Won had a cocky attitude, but Dr. Madison couldn’t take his eyes off those unrelenting, sparkling eyes.

“You’re lucky, Ms. Lee Won.”

“Hm, is it luck?”

“If not luck, then what? Fate?”

“Maybe it’s destined to be what you never want it to be.”

Won was sarcastic and chuckled. Dr. Madison thought it was a pity to not be able to continue seeing the crinkle of Won’s eyes red and wet with tears.

He untied Won’s restrained limbs and laid a fresh set of patient clothes on the bed.

“I’ll leave you to change first.”

With those words, his white coat fluttered behind him as he left the stabilization room. Left alone, Won glanced around. She made sure the CCTV was turned off and changed out of her drug-soaked, damp patient clothes.

She opened the door and stepped outside to see Top Dog and Black Cat being dragged away by their arms like criminals being led away by the police. Top Dog’s lips were busted open and Black Cat’s eyes were blue around the edges.

When she made eye contact, Top Dog’s expression hardened as Black Cat’s eyes widened.

“You look terrible, pretty.”

“What happened?”

Won asked in disbelief at the scene in front of her. They say a dog with dirt on it doesn’t know about their own dirt. She didn’t know about Top Dog, but Black Cat a hundred percent does not know about his appearance.

“What the fuck did you get yourself into, huh?”

Top Dog impatiently asks. He was more enraged than he needed to be, trying to shake off the guards hanging from his arms.

“Hold still.”

Two large men struggled to keep him under control. Black Cat took advantage of the opportunity and asked Won.

“Are you okay?”

Won, who had understood Black Cat’s question without difficulty, nodded once. Black Cat nodded back and remained silent.

‘They say the bear does the somersaults but the man keeps the money.’

Won inwardly shook her head and looked back between Black Cat, who was quietly accomplishing his goal, and Top Dog, who was rampaging. The two guards approached and jumped on Won.

“Get out.”

They grabbed Won and carried her outside the nurses’ station. They were about to drag her to her room, but she was adamant.

“I can go by myself.”

“Okay.”

Once she was out of the nurses’ station, the guards obediently released her arms. Won spun around, staggering and struggling, moved to the wall, and leaned against it.

“Do you need help?”

“No, I’m fine.”

Declining the guard’s offer, Won steadied her breathing. The aftermath of what had happened to her in the CR made her legs feel weak. Her strength would be back soon enough.

She rested her head against the wall and took a moment to catch her breath before resuming her walk. There was still residual heat where the brush had touched.

In her room, she grabbed a towel and soap and went straight to the shower. Part of her wanted to lie down on the bed and rest, but it was urgent to wash off the mysterious drug that hadn’t been absorbed and might still be on her skin.

“Hah…”

Won hobbled to the shower and leaned against the wall, staring into the acrylic mirror. Her reflection was ghastly. Her face was flushed like she was having hot flashes, tears remained around her eyes, and her lips were dry. She realized that Top Dog and Black Cat had a reason to be alarmed.

Under the lukewarm water of the shower, Won tried to organize her thoughts.

‘He called them ‘One’ and ‘Two.’’

She didn’t know who was who, but that is how the staff referred to Black Cat and Top Dog. She didn’t know why and she wondered if each patient had a unique number.

‘Admission order? No. They aren’t the two longest-staying patients.’

Old Man Gugu, Mrs. Sook, Ms. Yang… They are long-term patients who entered the ward long before them. There is no way Top Dog and Black Cat could have beaten them for the top spot, so she wondered how they got those numbers.

Leaning against the shower wall, Won closed her eyes and panted. She paused between washing herself to make sure the drug was gone.

“Asshole.”

She cursed as she remembered what Dr. Madison had done to her. The psychopath tickled every single spot he mentioned.

“You’re wet. I haven’t touched your navel so you wouldn’t need to endure, so I hope I’m not being impatient and rude.”

Recalling the man’s teasing swirls between her legs with the brush, Won slammed her fist against the wall. She felt her face burning with shame.

The only consolation was that he hadn’t stripped her down to her underwear, he only rubbed over her clothes, if that could be called a consolation.

‘I’ll make sure to kick his ass before we escape.’

Won gritted her teeth and finished washing herself. Then, without properly drying her hair, she laid down on her bed and fell asleep.

She passed out, so when she woke up, it was past dinner time. With a clearer mind, Won remembered the two men. Top Dog and Black Cat were now in the CR in her place.

