Turning around, Won stopped moving. She felt goosebumps rise along her skin, unable to believe that she was the same person clicking her tongue and calling her “mom” just a moment ago.

She looked up to see Ms. Yang standing with a serious face.

“You came to this hospital to save Jin, right? You need to save him before you hear the third snake sound since he disappeared. Something will happen on the day we hear the second snake sound, and that day is your last chance. Okay? In exchange for this helpful information, do me a favor.”

“What favor…”

“Listen, we’re running out of time. There’s a safe in Dr. Madison’s office, on the wall with the bookshelves, inside that wall. You’re going to take the materials inside with you when you escape, and you’re going to make sure the world knows about it, okay? The combination to the safe is four digits and 9…”

Won was told to listen and remained still. Ms. Yang abruptly stopped, so Won spoke up.

“Ms. Yang?”

“Hmph, you’re a pretty girl. Are you a celebrity?”

Ms. Yang’s previous character was nowhere to be seen when she slowly asked that question.

‘Was this the best chance I could get?’

Won grabbed Ms. Yang by the shoulders and shook her.

“You need to wake up.”

“Huh? I’m fine, but why are we in the bathroom? Did you bring me with you because you were afraid to go alone? A grown woman shouldn’t do that. You aren’t a child, you should be able to go to the bathroom by yourself. I’m going to stay outside, so you can do your business by yourself, okay?”

With that, Ms. Yang opened the bathroom door and left without further explanation. As Won followed, the staff waiting outside called to her.

“Thank you, you did a great job.”

“You must’ve had a hard time.”

“No, it was no trouble. I didn’t do anything for Ms. Yang’s mind to change.”

“With her condition, it isn’t easy to communicate with her. Once she starts insisting, there is no compromise, so you saved us a lot of work.”

“Next time, if Ms. Yang comes to me, I’ll do it.”

Won laid the groundwork in case a sober Ms. Yang came looking for her again.

“I’d be grateful if you could do that.”

The staff nodded in agreement. The situation would be recorded on the CCTV in the nurses’ station, so if she went to the bathroom with her again, it wouldn’t arouse the hospital’s suspicions.

Back in the main hall, Won sat down in a chair and thought about her conversation with Ms. Yang. She knew exactly why Won had come to the hospital, despite the handicap of severe Alzheimer’s Disease, she had a remarkable insight.

“You’re not a real patient, are you?”

“You must have infiltrated this place for a special purpose.”

Won realized that she wasn’t being delusional when she first met her. She already saw through Won. In her occasional lapses of sanity, she thought about it, analyzed it, and tested it to see if Won could serve her purpose in the long run.

‘I don’t know the criteria, but you giving me that information means I passed.’

She used her diagnosis to lure Won into the restroom, one of the few places without CCTV.

She never imagined using something like that. It wasn’t something she could replicate.

Won imagined herself whimpering like a puppy in need and saying to Top Dog or Black Cat, “Daddy, I need to go to the bathroom. Take me to the bathroom.”

She couldn’t help but be disgusted and an expletive escaped her mouth.

‘Top Dog would smirk and offer to take me, only to be stopped by the staff. Black Cat would probably panic and break down.’

With a rough idea of their personalities, Won imagined how it would transpire.

Regardless, she got a very important piece of information from Ms. Yang. She was able to confirm that Target was safe.

She told her to find him before the third snake sounded since his disappearance. On the day of the second snake sound, “things” happen.

Piecing together the information from Top Dog, the “thing” is probably a ritual to sacrifice Target. In other words, he is alive until that day.

The news came as a relief to Won, who had been nervous about the situation.

“Yeah, because a ray of light has come down.”

“I got it. I won’t be distracted.”

Remembering the innocent and handsome man who had blindly trusted her, she felt hopeful.

‘It’s not too late. He’s safe. What a relief.’

Once Target was out of sight, she didn’t hear a single snake. There is plenty of time for her to find the secret room.

‘Trouble is, I’ve got a headache to go with it…’

She had to find the safe in Dr. Madison’s office and take the papers inside out of the hospital. That’s the price of Ms. Yang’s information.

She was under no obligation to honor that request. It was a unilateral offer and Won didn’t accept it. She can just say she forgot or give some other excuse, but…

‘I don’t feel comfortable being in debt.’

There was another stumbling block.

“There’s a safe in Dr. Madison’s office, on the wall with the bookshelves, inside that wall. You’re going to take the materials inside with you when you escape, and you’re going to make sure the world knows about it, okay?”

She’ll never forget the look on Ms. Yang’s face as she said that. It was a mixture of desperation, determination, and madness. It was as if she had mortgaged her sanity all on one thing.

If there was hell in the world, Won thought it could be found in Ms. Yang’s face.

Judging by the location of the safe, it’s likely to have something to do with Dr. Madison’s misconduct, and by extension, the nature of the unusual facility. It wasn’t a compelling request since Won’s only goal was to escape the ward with Target.

Won is not a detective who needs to uncover the secrets of this psychiatric hospital, nor is she a journalist. She is just a mercenary who saves people.

Ms. Yang’s request will never be Won’s top priority.

‘If I can still do it, I’ll do it.’

If you just take freebies, you’ll eventually get burned. There was no such thing as a free ride. However, Won already had a headache because she knew it wouldn’t be easy.

It was in a safe in Dr. Madison’s office. She didn’t even get to hear the combination. She was only given the first digit, ‘9,’ before Ms. Yang switched.

Assuming the safe’s password is a four-digit number between 0 through 9, the first digit is 9, so it would be 9XXX. There are 1,000 possible combinations for XXX to the power of 10. How many years would it take for her to try all of them?

If she was lucky, she would get multiple chances. For security reasons, there are some safes that will lock up and never be opened if you get it wrong more than N times. If that happens, Won can’t do anything about it.

She made a mental list of what she should do the next time she heard a snake.

One, find Black Cat.

Two, show Top Dog and Black Cat the sign that reads, “Precautions for the closed ward.”

Three, look for the blueprints in the third-floor employees-only area in the filing cabinets, where she was when the hospital lost power.

Four, if she still has time, go into Dr. Madison’s office and make a note of the location of the safe.

Even if she somehow manages to get the combination to the safe, she shouldn’t take anything from it. If she takes it, she has nowhere to hide it. The day she will take it will be the day she escapes with Target from the ward.

Finishing organizing her thoughts, Won looked at the clock in the main hall. It was almost two in the afternoon. It had been nearly 24 hours since Top Dog and Black Cat entered the CR.

Finally, the door to the nurses’ station opened and the two men emerged. They both looked, to say the least, gaunt. Won was overcome with a sense of indebtedness.

Part of her wants to give them a snack, but it would be too out of character.

“I’m grateful you two fought over me, so why don’t you eat this?”

To the untrained eye, she would appear to be a narcissist. 

Top Dog spotted her and spoke in his usual lighthearted manner.

“Pretty girl, are you here to pick me up?”

Black Cat looked up to see if Won had noticed his presence. Pretending not to hear Top Dog’s ramblings, Won turned to Black Cat.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah, it’s bearable.”

Despite his answer, he sounded tired.

“What about your oppa, sweetheart? Aren’t you going to ask how I’m doing?”

“Come on, go get some rest.”

Won ignored Top Dog and finished talking to Black Cat.

“I think it would be best for me to do so. I need to recover.”

Black Cat obediently nodded and walked away, supported by some staff. Top Dog was now alone, knocking on the doorway as if it was a pantomime.

“Pretty, have I become invisible? Why doesn’t my pretty girl seem to recognize my presence?”

Kofi