The Sixth Doctor
The first doctor had said that a full recovery was unlikely, that there was no hope.
The second doctor had been fixated only on the prognosis.
The third doctor had shown far more interest in Gayoung than in Gaon, and had always tried to hit on her.
The fourth doctor had been enthusiastic, but eventually left when Gayoung’s condition showed no improvement.
The fifth doctor had insisted that she had to leave the island. The closed environment, he claimed, was only making Gayoung’s state worse.
All of these opinions had been rejected because no one wanted to hear them.
And the man was the sixth doctor.
He was small in build, almost the same size as Gaon, with slightly balding hair. The man wiped sweat from his forehead again and again, as if the position made him nervous. A polite smile sat on his face, and he looked both decent and suitably sociable.
“Gaon-ah. How have you been? You’re still as pretty as ever.”
Baek Jeong-hak opened his thick arms wide and greeted her. Gaon awkwardly returned the embrace.
“Yes, uncle.”
A sharp, masculine scent clung to Jeong-hak. His wrinkled eyes, sparse white hair, and somewhat Homely features made him look benevolent. Yet his gaze carried a damp, heavy quality, as if wrapped in a single layer of fog, which made his appearance slightly unsettling.
“The weather was clear when we left the mainland, but it started raining the moment we arrived on the island. I was glad I had an umbrella in the car. Ah, this time I brought the car. It made the ferry fee higher, but—”
Jeong-hak was a talkative man. Gaon, who spoke little, always found him awkward.
“Well, it’s not my car. This time a guest came along with me. Ah, this gentleman is the new doctor who just arrived. I had to pull strings to get him here. He’s a very famous psychiatrist.”
While Baek Jeong-hak and Gaon exchanged their unusual reunion greetings, the doctor who had been standing a step back stepped forward and offered his hand. Whenever uncle brought in doctors, his words were always the same: famous, exceptionally skilled, this time for sure he would be cured. Of course, from Gaon’s perspective, every doctor uncle had brought so far had been quacks.
“Nice to meet you. Cha Gil-ho.”
“Yes. Please take care of us. Doctor.”
The handshake was damp with sweat. Cha Gil-ho soon released it and wiped the fresh sweat from his forehead. Gaon could not focus completely on the doctor.
It was because of the unfamiliar man walking slowly around the hall, admiring the decorations on the wall. He moved with the relaxed air of someone visiting a museum. The man who had been in the backseat. Was he the doctor’s nephew or a friend?
Who is that man?
Gaon sent Jeong-hak a questioning look, but he did not notice. Smiling brightly, he kept praising Gaon to Cha Gil-ho.
Meanwhile, the unfamiliar guest was now staring at the deer head mounted on the wall.
Long antlers, red fur, elegantly curved features, and glossy glass eyes. Baek Jeong-hak always boasted that he had personally shot it. The man gazed at the trophy in silence.
“Ah! Isn’t that nice? The laws in Korea are so strict that we had to go overseas for it. We hired a famous taxidermist from the area. The muscle detail is realistic, isn’t it? Are you interested in taxidermy?”
Jeong-hak ran over to the man, pleased that his collection had drawn interest. He pointed out the baby wild boar, the deer, and all the other taxidermy pieces arranged beside the deer. The uncle who loved to collect and display everything had gathered these strange decorations throughout the mansion.
The man did not look at Baek Jeong-hak. He simply stood there, gazing at the deer with absorbed intensity.
Even his back, standing straight, was intimidating.
“Gaon-ah, come over and greet him. This is my nephew, and the doctor is treating a patient here, so I couldn’t leave him behind. There are plenty of rooms left in this house, and Baekam Island is good for recovery, right?”
Jeong-hak, feeling embarrassed by the disregard, tried to steer the conversation toward Gaon.
What is this…?
Gaon stared at her uncle in shock. It was absurd. Living together? As a patient? Baek Jeong-hak made a forced smile. His intentions were obvious. Almost no doctors wanted to come to this island anymore. He was probably trying to convey some message like, “Even under these terrible conditions, we’ll accept it.”
“I’m sorry. My nephew will stay here for a few months, and after that he’ll return to the mainland. It was unavoidable because it’s such an important time for treatment. His condition is only mild obsessive-compulsive disorder and germaphobia, so he won’t cause any trouble while living here.”
Cha Gil-ho stepped in to defend him. A brief silence fell between them. It was an uncomfortable silence. The only person who did not feel uneasy was the unfamiliar man. He seemed to have no thoughts at all.
Eventually Gaon let out a soft sigh.
“I understand. A few months….”
