The Lie She Never Told

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ﮩ٨ـﮩﮩ٨ـ♡ﮩ٨ـﮩﮩ٨ـ

Haerin sat on the hospital bed thinking. She has to be in the hospital for a month every year and let the doctors do annoying tests on her. At the beginning, this all thing was interesting, but after four years it was getting boring that they could never figure out what the problem could be.

One month in hospital every year.

Why?

Because she had something unusual. Something the doctors were worried about after the incident.

What was the incident?

Haerin's father died in a car accident 4 years ago. She and her mother were in the hospital when the man's soul was released.

She went up to the roof of the hospital that same day and was ready to follow his father to the afterlife. She was ready to die.

The girl was already standing on the edge of the roof and was about to take the last step towards freedom when someone pulled her back.

She then fell and hit her head pretty hard.

Haerin didn't remember the accident clearly. She didn't know who saved her until her mother informed her that it was Minji, her best friend.

After that when Haerin opened her eyes, the world went black and white. Everything became brighter and sadder that day. She cried a lot for weeks, but then she slowly accepted herself and her fate. She realized that crying wouldn't make anything better.

Every time when she has to come back here, she remembers that day. When she's here, she can feel her father again. It feels both painful and healing at the same time.

"How are you?" Haerin was awakened from her thoughts by the usual doctor, who opened the door.

She was getting tired of him.

Haerin looked up as the familiar doctor walked into her room. She forced a small smile, trying her best to remain polite.

"I've been happier," she replied, her voice flat. "Just counting down the days until I can leave this place again."

"You didn't change," the doctor replied laughing.

Haerin chuckled faintly in return. "I love keeping habits" she replied. "Spending a month every year here will do that to me."

"Alright" he sighed. "Let's see your papers."

Haerin handed over the papers obediently, watching as the doctor flipped through them, his eyes scanning the pages. She fidgeted with the hem of her white shirt, waiting for the usual line of questions that followed.

"Why do we have to do this again?" Haerin asked.

"It's the protocol, you know that" the doctor replied, his tone a mix of annoyance and resignation. "We have to run the same tests every year to monitor any changes in your condition."

"I just went colorblind."

The doctor raised an eyebrow, giving her a stern look.

"Colorblindness might be the most obvious symptom, but it's not the only one. We don't know the full extent of the damage that was done. We're just being thorough here."

"It was 4 years ago now and nothig changed."

The doctor frowned, closing the file in front of him. "Maybe nothing changed yet. But we're just trying to make sure. There's no harm in being cautious."

"Right," said Haerin leaning back on her bed.

The doctor nodded, setting down the file. "Now, let's start with the usual tests. We need to check your vision, hearing, and reflexes again" he said with a sigh.