, dragging it backwards with a loud protesting screech from the rail.
"What's wro--" Miyoung opened but Baekhyun tackled her and slapped his hand across . He tilted his eyebrows upward, squinted at her, and shook his head feverishly, holding a finger to his lips. He prayed to god she would just shut just this once. If that nurse found him he was dead meat. They wouldn't let him leave his room for a month. Baekhyun pressed his eyes tightly together at the twinge of pain in his leg from moving to quickly.
Footsteps in the hallway grew louder, Baekhyun glanced between Miyoung and the doorway like his life depended on it, because it practically did. Behind his back he crossed his fingers. Don't come in don't come in don't come in.
The nurse appeared anyway.
"There you are!" She shouted and stormed toward him, who immediately dropped his hand from Miyoung's mouth and sat back up straight. He looked terrified.
"Oppa!" the nurse whined like a child, "Everyone has been looking for you! You can't go running off like that!"
Baekhyun rolled his eyes, her multiples attempts to up to him were getting exhausting. But he knew it would do no help to argue, he doesn't even have a voice.
The nurse flipped her shiny dark hair, released an exasperated sigh and picked up her phone that had started to ring.
"Yes? I'm sorry Doctor I found him. Yes I'll bring him right away," the nurse tucked the phone back into her pocket, "okay let's go."
Baekhyun sighed and cast his eyes on Miyoung. She felt as though she should say something in defense, stop the young woman from dragging him away, but at the same time she had no right to. Instead she offered a meek apologetic smile that wasn't nearly enough for him.
"C'mon now hurry up!" the nurse spat, running out of patience, and grabbed his arm. Miyoung could tell she was one of those girls that became a nurse just so she could marry a doctor and live a long leisurely life, and this boy was ruining her plan.
Baekhyun waved at Miyoung as the nurse shoved him up and out of the room. He stole one last glance over his shoulder before disappearing through the doorway.
The doctor walked past the pair on his way inside, looking surprised at Baekhyun. That boy was too much trouble for his own good, and the doctor, though a patient man, couldn't wait to get that hassle release forms and send him out.
"Was he bothering you?" The doctor hurried to Miyoung's side.
"No, not at all," Miyoung mumbled, watching Baekhyun being dragged down the hall through the window.
"He's a troublemaker, that one," the doctor wiped sweat from his forehead, "he's always running off."
"I would too if no one would listen to me," Miyoung mumbled under her breath.
"Huh?" the doctor wheezed.
"Nothing."
"Please tell me if that man comes in again."
"Why is he so important?"
The doctor hesitated a moment. Then another moment, and another.
"Well?" Miyoung waited.
"He's not." The doctor was so clearly lying. She could see the beads of sweat forming on his oily skin, and it wasn't from exercising. Miyoung hated liars. She already wasn't too fond of the doctor, now she just down right didn't like him.
Miyoung fell back onto the matress, suddenly overcome with a throbbing in her head. She gripped the sheets with one hand, and held the other tenderly to her forehead. She could hear the beeping of the heart rate monitor speed up.
"Are you alright?" the doctor asked, "Miss Jin?"
She closed her eyes and a white light flashed, horns blared, people screamed--or, or maybe she screamed. She couldn't tell. It was all a blur. Her head hurt.
"I'm fine," Miyoung lowered her hand, her voice was deathly calm.
"Do you want some medicine?"
Miyoung wanted medicine, honestly, but she knew better than to take it. An image was forming in her mind, and she didn't want some pill taking it away from her, or the doctor who was trying to give them to her.
"No, please leave."
"Of course," the doctor stood up, glad to be leaving. That girl scared him, "please call me if you need anything."
He stopped when he reached the door and turned around, "please tell me if Mr. Byun comes by again."
"Wait!" Miyoung raised her hand, the movement triggering another round of throbbing in her brain.
"Hm?"
"What did you say his name was?" She tried to keep her voice calm despite the pain she was in.
"Baekhyun. Byun Baekhyun."
So that's what he was trying to say...Baekhyun.
Congratulations! You have just finished the first chapter! That means you're a new reader, so thanks!
If you're an old reader reading it over, that means you enjoyed it enough to read it again, which is awesome!
I wrote this fic based on the beginning of the music video for Dalmatian's ER, and I never imagined it would slowly form into this kind of story. I hope as you continue to read you'll like it more and more. But don't forget to look back every once in a while, ebcause I tend to edit old chapters when I have the time.
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Thanks again!
~Violet
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