CHAPTER 56 #2
Dr. Daniels continued. “We’ll decide the next step when you can take part in that decision. Unless I believe there’s an immediate danger to your life or health.”
Noeul swallowed.
Duri moved slightly closer but still didn’t touch him. “I’m here,” he said.
Noeul turned his head.
Duri was still there. So was Ji-Woo.
Noeul’s grip on the blanket loosened by a fraction.
Dr. Daniels stood. “For now, we rest.”
Noeul closed his eyes.
Dr. Daniels looked toward Duri and Ji-Woo. “I need both of you to understand something.”
Ji-Woo straightened.
The doctor kept his voice low so Noeul could hear without becoming the subject of a conversation happening above him.
“His head injury concerns me. So does the confusion. I’m also concerned about dehydration and the injuries from the assault.”
Ji-Woo’s hands curled into fists again.
Dr. Daniels noticed but continued. “His vital signs are stable right now. His pupils are equal and responding normally, his speech is clear when he answers, and he can move both sides of his body normally. There has been no vomiting or seizure since you found him, and I’m not seeing evidence of rapidly worsening neurological function. ”
He looked toward Noeul. “I cannot exclude an internal injury without hospital imaging, but at this moment, I’m not seeing signs of immediate neurological deterioration.”
Duri looked at him. “So he doesn’t need the hospital?”
“That isn’t what I said.”
Duri went quiet.
“I would prefer a full hospital assessment.”
Noeul reacted immediately. “No.”
Everyone stopped.
His breathing accelerated. “No hospital.”
Dr. Daniels turned toward him. “Mr. Jung.”
“No.”
The word was stronger the second time.
Duri watched him carefully.
Dr. Daniels nodded. “All right.”
Noeul looked at him, almost suspicious.
“I’m not taking you anywhere tonight unless something changes that makes staying here dangerous.”
His gaze remained fixed on the doctor.
Dr. Daniels continued. “But that means we monitor you closely.”
Noeul’s eyes drifted before he could respond.
Dr. Daniels looked at Ji-Woo. “I’m not treating that as a final, informed refusal. He’s too overwhelmed to discuss the risks properly. His condition is stable enough for me to reassess him in the morning, but he cannot be left alone tonight.”
“He won’t be,” Ji-Woo answered immediately.
“Someone needs to check him regularly. If he vomits repeatedly, becomes harder to wake, his confusion suddenly worsens, he collapses, develops weakness on one side, has a seizure, or the bleeding becomes significant, you call an ambulance immediately.”
Ji-Woo nodded. “I will.”
“No debate. No waiting.”
“Understood.”
Dr. Daniels looked toward Duri. “And he needs fluids.”
Duri glanced at Noeul. “He barely drank anything for three days.”
“I know.” The doctor’s expression tightened. “Small amounts. Slowly. Don’t force him.”
Duri nodded. “What about…”
He stopped.
“The other injuries?” Dr. Daniels asked.
Duri nodded.
The doctor looked toward Noeul. Noeul had gone very still again.
Dr. Daniels lowered his voice. “I’m not performing an invasive examination tonight.”
Ji-Woo looked at him. “But he was bleeding.”
“I know.”
“So, what do we do?”
“I’ve seen enough externally to know he has been injured. Right now, I’m not seeing heavy active bleeding that requires me to intervene immediately.”
Ji-Woo swallowed hard.
“He still needs a proper examination,” Dr. Daniels continued. “And because this was sexual assault, there are other medical decisions that need to be discussed as soon as possible.”
Duri looked toward Noeul. “When?”
“When he’s more stable. Preferably very soon.”
“And if he refuses?”
“Then we talk to him.” The doctor looked directly at Ji-Woo. “We do not force another examination on him unless there is an immediate medical emergency.”
Ji-Woo’s gaze dropped. “Right.”
Dr. Daniels looked back at Noeul. “Mr. Jung?”
No response.
“Noeul.”
His eyes shifted faintly.
“I’m finished touching you tonight.”
Noeul stared at him. “Finished?”
“Yes.”
Dr. Daniels closed his medical bag. “No more examination tonight.”
For several seconds, Noeul didn’t move. Then his shoulders dropped by the smallest amount.
Duri saw it. So did Ji-Woo.
When Dr. Daniels finished, he left pain medication with careful instructions and wrote down exactly what Ji-Woo and Duri needed to watch for during the night. He also spoke privately with Dr. Kim again.
By the time he returned to the bedroom, Noeul had drifted farther away. He seemed awake, but not entirely present. His gaze rested somewhere beyond the room, his body curled beneath the blanket.
