Chapter 104
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 104
What followed was a barrage of chatter from Eun-byeol that left one's head spinning.
She was rattling the doctor’s sanity, spewing a relentless stream of words.
The topic of conversation changed constantly. One moment she was talking about skin, the next about hair loss, then remarking how the doctor didn’t have to worry with his full head of hair. That reminded her of her own worries, how she wanted to dye her hair recently but couldn’t, and on and on she went for nearly twenty minutes.
The expression was gradually vanishing from the doctor's face. It was understandable. Even Dokyun, who was only half-listening from the side, felt like his ears were about to bleed. How much worse must it be for the doctor, who was getting the full blast head-on?
As he watched the doctor, Dokyun felt a surge of pity, but also a wave of relief that he wasn't the one being spoken to.
After a moment, the thought occurred to him that if he didn’t stop her, she might go on like this all day. He opened his mouth to intervene.
“Eun-byeol. Could you please step out for a moment? There’s something I need to ask the doctor.”
“Huh? Oh, really?”
A look of disappointment bloomed on Eun-byeol’s face. For a second, he wondered if she still had more to say after all that. Then, seeing the doctor’s complexion brighten behind her, Dokyun felt a sense of pride.
A patient's guardian who saved the doctor. Maybe he was a pretty amazing person after all.
“Hmm, okay then. I’ll be outside, so you two have your talk and come on out~.”
“Ah, yes.”
Dokyun watched Eun-byeol’s back as she quickly exited the office. When he turned to face the doctor again, he saw the man letting out a short breath, his face completely drained.
Though it wasn’t his fault, seeing the elderly doctor look so exhausted made him feel a pang of guilt.
“...You’ve been through a lot.”
“Haha, she’s always such a bright one, isn’t she?”
His words and his expression didn't match. Dokyun’s lips twitched, but he didn’t say anything.
“It seems you’ve seen her a few times.”
“Yes, she is the most active personality, after all.”
“Ah…”
The face that called her ‘active’ was etched with deep fatigue.
Dokyun could pretty much guess why. She was active, alright. Very, very active.
As Dokyun was lost in thought, the doctor offered a small smile and posed a question.
“What was it you wanted to ask?”
“Ah.”
The doctor’s words snapped Dokyun back to the present, and he brought up the topic he’d been meaning to discuss.
“I wanted to ask about Eun-ah.”
He wanted to know how he could gently coax her back out. He’d thought his persuasion had finally worked, but seeing as she had ultimately brought out another personality, it was clear his method had failed. In that case, seeking an expert’s advice was the right thing to do.
Just as Dokyun was about to speak, the doctor beat him to it.
“This must be about Ms. Go Eun-ah's temporal dissonance, I presume?”
“Ah, yes.”
Dokyun nodded at the doctor’s words. So this is what a psychiatrist is like, he thought. The man had instantly grasped what he was trying to say.
As Dokyun waited in anticipation, the doctor replied with a troubled expression.
“The situation is very different from before. This is an unprecedentedly long gap, and now, Ms. Go Eun-ah has a reason to be aware of the passage of time.”
The doctor’s gaze was fixed on Dokyun as he continued, a knowing smile spreading across his face.
“As long as she is with you, Mr. Dokyun, she will continue to feel bothered by that fact. And this kind of escape will likely not work a second time.”
Dokyun nodded, swallowing hard.
He was right. If she were alone, she might have been able to ignore this dissonance somehow. But now, being with him, she was constantly being made aware of the flow of time.
As that thought settled in, Dokyun’s expression began to harden. The doctor’s voice followed.
“The time has come for Ms. Go Eun-ah's delusion to end.”
The sudden declaration made Dokyun’s eyes widen. The doctor, however, simply maintained his knowing smile and continued.
“The moment she recognizes that there's a gap in her timeline, she will also recognize the existence of the other personalities. Her delusion can no longer continue.”
The words hung in the air. Dokyun’s lips parted. He was about to ask if they shouldn’t approach this more carefully.
But the words never came out. Perhaps it was because, on some level, Dokyun already knew.
He knew there was no other way for Eun-ah to overcome the dissonance.
She had to accept it herself—that her time was missing, that other personalities existed.
That her delusion had to end now.
The only reason he had avoided this fact until now was because it had felt like such a distant problem.
Furthermore, he hadn't been confident that he could navigate the process successfully.
And so, he had focused only on the immediate problem: how to resolve her temporal dissonance.
Dokyun understood the intention behind the doctor’s words.
“...We have to deal with Eun-chae.”
“Precisely.”
To end her delusion, they had to make her aware of Eun-chae. They had to make her understand the reason for her blank periods.
Once she recognized it, it would be over. Eun-chae was a personality created to assist Eun-ah; the moment Eun-ah no longer needed her, she would disappear.
That would be the end of it.
However.
“...Eun-chae won’t just take it lying down, will she?”
That was the problem.
She hadn’t appeared yet, but Eun-chae would surely be looking for another opening.
She wasn’t the type to disappear so meekly.
“No, she won’t. I don’t know what she’ll try this time. She could take a hard-line approach like before, or she could try to appease you. As the end draws near, she may resort to methods we haven't seen before.”
Dokyun sank into thought, processing the doctor’s words.
The moment to face the task he had put off for so long was approaching.
Their conversation meant more than just having to make Eun-ah aware of Eun-chae; it meant the time had come to open the door to the workshop he had been avoiding.
