Chapter 3

The sun is shining brightly in the sky, causing Kyungsoo to cover his eyes using his hand. The azure blue sky is clear today with only a few clouds can be seen. Kyungsoo walks out to the rooftop of the hospital and looks around to search for his patient. The receptionist told him that Jongin is on the rooftop with a guest but she did not tell him who.

Kyungsoo wonders who the guest is. Well, you cannot blame him. He has never seen Jongin's friends and in his profile, it does not say anything about his friends so he assumes that maybe, he has none. If Jongin does not have any friends, it is not much of a surprise to him as the guy is an obnoxious . Besides, most people who have psychological problems have a lack of friends.

The short guy continues to walk around while enjoying the view at the same time. The rooftop is quite big and it is filled with a lot of patients. It seems like most patients love to come here if they get tired of their rooms. Not that Kyungsoo blames them, anyway. Staying in a hospital is so boring. There is nothing that you can do except for lying down and rest. For a person like Kyungsoo, he cannot just rest. He must do something or else he will go crazy due to boredom.

At long last, Kyungsoo spots Jongin and his friend standing against the railing. Their backs are facing him and that is why his presence has not been noticed by them yet. The university student hesitates for a second. Should he go over and interrupt or should he just go back to Jongin's room and wait there? Before he is able to make a decision for himself, the two of them turn around and Kyungsoo is surprised at their sudden action.

Jongin looks blankly at him and he does not say anything. The guy next to him, the psychology major notes, is very handsome and tall but he has no expression on his face. Kyungsoo envies his poker face. To be quite honest, everything that he feels will always be written on his face as though he were an opened book. He does not like that one thing about himself. He feels bare whenever anyone is able to read what he is feeling.

Jongin and his companion blatantly ignore the short guy and walk ahead. The university student is taken aback by his actions and he cannot help but feel a little bit hurt. A small smile or a nod of acknowledgement would be nice but no, Jongin just has to offend him by treating him coldly like they have never met before. Even though they are not friends, they are acquaintances. Jongin should at least greet him or something.

Kyungsoo grits his teeth in annoyance for being treated this way. He does not like it at all. Jongin does not hate him so much that he does not want to acknowledge Kyungsoo, does he? The psychology major knows that he should not be affected by Jongin's coldness. His patient is an obnoxious , after all. That is why he feels more annoyed at himself for being annoyed at Jongin's actions. If you get what he means.

The short guy lets out a small sigh and decides to go to Jongin's room.

***

Kyungsoo raises his eyebrows as soon as he enters Jongin's room. Jongin is sitting on his bed and he looks at Kyungsoo in surprise. The guest who had come to see Jongin is nowhere to be seen. "Did your friend go home?" he asks casually as he takes a seat right next to his bed.

Jongin does not say anything. Instead, he simply stares at him with his eyes wide. The patient continues to look at the university student as though Kyungsoo were an alien. "You're the guy from the rooftop, right?" he asks, causing the psychology major to stare at him in shock. "Do I..." Jongin hesitates for a moment. He bites his lips nervously. "Do I know you?" he voices his wonder out loud at last.

Kyungsoo reels back slightly in shock. Jongin can be pretty forgetful, Minseok's words echo in his ears. Well, Kyungsoo has never expected Jongin to forget him. It is impossible to forget something like this. Or maybe not. Jongin continues to stare at him with confusion swirling in his eyes. The university student blinks. Jongin seems to be different. He is nothing like the Jongin he has met before this. This Jongin is shy and polite. Surprise, surprise. Since when is Jongin polite?

"What do you mean by that?" he questions back carefully. He looks at Jongin in wary. It is then realisation dawns on him. He knows now what Jongin's illness is. It all makes sense now. That is why Jongin said to Jongdae yesterday that Jongin is not his name. Maybe that is why his patient did not acknowledge him just now.

"You're able to enter my room so that means you're one of the people that Jongdae allows to visit me," Jongin starts out slowly. "It also means that I'm supposed to know who you are." The guy on the bed observes Kyungsoo from head to toe, causing him to squirm uncomfortably under his scrutinising gaze. "That's the problem. I don't know who you are so, tell me. Who the hell are you?"

Kyungsoo keeps quiet for a little while as he wonders what he should respond. He knows that he has to tell Jongin the truth and he will but he does not know how to phrase the words that he wants to say into a sentence. He is afraid that he might say the wrong thing and this will lead to Jongin disliking him. It is already enough to have one of Jongin's personalities hating him. He does not need Jongin's other personality to hate him too.

"I'm Do Kyungsoo," he introduces himself all over again. "I'm the university student who is supposed to talk to you for two weeks for my project."

When Kyungsoo looks at Jongin again, he knows that the patient already realises it. "I see," Jongin mutters softly under his breath. Then, he lets out a small sigh. "I'm sorry if I've ever done anything to you that made you feel offended."

