𝘖𝘣𝘫𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘏𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘳 | JJK |

17 pt. 1

Heiran simply blinked, realizing that this therapy session had been a very bad idea, already counting all the time and money she'd wasted on it.

"High-stakes as in if either one of them left your life, you would be devastated. It would kill you to lose them and it would be hard to recover from that loss. Reeaally hard." Angela dragged the syllable to emphasize her point.

Her mind screeched to a halt, a chill creeping down her spine. That statement hit home. It was a comment that seemed to pierce into her soul.

"You just won't be that affected if Dohyeok left you. You'll brush it off and walk again." Angela finished, adjusting her glasses as if to get a good look at her. All Heiran could feel was a roller-coaster of emotions. She really was the absolute worst, wasn't she? She was using her close friend for her emotional troubles because she knew she wouldn't mind losing him. Just exactly how selfish was she? Just how vile and cunning was she? She gripped the hand rests of her chair.

"Oop, no. Not there." Angela wagged her finger at her. "It's good that you're finding an outlet for your emotional stress. All you need is a little redirection. Redirect some of the baggage to people who you're the closest with. Let them know you're human too and that you need support."

As if Heiran could ever do that. It was easier said than done. It just wasn't easy, it was just not that straightforward.

"Look. True friends, true partners...they'll always stay, No matter what. You just need to trust them to do so."

Heiran clenched her fists, feeling something tight in her chest. There was a truckload of emotions, battling each other to take control in vain. It was too much to think about. Too much to feel. So she shut them out and tried to focus on Angela's face. "Okay."

"Can I give you a friendly piece of advice?" Angela asked, pursing her lips. Heiran nodded her head.

"You don't need to fix the world to fix your relationship."

Heiran furrowed her brows confused but Angela shook her head with a smile, her long earrings swinging back and forth at the movement. "You'll understand one day. I can assure you that."

Heiran nodded her head once again, reluctantly, wondering what exactly that grand piece of advice meant when Angela slapped her hand on her desk, startling her out of her thoughts. "Now! Here's what I know. These issues weren't this big until...mmm...about five months ago, am I right?"

"Yes! I was fine, absolutely fine. I am not the kind of person who lets criminals get to me. It's part of the job description, isn't it? I mean, I wouldn't become a prosecutor, if I was such a scaredy cat!" Heiran defended herself vehemently, trying to convey that she wasn't this pathetic all the time. Angela listened closely, nodding her head. Her understanding made Heiran feel a bit better like a school kid getting acknowledged by her favorite teacher.

"My, my, then you must really believe that now there's some deplorable, disgusting, tainted part of you that the rest of the world shouldn't see. Especially those who are closest to you."

It felt as if a hole opened up beneath her chair and that she was falling and falling, endlessly, without an exit in sight. Subtle tremors began to climb up her fingers as she grasped at reality, trying to root herself back in the present.

Angela watched her every movement, her eyes staring right into her spirit as she asked with an unfamiliar seriousness that was so unusual of her.

"What happened to you?"

* * *

Jungkook stepped inside his home. He paused and stared at the blank wall of his living room. He threw his car keys at it. They glanced off the wall and skidded off into the darkness under his sofa.