‘Why are you so…’

Won couldn’t understand him.

‘What the hell? Why?’

Won never asked him to be a black knight. She asked for his help, not his sacrifice.

‘Why are you making me so uncomfortable?’

If she knew he would have a penalty like this, Won wouldn’t have forced her to the off-limits area on the third floor this time. She didn’t want to be unilaterally indebted to him, and if he comes out as a corpse, there may be a setback in her plans…

‘… Is he okay?’

Won was surprised by her thoughts.

‘What the hell? It sounds like I’m worried about him.’

Of course, it’s within human nature to worry about a dog on the street, but she had no reason to worry about him. His body is strong, and his personality is indestructible. He always wears a smirk on his face, his head is in the right place, and he isn’t the type of guy who is going to lose without a fight. He isn’t the type to be bullied.

‘Why worry about a worn and tattered bastard? He has nothing to do with me.’

It was a waste of time for Won to concern herself with him.

‘But since he was arrested for helping me, it’s only fair that I should be a little concerned about him…’

Won had a lot of thoughts running through her head.

“Don’t worry too much.”

The sudden words brought Won back to reality. A group of female patients were surrounding and observing her.

“She’s right. Don’t look so serious, Won. It’s all just a play by the staff to scare us into listening to them.”

“Right, right. They are just trying to control us. Rock will be fine, so loosen up.”

“W-What?”

Won stuttered, very flustered.

‘What are these people saying?’

Everyone was trying to reassure her.

“I think you’ve misunderstood something, it’s not that I’m worried about him…’

“Oh my, it’s ‘him.’ Are you two already close?”

The female patients exchanged conspiratorial glances amongst themselves. Won wanted to bite her tongue. She always referred to him as ‘that bastard’ or ‘asshole’ when talking about him to others.

“He’s going to be your oppa soon.”

“Oh my god, I thought I was going to lose my bet a minute ago, but it’s a possibility now. That’s great.”

“I’m an impatient person, but I’m going to wait and see. I don’t know if I’m going to cut my losses and move on, or if I’m going to go all in.”

“At least you still have your reserves to bet. Mine disappeared overnight. They were high-quality, but it was high-risk.”

“You filthy majors. I’m a minor, all alone, holding my stocks.”

“You’re not a minor, just a seriously ground-up major.”

“The finer the grind, the better it is absorbed by the body. Why don’t you guys try a bite?”

Won slowly backed away from the group of female patients who were engaged in an unintelligible conversation. She had a feeling she was going to be overwhelmed by this group.

She felt relief as she finally put some distance between herself and that group, but someone spoke up.

“If you ever need relationship advice, come see me, Won. I’ve read over ten thousand romance novels.”

“I’m a drama fan, especially makjang!”

“I like Lo-pan, but I read a lot of non-traditional works…”

“I’m more of a BL fan! I also read hetero as well.”

“Even though my tastes are a bit taboo, I can give a normal consultation as well.”

The group chuckled amongst themselves, and while Won didn’t fully understand what they were saying, they seemed to be interested in the romantic lives of others. Won decided to call them the ‘Romance Corps’ for convenience.

Running out of the main hall, Won leaned against the wall in the hallway. Her head felt fuzzy and she was drained.

‘It seems like they are the strongest enemy in this ward.’

Normally, clear-eyed madmen are the most difficult to deal with.

Shaking her head, Won returned to her room. Picking up her lotion, she laid on the bed and spread it on her face, then casually slipped the hand holding the bottle into the quilt. In the hidden compartment of the container, she shoved the folded flier into it.

Of course, the items Won brought into the ward looked ordinary, but they were built with a purpose. She needed to come prepared to enter the enemy’s territory.

Hearing the small click of a lock engaging, Won paused for a moment. She pushed herself up and placed the plastic container on the side table before getting back into bed.

She actually intended to dispose of the note in the bathroom, but she felt obligated to show it to Top Dog. After all, they were working together, so she figured she should share the information. Maybe he will read it from a different perspective and find something unexpected. Maybe she’ll show it to Black Cat if she gets a chance.

“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.”

Won rolled over onto her left side with the voice replaying in her mind. As she was about to close her eyes for a momentary rest after tossing and turning, finally succeeding in finding a position that didn’t bother her, another voice played in her mind.

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

“Hah.”

