Between Heaven & Hell: A Ghost Doctor Kdrama Fan Fic

Chapter 4: The Pact

Seung-won was home-free. He'd fooled Se-jin, and had Seung Tak's ailing body to thank for the rest of the day off. He was headed out of the hospital when Chief Ban stopped him.

"Seung Tak! Oh? Dr. Go! Hold up just a minute!" Chief Ban ran to who he believed was Seung Tak. Seung-won halted his steps after a minute. He almost forgot he was Seung Tak for a minute. He didn't want to turn around, but Seung Tak would. "Oh? Chief Ban? I'm sorry—What do you need?"

"What do I need? Are you too sick to remember texting me this morning to meet? I've waited all day; worried about you. I replied--" Chief Ban stood blocking Seung-won's exit completely aghast. "Are you going home? At this time of day?"

Seung-won hadn't thought to go through Seung Tak's cell phone text messages. In fact, he had no idea where his phone was. He patted himself down for it. Oh that's right. I accidently left it at the house after talking to Tak's mother. He had no idea if he could pull off pretending to be Seung Tak going into a conversation blindly. "Uh, I'm really tired. Uh, can we talk tomorrow?"

Chief Ban was disappointed. He closed the space between them, speaking low—"Are you trying to avoid me right now? Are you trying to avoid talking about your medication? I know how you can be, Seung Tak."

Seung-won was thankful for the clue. It was about Seung Tak's medication. Gosh, is he still on that stuff? When was I supposed to take it? Maybe that's why his body feels so—or...is the medication the reason his body feels like shit? Seung-won didn't know enough to speak any further on the matter. He, at least, knew Chief Ban was a pushover and he could put him off.

"I have some things to consider about it—the medication. I want a rested head so...I can make clear decisions about it...if you don't mind?"

Chief Ban tilted his head, coming around to let it go for another day when Seung-won turned for the hospital's doors. Chief Ban's mouth parted to protest, but he let him go with a heavy sigh. "Okay. Just until tomorrow!"

Seung-won threw Seung Tak's hand up to give his superior a wave of acknowledgement. Chief Ban looked around the lobby like a sad puppy. "Why do these kids always treat me this way?"

Seung-won took a taxi back to the family home. He knew if Seung Tak went cold turkey on his meds that he could induce a seizure and it wasn't safe for him to drive himself. He didn't know if he missed a dosage or if Seung Tak had; one thing was sure, he had to speak to Seung Tak. He had to make a pact – even if he threatened him. He needed to know what Seung Tak knew.

Sung-hye had been pacing the living room for hours. She tried to clean up, but she was mourning. It didn't help that Seung-won was in Seung Tak's body and she needed her nephew. Sung-hye knew how the rest of the family would respond to Seung-won possessing Seung Tak. She knew she would be cast out of the family for good if she and her son ruined Seung Tak's precious life. But the anger took over her again and again as she justified herself—Who cares? When has the family ever cared about me or my son? My child was precious, too.

Seung Tak entered the home, making Sung-hye freeze. She stared at him as he approached her, waiting for him to lash out over his body being used. It was like de'ja vue from earlier. When his arms reached for her, her body relaxed, yet, remained tense. It was Seung Tak's arms that encircled her, but her son addressed her, "Mother, I'm home."

They parted. She could barely smile. Seung-won watched as his mother turned from him. It felt as if she were rejecting him personally. It was hard and upsetting, but he understood. The family had a lot of festering wounds when it came to holding their tongue for Seung Tak's benefit. Snide comments or encouraging scorn defined the bulk of conversations between his mother and Seung Tak. Now he needed his mother to push him out of Seung Tak so they could talk. Anything he needed to say to his mother would need to come from Seung Tak. He took a deep breath as his mother bent over to pick up another broken item.