13 Chapter Ten

It was quite a long day.

Yeo One was pleasant, per usual. We didn't really talk about him though. I noticed he kept asking questions about me, and what I was like. I didn't want to just not answer him, so I obliged. It was refreshing to have such a comfortable, friendly conversation and not have to be focused on their disorders.

After I met with Yeo One, I checked in with Hongseok, Yuto, and Wooseok. All were doing okay. I stopped for a moment to talk to Yuto about being able to take walks. I told him the HM said he'd think about it, and he seemed at least a little more hopeful.

"Wow, that's more than I thought you'd get out of him. Thank you, Jane," he told me.

"Of course Yuto. I'll see you tomorrow."

After I saw them, I went to Kino. I spent about a half hour with him, but it went by quickly. I really enjoyed his company. I didn't want to talk about anything that had to do with his mental health, so we talked about simple things, like food, movies we liked, things like that. I couldn't help but smile when I saw him. He was such a sweetheart.

Later on that night, I looked at some beepers on Amazon. They were... pretty expensive. However, I found a set of three that I could buy three of, and I figured I would program them so when the person beeped, their number or initials or something would show up on my end.

I stayed up again that night, trying to come up with questions to ask each person. When I went outside to once again, get some fresh air, I saw the orange light again.

This time I was sure of it.

"What the hell...?" I looked closer.

Fire?

"Oh! Oh my God!" I cried out. Was the institution on fire?!

I grabbed my keys and ran right up to the building and threw open the doors. It was coming from one of the Patient Rooms! I had to help them!

I took the stairs two at a time and ran down the hall. It was the 3rd window down...

Yeo One's room.

Of all people!

I hurried. I could hear the screaming and the crying already. "Yeo One!" I shouted as I unlocked his door. "I'm coming!"

He was near the window, curled up, sobbing. As I burst through the door to help him, I gasped.

The HM! And some nurses!

The fire was no longer there. "Miss Whittaker!" The HM shouted in both surprise and anger. "What the hell are you doing here?!"

"I saw fire! I know it! It was in this room!"

"You saw nothing of the sort," he snapped. "Yeo One was having a panic attack."

"I know what I saw," I replied, frowning.

"You're wrong," HM retorted. "Go back to your cottage. I don't want to see you a third night in a row. Yeo One is in our hands right now."

I glanced over at Yeo One. I had never seen him like this. He was curled up, laying on the floor, crying.

"This is not like him."

"How would you know? You've only been here a few days." The nurse looked between the HM and I.

"I just..." I had no answer. "Why is he like this?"

"He is having a panic attack. We don't know why," HM snapped. "If you want to keep your job, Miss Whittaker, you'll leave."

"Maybe I can help him-"

"I said go!"

My eyes widened as I suddenly grew angry. "Do not talk to me like that," I snapped. "I'm only here to help. And I refuse to leave until I know he's okay."

The HM looked as if he wanted to strangle me, but if I was going to get fired for trying to help my patients, then at least I'd leave knowing I did the right thing.

We stared at each other intensely. He really looked like he hated me.

"Fine. Talk to him."

I said nothing, immediately moving past him and hurrying to Yeo One's aid. I wrapped my arms around him. "Hey Yeo One, it's okay. It's okay sweetie..."

I rocked him slowly and try to whisper soothingly. "It's okay..."

"G-Get me o-out of h-here," he whispered.

"What did he say?" The HM snapped.

I looked at Yeo One, then back up at the HM. "He said he's trying to calm down."

Of course I didn't tell him what he actually said.

"Hmm," the HM grunts.

I stay there for a while, waiting for him to relax. The HM stared at me angrily the entire time. I pushed Yeo One's bangs off of his forehead and stroked his hair.

"Thank you... thank you Jane..." Yeo One was still shaking in my arms.

"Of course Yeo One, of course."

I helped him up and he made his way back to his bed. I also covered him up, giving him a soft smile. "I'll check on you tomorrow, Yeo One, first thing."

