It reads like a scary horror story in the middle of the night.

This was Won’s first stay in a locked ward, so she hadn’t seen other notices, but the items on the paper were too creepy to be normal precautions. Reading it made her spine tingle and felt more like a twisted horror story.

Maybe not a twisted one, but more like an unfinished Neapolitan tale. The biggest reason for that was item #7.

‘If I had time to add #7, I would have just crossed out #3 and handed it out.’

Whether they add a new #7 or cross out #3, they would have to print new flyers anyway. It was much easier to just erase something that has been “resolved.” It was as simple as highlighting it and pressing “DEL”. It took less than a second, so why did they add the 7th item?

There was no reason to do that if the goal was to be literal. This kind of inefficiency is only done where there is an ulterior motive. For example, they want to scare people, which is why the Neapolitan horror stories went to Won’s mind.

The Neapolitan tale had all the typical characteristics: a spooky atmosphere, meaningful content that captures the readers’ attention, and a loose end that leaves the reader wondering about the conclusion.

‘As to this #8 that roughly follows the exact opposite logic of #1, a #9 that has mysteriously disappeared, and a #10 that says don’t do what you’re told because #4 is false, and it is a Neopolitan hoax.’

The problem was that this wasn’t a myth on the internet, but an actual document produced by the hospital. Won reread it, trying to figure out what the intention of the bizarre sign was.

Item #1 is tricky. The name “Hudson” appears. It’s the same Dr. Hudson that Ms. Yang said was dragged away by snakes and demons for violating the precautions.

It’s unlikely that two people in this small hospital have the same name. Especially if it is an uncommon name in Korea like “Hudson.”

The note makes it clear that Dr. Hudson is not a figment of Ms. Yang’s imagination. It’s unclear who he is, but at least the cross-verification proves that he was a real person who was in this ward, but the story doesn’t end there. The name “Hudson” appears again in #4.

“Dr. Hudson has stopped working because of his declining health” is the response to a patient crawling towards you.

Clearly, in #1, there is no doctor named Dr. Hudson in the ward and to be wary of patients impersonating doctors. However, item #4 makes it sound as if there was a doctor named Dr. Hudson who left the job for personal reasons.

‘What is the truth?’

Won pondered, then continued to think.

‘I have yet to see a patient who fits the description of #2. Maybe I’ve just been lucky to not run into them, but maybe they aren’t here anymore. This notice is from the past.’

Next up was #3. This was bizarre: another snake.

‘What’s a ward without a snake?’

It’s a bit like flavored sunflower seeds, a kind of identity. But sunflower seeds have flavor whereas snakes have no use.

She has seen snakes dipped in liquor before, but it didn’t make her want to eat it at all. It looked so venomous that she felt like she would get sick if she took a sip.

Anyway, the patient in item #3 didn’t seem to be in the ward at the moment. She never saw or heard of a patient crawling around like a snake, so she will ignore that one.

She skips #4 for the same reason as #3 and focuses on #5.

‘A shrouded area.’

There is no such place at the moment. She hasn’t seen the inside of the iron gate in the basement yet, but that’s off-limits to everyone but staff. It’s not the basement, and the phrase “the doors are always locked under the care of medical staff” suggests that it isn’t an open space like a hallway or main hall, nor an unlocked patient room. It narrows it down to locked spaces such as religious rooms, imaging treatment rooms, and the library.

‘If the door is locked, why do they address it again?’

If the goal was to prevent access, they can put up a barrier. Although the barrier may be inefficient, if they can’t see the inside when the door is locked, why bother putting up a shield? A shield and barrier are used exactly what they sound like: intending to hide something. What do they need to cover?

‘… To prevent people from entering or leaving?’

In #5, it says that if they see someone entering or leaving the space, it may be a hallucination, but what if she wasn’t hallucinating?

