A part of him is aware that it is a dream.

He is in the dark. It’s filthy and smelly but somewhere in his mind, he knows that he needs to push through the darkness. He knows that there must be another side. It feels like he has been here for a long time, but he does not have a sense of fear or even loneliness. Even in the dark, smelly , dirty world, he knows he is not alone.

He can feel it; someone is there.

If only he can push through.

Go, go and go; push through further.

He just might come out on the other end.

So, he keeps pushing.

Oblivious of who, but he needs to find out.

The first thing he noticed when he came to was the smell. That awful bleach and antiseptic smell that every hospital seems to posses. They must have been thinking that if they clean it enough they can erase the sense of death latching in these places.

Beep...beep...beep...beep...

That is the second thing he noticed; the beeping. It is insistent, never ending; the ever annoying beeping that has started to beep faster. He struggled to open his eyes, feeling the heaviness to his lids; the left eye does not seem to open all the way. Through his foggy vision, he found out that he was right about the smell. He is in the hospital. ‘But why?’

“Help,” his voice croaked; hardly audible. “Hello?” He tried to move but out quickly that it is easier and less achy to just remain still. The beeping only seemed to grow louder as it beeped faster while he looked around.

Pale blue walls surrounded him where he laid on a bed, all tucked in tight with white woolly looking blanket. The most disturbing thing to him at the moment is that other than not knowing a clue why he is here, was that he could not see his body. He needed to take an inventory of himself but, the stupid blanket was literally tucked in up to his chin. He could not see anything other than the blanket and all of the little wires and cords that seemed to be coming out from under it. In his small panic mode, he noticed the blanket shook where his feet should be and he took a quick comfort for the fact he still had two working legs under there. He swallowed back, his dry throat is resisting at first but he tried to be a little louder this time.

“Hello?” He barked. “Someone, please!”

The door to his left swings open and a rush of three nurses and one taller woman in a white jacket; he assumed to be the doctor, burst into the room.

“Everything is fine, Mr. Kim. Try to stay calm.” One of them urges him as they all busy themselves around him; checking the monitors, reading off EKG charts and jotting down onto clipboards. Someone pulled the blanket down a little and he quickly freed his arms from it.

As much as he wants them to, no one shuts off the beeping machine. Panicking, the machine beeped faster and even though he knows that it was his heartbeat but the thought barely registered with him. In that state, he felt a cold hand land on his and he turned to face the doctor as she sat down on the stool beside the bed. “Alright, Mr. Kim. Take it easy. I’m Dr. Shin Hyesung, ” she smiled; giving him assurance. “Can you tell me your name? Where are you right now? Or maybe the date?”

“Kim Jungwoo...” he muttered which barely heard by Dr. Shin. The doctor nodded and her fingers clasped her patient’s hand a bit tighter.

Jungwoo fought the urge to cry, but the answer to her next questions only sent a new pain of shrill panic through his whole body. He closed his eyes and thought as hard as he could but to no avail, he could not remember the date and sure as heck could not think of a reason he’d be in a hospital. He has been fine.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I don’t know... the last thing I remember is being at my house...” Jungwoo fought through his own mind, but nothing was coming to him. “All I remember was getting ready for bed and I laid down... and here I am.”

Dr. Shin exchanged a glance with one of the nurses that made Jungwoo’s stomach clinch. “Okay, that’s alright.” She spoke softly, nodding her head to him. She patted his hand once like she was leaving and she stood up, Jungwoo grabbed the slender wrist; panicking. “Please, what happened? What’s going on?”

“Try not to worry right now.” She smiled kindly. But, Jungwoo shook his head. All he wanted to do was to shake her. How could he not worry? He has no idea of what is going on and he just need the latter to sit back down and tell him something. Anything. He just need to know what has happened.

“Please.” He squeaked again.

The doctor gave the nurse a look and then turned back to Jungwoo, releasing herself from his grip. “Everything is going to be fine.” She assured again but Jungwoon can only sense the lie. “You’ve had a bad accident, but you’re doing just fine. Everything is stable and all your stats look very good. You were very lucky, Mr. Kim.” Lucky is not the word Jungwoo would have chosen right about now. “Now, just lay back nicely for me and Nurse Choi here is going to give you something to ease your pain.” She mentioned to the large woman with gray hair.

