CALL ME • MYUNG JAEHYUN - Chapter 9: Chapter 9

The following morning. The sun poured through the window as always—too intense, too brash for the morning. My alarm had gone silent hours earlier, and my body slowly woke up under the blanket.
I blinked several times, still sleep-addled. My head again felt thick, as if there was fog resting somewhere in the middle of my thoughts. But I got out of bed anyway. It was just another school day.
I went through my morning routine as muscle memory. Washed my face. Brushed my teeth. Put on my uniform.
But when I reached for my socks—
Something struck.
It wasn't just dizziness this time.
It was a rush. Like a drum beating in my head, louder, louder—smashing. My knees gave way, and I crashed to the floor. I gasped as my vision careened sideways. The room whirled viciously.
I clawed at my phone. Found it. Fumbled trying to unlock it. My breathing caught in my throat—unsteady and panicky.
I hit the numbers and called.
"119,응급 상황입니다. 어떻게 도와드릴까요?"
(Emergency services. How can we help you?)
My voice shook, ready to break, as I whispered, "집… 집이요. 서울… 마포구—"
(My home… my house. Seoul, Mapo-gu—)
I got through with the full address, barely.
Then it all went cold. The phone fell from my hand and hit the floor with a clatter. My body followed, slow and heavy, like falling through water.
My final thought was Jaehyun.
Would he wonder why I hadn't shown up?
Would he think I was just hiding once more?
I didn't want to vanish like this.
But the darkness arrived anyway.
And I couldn't prevent it.
JAEHYUN
It was like any ordinary morning—bustling with noise and distraction, the normal hum of school hallways.
I hadn't yet spotted Eunhye. I searched the group of students, glancing about, but there was no indication that she was around.
I tried not to think, but my stomach knotted. She was always there—always came to class, always spoke up, even if it was just to say something quietly. Today was different.
I kept my mind on studies, pushed the nagging sensation out of my head. I couldn't get rid of it. She hadn't been taking my calls or texts either, and I tried not to let the concern settle in too much. It wasn't like her to simply vanish without a word. But I had to keep going. I'd see her tomorrow, for sure.
The hours ticked by like that. Lunch, and then no sign of her.
I was getting restless, though. I didn't know why. Maybe she was ill, or something went wrong. Maybe I should have called again, pushed it harder when she was reluctant.
But what if it was already too late?
That was bothering me. But what could I do? I wasn't certain what I was even anxious about, really.
EUNHYE
My eyes opened, blurry. My head still throbbed, but I could hear voices, quiet and far away.
"You're awake."
A hand rested on my shoulder. I blinked again, and the world came into view. I was on a cold white hospital bed, an IV in my arm.
The light overhead flickered gently. The air was filled with the sound of someone else's breathing.
Eunhye," the nurse spoke softly but firmly. "How are you doing?"
I inhaled sharply, trying to forget the jagged pain that bolted through my head. "My head… it hurts."
The nurse nodded slightly, her eyes scanning to the doctor behind her who watched.
"You've had a pretty rough day. You were transported in by emergency services earlier. Can you describe what you felt before you fell?
I swallowed, trying to think. My mind seemed so foggy, like everything was slipping away from me. "It was just. it's been going on for a while. I kept getting headaches. Dizziness. like I couldn't see straight."
I hesitated, biting my lip. "I thought it was just. I thought it was nothing."
The doctor moved closer, his expression serious but kind. “Eunhye, we’ve run some tests. Your symptoms point to something more than just a simple condition.”
I frowned, confusion clouding my thoughts. "What do you mean?"
The doctor exhaled softly, clearly weighing his words. “We found a mass in your brain. It appears to be a tumor.”
I halted. My heartbeat missed a rhythm. The walls seemed to tighten in, narrowing the room down.
"Tumor?" I breathed, only just able to hear myself speaking.
"Yes," the doctor verified. "It's what we think has been giving you the headaches and eye problems. More tests are going to have to be done for us to grasp the size more precisely and if treatment will need to be offered."
I blinked quickly, attempting to make the words make sense, but they wouldn't fit. Tumor. It was as if the ground had suddenly fallen away from me.
"Is it. is it bad?" The words escaped before I could catch them, my throat constricting.
The physician didn't mince words. "We need to dig deeper, but it's essential we begin treatment right away. Brain tumors are serious, but if treated early, there could be a complete recovery."