Devil’s Music

The song of water spread throughout the four-person hospital room. Barbara, with her eyes closed and a pleasant expression, and Mijin in the next bed, seemed to want to hear more music as they tucked their hair behind their ears.

From the opposite bed, both the lady who was fishing today and the lady who was nodding had momentarily stopped their restless movements and looked at the speaker from which the music flowed.

Hearing the piano's intro and the heavy sound of the bass guitar, Barbara closed her eyes and smiled.

"Hmm... I wonder why? It reminds me of my very early childhood, carefree days playing in the mountains and fields."

Geon smiled and gently touched Barbara's forehead.

"Please rest comfortably, Barbara."

Barbara narrowed her eyes and looked up at Geon.

"Thank you."

In those simple words of thanks, countless emotions were melted. Barbara's gratitude, borne from a lifetime of living, felt different to the gratitude others expressed towards Geon.

Geon, while looking down at Barbara with a warm smile, stole a glance at Mijin. Although she had not yet escaped her gloomy expression, she had stopped crying and was listening to the music. Geon decided to set the music on repeat and stood up.

'I should step out so as not to disturb them.'

As Geon stood up, he saw the lady who had been fishing crouched on the opposite bed now comfortably lying down inside her blanket with her eyes closed.

The nodding lady was blankly staring out the window. As Geon muted his footsteps and approached the door, three nurses who had been peeking through the gap quickly scattered.

As Geon opened the door and sat down at the waiting seat right next to it, the nurses whispered from a distance.

"Is that Kay's new song? It's so different from his previous music."

"Yeah, it feels like New Age music, something mysterious and tranquil, totally different from Fury."

"I like this one better. I only heard a bit of the music through the door, but it made me incredibly happy."

The nurses saw Geon just folding his arms and looking at the floor for about an hour.

Suddenly, looking at his wristwatch, Geon stood up again, went back into the room, grabbed his phone and speaker, and left.

As he closed the door and looked inside the room through the window, he smiled and walked out of the hospital, while the nurses quickly ran to peek inside the room.

One of the nurses, feeling the unusually quiet atmosphere of the room, cautiously opened the door to look inside.

"My goodness..."

Room 403 was a room for female patients with depression, aphasia, insomnia, and schizophrenia. Since everyone had different sleeping times, it was normal for at least one person to be awake even in the middle of the night. But now, all four patients were deeply asleep.

"Was Nurse Lisa in charge of Room 403?"

"Yes, here she comes."

Coming back from assisting a doctor's rounds with a bunch of medical records, Lisa saw the gathered nurses in front of Room 403 and looked puzzled.

"What's going on?"

The nurses quietly closed the room door. They didn't want to wake the patients who had just fallen asleep. The last nurse out held the doorknob and asked. ȒἈΝΟ𝔟Е𝐬

"Lisa, has there ever been a time when all the patients in Room 403 were asleep at the same time?"

Lisa, feeling the weight of the medical records, put them down on the seat where Geon had been sitting and stretched her back.

"Ugh, phew. Room 403? I don't recall that ever happening, except for Barbara, the others are also being treated for insomnia."

"That's what I thought. I've seen it myself several times during the night shift; at least one of them was always awake."

Lisa tilted her head curiously and asked.

"But why do you ask?"

As the nurses stepped aside and pointed to the room, Lisa looked through the window of the room with a puzzled look.

She was slightly startled and cautiously opened the door and entered the room. The first face she saw was Barbara's.

Although Alzheimer's has no direct relation to insomnia, Barbara usually slept well at night, making it rare for her to nap during morning hours. Lisa noticed Barbara sleeping with a cozy smile.

She then saw Mijin, the most severely insomniac patient, softly snoring in her sleep.

Surprised, Lisa covered her mouth with her hand.

Turning around with wide-open eyes, she saw the other two ladies also sleeping tightly, almost curled up.

Although Mijin was just sleeping expressionlessly, Barbara and the other two patients seemed to be having happy dreams, smiling as they slept.

After watching the patients for a while, Lisa came out, closed the door tightly, and asked seriously.

"Please tell me what happened."

After hearing from the nurses that Geon had been there and that he had played what he claimed was his

new song for about an hour, which resulted in this scene, Lisa looked back into the room through the window again.

"I'll have to report this to the doctor."

"The attending doctor? He might think we're crazy..."

"Still, we are supposed to report any changes in the patients."

"Please don't mention our conversation. I don't want us to be treated as if we're insane..."

