Chapter 116 - I Don't Want to Be Like My Mother

Dr. Kim felt a terrible headache, sitting in the seat of his car in the parking lot of the charity bazaar. He wanted to just leave the place, after having the last word, but it wasn't that simple. To begin with, he hadn't come to the event for a walk. And the constant beeps from the messaging app on his cell phone reminded the surgeon of it constantly.

MOTHER: 'Where are you?'

MOTHER: 'Aren't you going to come? We're already here.'

The plastic surgeon had taken this afternoon to work as a volunteer, handing out food to the volunteers of the event in the food truck that his mother had brought. And instead, Jun Hyeon was in his car, thinking of going back to Ye Rim and apologizing for everything he had said to her.

It's not like the doctor thinks differently from what he said. Kim just shouldn't have been cruel with the excuse that he was being sincere. ' Aish, why does this woman occupy my mind this much? Don't I have too many problems already?! '

But Jun Hyeon knew that he had left Ye Rim almost crying because of his harsh words, so he had to go back.

The Doctor texted his mother, saying that he would soon be ready to work on the distribution of meals. And he headed for Noraebang Duet's booth.

°°°

Ye Rim felt her heart tighten when the screen in front of her went out and she didn't see the student anymore.

"Student? Student?" she asked into the microphone, with no answer. 

As soon as the singer did that, the music halted and started playing backward. It was a creepy thing Ye Rim had only heard happen in old horror movies.

"Student? Are you okay?"she repeated, alarmed.

The feedback microphonia hurt in her ear, and Ye Rim thought she heard the girl ask for help, in the background.

' Omo! What is it?! '  the feeling of something dreadful and ominous hit her. She tried to turn the sound system off, but realized it wasn't possible. Then in a fit of desperation, Ye Rim pulled the heavy electric cables forcefully, disconnecting them,

"Stop! Stop it damn thing! Arghhh!" an electric shock struck her, and Ye Rim was thrown back against the wall.

The lights in her booth went out, and her heart pounding and aching, Ye Rim opened the door, staring at the people looking at her in astonishment.

Without thinking too much, she ran to the booth door where the student was. Somehow, she was sure there was someone in the booth with that girl.

°°°

From a distance, Jun Hyeon saw the neon lights on the Noraebang Duet booth sign flicker and sparkle dangerously, and then go out. The doctor felt an inexplicable tightness in his chest. He quickened his pace, noticing that people were crowding around the booth. Excusing himself and conquering his space with difficulty, he even heard someone comment,

"I think someone got hurt in there!"

'Ye Rim!' it was his first thought and warning that he was a doctor, he made his way until he reached the booth. The only security guard prevented two students who were crying hysterically from breaking into the booth. Kim repeated that he was a doctor and had his ticket cleared. When Jun Hyeon entered the booth he saw a strange scene which he couldn't understand at first. In the dark, Ye Rim seemed to protect a convulsing teenager from someone who was possibly in the booth's corner, but he couldn't see the threat because it was dark. 

Stepping in front of Ye Rim, to prevent her from getting hurt, he blinked in astonishment. There was no one there. But when the doctor touched her, she was cold and sticky to the touch, and barely reacted to his presence. Jun Hyeon didn't have time to check Ye Rim's pulse. Having to decide between the two patients, he crouched down beside the girl who was convulsing, and who was at greater risk of death. 

A man came in while the doctor was doing first aid. The girl had spasmodic convulsions and foamed from the corner of her mouth. She had no signs of electric shock, but nervous system seizures. Dr. Kim quickly gave the instructions to call the ambulance.

In a few moments they had dealt with the emergency and the teenager wasn't in danger of dying anymore.

Jun Hyeon then treated Ye Rim, noting that she showed more typical signs of shock. He kept her wrapped in his coat until the ambulance arrived.

The girl's friends were already calling her parents, and Dr. Kim asked, as he accompanied the girl to be taken to the ambulance,

"Does she have a history of seizures? Are your friend sensitive to flashes or something?"

"No, Shin Hye had none of that!" It was intriguing. He imagined it could have been an electrical discharge from the devices, but he couldn't understand the atypical symptoms. Or the disparity of symptoms of both Ye Rim and the teenager.