Dr. Daniels stood near the doorway. “He may look as though he’s listening,” he said quietly, “but don’t assume he’s processing everything you say.”
Duri nodded.
“Don’t ask him to explain what happened tonight.”
“We won’t.”
“Don’t test his memory either. If he recognizes you, good. If he doesn’t, tell him who you are and leave it there.”
Ji-Woo looked at his brother. “He keeps forgetting.”
“I know.”
“Will that stop?”
Dr. Daniels hesitated.
Ji-Woo looked at him sharply. “I need the truth.”
“The periods when he stares through you may be dissociation caused by severe psychological shock,” Dr. Daniels said. “But exhaustion, dehydration, and the head injury can also affect attention and memory. I can’t separate them completely tonight, which is why we continue monitoring him.”
Ji-Woo’s face tightened. “So, you don’t know.”
“Not yet.”
Dr. Daniels continued. “For tonight, reduce stimulation. Keep the room quiet. One person talking at a time. Let him sleep but continue checking him as I instructed.”
“And tomorrow?”
“We reassess.”
Ji-Woo swallowed. “Will he be okay?”
Dr. Daniels didn’t rush the answer. “I don’t know what recovery will look like yet.”
Ji-Woo looked away.
“But,” the doctor continued, “he is stable right now.”
Duri released a breath.
The doctor finished packing his bag.
Noeul heard the sounds without understanding them. A zipper. Metal clicking together. Voices. His name. Everything seemed to arrive from very far away.
His body lay beneath the blanket, but it didn’t completely feel like his. Sometimes a sensation reached him several seconds after it happened. Sometimes it didn’t reach him at all.
Duri pulled the blanket slightly higher.
Noeul flinched.
Duri immediately stopped. “Sorry.”
Noeul stared at him.
“It’s just the blanket.”
The words meant nothing.
Duri let go of it.
Noeul’s gaze drifted back toward the wall. His thoughts came in fragments.
Don’t move.
A pause.
If I don’t move, nothing happens.
Another gap.
Stay still.
His fingers curled loosely into the blanket.
Disappear.
He didn’t know what he was trying to disappear from. Only that being very still felt important.
His name felt distant too. People kept saying it.
Noeul.
He knew, somehow, that it belonged to him. But it felt like the name of someone he used to know.
Ji-Woo stood at the foot of the bed. He hadn’t moved for several minutes. His arms were crossed tightly over his chest, hands tucked beneath his biceps as though physically restraining himself.
Duri noticed. “Ji-Woo.”
“I’m fine.”
Too fast.
Duri didn’t challenge him. Not here.
Ji-Woo uncrossed his arms and pressed his palms together. His fingers interlaced so tightly that his knuckles blanched.
When he finally looked properly at Noeul, something changed in his face. Not tears. Not yet.
Something harder. Colder.
“Hyung.”
Noeul’s breathing stuttered.
Ji-Woo froze. Immediately, he softened his voice. “It’s me.”
Noeul’s gaze shifted vaguely in his direction.
“Ji-Woo.”
Nothing.
Ji-Woo swallowed. “You don’t have to remember.”
Duri looked at him.
Ji-Woo kept his eyes on his brother. “I’m here anyway.”
Noeul stared through him.
Ji-Woo’s throat tightened. “I should have known.”
Duri straightened. “Ji-Woo.”
“I should have seen something.” His voice was barely above a whisper. “I trusted him.” The words tasted bitter. “I let him near you.”
Duri stepped closer. “Not now.”
Ji-Woo nodded. Once. Then again.
He moved toward the window and rested his forehead against the cold glass. Outside, the city continued as though nothing had happened.
Cars moved beneath them. Lights burned in distant apartments. People ate dinner. Went to work. Fell asleep beside people they trusted.
Behind him, Noeul’s eyes slowly closed.
Duri watched. “Is he sleeping?”
Dr. Daniels looked over. “Probably.”
Ji-Woo turned. “Probably?”
“He’s exhausted. Let him rest.”
Duri sat down on the floor beside the bed. Not touching him. Just there.
Ji-Woo watched his brother breathe.
In.
Out.
Again.
Alive.
That word was still the only one he trusted.
Dr. Daniels lifted his bag. “I’ll come back first thing in the morning.”
Ji-Woo nodded.
“And if anything changes…”
“I call you.”
“Ambulance first if it’s serious.”
Ji-Woo met his gaze. “Understood.”
The doctor left.
The apartment became quiet again. Duri remained beside the bed. Ji-Woo returned to the window.
For several minutes, neither spoke.
Then Ji-Woo looked at Noeul.
Quietly, so quietly even Duri couldn’t hear, he said:
“I’m going to make sure he never touches you again.”