As hesitation crept into his heart, the doctor spoke again.
“It would be good for you to trust yourself a little more.”
At his words, Dokyun’s gaze lifted to meet the doctor’s.
The doctor wore his characteristic benevolent smile as he continued.
“Hesitating in the face of uncertainty is a good habit. It means you’re prudent. But when prudence becomes excessive, it turns into indecisiveness. And indecisiveness can make you miss your chance and fail at something you surely would have succeeded at.”
His tone was calm and steady.
“Prudence is good, but there are moments that require decisiveness more. So, when you feel like there’s absolutely no answer, I think simply confronting the problem head-on can be a good method.”
Finishing his speech, the doctor walked over and patted Dokyun on the shoulder.
“Hmm… think of it less as a doctor’s opinion and more as advice from someone who’s lived a little longer. Ah, did I sound too much like a preachy old man?”
His words had a playful ring to them.
A small chuckle escaped Dokyun’s lips.
He hadn’t said a word, yet the doctor had noticed his turmoil and offered advice. So this is what a psychiatrist is like, he thought, a sense of gratitude welling up inside him.
He was a complete stranger, yet the doctor was showing such sincerity simply because there was a person with a problem before him. He couldn’t help but be thankful.
Dokyun met the doctor’s gaze and, seeing the knowing smile directed at him, opened his mouth.
“No, not at all. Thank you for the good advice.”
“I’m glad to hear it. You should get going now. Eun-byeol must be waiting.”
“Yes, I’ll take your advice to heart.”
After his final words, Dokyun bowed his head to the doctor and left the office. In the waiting room, he approached Eun-byeol, who was sitting with her legs crossed, staring at her smartphone.
“Let’s go.”
“Hm? Oh, you’re back?” she said with a sly, bewitching smile. Dokyun gave a slight nod and asked a question.
“What are you looking at, anyway?”
“Ah, just making a reservation.”
“For what?”
When he pressed her for leaving out the subject, Eun-byeol flashed a wicked grin.
“It’s a secret. You’ll find out soon enough, so let’s just call it a surprise!”
Dokyun narrowed his eyes, glaring at the giggling Eun-byeol.
Something was suspicious.
She was clearly plotting something, and not knowing what it was put him on edge.
As Dokyun continued to glare, Eun-byeol stood from her chair, linked her arm with his, and grumbled.
“Geez, what took you so long? I thought I was going to die of boredom waiting for you.”
Her words made a dry laugh escape Dokyun’s throat.
Does she really have the right to say that? The question popped into his head, but he quickly shook it away.
Weren’t humans always endlessly generous with themselves?
“My apologies. Let’s just get the prescription and go.”
“Hmph, I made a special trip here for you, so you’d better be nice to me today, okay?”
“...Yes.”
Dokyun shot another sideways glance at Eun-byeol.
She was humming a tune as she walked, looking utterly delighted.
What is it? What is she plotting? What is she laying the groundwork for?
A sense of unease began to creep in.
*
After leaving the hospital, they arrived at a cafe in the city center.
With the completely incomprehensible logic that they needed to “recharge their sugar levels” before getting started, Eun-byeol led him inside, ordered every single dessert on the menu, and wore a blissful expression as she took a single bite of each one.
It was only natural that Dokyun’s jaw dropped.
Staring at her in disbelief, he asked, “Aren’t you wasting money?”
“Hm?”
“You’re not going to eat all of this.”
“So what? It’s not like we don’t have the money.”
His jaw dropped again at her response.
Eun-byeol’s gaze turned to him. Seeing his aghast expression, she let out a deep sigh.
“Honey. You don’t eat these things to get full. It’s for the vibe! You’re paying for the vibe!”
There was that strange logic again.
He had a thousand retorts ready, but he had a feeling they would go in one ear and out the other. Swallowing his words, Dokyun sighed and picked up a fork.
He would have to be the one to finish off these desserts. Each one cost tens of thousands of won. No matter how he thought about it, it was an incredible waste.
Steeling his resolve, Dokyun stabbed a piece of cake with his fork and put it in his mouth.
A sweetness spread across his tongue. The melt-in-your-mouth texture made him think it was certainly worth the high price.
But he had no time to savor it.
He had no idea when she might decide she wanted to leave, so he had to inhale as much as he could.
A moment later, as Dokyun was glaring intensely at the desserts and shoveling them into his mouth…
Click-!
The sound of a camera shutter.
Puzzled, Dokyun looked up to see Eun-byeol pointing her smartphone camera at him, grinning from ear to ear.
“...What are you doing?”
“You just look so cute when you eat, I had to take a picture.”
Flinch-.
The compliment sent a wave of awkwardness through his entire body. Dokyun shrank back and sputtered.
“P-Please don’t.”
“No~pe.”
Click. Click. Click.
The shutter sounded again and again. Dokyun pleaded with her to stop taking pictures, but she was unmoving.
The more flustered and awkward he became, the more delighted she seemed, pressing the shutter button with even more vigor.
“Gosh, why are you so cute? Look this way, I can’t see your face.”
“I told you to stop…”
He tried to block his face with his arm to avoid being photographed, but all he got in return was a more violent barrage of affection.
For a moment, Dokyun felt a surge of fear.
As a man who had spent his entire life as a shut-in, Dokyun was terrified of social butterflies.