Chapter 19
There was a thick silence in the room, the kind that made the soft hum of machines feel louder than they should.
The air between them was heavy, tense.
Then, finally, a dry, cracked laugh broke through the stillness. Weak and hoarse.
“…You really couldn’t even let me die, huh?” Yin said, his voice barely more than a whisper. He looked away, eyes distant, tired.
Yang didn’t respond.
He just started walking – slowly, deliberately – toward the bed.
The sound of his footsteps wasn’t loud, but every step made the mood shift.
Something in the room changed.
Darkened.
Yin felt it.
His eyes flicked back to Yang, and the look on his face shifted – anxiety bleeding into his features, fear curling into his chest.
He swallowed hard.
“What… what more do you want?” he asked, trying to keep his voice steady.
Yang stopped right at the foot of the bed. His stare was ice. Flat.
Then-
“Where is he?”
Yang said, voice low. Controlled. Dangerous.
Yin blinked. “Huh?” He was confused. Disoriented.
Yang didn’t repeat himself right away. He just looked at him for a second longer, then said, slower this time,
“I’m only going to ask you once more. Where is Jaeyel?”
And that’s when Yin’s face changed.
Like someone had lit a fuse. His eyes widened slightly – not from fear, but something else.
Realization.
Shock.
“You… haven’t found him?” he asked, voice almost breathless. “But… you found me…”
Yang’s jaw tightened.
His hands curled into fists at his sides, knuckles turning white.
He was still calm on the outside, but barely. It was the kind of calm that came just before something snapped.
“If I had Jaeyel,” Yang said coldly,
“I wouldn’t have bothered keeping you alive. You’re only breathing right now because I need you to tell me where he is – before I kill you.”
Yin didn’t flinch.
He didn’t argue or beg. He just looked at Yang, really looked at him, and for a second, something soft passed through his face.
A strange kind of understanding.
“I… I tried to save him,” he said slowly.
“I tossed him toward the trees… I was trying to get him away from the edge. I thought… he had a chance that way. I was sure… he’s still alive.”
For the first time, Yang’s expression cracked.
Just barely – but it was there.
His brows pulled in slightly. His lips parted, like he was about to speak but couldn’t.
It wasn’t relief exactly, or hope. It was more complicated than that. A flicker of something between fear and longing. And it hit hard.
Yang said nothing.
But that moment – just that small shift on his face – said everything.
…
The room was quiet, the kind of stillness that only came in the dead of night.
The faint hum of cicadas outside was the only sound.
Jaeyel jolted awake, chest rising and falling fast. Cold sweat clung to his skin, his breathing uneven.
His eyes darted around, trying to anchor himself.
Just a dream…
But it didn’t feel like one.
In the dream, someone had grabbed him – hands rough, voice low and threatening. He knew it was Yin. He remembered the fear, the struggle. The way he screamed for him to stop. But then the man spoke.
And it wasn’t Yin’s voice.
It was Yang’s.
Jaeyel stared at the ceiling for a while, heart still racing.
Then slowly, he sat up and swung his legs over the side of the bed. The wooden floor creaked under his feet as he stood.
He walked quietly across the room to the vanity table.
The moonlight spilled in through the window, casting a pale glow across the small, simple space.
He opened a drawer and reached in, pulling out a delicate bracelet – faded, old, but well kept.
He held it in his palm for a moment, then slipped it around his wrist.
Jaeyel looked up at his reflection in the mirror. His face was blank, unreadable. But his eyes – they were distant, stormy.
Like he was trying to hold something in. Something heavy.
He stayed there, staring at himself, the bracelet loose around his wrist, his thoughts too loud for the silence around him.
…
Few days later
Morning light poured through the hospital lobby windows, making everything feel too bright, too sterile.
The old woman stepped out of the maintenance office with Jaeyel beside her.
She looked pleased, but also concerned, glancing over at him every so often like she still wasn’t sure if this was a good idea.
“Well,” she said, adjusting her cardigan, “they said you can start today. Just light duties for now, until you get used to the place.”
Jaeyel nodded, walking beside her. “Thanks for putting in a word for me, Grandma.”
She waved him off. “You stop that ‘thanks’ nonsense. Just tell me right away if you feel off. I don’t care how ‘okay’ you think you are – don’t push yourself.”
He gave her a small smile. “I won’t. Don’t worry. I’ve done jobs like this before. It’s nothing new to me.”
She looked at him, about to say something – maybe ask about that past he never really talked about – but then paused.
Something in his face changed.
Jaeyel wasn’t smiling anymore.
There was this far-off look in his eyes, like he’d wandered into a memory he wasn’t ready to share.
She let it go.
As they turned a corner, the voices of two nurses drifted down the hallway. They were standing by the nurse station, whispering in a not-so-quiet way.
“I’m telling you, he snapped at me just for asking how he was feeling,” one nurse whispered as she leaned on the counter.
“Didn’t even raise his voice, but the way he said it… I swear, I’ve never felt more awkward in my life.”
The other nurse nodded, lowering her voice as if the man in question could somehow hear them from down the hall.
“Yeah, he gives off this… vibe. Not angry, just cold. Like he’s sizing everyone up. It’s unsettling.”
“I asked if he needed water yesterday. He just stared at me. Didn’t even say no. Just looked. And I backed off.”
“Right? And the way he carries himself… like he’s used to being in control. I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s got ties to someone way up in the chain. Maybe the director?”
“I mean, how else would he be in a private room and have the whole staff walking on eggshells?”
The first nurse sighed. “You’re on his chart for tomorrow.”
“What? No. You take him. I’ll swap shifts with someone. I’m not going in there again alone.”
The old woman shook her head. “You’ll get patients like that while helping,” she told Jaeyel with a sigh.
“Some of them are angry at the world, and you just happen to be standing in front of them. Doesn’t make it easier, but… try to have patience, alright?”
Jaeyel smiled faintly. “Yeah. I will.”
He glanced out the nearby window as they walked.
People passed by outside – doctors, visitors, strangers just living their lives.
For a moment, he let himself breathe.
I’ll just focus on living for now, he thought.