Until the doctor had mentioned it, Jungwoo did not had the time to notice the pain too much but now that he did, he could not ignore the sharp pain in his head nor the soreness of his whole body. “This is going to make you very sleepy but, when you wake up we will talk some more, alright?” Dr. Shin nodded to Nurse Choi who waddles over with a smile and a syringe.

“Try to get some rest, son.” She smiles.

Jungwoo tried to fight her off, but the doctor holds him still while Nurse Choi pushes the liquid in her syringe right into his IV.

‘I don’t need more ing rest!’ Jungwoo tried to shout it at them but no words come out. The effect of the drug already tugging at his consciousness. He wanted some answers. Why is he here? Where is his parents? And Yoojung? He needs to know but he cannot muster the words to ask. Too quickly, the pain in his body and the ringing in his head began to fade away with his questions as the drug brought him right to the edge and sleep swallowed him whole.

Beep...beep...beep...beep...

Again, Jungwoo woke up some time later, completely disoriented as he tried to turn off the alarm on his bedside only to find out that beeping sound was not coming from his alarm and he most certainly not in his comfy room.

Slowly, the foggy memory comes back.

‘I’m in the hospital.’ He reminded himself. His failed attempt to sit reminded him all too well that he is pretty stiff and sore but he does not have the slightest idea of why. The doctor has said something about him having an accident. But how?

Jungwoo squeezed his eyes shut; thinking.

Pretty easily, he remembered having been exhausted last night, he’d spent the whole day helping his dad put up a new fence around the backside of their property and he was worn slap out by the time he crawled into his bed. But that is as far as he remembers. He got in the bed and he went to sleep.

‘So, how did I ended up here? Rolled off the bed and gotten a concussion?’

That was like an easy enough explanation. Jungwoo had to admit that he can be a little clumsy sometimes so he would not say it was outside of the realm of possibilities for him to have done it. Maybe he knocked his head so hard that he just does not remember it happened.

Jungwoo glanced around the small room but there was not much to look at. It was just him, the bed, some equipment and a loveseat sitting in front of the small window in the corner. What was odd about it was that it was decidedly bare.

Surely his parents would have stayed with him. And ‘Yoojung, where is she?’. Jungwoo will wait for her when the girl injured her ankle after the cheerleading contest in their senior year. He had been there for every step of the recovery, so where was she now? Did not anyone want to be here for him when he woke up? But, clearly no one was here. There were no overnight bags on the loveseat or any kind of clue that anyone other than him had been here.

He tried to sit up again in vain. The IV and oxygen were doing their job on holding him in place. Instead, he shifted the blanket around and pulled the little remote that was tucked next to his leg. When he raised it up though, he was distracted suddenly by the marks marring his skin. His arms were crisscrossed with bruises. Some yellowed out but some still a bright violent purple. He had to swallow back tears as he pushed the nurse call button on the remote.

‘What the heck has happened to me?’

It only took the round short little nurse a moment to bob into the room. “How are you feeling?” She asked as she walked over to check a monitor.

“I’m fine,” he lied. “I just really want to know what happened and where are my parents?”

Nurse Choi bit her bottom lip and then smiled at the poor boy. “No need to worry yourself.” Another big smile. “I’m just going to get your vitals and then I’ll let Dr. Shin know you’re up and she’ll have a chat with you.”

Jungwoo watched her as she busied herslef from one side of him to the other. “What day is it?” He asked and Nurse Choi hesitated for a moment but answered anyway. “It’s Thursday.”

Jungwoo leaned his head back against his pillow and groaned nervously. The last day he remembered had been Friday. The nurse shuffled back out, telling Jungwoo over her shoulder that the doctor would be there shortly and she left the latter to swirl in his turmoil of confusion.

