Continuing from Part 1...
As soon as the holiday ended, I messaged the coordinator on Monday: 'A stitch is sticking out of my left eyelid... Why didn't you check it when I visited on the 24th? Aren't buried stitches supposed to be invisible? Did you do this intentionally? Even for incisional double-eyelid surgery, aren't the stitches removed after a week? Why didn't you remove mine? What are you going to do?!!' She told me to visit when I had time, so Monday was too difficult and we agreed to meet Tuesday (9/29).
I was originally going to go after work Tuesday, but Gangnam Station after work sounded too exhausting. Then I remembered I had a one-and-a-half-hour lunch break and asked whether I could go then. She said there was no designated lunch break, so I rushed back to Gangnam Station by subway during lunch, my eyelashes flying. I said, 'What's with the stitch? A stitch is sticking out ☆★' They said it happened because my skin was thin and the stitch became exposed as it adhered. But they also said I had signed a consent form stating that this could happen because it had already been explained beforehand. Okay...
They said the stitch could simply be cut. I asked whether cutting it would cut the tie and make my double eyelid come undone, and they said no. I thought I'd quickly have it cut with scissors and get back to work for lunch, yay~ Then Dr. Choi Jeong-hun came in and apologized for making me come twice. He asked me to open my eyes and asked whether the right eye felt slightly heavy. I said yes. He said, 'I'm a symmetry fanatic, so let's do a little procedure today. It will be under local anesthesia and won't take long.' I panicked and said, 'But doctor, we were supposed to see each other on October 31...' He said we did not need to wait and should do it today. So I went back into the operating room, had my wrists tied, and underwent the procedure.
As expected, they threaded a needle and pulled my eyelid. The nurse poured saline into my eyes and told me to open them. The operating-room light was so bright that my eyes stung terribly, and the saline made them hard to open. They had said local anesthesia, but it hurt like crazy. Isn't it basic decency to wait until the anesthesia takes effect? Apparently not. The nurse said, 'A little prick~,' but I am certain it was not an anesthetic injection, just the needle prick. They simply started stitching. I really had to ask: 'Doctor, you didn't anesthetize me, did you? Tell me the truth... I won't get angry.'
After finishing the right side, Dr. Choi said, 'Ah, now that the right side is done, the left seems asymmetrical too. I'll do a little more on the left as well~' Then he said 'A little prick~' again and immediately started stitching. I was certain: that was not a local-anesthetic injection prick; it was a needle prick. At the same time, the thread blocked my view! I felt like Guan Yu from Romance of the Three Kingdoms. I was incredibly brave.
Anyway, I don't know whether other places do this too, but at [Clinic A], after tying my wrists, they gave me squishies in both hands. Isn't that incredibly sweet? I don't really understand squishies. I don't watch YouTube or social media videos about squishies, sticky toys, or rubber being over- or under-cured, those ASMR things. I even saw news that squishies release toxic substances, so I never touch them. But squishies are absolutely essential during double-eyelid surgery. I squeezed mine like it was going to burst. What would I have done without it?
I then returned to work, a little late, attended a meeting, and endured the throbbing pain by taking a painkiller. Anyway, I got my clear eyes back. Opening my right eye is much more comfortable now. But since this also counts as surgery, I was told to avoid makeup and alcohol again for two weeks. So my double-eyelid surgery is back to day zero from 9/28.
Honestly, after double-eyelid surgery, many doctors avoid apologizing: they deny anything is wrong and say it is swelling and we need to wait for it to go down. Some reopen the operating room once, then never do so again after taking the money. Dr. Choi apologized for making me come twice and said, 'I'm a symmetry fanatic, so let's take another look together.' I really liked that he faced the issue and performed the revision instead of avoiding it.
It seems I was right to hear JYJ's 'Found You, My Love' when I consulted with Dr. Choi. My intuition was right; he was definitely the person I had been looking for. Anyway, I am back at day three after double-eyelid surgery. Completely satisfied.