Flowers Are Bait

Chapter 9:

“Thank you, doctor. Thank you!” The call ended as Lee-yeon finished her words.

The doctor looked down at his phone with a confused face. He put his phone back in his pocket. He couldn’t understand the sudden change in her voice.

A patient, who’s been in a vegetative state for 2 years, woke up by a miracle. Thanks to the good care, his joints were flexible and the rehabilitation went smoothly. The primitive reason being he was born with strong bones and sensitive motor nerves. Recovering in a short time, he was able to move his body freely.

But strangely, his miraculous recovery lasted only for a week. Since then, he has slept for 12 straight days, like a person addicted to vegetative activities.

The patient had already suffered from memory problems. The doctor didn’t even expect in the first place that he would fully recover from a vegetative state. He was continuously pondering over his case when it struck him. Since the patient’s head was seriously injured, the after-effects must have come in some form.

But for some reason, he felt bothered. He asked the patient, “Can you tell me your name?”

“Can you hear me?” Doctor asked, perplexed. “Speak whatever comes to your mind.”

“Se…”

A small smile appeared on the doctor’s lips. “Yes, good. Just like that.”

Later, he couldn’t forget what his patient said.

“Please don’t wake up.”

Kwon Chae-Woo had repeated those words countless times, even in the hazy consciousness. The doctor walked down the empty hallway. He rubbed his chin and furrowed his eyebrows.

“Director Kwon must be upset about his younger brother.”

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He bent backwards and stretched. Although it would have been much better for Kwon Chae-woo to receive treatment at a larger hospital. Director Kwon’s order of sending him back to that shabby old house was somewhat strange.

But it wasn’t his place to question. Although he lived a life of a caregiver in this distant life, his salary was too high to question or squabble on such details.

“Ah…,” he suddenly paused and snapped a finger. “I forgot to tell her…”

The sequelae Kwon Chae-woo suffered from was not just oversleeping. It was known as Sleeping Beauty Syndrome. Or, in technical terms, Klein-Levin Syndrome. It is usually accompanied by symptoms of behavioral abnormalities, uncontrollable urge to eat excessively, aggression and excessive sexual desire.

“I mean…he’ll be okay for today.” It’s just a day. Nothing is going to happen. He yawned.

* * *

“Um hm hmm,” Lee-yeon hummed as she walked up the stairs. She had escaped death by the skin of her teeth. She had spent the day feeling miraculously rescued after falling into the cruel man’s trap. When she reached the door and entered the password to open it, she felt a sense of déjà vu.

“What the!”

Dang. Dang. Dang.

The bell rang. It was midnight and a chilling sight froze her in her spot. The back door had been pushed as though hit by a car.

“Where did he go…?”

For more than thirty minutes, Lee-yeon wandered on the dark, dirt road where a few old electric poles stood by the side. Should I contact him? Kwon Chae-woo’s brother. The ‘A’ who made Lee-yeon the ‘B’. She rubbed her phone screen repeatedly, nervously until it became very shiny. She didn’t want to offer any excuses to Director Kwon to be able to control her. She tied up her long, wavy hair and sped up.

“Kwon Chae-woo!” The dogs sleeping along the way barked at her shout. Lee-yeon busily looked around and searched the narrow neighborhood. She suddenly found a strange trace. It looked like a trail left by the crawling of a huge snake.

“He truly is horrible…”

She laughed dryly at the absurd sight. She turned to follow the trail. When she moved closer, she heard a fluttering sound. Her heart pounded nervously at the ominous situation.

“Kwon Chae-woo! Put that down!” she shouted in shock.

However, Kwon Chae-woo was already chewing at the raw flesh. His eyes were blank, and the muscles of his jaw moved as he chewed. When he groaned and spat out the raw meat from his mouth, Lee-yeon almost vomited. She restrained her urge to throw up. The rooster was already dead, its neck broken. Her hands trembled. She was terrified of this man, who stood there nonchalantly with blood on his lips.

This was just one of the effects of having Klein-Levin Syndrome and by the looks of his unfocused gaze, he must not be aware of what he was doing and was simply out of touch with reality.

“It must be difficult for you to move right now. Why did you come out?”

Lee-yeon pretended as though she was worried about his health. Lee-yeon tried her best to gauge his mood so that she could correct herself about her telling him that she was his wife. “Let’s go back. You shouldn’t be here.”

Kwon Chae-woo threw the chicken and looked at Lee-yeon. His gaze which fell on her made her uncomfortable. He stood in the dark where the moonlight didn’t reach him. He looked taller than before. He was two heads taller than her. It seemed he walked, more like crawled on the ground towards her. His sleeves, legs, and chest were all covered with dust.

When the wind blew, his clothes fluttered and revealed the silhouette of his well-toned body. Slightly dazed, Lee-yeon recalled the Dragon Blood living in Socotra Island, Yemen. A bloody tree. It was a strange tree with red blood-like sap flowing through its veins.

Two years ago, she had seen Kwon Chae-woo for the first time. And a month ago, he had woken up from his coma. He had always been covered in blood, and even at this point, he was splattered with blood. “Kwon Chae-woo…”

“Name…”

“What?”

“What’s your name?”

His cold gaze rested on her. It was hard to read his thoughts. Think Lee-yeon, she urged herself. Think. She was at a loss for words. She didn’t know what to say.