The Man Who Rolled In (5)

In an instant, every noise inside the clinic seemed to be switched off, and silence fell. In the strange hush where only the hum of the ancient refrigerator droned on, their eyes met.

Thump, thump. Her heart began to pound like mad. A suffocating tension swallowed Yun-seo whole.

Just as the cheek where his breath had touched began to burn hot enough to scorch, a thunderous roar shattered the stillness and shook the clinic door on its hinges.

"What in tarnation, you mangy son of a —! What in the world d'you think you're doin'!"

Through the flung-open door, the villagers came pouring in. Startled out of her wits, Yun-seo shoved hard against the man's chest.

When she opened her rabbit-wide eyes toward the doorway, the grandmothers stood defiantly at full charge, each having grabbed the crutch and broom kept leaning against the side of the clinic.

At the head of the pack, Grandma Pil-soon brandished her broom like a weapon and hollered.

"I knew it the moment you showed up cussin' out your elders on the road! Where's some no-backbone whelp get off touchin' our doctor, huh!"

"Wait, stop! Please, stop!"

Yun-seo threw herself desperately between them. Just before the broom's bristles could reach his shoulder, Grandma Pil-soon's hand froze mid-swing.

"It's a misunderstanding, Grandma! And he's a patient right now — rest is the most important thing for him."

"Misunderstandin', my foot! I saw it with these two eyes, clear as day! That good-for-nothin' had his face smashed right up against your chest—"

"It really wasn't like that!"

When Yun-seo raised her voice with firm resolve, the villagers exchanged glances and quietly began to back away. But Grandma Pil-soon, the vanguard, was another matter entirely. Still eyeing the man with open displeasure, she raked him up and down with a sharp gaze and rolled up her sleeves.

"That the truth? Well, thank the heavens if it is... Either way, get your head straight and ship that rotten fella off to the mainland right now. The roads've cleared, so hurry on and call the substation."

"No — we've decided to treat him here for the time being."

"What? Now hold on, do you even know what kind of man he is! Yesterday alone he nearly cracked his skull wide—"

"Grandma!"

Yun-seo grabbed the hem of Grandma Pil-soon's sleeve, cutting her off in desperate haste.

"Aiigo, you near 'bout took my ears off! What're you hollerin' for!"

"I... I'm sorry. Anyway, it's not even a weekday — what brings you all out here?"

"Hah? Why, we came to bring you back that motorcycle you went and left lyin' in the road yesterday, and that there bucket-lookin' thing that protects the head."

At the smooth change of subject, the old woman tipped her chin toward the clinic's yard. Beyond the window, a mud-caked motorcycle sat abandoned next to the red helmet — the very one that had knocked the man's temple into next week — lying there in lonely solitude.

Why... why is that there...?

Yun-seo's eyes fluttered wildly, unable to find anywhere to land.

She stole a quick glance at the man, but thankfully he stood there placid and oblivious. Even so, to guard against any unforeseen disaster, that helmet simply had to disappear from sight — no matter what.

Hiding her trembling hands behind her back, Yun-seo forced a smile.

"As it happens, I do have something to discuss with you all about that. Could you follow me outside for a moment? Mr. San will stay here."

Practically shoving the man into the treatment room, she ushered the villagers out of the clinic. The grandmothers, standing around with baffled frowns, gathered in a circle around her.

"So what's this about? What's so dang secret you gotta drag us all the way out here?"

Yun-seo felt her mouth go bone dry and let out a long, deep breath.

"That man... I think he's lost his memory."

"Come again?"

"Well, you see..."

As she lowered her voice and explained the whole story, her expression turned dead serious. The villagers, listening intently in silence, grew darker in the face with every word — black and dead as the mud on a tidal flat.

"Just in case, I mean. What if — what if, really."

"What if what?"

"What if that man really was a con artist, and his memory comes back later... won't that cause problems for us?"

"Th-then what do we do, child? What if he up and remembers everythin' and goes slicin' folks with a knife!"

"We have to treat him well. So that even after he remembers everything, he won't have any reason to harm us."

"Still, all the same..."

Grandma Pil-soon and the other elders traded nervous glances, fear written across their faces. Yun-seo seized the opening and drove her point home.

"I don't know if it's because his memory's gone, but so far he doesn't seem to have any intention of doing anything bad. And even if he does turn violent down the line — I'm the only doctor on this island who can save his life. He'll listen to what I say. Probably."

Grandma Pil-soon, already half gone from the world, nodded along vacantly, her unfocused eyes darting toward the clinic again and again.

"Aye. Best do it that way, then. Yes, if our Yun-seo says so, then that must be how it is... Though all the same, that con-man fella..."

