Chapter 1:

Taeyeon went down on her car and looks at the building in front of her; Seoul National Asylum. She just started her job as a psychiatrist in Seoul after graduating overseas. She never imagined that the first case she would ever hold as soon as she got home in Korea would be someone who has schizophrenia. She looked at her watched as she tried to relieve the memory of her morning talk with her friend.

“I would like you to look at this case. He’s the same age as you, and has been at the asylum for 12 years already.” Sunny; Taeyeon’s friend from the university who’s a private investigator now hands her a folder; she opens the folder and read out loud. “Kwon Jiyoung, 29 years old and has a case of schizophrenia?” She threw the folder on her desk and looked at Sunny with spite. “Hey, I just started this job Sunny. Don’t you have any other easier jobs out there for me?”  

Sunny laughed at her, “They want you to see if he’s gotten better already with the treatment he underwent. They also want you to find out where her cousin is. Of course finding her cousin is my job but- this guy never talked about his cousin no matter how hard I try to drag the information out of him. I thought you could help me a bit from that so I could at least have a lead or something.”

Taeyeon lifted a brow. “What about his cousin?” Sunny pulled out a police file folder and Taeyeon went over it as well. “His cousin was staying over at their place and suddenly disappeared 12 years ago. It was ruled out that his cousin may have been abducted while he was sleeping but on the report filed; it was said that he kept on mumbling that a woman in the mirror got her.”

Taeyeon got her hands clasp together under her chin and said, “Interesting case, I’ll look into it but I can’t promise you anything.” Sunny made a curt nod and said, “I won’t expect anything but if something comes out it’ll be a huge help. His cousin is already declared death in absentia but I want to comfort the parent’s heart with at least a body to bury even after all these years.” She sighs. “I understand. I’ll put that in mind Sunny.”

Taeyeon never would have accepted this case in the first place if it wasn’t Sunny who offered her the job but Taeyeon has to pay her accumulated bills she had when she studied overseas and frankly speaking- sitting around on her office won’t do anything to solve that problem. Sunny said the pay will be good regardless of she’ll find answers to where the body of this patient’s cousin would be found.

Taeyeon flips the pages of the folder she was given by Sunny as she walked towards the facility. “Good afternoon, you must be Dr. Kim?” a woman on her late 20’s asked her as she reached the glass doors of the building. “Yes, I am Dr. Kim.” The nurse made a bow and extended her hand for a handshake. “I’m Park Hyomin the head doctor here. I was informed by Detective Lee that you’ll be dropping by. Please follow me and we’ll go over the rules of our facility.” The two waked side by side the corridor. “Please fill up this visitation form.” Taeyeon then looks at the paper and began to fill it up. She has done this before when she was doing her thesis- she visited a local mental institution on the city she lived overseas to gain information. As she fills up the paper, Hyomin began to talk.