Miho the Killer -
Chapter 68: Keeping A Door Open
Chapter 68: Keeping A Door Open
"Miho, I got something to confess."
I told my feline friend who’s been recovering remarkably well ever since she moved ’home’, almost making me think - why didn’t we do this in the first place?
"Oh?"
She answered, unsuspecting, changing into her shoes from the fluffy slippers by the big metallic door as we were preparing to leave the house. Shin was already waiting in the car in the basement.
"I’m not Doctor Yang. I’ve never been."
Miho looked up with one foot into a trainer, another foot dangling in the air while she held the other shoe in her hands.
"Eh? Obviously."
"Do you... not remember you used to think I was Dr. Yang?"
"Did I?"
I really couldn’t make out how jumbled up her memories were. It seemed she did not only forget some things from the past before she fell from the stairs but also some things that happened well into a few weeks after the incident.
"But you DO remember who Dr. Yang is?"
"No."
At least this one kind of made sense. Miho ’now’ was the Miho before she started seeing Dr. Yang.
"Well, she was a doctor you used to see before the accident."
"I see. Was I sick?"
"You can wear your shoes, Miho."
Noticing that she’d been standing on her one foot all this time, she gave a te-he smile and slid the other foot in.
"What was I seeing her for?"
Perhaps I piqued her curiosity when I shouldn’t have.
"Well, you do remember you weren’t feeling good at the... hospital, before we moved here, right?"
"Yeah."
"What were you feeling - or thinking, back then?"
"Not something I’d like to think about again. Sorry."
I immediately felt sorry for asking. I’m not a doctor. I shouldn’t try to probe things like this.
"Right. Let’s just say this doctor has been helping you to handle those situations before your accident."
"I see." She only gave a short answer and as I approached and stood in front of her, she wrapped the blindfold around my head.
"I’m sorry, Sohee. But Uncle says we have to do this."
"Don’t worry. It’s not your fault. I understand."
With that, a complete darkness engulfed me but I didn’t feel anxious at all as Miho held my hand and led me through the door.
I only got to take off my blinds after about 30 30-minute drive away from home, and when I looked outside the window we were already in Seoul. I remembered last time we drove 30 minutes away from Lily Garden to reach Shin and Miho’s house. Considering that we were in the city within thirty minutes and taking into account that Lily Garden in Yangpyeong was about an hour away from the Southeast edge of Seoul, our hideout was probably somewhere in between - much closer to the city than I would have thought.
Today, we were going to visit Dr. Yang. We needed Miho’s medication and I also had to keep up with my promise to bring her back next time. Shin was surprisingly cool with the idea of us leaving the safe house, although he did stress that we weren’t exactly going to do this every day.
Once arrived, the old man said he would wait in the car so only Miho and I took the elevator from the basement parking to Dr. Yang’s clinic. The nurse at the reception recognized Miho and tried some small talk, but Miho had no memory of her whatsoever.
After about 20 minutes our turn finally came, so we entered Room 5 where Dr. Yang waited for us.
"Good morning, Dr. Yang." I greeted first.
"Good morning, Ms. Han. And oh my, it’s good to see you again, Ms. Jin"
She was a kind woman, I always thought. Were all psychiatrists trained to act friendly and appear to be genuine while doing so? I don’t know. But she always gave a very welcoming and accommodating smile that made you feel like you could really open up to her.
"Good morning, er... Dr. Yang." Miho greeted back a little awkwardly.
"Please take a seat." The Doctor gestured for us to take the two seats across her desk.
"I would like to say something first." I quickly set the tone before we could get started with anything.
"Sure." Dr. Yang accepted.
"Ms. Jin here has been suffering from amnesia. She’s not staying at the hospital anymore, but I have seen her recover remarkably well in the past few weeks. Could you please... take things a bit easy?"
"Haha, no need to worry about that, Ms. Han. I’m just glad Ms. Jin seems to be in good health now."
Miho and I gave a nod of appreciation and the kind doctor continued.