They had come this far; they could not simply throw the doctor out. She was also worried about Gayoung’s condition. She had waited so desperately for the doctors to come. If she fired one now, she had no idea how many more months she would have to wait.
“Yes, yes. Let the children greet each other and live well from now on.”
Relieved that the situation had gone well, Baek Jeong-hak laughed heartily and gave Gaon a signal.
“Hello.”
Gaon reluctantly greeted the man first.
She had expected him to ignore her, but fortunately his gaze returned to her.
Glass eyes.
Gaon instinctively recalled the word. How similar the deer’s glass eyes on the wall and the doctor’s cold, frozen eyes behind his glasses were. A faint chill ran down her arms.
When seen up close…
She herself had not made a good first impression, but she thought the man must have had many tiring experiences in his life.
“Yes. Nice to meet you.”
Eventually the man’s lips parted. His voice was lower than expected, deep and heavy, as if pulling her into the depths of the sea.
The next moment, Cha Gil-ho interrupted.
“Then, is this gentleman the patient I will be treating?”
He was pointing at Gaon.
“Ah.”
While uncle’s lips twitched in embarrassment, Gaon spoke first.
“My younger sister will receive treatment from you. The child is extremely wary of strangers, so it’s difficult for her to greet right away. I’ll explain Gayoung’s situation first. Once you’ve observed the child enough, you’ll be able to see her directly.”
Because Gayoung was extremely cautious with new people, this unusual treatment order had been adopted. It was also a method the previous doctors had actively suggested. Everyone had been at a loss because Gayoung’s condition was far more serious than expected.
“Understood.”
Cha Gil-ho nodded obediently. Just as the first greeting was about to end vaguely, Gaon became aware of a sharp gaze.
It was the strange man staring at her without blinking. Gaon met his gaze.
Why look at people like that?
His eyes were cold. An unpleasant feeling rose on its own. The absorbed gaze that had been fixed on the deer was now directed at her.
The man was even larger up close. His height was so great that it cast a shadow, his shoulders were broad, his chest thick, and his forehead straight and visible between tousled hair. Nothing about him was ordinary.
The simple glasses only made his impression colder. Perhaps they were meant to hide those piercing eyes.
A cool scent emanated from him, like a winter wind.
He did not resemble anyone Gaon had met before. He felt like an unusual species she had never seen.
“W-well, she’s always been like that. How is Gayoung? I heard there was a commotion this morning too.”
Jeong-hak broke the strange atmosphere and interrupted. Only then did Gaon realize she had been staring at the man too intently. She let out a small sigh and turned to her uncle. Kim Ju-yeon must have reported the morning’s events.
Everyone is the same.
They all disliked Gayoung. Baek Jeong-hak looked reluctant to ask. Perhaps Gayoung was right. In this house, Gaon was the only one on Gayoung’s side.
“She must have had a nightmare. She’s much better than before.”
Gaon answered defensively, short and curt.
“Yes, that’s right. She’ll get better and better. Doctor, please take care of us. Treat her with all your heart. I trust you completely.”
Jeong-hak patted Gaon’s shoulder. The lukewarm warmth spread across her shoulder, but Gaon did not feel it.
It was because the unfamiliar man had asked a question.
“…Is your name Gaon?”
His lips, beautifully shaped, moved very little yet pronounced each word clearly. Gaon could not answer in time.
“Yes, Baek Gaon. The center of everything, the core. That’s what my brother meant when he named me.”
Jeong-hak answered for her and laughed loudly.
“Baek Gaon. What a nice name.”
Gaon blinked. The man was smiling. His long eyes curved, and his lips softened.
Objectively, his face was overly handsome, but the smile looked artificial. It was like someone who did not know how to smile imitating a forced smile.
When Gaon stared at him, the smile vanished without a trace.
“What’s your name, nephew? I didn’t ask because I was distracted the whole time.”
Jeong-hak asked with a hearty laugh.
“My name is Cha Taekyung.”
Taekyung answered without looking at Jeong-hak, addressing the empty air. Cha Taekyung. Gaon muttered the name to herself. It suited his cold impression.
“Then, where is the treatment room?”
Cha Gil-ho asked, wiping sweat. His expression clearly showed he wanted the awkward, strange first greeting to end quickly.
“Ah, the treatment room. Follow me. There’s a room the doctors used, and next to it is a large study. I’ve always used that as the treatment room.”
Baek Jeong-hak led Cha Gil-ho and Cha Taekyung. As they followed, Taekyung did not turn his gaze back to Gaon. Gaon thought the man might be even stranger than she had expected.