The hospital smelled exactly the way all hospitals smelled, antiseptic and industrial cleaners trying unsuccessfully to mask the underlying scents of sickness and fear and the particular quality of spaces where life and death existed in proximity. Fluorescent lights hummed overhead, casting a harsh, colourless light that made everyone look slightly unwell, regardless of their actual health. The walls were painted in soothing neutrals, soft beige and pale green, colours chosen by committee to be calming and inoffensive and ultimately just reinforcing the institutional nature of the space.

But for Aysel Jeon, lying on the examination table in Dr. Choi's office, the aesthetics of her surroundings barely registered.