The psychology major blinks blankly at that. He really wants to say something but he is afraid that he will come off as insensitive. But then, again, this is his job, after all. "You have Dissociative Identity Disorder, don't you?" he asks at last.

"Yes," Jongin answers bluntly without any hesitation.

Kyungsoo feels a little bit taken aback on how blunt Jongin is. He does not know whether he should like this Jongin more or the Jongin that he met at first. What matters is, their personalities are different. Finding it hard to label both personalities as Jongin, he looks at the guy questioningly. "What's the name of your other personality?" he questions, tilting his head slightly. "Most people have different names for different personality."

"Kai," he responds. "His –my– name is Kai."

The university nods. His mind is whirling as he tries to process what has been told to him today. It is then, he feels excited because finally, after two long days, he is getting somewhere. He cannot help but compare Kai and Jongin. Kai is rude and sulky whereas Jongin is polite and blunt. He is sure that if he asks Jongin questions, he will answer it truthfully so he has to ask him fast before he switches back to Kai. It's all right if Kai is willing to cooperate with him but no, his other personality is stubborn as hell.

Kyungsoo likes to think of himself as more stubborn than his patient, though.

***

After awhile, Jongin has gone back to sleep. He told Kyungsoo that he did not sleep at all the night before because he was afraid that Kai might take over again. Based on the way Jongin talked about Kai, Kyungsoo is able to deduce that Jongin does not really like his other personality. He also has a feeling that Jongin might even be afraid of Kai.

He badly wants to ask Jongin more questions but the guy is tired and sleeping at the moment and he does not want to disturb him. He looks almost like a zombie. Kyungsoo lets out a small sigh and stops watching Jongin sleep. Instead, he takes out his book, as usual, and begins to read. Truth to be told, the university student does not like reading even though one might assume otherwise. The only reason that he reads is because he forces himself to just to improve his English.

Kyungsoo continues to read and he does not realise how much time has passed by when the door swings open. The psychology major looks up immediately and the guest that came to see Jongin that morning enters. The guy flashes a small smile and closes the door to Jongin's room. "May I ask, who are you?"

The shorter guy sighs softly as he realises that he has to introduce himself again today. "Do Kyungsoo," he answers. "The university student who is supposed to talk to Jongin and Kai for two weeks."

If the guy is surprised by Kyungsoo's bluntness, he does not show it. Instead, he chuckles quietly to himself. "I'm Oh Sehun," he tells the shorter guy. "Jongin's best friend from high school."

Kyungsoo raises his eyebrows at that. Okay, so Kim Jongin has a best friend. Oh, this is getting more interesting. He definitely has more people to ask about Jongin. He smiles for the first time ever since Sehun entered the room. "So, tell me. What's Jongin like during his high school days?" he asks curiously, tilting his head slightly to the side.

Sehun shrugs nonchalantly. "Crazy," he replies without hesitating. "One second, he was this sweet guy who everyone loved and next, he suddenly changed into this rebellious guy that nobody knew. Everyone, of course, knew that he had issues. Hell, he even has issues now but, yeah, I'm his best friend so I have to stick by his side no matter what."

"You're a good friend," Kyungsoo comments sincerely. He feels a little bit envious of Jongin for having such a good friend. He has never once felt the beauty of having a true friend.

However, Sehun seems to be unfazed with his compliment. He just snorts slightly. "I'm not," he denies it. His eyes droop slightly before he looks up again. "If I were a good friend to Jongin, he would not be in this hospital for a failed suicide attempt." A small, bitter smile makes its way up to his lips. "After all, I'm the cause of his suicide attempt."

Kyungsoo's eyes widen at that but he does not say anything. He has a million things to ask about Jongin and his other personality but he knows that he has to be patient. Sooner or later, he is sure that he will find out why. He looks at Sehun in pity. He can see the guilt in the younger guy's eyes and he feels bad for him. "You stick by him through thick and thin. You visit him in the hospital and judging by the way you talk about him in that affectionate voice, I know that you care about him a lot. You love him as your best friend," he says gently.

Sehun blinks blankly as he tries to figure out what exactly Kyungsoo wants to say but he ends up blinking repeatedly which makes him look a lot like an idiot which contradicts his handsome face. "I don't get your point. Please don't beat around the bush because I'm not good at reading between the lines," he requests.

The psychology major chuckles and keeps his book inside his bag. He stands up and walks to the door to exit the room. Just as he is about to leave, he turns around and gives Sehun a reassuring smile. "You are a good friend, no matter what you say," he tells him in his most sincere voice that he is able to muster.

Then, he leaves the room. Jongin and Sehun need more bonding time, anyway. He can proceed with his mission the next time.