Mysteries After Nightfall Part II

“Why did he call?”

The phone suddenly vibrated, making the doctor flinch. He almost dropped the phone but luckily grabbed it in time. Otherwise, he definitely would need to buy a new mobile phone. The young man looked at the screen and saw Golf calling. He immediately turned to his friend, who was lying on the bed.

“What are you playing at, Golf?”

Silence...no reply from his friend.

“Golf...why did you call? It’s not funny anymore... I want to sleep," said the young doctor who hung up the call. But in an instant, the phone rang again. This time, Doctor Aun felt something was fishy. He stared at the figure beneath the duvet cover on Golf's bed. Somehow there was a hospital smell wafting in, kicking his nose.

Silence... The figure under the duvet was lying still.

Doctor Aun decided to answer the call. Before he could say anything, Doctor Golf's voice rang out from the other end of the line.

"Where have you been, Aun? I have been trying to call you like crazy."

“Uh… I was in a shower. Where are you, Golf?" The young doctor asked in a trembling voice. His eyes continued to stare paranoidly at his friend's bed.

“Of course, I’m in the ER. There is another freaking urgent case. I'll be back in a bit. Don't lock the door, so I don’t need to wake you up. By the way, do you want to eat anything?”

"What are you talking about... Are you in the ER, Golf?!" Doctor Aun asked with a quivered voice similar to his shaking body. He walked backwards as far away from the bed as he could. He was praying for his best friend to tell him that he was joking, and he was, in fact, secretly calling from under the covers to fool him...but it wasn’t the case!

"Of course, I’m at the ER. That's all for now, Aun. The nurse called.” Before ending the call… Doctor Aun heard the nurse call, “Doctor Golf… Patient BP Drop (1) already.” That was… really the nurse's voice.

If Golf was at the ER...Then who was lying on the bed?

As though the person heard the question in his mind. So, she let out a whistling cry while groaning in a quiet voice, “Help…help me.”

The doctor was stunned and slowly walked back to the door to open it. Softly escaping the room with manners, it was, in fact, a gesture of one’s inability to walk when encountered 'mysteries after nightfall’.

After he had left the room, he bolted from the third floor to the second and knocked on the door of Doctor Pop's room in no second. His friend, who was still in a daze after closing his eyes for less than twenty minutes, opened the door for him. The doctor stood trembling while his eyes were still frightenedly glancing at the silent corridor.

“What is it… Aun?”

“Let me sleep in your room, please," said the young man and busted to Doctor Pop's bed without waiting for an invitation from the owner of the room.

Closing the door, Doctor Pop scratched his head in puzzlement but didn't ask anything due to his sleepiness. Contrary to his friend who laid down beside him and fell asleep quickly, Doctor Aun lay with his eyes open until morning...

Early in the morning, there was a knock on Doctor Aun's door. A young man, in the same condition as a walking zombie, stood fearfully before the door. Praying for Golf to come back, he wasn't ready to face the 'thing' he reencountered last night. Either it was real...or it was his illusion due to his sleep deprivation.

In just a moment...the door swung open with the figure of Golf whose brain was numb and eyes were heavy till they were almost closed. Seeing Doctor Aun frozen on the spot, he frowned and asked.

“Hey...why are you standing there, Doctor Aun? Come in! Where did you go last night? I thought you said you were going to sleep here?” said Doctor Golf as he yawned and went to sit on his bed. Doctor Aun stared at his friend in disbelief. Nevertheless, he decided to walk into the room cautiously anyway.

"What's wrong with you, Aun?... Why are you acting like you’ve seen a ghost?"

"Well, that's right..."

"What!! What did you say, Aun?” Doctor Golf turned to look at his friend. Realizing what he had just said, he put on his poker face and denied it in a high-pitched voice.

“Well…uh…I mean, seeing your face is like seeing a ghost, shabby like a corpse."

“Yeah...well...that's right, you haven’t worked in an ER yet. Wait until the next rotation for an ER Pool (2), you'll know what the hell is like. So, are you going to the OB/GYN ward now?" asked Doctor Golf.

Doctor Aun nodded in affirmation. If he didn't have to go to the ward... he would still be sleeping in Doctor Pop's room. He wouldn’t come back up to this room.

"Then I'll go take a shower first. If I'm free, I will visit the ER. I'm bored of the OB/GYN ward."

“That would be nice, help me stitch up the wound. I’m too lazy to do it. My legs were cramping like hell for one stitch case," said his friend, yawning before excusing himself to bed. Doctor Aun seized a towel and ran through the water. He quickly put on his Extern coat to leave the room.

His heart was still shaking...was that the real Golf or the fake one?

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

The hustle and bustle in front of the cesarean room rang out as the doctor walked past. Before he could turn around to see what had happened, the glass door busted open with the figure of Professor Kawee in a bloody sterile outfit. Even with the mask covering half of his face, Professor Kawee's eyes clearly showed a thunderbolt. He took a long step past Doctor Aun without turning to look at his fellow ward physician. Doctor Aun was about to open his mouth to ask what happened; however, the professor had already disappeared in the elevator.

The door to the delivery room swung open again. This time, Nurse Ae, dressed in sterile clothes with a startled expression, ran out and called out to Professor Kawee.

“Professor… Professor!”

But when Nurse Ae saw Doctor Aun standing awkwardly in the area, she suddenly dragged the doctor into the delivery room, where Professor Kawee left the case unfinished.

“What happened, Nurse Ae?”

“Please don't ask any questions for now, Doctor Aun. Hurry up and get the case in the delivery room done.”

Doctor Aun, then, became an Obgyn by default...

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

After everything went smoothly as a new mother gave birth to a healthy baby, the doctor evaluated Apgar's score (3) and went out of the room to change his clothes. The shock of the sudden emergency still lingered in his mind. Why did Professor Kawee just leave the case? And what did those terrified eyes mean?

Waiting till the right time, he called Nurse Ae to a corner in the OB/GYN ward to ask her about it out of his curiosity.

“Why did Professor Kawee just leave the case like that? What happened in the delivery room before I came?”

“I had no idea either, Doctor Aun. At first, Professor Kawee was normal, but when he started to perform the episiotomy (4), he suddenly shouted out ‘ghost... a ghost’, then ran out of the delivery room. We were shocked too. Fortunately, you came. Otherwise, it would be terrible for the patient. It wouldn’t be terrible just for the patient but..." Nurse Ae continued with excitement while Doctor Aun stopped listening. At this moment, he was only interested in the reasons why Professor Kawee said "ghost," or did Professor Kawee actually see a ghost? Nonsense... the professor has been here for ten years. Why was he afraid of ghosts now?

It was still a mystery to be unhinged...if he could make it through another night from this brutal shift!

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(1) BP Drop means Blood Pressure drops

(2) ER Pool is an emergency room shift outside office hours allocated for all externs.

(3) Apgar score is a score used to measure a child's health at birth counted from the first minute and 5 minutes after delivery. Scores are given for each category and combined. It is to analyze from an average score of 10; if the baby’s scores are lower than 10, oxygen is required, or any measures to reach a score of 10.

(4) Episiotomy is surgery to enlarge the vagina in childbirth or perineal removal.