After what he felt like a lot longer than shortly, the doctor finally came in followed by a man with a clipboard he had not seen before. “Hello again, Mr. Kim.” Dr. Shin greeted as she came to take a seat next to the bed. “I’m happy to hear you’re feeling a bit better. Do you have any discomfort right now?”

Jungwoo sighed and bit his lip. “My head hurts.” He admitted cautiously,worrying that they’d knock him back out again if he told him how sore he really is.

“Ah, yes, that’ll probably be around for awhile.” Dr. Shin announced with a smile. “Aside from that though?”

“I’m fine.”

The man stood at the foot of the bed, shuffling through papers on his clipboard before finally looking up to Jungwoo and gave him a reassuring smile. “Hello Jungwoo, can I call you Jungwoo?” He paused, waiting for young guy to nod. “My name is Dr. Kang Dowoon, I’m your psychologist.” He smiled again and Jungwoo thought absently about how annoying all these smiles were getting. If they wanted one from him, they would not be getting it until they gave him some answers. “I’m mostly just here to make sure you are adjusting to everything well.”

“Okay.”

“Alright, Jungwoo, why don’t you start by telling me what you remember?” Dr. Kang prompted, pen in hand ready to scribble down whatever the response is. “Do you know how you got here?”

Holding back tears, Jungwoo shook his head. “No.” He told the psychologist. “I don’t remember anything about how I got here.”

“But you remember your name, age, that kind of thing, correct?” Dr. Kang looked at him with a blank expression.

“Um yeah.” Jungwoo nodded. “Kim Jungwoo, I’m nineteen.”

Both Dr. Shin and Dr. Kang glanced to each other and then back at him. “Do you know where you are, Jungwoo?” He asked, leaning forward.

Jungwoo nodded again. “Dong-Ju University Medical Centre.” He told them. It was an easy enough answer because it was the only hospital within miles of his house.

However, confusion struck the young guy in a whole new way when Dr. Kang shook his head. ‘Why would they have taken me somewhere else? The hospital is twenty minutes drive from my house.’

“Jungwoo, this is St. Mary’s Hospital.” Dr. Kang informed him gently, writing something quickly on his paper. “Do you know what year it is?”

“Wait, where is St. Mary’s Hospital?” Jungwoo asked, ignoring the rest.

Dr. Kang cleared his throat. ”It’s in uptown Seoul.”

Jungwoo dropped his jaw, then shut it again. “No.” He said bluntly. “That can’t be correct. I don’t understand... what’s going on?” His fingers shook at his sides and he tried his best to hide it from the doctors’ view. ‘Seoul? How would I have gotten here?”

“Where exactly did you think you were, Jungwoo?” Dr. Kang’s curt voice broke through Jungwoo’s mental breakdown.

“I don’t know!” He half yelled. “I mean, I thought I’d still be in Busan, not in Seoul. How did I get here?” There was no hiding his panic anymore, the tears were burning in his eyes.

“Why would you be in Busan?” Dr. Shin asked him gently, placing a hand over the shaking one.

Jungwoo in a ragged breath. “Because that’s where I live.” The tears spilled over the edges. “I don’t understand.”

Both doctor’s gave him sympathetic looks and titled their heads. “Okay, Jungwoo, I see, but all of the files we have on you show you live in Seoul.”

Jungwoo just stared at Dr. Kang. “Well then you’ve got the wrong files!” He shouted. “I don’t live in Seoul, I live in Busan in the same house I was born in, with my parents! Where are they? They’ll tell you.”

Dr. Shin tightened her grip on her patient’s hand while Dr. Kang reached for something on the table on the other side of the room. ”Look, you’ve got some severe memory loss. Things are going to be confusing at first but both of us are here to help you, alright?”

Jungwoo could not look at her though, his eyes were glued on the license Dr. Kang had handed him. He could not blink or cry. All he could do was stare at it in a state of disbelief and shock. Not only was the address was Seoul, but it had his name and picture on it. But, that was not even the worst part.

Jungwoo finally remembered what the date was. His cousin’s birthday had been three days prior, which meant the last day he remembered was September 15, 2014.

The issue date on the license was 2018.