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[sweet] - [cas]

"Easy to manipulate, Mr. Park? I've never said anything like that; it was you who jumped to conclusions," Sora responded indifferently.

Her calm response didn't escalate his fury, but he remained visibly agitated. At least he wasn't baring his fangs at her like a lion cub attempting to intimidate a larger predator.

Jay gradually leaned back, a gesture she interpreted as him stepping back, as if suggesting they forget the tension.

His glare dissipated when he blinked, prompting Sora to retrieve her journal and open it again.

"Why don't you tell me a bit about yourself? I want to get to know you better," Sora suggested, her words, if taken out of context, could be mistaken for a romantic question.

Jay's heart raced a little too fast at the question, an unfamiliar inquiry.

He regained composure and replied, "You can look me up; I have a K-idol profile."

Her smile didn't falter, but she felt a twinge of irritation at his response as she jotted something in her notes.

"Then, Mr. Park, how about we play a game?" she proposed.

Jay looked intrigued, his cold expression shifting into confusion.

"Let's play the word association game. I say a word, and you'll say the first one that comes to mind," Sora explained.

Jay sensed her studying his every move, trying to memorize his habits and smallest gestures. Her calculated eyes reminded him of Jaehyun's, although Jaehyun seemed devoid of thoughts while hers were much more prominent.

He just hates it when he's being watched like that. Being memorized under that observant gaze, it feels as though they are constantly trying to pinpoint his Achilles' heel.

Jay disliked the feeling of being scrutinized under that observant gaze, as if someone were constantly trying to pinpoint his Achilles' heel.

"Shall we start then?" Sora proposed.

Jay nodded once, and she finally tore her gaze from him to look down at her journal. The page wasn't empty; there were already words written, seemingly random but not as arbitrary as people might think.

"Sky," she spoke the first word, recalling the clear sky earlier.

"Freedom," Jay responded, instinctively vocalizing the first word that came to his mind.

She noted his response and continued the word association.

"Sun."

"Shadow."

"Fame."

"Slavery," Jay replied, leaving Sora unsure if he meant it as an opposite or a synonym, yet it revealed a lot about his personality.

"Dreams."

"Sacrifice."

The word association continued as Sora threw random words at Jay, and he responded quickly. Until they reached the second last word.

"Love."

"Are you serious?" Jay suddenly asked, and she looked at him with a slightly raised eyebrow.

"That isn't a word, Mr. Park. Love," she emphasized.

Jay averted his gaze with a sarcastic snicker, a smirk briefly appearing on the side of his lips.

"Apathy."

Her hand, about to write the word, froze for a second. She expected him to answer with "hate," given his pattern of opposites. But was it apathy? They say hate isn't truly the opposite of love, and perhaps he believed that too.

"For the last word, Mr. Park," she said, looking at the last word written in her journal before shifting her gaze to him.

"Freedom."

The first word he associated with the sky; she wondered what he would associate with freedom this time.

"Death."

Perhaps still taken aback by his answer to love, his response to freedom didn't surprise her as much. After writing down the last word, she closed her journal and focused her undivided attention on Jay.

"So, what was that trivial game about again?" he asked.

"Sigmund Freud believed that word association helps and provides a clue to an individual's personality. It was a simple game, hardly accurate. But once I go over these words," she showed him the journal, "I might be able to take a small peek into your personality."

She put the journal down, briefly tearing her gaze from Jay to check the time before looking back at him.

"I believe our short session is almost over, Mr. Park."

At her mention, Jay realized it had been almost an hour since he arrived at the clinic. Usually, sitting in front of other psychologists, he'd grow bored within minutes as they tried to delve into his mind. Surprisingly, he hadn't noticed the passing time.

It might be because she's new; after all, it was his first session with her. Yet, he couldn't shake the expectation that she, too, would eventually become as mundane as the others.

"Then I'll take my leave," Jay declared, standing up and walking towards the rack to retrieve his leather jacket, while she also stood up.

"Mr. Park," she called before Jay could open the door to leave. He turned around to see her taking a few steps towards him, not too far but not too near.

"I don't force people to have sessions with me. I believe that smart people know if they need help, and the wise know how to ask for help."

"I hate speaking in riddles," Jay grumbled, his frown evident, but she simply returned it with a small smile.

"If you really know that you need help, be a wise person and know how to ask for help."

It wasn't like Jay would go as far as to literally ask for help. Even before, he never liked asking for help. While he did receive assistance from a few people, he never asked any of them for it because he disliked being burdened with debts. Asking for help wasn't something that came easily to him.

"If you do want to continue our sessions, come back Friday, at 4 in the afternoon. If you don't show up, I'll take it you aren't wise enough to know how to ask for help," Sora stated.

Jay took a step toward her, noting that she stood her ground. It was different from others he encountered who instinctively backed away at this point. He took another step and then another until he was standing right in front of her.

On closer inspection, Sora noticed that his lips had a natural slit separating them. She wondered what they would look like when he smiles.

However, his lips and honey skin might be the only good traits he has, given his arrogant demeanor and the way he speaks, annoying her as much as he feels towards her.

"Jung Sora," he started. "You really do have an intricate way of pissing me off."

"Of course, Mr. Park," she said, closing her eyes as she smiled. "Since you wouldn't want to continue our session if I don't have an intricate way of pissing you off."

This time, Jay could tell for certain that the smile was different from earlier. It was more mocking than fake.

"And what does that mean?" Jay asked, but he quickly shook his head. "No, never mind. Forget it."

Without another word, Jay turned around and left. Sora stood there for a short while, contemplating the short interaction with Jay.

Then, she shook her head and turned back, walking toward her desk. She put her journal aside, deciding to check the notes later. For now, she focused on other matters like writing reports on her other patients, since Jay wasn't technically a regular client yet.

"There are more people whom I prioritize more than him," she muttered, her fingers typing swiftly on the keyboard while her eyes were fixed on the screen.

Until she stopped for a second before continuing her thought out loud. "We'll see if that changes sooner or later."

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