By Zephyria 
“Now, I understand that you are feeling confused. Let’s calm your mind and talk this through slowly.”
The hospital room was quiet after the storm of commotion had passed. I sat curled up on the bed, wrapped in a blanket over the patient gown they had forced me into.
The man who had been making a scene, claiming I was completely insane and insisting I be given a sedative, had vanished at some point, and a doctor in a white coat had taken his place.
Perhaps he had rushed here, as beads of sweat were forming on the doctor’s forehead. The doctor’s face was so pale as he urged me to stabilize myself that I wondered if he was the one who actually needed stabilizing.
“I told you I’m not crazy. This hospital is the one that’s weird. It’s completely insane. Does this make any sense? My face, my body—none of it is mine. How can you change a person into someone else? This is impossible.”
“So, Mr. Cha Soo-kyung. Are you claiming that you are not Cha Soo-kyung?”
“I’m not claiming it, I’m telling you I’m not Cha Soo-kyung. I’m Min Jae-hee. I don’t even know who Cha Soo-kyung is. Is the guy who had this face named Cha Soo-kyung? I only met him a few times; we weren’t even on a first-name basis.”
“Hmm. Yes. I have fully understood your claim, Mr. Cha Soo-kyung.”
“I said I’m not Cha Soo-kyung!”
Is he even listening to me? I tell him I’m not Cha Soo-kyung, and he says he understands my claim, then calls me Mr. Cha Soo-kyung. What kind of bullshit is this?
“Y-yes. Mr. Min Jae-hee. Let’s talk calmly. Then, what is the reason you claim to be Min Jae-hee?”
“If I am Min Jae-hee, what answer am I supposed to give when you ask why I claim to be Min Jae-hee? What is your name, Doctor? If I asked you to give a reason why you are who you are, what would you say? Ask a question that makes sense. Think before you ask.”
The doctor broke into a sweat at my snapping tone. After a few awkward coughs, he managed to continue.
“Then let’s try approaching this from a different perspective. Since when have you been Min Jae-hee? I mean… when did you start thinking that you were Min Jae-hee and not Cha Soo-kyung?”
“What the fuck are you talking about? I’ve always been Min Jae-hee. I’ve been Min Jae-hee since the day I was born. This guy said he didn’t want to live and tried to jump off a pedestrian bridge. I grabbed him to save him, and we both fell. Then I woke up, and the people at this hospital had performed plastic surgery on me to make me look like him. Can someone explain what kind of madness this is? I’m the one who doesn’t understand. I’m the one going crazy from frustration. Is that the goal? Are you trying to actually drive me insane so you can lock me up in a psychiatric ward?”
“H-how could that be the case? We can figure out the situation through a calm conversation. Now, take a deep breath again…”
“Fucking deep breaths don’t help. Do you know how many deep breaths I’ve taken since I opened my eyes? Do you know how many times I’ve breathed deeply from the moment I realized my balls were gone until now?”
Every time I shouted, the doctor’s face grew darker by the second. I knew I was taking my anger out on the wrong person, but it wasn’t entirely the doctor’s fault for crawling into this room and saying things that grated on my nerves.
“I am not Cha Soo-kyung. I have this face, but I am not Cha Soo-kyung. It seems that bastard Cha Soo-kyung and his family conspired to change my face to his. I don’t know what they’re plotting, but do they think I’ll just take this lying down? You saved a man’s life only to turn him into this? I’ll send you all to prison. I’ll make sure this hospital closes its doors!”
“Mr. Cha Soo-kyung, please calm—”
“Min Jae-hee! I said Min Jae-hee, Min Jae-hee. My name is Min Jae-hee! If you call me Cha Soo-kyung one more time, I’ll make sure your balls go missing too.”
Then you’ll be able to empathize with at least one of my fucking situations. At my words, which were half warning and half threat, the doctor subtly shifted his hips back and pressed his knees together.
“I understand, Mr. Min Jae-hee. Then why do you think Mr. Cha Soo-kyung and his family changed your appearance to look like him?”
“How should I know? I woke up like this. I’m the one who wants to ask. Why did they make me look like this after I saved that brat’s life? Shouldn’t the person to ask that be Cha Soo-kyung and his parents, the hospital director? Great. Since we’re talking about it, let’s go ask. You’re curious too, aren’t you, Doctor? Come on, get up. Let’s go get some answers.”
Why had I been sitting here arguing with a psychiatrist who had nothing to do with this? I felt like I’d been played for some reason. I’d just wasted my energy.
