Lee Junho held his breath and observed Hayul’s work process. The child was drawing without any preliminary sketch. This was not technique. It was pure artistic inspiration.
“Gihwan hyung!”
Lee Junho hurried over to Gihwan.
They had grown close after talking late into the night yesterday. They were of a similar age, and since Lee Junho was easygoing and friendly, it had been simple for them to become familiar with each other.
“I think this painting is really incredible.”
Gihwan looked down at the drawing and smiled.
“Yeah, I was surprised too. This kind of precise calculation usually only comes out when a computer does it.”
“Ah, hyung, you’re looking at it mathematically. I was looking at it from the perspective of contemporary art, and this is truly revolutionary.”
“A contemporary art perspective?”
“First of all, in terms of form, it’s a perfect example of fractal art that began appearing in the 1980s. These color transitions completely align with Josef Albers’s theory of color interaction.”
Gihwan blinked and looked at the drawing again.
“So that’s how the art world sees it.”
“What contemporary art values most is purity, hyung. Primitive expressiveness unbound by technique. That’s why Jean-Michel Basquiat and Keith Haring became famous. And this drawing has that kind of purity.”
“The most mathematical thing touching on what’s pure… That does sound plausible.”
When Gihwan nodded, Lee Junho spoke as if frustrated.
“This isn’t something you can just say, ‘I see,’ and move on! If you took this to a gallery in New York, the curators would go wild.”
“Right, right. Our Hayul really is good at drawing.”
Gihwan widened his eyes and stroked the head of Hayul, who was looking at them.
As if reassured, Hayul gripped the crayon again and continued drawing lines.
At the moment, Gihwan was acting as Hayul’s temporary guardian.
If Hayul’s mother still did not appear after a little more waiting, he planned to adopt her.
No matter how exceptional Hayul’s talent was right now, they couldn’t put her out into the world without a guardian. Of course, they would carefully store every drawing Hayul made.
“Will our Hayul become an artist someday?”
“Hah, someday? Hayul is already an artist.”
“Then I’ll have to buy her more sketchbooks and drawing tools. Right, Hayul?”
As if she did not understand what he meant, Hayul glanced at Gihwan, then focused on her drawing again.
“Ah, this is frustrating. You’re really just going to leave this talent alone?”
Lee Junho shook his head as though he could not understand.
Taeho stood on one side of the living room with a cup of coffee, watching them. He had been smiling as he listened to Lee Junho explain passionately, but then he noticed something strange.
As Lee Junho gestured while explaining Hayul’s drawing, his right shoulder twitched. It jerked upward and fell back down in an instant, as if someone had lightly poked him from behind.
‘There it is again.’
Taeho’s intuition kicked in.
It was not an ordinary gesture. It was an involuntary movement, a muscle contraction that occurred regardless of the person’s will.
After watching for a few more minutes, the same phenomenon repeated. Whenever Lee Junho was speaking with focus, a small spasmodic movement appeared around his shoulder or neck.
“Junho?”
“Yes?”
“Do you feel any discomfort around your shoulder right now?”
“My shoulder? No, not really…?”
Lee Junho tilted his head. It seemed he was completely unaware of it himself.
Taeho began observing Lee Junho more closely.
Once again, Lee Junho’s right shoulder popped upward. Just like someone behind him had lightly nudged him as a prank. The movement was instantaneous, but Taeho, who had been watching carefully, caught it.
‘Again. The same angle.’
Taeho set down his coffee cup, checked the second hand on his wristwatch, and began counting.
Ten, nine, eight, seven…
The shoulder twitched again.
Twice, three times…
“Junho.”
“Yes?”
“Over the past few days, have you felt anything like numbness in your shoulder or stiffness in your neck?”
Lee Junho tilted his head.
“I’m not sure. I haven’t exercised at all, so I do feel a bit stiff, but nothing particularly uncomfortable.”
As he continued speaking, his neck tilted ever so slightly, almost imperceptibly. And the middle of his sentence cut off for about half a second. Because he immediately continued, Gihwan did not notice.
But Taeho did not miss that blank.
No awareness. No suppression either. Stimulus-sensitive myoclonus…
“Junho.”
Taeho spoke with a serious expression.
“Come here and look at this light for a second.”
He turned on the stand lamp, covered it briefly with his palm, then revealed it. As the bright light grazed his pupils, his shoulder jumped again. It was a response so honest it gave one goosebumps.
Lee Junho laughed awkwardly.
“That’s strange. Why do I keep twitching?”
“I heard a brief summary yesterday, but can you tell me your medical history in more detail?”
“Yes, ask me anything.”
“Before the seizures first started, did you have any other symptoms? Even something very minor.”
Lee Junho thought for a moment.
“Even before the seizures began, I felt like my concentration had dropped a little. When I painted, I couldn’t immerse myself as much as before. I thought I was hitting a slump.”
“Anything else?”
“Ah, around the time the seizures started, there were moments when I couldn’t think of words. Words I definitely knew, but when I tried to say them, they just hovered on the tip of my tongue.”
Taeho was so serious that not only Gihwan but even Hayul looked at the two of them.
“Any changes in personality?”
“I’m not sure. People around me did say I seemed a little more sensitive. But you know how it is. Artists’ emotions are always up and down, so everyone just assumed it was normal.”
“Did you have measles when you were young?”
“Measles? Ah, measles! I heard I had a severe case when I was five. They said I suffered for nearly a month…”
Taeho’s heart began to race. The history of measles and the current symptoms were fitting together like pieces of a puzzle.
