Episode 1. Destiny rather than coincidence (1)
Kaylee stood in front of the hospital room door and took a deep breath before opening the door.
‘Think about money, Kaylee. ‘No one pays as much money as this child’s guardian.’
Kaylee thought about the amount that was recorded in her bank account every month and placed her hand on the handle.
Even though the door opened without any noise, the boy who was sitting against the wall of the bed reading a book turned his head towards the doorway.
Sunlight coming through the wide open curtains poured down on the boy’s black hair, left cheek, and white paper book.
In an extremely peaceful scene, Kaylee curled her clammy fingertips, then released them and let out a higher-pitched voice than usual.
“Hello, Dohyeon! “Have you been reading a book today?”
A somewhat awkward bright greeting.
Dohyeon nodded his head weakly, almost out of sight.
“okay? wait a minute. “Let’s read it together.”
Kaylee took off her jacket, hung it on a hanger, and went to the bathroom in the hospital room to wash her hands.
As I walked to the chair next to Dohyeon’s bed with strangely slow movements, I once again recalled the thoughts I had thought countless times.
‘Why do I hate this child so much?’
It’s been a year since I met Dohyun.
It was a question asked every day, but Kaylee still didn’t know the answer.
I like children. Moreover, she had a child of similar age to Do-hyeon. He was as compassionate as any other ordinary person, perhaps even more so.
If I didn’t know how to feel sorry for sick people, I wouldn’t have been doing my job as a caregiver.
‘But why?’
Kaylee recalled the moment she first met Dohyun.
At that time, rumors about Do-hyeon were already spreading little by little among the caregivers.
A reluctant child who doesn’t want to be entrusted with anything no matter how much money is given.
That was Dohyun’s story that Kaylee heard.
Kaylee didn’t take the rumor seriously.
Since I knew that the child was Asian, I assumed it was a rumor made by stupid racists.
I promised myself that I would take good care of the child who had been hurt by those rude and mean people.
That promise was completely shattered the moment I met Do-hyeon.
‘He’s such a gentle and kind kid… .’
Kaylee swallowed her sigh and sat down, shaking her head.
“What is the title of this book?”
“It’s .”
A difficult book for an 8-year-old child to read.
But Kaylee answered in a familiar way.
“Are you going to keep reading? Or do you want to play?”
Dohyun’s black eyes, which had calmly responded to Kaylee’s question, contained a faint light.
Dohyeon answered in a slightly louder voice than before.
“I want to play.”
It was still a calm tone for a child, but Kaylee, who discovered the excitement in the voice that could not be hidden, smiled slightly without realizing it.
The emotion that slowly appeared on the child’s expressionless face was so lovely that even the feeling of rejection was instantly forgotten.
It wasn’t just because he was a child.
‘I’ve never seen such a pretty child before. ‘Is it because I’m an Asian child?’
Because she didn’t go out of the hospital room often, her pale white cheeks looked a little sore, but that made her even more mysterious, sometimes making her look like a fairy.
In contrast, the ink-black hair and long eyelashes caught the eye.
And above all, the eyes that sometimes shined like stars were the beauty that Kaylee had never seen before in her life.
Kaylee was talking to Dohyun normally without realizing it.
“Where can I start looking?”
“Here you go. I’ll take Sinclair. Kaylee, please do Cromer.”
Do-hyeon’s part was still in the early stages.
Kaylee nodded and pulled the chair closer to Dohyun.
“then… .”
Big. Kaylee cleared her throat.
And then I awkwardly read Cromer’s lines.
“Is that story true?”
It was far from acting, it was just reading sentences.
But at that moment, Dohyeon’s mood changed in an instant.
Kaylee blinked involuntarily at the change.
Dohyun, who became Sinclair, answered.
“of course!”
The short answer contained a childish heart and anxiety at the same time.
Although his voice did not tremble at all, his anxiously moving eyes and stiff shoulders showed that Dohyeon was nervous right now.
No matter how many times I see it, I can never get used to it.
It felt like Dohyeon, who had been by his side until now, had completely disappeared.
Kaylee, who had refrained from completely losing her mind due to her previous experience, managed to read the next line.
“You really did that?”
“then. “It really happened.”
Do-hyeon answered loudly and tried to act calm, but he could feel the fear that he couldn’t hide from his slightly trembling eyes.
At that moment, Dohyun was Sinclair.
The dialogue continued.
As Sinclair lied because he wanted to get between the children and Cromer grabbed Sinclair and shook him, Kaylee felt like she had become a petty person who grabbed a young boy and threatened him.
“I really don’t have any money. Instead, I’ll give you any other item. “Take my Indian book, my soldiers, and my compass.” One)
The child, who had even failed to inflate his body by lying, eventually begged in a weak voice.
The boy’s anxiety, worry, self-blame, and fear were mixed and passed on to Kaylee.
Dohyeon’s face looked so shabby, as if he was about to burst into tears.
In this way, Kaylee became Kromer, a father, a mother, and Damian while dealing with Sinclair.
flutter flutter-
The sound of pages turning and Dohyun and Kaylee’s dialogue continued without stopping.
Then, when Kaylee, whose throat was sore, let out a dry cough, Dohyun, who was about to say his next line, stopped.
