---
" i was afraid you've had given up on me," the woman said. she waited for a response, but none came. "how long has it been? three months?"
heeseung was sitting on the chair, his head low. he looked like he had aged a decade in the past few months. his eyes were dull, his hair was unkempt, and his clothes were wrinkled.
"i wondered if you had found another therapist, someone who could help you better than i could... or if you had actually overcome your problems and moved on with your life. which one is it, heeseung?"
his voice was barely audible.
"...the second one."
she walked slowly, until she was standing in front of heeseung. "then something must have brought you back here, something that disturbed your peace of mind."
heeseung kept silent. she placed her fingers under his chin and lifted it up, forcing him to face her. "i can only help you if you open up to me, heeseung. of all the people in the world, i know you the best."
his eyes were getting teary. he swallowed hard, trying to hold back his emotions. "my mom..." he paused, his voice cracking. "my mom passed away last week."
"oh."
---
heeseung was running upstairs as fast as he could, his ears buzzing. he was starting to lose all sense of time and space, feeling lost inside his own head. when he reached the last floor, multiple silhouettes surrounded him.
they were making all kinds of noises, but he couldn't tell what they were saying. were they laughing at him, screaming at him, crying for him? he didn't know.
he started looking around, trying to make out any of the faces in front of him.
"heeseung!"
he heard his name, loud and clear. he snapped out of his trance, his senses returning to normal. he could see and hear everything clearly again.
niki was standing in front of him, gripping heeseung's shoulders tightly. niki's eyebrows were furrowed in worry, his eyes filled with concern. "you saw him?" niki asked softly, as if he was afraid to break the silence.
"it wasn't a dream?" heeseung asked desperately.
the younger shook his head.
"i can't believe this-" he muttered, feeling a surge of anger and disbelief.
"where is he?" heeseung asked, his voice rising.
niki took a step back, letting go of heeseung's shoulders. he looked at him with a pained expression. "in his new office. he asked us to not bother him."
"in his new-? oh, don't tell me..." heeseung trailed off, realizing what niki was about to say.
"he is the new manager."
