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the fresh night air caressed her face as she made her way out of the clinic. the night was dark already and she couldn't believe how quickly it darkened that day.
but before she could notice it was past 6 p.m that night.
the security guard bid his goodbye as she walked down the stairs of the entrance.
she spotted a familiar car, parked across the street and she immediately knew it was kihyun's car.
those last few days she had been driven around by him, with the excuse that he wanted to spend more time with her.
but in reality, he did it all so she depended on him, that way he wouldn't let het overstay at work.
she was aware of it all. she knew his hidden intentions and even if it might seem like he had controlling tendencies, she knew he did it for her good.
he was waiting inside of the car who was casually turned on. soon crossed the street and rushed to the black mercedes that shined with the city lights.
"hey hun." she said closing the door as she stepped in.
she have had this conversation and this exact scenario plenty times before. it always worked out the same.
she'd come in with a sweet voice, calling him pet names, trying to act cute for him but she knew he was pissed and she knew he'd be harsh with her.
"it's past 5 p.m." it was the first thing he said as he turned the wheel and drove away from the clinic. soon swallowed hard.
"i know – she said chuckling nervously, scratching the back of her neck – i lost track of time again, sorry." she said smiling, looking for his hand that was resting on the gear.
he didn't push her away but he didn't move either. his hand was cold but soft at the touch.
kihyun remained silent as his eyes focused on the road. she noticed he was wearing his usual black suit. he possessed around 40 suits that looked exactly the same. the white robe he'd always leave it at his office just as her.
he looked handsome but tired and slightly annoyed. soon wanted to kiss him but didn't dare. "you look tired today." she pointed out after no one talked.
he sighed. "i am."
"of what?" she asked.
he shook his head slightly. "of so many things... but for starters, the fact that you seem to enjoy overstaying at work – he glanced at her for the first time since she set a foot inside his car – don't you remember what happened last time?" the mention of it sent cold shivers down soon's spine.
she swallowed hard and quickly looked away. "that was a one time thing, you don't need to bring it out every time i overstay at work."
"it's not just the fact that you overstay... it's the fact that you have a lot on your plate soon-ah... don't you think you're... working excessively?" his voice was somehow calmed but had a scolding tone.
she knew he was a few years older than her and that always gave him some certain air of authority and by that time, she was used to it.
"do you think so?" she asked, he just nodded.
"i am sure of it... - he shook his head now, looking at her with worried eyes – i don't want you to get sick... like it happened last time." he pointed out again, even if she hated whenever he mentioned it.
she looked away as she felt slightly annoyed and upset. "i am fine. you're the one who is overreacting."
kihyun glanced at her for a few seconds and returned his tired and worried eyes to the road. "i am not the villian here baby... i just want you to be happy and healthy, that's all."
"don't you think you're bossing me around?"
his eyes widened. "soon-ah... that's not what it is-
"then what is it?" she asked as the tone of her voice rose. kihyun stared at her, jaw slightly clenching as he felt his temples throbbing.
"i just want you to come home at a reasonable hour. you very well know that therapy sessions are only until 5 p.m, what else do you have to do after 5 p.m?"
her jaw clenched. "other patients needed me."
"i also need you... and more important, you need time to yourself as well."
she shook her head. "you're being selfish."
"and you're being stubborn soon-ah... i didn't want to come to these latitudes but if you keep this behavior, i'll go and talk to lee dongkyu myself- her eyes widened at the mention of her boss' name.
"kihyunnie!" she exclaimed with a tragic face. the thought of him going to her boss really bothered her. she couldn't imagine her boss' face when he'd see kihyun there.
soon's family was a family of doctors, just as lee dongkyu's and kihyun's. they were all owners of private clinics and all families knew each other so the thought of kihyun coming to her work to talk to lee dongkyu about her, in a manner as if he was scolding her, really made her feel small and frustrated.
"you can't!" she added but kihyun turned to look at her with bored eyes. "if you keep overstaying, then watch me."
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soon spent a terrible night, thinking about her patients and kihyun's new ways of preventing her from staying past 5.
she came all the way to work, thinking about it all and she was so distracted that missed her usual turn and eventually arrived 20 minutes late.
with flushed cheeks and an embarrassed face, she greeted kyunji and quickly excused herself inside her office.
once she was alone she sighed in relief as she dropped herself in her chair. nothing was more comfortable than her own office, or at least that's what she felt.
that place made her be the person she was and it helped her to help people and that made her happy. it was a concept that kihyun would never understand, probably. since his career was different from hers, since he only helped people to keep pretty skin and he basically did it for the money and not for vocation like her.
kyunji walked inside, carrying a cup of coffee and her usual schedule, ready for soon. "dr. park." she said handing her the folder and the cup of warm coffee.
"with vanilla, as you like it." she added.
soon smiled. "thank you kyunji-ssi... so who do we have this morning?"
"you have the depressive group this morning. it's in 10 minutes actually." kyunji said.
soon's eyes widened as she checked her own clock. "i'll get going now." she said rushing to drink a few sips of the coffee and putting on her white robe.
she fixed her glasses and her bangs and grabbed her usual notebook and walked out of her office and towards the third floor where the depressive group was.
when she arrived the place, she noted most of the seats were filled already and that made her smile inside.
the depressive group was a tough one. it was a group of people who suffered mainly from depression but other disorders could be found as well.
at first most of them refused to the therapy but eventually they all grew to love it, especially because soon liked to work with them and they usually did different activities which had really helped them lately.
