Seo Moon Jo was wondering why he was in an asylum when he felt perfectly normal. He was as sane as they can be. Why can't they release him? And now, the doctor wants him to return to his room.
Yoon Jong Woo came to the hospital to pick up his brothe...
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Moon Jo was certain Jung Hwa's office had never been so warm, although he was also certain that was caused by his cousin's eyes burning into his skin rather than the temperature itself.
For far too long of a moment, no one said a word.
Jung Hwa simply stared at them with a hollow, meaningless sympathetic expression, as if all it took was a smile to erase the tension hanging in the air like knives.
Of course that wouldn't do anything, but she spoke as if it did. "You're Moon Jo's family, it's so lovely to finally meet you, guys. How was your trip?"
Moon Jo's mother at least attempted a smile, though it was small and wary. "Oh, it was—"
"Long, and terrible," interrupted Moon Jo's cousin. Her accent was still thick.
It reminded Moon Jo of places, people from a long time ago.
Moon Jo fought an entire war within himself, all for the purpose of maintaining a smile.
It was the last normal thing in this mess of abnormality.
"You didn't need to come." he said.
He twisted his shirt in his hands, so tightly his knuckles turned white as snow.
Then Moon Jo tilted his head and smiled a bit brighter, lied a bit more. "Everything is fine."
Mrs. Seo stopped smiling with a heavy sigh. She turned to Moon Jo, face unreadable, and said, "Things are obviously far from fine, Moon Jo."
Moon Jo crinkled his nose, disgusted and nervous but completely unwilling to show it. "I don't know what you're talking about."
His cousin huffed and rolled her eyes. "I always knew something was wrong with him..." Her voice faded out.
It wasn't very loud to begin with, but to Moon Jo, she might as well have been shouting.
He heard her just fine, loud enough to make the words echo in his ears and clear enough to boil his blood.
In an attempt to maintain the authority he knew he deserved, Moon Jo squared his shoulders.
He was still smiling, so he was still in control. "What?"
"Guys," said Jung Hwa, just about as loudly as it was possible for her to be. "Let's try and make this a positive experience, okay?"
That ship had sailed some time ago. However, Moon Jo was willing to listen to whatever nonsense Jung Hwa had to say as long as it kept his cousin from speaking.