"He's not a con man. He's San. San."

"...Hah?"

"His name is San. San. What if he overhears us calling him a con man and something happens, hm?"

"Right, right! San, it's San, then! We'll mind our tongues, so don't you go frettin' yourself, our Yun-seo."

"Thank you. I'm counting on you all, then."

Having extracted their solemn promises and finally seen the villagers off, Yun-seo pressed a hand to her forehead, her expression a tangle of worries. The long sigh she breathed out scattered thin into the cold morning air.

Standing beneath the clear sky, she gazed blankly around the yard until her eyes stopped dead at one corner. Over the abandoned helmet, a splash of thin muddy water had dried in uneven, mottled streaks.

It was as if yesterday's gruesome scene were playing back on a screen, and her heart began hammering loudly all over again.

"First things first — I need to hide that thing somewhere it can't be seen."

Glancing quickly around, Yun-seo snatched up the helmet and hurled it deep into the storage shed, clear over the pile of junk in the far corner.

It was the perfect destruction of evidence.

Back inside the clinic, Yun-seo leaned against the door and let out a few short, ragged breaths. The image of the helmet buried deep in the shed haunted her mind like a ghost.

Just as she was finally beginning to unwind, a heavy, enormous shadow slowly fell across her from above.

"Dr. Ko Yun-seo."

Startled by the low voice dropping right in front of her, Yun-seo snapped her head up.

"Y-yes! Mr. San. What can I do for—"

Don't tell me his memory came back just now. The man's massive frame blocking her view was nothing short of a wall. She swallowed dryly under the crushing weight of his presence.

"My heart is pounding something fierce."

"...I'm sorry — your heart?"

At the completely unexpected words, Yun-seo blinked.

It wasn't the worst-case scenario, but it was hardly a relief either. A dizzying list of terrible symptoms began stacking up in her head.

An autonomic storm from brain damage, or prodromal warning signs of rapidly rising intracranial pressure.

Even pausing to grab her stethoscope was a luxury she couldn't afford. White as a sheet, she flung herself at him reflexively to assess his condition. When she pressed her ear to the firm left side of his chest — thump, thump — she felt a violently thrashing vibration travel straight into her ear.

A precursor to real shock? Fear seized her all at once, and she lifted her head to check his color. His face was flushed scarlet, like a cauldron pot fresh off the fire.

"Do you have a fever?"

Alarmed, Yun-seo laid a hand on his forehead, then palpated his neck and cheeks, checking for heat everywhere she could reach. The skin beneath her fingertips burned so hot that her hands only grew busier.

It was then that the man, gazing quietly down at her as she busily ran her hands over his body with a face drunk on fever, murmured:

"I'm going out of my mind."

He let out a hot gust of breath and swept a rough hand down the chest she'd been touching. At the unmistakable look of bewilderment on his face, Yun-seo seized his shoulders and asked frantically.

"What, what is it! Is it hard to breathe? Does your chest feel tight?"

"Well, yes, that too."

"Yes, that too! What else? Any dizziness? Nausea?"

As Yun-seo leaned in close, eyes wide, he scratched the tip of his nose with one large hand and glanced subtly away. A bead of sweat trickled down his reddened nape and soaked, ever so slowly, into the bandage above.

"Ha... no, it's not that."

"If it's not that, then what?"

"Ever since you stepped in to protect me from the grandmothers earlier... my heart's been going ba-bump like crazy."

"...I'm sorry?"

"And, uh, when you were carrying the helmet, too."

The man tossed a glance toward the corner of the yard where she'd been prowling moments ago.

"The... motorcycle helmet?"

"Yeah. Watching you carry that thing, my heart started hammering all over again."

That was not a good sign. The grandmothers. The motorcycle helmet. Weren't those all the very scenes he'd been facing right before the accident?

"And right now, you're much too close."

Just as a chill ran down her spine, a low voice cut in, and she blinked slowly.

"Your skin is touching me, Doctor."

At the absurd observation, she followed his downward gaze with her own — and found her upper body plastered flat against his chest. Only then did she begin to feel it through her thin top: the hard ridges of his pectorals, and the furnace-like heat radiating from within them.

"Ah."

Clutching her burning face, Yun-seo stumbled backward. Not that it mattered — the door behind her had been firmly shut this whole time.

Unable to find anywhere to rest her eyes, her gaze darted in wild disorder across the floor and the medical instruments lying about as if no one had bothered to tidy them.

Just as the suffocating tension began to squeeze the air from her lungs, the man murmured in a troubled voice.

"I don't think it's the injury... I think it might be something else entirely."