Soft but raw | Emotional trigger: emotional abuse, implied CSA
HOSPITAL ROOM — EARLY MORNING
You’re sitting on the bed again. Yeo-jung has fallen asleep in the chair beside you, arms crossed, head tilted slightly to the side.
The paper crane he gave you lies on the nightstand. You reach out and touch it. The crease in its wing pulls something open inside you. Not pain, exactly — memory.
FLASHBACK
BEDROOM, YEARS AGO
You’re maybe 10. Sitting on the edge of your bed, legs swinging, still wearing your school uniform. The window’s open, but the air feels heavy. The house is too quiet.
Faceless person
You gonna tell anyone?
You don’t answer. You already know better.
Faceless person
Didn’t think so.
A shadow passes in the hallway. You stop swinging your legs.
You reach under your pillow, pull out a small origami bird. Not perfect — it’s crumpled and uneven. But it’s yours.
You whisper to it, almost like it’s a friend.
“Fly far away.”
A door creaks open. You press the crane to your chest.
Then everything goes dark.
BACK TO PRESENT — HOSPITAL ROOM
Your breath hitches. Yeo-jung stirs in his chair.
Dr. Joo Yeo-jung
(sleepy)
…Nightmare?
You don’t answer at first.
You
No.
It was real.
He straightens slightly, sits forward. His voice stays soft.
Dr. Joo Yeo-jung
What did you remember?
You
My first paper crane.
You
I made it the day after it started.
You
I thought if I folded it perfectly, it would take me somewhere else.
Dr. Joo Yeo-jung
Did it?
You
No.
You
But it gave me something to hold.
When no one else did.
Pause. Your voice grows quiet again.
You
I used to count the seconds it took for his footsteps to reach my door.
You
Thirty-seven steps.
You
I still hear them sometimes.
Yeo-jung’s jaw tightens, but he doesn’t interrupt.
You
(whispering):
Do you ever… feel like your body belongs to someone else?
You
Even after they’re gone?
Dr. Joo Yeo-jung
Yes.
Dr. Joo Yeo-jung
More than I like to admit.
You turn your face toward him, eyes brimming but steady.
You
That little girl who made the crane…
She’s still in here somewhere.
You
But I don’t know if she ever made it out of that room.
Dr. Joo Yeo-jung
She did.
Dr. Joo Yeo-jung
You’re here.
He doesn’t touch you. He just says it — like truth. Like it can’t be unspoken.
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