Chapter 5
"Can you tell me your name?" A man, probably a Doctor since she'd decided she was in the hospital.
"…Go Dok Mi" she said quietly. Why was she here? Had something happened? Had she had another panic attack? She desperately wanted to ask these questions but her tongue wouldn't form the words.
"And how old are you, Miss Go Dok Mi?"
"22" she replied. Why couldn't she just go home? All she wanted was to be back in her apartment and heat herself up a nice hot water bottle. She saw on TV last week a commercial for a lesson on how to make paella that was airing tonight. She had always wanted to learn that and now she was missing it.
"Do you remember what happened to you?" the Doctor sounded strangely troubled.
"No" she admitted. She wanted her bed and her computer and to be away from this strange man who asked strange questions.
"You hit your head, Dok Mi," he said, "You were unconscious and a friend brought you here"
"Friend?" she asked
"Your boyfriend," he clarified, "He's waiting outside if you want to see him."
"Sir, I don't have a boyfriend" her having a boyfriend was laughable. She could barely go outside let alone have a normal conversation with people.
"Enrique Geum is not your boyfriend?"
"Enrique?"
"The man who brought you here," the Doctor said.
The name sounded vaguely familiar. Maybe that was her neighbor. She'd only met him once, but maybe he'd heard her fall and found her? It seemed like the only explanation.
"Enrique is my neighbor," she said. She wasn't sure if she was lying, but she knew he couldn't be her boyfriend.
"Alright" the Doctor looked like he didn't believe her but he didn't argue.
"Dok Mi, we're going to run some tests on you, okay?" he said, "Just to make sure that everything's okay"
Dok Mi nodded and let a nurse put her in a wheel chair and take her to a large room. She saw that it was dark out the windows, but last time she'd looked outside she could have sworn it was afternoon. How long had she been out? She stayed silent as the nurse instructed her and still as the CAT scan took place.
The less of a fuss you make the sooner you can go home, she thought. She went through another round of extensive questions. Where do you work? Where were you born? What's your middle name? Do you have any pets? What's your favorite color?
They all seemed like trivial questions, but she answered each one quickly with only one or two words. She was exhausted by the time they finished and it felt like someone was hammering a nail into her head.
"May I sleep?" she asked the nurse.
"Yes, Miss Dok Mi," a nurse said, "We'll talk more when you wake up"
She wished she would never wake up. If she woke, she'd have to face the anxiety and the pain. However long she had been unconscious had been an escape from it all, and now she was back and drowning in the real world. She laid back against her pillow and shut her eyes. For some reason, the pain in her head was even worse with her eyes closed, but she eventually drifted off into sleep.
Another round of questions greeted her in the morning. It was with the same doctors and nurses at least. She hated that she had to share so much about herself. They asked her a lot about high school, which was never fun. She was pushing back tears by the time she noticed him standing there. He had bright orange and he was smiling at her like she'd just handed him the world.
It unsettled her. What did this strange boy think he was doing looking into her room and smiling creepily. She could sense his presence near her the whole time the doctor was talking to her. She wanted to yell at him and tell him to leave, but that wasn't something she ever did. So she just sat, still, answered questions, and waited for him leave. The doctor finally left and took the strange man with him.
She let out a sigh of relief and asked the nurse, "Who was that boy?"
The nurse looked at Dok Mi oddly before saying, "That's Enrique Geum"
"Oh" she said, "the one who found me"
"Yes… you friend"
"He's just my neighbor, actually. I barely know him"
"Of course, Miss Dok Mi" she said as if she was talking to a child who had just said she was a fairy, "the Doctor wants to keep you here overnight, but you'll be free to go in the morning"
"Thanks," Dok Mi said simply. She just wanted to sleep again as long as she was forced to be here another 12 hours, but she was no longer tired. Dok Mi had only seen her neighbor once, but she was certain he didn't look like a 12 year old. And she was certain his name had been Jin Rak and that he had black hair. She didn't pay much attention to her surrounding, but she should at least recognize the people she lived next to.
Which begged the question, if Enrique wasn't her neighbor, who was he to her? Your boyfriend is here, the Doctor had said. But… she didn't have a boyfriend. Who would ever love someone who never left their apartment and who feared getting hurt so much she never met anyone? No one could love a girl like that. But the Doctor had said it with such confidence.
Maybe Enrique was just a stranger. Maybe she passed out on the street and took her to a hospital like a Good Samaritan. But he'd been here all night? What stranger would stay in hospital all night?
She tried to put the thought out of her mind and go to sleep. Chances were she'd never have to see Enrique Geum again