With a face caught in some kind of shock, he was rattling the straps firmly fixing his wrists and the device attachments connected to them, and beyond that, even banging his own head against the bed.
It was the desperate struggling and screaming that a patient possessed by an evil spirit would do when a priest in a movie takes out a cross to perform an exorcism.
“Huk! Seungun-ah!”
Myeongwoo, who had followed in belatedly, covered his mouth with both hands. The young and strong male medical staff who had entered the examination room together tried to fix Seungun’s wrists and ankles more tightly. Seungun’s shirt buttons came undone. The device that was supposed to be attached to his upper body had fallen to the floor. Watching that scene, Gi Siyoung asked out of genuine curiosity.
“Why are his wrists restrained?”
“We were in the middle of an electrocardiogram test. The patient kept talking nonsense, so we were just trying to secure him just in case.”
“Ahhh! Let go—! Let me go!”
“Urk, but the patient suddenly started acting violently like this! So we tightened the straps in case he got hurt.”
Rattle rattle!
With all the strength squeezed from his thin body, he even shook the solid and heavy bed.
“Untie me right now, please, please untie me, Gi Siyoung-ssi, please untie this. People do everything you say, please, please.”
“……”
Im Seungun recognized Gi Siyoung and began pleading. With an extremely servile expression he’d never shown before. If he could freely move both hands, he would have been ready to beg like a fly rubbing its legs together. Every time the restrained wrists rattled, scratches formed on the thin skin.
“Heuuk, p-please untie me, okay?”
This was the first time seeing such a sight. Hair wet with sweat stuck to his cheeks strand by strand. Watching Seungun trembling in panic, Gi Siyoung said in a hardened voice.
“Then just untie him. It’s not like today is the only day. When a person is acting like that, what’s the reason for forcibly conducting the examination? At this rate, you’ll kill someone.”
Gi Siyoung grabbed the shoulders of the medical staff clinging to Seungun and lightly pulled them back. Then he removed the attachments fixed to his wrists. Then, like a dead person coming back to life from a coffin, Seungun jerked his body up and quickly got off the bed before anyone could catch him.
“Im Seungun-ssi!”
It was an escape. Very swift. Myeongwoo, who was near the examination room door, spread both arms to try to block the escaping Seungun. But Seungun’s escape skills were top-notch. He bent his body and slipped right under the spread arms. It was simply absurd. The medical staff also had bewildered expressions at the suddenly developing situation.
Gi Siyoung cursed through his teeth and chased after him. Seungun was already disappearing toward the end of the corridor in the distance. He ran quickly as if to avoid all eyes. Gi Siyoung roughly tore off the cumbersome mask from his face while frantically chasing the guy who was running away with his top disheveled.
This kind of running was truly the first time in a long while. The last place Im Seungun disappeared was in front of the bathroom. He entered, breathing heavily.
Under the bright incandescent light that seemed to expose everything, there were three urinals and three stalls. As soon as he entered, he heard retching sounds. Wack! Wek! The escaped Im Seungun was vomiting.
“Haah….”
Gi Siyoung leaned against the sink, rubbing his sweat-soaked face. The vomiting continued, and with the sound of pressing the lever, water rushed down. After that, it was quiet. He probably already noticed the footsteps following him in.
The silence, so deep that he worried whether the person had been flushed down the toilet too, probably meant his mind had returned. Gi Siyoung, who had been waiting silently, spoke with his arms crossed.
“I know it’s embarrassing, but come out now.”
Click. The stall lock opened. The seam of the door widened, and through it, a pale face was revealed. His lips were purple, his cheeks sunken. Not to mention the even more hollow eye sockets than before. Like someone who had gone between heaven and hell in a day, Im Seungun’s face was ragged.
“I’m sorry.”
“……”
Gi Siyoung learned for the first time that day that a person’s face could become like a rag.
“You even brought me all the way to the hospital.”
“Enough, first wash your face.”
Gi Siyoung lifted the faucet lever up. Cold water poured out. Seungun silently went in front of it and wet his hands.
“Wash your hands first with soap.”
