The drive was harrowing enough that she was unable to get herself worked up enough to be worried about the ‘consultation.’

Still in the back of her mind, in the part that holds conversations with her over-active imagination, she had ever-shifting ideas of what to expect.  Dark robes. Witches. Dungeons. Bright lights as if she was in a surgical theater. Lying on a couch and being asked about her mother in a bad German accent. Cigars not being cigars

She had some very strange notions about what goes on in a psychologist's office.

All too soon, she met her destination.  Parking, she looked up at the steel and glass structure. It looked bright, sparkly, and modern. She was nearly disappointed, as she was imagining some old, decrepit building or some old-style residence that was modern five hundred years ago.

She shook herself and got rid of the flight of fancy. She was just nervous and letting her distract herself with absurdities. She knew that she was just delaying herself, so she started with one foot forward and got herself moving.

It was not a comfortable thing, but necessary. She found that once she started moving, it was easier to keep moving. Thank you, Newton's First Law of Motion. So, she kept moving.

And before she knew it, she was at the front of the building. All of the windows were scrupulously clean. There were no tacky hand prints on the glass of the door. There was a subtle undercurrent that only high-class people were allowed here. Seulgi nearly got intimidated by this near subliminal feeling of not belonging there.

She was made of stronger stuff than some imaginary boogeyman of a building. She pushed through the outer doors and walked into the atrium. There were no signs on the exterior of the building to say what was inside, so she looked for a placard showing what offices were where. There was just the address stenciled above the front door.

She found the name of the office that she was looking for on the second floor from the top. Again, she was impressed with the office building that housed the doctor that she had been recommended.

She checked her watch. She noticed that the black leather band was starting to wear, so she made a mental note to start looking for a replacement. She was thinking of repair shops as she made her way to the elevator.

She didn’t know of any repair shops, so she started searching online for them as the elevator car arrived. She continued her search after hitting the fourteenth-floor button. She absently thought that the view from the office ought to be nice. She was right.

She found a likely watch shop not too far out of the way from work when the car deposited her into the entryway of the office on the fourteenth floor. She looked around and noticed that this office was the only one on this floor. Goodness, it was swanky.

Nice white marbled tile. Bright white spotlights. Yellow, friendly-looking wood with a pair of potted plants on either side of the door. A pleasant looking frosted glass window in each door with large, bold, black lettering announcing whose office this was. The only sound outside of the elevator was the hushed whisper of the air moving in the corridor.

She had been in less sacrosanct monasteries.

Nervously, she moved to the office door. She was not sure if she should knock or not. There was no doorbell. She supposed as it was after lunch, so she should just try the door and it opened. She was not surprised that the door made no sound as it opened.

She looked at the entryway as the door opened. There was bright sunlight coming through the floor length windows. The carpet was a tasteful light grey. She was not expecting some garish color from an office like this!

There were several light grey cloth and chrome, plush chairs and a couch that matched the carpets. They looked very comfortable to sit in. Her mind wandered sideways thinking if these would look good in her place or not. She stopped wondering as her couches and chairs were already over stuffed and sinfully comfortable. She lost count of how many naps Suki talked her into on the couch alone. She smiled at the thought.

More halogen spotlights were illuminating the parts of the entryway that the sunlight didn’t reach. The office name was in black letters and neon blue backing. It almost had a retro vibe to it.

All of the greys, blues, and chromes made for an interesting setting that alternately screamed wealth, but not in an overly ostentatious way. It was very professional, but she got the feeling that these people didn’t take themselves too seriously.

Somehow, she was relaxing. All of this combined to tell her back brain that it’s ok. She will be fine. Things will get better. She was feeling more and more safe and secure. Which was odd as she was fairly tightly wound up before entering the office.

Between the color contrasts, the warm and friendly lighting, and the feng shui, she started to feel like this might not be so bad. Then, she realized just how easily she had been manipulated into dropping her guard and it all came back crashing down.

Still, she had to admit that it was a nice entry.

She moved to the front counter where the receptionist would usually greet her. No one was currently present. However, there was a partially eaten lunch on the desk that smelled tantalizingly familiar. The meal was still steaming, so whoever had been eating could not have been away for too long. The polished hickory chopsticks were not next to the dish as one would expect. There was a mug of something next to the meal. The chopsticks were peeking out of the mug to Seulgi’s surprise.

The desk was white and had all of the normal office things on it. A computer, a printer, pens, pencils, highlighters. Papers and paperclips scattered everywhere. It was organized, working chaos. There was a black high backed chair with a caramel cashmere sweater hanging on the back.

A highly cultured and very feminine voice said, “Why are your chopsticks in your mug? And what are you drinking?”

A very recognizable voice responded, “Simple, doctor.  It’s a hickory daiquiri, Doc.” This was followed by a pair of melodic giggles that didn’t sound threatening in the least.

“Seulgi? While it's lovely to see you, I didn’t expect to see you here,” she was what she heard next.