Chapter 21

"Middle School Group Project"

The lady looked down at Na Ri with a concerned expression, but when she got Na Ri's attention, it changed into a calm smile.

"Na Ri-ssi," Dr. Kang Ji Woo said, "are you okay?" Na Ri wanted to shove the woman away or at least tell her to mind her own business and leave her alone, but she was still exhausted after being in a state of panic just a few seconds ago, so no words came out. Ji Woo looked at Na Ri for a while, probably giving her a little extra time in case she found the strength to speak up, but when she realized it wasn't going to happen, Ji Woo held out her hand.

"Why don't you come with me for a while," she said with a gentle voice, "I can make us both a cup of coffee, wouldn't that be good?" Na Ri looked at Ji Woo's hand and then turned her head to look down the hallway where Min Ji had disappeared with Jungkook and Taehyung earlier. She then looked back at Ji Woo again and used all her strength to stand up without taking her hand.

"Let's go then," Ji Woo said and retracted her hand without making any comments about Na Ri not taking her hand. Instead she started walking down the hallway with Na Ri right behind her, her head held low in fear someone might see her.

When Na Ri entered Ji Woo's small office, she immediately felt her chest tighten. It was furnished just like a living room, probably to make it look appealing and to give a feeling of being safe and secure, but it had the complete opposite effect on Na Ri. Because even though it was furnished like a living room, it far from was one. The back wall had bookshelves from corner to corner, but every book had something to do with psychology or medicine. She saw Freuds name in a few places and even law books, probably used when it came to family crisis like divorces or abuse.

The sofas weren't next to each other, no, they were placed in front of each other, the two-man sofa in front of what seemed like a large armchair. There was even a divan in the corner, maybe if someone felt sick during a session or maybe some people just preferred lying down while talking.

The walls where filled with paintings, probably with colors supposed to calm one down, and next to the bookshelves hang a few diplomas. Was Na Ri supposed to be impressed with Ji Woo's achievements? Was she supposed to feel safe around her? Na Ri swore if Ji Woo said even a single time that this was a "safe place" to confide her feelings in, she would walk out the door immediately.

"Do you like milk in your coffee?" Ji Woo asked while Na Ri was busy looking around and judging the room she had walked into. She simply shook her head and Ji Woo nodded in return.

"Sugar?" Na Ri shook her head again and Ji Woo did an "ok" sign before carrying both cups to the small coffee table, which was in between the sofa and the armchair.

"Please sit down wherever you'd like," Ji Woo said and Na Ri shifted her eyes between the sofa and the armchair. If she sat in the sofa it was like telling Ji Woo she accepted this as a real session and was ready to talk. But if she sat in the armchair she would come off as arrogant and superior which would probably make Ji Woo start overanalyzing her.

"Is something wrong?" Ji Woo said and Na Ri felt her heart skip a beat. She shook her head and at the same moment her eyes fell on a small ottoman in front of the armchair, and before Ji Woo could move even an inch, Na Ri had sat down on the ottoman.

"Wouldn't you be more comfortable in the chair?" Ji Woo asked and Na Ri shook her head multiple times, making Ji Woo drop the subject and simply sit down on the sofa in front of Na Ri.

Na Ri starred at Ji Woo who just gave her a quick smile and then looked away while she took a sip of her coffee. The room was filled with silence as the only sound visible was Ji Woo's constant slurping.

"Please have some," Ji Woo said and Na Ri looked at the cup placed in front of her. She carefully grabbed the handle on the cup and took a small sip of the strong coffee. She wouldn't say she enjoyed the taste of coffee, but the caffeine was very effective.

After taking another sip Na Ri looked up and saw Ji Woo sitting with a distant look on her face, joyfully drinking her coffee. She didn't say anything, didn't ask anything. She just sat on the sofa looking around her office with that same joyful expression. She was in her office everyday, why did she look at it with so much happiness? What was so joyful about a living room-looking office?

"There's nothing like a warm cup of coffee in the Winter, am I right?" Ji Woo said, the first sentence that came out of her mouth for several minutes and Na Ri was too startled to say or do anything in return.

There was no clock in the room but Na Ri could almost hear the seconds tick away as the silence only grew bigger. Something was bound to happen, she was bound to say something at some point. Wasn't she? Why else would she bring her here? What was her purpose? Was this all a part of her scheme?

With a heart beating with frustration, Na Ri suddenly put down her cup with a loud thud and a few drops of coffee splashed out on the table, making Ji Woo look up in surprise.

"Why aren't you asking me anything?" Na Ri said loud and clear. Ji Woo looked at Na Ri for a moment and watched her determined facial expression turn into worry and fear.

