𝘖𝘣𝘫𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘏𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘳 | JJK |

14

What am I doing here?

Heiran sat on the thick velvet plush of the love sweet of a dimly lit consulting room, trying to find a comfortable position that appeared dignified. However, the dilemma with love seats was that they didn't allow one to relax in the dignified manner she preferred: legs crossed, hands clasped, and being able to look the enemy in the eye. Although Heiran had to admit that her psychiatrist Dr. Angela Kim was hardly her enemy, she couldn't help feeling highly intimidated as she watched the woman perched on her revolving chair, the sunlight that filtered in through the window behind her lighting up the outline of her chair and the sharp point of her heels. The rest of her face remained shrouded in shadows. Heiran could barely make out her blood-red lips in the haze and occasionally, she caught the glint of her toothpaste-commercial-white teeth.

It would have been an understatement to say that she was uncomfortable.

"Color me surprised," a slithery voice, as soft as a snake's, hissed from the darkness, "To what do I owe the pleasure of having you grace my office?"

Heiran was briefly reminded of her first meeting with Jungkook last year. Well, the first sober meeting.

"I...uh, I have migraines. Um, frequently."

A gasp. "Whyever would that be? I thought Ms. Ahn Heiran was all cured. After all, there's absolutely no reason for Ms. Ahn to get migraines."

It was hard to make out the doctor's expression but she had the distinct impression that her psychiatrist was being sarcastic. Heiran cleared her throat. "That's not true."

"It is not? Then I must get to the matter quickly. Let me order some blood work. See if there are any hormonal imbalances and also consider some physical illnesses. Maybe even check for other influencing factors... like a possible pregnancy, maybe."

Heiran choked on air and coughed out loud, "What?!"

"You have a boyfriend, you said?" Angela asked, innocently.

Her cheeks flamed as she sputtered out, "Y-yes, but—"

"Then we must definitely check. After all, we don't want any unnecessary surprises," she felt Angela's eyes flick to her belly. Heiran immediately folded her hands, covering her torso self-consciously as she opened her mouth to protest but she was interrupted. "I know, I know, Ms. Ahn. But we can't entirely place our trust in birth control. Accidents happen, it's better to be safe."

"I am aware!" Heiran managed to choke out, her voice a pitch too high. "But there's absolutely no way. It's not possible. I haven't... we didn't..." She winced in humiliation, her cheeks on fire as she helplessly trailed off.

"Aah," Angela made an exaggerated show of realization. "I understand." She emphasized, her voice coated thick with feigned sympathy.

Heiran's jaw hung open. She could have sworn she saw a faint smirk grace her obscenely red lips. Though many excuses sprang to her mouth, she bit her lips and held them back. Heiran had never met a woman who could truly defeat her like this before. It felt as if she had truly met her match.

"W-we don't need to do all that. It's just migraines from stress. This is going a bit overboard," she spoke up, shifting awkwardly.

"Oh!" Angela boomed, and she jumped as her voice echoed off the four walls of her room. "Stress! Now that's a word I didn't think applied to Ahn Heiran. So, do you admit that things do get to you sometimes, Ms. Ahn?"

Heiran resisted the urge to bite her thumb as she looked all around the room, unable to meet Angela's eyes. "Well, I am a human being."

"And yet, you seem to forget that quite a lot." Heiran made herself look into her eyes and she didn't find the mockery she expected to see there. Only a firm confidence that drained her resolve. Angela sank into her chair, her fingers crossed.