Wheein’s POV

“Someone touched me,” I whispered to Dr. Lee the moment I arrived back in the house.

“Someone touched you?” Dr. Lee asked, dropping the phone she was holding as she hurriedly walked towards me. She stood a respectable distance in front of me while scanning her eyes all over my body. She eyed the box I was hugging to my chest and the plastic bag I was carrying with my other hand before she looked into my eyes. “Who touched you?”

“Someone touched me,” I whispered again. “Someone touched me, Dr. Lee. Someone held my hand. Someone hugged me. Someone kissed my cheek” I nervously mumbled because I don’t understand what I’m feeling right now after being touched, held, hugged, and kissed all in just one day. Everything was just now sinking in.

“Calm down, Wheein. Please—”

“Dr. Lee, someone touched me” I said again before I gulped hard from nervousness, my voice getting louder now.

“I know… Are you okay? Did they hurt you? Wheein…” she whispered softly as she bent down to be eye level with me. That’s what she’d always do to look like she’s calm and collected but I know she’s worried about me already.

“She kissed me, Dr. Lee. She kissed me on the cheek”

Her eyebrows twitched for a second before her eyes softened again. “Can you tell me what happened? Who kissed you, Wheein? More importantly, are you hurt?”

I vigorously shook my head as I gulped hard. I could still feel Yongsun’s soft lips on my cheek because she kissed me again when we said goodbye. I could very much feel her arms around me when she hugged me goodbye. I could still feel the warmth from her smile and the comfort I could find in her eyes until now. Even now that we’ve been apart for almost an hour already.

My eyes widened as I stared at Dr. Lee’s worried eyes. “Aren’t all touches painful, Dr. Lee?” I whispered softly.

Her eyes softened and the worry in them was already gone. She gave me a small smile as she shook her head. “No, Wheein”

My eyes widened even more when I heard that. “Don’t they always hurt me?”

She smiled wider as she shook her head again. “No, they don’t. I told you this during one of our sessions, right?” she asked while I nodded at her. “And that’s true. Not all touches would hurt you”

“I trust what you said now” I whispered softly as I bent my head low. “Her touch was so warm. It was so comforting, Dr. Lee” I admitted despite how my face was turning red from embarrassment right now.

“Hmm… Were you scared by her?”

I shook my head and changed my mind as I nodded at her. I pouted at her while she continued to look at me, waiting for me to explain myself. I ran my tongue on my lips and stared at the floor as I whispered, “I was at first. Then she suddenly held my hand but it didn’t hurt me. She has the warmest touch, Dr. Lee, so when she wasn’t holding my hand anymore, I missed her hand. I just wanted her to hold my hand some more. I wanted her to hug me more”

“Do you like her?”

I slowly nodded at her before I pouted at her when I heard her chuckling at me. “Was it wrong?”

“No” she hurriedly said as she shook her head at me. “No. It’s not wrong to like someone”

“Then why are you laughing?”

“Do you have a crush on her?”

“Crush? What? No!” I exclaimed, feeling my face heating up from my blush, which made Dr. Lee laugh louder. “I don’t have a crush on her. I just… I just like her. Like like her only. I only like her.” I sighed heavily when I heard Dr. Lee laughing at me before I whispered under my breath, “This is not working, isn’t it?”

She walked back to the couch and sat down again. She picked up her phone and typed something on it as she said, “I’m telling Dr. Park that you’re crushing on someone already. She’s looking forward to the day this will happen”

“She’s just going to tease me when she sees me in the hospital” I whined, stomping my foot from frustration as I pouted at Dr. Lee.

“She won’t. She might ask you a lot about this crush of yours though”

“I don’t have a crush on Yongsun!”

Dr. Lee’s eyebrows rose up while her lips slowly formed into a wide smile. “I see her name’s Yongsun… Did you get her number too? Should I teach you how to court?” she asked teasingly, her shoulders shaking from her giggles while her thumbs moved really fast to tell Dr. Park about this. “Did you get her number?” she asked again.

“I’m not telling”

She placed her phone down and raised her hands up. “I’m not telling Dr. Park if you tell me more. Please tell me more… ”

“You’re just making fun of me”

“I won’t. I promise”

I continued to pout at her while she smiled so wide at me and nodded her head to convince me. I closed my eyes and sighed heavily before I whispered, “She gave me her number. She asked for mine too”

“Someone got a crush on you too”

“Stop teasing me!” I whined as I stomped my foot several times again.

“I wasn’t! I was simply stating it” Dr. Lee said but I couldn’t trust what she said, especially with how she’s laughing at me again.

I pouted at her one last time before I shook my head and turned towards the stairs. “I’m going up to my room now”

“Did you have fun, Wheein? Were you hurt earlier?” she asked, her laughing stopped and her voice sounded serious now.

I stopped climbing up the stairs to look at her. I shook my head as I said, “I wasn’t hurt, Dr. Lee”

“Okay… That’s all I ever wanted.” She nodded and gave me a small smile as she said, “Come down for dinner later”

“I will.” I resumed climbing up the stairs before I stopped and turned around, climbing down again. “Dr. Lee…” I whispered softly, staring at the box I was hugging because I’m too shy to look at her.