He turned around and, pretending to go get water, quietly murmured.
“Rema, analyze the possibility of SSPE.”
-Analysis of SSPE (Subacute Sclerosing Panencephalitis) probability initiated.
-28-year-old male, history of measles.
-Current symptoms: epileptic seizures, fine myoclonic jerks.
-Analyzing…
Complex data began appearing on Rema’s screen.
SSPE was a disease in which the measles virus lay dormant in the brain, then reactivated after a long time and invaded the nervous system. It often developed years after a person had measles, but since the disease itself was extremely rare, it was not easy for ordinary doctors to suspect SSPE.
Moreover, in Lee Junho’s case, twenty-three years had passed, making it even rarer. Usually, it developed within ten years.
The problem was that if it truly was SSPE, the body could stiffen and the patient could die within three years of onset, so treatment had to begin quickly.
-Analysis complete.
-SSPE probability: 51%
-Additional tests required: cerebrospinal fluid measles antibody, specific EEG pattern.
Taeho closed his eyes for a moment.
Fifty-one percent was far too ambiguous a result.
“Junho. Would you be willing to undergo a few tests?”
When Taeho asked, Lee Junho stared at him with widened eyes.
***
The next day, Taeho made calls to several places.
-Director Kang.
The head of neurology at Samcheok Medical Center spoke in an awkward voice.
-Since it’s between us, I’ll be honest. SSPE is a disease I’ve only ever seen in textbooks. We can collect cerebrospinal fluid here right away, but the specialized tests would be difficult with our hospital’s equipment.
“I know, Chief. If you can just collect the cerebrospinal fluid, I plan to send it elsewhere for the specialized tests.”
-Ah, is that so? Then let’s proceed.
Taeho hung up and immediately pressed to make the next call.
-Huh? Sunbae! What’s going on? You’re calling me first?
Oh Jiwon’s voice was tinged with laughter.
“I have an urgent favor to ask.”
-Sigh. Of course. I knew it. For a second I thought the sun had risen in the west. What is it?
“A suspected SSPE patient.”
In an instant, Oh Jiwon’s playful tone changed completely.
-What? Did you say SSPE? Seriously?
“Yes. There are clinical findings, but to make the final diagnosis, we need a specialized cerebrospinal fluid test. It seems difficult to get it done quickly anywhere else, so I’m asking you.”
On the other end of the phone, Jiwon fell silent for a moment, as if lost in thought. Then she continued in a serious voice.
-All right. Our lab can do it without any problem. Can it be delivered same-day under refrigeration? If necessary, you can use our hospital’s dedicated transport company. It has a perfect cold chain system, so it can maintain four degrees and get it to us within six hours.
“Thank you, really. I can send it to you today. We’re pressed for time with this patient, so we need to move fast. We’ll need both the IgG antibody test and the oligoclonal band test.”
-Got it. I’ll do it as quickly and accurately as possible.
“But the testing fees will be fairly high, and some items may not be covered by insurance…”
Before Taeho could finish speaking, Oh Jiwon added,
-Forget it. Just buy me a meal. And sunbae, contact me more often. Don’t only call when you need a favor.
“All right.”
Taeho gave a faint laugh and hung up.
Two days later, as soon as his patient left the consultation room, Taeho hurriedly made a call.
“Jiwon, are the results out?”
-Sunbae, the test results came back ambiguous.
“Ambiguous? What were the values?”
“The IgG antibody titer is borderline at about 1:32, and the oligoclonal bands are faint too, so it’s hard to make a clear diagnosis. There’s a possibility of SSPE, but it isn’t a definitive result.”
It was a result he had expected to some extent.
That was probably why, even though two years had passed since onset, Lee Junho’s symptoms were still lingering in the early stage. After all, even Rema had given such an ambiguous diagnosis.
-I’m sorry, sunbae. I wish the results had been more definitive…
“No. This much is helpful enough. Send me the results. I’ll review them again.”
Taeho hung up, propped his elbows on the desk, and interlaced his fingers.
The result values were not certain, but it was clear that Lee Junho had to begin treatment even a day sooner.
***
On the video call screen, his father’s face was growing redder and redder. The moment he heard the word SSPE from his son’s mouth, his voice sharpened.
That was understandable, since Lee Junho’s father, Professor Lee Junbeom, was one of the foremost authorities in the neurology department at Mount Sinai Hospital.
-SSPE? Junho, do you even know what you’re saying right now? Do you know how rare that disease is? Do you know how many cases appear worldwide in a year?
Lee Junho seemed choked up and could not continue speaking properly.
“Dad, but the test results…”
-Test results? Who on earth conducted the tests? That country doctor?
A sneer escaped his father’s lips.
-Junho, you expect me to believe that something the world’s best neurologists at Mount Sinai in New York couldn’t find after examining you for two whole years was found in Korea, and at a mere local clinic at that?
Lee Junho shrank back at his father’s strong reaction, his shoulders hunching. He barely managed to open his mouth.
“Dad, please believe me. The director here…”
-I don’t need to hear any more. Come back to New York immediately.
His father on the screen cut off Lee Junho’s words and ended the call.
Lee Junho sat there with his face flushed, then turned to the side and said,
“I’m sorry, hyung. My dad got so angry…”
“Don’t worry. I’ll prove it to him.”
Taeho patted Lee Junho’s shoulder.