The Darkest Hour Is Just Before the Dawn / 1
Subong's time in the Internal Medicine department wasn't much of serious work for him as he just goofs around and making everyone uncomfortable with his presence and strange aura. He certainly didn't take this job way too seriously as he would treat flirting with other female nurses as his main job and having to actually help was like a side job. There's this one nurse that actually caught his attention not too long before. Ms. Kang Mina, one of the nurses that he tries to engage with. She's a serious person and what Subong describes "playing hard to get" They're not particularly close, but after years of being in the same unit. There's some progress between the two.
Not long after, Subong confesses but is immediately down flat rejected. Well, not exactly. the thing with Nurse Mina's turning him down is because she isn't necessarily finding someone at the moment and just told Subong to wait for her proper answer when she feels ready. Subong was more than willingly to sympathize and was more than happy to wait.
"You know, I personally think you're more fitting in the psychiatric unit. Why not try it there instead since you feel.. well, not a good one here." Mina suggested, her voice monotone and sarcastic as ever. That's what Subong likes about her the most, It's like a guessing game you have to confront with whenever you talk to her. But stepping that aside, "hmm.. you think so? but I don't think i could survive a day without seeing you, Señorita!" He teased, his voice laced with a flirtatious and unserious tone. Throwing a pose that screamed damsel in distress.
With a moment of awkward silence while he kept up the pose, "I could visit." Mina deadpanned, not even bearing to look at him shine that pose out of his ass. "I could recommend you, you know?" Subong blinked at her, his face forming with uncertainty. But he does admit, It is getting a bit boring here. "i guess.. i could give that a try then. Anything for you, My glorio-" His face was met with a form that Mina threw at him.
"Fill that up, Mr. Choi."
"as i told you last time, today i will be talking about insomnia."
Subong woke up to the annoying alarm he put and was too lazy to change it. He glanced at the time and apparently it has been in snooze. The phone has been playing a video talking about insomnia, Subong's been playing this since if he's getting sent to a new unit with no basic knowledge, that would be basically asking a free ticket to the unemployment trip.
"Insomnia refers to a condition.."
"5:54 am" displayed on his screen. He has a feeling he would be late, and he's supposed to be in that new unit that Mina suggested.
".. in which one cannot get enough quality of sleep.."
The first impression is not gonna turn out well when he does get there, late. "fuck.. screw it." Subong groaned with frustration, rushing to the bathroom. He took a disgustingly short amount of time to shower, His healing scars stings at the cold breeze. Drying his whole body with a towel, He dresses himself up with a turtleneck and a coat, and putting on earbuds. Time check..
"6:12 am"
Good thing he doesn't even eat breakfast, if he does get hungry, There's lunch time anyway. He could get a king katsu or something. Enough fantasizing about foods already, Pull yourself together!
"..Malnutrition can have a detrimental effect on ones mental health."
"Talk about timing, geez.." He said getting his laceless shoe, walking outside and locking his door in the process.
"..You know how we call some people worrywarts? that kind of people that get stressed easily."
He listens thoroughly to the video while walking at the bus stop, bopping his head while listening to it, like it was some music for him. The time when he got at the bus stop is when the the bus was finally here. He hopped on the bus full of busy people on their phones or either them frantically looking at the window if they're even in their destination yet, and some still asleep. There were no available seats so he grabbed the handles. He checked the time again, "6:20" his eyebrows shot up, his eyes gleaming with relief. He might actually be there on time after all.
"Don't do it. No."
Subong hears, his focus altering from the phone to a strange man looking his hands and looking at them as if it just violated his whole life.
"Seriously, you want me to go crazy?" Almost all the passengers in the bus was looking at that man. To be honest, It was funny to look at for Subong, the strange man's bone structure of his fingers are big. "No no, don't.." the reason was probably finger cracking, It must've been a habit for this guy. But, it was far too distractive for him to even focus on the video he was listening to. He went to another spot, squeezing himself among the crowd to get away. "Excuse me", He says politely as he stands in the new spot. waiting for the bus to finally stop at his destination.
"..What's really sad is the public perception of these people. The crime rate of people with untreated schizophrenia only makes up a measly 0.04% of all crimes, after all."
Subong gets out of the bus, arriving at the Myungshin University Hospital in time, Subong went and followed where the psychiatry unit was, which is on the 5th floor.
"Mental illnesses all come down to meticulous management."
After finally to the destination, Subong rang the bell besides the door leading to the unit. There, he was greeted by the Head nurse opening the double transparent door. Her face calm and welcoming. Bowing "Hello, I'm Nurse Choi Subong."
"Choi subong?" Nurse Jun hee asked. "a transfer from the internal medicine, no?" Semi responded. "Yeah, apparently he's a third year." Jun hee responded to the Semi, thinking intensely.
"We went to college together. He's quite a person though." She happily brought up. "Isn't it rare for third years to switch units?" Sounding like a statement more than a question by Nurse Sae byeok.
"Ehh.. Yeah, especially to a specialized unit like ours.."
Subong was just getting his nurse attire almost done, ensuring everything is well and good looking enough for him. putting on an ID with the strap on.