And Dohyeon, who had been a perfect Sinclair until a moment ago, instantly returned to his original form.
“That’s it for today, Kaylee. “Thank you for joining us.”
“uh… “Yeah, yeah.”
Silence fell in the hospital room, and Kaylee belatedly came to her senses.
Kaylee, who had just been walking with Sinclair as Damien, recognized reality in the sight of the hospital room in front of her.
Dohyun, who had begun reading a book alone, came into Kaylee’s eyes.
‘Ah, here it is again.’
The feeling of being possessed by something and then being thrown out into the real world.
An unpleasant feeling that she had completely forgotten until now gnawed at the back of Kaylee’s neck.
“I’ll drink some water and come back.”
Kaylee quickly got up from her seat and walked to the refrigerator under the pretext of getting some water.
Kaylee, holding a glass of cool water, glanced at the boy.
When I played, I felt completely overwhelmed.
How can I explain that?
‘I wanted to quit, but I didn’t want to quit.’
It was a very strange feeling.
It felt like there was Sinclair in front of me, not Dohyun.
I felt like Alice, lost in the world of a book.
‘What kind of fairytale-like thoughts… . ‘I’m not even Eric.’
Kaylee shook her head as she remembered her six-year-old son believing that the fairytale world was real.
Kaylee, who thought she needed to give herself something to do, glanced at Dohyun reading a book and opened the refrigerator to peel some fruit.
A fruit that children with short mouths eat especially well.
Out of guilt, I practiced cutting fruit because I wanted to do something for it. As the days go by, my skill at cutting fruit improved, and now I can cut it into all kinds of shapes.
While I was delicately peeling the apple, the hospital room door opened.
Kaylee’s eyes turned to the door and Dohyun, who had been reading a book, slowly raised his head.
The person who opened the door and came in was an intelligent looking middle-aged man wearing a white coat and glasses.
Dohyeon looked a little puzzled at the sudden appearance of his doctor.
“Hello, Dohyeon. “How are you feeling?”
“are you okay.”
“Are you taking a walk these days?”
“yes. “I go around the park in front once a day.”
Benjamin smiled at Dohyeon’s words.
Two weeks ago, Do-hyeon suffered a sudden seizure and had difficulty even getting out of bed for nearly a week.
And Do-hyeon was quickly recovering from the pain that disappeared as suddenly as it had come.
Benjamin spoke to Dohyeon while thinking about what to write on Dohyeon’s chart.
“The reason I came today is because I have news to tell Dohyeon.”
“News?”
“yes. “Do you remember what I said last time about there being a patient in Korea who was experiencing similar symptoms to Do-hyeon?”
Dohyeon was a patient suffering from a rare disease that modern medicine could not discover.
Since Dohyun is the only patient in the world with the same disease, it has already been 6 years since he was moved to the Withers Rare Disease Center, which is at the forefront of research related to rare diseases.
And two years ago, I heard that there was a patient believed to have the same disease as Do-hyeon.
Do-hyeon, who was surprised by the incredible news, remembered it vividly.
“Yes, I remember.”
“It is said that the patient heard Do-hyeon’s story and was transferred to our hospital. I was told he would arrive in a week.”
At those words, Dohyeon quickly guessed the situation.
“It looks like the condition has worsened.”
Benjamin, a little surprised by his childlike judgment of the situation, answered a beat slowly.
“Um, yeah. “It was difficult to provide care at hospitals in Korea, so we moved Do-hyeon to our hospital, where he has been cared for for a long time.”
I knew this kid was smart, but I couldn’t help but be surprised every time I saw something so uncharacteristic of a kid.
Benjamin has taken care of numerous patients so far, and many of them are Do-hyeon’s peers.
Therefore, I knew that Dohyun was overly mature and smart compared to his peers.
It may be due to the environment, or it may be innate, but… .
Whatever the reason, it was still sad to see such an outstanding child trapped in the hospital and unable to get out.
Benjamin said, hiding his regret.
“So far, only Do-hyeon has been identified, but with one more case, the research will yield more results.”
One or two people.
I knew that a solution would not suddenly appear just because the number of people suffering from the disease increased from one to two.
However, he did not show it outwardly.
Because Benjamin is the person who tries the hardest to cure Do-hyeon’s illness.
‘It’s not for my own sake, but because of my desire as a researcher to conquer the unknown.’
Dohyeon looked at Benjamin indifferently and roughly agreed.
Benjamin seemed happy even though Dohyun seemed to have no expectations.
“Oh, would you like to meet me when I arrive next week? “I’m also Korean like Dohyeon.”
Somehow Benjamin seemed hopeful, but his offer did not appeal.
After thinking briefly, Do-hyeon expressed his intention to refuse.
I wanted to meet people who not only share the same hobbies but also share the same illness, so I wondered what would happen.
Benjamin was disappointed by Do-hyeon’s rejection, but respected Do-hyeon’s opinion.
Dohyeon was lost in thought as he looked at the place Benjamin had left.
‘He suffers from the same disease as me… .’
Could this really be a chance to get better?
Dohyun chuckled at the thought that occurred to him for a moment.
‘That can’t be possible.’
Dohyeon erased Benjamin’s words from his mind.
I knew very well that it was easier not to expect anything, because if I had high expectations I would be disappointed.
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