RB 106

Yeorok’s hair bristled all the way down to his scalp.

This wasn’t Sim Eunho.

From the outer shell to the very core, everything in front of him was his nephew.

He froze in place as Eunho kicked his chair back and stood up. He slowly walked towards Yeorok.

Eunho leaned on one leg and looked him up and down. When their eyes met, the corners of his lips, which had always shown a gentle smile, split into a fierce grin.

“I heard you’re the one who threw me in here, uncle. How could you do that? Even if things are bad, I’m still your only family. That’s cold.”

“……”

“You think this will fix me? It’s useless. Give up.”

Eunho patted Yeorok’s shoulder. The lazy tone and voice belonged entirely to Choi Yoonho. Even the look of disgust in his eyes was the same.

This couldn’t be dismissed as mere acting. Until now, Sim Eunho had imitated Choi Yoonho almost perfectly, but what Yeorok was seeing now went far beyond imitation.

“But it’s kind of nostalgic and fun. It’s my first time being in a psych ward since I was a kid. What, about nine years ago?”

“……”

“I thought you’d leave me locked up for life, but you came faster than I expected. What changed your mind?”

While Eunho talked to himself, Yeorok just stood there pale, unable to open his mouth. Eunho stared at him seemingly surprised by how shocked he looked. Yeorok’s face was white as paper. His blood had drained, and cold sweat ran down his temples.

Eunho narrowed his eyes. Choi Yeorok was always meticulous to a fault about his appearance, yet his hair was a mess now, and neither his jacket nor tie was anywhere to be seen. For once, he looked desperate.

“What’s with your look?”

Eunho flicked a finger against Yeorok’s wrinkled shirt.

At that moment, Yeorok grabbed Eunho’s wrist. The grip was strong enough to crush bone.

“Who are you?”

“What the hell are you talking about? Did you drink or something?”

Eunho scowled and shook his hand free as he looked around.

“Where’s Seo Taehwa? Didn’t he come? Ugh, I didn’t want to come with you.”

He seemed annoyed. The tone, the expression, everything was familiar. Yeorok felt the ground sink beneath him. He thought nothing could be worse, but what he faced now was beyond anything he could have imagined.

“Sim Eunho-ssi.”

He barely managed to speak. The Eunho consumed by Choi Yoonho didn’t even realize that was his name.

“…Eunho-ya.”

“Crazy bastard, what are you saying?”

Eunho actually scoffed. Yeorok’s desperate look just amused him more, and his grin grew larger.

“Uncle, you’re the one who’s losing it today, huh? Smelling the hospital made you go mad? You wanna get some treatment while you’re here? I’m not the only one in this family who needs help, you know.”

He taunted Yeorok for a moment, then quickly lost interest. His laughter disappeared, and he irritably brushed his bangs back.

Then, he suddenly noticed the watch wrapped around his wrist.

“Ah.”

His thoughts flickered. He did remember asking Secretary Hong to bring him some clothes, and among the things delivered was a well-used wristwatch.

It was expensive, a rare luxury model. But he didn’t remember putting it on himself. His body must’ve done it out of habit.

Why had he worn a watch that wasn’t even his style, one that someone else had clearly used, as if it was something precious?

“……”

Eunho stared at the watch, then undid the leather strap. He threw it into a trash can in the corner without hesitation. He rolled his stiff neck as if a burden had lifted.

When he looked up, Yeorok was staring blankly at the trash can. His face was a sight. It was absurd to see Choi Yeorok looking devastated.

“What’s wrong with him?”

Eunho muttered as he looked at him. It was a strange, fascinating sight, but watching Choi Yeorok act so out of character started to irritate him. It made his stomach churn for some reason.

His mood swung again. He brushed his hair back once more. For now, the only way out of this hospital was to play nice with his uncle. After all, Yeorok really was his only guardian.

“Just discharge me already. I don’t want to stay here.”

He spoke as calmly as he could, dropping all hostility. Yeorok, who had been staring at the trash can, finally turned his head. His eyes were still full of confusion.

After a moment of silence, words bordering on resignation followed.

“Alright. Let’s go.”

On the way back to Seoul, the atmosphere inside the car was suffocatingly silent. Only the mechanical voice of the navigation broke the silence once in a while. Secretary Hong drove quietly, eyes fixed on the road, while Yeorok and Eunho sat in the back, keeping distance between them.

Eunho sat with his arms folded, asleep. Before that, he had warned Yeorok not to lay a single finger on him. He had complained of a headache earlier, and even in his sleep, his brows were furrowed.

“……”

Yeorok quietly watched him, then let out a long sigh. His head hurt too. He held his forehead and started pondering. He couldn’t make sense of anything. His mind, which usually worked smoothly, now felt rigid.

As if possessed by something, Eunho genuinely believed he was Choi Yoonho. It wasn’t madness. His behavior was too calm, showing none of the confusion or delirium typical of mental breaks.

Sim Eunho, the person, was simply gone. Only Choi Yoonho remained inside.

Yeorok pulled out his phone and played the CCTV footage the hospital had just sent. In the video, Eunho was screaming when he was first brought in. Even though the recording was silent, Yeorok could almost hear his cries.

