Chapter 4: “Ink and Ice”

Rooftop Garden, Hospital Annex. Next morning. Light fog, coffee steam, quiet city hum.
NovelToon
Seo Jiwoon (ML)
Seo Jiwoon (ML)
I Escaped. Found a roof with a view. And a nurse dumb enough to smuggle me coffee.
Dr. Kang Haru(MC)
Dr. Kang Haru(MC)
You shouldn’t be out of bed. You had internal sutures, Jiwoon.
Seo Jiwoon (ML)
Seo Jiwoon (ML)
You remembered my name.
Dr. Kang Haru(MC)
Dr. Kang Haru(MC)
You’re a difficult patient. That makes you memorable.
Jiwoon smiles faintly. Haru sits beside him, coat still buttoned, hair wet with dew.
Seo Jiwoon (ML)
Seo Jiwoon (ML)
You always look like you just stepped out of a snowstorm. Cold. Pressed. Controlled.
Dr. Kang Haru(MC)
Dr. Kang Haru(MC)
And you look like ink smeared across silk. Beautiful. But impossible to clean.
Pause. Jiwoon’s eyes widen slightly. Haru’s words settle somewhere inside him.
Seo Jiwoon (ML)
Seo Jiwoon (ML)
That almost sounded like poetry. Are you sure you’re a doctor?
Dr. Kang Haru(MC)
Dr. Kang Haru(MC)
Doctors read, too. Some of us even feel.
Jiwoon takes a shaky breath. Then slowly turns his back to Haru. Exposes the bare nape of his neck. The band of scars disappearing beneath the hospital gown.
Seo Jiwoon (ML)
Seo Jiwoon (ML)
Do you still want to see it?
Haru says nothing. He gently brushes the gown aside.
Dr. Kang Haru(MC)
Dr. Kang Haru(MC)
...Who did this?
Seo Jiwoon (ML)
Seo Jiwoon (ML)
Someone who said I needed to learn how to obey.
Haru’s hand clenches on his knee.
Dr. Kang Haru(MC)
Dr. Kang Haru(MC)
It wasn’t your fault.
Seo Jiwoon (ML)
Seo Jiwoon (ML)
I know that. Now. But knowing doesn’t erase it.
Haru’s fingers trace the edge of a scar. Not with pity. With reverence — like reading a text written in pain.
Dr. Kang Haru(MC)
Dr. Kang Haru(MC)
Then let it remain. Not as a warning. But a record — of surviving.
Jiwoon turns slightly, his eyes glossed with something unshed. His voice lowers.
Seo Jiwoon (ML)
Seo Jiwoon (ML)
You're the first to look at it like that. Like I'm not broken. Just… unfinished.
Dr. Kang Haru(MC)
Dr. Kang Haru(MC)
You’re not broken. You're rare.
The rooftop quiets. Jiwoon leans his head on Haru’s shoulder. Haru doesn’t move away.
Seo Jiwoon (ML)
Seo Jiwoon (ML)
Doctor Kang…
Dr. Kang Haru(MC)
Dr. Kang Haru(MC)
Hm?
Seo Jiwoon (ML)
Seo Jiwoon (ML)
Doctor Kang…
Dr. Kang Haru(MC)
Dr. Kang Haru(MC)
Yes?
Seo Jiwoon (ML)
Seo Jiwoon (ML)
When I’m discharged…
Seo Jiwoon (ML)
Seo Jiwoon (ML)
Would you still want to see me? Outside the hospital?
Haru looks at him. Eyes soft. Guard lowered.
Dr. Kang Haru(MC)
Dr. Kang Haru(MC)
Yes. If you let me.
.
Author
Author
To be continued...

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