Nameless

Chapter 3 Crawling

Author notes: English is not my first language, so please forgive my mistakes and awkward writing. This is NOT for profit. I don't own them. AU (as in Alternate Universe) and maybe OOC (as in Out of Character).

Disclaimer: This work does not contain any kind of medical or mental health care advice. It's just this author bulshitting her way out of this story.

Author notes 2: Thanks to @SunnyAlSorna and @JJSin2020 for editing this. Thanks for your support, for your votes and comments. I'm humbled and grateful.

Author Notes 3: The song is Crawling by Linkin Park

Chapter 3. Crawling

Once Zhan heard the name of the person on the other end of the line, his mind raced against time. From the files that Seoungjoo had shared with him, this was a very especial case. Two paralyzing phobias to choose from, or maybe both of them acting at the same time.

He knew, this guy...Yi Bo didn't have much time so he tried to inquire what had triggered the attack.

"Can you tell me what triggered this?" He asked.

Yi Bo's breathing was becoming more labored as seconds passed. With a great effort he spoke.

"Touch..."

Mentally, Zhan felt panic rising inside him. Who in their right mind would touch someone with haphephobia? It was beyond him. But there was another problem, his own insecurities were threatening the whole situation.

This was not the moment to start doubting himself and yet that was exactly what was happening. His skin started tingling. He was sweating abundantly. His mind went blank suddenly while trying to help this guy.

He attempted to remember his notes from university classes about panic attacks and said.

"I'm here with you. This shall pass quickly," he tried to reassure Yi Bo.

On the other end of the line, Bo was losing his shit. Who was this moron? Didn't Seoungjoo tell him that the reassurance crap wouldn't work for him?

"Do you have a soothing object?" He ventured.

"No..." Yi Bo sounded like he was about to pass out.

"Remember to breathe," Zhan tried.

What the actual fuck? Yi Bo thought among uneven breaths. That was exactly his problem!

Yi Bo's parents had hired many instructors that could teach him different breathing techniques, to no avail. It seemed that under distress, he just forgot how to breathe.

Zhan could hear that his attempts to help Yi Bo were useless. He was sure the other guy would faint any minute now.

He didn't know what else to do. So he did the first thing that came to his fogged mind. He started humming a song. Which was not part of the standard protocol for this cases in the Counseling Center.

His conscious mind didn't register where or when he had heard that tune. In fact, he didn't remember hearing it at all. But his gut told him humming it would help Yi Bo. So he did.

The soft melody reached Yi Bo's ear and the moment his brain registered, he started calming down. His breathing became less shallow and this racing heart beat dropped slowly.

This was completely strange. When he was younger, his mother had tried to sooth him singing lullabies to him during his panic attacks, which never worked. Some forms of musical therapies were also tried in the past, they had failed to improve his condition.

What the hell?! Both thought at the same time. This was beyond weird. Seoungjoo had never tried music to calm Yi Bo due to his previously unsuccessful experiences. He generally used some keywords that were not of the generic type that were used in panic attacks.

Zhan had never even heard of that approach to calm someone as a proper clinical treatment in emergency cases. His instincts seemed to be right, but he didn't understand the reason behind it.

He noticed Yi Bo's breathing was back to normal so he asked.

"Are you ok?"

Zhan was really worried about Yi Bo. The feeling was beyond what he normally would feel about any patient.

"Mn," was the answer he received.

Yi Bo felt...oddly calm. That was not a sensation he was used to.

"Have you... I mean... Has Seoungjoo ever...?" He didn't even know how to formulate his question. But he wanted to know if this had previously worked for Yi Bo.

"No," was the laconic answer.

Because really, what could he tell him? It's your voice or maybe that strangely calming song, or both.

"Then... someone else..." Zhan insisted, needing to know for some unknown reason.

"Never worked before."

Only you could pull that off, Yi Bo thought, but why?

"I'm sorry..."Zhan began apologizing. He felt slightly embarrassed.

"What for?" Yi Bo asked, wondering why that voice, that song could pull him out so easily from his panic attack.

"I froze... I mean... that's not standard procedure." It was just my brain yelling inside my head to do something to help you, Zhan thought.

"Does it matter?" Yi Bo inquired. He didn't mind. He just cared about the... peace this guy gave him.

"I guess not, if you're really ok." Because nothing else matters, Zhan was thinking.

"I am." Thanks to you, he wanted to add but kept silent.

"I need to discuss what happened with my superior. Is that a problem for you?" Zhan asked Yi Bo.

"Not at all. I'm...intrigued," was his response.

"Me too. This was...odd."

"Yes, it was," Yi Bo said. But it made me feel...complete.

"Who is your Psychiatrist?" Zhan asked.

"Dr. Lu," Yi Bo answered.

"I'll discuss this with him. He'll probably call you back on this matter."

"I'll be waiting." Although, I'd rather it be you calling me, though. Thought Yi Bo.

"Can I help you with anything else?" Zhan ask, reluctant to end the call.

"I don't think so," Yi Bo said. But suddenly he added.

"Thank you." Feeling a strange unexplainable pull towards that voice, that man.

And he ended the call.