He almost wished he had seen it in person. If Eunho had screamed at him, thrown accusations, anything…he would’ve taken it all. But now, he didn’t even know where to begin.

Yeorok’s pupils trembled. He eventually turned off the video and closed his eyes. His anxiety wouldn’t subside, and his stomach churned.

The conclusion was self-evident: it was all his own karma.

The sins he had committed had finally destroyed Sim Eunho.

When they arrived home, Eunho went straight into the annex.

Instead of following him, Yeorok sent Ahn Jaehwan, who had been called ahead of time. Emotional reactions wouldn’t help now. He needed a professional’s judgment.

Ahn Jaehwan came to the mansion after nightfall. His expression after meeting Eunho was grim.

“How does he look?”

Yeorok tried to hide his unease as he asked, but the worry in his eyes was obvious. It was rare for him, but Ahn Jaehwan was too preoccupied to notice. Just thinking about Eunho made him sigh heavily.

“Not good.”

“……”

“Like you said, Sim Eunho’s personality is completely gone. I observed him for hours, but none of Eunho’s tone, habits, or behavior appeared. Even patients with delusions usually show traces of their own mannerisms without realizing it… but there’s nothing.”

Ahn Jaehwan rubbed his darkened face. When he met Eunho, Eunho had shown him nothing but hostility. He’d lashed out, just like Choi Yoonho used to.

But when someone’s agitated, it’s actually easier to observe them. Their instinctive speech, tone, and behavior come out more clearly. Yet there was no trace of Sim Eunho. The worst of the possibilities Ahn Jaehwan had considered had come true.

“I think it’s dissociative identity disorder… In Eunho’s case, instead of having multiple personalities, it looks like only Choi Yoonho’s personality remains.”

“Are you sure?”

“To make an exact diagnosis, we’d need to run detailed tests. But the possibility is very high. And his memory isn’t intact either. He’s missing about a year. His mind is stuck at the point before Choi Yoonho died.”

“……”

“I told him that time has passed. Instead of being shocked, he said he’s glad the trust has ended.”

That was just the sort of reaction Choi Yoonho would’ve given.

“Can someone without any mental illness suddenly end up like this?”

“…Eunho’s been struggling for a long time. I think this happened because he tried to kill off his own identity to become Choi Yoonho.”

Yeorok’s eyes widened. He was hearing this for the first time.

“Why are you saying that only now?”

“I didn’t think it would come to this. I did give him advice during our sessions, but… I’m sorry. I guess I wasn’t good enough.”

Ahn Jaehwan explained everything he’d learned about Eunho through counseling — the nightmares where he became Choi Yoonho, how his physical condition would change whenever he immersed himself too deeply in playing Yoonho.

There had been small symptoms of identity confusion, but nothing severe. However, the shock from this recent incident likely triggered full dissociation.

“……”

While Ahn Jaehwan spoke, Yeorok quietly stared at the floor. He’d known that even when Eunho smiled in front of him, his life couldn’t have been easy.

A year of blindly trying to become Choi Yoonho had turned poisonous. Eunho had been breaking little by little, and Yeorok hadn’t noticed. Instead of helping him, he’d pushed him deeper into the pit.

Yeorok massaged his temple. The excruciating headache wouldn’t go away.

“The treatment?”

“Medication and psychotherapy are the basics. If there’s no improvement, we might have to move on to hypnosis or electroshock therapy. But the key is whether he’s willing to be treated at all…”

It was uncertain whether Eunho would cooperate. In psychiatric treatment, the first condition is that the patient has to be open to it. With how resistant he was now, even a seasoned doctor like Ahn Jaehwan didn’t know where to start.

“We’ll need time… Go slowly. That’s probably the best way.”

“……”

“We broke him. So we have to put in just as much effort to fix him.”

Ahn Jaehwan said he’d postpone opening his clinic and focus entirely on Eunho for now.

“……”

Yeorok silently clenched and unclenched his damp hands. Based on Ahn Jaehwan’s advice, he began forming a concrete plan.

Like always, any unforeseen variable could simply be corrected. He would bring Eunho back to how he used to be. Time and cost didn’t matter. He kept repeating to himself that it could be fixed, that he would make it so.

Pressing his aching forehead, Yeorok finally said,

“Take care of him for the time being. Even if nothing changes, report to me every day.”

“Alright.”

Ahn Jaehwan sighed and stood up first. Once he left, heavy silence filled the first-floor study. Yeorok sat there for a long time before speaking.

“Namyeong.”

“Yes.”

Secretary Hong, who was standing nearby, immediately answered. Yeorok covered his forehead with a stern expression.

“Where’s Seo Taehwa?”

“…He flew to Japan.”

Seo Taehwa had fled quickly. The man was shrewd. He knew he couldn’t be safe after what he’d done, so he ran abroad.

“Contact President Kang.”

Yeorok clenched his jaw. His head felt like it was boiling with rage, but he forced himself to hold back.

He wasn’t angry only at Seo Taehwa. His own carelessness had led to this disaster. But that didn’t mean he would let it go. Seo Taehwa would pay for it, no matter what.

“Tell him to bring Seo Taehwa to me. I don’t care how. I don’t care if it takes a month or a year, just catch him.”

Leaving those words behind, Yeorok rose from his seat. His steps leading him to the annex.