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she blinked twice as she tried to process his answer. "excuse me?"
"what for? you've done nothing wrong." he said smiling. the smile seemed as if he knew something she didn't.
she wanted to be wrong and to think she was imagining things. "did you just say my hair?"
"ah that... yes, i did. why?" he asked with a condifent tone.
"how can you know how my hair smells like?"
he narrowed his eyes as his slim fingers caressed his lips. "let's say i have pretty good smelling capacity dr. park." he tilted his head.
soon felt her shoulders tensing at the sudden revelation. she grabbed her notebook and wrote it down.
he chuckled in front of her. "dr. park... relax. there's no way for me to know how your hair smells like... we've never been closer than 7 or 8 feet away, even if we've been in the same room. i was simply joking." he said pressing his lips together in a thin line.
she swallowed hard. "ah- right." she said scratching the back of her neck. "sure." she nodded.
"so... back to your work at samsung-
"what's your favorite sleeping position?" he asked tilting his head to the other side. her eyes widened like plates, only making him laugh.
"dr. park please relax... i am just asking an easy question?" he said shaking his head.
"hyungwon-ssi... we're here to conduct you through a therapy session, not me."
he chuckled again, with a hint of maliciousness. "you're a complete ravenclaw dr. park." shaking his head again, as if it was something lamentable.
she stopped for a second as she wrote it down.
patient is a potterhead.
"do you like harry potter books?"
he shrugged. "grew with it."
"yeah but... do you like it?" she asked. he stared at her for a few seconds and finally nodded.
that was a good thing to know. she could ask him things related about it and his answers could give her some information about him.
"so do you think i am a ravenclaw, why is that?" she asked.
he chuckled. "isn't it obvious? you play by the rules of the book... and you're smart." he said pointing at the hanged degree behind her.
"okay... let's say i am a ravenclaw... what are you then?"
he smirked. "i'll let you guess that." he quickly said moving his head to the right, touching his lips softly.
"i'd say you're a gryffindor." he smirked, looking away as if she had said something pretty absurd.
"you're lying dr. park... again." he said confidently.
she frowned. "lying? again? when did i lie in the first place?" it seemed as if he had been waiting about her to ask that.
he sat straight and placed his hands together, entwined, over his chest. "coffee? cinnamon? you knew it was gasoline since the first time i said we had smells in common."
she clenched her jaw as she cursed herself mentally for being exposed that way. "and now... gryffindor? i thought you could do better than that dr. park... isn't it obvious?"
his voice sounded a bit mocking. "what is obvious to you hyungwon-ssi?"
"the only mention of it actually offends me... especially when you know i am a slytherin dr. park." he said with a smirk.
it was true. she knew the answer but again, defining concepts like that could trigger the other identities to come out and she wanted that to happen by himself. she didn't want to push nor trigger anything.
"ah... right, that makes more sense." she said nodding and writing it down.
"do you think so?" he asked faking a surprise. soon narrowed her eyes.
"do you identify with a character from that house hyungwon-ssi?"
"yes... and no - he tilted his head, eyes shinning with the sparks of maliciousness, he was playing with her - oh... it is not the main villian dr. park, please... i am not a villian here." he said nodding softly, staring into her eyes.
"then who?"
"is it important?" he asked moving his head aside, confidently carrying his body, crossing his leg.
for a second he remained silent after she nodded at his question.
flashbacks of her dream appeared on her head again as she noticed a few more seconds passed and he remained the same way, motionless, staring at her. "hyungwon-ssi?" she whispered softly.
she glanced at the clock towards her desk and noticed almost a minute had passed. when her eyes turned to look at him, she noticed he blinked twice as he seemed confused.
"hyungwon-ssi?" she asked, looking for his eyes.
suddenly she noticed how he changed the way he was sitting, putting his legs up and crossing them on the couch.
"i am sorry about him... sometimes he... is a bit ... embarrassing." the words came out of his mouth. the tone slightly high and the flexion different too but not too much from the usual one.
it was another identity talking.
but who?
for a second she panicked. she didn't know what to do right away, so she followed her instincts. "really? that's fine... i really don't care." she said nodding.
"but we do... i mean... he is so predictable sometimes." he said rolling his eyes like a kid would.
soon was dying to know who it was, she glanced at the notes on her lap. "actually... i do agree with you on that... he seems like that." she nodded.
the identity smiled. "so... what's your name?" she asked as if she was talking with a kid. with a nice and sweet tone, as if it was super normal since she didn't want to scare this new persona away.
"oh... what silly of me – he chuckled, placing a hand on his forehead – right, we didn't know each other. i am haejun." he said smiling.
"ah haejun... that's such a beautiful name." she said smiling.
"do you think so?"
soon just nodded. "i know your name... it's park soon, right?" he asked.
"yes, that's my name. how did you know?"
he shrugged. "he told us."