“Yes, Wheein. Do you need something?”

I shook my head before I gulped hard, mustering up the courage I could find in myself. “Uhmm… Can I go out again tomorrow after our session?”

“Of course. As long as you tell me where you’ll be going and always turn on the GPS on your phone so I could locate you in case something bad happens, it’s okay for you to go out”

“Thank you” I whispered, sighing in relief.

“No problem”

I climbed up the stairs again and groaned from frustration when I forgot to tell her something else. I trudged down the stairs and stopped where I was standing earlier. I stared at the box I was hugging again and cleared my throat when it felt too dry.

“Is there something wrong?” Dr. Lee asked before I could even say something.

“Thank you for insisting that I should go out earlier even if all I had to do was buy coffee or something else. That’s all. Thank you again” I hurriedly mumbled, unsure if she understood me.

I bowed to her before I hurriedly climbed up the stairs and rushed to my bedroom. I could hear Dr. Lee’s chuckles when I reached my room so I closed the door right away and breathed deeply a couple of times to calm myself and get rid of my blushing face.

“No kissing on the second and third date,” Dr. Park said.

I pouted at her and Dr. Lee who were sitting in front of me as I said, “But she already kissed my cheek yesterday”

“I meant the lips. No kissing on the lips yet, Wheein”

My eyes widened at that before I averted my gaze and bent my head low when I could feel myself blushing. Does Yongsun want to kiss my lips? How would that feel? My face heated up some more when I could imagine the feeling of her soft lips right on mine. Then I immediately shook my head and removed the image and feeling of it. I couldn’t allow her to kiss my lips. She doesn’t know it but my lips are already dirty. They don’t deserve such attention from her. They shouldn’t touch her skin too.

“If she invites you to her place, don’t let that happen”

“What? Why?” I asked Dr. Park while Dr. Lee was just listening to our conversation, sitting quietly with an amused smile on her face.

Dr. Park was my pediatrician when Dr. Lee first admitted me to the hospital. Dr. Lee is one of my many doctors for my series of therapies. Among all my doctors, I could say that I’m close to Dr. Park and Dr. Lee the most because I spent most of my childhood with Dr. Park while I live with Dr. Lee since she adopted me. I spent most of my time with them as well since the two of them are close friends and whenever Dr. Lee would go, I go. When my wounds healed and Dr. Park no longer needed to tend to me, she’d still visit and greet me whenever I was in the hospital for my therapies.

“What if she’d do something bad to you? I don’t trust this Kim Yongsun until I get to see her face”

“You’ll trust her once you get to see her”

“Why? Because she has a beautiful face?” Dr. Park asked while Dr. Lee covered when she snorted at what Dr. Park said.

“Well…” I nervously mumbled and flinched when Dr. Park narrowed her eyes at me. “Stop scaring me…”

“I’m not. I’m listening intently. Why do you think I should trust your date?”

“We’re not going out on a date. I told you that already!” I whined as I pouted at her. “We’re just going to meet”

“Same difference. You still didn’t answer my question, Wheein”

“Well…” I mumbled once again and pouted at Dr. Lee when she looked so entertained with what’s happening. This was supposed to be my therapy session with Dr. Lee but Dr. Park suddenly showed up and decided to turn this into a lecture. “She’s…” I sighed and gulped hard as I stared at my shoes. “She’s beautiful but that’s not the only reason why I feel like I could trust her. The whole time I was with her, I felt comfortable. She would always ask my permission too; whenever she held my hand or when she hugged me. She never hurt me either”

“What time will you be meeting her?”

I glanced at the clock in Dr. Lee’s office before I said, “In less than an hour now”

Dr. Park suddenly stood up and said, “Let’s go”

“What? Where?” I asked while my eyes blinked from confusion as I looked at her and Dr. Lee, confused by what’s happening.

“We’ll drive you to where you’re meeting her. I want to see this Kim Yongsun to know whether she should be trusted or not”

“Wha—Are you going to join us?”

“No. We’ll be spies” Dr. Park said excitedly. She nudged Dr. Lee’s arm as she said, “Dahee let’s go. We should be early so we could find a good hiding spot”

“No! That’s embarrassing” I whined as I pouted at them again.

“We’ll leave the moment we get a good look on her face. She won’t even notice that we’re there. I promise. Please, Wheein… Pretty please…” she whispered, sticking her bottom lip out to act cute in front of me.

“No!”

“We’ll just stay in the car then. Sit close to the window so we could see you and her. Then we’ll drive away once we get a good look on her face” Dr Lee suddenly said, grabbing both of our attention. “I promise we won’t stay long. It’s for your own safety too”

“Fine… You can come with me” I whispered, relenting because they were right after all. Dr. Park excitedly clapped in celebration while Dr. Lee just smiled at me.

I’m just lucky Dr. Lee allowed me to go out despite my condition. I get a sense of freedom even though I still feel trapped in my own mind. It gives me hope and encouragement to be better and to not just succumb to my condition.