Won rolled over to the other side, nervous and feeling her heart grow heavier. She seems to have these thoughts when she is lying on her left side.

‘The right side is better… Left is a shitty side.’

It wasn’t about left or right, it was her mind that was the issue. No matter what posture she slept in, her body wouldn’t be comfortable.

She can’t help but be worried about what was going on in the stabilization room.

She was literally nervous. She felt like she was going to be on the edge of her seat until Top Dog was released.

Won finally pushed herself up out of bed and got up, figuring that if she stayed like this, she wouldn’t be resting anyway. She had to do something.

‘In my heart, I want to meet Ms. Yang. It isn’t a given that I’ll be able to, but I’ll just try.’

Won didn’t see her in the main hall earlier, but she was afraid of running into the Romance Corps again. She decided to wander the corridors. If she wasn’t on the first floor, she would try the second. If not the second floor, then she’ll go to the third, and so on.

After exploring the first floor, Won was walking up the stairs when she heard a door slam at the top. Curious, she quickly climbed two steps at a time.

The source of the sound was the smoking room with two men in front of the door.

Both of them are familiar. The older one is Mr. Tae, and the younger one is a boy named Ho.

Mr. Tae is the middle-aged man who told her why Black Cat was nicknamed ‘Snake.’ Ho is the boy who left the smoking room the other day after cursing at Ju-hee as soon as she walked in.

They were talking in broken English, but Won listened in.

“Ho, I want to know why. What’s going on between you and Ju-hee? Did she do something wrong to you?”

Something happened, and the boy named Ho must have gotten into another fight with Ju-hee. Maybe he came out of the smoking room cursing again, but Won wondered why it was like that in the first place.

‘Did they have a fight?’

Small arguments can last a long time, even if it seems insignificant.

“You always had a crush on Ju-hee. I know that much, man.”

Won gasped at Mr. Tae’s bombshell.

‘Did he confess to Ju-hee and now they’re at odds?’

Then Ho’s irritated reply came.

“That’s not Ju-hee.”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“She’s not Ju-hee.”

“What kind of nonsense are you saying? Those cigarettes must have chewed at your intelligence. What are you saying, man?”

Unlike Mr. Tae who was dumbfounded, Won was intrigued.

Sometimes Ju-hee isn’t Ju-hee. She had another personality.

‘That kid, can he tell Ju-hee from Sol?’

***

Dr. Madison had his back to Top Dog as he walked across the room.

“I thought I made it clear last time during the ninth time. It will be harder next time.”

His white robe flowed in the air with his steps. Pushing his glasses, which had slid down the bridge of his nose with his middle finger, he continued.

“I’ve been giving some serious thought to what to do with a delinquent patient who has been here ten times.”

Raising his head, Dr. Madison’s gaze fell on the man sitting in the chair with his arms bound.

“Well, Rock? I’m afraid I can’t touch you for personal reasons because I don’t wish to hurt your body.”

It took him a moment to remember his name as he was more familiar with referring to him as No. 1.

“But it doesn’t matter what happens as long as the exterior is intact. I’ve got a fun game for you. Voila!”

With an exaggerated gesture, Dr. Madison pulled back the cloth that was covering something.

When the obstruction disappeared, a portable bathtub, half-filled with water, appeared.

“Rock is going to have a bath now, and we have a volunteer to help.”

Just then, there was a knock on the door.

“Come in.”

At Dr. Madison’s permission, the room opened and a female nurse walked in. Three, burly male staff members followed.

“Nurse Jung, please.”

“Don’t worry, Dr. Madison.”

After a ceremonial exchange, Dr. Madison smirked and made a final gesture.

“I’ll leave you to your own devices.”

The fluttering white gown receded into the distance, and the door to the stabilization room closed. He was completely out of sight.

Nurse Jung crossed her arms and glared at the man in front of her. Top Dog wore a sullen expression that suggested he didn’t care about what was going to happen.

Even though his arms were tired, the nurse couldn’t see any life in his eyes, which wasn’t reassuring. Every cell in his body, every instinct, should scream at him to stay vigilant. He needed to stay alert and never let his guard down. That was the reality of the species at the top of the foot chain.

However, that was only true in the wild, where the logic of strength was everything. The nurse had tools and backup.

“Put the patient in the tub.”

Kofi