Helping Him - Vhope FF

一

Taehyung thought finally starting work experience would be the icing on the cake for this semester but judging by the amount of papers he seems to be stacking or shredding and the endless trips to the coffee room he makes for Dr Seung, he would rather be burying his head in textbooks because being a psychologist in training at his senior's office isn't helping at all. Taehyung took a quick glance at the clock and noticed it was only 4pm, "I can survive these stupid filing systems for another hour."

Taehyung had been busying himself with sorting files, making sure not to misplace any in fear of his senior scolding him for yet another mistake when a young man quietly stepped into the room head down and earphones in. Neither of the two had noticed one another until Taehyung returned from beneath the desk frantically trying to pick up the mountain of papers he accidentally knocked over. At this stage, the boy looked up at him in shock.

"Uh, sorry. I didn't know there was someone in here. I am here to see Dr Seung," he said rubbing his neck.

Taehyung stopped what he was doing, stood up and quickly patted down his creased shirt trying to make himself presentable to the man. He didn't know what to do, should he call for his senior straight away or try and keep the stranger occupied?

"Are you here to speak to Dr Seung about gaining work experience? I can go find him for you. I am only here on work experience myself!" Taehyung says with a friendly smile.

The other scoffs and shakes his head at him and says "No, I'm here for the real deal, you know where Dr Seung saves me from my darkest thoughts and all that."

Taehyung didn't know how to reply. Sure, this guy sounded like he was being a sarcastic but something about his very attitude made Taehyung want to know how he truly was. Just as Taehyung was about to answer, Dr Seung walked  in with a rather large file in one hand and his coffee in the other, no doubt he would be cleaning that up later. Taehyung's posture straightened as Dr Seung came closer to him, he wasn't sure if he was going to be scolded for talking to a patient without him being present or for not tidying all the files on time.

"Taehyung! What are you doing in here with Hoseok? You should have come and found me. How many mistakes are you going to make, boy? You should know you aren't allowed with patients on their own without my permission. Leave!" Dr Seung said narrowing his eyes at Taehyung.

Taehyung gave a quick bow trying to keep his professionalism and apologised. "I'm sorry sir, I was sorting out some files and didn't see him walk in until he was right in front of me. I was going to go get you but I didn't want to leave him here on his own. This won't happen again sir."

He picks up the irrelevant files and makes his way towards the door when the guy who sat silently during his encounter with Dr Seung finally cleared his throat and spoke.

"Dr Seung, I hope you know this student meant nothing sinister by talking to me. He was just informing me that he is a psychologist in training. I think it would be good for him to see how a therapy session goes now that we're all in the same room. It would be great to show him my progress, right?" Hoseok says with a great big smile etched across his face. Taehyung was most definitely confused.

How can his mood change so quickly?

Dr Seung reluctantly agreed to let Taehyung sit and watch how a session would usually go. It was the first time he had seen one that wasn't scripted. Taehyung mentally made a note to remember to fill in a work experience journal on this particular day. He also wanted to note how differently Hoseok acted around his doctor. First of all, Hoseok sat in layers of clothing on such a warm day, Taehyung knew that was odd. Whenever he was asked about how he felt, Hoseok would think for a minute, smile and then answer him whilst looking at the window sill that was littered with certificates of graduations and the sorts. Dr Seung seemed to be oblivious but Taehyung knew that Hoseok wasn't revealing how he truly felt. Taehyung learned that Hoseok had been suffering for quite some time with his mental health and that coming to this office was his parent's last resort. In Hoseok's words "Nothing else had worked except for your care Dr Seung."

Once Dr Seung's ego had been restored, he saw no other reason in keeping Hoseok a minute longer than the designated 45 minutes he had been scheduled in for. Before dismissing Hoseok, Dr Seung asked him one particular question about his appetite that affected Hoseok's 'happy' image but after a few seconds he came back to his senses and tried to blind Dr Seung with even more lies. "It's been perfect for the last few weeks, thankfully! Speaking of appetites, I am going for a meal later on to celebrate my girlfriend's birthday so I must go home and prepare for the celebrations!"

Dr Seung chuckled at this statement and eventually sent Hoseok on his way once he was satisfied he had done his job. Taehyung, on the other hand, wasn't so sure he could believe Hoseok that easily.

"Sir, surely you can't believe that your patient is really okay and feeling better now? It seems to me like he was lying the entire time he was here. As soon as you walked in he completely changed his attitude. He didn't look you in the eye once either when he was answering your questions!"

"Taehyung, are you trying to tell me that my judgements are wrong? I have been in this business for a very long time, I know when someone is fine again. You aren't even after graduating yet so stop with that nonsense."

Taehyung couldn't understand what he was hearing. Dr Seung seriously thought Hoseok was okay? Frustration was evident on his face when he had been knocked down by Dr Seung and he knew he was going to regret what he would say next but he didn't care. Taehyung felt a strange need to protect Hoseok and he didn't care if he lost a good response from Dr Seung over it.

"I'm sorry Dr Seung but your qualifications mean nothing when it comes to being able to detect a liar. I know I don't have any qualifications yet but I know that that guy was lying right in front of your eyes today. Even though I don't have professional experience, I have seen people close to my heart struggling with their emotions so don't sweep my opinions under the rug, I only have good intentions!"

"Oh please Taehyung, just go home now and let me deal with my patients. See you next week and make sure you've changed your attitude by then."

Taehyung knew arguing was helpless so he decided to take Dr Seung's advice and go home. Maybe he was overreacting but something told him Hoseok needed more help than what he was being given. Taehyung just had to find a way to help him. He knew that Jungkook, his ex-'lover' and now roommate, could advise him on what to do so he returned home as quickly as possible to confide in him.