2/2

Choi Jimong stared at the letters then averted his eyes to the girl lying on hospital bed. He was waiting for Oh Rijin, an old friend of him, one of the best psychiatric doctors in the region. It wasn't that he thought Hajin had some mental illness. It was just better to have some advices from a specialist.

"She has recently remembered some unpleasant memories of the past that she forgot for a long time" He said to his friend after telling her what happened between the girl and him. Oh Rijin frowned in a serious contemplation, then said nothing but asked to have a talk with miss Go Hajin when she woke up.

She didn't remember anything that had happened the night before in the abandoned building. Go Hajin seemed lost and very much confused once finding herself in the hospital.

"Have you ever experienced this before? Like you tend not to remember some events of your life or blackout for a short period of time?"

The doctor's question made her hesitate a second. Then throwing a secret glance toward his direction, she timidly answered.

"Yes. It's quite often lately. I remembered saving the astronomer's number but afterwards it was nowhere to be found. Eventually, I found it in my blocked list that I don't remember when and why I blocked his number. I'm sorry, astronomer, for not calling you back." She apologised him in guilt.

Oh Rijin raised an eyebrow at the strange title Hajin was addressing him, yet quickly shrugged it off. Her attention returned to the patient then asked if she could have a private talk with the young girl.

Waiting outsides, Jimong could barely catch on the conversation in the patient room. But he trusted Rijin being able to help Hajin with her mental health.

About 20 minutes later, suddenly, clashing noise could be heard inside the room. Immediately, he opened the door and to his horror, Hajin was trying to strangle the doctor, exactly how she had done to him the night before.

Jimong rushed in hastily to pull the insane girl away but she was too strong. It took the help of 2 other nurses and one shot of tranquilliser to calm the patient down and put her to sleep.

Oh Rijin massaged her reddened neck with not much discomposure. She had got acquainted with this kind of attack as if it was a part of her job.

So when the female doctor was telling the nurses how to take care of Go Hajin, Jimong went to grab a cup of coffee for her. He had the feeling that Hajin's condition couldn't be explained in one or two words.

"She has dissociative identity disorder" A flush of confusion spread across his face as medical science was a foreign land to him. "Also known as multiple personality disorder." Oh Rijin patiently explained. She finished the cup of coffee in her hand at the same time he understood the illness Hajin was suffering. "I believe we both have met her 2 different personalities" The doctor concluded, waiting for questions from the dumbfounded man sitting across her.

"But why?" Jimong spoke up after a moment of shock. "What caused her this mental disorder?"

"There are many factors" Rijin gave a nonchalant shrug. She was familiar with these kind of questions too. "It appears that she has just got DID for a few months. You said recently she remembered some bad memories of the past, didn't you? Maybe that was the main cause. Those memories must bring her severe trauma that her normal state was unable to tolerate. So like a defensive mechanism, her mind creates another personality to endure all those pains and to protect her from the harsh reality."

Jimong's heart sunk. He was still in denial that fate could be so cruel to that girl. It made her remember to suffer again in this lifetime. And he was an accomplice of fate. He triggered all those memories and somehow it felt like he had committed a big crime.

"Is there any medicines for this illness?" He would be willing to do anything to help Hajin back to normal.

"I'm afraid that there is no cure" His friend shook her head "It all depends on her commitment to join therapy sessions. But her situation seems hard because now she isn't aware of her illness, while her other personality is trying to prevent her from realising it. He showed up and attacked me when I was going to tell her about the mental disorder."

"He?"

"Yes, her second personality is a male. A violent aggressive man but also very protective of miss Go Hajin. He must have attacked us because he thinks we are threats to her present happiness. In the end, he was created to protect her after all."

Choi Jimong said no other word but lost in his deep thought.

If they wanted to treat her, they must convince that man first.

Go Hajin was discharged from the hospital in a perfect physical state. Oh Rijin suggested that they should keep her mental illness secret first while he, Jimong, would slowly approach her and her "protector" personality.

