ᴅɪꜱᴛᴀɴᴛ ꜱᴛᴀʀꜱ (ʏᴏᴏʜᴀɴᴋɪᴍ)

Chapter 2:

The three of them looked at the boy tucked in the sheets. He stirred a bit before his eyes opened a tad. Kim Dokja's body stilled, and his head turned a bit.

"Hn?" Kim Dokja swallowed, and his eyes opened, registering the sight of the hospital-like room, and he jolted awake, clutching his stomach on instinct.

Han Sooyoung waited for the words. If she was right, it would be surprising to find oneself in the hospital. Kim Dokja's younger self shifted in their seat and finally looked up to see the people in the room.

Lee Seolhwa took initiative. She walked to a table and poured water in a glass, then walked back to the bed and took a seat beside the bed.

Kim Dokja ignored Yoo Joonghyuk and Han Sooyoung and glanced at Lee Seolhwa. "Are you new? Nurse-nim?"

Lee Seolhwa shook her head to see his reaction.

"Ah..." The boy's lower lips quivered. "Sorry, ahjumma."

The doctor glanced at Yoo Joonghyuk and Han Sooyoung as Kim Dokja looked down at his blankets and balled the edges in his fists. "Here," Lee Seolhwa handed him the glass.

Kim Dokja shook his head.

Yoo Joonghyuk opened his mouth to speak, but Han Sooyoung pinched his arm. She sat idly and watched. "You've been out for a while, you have to drink fluids...uhm, Dokja-ah."

The boy bit his lower lip and reached for the glass. He stared at the water before taking a small sip. "Sorry, Ahjumma." He said after a few sips.

Lee Seolhwa stood up and adjusted a few books on the shelf to look more casual as a nurse. For all she knew, this wasn't the man who saved her from becoming the Poisoner, but rather someone who didn't know her all together.

"What are you sorry for?" She asked.

Kim Dokja looked at her with a sullen expression. He then glanced at Yoo Joonghyuk and Han Sooyoung. The sullen look turned to detest. "I'm not answering any damn questions," he glared at them, looking away.

Both Han Sooyoung and Yoo Joonghyuk were a little edged by the sharp words, but recollected nothing. "The case is over... do you journalists really have nothing else to do?" Kim Dokja's voice wavered, and he took the blanket off him. He was still wearing the Infinite Dimension Space Coat, but it didn't catch his attention.

Yoo Joonghyuk looked at Lee Seolhwa, and she motioned for him and Han Sooyoung to get out.

The longer they stayed there, the more Kim Dokja's eyebrows knitted. "Ahjumma please tell them to get out—did they even get permission?"

Lee Seolhwa opened and closed her mouth.

She never had heard Kim Dokja speak with such agitation. She turned around. "Get out."

Han Sooyoung was about to yell against it, but was silenced by Yoo Joonghyuk grabbing her hand and pulling her out.

Once the door closed behind them, Kim Dokja let out a wavered sigh. He looked down at his uniform pants. "Thank you Ahjumma." He muttered.

Lee Seolhwa swallowed, taking in the sight of the figure of someone who once held his head up high, now looking so down. She pursed her lips and walked over to Kim Dokja. "They're gone. What were you sorry about?"

Kim Dokja pursed his lips, then looked away. "Never mind."

Lee Seolhwa felt the need to get Lee Sookyung involved, but stopped herself from going that far. With a breathy sigh, she sat down on the chair and took Kim Dokja's hand into her hand.

It was off. She always had seen this guy from afar. Admiring him, scrutinizing him, getting miffed to the point she and Jung Heewon fed him sleeping pills. But she had never been this close to him—close enough to know that he wasn't okay. "I'm a doctor," she said, then pursed her lips. "Of course I saw the cuts."

Kim Dokja looked away, as if the shame was dawning upon him now. "Hn..."

Lee Seolhwa pursed her lips. 'How was Dokja-ssi as a teenager...what happened—no. Why?' She would ask Lee Sookyung later. Kim Dokja took his hand away from gentle grip and slipped off the bed. He stood up and searched his pockets for his phone.

"This isn't my coat." He said.

"Keep it." Lee Seolhwa replied, and then stood up. "You need to rest, get back there and sleep."

Kim Dokja's eyes scanned the room and....there. Kept on the end of the table was his phone. He walked past Lee Seolhwa and grabbed the phone, then said, "I'm sorry Ahjumma, for bothering you, I'll get back home."

'Home—no, you need to stay here.' Lee Seolhwa thought, as she spoke rationally, "it's four in the morning, what do you plan to do."

Kim Dokja waved his hand, "I'm fine, I'll get home." He said, but his eyes spoke otherwise. Just as she took a step ahead, Kim Dokja shifted to the door, unlocking it behind him and slipping out before Lee Seolhwa could stop him.

He closed the door immediately, and made sure to turn the lock on, before he closed it.

His eyes darted in the dark corridor. Kim Dokja glanced back in sudden fear at Lee Seolhwa unlocking the door.

'No,' he thought. He took a step back and registered his surroundings. Where was the smell of antiseptics? Or the disgusting white lights and walls? 'This isn't a hospital.' His legs ached and he quickly debated which side to run.

He chose the place behind him, and ran down a hall.

'Where am I?'

He sensed deja vu coming from the woman, but couldn't guess who she was. She was familiar. Kim Dokja opened the door and closed it behind him.

Just as he looked behind him, he bumped into someone. His heart ached from the sudden surge of adrenaline, and Kim Dokja looked up to see who he had bumped into.

Dammit... It was that journalist from before.

Though he looked extremely familiar and reminded him of someone. He took a step back and noticed a woman. "You people are disgusting," his lips poured out words.

'These people went so far for information?'

'Did they kidnap me?'

He remembered the bizarre things journalists had done that were documented.

"You—"

Kim Dokja ducked his head and slipped out of their grasp. His breath hitched as he ran through the darkness.

'What did I do to get stuck in this mess?' His body burned from everywhere.