"How are you today, Seokjin?"
"Fine."
"Just fine?"
"You want my entire story again?"
My therapist straightens in his chair. He adjusts the circular glasses on his face and clears his throat. "That won't be necessary. I just want to make sure you haven't had any episodes lately."
I shake my head. Why does Mr. Park insist on having these daily sessions, even though I've told him countless times they never accomplish anything? "No. Not in the past week."
"Really? Well, you seem to be doing much better."
I play with the arms of my alpaca stuffie. "Namjoon has been helping me a lot, Jimin."
Mr. Park, who insists that I use a first name basis, blinks at me. Opening up his notepad, he asks, "Ah, right. Your doctor informed me of your new friend."
I nod as I stroke my stuffie's head. "Yes."
"How is your imaginary friend doing?"
I jerk my head up and glare at him. "He's not imaginary!" I cry. "He's real!"
He drops the pen he was writing with and holds up both hands in a calming gesture. "Seokjin, don't get worked up. Do your exercises."
Although I'm still upset at his comment, I obey and count to ten with deep breaths in between each number. When I finish, I snuggle my stuffie closer. "He's real..."
"Of course he is. My mistake." He crosses his legs. "So, where is Namjoon?"
Now that I realize how far it is into the day, I start to worry. Wait, where is he? I look around the boring room. With its white walls and the white sheets on my bed, it feels empty and cold. "I-I don't know." I jump to my feet, panicking. "N-Namjoon!"
Jimin stands as well. "Seokjin, relax-"
"Namjoon!" Still clutching my stuffie close to my chest, I rush towards the door. I pass right by Jimin, but he doesn't try to stop me. He knows better than to touch me ever since he made that mistake last time. It resulted in my giving him a black eye and broken rib. It wasn't pretty.
I try the door, but it's locked. Before I know it, I'm crying. "Joonie! Please, Joonie!"
"I'm sure he's on his way!" Jimin gets as close as possible, trying to get my attention. "Why don't you sit and wait for him!"
I turn around abruptly, about to call out one last time, but I go speechless when I spot him near the window.
My tears fade, and joy bubbles up inside of me. "Joonie!"
He suddenly lifts a finger to his lips. I don't understand why he wants me to be quiet, but I don't want to argue with him. I face my therapist and offer a smile. "Yeah, you're right. I'll just wait." I walk over to my bed and sit.
Jimin looks me over, obviously confused. "Are you sure you're okay?"
I nod impatiently. Please just leave. "I'd like to end our session early today, Mr. Jimin."
"O-Okay. Sure." He slowly backs up toward the door, pulling a key from his pocket. "If you need anything, ring your bell. Dr. Hoseok or your nurse Taehyung will most likely answer before I do." He flashes a nervous smile before shutting the door behind him.
The second the door clicks, I hop over to my Joonie. I throw my arms around his neck, holding him close. Chuckling, he wraps both arms around me and spins me around to make me laugh. When he sets me back down, I beam at him. "I'm so happy you came today, Joonie!"