But he didn't dare to meet her again, scared that his appearance might waken that man in her. So carefully, Jimong followed and observed her from afar until he almost learned by heart Go Hajin's daily routines.

Go Hajin was still exchanged letters with Wang So. She often visited a post office and placed her letter in a blue postbox in the afternoon. And it was also her, at night, who visited the exact office, secretly opened the postbox to retrieve that exact letter.

Getting back home, Jimong quickly studied all the letters again. Then he recalled everytime he had encountered Go Hajin: the real Hajin and her second personality. His sharp cold glare, his violent actions. They reminded the astronomer of someone familiar. Then what happened in the abandoned building: the letters on the floor, the mirror.

That man had caressed his reflection. No, it was her image. And he had kissed her.

Now when all the dots were connected, Jimong stared at the letters in disbelief. He didn't want to believe that it was true because it was another tragic love story.

Fate was indeed too cruel to this star-crossed lovers. They simply couldn't have their happy ending, not in Goryeo, neither in modern time.

He decided to meet Go Hajin the next night. The old man waited at the post office for her coming and collecting her letter.

"Can we have a talk?" He raised his voice, breaking the silence and from behind he could see her rooting to spot. She must recognise his voice but didn't turn back. "Please" Jimong asked desperately.

"We have nothing to talk together" Her voice was cold as ice and he could imagine her death glare if she had turned to face him.

Hajin took a step to walk away so Jimong hurriedly spoke up.

"I know who you are" She halted and he knew it was his chance. "I know you love her. But what you are doing is not helping but destroying her life in this lifetime."

"Then you know nothing" The male personality inside the girl stated firmly and was about to go straight forward when Jimong called after him.

"Your Highness" That person halted the second time. "You are 4th prince Wang So who was exchanging letters with her." Jimong went on. "You clearly know that your love are impossible. You two can never be together. So why do you give her false hope? Please, Your Highness, think for her. Her heart will be shattered once knowing you do not really exist and are just a phantom of her lover in the previous lifetime."

"Her heart has already broken that day, at the Goryeo exhibition." Wang So turned around, facing him. His death glare sent chills down Jimong's spine. "And it was all your fault. You made her remember"

"Yes, it was my fault so please let me correct it. I will do everything to help miss Hajin regain her normal life."

"It was too late now. She can't live without Wang So and we all know so well that there's no Wang So in this world, therefore I must replace him. Being her Wang So to protect her."

"Miss Go Hajin is a strong woman." Jimong argued back "She can learn..."

"SHE ATTEMPTED TO SUICIDE" Wang So shouted loudly, interrupting him "she isn't strong like people expect her to be." The older man was speechless. "That's why I exist, so that she can live. If you want to see her die then just try to break the truth to her. But remember, I won't let you do it easily. Because I. will. never. ever. let. my. Soo die." Wang So turned on his heel then left, leaving Choi Jimong standing behind.

He stared at his back until the silhouette disappeared into the darkness of night.

Jimong put all the letters into the wooden chest then got in the car with it. Sometimes he couldn't understand how fate worked. But he believed everything happened for a reason and there was no such thing as coincidence in this world.

The car stopped before a T-junction. He stared at the chest full of letters again, which made him more determined.

He didn't keep tab on if it was the 50th or 100th time he had met her in this lifetime.

It was hard for Go Hajin to accept the truth, he knew.

It was even harder to convince Wang So to give up Hajin/Hae Soo, he also knew.

But he couldn't do anything differently, because it was fate, destiny, heaven's will or whatever people wanted to call it.

Fate sometimes was a criminal and he was its accomplice.

A/N:

There is a cameo in this story, it's Oh Rijin of "Kill me, Heal me" (another Kdrama about multiple personality disorder). However, I didn't get the idea for Night letters from Kill me Heal me, but from a Japanese movie named Tokyo Boy/ Tokyo Shonen. Both of these drama and movie are quite good, in my opinion.