He nodded. "Okay Miss Jane... thank you, really."

"It's my pleasure." I stood up straight and walked toward the HM. "Look, I know I don't run things around here and I... respect that you're the boss. It's just... if you hired me to be their therapist, you should let me do my job. I want to help, and at times like this, I can learn valuable information about them. Plus, it helps me connect with them more. I apologize if I was out of place, but they come first."

The HM frowned. "We'll talk about it in the morning. Now please, go back to the cottage."

I nodded slowly, then, taking one last look at Yeo One, I walked from the room and back to where I was staying.

I could finally breathe once I got into the hallway. My heart rate was going a mile a minute.

As I'm walking I hear a: "psst."

I blinked and looked to my right. Hui was at his door, looking at me through the barred window in confusion. "Jane? What are you doing here?"

"Hui!" I whispered excitedly. I pressed myself against the door. "Are you okay? Are they always up at this time with people?"

Hui stared down at me. "I can't tell you Jane. I want to, but I can't." He gestured for me to lean closer. "It's dangerous here at night. Please help us."

My eyed widened. "But I can't tell you," Hui said a little louder. "So please stop asking."

I looked deep into Hui's eyes and saw the fear and sadness. I wanted to reach through the bars and stroke his face to calm him down.

Man, this guy was really starting to have an affect on me.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Hui. I'm sorry for asking."

He nodded. "Hurry, before the Headmaster sees you."

I gulped and took a step back. "Goodbye Hui."

"Goodbye Jane."

I hurried down the hall and down the stairs, almost breaking into a run when I got through the Institution doors.

Oh my God! I know I saw fire! Was I gonna lose my job? Hui was pleading for help...

I got back to the cottage and closed the door, trying to calm myself down. I needed to get them out. I couldn't just leave them there...

Had I made a mistake?

Would calming Yeo One cost me my job? Then what would I do?

My stomach had dropped. Oh God... I hope he wasn't too mad at me! I was just looking out for one of my patients!

I sat down on the couch, covering my face with my hands.

Were they hurting him? I know I saw fire! I'm not blind!

If they were hurting Yeo One... that meant they were hurting everyone else too. But I had no proof!

What if I'm wrong?

But why else would they keep telling me those things?! Hui literally just said help me. I can't ignore that.

Would the only way to get them to leave be to help them heal?

Or are they being held here...?

I didn't want to believe that. I just wanted me to be overreacting. I wanted them to just be saying those things because they've been here too long.

But all of the signs pointed to this place being more than it seems.

And not in a good way.

Hui... I wanted to talk to him... I knew he couldn't tell me... but maybe... maybe I could figure out a way to get that information.

I walked over to my computer and ordered the beepers.

These were a start.

Hui... god... I need to find a way to get them away from the cameras.

Then maybe we could start planning.

I paced around the cottage. As much as I wanted to just take them all and leave, a lot of them have been here for so long and have no where to go. Plus, with people like Kino, he is not ready to be around people in public yet. I wanted to help him get to that point, but as of right now, he was not healed. Shinwon too. He had a very severe scratching problem. I needed to help him as well.

And if I was to just take them, where on earth would we go? As much as I hated to think about it, what if it's not entirely safe? What if they set each other off? I also need to make sure they get along well. It seemed like they did... but I gotta make sure.

If I get fired... I'll keep investigating. I'll go to the police. I can't just give up on them.

If I'm not fired... then I figure it out while I work.

The first step are these beepers. They can call me whenever they need me. I want to dig, I have to dig, but I can't ask them much. Who knows what happens to them if they tell me?

I... needed to comply.

I needed to earn trust.

If I earned the HM's trust, then he wouldn't be so suspicious of me. Therefore, I had to play by his rules for a while.

I sighed. This was going to be very hard for me. But tomorrow... after I talked to the HM, I would just have to focus on helping the others.

That is, if I still have a job.

At that point, I had no idea.

I barely slept that night.

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