"Do you want me to ask you something?" Ji Woo asked while looking at Na Ri.

"You're a psychologist, aren't you?" Na Ri asked in a low voice.

"That I am," Ji Woo said, "do you not like psychologists?" Na Ri widened her eyes with Ji Woo's question.

"Psychologists... overanalyze everything..." Na Ri said and continued while looking down at the coffee stains she had made on the table, "they think... they think they know everything about you."

"In this case I think you're the one overanalyzing," Ji Woo said to Na Ri's great surprise, "you have been imputing all the stereotypes of psychologists to me without knowing anything about me." Na Ri starred at Ji Woo who looked back at her with a calm but yet serious face.

"But now that you mention it, I do have a question for you," Ji Woo said, making Na Ri's heart beat faster, "what happened between you and Min Ji-ssi?"

Na Ri froze on the spot, unable to say or do anything while all her thoughts went to how she could escape from this situation. This situation she ultimately put herself in.

"Did you two have a fight?" It felt like a stab to the heart when Ji Woo asked the second question and Na Ri felt the tears welling up, like a huge wave pressing on a dam, ready to collapse any seconds.

"How are you feeling?" Ji Woo asked and Na Ri wasn't able to hold back her tears anymore.

"I don't know," Na Ri said angrily while she cried, "I don't understand..."

"What don't you understand?" Ji Woo asked and Na Ri looked at her while tears streamed down her face.

"I was fine before! I was fine alone!" Na Ri said without even thinking about it.

"And now you aren't fine anymore?" Ji Woo asked and Na Ri held her breath before shrugging her shoulders, tears still visible in her eyes.

"Okay, let me ask you something else," Ji Woo said, "you became friends with Min Ji because of a group project, am I right?" Na Ri nodded her head.

"But the way I understand from Professor Kim," Ji Woo said and Na Ri widened her eyes by the mention of Namjoon's name. Why would he talk to Ji Woo about her? "You weren't thrilled about working in groups. Why is that?"

"I don't like group projects," Na Ri said, figuring the faster she answered this woman's questions, the faster she could leave.

"Have you always felt that way?" Na Ri swallowed when she heard the follow-up question from Ji Woo.

"I guess... not..." Na Ri said and Ji Woo nodded her head.

"Alright then," Ji Woo said, "maybe you could tell me how you came to feel this way?"

"I... don't know..." Na Ri said and felt her pulse increase.

"Okay, take a deep breath," Ji Woo said when she noticed Na Ri's face turning pale, "we're in no rush here, just try to think of an episode of the past. Maybe something from your Middle or High School days."

"Middle school?" Na Ri said as she recalled almost no memories of her 13 year old self.

"Yes, how did you feel about group projects when you were in middle school?"

"Okay... I think..." Na Ri said while her mind wandered.

"And for this assignment you will all work in groups of two," the teacher said and the entire class rejoiced. Na Ri looked around the class as everyone ran towards their chosen group member while she sat alone at her desk.

"It seems like almost everyone has found a partner," the teacher said, "but what about you Song Na Ri-ssi?" Na Ri looked up with an almost bored expression.

"We're an uneven number of people so I can just work alone," Na Ri said.

"Well we used to be, but remember, we had a transfer student last week," the teacher said cheerfully, "so why don't you two work together?" Na Ri looked at the young girl who waved her hand at Na Ri with a carefree and happy smile.

"Okay," Na Ri replied to her teacher and the teacher clapped her hands in excitement.

"Okay then," the teacher said, "why don't you start working on the assignment until the bell rings for lunch break?" Everyone started chatting happily with each other while discussing the assignment. Na Ri just stayed at her desk, waiting for her partner to come to her.

"Hello, my name is Kim Yoon Seo," the girl said with the same cheerful smile as before, "woah I'm really lucky to be working with the top student at our school."

"Thank you," Na Ri replied, "when should we work on the project?" Yoon Seo looked up at the ceiling as she thought for a while.

"I help out at my parents shop so I have a hard time meeting up outside of school," Yoon Seo said.

"Is that so?" Na Ri asked and looked over their assignment, "maybe we can divide the work and do our parts separately and then hand it in together?"

"That sounds good," Yoon Seo said and did a thumbs up. Na Ri looked a little startled by her cheerfulness but decided to return it with another thumbs up."

Ji Woo looked at Na Ri who had stopped talking and were now looking down at her empty coffee mug.

"Would you like a refill?" Ji Woo asked and Na Ri nodded as she handed her the mug. After giving it back to her, Na Ri immediately took a sip while Ji Woo sat down on the sofa again.

