𝐑𝐔𝐓𝐇𝐋𝐄𝐒𝐒 𝐓𝐄𝐌𝐏𝐓𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 || 𝐌𝐄𝐀𝐍𝐈𝐄/𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐖𝐎𝐍

Chapter Twenty-Two

Wonwoo barely slept that night, tossing and turning, and woke up the next morning feeling tired and frustrated but with angry determination coursing through his veins. He was going to erase Kim Mingyu out of his mind.

Dr. Miranda Benson was a middle-aged woman with intelligent brown eyes framed by a thin pair of glasses. Her office was tastefully decorated and yet managed to look comfortable and homey. Wonwoo felt instantly at ease when she smiled and invited him to take a seat.

For half an hour, she simply listened without interrupting him as he stumbled through his story. He told her everything. There was little point to seek a psychologist's help if one didn't intend to be honest.

Miranda's face was mildly sympathetic as Wonwoo described his problem, but, to his disappointment and confusion, she didn't immediately agree that he had Stockholm syndrome.

"While I do agree that the isolation and the obvious power imbalance in your relationship with your kidnapper couldn't be healthy for you, you do not display the typical behavior of someone with the syndrome," she said. "You are not making excuses for your captor. You don't think he's actually a good guy. You were able to escape. Every case is different, of course, but victims of Stockholm syndrome typically don't even want to be rescued." Her eyes held no judgment when she added softly, "As for the power imbalance in your relationship, I understand that it stemmed from your sexual preferences, didn't it?"

Wonwoo could only stutter and blush. He'd never really discussed his sexual fantasies and kinks with anyone other than Mingyu; talking about them with a woman who was his mother's age was kind of embarrassing.

"Did you use safewords?" Miranda said.

Biting his lip, Wonwoo nodded.

"Why do you think he gave you safewords instead of taking what he wants?"

Wonwoo shrugged. "He told me he wasn't into raping anyone, and I do believe him, but he probably also wanted to make me trust him."

She smiled. "That's what I mean, Wonwoo: you're capable of critical thinking when it comes to your captor, you question his motives instead of trusting him without reservation. That's very good. That's healthy."

Wonwoo cringed a little. "But I did trust him, at least in bed. He made me feel safe enough to..." His skin warmed.

Miranda didn't seem fazed at all. "To roleplay rape scenes with him?"

Wonwoo had never felt so mortified in his life. "Um..."

The look Miranda gave him was kind and a little amused. "Don't be embarrassed, it's nothing I haven't heard before. A lot of the time, people's fantasies lie outside the boundaries of what they believe they should feel, outside of what they think is normal. Rape fantasy or forced seduction fantasy is actually one of the most common sexual fantasies among both men and women. As long as both parties have given their consent and use safewords, there's nothing wrong with such roleplaying." She paused, regarding him calmly. "The fact that you felt safe enough with your captor to do that does indicate a degree of trust one doesn't normally feel toward one's captor, though. Can you explain why you trusted him?"

Wonwoo shrugged, searching for words. "I—I don't know. He did scare me in the beginning, but he was also...different from his men. I've always been a pretty good judge of character. I could tell he was cool-headed enough not to resort to physical violence without good reason." He brushed a hand through his curls. He hadn't straightened them that morning. He still wasn't sure why. Clearing his throat, Wonwoo continued, "Until his arrival, the guards sort of used me as a punching bag when they got drunk. He put an end to that, moved me to a comfy room, gave me food and...yeah."