°°°

Upon arriving at the hospital and presenting himself as responsible for both, at least until Shin Hye's parents arrived, Kim questioned about the results of the exams.

As soon as possible, they allowed him to go see Ye Rim, who had been conscious all along.

When he entered the infirmary, he worried about seeing her looking so pale and dejected. Ye Rim was sitting on her stretcher, taking serum and medication, and looking quite anxious. As soon as Kim approached Ye Rim asked,

"How's the student doing?"

"She's fine, and under observation. They are undergoing complementary tests because of the seizure. And you also need to get tested. You got a shock, didn't you?"

Ye Rim looked at him with eyes so scared and big, and she looked so lost and vulnerable, that Jun Hyeon wanted to hug her. He just arranged better the blanket on her shoulders, though. 

Ye Rim replied his question,

"Yes, I did. But there was something there. Something was trying to get that girl," Ye Rim stared at the horizon, uneasy. Dr. Kim smiled and took a towel, crouching down. He began to nuzzle her feet to warm them up a little. The feeling of comfort would slowly bring her out of confusion and shock.

"What happened?" he asked in a soft, professional voice. Deep down, the doctor was furious with the event organizers who put the lives of two people at risk with that equipment in poor condition.

°°°

The black thing was hunched over the girl when Ye Rim entered the booth. With a low shriek, the shadow seemed to try to escape, but there was no way to do it. Then the creature turned back to the girl who was lying on the floor.

' Oh my Gosh! It will eat her! ' for some reason Ye Rim realized that, and tried to draw the thing off the girl. But her hands seemed to sink into a kind of frozen, sticky and very disgusting cotton candy. The singer's heart hurt a lot, it felt like it would tear in half.

But it worked. The creature seemed startled, and retreated to a corner of the booth. 

Then Ye Rim had heard Jun Hyeon Oppa arrive.

But now ... What had really happened? Her rational mind could not see an explanation. One moment, a teenager chooses a song to sing, the next she is convulsing on the floor of the booth. The booth's equipment starts to act strangely, and when Ye Rim enters the place, she hallucinates. That was it, wasn't it?

However ... Why did this account look so much like her mother, Nam Joo's?

Shadows with shapes of people! Sparks! Horror ... 

Was she going crazy, like Park Nam Joo? Ye Rim shivered again, just thinking it could be the beginning of some inherited disease. As bad as thinking that, it was to think that none of that was a lie and delusion from her head. It was to think that the girl was really being attacked by something dark and scary.

"I don't know. The devices went crazy after the second song started. I think the girl got a shock on the microphone, and ... I tried to turn off the equipment, but I got a shock too. I think I hallucinated a little. I thought someone was attacking her… something dark."

Ye Rim started to cry, and Jun Hyeon stood up, hugging her. "Is she really going to be okay? Instead of helping, I did nothing!"

Ye Rim started to cry, and Jun Hyeon stood up, hugging her. "Is she really going to be okay? Instead of helping, I didn't do anything!"

"Shhhh! Calm down, Ye Rim. It's all right. You were great back there. You turned off the equipment before she died from being electrocuted. You saved her. And… dark things. Blurred vision is common in this type of accident."

Ye Rim wanted to believe that. She buried her face in Dr. Kim's chest for a moment, feeling miserable,

"What were you doing there? I thought you were gone."

"I came back to apologize. I have no right to offend you for anything you do. Also, you know that I go around trying to be heroic," he tried to be funny. "It's our secret."

Ye Rim also had a secret. She didn't want to become the madwoman who sees black ghosts and fairies. And again, it was nice to receive Jun Hyeon's hug. And it was good not to be fighting with him.

Before leaving the hospital, they tried to check on Shin Hye, but they arrived a little late. The teenager was already leaving the hospital with her parents. Dr. Kim called, but they didn't hear, entering the elevator. 

However, when the door was closing, Ye Rim had the impression of seeing black smoke following them into the elevator. For Shin Hye.

Ye Rim blinked. That must definitely be the blurred vision. Even if her body shivered, like in the Octagon.

"Shall we go?" the Doctor asked.

It was the blurred vision, she tried to convince herself, following Dr. Kim to leave the hospital.