The Head nurse knocked on the door of the dressing room of males. "All dressed?" She asked, almost too assuring through the door. "Ah yes, ma'am!" Subong answered as he opened the door meeting the gaze of the old woman, looking at the ID and pen on the pockets of Subong's nurse attire, and also getting to see his tattoos but the nurse wasn't concerned about that. The head nurse, grabbed the pen on his pocket and clicking on it. "Uh.." He gulped as he took the pen and put in his assigned locker, immediately getting the message as he took another pen that's more appropriate. "Can i see your ID?" Said the woman.
"Uhm, my ID?" He says while taking the ID off his neck, giving it to the Head nurse. "Well, use a clip like this from now on" She said as she replaced the strap with a clip and applied it to his ID.
"Patients here sometimes try to self harm so much as they see a strap." She looks at Subong full of understanding, Subong gasped slightly, and nodded. "Ah of course, yes, ma'am.." He smiled awkwardly. "Your shoes." Subong hurriedly changed his shoes to work shoes.
The head nurse looked at him with approval. "Good, you wore the ones without laces." Subong nodded, smiling with the positivity of this nurse. "Shall we get going?" The woman asked, and yet Subong answered a respectful yes.
"Since you're new around, ill let you have the places known so you could get started." She said, walking towards the hallway and Subong followed behind "A tour?" "You could say that, yeah."
They first stopped at the door, apparently, the shower. "The shower heads are built in without exposed hoses" He looked at the ceiling to find a shower head on the ceiling, and indeed without a hose. "Not to mention the doors, which don't have doorknobs or hooks"
"We even use piano hinges on the doors since the hinge knuckles don't have any space in between." while walking to another bathroom but instead with stalls of toilets. Subong listened attentively, looking around. It was colorful, beautiful color coding of pastel pink and light cyan. "It prevents the patients from hanging things on them."
After the tour, The head nurse was finally introducing him to the other nurses.. which were all looking at him, Maybe the tattoosit was they were staring at. "This is third-year Nurse Choi Subong, Joining us from internal Medicine." Subong put up a proud smile as he bowed down to the other nurses. "Welcome!" They greeted while clapping. Subong then noticed Jun hee, she made a little wave gesture. He, of course returned the gesture, genuinely smiling at his old batchmate.
"You've been here during your clinicals, right?" He doesn't really remember but he nodded anyways. "We handle things differently here, so there will be some trial and error." She continued, as Sae byeok stared at him intensely, observing him. The Head nurse then turns to them "Please try to help Mr. Choi out while he gets acclimated."
"Yes ma'am" They all say in unison.
"You'll be working with Charge Nurse Won Se-mi. That's good." Semi smiles, nodding as he looked at Subong. "I'll leave him in your care" She whispered looking at Semi, "Yes ma'am."
As the Head nurse already had left, Semi stood up and pointed at Sae byeok "Follow Ms. Kang Sae-byeok here and get the hang of things today." Sae byeok blinked at her. "You're his preceptor, so show him the ropes.." She said having her finger pointed at Subong now. "Yes, Ms. Won." Subong looked both at the woman discussing and tried to restrain himself from making a joke here, he's in the medical field and in one of the most terrifying units to handle. Gosh.
Sae byeok showed Subong the counseling room, "This is where we talk to our patients.. Don't forget to always sit with your back facing the door"
"Wait wait, why that specifically??" Subong looked at her dumbfounded. "When patients act out, they sometimes block the door out of instinct. So, we need a way out when that happens." She said heading to another part of the unit, Subong trailing her as he let out a gasp of realization. "Makes sense.."
"It's not that different from other wards, except for a few facilities."
Subong stumbled upon the therapy room, "Wait woah it has a ping pong table?" He said with a smile that could only be seen as excitement, hearing the cheers of the patients as they win against a male nurse. "That's Mr. Yong sik, our caregiver over there, is the ace of our ward." Yong sik then turned to face the both of them and gave a thumbs up. "wait, who won?" He asked one of the patient beside him watching the table tennis match too, "Su hyeon did." Yong sik then flipped the right 10 score board to be 11.
"Do you know how to play table tennis?" Asked Sae byeok, Subong bit his lip and put his hand on his head, scratching it. "Well.. I didn't play table tennis but I did play tennis back then during my highschool days." Answered sheepishly by Subong. "It would be great if you learn the table one too then."
Subong was given another task in the mean time, preparing the sachets for the medicines and pills. "Someone's dexterous.." Jun hee's voice was playful, "You are from the internal Medicine, we do deal with a lot of prescriptions you heard?"
"Right. So..! How are you liking things around here? fun?"
"Eh.. It's too soon to tell, but i feel like I'm gonna have a hard time here, you know?"
"Well of course, It's the psychiatry department, we handle mental disorders so like.. It's pretty hard but you'll get used to it like with your music career- wait speaking of your music dream, what happened?" Jun hee was now staring at him, waiting for a bitter answer out of his mouth. "I gave up on that bro, that's a past dream i tell you! though I'm still pretty dope at rapping, the talent never left me" Joking, both of them laughed. While the laughter died down, She was still wondering one more thing.
"Say, Subong" Jun hee started
"Yeah? what's up?" He responded, now focusing now on the task. "Why'd you switch units? i mean everybody's been dying to know"
"I feel like Mr. Choi came here because of something bad.. he gives me those vibes." She said to Semi, "You guys knew each other from college, Ask him about it." Semi shot up, her eyes on the glowing computer screen with forms to fill out.
Jun hee nodded and started to lean in more to her ear. "Of course, but when i did, he was kinda red.. was that embarrassment or something?"