"Hehe, don't worry, go back to your duties."

Lisa's eyes hardened as she watched the nurses hurriedly return to their stations.

"Music... The method of treating with music has always existed. Let's start by reporting this."

* * *

The next morning.

Geon, visiting the hospital again today, walked towards the psychiatric ward. Passing through the always noisy wards, he headed towards the fourth floor when he stopped in his tracks.

Seeing more than ten doctors and over twenty nurses standing in front of Room 403, Geon quickened his pace. As he approached, Lisa whispered to a middle-aged doctor standing next to her.

"Here he comes."

The middle-aged doctor, looking at a medical chart, looked up and smiled.

"Kay? Nice to meet you. I'm Larry Wilkins, the head of psychiatry."

Geon looked into the room window and asked.

"What's going on?"

"Haha, there is something indeed. We've been waiting to ask you something."

"Please, go ahead."

"Let's sit down for a moment."

As Larry gestured to the seat Geon had used the day before, they both sat down, surrounded by doctors and nurses. Surrounded by the medical staff, Geon, looking awkward, listened as Larry spoke with a smile.

"There hasn't been an accident, so rest assured. I just have a few questions for you."

"Yes... go ahead."

Larry looked through four medical charts and said.

"I heard that you played what you call a new song here yesterday, is that correct?"

Geon, looking embarrassed, replied in a shrinking voice.

"Ah... so that was it. I'm sorry, I acted on my own without permission."

"Was it intended as a treatment?"

"I'm not a doctor, so it wasn't intended as a treatment. I just played the music a bit longer because Barbara liked it. The other patients just happened to listen along with Barbara."

"I see. Then it's just a visitor playing music for a patient, which shouldn't be a problem."

"Yes... but why..."

Larry still looked at the charts with a serious expression.

"Research on music therapy is still actively ongoing, but the current established treatment involves playing different music for different patients and varying the frequency, not playing the same music for everyone. What happened yesterday is something we just can't understand, which is why I asked."

Larry flipped a chart.

"Name, Barbara Dumas. Age 79. A patient suffering from Alzheimer's who can sleep well listening to music because she doesn't have insomnia. This is understandable."

Larry picked up the next chart.

"Name, Elisha Glass. Age 44. A patient with severe schizophrenia, depression, and insomnia. She's been here for over three years after surviving a shark attack during a family fishing trip that killed everyone else."

He looked at the next chart.

"Name, Courtney Thompson. Age 39. A patient with unresolved symptoms of depression and insomnia, sometimes showing aggressive tendencies, being considered for transfer to a solitary room."

Picking up the last chart, Larry explained.

"Name, Kim Mijin. Age 36. A patient suffering from severe depression, aphasia, and insomnia after losing her daughter in a mafia shootout."

After describing the four patients, Larry looked up at Geon.

"Do you see? All four patients have different cases, reasons, and symptoms. Yet, all showed improvement after listening to your music. It might have been just for a day and could be temporary. Would you like to take a look inside the room?"

Geon, making eye contact with Larry for a moment, stood up and looked through the room window. He saw Barbara's back as she stood by the window, and Elisha peeling an orange she had taken from the fridge and putting pieces into Courtney's mouth, who was diligently chewing despite her expressionless face.

Mijin's position was not visible from outside, but the ward looked more like a regular hospital ward than a psychiatric one, which surprised Geon as he stood speechless for a moment.

As Larry approached Geon, still staring at the room, he said.

"What do you think? Even to a layman's eyes, the improvement is apparent, isn't it?"

Unable to take his eyes off the room, Geon whispered softly.

"Yes, it appears so to my eyes as well."

After a moment of silence, Larry spoke again.

"About that music. I hear it's an unpublished song. When do you plan to release it?"

Geon, pondering for a moment, replied.

"It's meant for a full album

, and it's the first song I've worked on. It will take some time to work on the other songs, probably around this winter, I think."

Larry bit his lip as he looked at the calendar. It was the end of May, and winter was over six months away. After a moment of contemplation, he looked determined and said.

"Kay, there are many people in the world suffering emotionally. They're asking for help, but the world still knows little about mental illness. That's why medical professionals strive every day to provide any possible help to those in agony."

Geon nodded deeply.

"I'm well aware. I believe that doctors and nurses treat patients with that kind of heart."

Larry hesitated with a cautious face and then spoke.

"I know it's unpublished music and might be difficult, but could you possibly help?"

>

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