David invited both of them into his clinic, motioned for Jayeon to lie down on the examination bed, and began to hypnotize her. Stephen sat nearby, watching the process intently. Jayeon slowly closed her eyes as David began asking basic questions, such as her name, before steering the conversation toward the missing pieces of her life.
Jayeon started talking about the lost five months. Since David needed to keep his hands free, he asked Stephen to write down everything she said. Stephen quickly grabbed a notepad from the table and began scribbling with a pen.
Jayeon spoke in a low, measured voice, and Stephen frantically transcribed nearly every word. After a short while, Jayeon woke up, blinked against the light, and asked David, "Did I find all the answers?"
The expressions on both doctors' faces made it clear: the hypnosis had yielded nothing useful.
"Didn't I utter a single word?" she asked, her voice dropping.
Stephen handed her the notepad. She scanned the page, her eyes widening as she realized the disjointed fragments she had just spoken matched her waking thoughts.
"Five months! Heartbreak! Lost world! Dreams! What?!" she exclaimed. "Did I say only those things and nothing more?"
"I know the reason behind this," David said calmly.
Jayeon fought down a surge of frustration. "Behind what?"
David acknowledged her irritation with a calm nod. "You are mentally very strong, so I couldn't completely control you. Instead, your mind essentially put up a barrier and rested itself."
Frustrated and overwhelmed, Jayeon abruptly stood up. "Where is the washroom?"
David pointed down the hall, and she hurried away. Exchanging glances, Stephen and David muttered in unison, "She is actually very upset."
"Wait, David—what do you mean she is strong?" Stephen asked.
"Her mental fortitude is exceptionally high, making her difficult to hypnotize," David explained. "You know, I've heard of patients with that kind of mental defense, but she's a first for me. Even I couldn't break through." Stephen stared at him, completely amazed.
Meanwhile, in the washroom, Jayeon splashed cold water on her face and stared at her reflection in the mirror.
"Strong?" she thought, her voice echoing in the small room. "From what angle do I look strong? If I were strong, I would have overcome this already. Why can't I?"
She took a sharp breath, letting her anger subside. Looking back at her reflection, she whispered, "It's not the doctor's fault. It's yours... You are the problem here."
When she stepped back out into the hallway, she overheard the two friends discussing potential solutions. She caught the tail end of David's sentence—that only one person might be able to help her.
Jayeon instantly stepped forward. "Who is it?"
David hesitated. "You've met him once before..."
"I've met him?" Jayeon guessed, her eyes narrowing. "Is it that psychologist?"
David gave a silent nod. Unsure how to process the confirmation, Jayeon grabbed her belongings and rushed out the door. Stephen quickly bid David goodbye and followed her.
The clinic sat right off a busy main road. As Jayeon stepped through the gate, lost entirely in her own thoughts, she completely tuned out the blaring horns of passing vehicles. Unaware of the traffic, she walked straight toward the edge of the street.
Suddenly, a car swerved close, its tires hissing against the asphalt. Jayeon kept walking, oblivious. Right before the vehicle could clip her, Stephen lunged forward, grabbed her arm, and hauled her back onto the sidewalk.
"Have you lost your mind?!" Stephen shouted, his heart pounding.
"What were you trying to do?!"
Jayeon stared at the empty stretch of road, finally realizing how close she had come to disaster. "I'm sorry," she whispered, her voice shaking.
Stephen scolded her, his voice rough with lingering panic. "Why are you so obsessed with this? Stop chasing lost memories! You can create new ones. Even if they aren't the same, it's fine. You need to move forward instead of lingering on memories that only bring you pain. If you can't even recall them yourself, you need to let them go."
"Move on?" Jayeon challenged, her eyes flashing. "On what? The things I don't even know exist? At least a person needs to know something before they can move on."
"Whatever happens," Stephen argued firmly, "I won't let you see that psycho again, no matter what."
Jayeon simply glared at him, offering neither agreement nor refusal. Realizing he wasn't getting through to her, Stephen offered to drive her home. She initially insisted on going alone, but knowing how scattered her focus was, she reluctantly agreed.
The drive was silent until Stephen broke the heavy quiet to apologize.
"I didn't mind," Jayeon replied softly. "And honestly, you weren't wrong. You just don't want to see me like this. But I need to clear my mind, and I know for a fact that I can't just forget this pain. It won't let me."
She pressed her right hand flat against her chest. "I know it sounds crazy, but... somewhere in here, it feels like this pain belongs to someone else. Or, to be more precise, I belong to someone else. I've felt this way since the very beginning, but I tried to ignore it because it sounded absurd. Tears and agony without any physical cause... But the moment I got those medical reports from you, I became a hundred percent sure these are real feelings. I just want a clear answer for why I hurt so much and—"
Stephen couldn't take it anymore. He slammed on the brakes, pulling the car abruptly to the side of the road.
"Why did you stop?!" Jayeon startled, grabbing the dashboard. "Did an animal run out in front of us?"
Stephen stared straight ahead for a long moment before turning to look at her. In the dim light of the dashboard, Jayeon saw the raw, quiet torment in his eyes. Panic flickered through her. She instinctively reached out, placing a hand on his arm.
"What's wrong? Are you alright? Are you in pain?"
Stephen gave a slow, strained nod.
Panicked, Jayeon unzipped her purse, frantically digging inside. "What kind of pain? What is it?"
After a heavy pause, Stephen whispered, "...My heart..."
Jayeon froze, her hand hovering in her bag. She slowly turned her head to look at him, her eyes wide. "What? Are you having a cardiac issue? I'm sorry, I don't carry heart medication—" She usually carried a small first-aid kit filled with painkillers, bandages, and motion-sickness pills, completely forgetting for a fleeting second that Stephen was actually a doctor who would carry his own supplies.
Stephen stared straight into her eyes, his expression dead serious. "This pain is happening because of you."
Jayeon blinked, entirely baffled. "What?"
"I don't even know why," Stephen said, his voice raw. "It hurts when you obsess over someone you don't even know. It hurts that you have these feelings for a stranger... It shouldn't be like this. It's way too fast for me to feel this way about you, to like you this much. But I can't control it. It's completely out of my hands."