"So what happened with the assignment? Did Yoon Seo do her part?"

"No," Na Ri said in a clear voice, "she didn't do a single thing. I got a horrible score."

"That sounds like a bad experience," Ji Woo said, "how did your parents react to this?"

Lee Hye Jin looked down at her daughter who couldn't even bear to look her mother in the eyes. She let out another sigh as she took a look at Na Ri's score.

"How did you get such a low score?" Hye Jin asked and Na Ri looked up with a saddened expression.

"My partner didn't do any of her work, we basically only handed in half the assignment," Na Ri complained.

"That is very inconvenient," Hye Jin said, "but still, do you have any idea how much this will drag you down on your overall score?"

"But it wasn't even my fault! I did my part to perfection," Na Ri yelled out in frustration.

"Well you should've foreseen that this girl wouldn't keep her promise. You should've made her part as well just to be safe. If you don't work hard you'll end up getting a lousy job, having to work long hours everyday just to pay the bills. Is that what you want?"

"No..."

"Is that what you want?" Hye Jin yelled.

"No!" Na Ri cried out, "please don't tell dad."

"I'm afraid I have to," Hye Jin said and took out her phone as she started typing. Na Ri's eyes widened and she frantically tried to snatch away her mom's phone.

"Please don't tell him, please don't!" Na Ri yelled out while her mom just held the phone higher as she kept typing.

"Please... please don't tell dad..."

Na Ri felt chills all over her body and she looked up to see Ji Woo giving her full attention without fail.

"I don't want to talk about this anymore," Na Ri suddenly spouted and Ji Woo tried to calm down Na Ri.

"Okay, that's fine, we don't have to talk about it anymore," Ji Woo said, "thank you for sharing. Now, why don't we find a way for you to patch things up with Min Ji-ssi?"

***

Min Ji looked around the almost empty auditorium as most people had already left. She should be on her way back to the dorm already, but instead she stayed put, wondering why she hadn't seen Na Ri in any of the lectures after lunch break. Did she actually skip classes and go home?

Shrugging off her worries, Min Ji packed up the rest of her things and began the journey towards her dorm, but just as she entered the hallways, a hand reached out for her and before she knew it, she was dragged away into a corner.

"What in the name of-" Min Ji looked startled as she noticed Na Ri who was standing right in front of her, looking the opposite of comfortable. For a second Min Ji felt a slight bit of worry, but again, she quickly shrugged it off.

"What do you want?" Min Ji said in a hostile tone.

"You're my first real friend!" Na Ri said, or nearly, yelled out, making Min Ji widen her eyes.

"You're my first real friend... and I don't want to lose you," Na Ri continued, "but... I'm not good with... emotions... and stuff." Min Ji couldn't do anything besides look at Na Ri while she worked hard and did her best to get all the words out.

"I want to change... I want us... to get closer..." Na Ri stuttered, "but... it might take some time... I'm... I'm sorry." Min Ji stared at Na Ri with eyes wide open, but just a few seconds later her expression changed into a calm and emphatic one.

"I'm sorry too," Min Ji said and this time it was Na Ri's turn to look surprised, "I know it's hard for you to open up, I shouldn't have pushed you like that. I was just in a state of panic from the beginning and I let it out on you. I want us to grow closer little by little, no rush. What do you say? Friends again?" Min Ji held out her hand and even though Na Ri hesitated for a moment she ended up taking her hand.

"Friends again," Na Ri said and sent Min Ji a real smile. The two girls looked at each other with care and love in their eyes, until suddenly, Min Ji's face turned deadly serious as she grabbed Na Ri by her shoulders and looked her directly into her eyes.

"But Na Ri-ya, as my friend, you have to help me!"

Hello everyone!

I really hope you enjoyed this chapter. I have seen a few psychologists myself as I grew up, some were good and some weren't, but it was fun using something from my own life in the story. It can be scary going to a psychologist because it feels like they can see right through you the second you walk in the door. You might put up your bars but somehow they always break them down without you realizing. In the beginning you might feel uncomfortable, but as you continue going to your sessions you realize it's actually helping. 

If you going through something, then don't be scared to seek out a psychologist. And if you find that the psychologist you have aren't helping you, then don't be scared to get a new one. The chemistry has to be there as well, otherwise you'll never feel comfortable enough to open up completely. And psychologists work in different ways as well, so remember to look at their website to check what they specialize in and how they work.

Remember to take care of yourself and also, don't forget to leave a comment down below.

Love, Annalise~