To Kiss An Idol

136 The Man in Maroon

“Well, Jaegeuna have never asked for a favour. For the first time, he asked for you,” informed Hei-Ran.

“Sorry!” Nivritti was taken aback.

“He told me what you did for Jaehwa. She is like my little sister. Thank you,” said Hei-Ran.

“Ohh! Please, I did nothing. Everyone needs to stop saying ‘Thank you’,” smiled Nivritti. “You should counsel her too. That was a traumatic experience for her.”

“Jaegeuna suggested that, but she rejected the offer saying that she was fine,” replied Hei-Ran.

“Stupid girl!” Nivritti shook her head in disbelief. “Let me try. I will talk to her.”

“Jaegeun tried to help her that night. She kept crying on his shoulder,” informed Hei-Ran.

“But he is not a professional like you. He can only help her as her brother not her doctor,” said Nivritti.

Hei-Ran scoffed at Nivritti’s statement, “it is clear that you have experience of therapy.”

.....

“Ha-ha, so much that I, myself, can become a therapist,” joked Nivritti.

Hei-Ran laughed out loud. “Making jokes to hide the pain, cliché but nice,” smiled Hei-Ran.

“I think I should leave. I will call my doctor and then inform you. Nice meeting you doctor,” Nivritti stood up and bowed down to her.

“Nice meeting you too,” Hei-Ran extended her arm.

After shaking hands with Hei-Ran, Nivritti left her office. Now she had to find Jae-Geun to say thank you to him. But first, she decided to call her doctor who took care of her in India. Her phone was already in her hands. She shifted her purse and her overcoat in one hand and looked at the phone.

While walking towards the lift, she dialled her doctor’s number. The lift opened and she entered in. After a few seconds, her doctor picked up the call.

“Hello, Doctor Sharma. How are you?” she greeted him.

“Oh, Nivritti! You are calling after so long. I hope everything is okay,” said Doctor Sharma.

“Um… not everything is fine,” said Nivritti.

“Hello! Hello! Nivritti! Are you there?” asked Doctor Sharma.

“Yes, Dr. Sharma, I am here. Can you hear me? Hello!” she shouted on phone.

“Nivritti! Hello!” said Doctor Sharma, again.

The lift kept going down.

“Jae-Geun was getting reception. He talked to Dr. Tan. Why is it creating a problem for me?” she pondered. “Hello! Dr. Sharma. Can you hear me now? Hello! Um… let me step out of the lift,” she said on the phone and pressed the button for the next all floors. She just wanted the lift to stop so she could get down and talk to her doctor.

The lift door opened on the fifth floor. A doctor with a stern expression was standing before her. She immediately got out of the lift and the doctor entered in.

“Hello! Dr. Sharma. Can you hear me now?” she asked again.

“Yes, now your voice is clear,” replied Doctor Sharma.

“Sorry, I was inside a lift,” informed Nivritti.

“No worries. Tell me how I can help you?” questioned Doctor Sharma.

She didn’t want to tell anyone that she was in Korea but had to inform everything to her doctor. And she knew that he was bound with patient-doctor confidentiality and would never reveal any secret about her.

“Um… so, the thing is I shifted from India to South Korea,” said Nivritti.

“Oh!” exclaimed Doctor Sharma.

“And the day of my joining, I saw a dog…” her voice trailed off. She kept walking and talking in the empty corridor. Not a single soul was on the floor.

“Your cynophobia came back?” asked Doctor Sharma.

“Woah! How did you… how did you know?” asked Nivritti, impressed.

“Because that happens sometimes. New place, new experience, stress of first day on your job, anything could have triggered it. Do you want sessions over the phone?” asked Doctor Sharma. Before she could reply he continued, “it would be better to talk to a therapist one on one. Why don’t you find one in Korea, and I will help them learn about your history?”

“That’s why I called you. I just met with… NK!!” she shouted. A man in a maroon high-neck and black overcoat suddenly appeared in the empty corridor and went inside one of the rooms. He had a black cap and a black mask on. It was impossible to tell who he was, but Nivritti suddenly thought about Kyung-Soo.

