Liar//MYG✔️

Chapter 18//The Kids Aren't Alright

Yoongi could sense Jinae's uneasiness, and it was beginning to rub off on him. The confidence and ease he had felt this morning as he'd prepared for the long day ahead were quickly dissipating. He'd been so sure that he could do this with her. He wanted to be a strong, positive force that helped her face her fears. He wanted to be able to send her encouraging smiles to reassure her and put her at ease. In his imaginings of how the day would play out, he'd been sure that he would be able to give her encouraging words.
However, as he sat next to a quiet and pale Jinae in the psychologist's waiting room, he was silent and still. It felt as though he had cotton in his mouth that kept him from speaking at all.
The waiting room was cold and plain. The furniture was gray and uncomfortable. Pictures of the countryside were hung in frames on the wall, but they weren't necessarily comforting or inviting. The room smelled like cough medicine for some odd reason, and Yoongi just wanted to get up and walk out.
Beside him, Jinae was scrolling through social media on her phone. She sat on the edge of her seat with her back perfectly straight.
She looked so uncomfortable to him, but he didn't know how to make things better for her. All of the carefully constructed encouragements he'd formed in his mind the night before were gone as if he'd never thought of them. He tried to catch her eyes and smile encouragingly, but he couldn't seem to get Jinae's attention. Maybe that was for the best though, after all, his attempt to smile looked more like a pained grimace than anything else.
Yoongi hated doctor's offices of all kinds because they reminded him of painful memories, but he wanted to be there for Jinae.
Even if that just meant sitting beside her quietly.
Yoongi's eyes fell onto Jinae's hand that was lying in her lap. He had a sudden desire to grab her slim and delicate hand with his and hold it. The thought came out of the blue, and it was so strong that he began to move to act on it.
However, the receptionist's announcement that Jinae could now enter the psychologist's office cut him off. Without a word, Jinae nodded and stood.
Before Yoongi could react, Jinae had walked around the corridor and out of his sight, leaving him alone in the waiting room.

******

Jinae measured her steps to Dr. Kim's officer carefully. She counted how many even strides it would take to get from her chair, the fourth chair to the right on the far side of the waiting room, to the chair in front of Dr. Kim's office.
She counted out 27 strides, but as she sat down she began to second guess her number. She wondered if she'd forgotten to count the extra step it took her to round the corners of the corridor and the one leading into the office.
"Hello, Miss Yoon Jinae." The older woman smiled at her kindly and Jinae greeted her politely before she dropped her gaze down to her hands.

Jinae already knew what questions the doctor was going to ask her, they were the same every time.
"How have your sleeping habits been?"
"Have you been getting proper exercise and going out of doors daily?"
"How are your work hours recently?"
They went on and on, and she knew how to give the answers that were considered correct and acceptable.

This time though, as the session ended, Dr. Kim surprised her.

"Did you come alone today Jinae?"

"I came with my friend, Yoongi." The doctor nodded in understanding and recognition, she'd heard about him from Jinae before.

"Is he around you often?"

"No, we only meet from time to time, because of our busy schedules." The older woman nodded and stood.

"I'd like to meet with him quickly, regardless. If that's okay." Jinae agreed, confused as to why her psychologist wanted to meet Yoongi.

"He's just outside in the waiting room." Jinae stood up stiffly and led the way out, Dr. Kim following close behind.

******

Yoongi had waited alone patiently for an hour, flipping through the waiting room magazines or scrolling through his social media. Of course, his mind was preoccupied with thoughts of worry for Jinae. He wondered how things were going in her appointment. He hoped that she and the psychologist were making progress. He wondered if Jinae had told Dr. Kim about her nightmares or her mother's pregnancy. He wondered what else might be going on with Jinae.
Yoongi was somewhat consumed by these thoughts, and he was taken off guard when he saw that Jinae was walking back into the waiting room followed by older women in a black pantsuit.
He correctly assumed that this was Dr. Kim. He felt a surge of intimidation when the doctor greeted him and it didn't dissipate as she continued to talk to him.

Yoongi frowned as he sat in the cab next to Jinae. The two of them had stayed silent while leaving the psychologist's office and as Yoongi had hailed a cab to take them back to Jinae's apartment. He was still mulling over the conversation he'd had with Dr. Kim.
After the introductions they'd made, Dr. Kim had asked to speak with Yoongi in her office for a moment. Jinae's expression was surprised as her head snapped up and she looked at Yoongi. Yoongi didn't take the time to read her expression, instead, he just nodded and followed Dr. Kim back to her office.

Dr. Kim had smiled as she sat down at her desk, Yoongi tried to return the smile but he couldn't seem to muster one because he was too worried about what the doctor was going to say to him.

"Hello, Mr. Min." The doctor had paused and continued to smile encouragingly. "Jinae's told me a lot about you." Yoongi wondered just what those things had entailed. Did this woman know how many lies he'd told Jinae? Did she know about the fight the two of them had? He pushed his fear of being viewed poorly and got to the most pressing point on his mind.

"How can I help her, Doctor?" The woman didn't seem surprised by his straightforwardness as she rested her folded hands on the desktop.

"Jinae is overworking herself. She needs to take time off in order to process her emotions. I would suggest getting her to take a trip out of the city, if possible." The woman paused, "I can't tell you what she shared with me because of my confidentiality policy, but I can tell you that she needs a lot of emotional support right now."

"I understand," Yoongi spoke quietly, trying to process all of the thoughts in his mind.

"I realize that you lead a busy life, Mr. Min. However, if you really want to help Jinae, you must be consistent." Yoongi looked up and caught the older woman's gaze. "Be very careful of the promises you make to her." He nodded once again and the doctor continued, "I really do believe that you can help her, but you must put in an earnest effort."

After a few more exchanges, Yoongi thanked Dr. Kim and left her office, her words still resonating in his mind.

Already, the gears were turning in his head and he was coming up with a plan to whisk Jinae away from the city.
He just hoped she would trust him enough to go along with the plans.

A/N: sorry I kinda slacked on Liar, I've had a crazy week with school and some personal issues.
I'm trying to complete TSAR and help a friend with some editing, but after that, I can focus completely on completing Liar.
Please eat well and take care of yourselves 💜

Featured Song: The Kids Aren't Alright by Fall Out Boy

(Edited June 2019)

*Novi*