“……”
Im Seungun moved according to Gi Siyoung’s instructions. He received liquid soap, lathered it, and cleaned thoroughly between his fingers. He rinsed his mouth and washed his face. As the cold water touched him, his mind gradually became clearer. Then the shame he had forgotten came rushing back.
He had shown an unseemly sight in front of Gi Siyoung. Just yesterday, President Gu had restrained his limbs and poked his back hole—recalling that, his mind must have gone haywire for a moment. All useless thoughts. Seungun continued washing his face.
“Wait here, I’ll bring the car.”
Gi Siyoung pulled out a tissue and handed it to him.
“No. I just want to go home.”
“Alone? In that condition?”
“……”
Only then did Seungun look at his appearance reflected in the mirror.
“You can’t even stand properly.”
Gi Siyoung clicked his tongue. Seungun roughly dabbed his dripping face with tissue. Soon urgent footsteps pattered and Myeongwoo appeared.
“Guys! Are you here?”
“You came quite early.”
Gi Siyoung rolled his eyes.
“Hey, do you think I can run as fast as you guys? Seungun-ah, are you okay? You have a talent for turning people’s insides upside down, you.”
“I’m sorry.”
Myeongwoo, pale as Seungun, looked at Seungun with concern, then spoke as if a bigger problem had occurred.
“But what do we do now? Photos of you coming to the hospital are all over the internet, it’s chaos. Photos of you running through the hospital were all taken too.”
“……”
“Where the hell did you throw away your mask!”
“It’s suffocating when you run.”
Only then did Seungun check Siyoung’s outfit. He was still wearing his filming costume. With that visual wearing that suit, he sparkles and stands out just by walking normally, but he ran through the middle of the hospital. It would be strange not to take photos and not upload them to the internet.
“Say you were filming.”
“Are you filming alone? Alone?”
“Just say you were matching movements. Say it was a rehearsal.”
“Do you think people are stupid? Huh?”
“Ah, enough. Hyung.”
“What!”
“Can you contact the company and have them bring my car parked there?”
“Why your car?”
“You said photos spread everywhere. I walked around the hospital in this outfit with this face, and you want me to go out like this and get right into that big car? Is something wrong with your head?”
“……”
“We need to switch something to move around avoiding them.”
“Ah, ah, right, of course. Got it. I’ll contact them quickly.”
“And switch clothes with me.”
“Huh? Those clothes and my clothes?”
“……”
“Got it….”
When Gi Siyoung closed his mouth with an expression not to make him say it several times, Myeongwoo sighed and entered the stall. Myeongwoo’s clothes hung fluttering over the door. Gi Siyoung entered the next stall and changed. Gi Siyoung, who had switched clothes with Myeongwoo, wore a ball cap deep on his head.
Soon after, a contact came from a company person saying they’d arrived. Myeongwoo, wearing Gi Siyoung’s filming suit, told them to be careful and not stand out, but with long sleeves and pant legs, he looked utterly ridiculous like wearing a clown’s outfit. In contrast, Gi Siyoung in a short-sleeved shirt and short jeans looked plain yet radiant enough to be a university poster model right now.
When Myeongwoo in the black suit Gi Siyoung had been wearing came out of the bathroom, people followed him as if something had blinded their eyes. Taking advantage of the emptied surroundings, Gi Siyoung headed to the parking lot with Seungun. Seungun, who had inadvertently gotten into Gi Siyoung’s personal vehicle, broke the silence and asked.
“Aren’t you going to ask?”
“Ask what?”
The car that had just exited the hospital entrance stopped at a signal. Gi Siyoung turned his head and stared.
“About the commotion in the examination room earlier.”
“My head is already complicated enough, do I need to know that too?”
“……”
Seungun shook his head.
“Then that’s fine. Just like I told people, everyone lives carrying their own guilt.”
“……”
“I’ll try to think Seungun-ssi must have had something happen too. I’m not good-natured enough to live while listening to other people’s private affairs.”
No, actually Gi Siyoung wanted to interrogate him persistently about why he caused that fuss, whether he collapsed briefly again and had a bad dream. However, he wasn’t curious enough to die if he didn’t find out right away.
