~Chapter 4~

There was a slight knock on the door. Mr. Lee looked up from his paper documents and hastily put them away. He touched his head to make sure his painstakingly-styled hair was still in good shape. He sat up straight and put his interlocked fingers on the mahogany table. Clearing his throat, he said, "Come in,"

The door was set ajar and in stepped a tall man with dark brown hair combed to the side in a messy style. He bowed awkwardly as his hand still held onto the door knob. He pursed his lips as he walked cautiously into the brightly painted room. Mr. Lee eyed him as the tall man made his way towards the chair directly in front of him. With what seemed like a long time to Mr. Lee, he finally settled down in his seat. 

"Is it your first time meeting a counsellor? You seem quite nervous." Mr. Lee propped his elbows on the table and rested his chin on his interlocked fingers.

Mr. Lee patiently waited for the man's answer. "Yes, it is my first time and I don't really feel good about meeting a consellor as that goes to show that I actually have a problem you know,"

Mr. Lee grinned and shook his head, "Well, you will feel better, talking to someone. Now, may I know your name?" 

"Its Ki Woong, Park Ki Woong." He answered. He was less nervous seeing how friendly the counsellor was. 

Mr. Lee nodded in acknowledgement. Ki Woong looked at him, almost staring. Then, Mr. Lee broke into a brief laughter, leaning back as he did so. "I am so sorry. Where are my manners? I am Mr. Lee, Andy Lee to be exact. You can just call me Andy though. Its just the two of us here. I don't really mind." 

Ki Woong smiled and nodded. "So shall we get started Ki Woong? Tell me why you felt like you needed to come here?" 

He thought for a moment to pick the right choice of words. "After an incident with a granny who we couldn't help in time, I felt guilty for my actions. Then afterwards, I started hearing weird things and it was continuous. I could barely concentrate." 

Andy's eyes never left Ki Woong as he explained the situation. Andy could sense bewilderment and grief in him as he observed the tone and facial expression. "Okay. A paramedic feeling guilty for not being able to help is pretty normal but hearing weird things?" His eyebrows shot up. 

Ki Woong's palms got sweaty and he began to play around with his hands. "Yes, I heard weird things. I heard loud bangings and cries for help from an enclosed area. I could feel those people's desperation." He looked down at his sweaty hands.

"Maybe its something to do, psychologically? Those sounds could be from memory." Andy said. Many things were playing in his mind. 

"Maybe but what I know is this never happened before and I have never heard such sounds, in actual before." Ki Woong looked up and drew closer to Andy. He was so worried about what he had heard, much less seen but he was going to go slow on saying it. He didn't want to be regarded as a maniac. 

He leaned back on his chair. "Is there something you missed out? Somewhere from the beginning or the end?" Andy was really curious right then. This was one of his most unique yet weird cases. Paramedics he met were usually troubled about being blamed for not saving a life and Andy found those cases easy to handle but this right in front of him was about to bring a whole new level of challenge to him. He never stepped down from a challenge. 

Ki Woong looked to the side, trying to recall the details. He flicked his head towards Andy. "Andy, the granny said, 'Let him be next, Park Ki Woong'. She doesn't even know me and my uniform didn't bear my name. That is what I find weird." 

"And all those things that you heard afterwards started occuring?" Andy asked, unable to comprehend the situation. He didn't know what to say. His mind shifted to the possibility of a ghost following him around and making him hear all those things but as a counsellor, he couldn't actually say that. It would just freak Ki Woong out. 

Ki Woong nodded his head quickly. He was thinking whether to tell Andy about what he thought he saw too. Andy might be able to help. "Actually I think I saw a dead person standing over her own lifeless body." He suddenly blurted out which made him surprised himself. 

Andy was speechless and stared at Ki Woong wide-eyed. Was he hearing things too? Did Ki Woong just say that he could see ghosts? Ki Woong looked around nervously. Now, he was really going to be regarded as a crazy person. Nobody talked. The both of them just looked at each other. Both were speechless. 

Finally, Andy broke the silence. "A-Are you sure? Because, even I thought of that possiblity." Ki Woong nodded once again. He knew who or what he saw. He was definitely in the right of mind at that scene. 

"You know what? I think I'm going to have to refer you to a psychiatrist. You really need the help."

"Can you please don't? I'm not crazy! I really saw her!" Ki Woong stood up.

"Ki Woong. Calm. Down. I did not say you're crazy. I just want you to feel better. A psychiatrist would be of much better help. You want to feel normal again right?" Andy persuaded him. 

Ki Woong heaved a breath and sat down again. This counsellor did make sense. He had went to see counsellor to be normal again. 

Andy looked pitifully at him. "For now, you need to learn how to calm down and control yourself. Take deep breaths and act as if you don't see or hear those things. Here's my number if you ever need help. Support from your friends and family is also important in these stages. Go home and rest well." Andy smiled reassuringly.

Ki Woong looked at the number on the namecard. He stood up once again and held out his right hand. "Thank you for your help. I'll call you again about that appointment with a psychiatrist." Andy shook hands with Ki Woong and sent him out the door. 

Ki Woong looked at the people-packed street. He was seeing those things again above some people. He saw white, flowy figures lingering above the heads of the people. He was still thinking of the logic behind what he was seeing. Others may not be able to help but he could help himself. He could be brave and just look at those people with passing glances to avoid staring at them. That was his resolution.