Episode 12
In Episode 12, Hanuel gets hit by a truck.
Jeongwoo plans a field trip for Hanuel since she never got to attend one during school–she was too busy studying. He teaches her the little things that make field trips so nostalgic, like shopping for new clothes and eating homemade kimbap. What Hanuel missed as a child, Jeongwoo helps her create as an adult.
Jeongwoo also invites Hongran since field trips are more fun with friends. Hongran invites Dr. Bin because she doesn’t want to third wheel. The four of them grill meat around a campfire, crack open some beers, and talk about how they met. Jeongwoo and Dr. Bin met in medical school and were best friends. During a rare school break between studies and military service, Dr. Bin decided to join a medical volunteer trip. As Jeongwoo pats him on the back for being a good person, Dr. Bin slips on a plastic bag and falls down the stairs, breaking his arm. Jeongwoo takes his place as volunteer and gets featured in a documentary. The documentary takes off, giving Jeongwoo celebrity status almost overnight.
Hanuel visits her psychiatrist and finds out that he’s part of the same volunteer organization as Kyungmin. She finds it suspicious that Kyungmin kept this a secret so she contacts a medical news reporter to learn more about Kyungmin’s new company. It turns out that they’re working on a new drug for acute pain. They claim it has almost no side effects and is twice as effective as existing competitors. Rumor has it that the product is set to pass stage 2 of FDA clinical trials, an accomplishment that less than 5% of new drugs meet. But, rumor also has it that the source of these “tips” is an infamous reporter who previously got caught conspiring with a pharmaceutical company: they tried to manipulate the stock price through false research and press.
Haneul calls Kyungmin to ask more questions. He picks her up, and tension reaches a fever pitch when Haneul asks if he’s involved in the patient murder case. That’s when they get hit by a truck.
Kyungmin was one of the biggest reasons for Hanuel’s depression. He made her feel like he was the only one in her corner when everyone else was against her. She trusted him completely–and then was completely blindsighted when he took everything away from her: her research, her reputation, her promotion. Seeing him, hearing updates about him made her feel tense and anxious–enough to ask her psychiatrist for stronger meds. But, Hanuel has grown since then. Now she’s standing up for the love of her life by digging deeper into a murder case, not knowing what she’ll find.
Trauma, whether it’s a single event or a series of unfortunate events, can silently squeeze the breath out of our lungs. Responses differ depending on the individual, but survivors commonly feel intense extremes of sadness, rage, emptiness, confusion, and hopelessness. Rinse and repeat. But, what feels like a neverending wash cycle can pause abruptly when there is a goal worth pursuing, say, helping someone, protecting them, or loving them. Even if it feels like our lives aren’t worth getting up for in the morning, we might find renewed vigor and motivation to fight for those we love (or causes we believe in).
Maybe. Trauma and depression are complicated. The process of healing looks different for everyone.