Ventricular Arrhythmia

Chapter 2: Game of luck

Two days later was Hyunjin's appointment with his cardiologist. He was a little scared, what if his doctor made him wear an Holter? How would he hide such a thing?
Or what if he made him have a surgery to get a implantable Holter or an implantable defibrillator?
He tried to get rid of his anxiety, scared to cause another arrhythmia or getting noticed by his still sleeping members. It was their day off he couldn't risk waking them up.

He showered and wore some loose clothing to be more comfortable. His doctor advised him to try and eat something light, so he drunk his tea and ate a green apple. He never had coffee, not once in his life. He wasn't allowed, even a sip could cost his whole life. So he preferred being safe and drink his chamomile, he wasn't used to caffeine so it wasn't hard to wake up.

As he was wearing his shoes he heard familiar steps towards the living room. Looking up he saw a sleepy Minho.

"Good morning hyung. I have made some breakfast and coffee for you guys. I hope I didn't screw up the taste of your drink again."

"I hope so too. Morning. Where are you going this early?"

"It's not early, it's already 8 am."

"Exactly!"

"Anyway. Bye hyung!"

"Hey you didn't answer my question!"

Hyunjin thought about his next words chosing them wisely.

"Oh you know hyung, I'm going to my yearly check up with my cardiologist. You know how my dad died from a heart attack. I need to be sure my heart doesn't follow the same route."

"You are right! You must always be careful, and if anything happens, holy air-conditioner prevent it, we will be more than happy to help you. We all love you, I hope you know it."

"Jeez, hyung, don't be a drama queen, that's what I'm here for. Bye!"

"Be careful!"

"I will!"

After a long ride he was there. His doctor wasn't far from the center of Seoul but the traffic made it seem thousands of mile away. At this point he would have preferred to walk, his boss though was not letting a stubborn 20 year old to walk in the middle of winter alone and with a heart risk.

He was at the waiting room playing with the rim of his blouse when he heard his name.

"Hello Hyunjin! You've changed since last time!"

"Hello doctor! Of course I've changed, our last meeting was a year ago."

"You called my secretary some days ago. Did anything happen? Our scheduled appointment was about a month later from now. Have you felt something different? Did you perhaps have any arrhythmias?"

"That's why I called you. I would usually have an episode in 5-10 days, but the last week they are more frequent."

"This shouldn't... let's go get you checked up.
First we are going to do an electrocardiogram, then a cardio ultrasound and we will see about a cMRI. Of course you are also going to wear a Holter for 72 hours too."

"I really hoped I could avoid that."

"I'm sorry, you can't. "

And once again, everything was normal. His heart was on perfect shape, its anatomy more than good. How Hyunjin hoped to get an explanation. He wore a Holter again for what seemed like a thousand times for this decade of search. He hoped that this time his Holter could explain more. But at the end it would only show his arrhythmias if any occured.
It was a game of luck.
He was almost sure that he would once again do a cMRI and maybe a blood test but that was something that happened every month.

Going back at home, he wasn't at his best mood. He hated his Holter. He despised it, it made him feel more disabled and weak. He just hoped the others would not pay much attention to it.

But of course his hopes didn't last for long as deep voice was heard from behind his back as he was hanging his jumper.
Felix.

"Hey Hyunjin! Your breakfast was immense! You should bake pancakes more often!"

"Thank you Felix. I'm really happy that you liked them."

"Of course. Hey what's that?"

"What?"

"These... cables and the bag?"

"Oh... um it's a Holter."

"What's that?"

"It counts and shows your heart signals and beatings. Think of it as an electrocardiogram but you can carry it with you."

"Wow... why do you wear it and whe-"

"I went to my cardiologist, just for an ordinary check up and I'll take a divorce with it in three-"

Oh no...

"Three what?"

It's pausing.

"Th-three days."

Everything gets blurry again, and then it beats. The pause stops and everything is normal.

"You are really pale... are you good?"

"What? Um yeah... I'm just going to lie down for a bit. I'm just a little tired."

"Okay! I'll bake cookies and call you to try them once they're ready!"

"Thank you."

That thank you however was more addressed to his luck, because once again the Holter showed something abnormal for sure, once again he made sure that he wasn't just making that up.

The game of luck was done. For now.