Attraction | Ateez

Chapter 1: Floor 3

Hyejin stared blankly down at the stack of papers that lay before her, waiting to be sorted and filed. There were several documents concerning new patients, transferring patients, and other files that had gotten moved or taken out and not put back. She sighed as she pushed the stack over, resting her head in her hands, exhausted and severely stressed from the shifts she had been working lately. She glanced down at her watch, only to be disappointed when she discovered she had another four hours before she could go home. 

"Hey," a deep voice said. Hyejin looked up, finding Seonghwa, her long-time friend and co-worker standing in front of her with two cups in his hands, each steaming from the hot water in them. Strings from tea bags hung down on the side of the cup.

"Hey," she replied, sitting up straight. Seonghwa handed Hyejin a cup which she accepted gratefully. She tried to take a sip, but burned her tongue on the hot brown liquid. He sat down in the chair beside her, blowing into his tea to cool it off.

"Anything new?" she asked, warming her hands with the warm cup.

"Not really. Park Jaeho had another incident. They were trying to take him from the activity area to his room for his medication, but he freaked out and knocked down one of the nurses. He was running down the hall screaming something about shoes." He stretched his legs out and leaned back in the chair, smiling. A bit of his hair fell down in front of his eyes.

Hyejin nodded and sighed. "I'm about to go do my rounds. I have the third floor again. Left wing." she said, setting her tea down. Seonghwa shifted uncomfortably. 

"San is on that floor," he said with a hint of uneasiness in his voice. Hyejin stood and stretched, "I know. It's okay though. I'll be fine." She said, trying to reassure him, although deep down, she wanted nothing to with San

. "Something is off about him, especially when you're there. I don't know. I just always feel weird when I go near him. He's so creepy." Seonghwa said, crossing his arms over his chest. He was staring at a blue pen on the desk. 

Hyejin laughed, "Isn't something off about everyone here? It's a freaking mental institution, Seonghwa." 

He glanced up at her, rolling his eyes. He obviously was not amused. "You know what I mean." Hyejin shrugged and grabbed the clipboard labeled Floor 3  from the bin and walked to the door. "I'll be back," she said, pulling the door closed behind her. 

Hyejin walked down the long white hallway, clutching the clipboard in her arms tightly. The plastic edges of the clipboard dug into her side of her arms. Although she had pretended that everything was okay, the further she got to the elevator, the tenser she got. Choi San made her nervous; he scared her. She closed her eyes as she walked, thinking back to the day she learned San was caught. 

San had been on the run for six years, accused of the murder of fourteen women and two men, all killed in gruesome, horrible ways, however, he was only proven guilty of six of the murders so far, although everyone believed he was responsible for the other eight. Everyone dismissed the thought of a copycat killer or just mere coincidence.

Everyone lived in fear for the longest, as the killings were spread out through Korea. He did not stick to a certain area, but rather traveled around the country looking for new targets, making it difficult to catch him. He was caught though, becoming too arrogant and cocky, carelessly stalking a foreign English teacher from Australia. 

Hyejin remembered sitting down on the couch one day watching the news when it was announced that Choi San had been caught. She felt a rush of sudden relief that she didn't have to be paranoid coming home from work in the late hours of the nights anymore.