Okay, so, real quick:

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“I think Byulyi has schizophrenia.”

Yongsun’s brain immediately sends stress signals out, slamming the wall down on the mere thought of Byulyi having something as serious as schizophrenia. But she's rational, and it's the way she works - the more she tries to deny something, the more she'll think about ways it could be correct, and in this case, she's pretty sure that Hyejin hit the bullseye. Everything ties in - the hallucinations, the thought disorganisation, the insomnia. Yongsun’s familiar with the disorder to a passable extent, having read up on it since it's often confused with DID.

“Gods,” Yongsun says quietly, blowing out a long breath and pressing her fingertips to her temple.

“Yeah.” Hyejin breathes, gnawing on her lower lip. “There's no cure for schizophrenia, if that's what she really has, but there's treatment to control it. We should get her to a good psychologist as soon as possible. Schizophrenia - it just…we shouldn't leave her without professional help for too long.”

“Would she want to go to a psychologist though? That's the hard part. We can't just drag her there without giving her a reason.” Yongsun glances at Byulyi, tossing and turning on the sofa. “And I don't think we can tell her that she probably has schizophrenia.”

“No, we can't. She doesn't believe that she has hallucinations, so she won't believe that she's schizophrenic. But her yellow eye hallucination has been going on for quite a while, and it's a little worrying. It might not have been too bad at first, but this disorder can get worse over time,” Hyejin absentmindedly rolls a paint brush between her fingers. “We can try to get her there by saying that we're worried about her mental state because of today's breakdown. Sans hallucination.”

Yongsun ponders Hyejin’s words, feeling some semblance of guilt settle in her chest. She remembers now - the times when Byulyi had asked her about having yellow eyes. She didn't know it was the psychologist hallucinating then, so she'd just kind of played along and joked about it. She'd always treated it as some sort of inside joke. The hallucination must have twisted all her responses in Byulyi’s mind somehow. She knows it isn't her fault, but still, it's the guilt of one who is helpless to do anything and who wants to find fault in herself for that.

“Yeah. We should do that. But I don't know if she'll accept this reason,” Yongsun says quickly. trying not to leave too much of a silent gap between their conversation. “It's no easy feat convincing someone that they require psychological help. Not everyone is like me. Solar wasn't.”

Hyejin’s brows knit as she turns her head to look at Byulyi, pursing her minimally glossed lips. She's silent for a time, before she gives Yongsun a side-eye. “Well, I know Byulyi, and that woman is more stubborn than a thrice-blasted mule. She'll need a lot of persuasion. Maybe even more than Solar needed.”

“Ah, I forgot that you and your other friend were the ones who convinced Solar to see Byulyi. Well, then you should go and tell Byulyi that she needs some help.”

Hyejin snorts. “Please, Byulyi’s tens of times more stubborn than Solar. Besides,” She lifts her chin slightly. “I have a feeling she will listen if you talk to her.”

“Me,” Yongsun quirks an eyebrow. “Whatever makes you say that, Ahn Hyejin?”

“We may be helpless fools, but we're anything but blind, Kim Yongsun. I'm pretty sure you can see it as much as I can.” Hyejin replies, looking back at Yongsun. “And even more so.”

“You know,” Yongsun looks at Byulyi as well, brown eyes arrogant but not as cold as usual. She seems almost…sad. Hyejin is trained in studying human facial expressions, and though isn't downturned and her expression doesn't seem to change, Hyejin can see it. The pity, the sadness, more. Yongsun breathes out a rugged sigh, and Hyejin is sure she isn’t imagining the softening of her cold brown eyes. “I think I can.”

-

Yongsun’s phone beeps, displaying a message from Hyejin. She puts her bag of salted chips down and pauses the Harry Potter movie she's watching before grabbing her phone with her not-greasy fingers. She sips from her can of Coke as she unlocks her phone and taps on the new message.

From: Ahn Hyejin

Hi, Yongsun - I’ve gone through some websites and contacts and I’ve found a psychologist (he specializes in psychotic disorders, but we don’t have to tell BY that) whose office isn’t too too far from Byulyi’s place. 3:47PM

From: Ahn Hyejin

{Link} 3:48PM

Yongsun taps on the link and sips as she waits for her phone to load the website. It’s very professional-looking, and she immediately directs herself to the psychologist’s testimonials, and then his information page. There’s a lot of wishy washy stuff, but the essentials are there, so she screenshots the page and toggles back to her chat with Hyejin.

To: Ahn Hyejin

He seems pretty decent, and he has some good testimonials from previous patients. I’ll call Byulyi now, I think she doesn’t have any clients to see rn.

From: Ahn Hyejin

You're really okay with lying to her?

To: Ahn Hyejin

I'm just telling less embellished truths, which I'm very talented at doing. I'm calling her.

