[CONTENTID1]Baby Steps[/CONTENTID1] [CONTENTID2]01[/CONTENTID2] [CONTENTID3]Go Ha-jin blinked as her eyes misted; her heart burst into emotions and she wasn't willing to let her tears fall. Not today. "Kamsahamnida, unnie."[/CONTENTID3] [CONTENTID4]I'm sick and tired of this...Go Ha-jin stared blankly at the open notebook. She was supposed to be writing her feelings down in order to process them properly, aside from doing all the grounding techniques her therapist-turned-friend Nanyoung had recommended for anxiety. Instead, she was thinking of how her former best friend, had been posting on SNS about her making stories up.

She finally put pen to paper.

The funny thing is, people believe her. I guess it was also my fault...I haven't spent much time with when I was with Min Gyu, as they stopped existing when I found myself a boyfriend. They've already tried opening up to me, but Min Gyu said that they weren't really my friends if they weren't understanding...

"No, Ha-jin," her therapist said when she finally showed her lone journal entry in their next session. "Your ex-boyfriend is a classic narcissist. He made sure to control your life so you'd only pay attention to him. See how he immediately went on the attack, instead of trying to understand the other party?"

She fidgeted in her seat. "It was also my fault, I—"

"Narcissists thrive on the attention given to them. In your case, it was your ex and you were his supply. It's not your fault you were in love...he took advantage of it. He made sure to keep you dependent on him so your attention is on him and him alone."

"And my former friend? Was it the same?"

"Well, based on what you've told me so far, yes. I think they both were narcissists. Remember you mentioned that she came to your rescue one day?"

"Yes..."

She was in college when she first met Jimin, who had stopped the men harassing her. After that, it had been a whirlwind of adventures, sometimes tainted by stupid and childish fights.

"What kind of arguments did you have?" Nanyoung prompted.

"Well, sometimes, she'd say that she does a lot of things for me and that I should be thankful. As if I wasn't."

"You didn't ask for help, Ha-jin. She voluntarily gave it. That kind of line might sound childish to you and some others but it's actually a symptom of an underlying problem. Especially when those things are always brought up."

Ha-jin slumped down on her seat with a frown. Her therapist friend only shook her head and stood up, moving towards a cabinet with a tea set on top. Nanyoung poured tea into two cups and gave one of them to Ha-jin, who grinned at them.

They were small and blue, painted with images of cats frolicking in the grass and among flowers. Cute.

"Thank you." She sipped on the cup as her eyes roamed around and found the cute blue cat wall clock above the window. Maybe she could get her friend a cat throw pillow or two in light blue.

"Tired? I understand if you want to stop our session now. Just write something down in your journal today, about what you feel currently. Just write anything."

"I'm not tired. I was just admiring your clock, it's super cute."

"Sure. And I'm not seven years older than you."

"Unnie...you're too much." Ha-jin stood up, stretched, and looked down at her friend with a smile. "I'm so glad that you're my therapist. Thank you for being patient with me. I feel like I've met an angel."

Nanyoung smiled, e