Since the office door was shut, Seulgi decided to take advantage of it and pulled a card out of her pocket like a magician.

She looked at the name, the office, and the number. She was pretty sure that even with her prodigious salary, there was no way she could afford to go to this place. Still, she was all but ordered to give them a call.

Given who gave the ‘suggestion,’ there was no way that she could refuse. So, she figured that she could call them. Make an appointment. Go once and then ‘be too busy’ to go back.

Steeling her nerves, she picked up her phone and dialed.

She did not get two rings before an exceptionally well-modulated, super-cultured, and excessively feminine voice answered. Seulgi knew the power of her own voice, but she really wanted this woman to narrate her sat-nav. It took a second longer than pure politeness dictated to come back to herself.

“Hello. My name is Kang Seulgi, I need to make an appointment with Dr. Mi Kyong.”

“Kang Seulgi, you said? Of course. We were expecting your call. Please tell us what time is good for you and we will make time,” the disgustingly beautiful voice said.

Taken aback by how accommodating they were being, Seulgi replied, “What openings do you have? I have some paid time off accrued, so I am pretty free to use it as I wish. I don’t want to put anyone out.”

She glared at the phone. She was starting to think that she had heard this gorgeous voice before but couldn’t place it. She was making a mental picture of the person behind the voice and she was positive that the woman was as beautiful as she sounded. Seulgi was not an inherently jealous person, but she was already annoyed by this person and she didn’t know why.

The Voice, as Seulgi started calling her, said that they had a few openings during the week, or if convenient, the doctor would come in on the weekend for her. Once again, Seulgi was perplexed at why they were being so accommodating. She knew that her preferential treatment was due to who suggested it. Still, she was flattered, too.

They made an appointment for that Thursday at four in the afternoon for her first session.

And last session, Seulgi thought waspishly.

She disconnected the call and then put the appointment into her phone's calendar so she would not forget.  She feared that the ghost of a certain friend’s mother would show up like a specter and drag her by the ear if she forgot.

Well, it was Tuesday, so she had plenty of time to get her nerves worked up over this impending appointment. She would have to do something to distract her. Then she felt foolish as she was at work. She could just bury herself in work and ignore the outside world for a while.

And work she did. She drove herself like a demon. Had she spared herself a thought, she would have scolded herself for driving herself too hard. She would never have let one of her people work like she was driving herself to do so.

Her people came by to check on her. She was given a small treasure trove of gummy candies, Hotteok, and even some Pringles. There were also several cups of tea in varying degrees of warmth. 

About ten until noon, Bhuwakul came to collect her for lunch. He had to say her name three times and she did not respond.  He had to take the keyboard out from under her hands before she noticed that he was there.

He pitched his voice lower than usual and cooed to her, “Come to lunch, Seulgi. We’re waiting for you in the break room.” That broke her trance.

She blinked as she came back to herself. Then she blinked again in shock to see the small pile of snacks in front of her. She blinked a third time at the several empty wrappers off to the side that she did not remember opening or consuming.

After a moment, her brain kicked back in and she came back to herself fully. She looked at Bhuwakul and nodded without a word. It was unusual for her to avoid reality by working so hard. She would have to watch herself in the afternoon.

“I made an appointment with Dr. Mi Kyong.”

Still speaking slowly, “Good. I am sure that they will be just what you need and someone to talk to. They have a very good reputation.” Bhuwakul did not say who that reputation was with, but he didn’t need to.

Seulgi locked her computer and got up to join her crew. She walked and chatted with Bhuwakul until they got to the break room She got her lunch from the fridge and then looked over to see who was there. She walked over to the table and saw that everyone except Jackson and Nayeon were there. Jackson had an excuse. She figured that Nayeon was still mad. Seulgi was right,

Seulgi felt that everyone seemed off. They were being more circumspect than normal. They left the one chair that would place her back to the wall open. While the conversation was still free-flowing like normal, they all seemed to be avoiding specific topics. Yeojin started talking about a recent slasher film out until Min-jeong kicked her under the table.

Seulgi knew what they were doing and why, She figured that Yeji told everyone to avoid talking about particular things, but not why. Unlike a certain absent person, Yeji could keep her cakehole shut.

This thought brought a bit of mirth to Seulgi’s face. The table at large relaxed a tiny bit. The jokes and biting humor started while everyone’s lunch was consumed. By the end of the lunch break, everything was nearly back to normal.

Well, as normal as it ever got around these clowns. Still, it was odd that Nayeon went out to lunch on an emergency rather than being there with them. That was out of character.

Only Seulgi knew why and she wasn’t telling. As a matter of fact, she was barely talking. She was withdrawn, but not to the point that people outside her closest friends would notice.