Obsession (vkook)

21

Seokjin's blood rushes from his head and he feels faint, stumbling slightly as he processes the doctor's words.

"I-I need to sit down," He says before his mother leads him to one of the seats previously occupied by Jeongguk and Jimin.

"W-What does this mean, doctor?" Mrs. Kim asks, hardly sparing Jimin or Jeongguk a glance. "Are you telling me...a-are you telling me they're real? After all of this?"

"I'm telling you that exactly," The doctor says, sitting behind her desk. "Jeongguk, you go to the university, correct?"

"U-Um, yes," Jeongguk says looking at Jimin. "We both do, we b-both go. He goes too."

"And you've both met Kim Taehyung at least once?" The doctor asks.

"I haven't really," Jimin says. "I've seen him around a couple times but I've never spoken to him."

"Can you please just tell me what this means?" Seokjin asks, his face a sickly pale color. "I don't understand what's happening."

"After Taehyung explained how he met Jeongguk and who he believed he was I looked more into the name," The doctor says. "I found out that there was a Jeon Jeongguk that lived in the area. And when I found out he was involved with Park Jimin~"

"How do you know my brother?" Seokjin asks looking at Jeongguk.

"I don't know," He says. "Maybe we've met."

"And you?" Seokjin asks looking at Jimin.

"I don't know," He says, shrugging. "Maybe we've also met."

"This is bullshit," Seokjin says, shaking his head. "I don't believe any of this."

"I believe what happened was that, due to Taehyung's illness, he may have created some sort of alternative reality involving Jeongguk and Jimin," The doctor says. "This may have been due to a number of reasons but he seems to have done so as some sort of coping mechanism."

"You don't know why?" Mrs. Kim asks.

"We would love to send him to a specialist to do further research~"

"Coping with what?" Mrs. Kim asks. "There was nothing wrong with him, he was fine. He's been fine."

"Mental illness is tricky, you can't pin it all on one thing," The doctor says. "Taehyung explained this relationship he created with Jeongguk as something he, not only cherished, but depended on heavily. Especially when he was lonely, or when he isolated himself from everyone around him."

Jeongguk shifts uncomfortably, Jimin putting his arm around him to comfort him.

"I think if he meets Jeongguk~"

"No," Seokjin says immediately. "He's terrified of him, why would you make them meet? So that he can see that he's real and send him spiraling again?"

"Of course we'd have to work up to that point but I think it will help him to understand what's happening," The doctor says. "This is a rare opportunity for us to be able to help him differentiate between the illusion of Jeongguk he created and the real Jeongguk."

Seokjin sighs, looking over at Jeongguk before looking down. "I don't know."

"And if he responds negatively?" Mrs. Kim asks, rubbing Seokjin's back. "It's useless."

"We'd take care of everything, of course," The doctor says. "So long as Jeongguk and Jimin are both willing to comply, I see no reason not to move forward."