“NK?” asked Doctor Sharma, confused.

“Uh… I mean I just met with a psychiatrist. I gave her your number. She will call you regarding my history. Could you help her with that? Give her my… complete… history,” at last her words quivered.

“Is he back in your life?” inquired Doctor Sharma.

“No, he has not been able to contact me since I changed my number. But… I had a nightmare. I am a little scared,” informed Nivritti.

“Listen to me, Nivritti. You are nowhere wrong. Him, constantly trying to contact you is wrong. Stop feeling ashamed and scared. I still think that you should have complained about him. I understand that you don’t want to burden his wife, his family but you are enduring a lot. Well, I will say this it is a good thing that you left the country. Now he will not be able to contact you and you will get peace of mind. I will help your new doctor with everything she will need, rest assured. You know you can call me anytime you feel down, right?” assured Doctor Sharma.

“Yes, Doctor Sharma. Thank you for everything you did,” she said with gratitude.

“No need to thank me. I just did my job. I am glad that I was able to help you,” replied Doctor Sharma.

“Thank you, thank you so much, doctor. I will tell her to call you.”

“I will wait for the call,” replied Doctor Sharma and Nivritti disconnected the call.

She immediately dialled Hei-Ran’s number and waited for her to pick up the call. While waiting she looked ahead the corridor and saw the same man coming out of the room. He had a phone near his ears and was talking in a hush-hush tone. He vanished to the other side of the corridor, away from her.

“Is he…? No, can’t be. Why would NK be in a hospital?” she deliberated.

“Yeah, hi, Nivritti!” Hei-Ran’s voice streamed in from the phone. Nivritti remembered that she dialled her number. But she was too distracted by the tall man. She knew in her heart that he was Kyung-Soo but was confused as to why he would be here?

Everyone said that he was too busy to read the scripts that’s why he didn’t call the Rencontre team. But what if the real reason was, he was not feeling well and visited the hospital?

“Um… Dr. Tan. I have talked with Dr. Sharma and told him everything. He would be waiting for your call. You can discuss everything with him,” Nivritti’s eyes were staring at the point where that man vanished and she kept talking over the phone. Half her brain was in the conversation and the other half was contemplating about Kyung-Soo.

“Okay. I will talk with him, review your history and my office will inform you about our meeting sessions. As you had your fear triggered, I think it would be better if we start with four sessions a week and then gradually decrease it,” said Hei-Ran.

“Okay,” replied Nivritti. The man came back and glanced at Nivritti. She immediately averted her eyes. The man again entered the room and closed the door behind him.

She disconnected the call and again looked near the spot he entered the room. Taking a deep breath, she looked at her phone. She still had not received any message from any member of ASD. She kept tapping her phone over her other palm and kept thinking if she should find who that man was.

She was near the lift area. She once looked at the lift and then at the room’s door that the man entered.

“Ahhh… why haven’t they messaged me yet? Was that man, NK? What should I do? Should I go this way or that way? Curiosity killed the cat, Ritti! Shit! Shit! Shit! I know what you are going to do. Don’t be Apeksha. Don’t be a detective. Go home,” she kept talking to herself and scolding herself.

Taking small steps she moved towards the room that the man disappeared in. Hesitantly, she softly knocked at the door. Within minutes, a woman opened the door.

“Yes,” said the woman.

Nivritti was taken aback. She peeped inside to look for the man but there was only a patient lying on the bed. She realised that she knocked at the wrong door.

“Joesonghamnida!!” Nivritti apologised immediately and bowed down to the woman. “Wrong room.”

The woman closed the door and Nivritti moved away from the door. She moved to the next door. “Should I knock? Should I not?” She kept walking to and fro between two doors. She was not sure which door the man went in.

She was about to knock at the door when the next door opened up. A hand came out of the room, grabbed her upper arm and pulled her inside the room.

She was about to shout but one hand wrapped around her waist and another shut her mouth, tenderly. She looked up to see the man. He was not wearing his cap or his mask. A faint yelp escaped her mouth as her mouth was covered with his hand. Her eyes widened after looking at the man standing before her.

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