“But you have to stay in the car. I’m already embarrassed knowing that you’re coming with me. It would be more embarrassing if she sees I’m with you”

“Deal!” Dr. Park excitedly said with a huge smile on her face. She clapped her hands and motioned for everyone to stand up. “Let’s go, everybody. Let’s not make Wheein’s date wait”

“It’s not a date!” I whined once again.

“Okay, okay. I’m just excited because you’re finally going out on a friendly meeting” Dr. Park said sarcastically, making me frown at her while she just laughed at me. “Let’s go”

“Well, I guess that’s the end of our session. I’ll see you again at our next session, Wheein”

I picked up my bag and patted my hoodie, straightening it up as I mumbled to myself, “I don’t think there was even a session to begin with”

Dr. Park was too excited to hear what I said. Dr. Lee just smiled at me when she heard me. I instantly bent my head low and hid my blushing face because I was caught. I slang my bag across my shoulders and held the straps with both of my hands as we headed out of Dr. Lee’s office. Dr. Park was walking ahead of us while Dr. Lee and I were walking beside each other.

“Wheein, watch where you’re going” Dr. Lee whispered beside me.

I nodded my head and raised my head up as I slowly and slightly moved closer to her. “Sorry” I whispered while she only gave me a small smile.

“Wheein, you should’ve worn prettier outfits. She saw you in your hoodie before, right? You have pretty shirts and sweatshirts too” Dr. Park said, looking like she’s skipping in front of us.

“She told me to wear this”

“What?” Dr. Park asked as she turned around and started walking backwards.

“She told me to wear this,” I mumbled as I pointed at my hoodie.

“Kim Yongsun bought that hoodie for her,” Dr. Lee said to Dr. Park. “She broke Wheein’s tablet and spilled coffee on her hoodie yesterday. She offered to replace Wheein’s hoodie and bought her a new tablet. That’s how they met”

I told Dr. Lee over dinner what happened yesterday. I was embarrassed but since she allowed me to go out again so I could meet Yongsun today, I felt like I should tell her what happened. Also, it has always been an unspoken rule that we talk about our days over dinner. She’d tell me about her time in the hospital while I tell her about the food I cooked for myself or the projects I’m handling or the lack thereof. The things we talk about inside the house would always be anything unrelated to my condition. She said it would help set a boundary so it wouldn’t feel like I’m always in a session with her even inside the house. It’s also the same reason why she’d always conduct our sessions in the hospital even though we lived in the same house.

“Suspicious…” Dr. Park whispered, narrowing her eyes at me before she turned her back to us and started walking forward again. “Suspicious…”

“Suspicious? What? Why? Suspicious how?” I asked but Dr. Park didn’t answer me so I turned to Dr. Lee.

I tugged on the coat of her sleeve, grabbing her attention. Her eyes momentarily widened when she felt me tugging on her coat before she stared at my hand holding a pinch of her coat. I instantly removed my hand and gripped my strap, my face warming up right away.

“What is it, Wheein?” Dr. Lee gently asked while I shook my head and stared at the floor again. She softly chuckled at me as she said, “Okay, then. You can ask me anything, okay?”

I cleared my throat and nodded at her, my face getting redder when I heard her chuckling again.

When we reached Dr. Lee’s car, I went to the backseat while they took the front seats of the car. I placed my bag beside me and fastened my seatbelt. I kept breathing deeply to calm myself down because I’m nervous. Yesterday was something that happened so suddenly. Our meeting in the café, when we ate lunch together, and when she walked me to the taxi stand, everything about it was totally unexpected too so I didn’t have the time to be nervous unlike today. I woke up being nervous and until now, I’m still nervous.

“Are you nervous?”

I glanced up and saw Dr. Lee looking at me through the rearview mirror. I nodded at her while she offered me a smile.

“It’s okay, Wheein. Continue breathing deeply so you can calm down” Dr. Park said.

“Okay…”

And so I did that. The entire car ride was spent with them checking on me while I breathed deeply. I was calm at some point but then I got nervous again when we reached the café where I first met Yongsun yesterday. I glanced at the time on my phone and I regretted it right away when it just made me more nervous.

I unfastened my seatbelt before I grabbed my bag. “I’m going out now” I whispered, prolonging this a little bit because I’m too nervous to move out of the car.

“Okay. We’ll stay here just like we promised” Dr. Park said.

“Okay…”

I breathed deeply one last time before I finally moved out of the car. I slang my bag as I timidly walked towards the café. My hands were gripping my strap again, clenching and unclenching on the strap.

I was a few feet away from the entrance when I decided to turn around and headed back to Dr. Lee’s car. I got inside the backseat and before the two of them could ask me why, I hurriedly said, “What if she finds out about my DID? I didn’t tell her about it yesterday. What if she discovers it and decided not to see me anymore? What should I do?”

“Okay. First off, relax, Wheein. Breathe deeply again because your nerves are not helping you right now. Breathe deeply please…” Dr. Lee said softly while I’m still breathing heavily.

“But what if?” I whined, pouting at my lap as I gripped my bag strap tightly.

Dr. Lee turned around so she could directly look at me. “You’re condition is not a hindrance for you to make friends. If you tell her about it and she decided not to be friends with you anymore, then she doesn’t deserve to be friends with you. Or maybe she’ll under