"good morning guys." she said, since 100% of the attendance were males. dr. kim had said it was better this way, since some females wouldn't open up if there were males around and viceversa. so dr. kim had the female group and soon had the male group.
"how are you this morning?" she asked.
some faces were blank. staring at some lost point and some other were sleepy, but then they caught the sight of her, they all sat straight and smiled at her.
"personally, i could be better... if this clinic provided me with proper clothes." changkyun said from his spot, still with the white robe that was provided last week.
she frowned. "why are you still wearing that?" she asked. he shrugged. "i cut holes in the new ones they gave me, they itched."
"they itched?" she asked, he nodded. "plus they were cream color... i need black." he said with a poker face.
soon held her laugh as she shook her head, taking notes on changkyun's current situation.
the rest of the patients were mainly teenagers, changkyun included. most of them suffered from depression and anxiety.
most of them had really serious issues and personal problems that always complicated more their personal situations. but soon always worked hard to put a smile on them and to help them deal with whatever negative feelings they were having at the moment.
when they were in the middle of the therapy, the door opened and hyunwoo walked inside, followed by a tall boy with a handsome face.
hyunwoo cleared his throat. "excuse me dr. park... i am bringing patient chae to therapy." he said bowing his head as he stepped aside, revealling hyungwon's neutral face.
"is that okay?" hyunwoo asked.
soon glanced at the tall one with a confused face but finally nodded.
hyungwon had never assisted this therapy group session, in fact he hated any group activities and was always secluded in his room.
he didn't even have roommates like some of them had. because given his personality disorder, he had to be alone, obligatory.
"please join us hyungwon-ssi." she said pointing at the only empty chair, right in front of them.
he sat gracefully and stared at the rest. soon noticed his hands were tied with the plastic thing they always used and she assumed he probably had an episode recently.
she wanted to demand to remove them but she knew they've put them there for some reason and she didn't care if she was alone with him in her office, but she didn't want to put in jeopardy the well being of this group, especially because they were the depressive therapy group.
"it's fine." she said to hyunwoo, indicating him that he could leave. he nodded and motioned to her that he'd be right outside the door to what she only nodded.
she kept her speech, talking about how we can take negative moments in our lives and turn them into positive ones.
hyungwon remained silent, staring intensely at her.
soon noticed how he didn't take his eyes off of her not even a single minute and this made her feel uneasy.
she couldn't understand how someone could be this intense and she couldn't help but wonder if that was really hyungwon and not someone else.
"what do you think of this, anyone? – and before someone could answer, she turned her eyes to him – hyungwon-ssi?" she asked looking at him.
a few seconds passed and when he noticed her eyes on him, he blinked twice, as if he was waking up from a trance. "excuse me?" he asked with a calmed voice. a voice that sounded an octave lower and then she understood that it wasn't hyungwon.
she had studied hyungwon for the first week, before this new identity showed up. she knew hyungwon was insecure and nervous. he was depressive sure, and sometimes quiet but not like this.
this new identity had a confidence that hyungwon lacked, especially when it came to talking and to expressing himself. even his body language was different, the way he was sit and the way he crossed his leg and placed his hands gracefully on his knee.
"what did you ask dr. park?"
"what do you think of what i said previously hyungwon-ssi?"
he stayed still for about 5 seconds until he finally reacted. "ah – his eyes widened softly – right... that thing about turning our negative moments into positive ones... don't you think that's a bit too... ambitious?"
soon's head automatically tilted. "ambitious?" his words didn't make any sense to her.
he nodded. "yeah... it's like trying to turn water into wine, don't you think?"
a few new discoverings, this entity was not only confident but was also sarcastic. it had some certain level of dark humor and sassiness, something the real chae hyungwon didn't have.
"do you see it that way hyungwon-ssi?"
he just nodded. "i think it's something quite easy to say but very difficult to put into practice... actually, quite impossible i'd say."
"why is that?" she asked curiously. for a minute almost forgetting she was surrounded by at least 10 more patients.
he shrugged. "sometimes things are better to be left undone... to leave them quiet where they are." he added.
soon tried to find some sense into it but it seemed like a difficult task. suddenly her phone beeped, indicating the therapy session was over and she cursed herself mentally for not having a better comeback to him.
the identity smirked at her as he moved his legs gracefully, standing from his chair in slow motion. "well... don't forget to put in practice the tips i gave you today, we'll talk about them in our next meeting." she said to the rest as they all dispersed and disappeared through some doors, some of them with their respective nurses and some of them alone.
but in that moment, she didn't realize where hyungwon was and to her surprise, when she turned around, she found him standing right next to her, maybe closer than expected.
his eyes were closed and it seemed as if he was trying to smell her hair.
her eyes widened as she tried to take a step back but failed as she stumbled with one of the chairs.
preventing her from falling, hyungwon grabbed her forearm with his tied hands and suddenly their eyes met each other. both widened with the unexpected situation.
soon remained motionless, trapped on hyungwon's grip as he slowly leaned down, closer and closer. again, he closed his eyes and approached his nose to her hair.
she didn't dare to move nor even to scream. she didn't know how, but it felt as if she was under some kind of spell, a spell that prevented her from doing or saying anything.
he smelled her hair again and this time it seemed as if he was really enjoying the smell of it.
"lavender... my new favorite smell."
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a/n: thank you so so much for all the sweet messages wishing me good luck with my new job and sending me such amazing vibes. i am really grateful for all of you. can't thank you all enough! i have some data on my phone so i decided to update this chapter today. i'll try to update tomorrow as well. please enjoy!! ♡♡
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