The nature of a mental hospital, the authority of the medical professionals, and the mental state of a patient who has been destabilized by being confined… The combination of these three things could easily turn anything into a hallucination, even if their eyes are wide open. Like the husband who drove his wife crazy when she complained of anxiety over the dimmed light and the husband replied, “It’s not dark at all, aren’t you mistaken?” It’s a gaslighting trick.

#6 is also labeled as a hallucination, but it may not be.

‘Every item seems to have a secret.’

The most troubling of all was probably #5. For some reason, she wondered if the shrouded space was the secret room Top Dog talked about.

‘At the time, the passage leading to the back room was not fully concealed, so it was temporarily covered with a shroud. Now that the construction is over, the shroud has been removed…’

As she rubbed her fingers over her lips, Won heard a knock on the door.

“It’s been 10 minutes since you went into the restroom, so I just wanted to check on you. Is there something wrong, Won?”

Won calmly replied when the staff questioned her.

“No, I’m just not feeling well.”

“Okay, I’ll be back in 10 minutes to check on you if you aren’t out yet.”

The footsteps slowly faded away and Won folded up the paper and sighed.

‘Damn hospitals don’t let you relax in the restroom.’

There is no CCTV, and they say they check every 10 minutes for safety reasons, but Won wasn’t sure. She hasn’t seen a single patient attempt to harm themselves in the restroom or shower since she was admitted.

Won, who folded the notice into a small piece and hid it, flushed the toilet, and walked out.

All seven of the precautions were memorized. Her analysis could be done in her room.

Word had spread that Top Dog had been taken to the CR and the atmosphere was chaotic in the main hall.

Female patients spotted Won and approached with curiosity.

“I heard Rock went to the CR. What happened?”

Apparently, everyone knew that Won was involved.

Won hesitated for a moment, then decided she didn’t have a reputation to uphold anyway.

“He was flirting with me.”

“Oh my, you didn’t do anything bad, did you?”

“Nothing like that, just a little more than usual… but it was fine.”

“I’m so glad to hear that.”

“I’m so disappointed. Rock has never given anyone trouble before, but it turns out he is a piece of shit.”

“Yeah, well, I knew he beat people up, but I didn’t think he would do that.”

“Yeah, I know. I told you he’d be a bad boy, but he’s secretly good with the girl he likes. I was wrong.”

… Won guessed he did have an image to uphold, albeit a tenuous one. As of today, though, it was gone.

She was about to feel a little sorry for Top Dog when a female patient spoke up.

“But what’s going to happen to Rock now that he’s been taken to the stabilization room?”

“What do you mean?”

Won knew the CR wasn’t the most desirable place in the hospital. Once someone was in there, it was for hours or days at a time, and if they are compelled, they were dead. Target had come out after a 48-hour sentence, but he didn’t seem to have any problems. She guessed it wasn’t too difficult for an able-bodied man.

Top Dog looked stronger than Target in every way. Target is a master who grew up with a lot of money in his hands but not a drop of water, while Top Dog is a thunderbolt ship that won’t even blink if he rolls around in sludge. Naturally, no matter what happens, the latter will hold up better.

“Oh, Won, you’re new here so you don’t know. Rumor has it that if you get caught in the stabilization room more than ten times, you get punished.”

“Punished?”

“Uh-huh. I haven’t experienced it myself, but it’s said that if you get caught, you come out as a corpse.”

“I heard that rumor, too. That’s why everyone tries to not do it ten times. Is this Rock’s tenth time?”

“Maybe. The last time he was dragged there it was his ninth.”

The middle-aged woman replied, glancing at Won. Won recalled the incident when Top Dog grabbed her wrist, placed her on top of his body, and was dragged to the CR.

‘That was the ninth time.’

In fact, he was whispering information to Won. Eight times he’s been in and out of the room. The guy who needed to save his own life had blown his failsafe with only the word ‘oppa.’ Today, he decided to fix the situation however he pleased and ended up there for the tenth time.

The complicated, uncomfortable feeling she barely shook off was back in full force.

Kofi