Tzuyu sighed as she laid her tray on the table.

Dahyun and Chaeyoung looked up to the tall rookie as they chewed their meal. The youngest of their trio sat quietly before elegantly ate her food. She felt a bit uncomfortable with the gazes of her superiors boring into her. Tzuyu tried to ignore it, but she could feel their eyes follow the cold sweat that trailed down their neck. She wasn’t flattered.

“How’s your day?” Chaeyoung winced when she broke the ice. “Are you adjusting well since you fully became a proper psychiatrist since…?”

“Three months ago.”

“Three months ago!”

“Yeah.” Tzuyu gulped her lunch. “Momo’s doing well. She’s becoming more functional. Her libido is lowering throughout this month, and I think she'll be at a moderate level by next month.”

“Yeah, I can tell.” The small doctor grinned. “I checked on Mina the other day and she’s finally talking. Full sentences and everything. A bit slow, she still can't speak much. Her voice is so soft and sweet though, and I could just listen to it all day. I guess dancing with an extremely libidinous individual can help recover from really bad mental trauma.”

“I think it’s from the love that they share,” Dahyun interrupted. “Not the fact that one of the partners in the relationship has a high libido.”

“Yeah, I think that part was obvious.” Chaeyoung rolled her eyes. 

“So is your apparent homouality.” Dahyun drank nonchalantly as her fellow spat out her water. “It’s showing again.”

“Oh please!” Chaeyoung wiped the excess water from her lips. “I’m not the one that’s still hitting on her- mmph!”

Dahyun stood wide-eyed as she quickly Chaeyoung’s mouth. She muffled the rest of her sentence, making sure no one else in the cafeteria heard her. Dahyun dug her nails in the younger doctor’s cheeks, turning any thoughts she was about to spew into cries of pain. Dahyun merely nodded and bowed to any passerby-s before sitting down.

“We’re not speaking of this, manager.” Dahyun’s low voice bordered on a growl. “Be mindful of where we are.”

“Geez, and I thought I was high-strung.” Chaeyoung shook her head as she sat back. “Not like many people care anyways.”

“Wait.” The two seniors snapped to Tzuyu. “I-Is Dahyun-sunbae seeing a patient…?”

“You can say that,” Chaeyoung smirked. “She and Sana are trying some very… experimental methods of recovery.”

“Well, having a friend is part of her healthy recovery after all.” Dahyun leaned on the table. “Humans are social creatures and having social validation does wonders on mental health.”

“Except friends don’t try to stick fingers in each other’s- “

There was a loud thump beneath the table, causing Chaeyoung to recoil and gasp in pain.

“Tzuyu!” Dahyun grinned excitedly, focusing her attention on the rookie. “How’s Jihyo? Did you manage to transition over to Sana-chan’s patients?”

“See?” Chaeyoung groaned. “I told you-! Not my shin!”

“Oh, um.” Tzuyu was caught off-guard. “J-Jihyo’s doing well. As normal, her tics are disappearing and she’ll be good enough for her meetings to be reduced to monthly.”

“Splendid!” Dahyun grinned widely as another thud was heard beneath the table. “It’s Tourette’s, it shouldn’t be too hard to handle.”

“I didn’t even do anything!” Chaeyoung rocked on her chair as she hugged her legs. “The pain!”

“U-Um, would it be okay for me a-ask about J-Jeongyeon-ssi?” Tzuyu watched as Dahyun stiffened and sat back, her eyes unfocused. Even Chaeyoung silenced her pains as she set her legs down, facing away from the table as she looked to the cafeteria doorway. “I-it’s just, she and Sana-ssi made an impression during my training, so…”

“She’s doing fine,” Chaeyoung flatly said. “We’re dealing with keeping her psychopathy in check so she can function seamlessly.”

Tzuyu didn’t dare to ask more, seeing the dark look on her boss’s face.

“Look, try not to mind me.” The head doctor rubbed her temples. “It’s just not a good time right now.”

“Y-yes, ma’am…”

“We really should be more thorough in our psychological checks, though.” Chaeyoung stood with her tray. “I’ll get on with that now.”

“But don’t you have-?”

“She can wait.” Chaeyoung looked back coldly to Dahyun. “She’s staying here after all.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Dahyun sighed as she swirled her nearly empty cup. She watched as Chaeyoung returned her tray and exited the cafeteria. The young psychiatrist looked tiredly at the watch on her wrist. “I should get to Sana soon in case she gets a panic attack.”

“D-does she-?”

“She still hallucinates sometimes, but it’s getting less,” Dahyun stated. “It’s only a matter of time and practice from now onwards, but I wish her progress didn’t come so soon.”

“Why? Isn’t that a good thing?”

“As soon as she’s cured, she’s going to be sent to prison.” The tired genius set the cup down. “Granted, it’s only for a year, but I’m worried that it will undo my work here. A-and also…”

“Also what?”

Tzuyu stared through the silence, her heart realizing the awkwardness of her question.

“Nothing.”

Dahyun stood with her tray to return it before leaving the cafeteria. Tzuyu could only sit uncomfortably, her bottom lip bitten in anxiety. She could only feel that she made their situation somehow worse.

She should’ve kept shut.

A/N: Short, but hopefully of proper depth.