Hyejin responds with a thumbs up emoji, and so Yongsun puffs out a breath before opening her calls log, typing out Byulyi’s name to find her contact number. She taps on the contact and puts the phone on speaker mode, holding the microphone close to . The dial tone sounds, and she drums her pinky against her half-empty Coke can, feeling droplets of condensed water run off the sides onto her lap.

Byulyi picks up on the fifth ring.

“Hi?”

“Psych,” Yongsun says into the microphone, biting the skin off her lips. Her hand is trembling slightly, but her voice remains casual and strong as usual She can hear the sound of Byulyi’s even breaths across the line. “I hope I am not disturbing anything.”

“Ah, no, you aren't. I don't have any patients to see today. I'm just at home doing some paperwork. So, why did you call me?”

“Well, after reassessing the…incident that happened yesterday, I am of the opinion that you require some help, Psych,” Yongsun says directly, not giving Byulyi any time to respond before continuing, “Your, um, incident yesterday isn't something that should be happening at all. Especially for someone with your job, you know?”

“What are you getting at?”

“What I'm getting at is that you've been really stressed these days, and your insomnia and, er, thought disorganisation seems to be affecting you negatively. Please note that I only do this out of concern - I really think that you should see a psychologist,” Yongsun’s hand trembles even more violently and she steadies it, her dry lips. There's silence over the line, and she prays that she wasn't being too direct or anything. She's never been one for sugar coating, because it's a waste of a time, but now she wonders if she should've kind of not been so direct.

Then the line crackles. “Yongsun, this is just a small issue. It's just one mental breakdown. I'm sure I'll be fine in a while. Insomnia happens to lots of people. So does stress. I guess it's just something that happened because of, well, your case. But I don't think it's serious enough for me to need to see a psychologist.”

So she believes that her hallucinations was her having a mental breakdown.

“Psych,” Yongsun closes her eyes. She's already anticipated several rebukes, so she herself has some arguments to make. “How many nights of fitful sleep have you gotten over the past week? Where you get at least four or five hours without waking up?”

Byulyi goes silent again. When she next responds, her voice is rough. “None, I haven't been sleeping well for weeks. But this isn't a real cause for-”

“And I don't think I have to mention your stress levels. Yesterday, you had a mental breakdown. Gods, you have to be stressed beyond belief for that to happen. Who knows what will happen next if you don't get help to manage this? This isn't healthy, Psych. You can't deal with all of this on your own.” Yongsun sips her Coke again to moisten .

“Look, I appreciate it and all, but I'm a psychologist. I know ways to deal with stress. I can handle this myself without having to see another external person.”

“Psych, I don't have a doubt in your psycho abilities, but knowing is different from doing. I'd feel much more at ease if you had help from a professional to manage this. How can you expect to help others when you yourself are having stress issues?”

She can tell that her persuasion is beginning to sway Byulyi, if it hasn't already begun swaying her before. The even more prolonged silence is a giveaway. Byulyi’s rebuttal probably sounds feeble even to herself.

“I don't want to spend money on this.”

“Fully funded by yours truly, do not fret about money, and do not argue with me. I am terminating my sessions with you, which I realised are quite a waste of money when I could just meet up with you. Jaehyuk left quite a considerable sum in Solar's account for her sessions with you, which I've not nearly exhausted. Please, please, Psych,” Yongsun’s voice grows softer, reflecting her sincere concern. It's a calculated move, but it isn't fake, because she's seriously concerned. “I'm worried about you.”

She can almost imagine Byulyi’s resolve crumbling. And, as if she senses it herself, Byulyi throws out a last, desperate card, as though it would convince herself and Yongsun that she doesn't need a psychologist.

“I don't want to have to see a psychologist again. Not again.” Byulyi whispers, so quietly that Yongsun nearly misses it entirely. But she catches it, and Yongsun feels shaken.

Again? What does she mean again? She's had to see to a psychologist before? Oh, my Gods, this is worse than I thought. She really needs to see this psychologist pronto. Yongsun disregards the comment for now because she doesn't know what to make of it - and she knows that she only needs a little bit more to persuade Byulyi.

“Psych, please. Just try for a month, okay? Just one month. I already have a psychologist in mind. His office isn't too far from your place. If you don't like it there you don't have to keep going, but please, you need it. Just one month for now.” Lies, lies, Yongsun bites down gently on her tongue. One month isn't enough, and she's sure that Byulyi, whether she wants to or not, has to continue sessions with the psychologist for a long while.

Byulyi’s voice comes out weakly. “Come with me.”

Yongsun’s fingers squeeze the Coke can. “Of course I'll go with you, I'll bring you there from your house, how about that? And I'll stay for as long as you need me to, yeah? That sounds like a fair compromise.”

The line crackles as Byulyi breathes out. “I - yeah, okay. Okay. Maybe this'll do me some good.”

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