"Why Wendy? Why not someone within your circle?" Mino asks, furrowing his black, bushy eyebrows in curiosity.

Irene observes the facial expression of her psychiatrist and tries to mimic it. When he frowns, she frowns too. 

"Are you mocking me, Irene?" Mino pouts, much to Irene's disgust.

"I learnt a thing or two about acting. Acting is pretending. Pretending means portraying certain emotions even though you don't feel that way in reality."

"And how is that information relevant to our discussion?"

"Have you ever had a bad day and pretended to be fine when you're at that seat, attending to one of your patients?" Irene asks, gaze directed at Mino's chair.

"You can't bring personal matters into work, can you?"

"Isn't that tiring? Here you are trying to help people, but you probably are struggling too, aren't you?"

"Do you think I'm struggling with something?"

"Are you?"

"I'll let you decide that for me."

Silence drifts across the room. Mino doesn't say a word for he knows Irene will eventually break the silence. 

"Sorry."

"What?" He replies in bewilderment, stunned that he has just heard an apology from Irene. 

"I'm sorry for all the times I troubled you."

Usually Mino would come up with a witty response that would surely get on Irene's nerves. Yet the troubled look on his patient's face sets off the alarm in his head. "That's random, Irene. Is something bothering you?"

"Life is short, Mino. You don't know when you'll stop breathing. It's good to seek forgiveness when we've wronged others."

"That's a nice advice, Irene. I'll keep that in mind." Mino notes, as he jots some things on his notebook. "So are you going to tell me why Wendy?"

"Because she's attractive," Irene says flatly. She feels a little agitated that Mino is probing further, although she's well aware of the need to.

"That's all?"

"And she's smart." Her tone changes to a cheery one this time. 

"Aren't your friends attractive and smart as well?"

Irene narrows her eyes at her shrink accusingly. "Yah Song Mino, are you interested in one of my friends?"

Mino tries his best not to roll his eyes at his patient. "I'm the doctor here so I should be the one asking questions, not you, young lady."

Irene purses her lips, and lets out a few 'hmm's and 'ah's. "I like her aura," she finally concludes.

"What kind of aura does she have?"

"Daddy."

"Daddy? Like that kind of daddy?"

"Yes, that kind of daddy. Daddy Wendy," Irene says with a giggle. 

"You're kidding, aren't you?"

"Of course I am." Irene clicks her tongue in annoyance. She holds herself back from throwing another insult at Mino. "I like her because she's kind. She lets me have free ice-cream and waffles. Kind people are hard to come by these days."

"Alright... so what kind of relationship do you wish to establish with her?"

"uous," Irene grins.

"Daddy and daughter?"

Irene's face instantly scrunches in disgust. "Oh off Mino, that's ing disgusting."

"You called her daddy material!" Mino retorts, throwing his hands in the air. 

"I was ing joking, wasn't I? ing dumb ," she hisses, folding her arms like a child throwing a tantrum after getting rejected for insisting on buying candies. 

"Hey, I heard that!" He frowns, disapproving Irene's tone. 

"I just want to be friends with her. That's all," Irene grumbles, along with a hint of guilt registered in her tone for being so brash towards her psychiatrist. "They don't allow me to take it a notch further anyway," she mumbles, shoulders slump as she feels her heart sinking. 

"They?"

"Yeah." She curls her fingers and squirms in her seat. "They said I'll drag her down."

"Do you care about what they tell you?"

"How can I not, Mino?" She looks up to look at Mino, before turning away to add, "They speak the truth anyway."

"They're a part of you. We can work on having you take full control."

"It's been years, Mino. Right now, I can only be glad that they haven't pushed me into doing things that would make me leave."

But that doesn't mean I've not been counting days. 

Of course Irene couldn't tell Mino that. Certain things are best remain unspoken, to protect the people she cares about. 

When Saturday comes, Irene finds herself staring at the entrance of the institution again. Her gaze travels to the roof, staring at the fleeting figure that vanishes as soon as it appears all too suddenly. She heaves a sigh, feeling bogged down that she can't seem to shake him off.

Ignore. She tells herself. 

As long as they do not whisper a word, she is safe.

Nothing in the world is scarier than the thoughts she has. Her mind is a dark place. Sometimes she wishes she can run away from the darkness, but that would be impossible unless she detaches her brain from her entire body. Or if brain transplant is possible for her to undergo as soon as possible.  

Irene walks ahead, with heavy steps and makes her way to the garden. She tries to hide her smile when she sees Wendy, but fails when Wendy catches sight of her and smiles.

"Come, join us," Wendy says cheerfully, warmth filling her voice. "You're a little late so you have to catch up, again."

"I always do so successfully," Irene quips as she bends down to pick up her pot labelled with her name. A smile graces her lips when she realizes her seeds have sprouted.

The gardening class goes on smoothly. 

Much to Irene's surprise, the voices in her head never said a word.

An hour drifts past and Irene pens something down in the feedback form. After every session, participants are required to write at least one takeaway from the class. 

"I like today's class," Irene tells Wendy as soon as she hands the feedback form to the latter. 

"And why's that so?"

"My seeds sprouted. I like it."

"Why do you like it?" Wendy asks, as she packs her things quickly. 

Noticing Wendy's brisk movements, Irene lends a helping hand. "Why the rush?"

Wendy smiles at Irene gratefully as s