"So, Ms. Jin, how do you feel today?"
"I feel great."
"I’ve heard that you had a head injury - does it still hurt?"
"Not at all. Not anymore."
"I’m very glad to hear that. What are the last things you remember before your injury?"
"Please-, Dr. Yang. We are not here to ’cure’ her amnesia."
The doctor leaned back on her chair, looked at us with a cryptic smile, and then leaned forward again.
"Very well. So then, have you been sleeping well, Ms. Jin?"
"Yeah, VERY well."
"What time do you normally go to bed?"
"Around ten."
"And when do you wake up?"
"Around ten."
"Do you wake up in the middle of the night?"
"Hardly."
"Do you have a problem getting back to sleep after you wake up?"
"Nope."
"Do you often have dreams when you sleep?"
Miho hesitated in answering.
"Dr. Yang, Miho has told me she has some nightmares sometimes, but she does not want to talk about them."
"Same nightmares or different ones each time?"
"Dr. Yang, please."
"I see."
I glanced at Miho and she seemed happy that she didn’t need to talk about her dreams anymore.
We haven’t actually talked about it recently, but judging by her reaction I thought she might still be having the nightmare about ’the woman in suit’. If she still hasn’t recognized that this woman was actually herself, I wanted to keep it that way for as long as possible.
"How’s your mood today?" Dr. Yang thankfully changed the topic.
"I’m feeling great."
"And yesterday?"
"Yesterday was also good."
"And for the past few weeks?"
"Er..." Miho hesitated again.
"She’s had a period of two weeks or so when she seemed VERY depressed... she was almost catatonic and couldn’t move or talk," I explained on her behalf.
"I trust she received suitable help during that time. Right, Ms. Han?" Her eyes were soft yet sharp.
"She was hospitalized in a mental hospital in Mokdong during that time."
"I see. How about now?"
"She’s back home with me."
"Did the hospital discharge Ms. Jin?"
I felt uneasy about the prospect of lying to her and thought there was no harm in revealing at least some truth.
"We are in a very... special situation. We had to leave the hospital in a hurry. It’s a complicated... legal matter. But I can assure you that we are receiving suitable support in that regard. But Miho needs her medical help."
A short pause.
"Of course, I’m happy to help. And I appreciate that you kept your word and brought Ms. Jin here."
"Of course. And thank you."
"Is there anything more you want to - or you CAN tell me?" she was still friendly, but there was seriousness in her tone. Did Detective Choi have a word with her already?
"No. But, I wanted to consult with you about some things and set appointments for myself as well..."
"Oh, right, sure. How may I help you, Ms. Han?"
"Unlike Miho here, I haven’t been sleeping well."
"I see. Could you tell me some more details?"
"I usually go to bed around midnight, but I can’t fall asleep till 2 or 3."
The doctor just nodded her head in acknowledgment, signaling that I could continue.
"And when I do fall asleep, I don’t feel like I get a deep sleep. I usually wake up again around 5 and can’t go back to sleep again for like an hour."
"So what time do you wake up then?"
"Around 7 or 8."
"How do you feel during the daytime?"
"Very tired."
"Can you take naps?"
"Hardly."
"Do you feel anxious?"
"Very."
She then leaned forward, placing her both elbows on the desk.
"If you wish to discuss anything further, I suggest we let Ms. Jin wait outside for a while."
I turned to look at Miho and she shook her head. She didn’t want to be alone, even for a few minutes.
"Maybe next time, Doctor. Could I come to visit alone sometime?"
"Certainly. Please book an appointment at the reception. I suggest you come back soon. You are simply not sleeping enough, but I can’t just prescribe you any medications for that without talking through possible causes first."
"I see. I understand. Thank you for your help, Doctor."
"Any time."
Miho and I then thanked Dr. Yang together again and left the room.
I’m not sure what I may need to tell her next time I come to visit, but with this, I could now keep a door open to connect to Detective Choi in the future.
If I ever needed to, or more importantly - if I ever wanted to.
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