I Can't Quit You | 2YEON

Chapter 14

Jeongyeon reluctantly walked into Jennie's office at 9am for their session. This was only their second one, their first being when they'd signed all those papers. She wasn't sure what to expect, and her stomach was tied up in all sorts of knots. To her absolute surprise, Nayeon's car had been in the parking lot. Somehow, she'd gotten here first, and Jeongyeon wasn't even late.

When Jeongyeon stepped into the room, a young man glanced up from a desk. "Ah, Miss Kim is waiting for you," he said, standing and smiling kindly. He gestured for her to follow him, so she did, and he opened a door down the hallway. She gave him a nod and stepped inside.

Jennie sat calmly in her chair, with her hands
clasped together and her shoulders down. Her hair was pinned up in a bun this time, and for the first time since their odd meeting, Jeongyeon realized that she was actually really attractive. Heat filled her cheeks and she looked away from Jennie's excited gaze.

Nayeon was seated as well, opposite Jennie, but her eyes were cast downwards. Jeongyeon took her seat next to her.

"Good morning, Jeongyeon," Jennie greeted her, smiling widely. "I hope you woke up in good spirits today."

She hadn't. But she didn't say so, and merely
shrugged. "So what do we do now?"

Jennie puffed out a breath and grabbed a
thick notebook on the table beside her. She
took a while to page through it. reading over something. A clock on the wall ticked loudly.
Tick, tick, tick. Jeongyeon was getting annoyed.

"Before I explain the extent of step 4, I would
like for us to share our feelings." She closed the book with a loud slap of enthusiasm. "Nayeon, is there anything you would like to share? Have you learnt anything since step 1?"

Nayeon jumped at the sound of her name. Jeongyeon could tell that she did not want to be there at all, and felt a tiny bit of pity for a second until it melted away. She was still angry with Nayeon.

"Um, I don't really..." She sighed. Her shoulders
were slumped and there were dark circles
underneath her eyes that even her expensive
makeup couldn't conceal. Jeongyeon wondered why she wasn't sleeping properly. Work usually kept her up late, pouring over contracts and proposals and staff papers. It surely wasn't their failing marriage causing her lack of sleep.

"Go on," Jennie urged. "Anything you want to
see. It can be good or bad. I want this to be a
safe place for the both of you. We can't hope for step 4 to go well if we don't do this now. So go on, get it out. Anything stuck in there, expel it."

Nayeon lifted her face. Her eyes looked more
bruised than Jeongyeon realized. "I'm incredibly tired right now and really not in the mood for this."

Jennie nodded. "That's a start. Would
you like to share what caused your exhaustion and mood?

Jeongyeon snorted. Both of them turned to look at her, Jennie's eyes filled with expectation and Nayeon's a glare.

"Oh, Jeongyeon?" Jennie asked her.

Jeongyeon cleared her throat. "It's probably just work," she decided to stay. "Work and more work."

Jennie looked back at Nayeon, but Nayeon
didn't look away. The stormy look in her eyes
made Jeongyeon nervous. She hated Nayeon's temper, especially when it was directed at her.

"My father was in the hospital," Nayeon told her quietly. She rubbed a hand over her face. "He fell overboard his boat and his staff only realized an hour later. It took them a day to find him, and another day for him to wake up."

Jeongyeon's stomach filled with lead. She felt awful. "Nayeon, I didn't know."

Nayeon's eyes widened. "Yeah, you didn't." She
jerked her face away. "You're always quick to
make a smart comment and think you can't
possibly be wrong."