She didn’t believe they got into a fight out of nowhere. Perhaps they sensed something was amiss when she was unnaturally dragged to the CR and took action. It was thanks to them she escaped Dr. Madison’s grasp.

‘It’s nice to have allies.’

It was always nice to have a clever ally she can trust. It proves they aren’t bad partners after all, and she gained some… trust.

The moment she heard the story of them fighting in the main hall, a faint light shone through the darkness. Won’s heart skipped a beat as she thought of when she stepped out of the stabilization room and ran into them.

To say she was happy to see them would be an understatement. To say it was exciting would be an understatement.

Won was moved.

She couldn’t explain how her heart swelled with joy and she was choked up for a moment, feeling like she wasn’t alone.

‘Camaraderie?’

Won sheepishly smiled. A bond between them had quietly sprouted in her heart.

***

Top Dog and Black Cat didn’t show up for lunch the next day, meaning they were still in the CR.

“Well, they were violent, so… compulsion is a given. It’s already been 12 hours, so maybe they’ll be released before it’s 24?”

Ju-hee asked with a nonchalant tone. The casual attitude made Won realize that even though she was younger, Ju-hee was senior to her as far as living in the ward was concerned.

“Are they held in compulsion for 24 hours?”

“No. If it is for 24 hours, they usually do 12 hours of compulsion and 12 hours of isolation without compulsion.”

“Ju-hee, have you ever been in compulsion?”

“Of course. I’ve been here for more than 2 years.”

“Did you fight with someone?”

Won asked, remembering the patient named Ho. She wondered if there was a fight between him since he was so hostile to Ju-hee, or Sol for that matter. Won couldn’t think of any other reason Ju-hee was in compulsion.

“No, no. I was trying to escape.”

“Escape?”

Won was mildly surprised by the answer.

“Ju-hee, you tried to get out of here?”

“Yes. Don’t we all think about it at least once in our lives? I want to get out of this stupid ward. When I was in my prime, I tried.”

‘In my prime’ says the kid who is only 20. Won listened without saying anything, even though she felt like she wanted to laugh.

“I tried to escape and got stuck in the stabilization room as soon as I got out. Then, as soon as I came out of the room, I tried escaping again, only to be sent back in once more. I failed both times.”

“That’s very eventful, isn’t it?”

“Well, I was in a 24-hour quarantine for about 10 hours, but it’s really hard. It’s bad enough to just go into a room and stare at an empty wall for hours on end, but when you’re compelled, it’s worse because you can’t move. My blood wasn’t circulating and my limbs went numb. They come in and rub them every once in a while, but it’s just like they are trying to keep themselves out of trouble. During my 24-hour sentence, I failed twice in separate 5-hour stints, so after that, I just thought I’d rather die. That’s when I gave up and haven’t tried to escape since.”

Despite her cheerful tone, the story was anything but so.

Won recalled her first meeting with Target. He’d come out after a 48-hour quarantine, 24 of which he was held in compulsion. He was very disheveled, and if that wasn’t bad enough, he was temporarily delirious and thought snakes were going to eat him.

‘Are Top Dog and Black Cat going crazy right now?’

“Are you worried?”

Ju-hee asked, seeing through Won. Won parted her lips, prepared to reply, when someone grabbed her by the collar from behind.

Startled, Won turned around. It was Ms. Yang.

“Toilet. Let’s go to the bathroom.”

“What?”

“Mom, I need to go to the bathroom.”

While Won was stunned and unable to say anything, the staff came and pulled Ms. Yang away.

“You can’t do that. We’ll take you to the bathroom.”

“No! I’m not going with you guys! I’m going with mommy. Mommy, I need to go to the bathroom!”

After watching the staff argue with a flustered Ms. Yang, Won intruded.

“I’ll take her. It isn’t difficult.”

“Oh, we can do this…”

With that, the caregivers let go of Ms. Yang, inwardly smiling. They were tired of dealing with an incoherent Alzheimer’s patient.

“Let’s go.”

Won took Ms. Yang’s hand and led her to the bathroom.

“You can go in there alone, right?”

“No, I can’t. I want to go in with my mom. Let’s go in together, mommy.”

The staff behind motioned for Won to go in with her. Honestly, she didn’t want to, but she followed Ms. Yang into the bathroom and closed the door behind her.

“I’ll be right behind you so you can go pee…”

“Miss, please listen to what I say from now on.”

Kofi