The maknae

CHAPTER FIVE

"Detective Kim speaking."

"Detective Kim Ha-joon?"

"Yes."

"Detective Kim, this is Dr. Song. The boy is awake."

Detective Kim rose quickly from his chair at the doctors words. "I'm on my way." Hanging up, he grabbed his coat from the back of his chair. He saw Bahk approaching from the break room, cup of coffee in hand. "The kids awake." he announced.

Bahk set his coffee upon his desk, snatching his jacket as he followed his partner out the precincts door.

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Detectives Kim and Bahk saw the doctor awaiting them when they entered the hospital lobby. 

"Gentlemen." Dr. Song greeted before leading the men through the double doors out of the lobby and down the hall to the elevator. "I'm afraid I can't tell you when the boy awoke, only that the nurse on duty discovered him awake when she entered his room to check his vitals, which was about...half an hour ago, so there's no way to determine how long he's been awake and coherent, nor how long he will remain so."

Both men nodded.

"I also suggest you keep your questions yes or no. If you recall from the medical report, the bruising around his neck was caused by strangulation, which damaged his larynx, his voice box, which led to vocal cord paralysis. Such paralysis can affect one's ability to speak and breathe."

"It's affecting the kids breathing?" Bahk asked.

The doctor nodded. "Yes, the vocal cords do more than simply make sound. They also protect your airway by preventing food, drink, and even saliva from entering your trachea, or windpipe, and causing you to choke. Your vocal cords are two flexible bands of muscle tissue that sit at the entrance to your windpipe. When you speak, the bands come together to make sound. The rest of the time, they are relaxed in an open position so you can breathe. However, the breathing problem seems mild and not life-threatening, which is good, but his ability to speak is non-existent at this point. He will need to undergo surgery to fix the damage, and possible voice therapy, so I'm afraid he won't be able to answer any questions that involves more than a shake or nod of the head."

 "We could have him write down his answers." Kim suggested.

The doctor shook his head again as he replied. "Not with both hands out of commission due to his fractured wrists. He's sporting a pair of matching casts, and restriction of movement to broken bones in the wrists is critical to proper healing, only the flexing of fingers is allowed so they don't become stiff."

"Well, so much for getting the kid's name." Bahk said on a sigh.

Doctor Song gave a sympathetic smile. "Sorry detectives."

"Don't worry doctor, we'll figure something out."

The elevator dinged, signaling it reached it's designated floor. Once the doors slid open, the three men stepped off the elevator, detectives Kim and Bahk following behind the doctor. They stopped in front of room 520, the doctor turning to the two men at his back. 

"The boy is on a morphine drip to help with the pain, which makes the patient lethargic and sleepy."

Both men nodded in understanding before the doctor opened the door and the three of them stepped inside.