By The Way, Danplan Oneshots

Cuckoo's Nest (2)

He collided painfully into the wall, collapsing against it. He panted, chest heaving, and he shook away the dizziness taking over his vision. Hosuh groaned, staring at nothing. The hands were gone. He had escaped.

His arms were hot and itchy under his straightjacket. Wildly, he clawed at his arms, wrestling with himself. It was strangling him.

He bit. He tore. He yelled.

The jacket was stubborn and stayed stuck fast.

He had lost arm privileges.

Hosuh was left lying on the floor, letting out small moans and muttering to himself. It was like he was trapped in that room all over again. Hours dragged by; the screams grew quieter until the hallways were silent. Time was nothing to Hosuh, who was long sealed in his own tortured mind. His eyes grew hazy and clouded, far away.

Someone was humming.

Softly, gently, soothingly, the hum relaxed him. He knew the hum well.

He was a child again, resting on his grandma's lap as she sang, tracing his hand. He was a teen, humming the same tune to himself as he walked to school. The tune that had been carried throughout his life, living long after his grandma did.

Hosuh sat up slowly, his hair spilling over his face. A blue eye shone through the strands, widening.

"Grandma..." Hosuh whispered. He smiled, shuffling over to her on his knees. "You're back..."

She was here, looking like she had done the last time he'd seen her before the doctors took her away from him. Her shawl, her dress, her hair, her dimple – all the same. Hosuh stared up at her, love rushing back in him.

"Grandma...I missed you." He told her like he always used to in Korea after a long day away from her. "You're a better friend than Gwisin...promise you won't leave again?"

His grandma didn't answer verbally. Instead she held out her palm, her lips parted in a small smile. She traced the long line with a crooked finger.

"I'm sorry...I can't..." Hosuh tried to shift his arms but they wouldn't budge. She nodded in understanding.

Slowly, she began to walk down the corridor. Her shawl dragged behind her, leaving a trail of black on the white floor.

Hosuh grinned.

Unsteadily, he rose to his feet. Stumbling, he followed his grandma. The lights flickered but died again, making Hosuh flinch.

"Wait Grandma." He muttered. She was moving unnaturally fast, and soon he was running to catch up with her. His lungs burned and his legs ached but he didn't stop. He couldn't loose her again.

So he almost collided into the iron door when he turned the corner. He feverishly searched the space around him, but his grandma wasn't there.

"Where are you?" He whispered. He pressed himself against the wall, gasping. "Where are you?!" His voice rose to a scream and he coughed.

And the humming was back.

Hosuh closed his eyes, laughing weakly as the humming continued. It was coming from inside the doorway. Lucky it was already open.

Hosuh knew the place existed, because the nurses had explained it to him. This was the cafeteria, where the good patients went to eat their food. If you were good, she said to him, then you could eat with others, on a table. Hosuh was never good enough, because he couldn't stop seeing "fake" things.

Of course it was white, but unlike the other rooms it was torn apart. A nurse was lying still in the corner, her neck cleanly cut. Hosuh crouched next to her, staring at the blood running steadily down her neck. Her eyes were still half open, grey and lifeless. Her arm was twisted to the side, some bone poking out of her wrist. She looked at rest.

A hum escaped his throat at the sight of the dead nurse. Hosuh kept humming, staring deep into her eyes. He hummed louder, unflinching as the blood ran to his bare toes.

Something grunted behind him but Hosuh didn't react. He wanted to keep his eyes on the dead nurse, not her murderer behind him. He didn't care that they killed her.

But when the other grunted again, stamping his foot, Hosuh turned, slowly standing up.

The man was a few inches taller than him. Cuts and splinters from the broken tables and glass were littered over his arms, chest and face. Darker blood that wasn't his coated the rest of him, soaking the white uniform. Hosuh liked how the red seeped into the fabric, weaving itself through every stitch. A knife was clutched in one hand, the tip stained with blood.

Hosuh stared at the man and the man stared back. Both didn't talk.

It was Hosuh who moved first. He saw pain reflected in the eyes in front of him, and dared to shrug his shoulders, thrusting out the straightjacket as much as he could.

The fabric was tough, but the knife was tougher. It cut through the fabric easily. Hosuh grinned, throwing his arms into the air. He laughed, clapping them.

The man who freed him stared at him, fiddling with the knife. He sat on the chair beside them, beginning to crush the cup on the last table. Hosuh blinked at him, furrowing his eyebrows. His confusion didn't dwell, however, and he moved back towards the dead nurse. Her hands were cold but her blood was warm when he rubbed it over his hands. He breathed in the metallic scent, gazing down at the bloody mess. Without another moment's hesitation, he ran to the wall. The blood spread quite easily, making his drawing look neater and clearer.

He clapped his hands once it was done but didn't smile. The drawing did that for him.

Two large eyes, one giant mouth curving upwards almost sickeningly. The man behind him slammed his fist on the chair, splintering wood, but Hosuh didn't react. He extended the bloody smile before adding underneath a brief message:

Stay positive!

Because that's what the posters had flashed at him when he was first dragged through the doors of hell, that's what was underneath each nurse's name-tag. Stay positive, stay positive. Look away, stay positive.

Stay positive indeed.

He snarled, slamming his fist against the wall. Blood splattered, small droplets coating the words.

His companion joined him in a heartbeat, yelling as he clawed the wall.

The smile smudged until it was a mess, unclear and unreadable. Hosuh liked it better that way.