2010, in a mental hospital in Seoul

She will not leave him alone. Even in his dreams, she will not go away. Standing there with her feet on the fire, she was beckoning him to come closer. Donghae did not know what to do. If he would not step closer to her, he would fall off the cliff.

“What am I going to do?” he asked of himself.

“Come closer to me.”, the woman said. “Come closer to me Donghae or you’ll never see me again”.

He took a step closer to her but hesitated because the fire is spreading wildly about her. “Don’t worry, the fire won’t get you.”

He took a step and came face to face with the woman. He stared at her eyes. They were like the dried leaves in autumn. They are very expressive and very calm.

The girl also stared at him and then smiled. She looked at him straight in the eye while pulling her dagger beneath her skirt. She raised it above her head and aimed it direct at his heart. Donghae was taken aback. He could not understand what is going on. Why is she trying to kill me? What have I done to her?   

“You don’t deserve to live in this world.” the woman exclaimed. “It is time for you to die, Donghae. It is time…”

***

The doctors heard the blood curling screams and already knew who had caused it. They went immediately to his room and gave him intravenous sedative. Donghae, not knowing what the doctors are doing to him, continued to scream until his voice became hoarse and no more sound came out. The doctors and nurses are having a hard time restraining him because alongside with his screaming, he continued to kick and scratch everything his hands and feet land on.

Donghae, with his eyes tightly closed, cried out with unrestrained anguish, “Why are you doing this to me? Why are you doing this to me?!...”

He screamed those words repeatedly as if it was a chant, stressing each word as he speaks.

“He is much worse tonight.” Dr. Min said.

“Do you think we should give him another dose of the sedative? It’s as if the first dose has no effect at all.” The other doctor said while trying to secure the restraints on Donghae’s arms and feet.

“The first dose of the sedative we gave is a strong one. Another dose might kill him.”

“But doctor, if he doesn’t stop screaming like this, the other patients would freak out.” The other doctor countered.

Dr. Min could not decide immediately. If she does not agree to the other doctor’s suggestion, she would run the risk of facing a larger problem regarding the other patients’ condition. However, if she did follow the suggestion, she would risk losing Donghae. Moreover, she could not bear to face it.

She has come to love Donghae more than just a mere patient. She could not lose him now. She knew she could not.

“Dr. Min! Please make your decision now!”

Left with no other choice, she grab another dose of the sedative and prepared it in a syringe. The screaming stopped just as she was about to inject the drug. Donghae fell silent, closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep. Dr. Min could not stop the shaking of her hands, her heart pounding vigorously inside her chest. She could not believe what had just happened. After several minutes of ear-piercing screams, Donghae calmed down. He was looking very peaceful while sleeping.

The people in the room felt relieved of what had transpired. The nurses loosened the restraints on his hands and feet and then went back to their stations.

“Luckily, he stopped screaming before you administered it Dr. Min.”

Dr. Min just smiled to the other doctor as they walked side by side along the corridor. She could not get past the fact that she might have killed Donghae with her own hands.

“I’ll just rest for a bit. Page me when something comes up, will you?” she said

“Yes doctor. I’ll just be in my office”, the other doctor countered  

Back in Donghae’s room, a shadow moved about just outside his door. Donghae,  who is still sleeping soundly, did not realize that somewhere on the other side of his door, the object of his nightmares smiled, impatiently waiting for him to die.