"who is he?" she asked. he remained quiet for a second and finally pointed to his head.
"hyungwonie." he whispered.
"ah... i see... does he talk about me?" she asked. he remained silent again for a second and finally nodded, just as kids do.
"does he talk good or bad things about me?"
he shrugged. "both... but mainly good things." he smiled.
"well... that's sounds okay... so how old are you?" when asked that, he stopped frozen and stared at her for a few seconds, not even blinking.
suddenly he grimaced in pain and held his head onto his hands. the office's walls echoed his yell and hyunwoo rushed inside a few seconds later, followed by kyunji.
"what happened?" he asked desperately as he grabbed hyungwon's arm.
"i- i don't know – soon said worriedly as she grabbed his other arm, but looking at the nurse – i asked his age and then he started screaming, holding his head." she said taking turns to look at the nurse and the patient.
"hyungwon-ssi?" he asked.
but it seemed like he was in pain, still yelling and crying, holding his head. "therapy is over. i need to take him to the emergency area now." he said.
soon just nodded. "i'll help you-
"no! it's fine. i can do it myself." hyunwoo said harshly as he stood hyungwon from the couch and helped him walking to the door.
she felt a knot in her stomach as she felt kyunji's hand comforting her softly on the back, patting her. "soonie-ssi... he'll be fine. don't worry."
soon just nodded as she tried to not cry in front of her assistant. her eyes still focused on hyungwon's figure that became smaller and smaller as they disappeared through the hall.
once she felt collected enough, she walked out of her office and towards dr. kang's office, down in the first floor. she noticed there was no secretary outside so she just went and knocked on her door.
loud knocks echoed in the hallway but no one answered, so instead she pushed the door opened.
she needed answers. she needed to know why she hadn't wrote down anything about triggering the others, by asking age or something specific, like she did with tertiary personality, nam gun.
it had been a failure from her side. "dr. kang- she started but soon stopped talking when she realized the room was empty.
not empty in a way that there was no one there, more like there was nothing there. the room was simply empty completely.
she swallowed hard at the unexpected view as she held onto the door's latch. "no way..." she mumbled as she walked outside. looking desperate for someone who could give her answers and again she bumped into a wide chest.
"wow... dr. park." hoseok's sweet voice and strong arms held her. "gwenchana?" he asked with worried eyes.
"yes... i – she ran a hand through her hair – i am sorry... we keep bumping into each other... listen – she said pointing to the office behind her – do you know where can i find dr. kang?" she asked with worried eyes.
hoseok glanced at the door behind her and sighed. "she's not longer working here." he said with a cautious tone.
soon's eyes widened, hoping she was listening wrong. "what?"
"i am sorry... but she left this morning." he added.
she took her hands to her mouth as she tried to control her feelings.
she couldn't believe her own situation. "this morning? why?" she asked desperately now.
"dr. park- he started.
"no... why did she leave? who- why?" she asked.
hoseok seemed as confused as her, his hands were slightly lifted. he didn't know what to say.
"i am sorry... i don't have that information dr. park." he said bowing, clearly excusing himself.
she stopped when she realized she was starting to cause a scene in which it looked like she was nagging hoseok.
"i am sorry – she said closing her eyes, running a hand through her forehead – i – i have to go back now." she said nodding.
hoseok nodded as well. "sure. you need help getting back to your office?"
"no. i am fine, thank you hoseok." she said bowing her head and rushing to the hospital section instead.
her eyes looked for hyunwoo as she noticed a few nurses rushing inside the emergency area.
finally, in the distance, she spotted the wide broad shoulders and the short black hair. "hyunwoo-ssi!" she called his name.
soon noticed he seemed slightly upset but either way, he whispered something to the nurse next to him and finally made his way towards her.
"what happened back there?" he asked, cutting formalities, after all, they knew each other from the high school.
"i have no i-idea... i swear, i only asked for the age of one of the other identities... i guess it triggered something in him. – she desperately admitted.
hyunwoo sighed as he ran a hand through his head, finally leaving them on his waist. he sighed. "he's fine now." he said nodding.
"oh thanks god." she sighed in relief.
"i am so sorry... really... the previous doctor didn't leave the notes completely. i am basically walking in the dark with him. i don't know what i can ask... - she admitted desperately.
hyunwoo just nodded. "gwenchana." he looked at her. "it's not your fault."
her eyes grew two sizes after receiving those comforting words. "i have to get back to check on him, but he'll be fine. it was the start of a seizure, but doctors controlled it on time, so it didn't happen."
she felt the now familiar knot on her stomach, hands covering her mouth. "god..." she mumbled.
"he has them sometimes... when the others are triggered. it's normal in patients with this suffering dr. park... it's just- he's the only one in here with DID*" he nodded.
"alright... just keep me informed of his state, alright?" she asked and he bowed his head.
"see you later." he said walking back inside the hospital area.
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