When I threw off the blanket and stood up from the bed, the doctor looked at me hesitantly. Why are you looking at me like that? I said let’s go. I signaled with my eyes and pointed toward the door, but the doctor quietly shook his head.
“First, Mr. Cha—no, Mr. Min Jae-hee. I understand what you’re saying. But you are aware that your opinion differs from that of your guardian waiting outside, right?”
“Why is that person my guardian? I don’t even know that man. Is it okay to just designate a complete stranger as a guardian and let them decide the treatment of a patient? This hospital is getting more and more ridiculous.”
I bet there’s a lot of dirt to dig up here. Right? As I spoke with a crooked smirk, the doctor let out a low sigh.
“You are currently in an agitated state. You know that yourself, right? Please calm your mind first. I will go out and speak with the guardian…”
“He’s not my guardian.”
“Yes, yes. Then I will go and have a word with the person claiming to be your guardian. In the meantime, please compose yourself. Understood? Do not get excited; stay calm.”
“Fine. Go ahead and talk to that fraud claiming to be my guardian. I’m curious to hear what that man has to say.”
With my permission, the doctor left the room as if escaping. Since the man’s secretary and caregiver had also left with the man, I was alone in the room.
I could easily guess what the man was doing by calling the caregiver outside. He was probably trying to buy their silence. That was a bit of a problem. If I filed a lawsuit later, wouldn’t that caregiver need to testify?
But if I did sue, would my profession be an issue? No, no matter if I was a pickpocket, there was no reason for me to be the target of a crime. I have the right to be protected by the law too.
I got out of bed, paced around the empty room, and opened the refrigerator. Regardless of tests or whatever, I was thirsty. I took out one of the many drinks filling the fridge and gulped it down.
What would that man say to the doctor? Since it was his own hospital’s doctor, there was a high chance they were in cahoots. Should I escape from the hospital first? I couldn’t trust anyone in this place.
What should I do? What do they want from me? No matter how much I racked my brain, the outlook remained bleak.
As I was pacing the room anxiously, the door opened with a bang. The man who had been outside entered the room, huffing and puffing, likely from whatever conversation he’d had with the doctor.
“Doing this is not helpful. You know the guardian is aware of the situation.”
“I can’t stand this bastard’s madness any longer. Now he’s even bringing shame to the family without a shred of modesty.”
“The ones without modesty are you. You made me like this, and did you think I’d just stay quiet?”
I shot back at the man who was arguing with the doctor, but the man only glared at me with a face devoid of any remorse.
“You’re the guy who fell off the bridge with him? Do you even know where that guy is right now? There’s a limit to pretending to be crazy.”
“Pretending? Don’t make me laugh. Who’s the one who did the crazy thing, and now you’re painting me as the lunatic?”
“Enough! I can’t stand looking at you anymore. If I let you see for yourself, you’ll stop this madness. I don’t know what other nonsense you’ll spout to give me a headache after that, but fine. Follow me. I’ll show you. I’ll show you where and how the Min Jae-hee who claims to be you is right now.”
The man beckoned me to follow with a flick of his finger. I didn’t know what he intended to show me, but I decided to follow him for now. I stepped confidently in front of him, and the man opened the door and walked out.
“This is not good for the patient. If he suffers further shock…”
“Who knows? Maybe the shock will bring him back to his senses. I don’t think it can get any worse than it is now. Your job is done. Either follow us or go back to your office, do as you please. Instead, I’ll tell the hospital director exactly what’s happening right now.”
How could every single word be so insolent? As I clicked my tongue, the man looked at me and let out a hollow laugh.
“Forget it. First, it’s more important to show him how insane his claims are.”
The man began to stride forward, followed by me, the doctor, and the man’s attendant.
Entering the elevator, the man pressed a button for a certain basement floor. No words were exchanged inside the elevator. The attendant silently kept his post, and the doctor was busy reading the man’s mood. The man stared at the closed elevator doors, and I just glanced at him, wondering what he was plotting.
“Get out.”
“I was going to get out even if you didn’t tell me to. Stop speaking in commands.”
At my retort, the man clenched his fist. His gorgeous face frowned even more gorgeously, and for some reason, it made me feel triumphant.
Perhaps because it was the basement, the surrounding air was chilly. Our footsteps echoed in the empty hallway, and after several turns, we arrived at a place where someone approached, flustered by the unexpected visit.
“I am the hospital director’s spouse. Confirm it with the director, and that corpse that came in yesterday from the bridge? Bring it out and show it to me.”