[edited]

As soon as Aera stepped inside his room, Jin stood up to walk to her and escorted her to her seat with the friendliest smile ever.

Aera, though hesitant, followed him to where he was leading her.
Hundreds of questions floated inside his mind.
Will she open up to me?
What if she starts crying?
What if she pushes me away?
Will she trust me?

But soon they reached the seat and Aera looked at him expectantly.

Jin cleared him throat and spoke in a soft voice,
"Aera, dear, you may sit here, alright?"

Aera nodded her head.
He used to call me that way.
Aera sighed at the thought.

She sat in her seat.

Jin took a chair and sat in front of her.

"Aera, do you consider me a friend?"

Aera lifted her head and looked at Jin.
Sure he looks like a nice person.
But what if he's like everyone else. What if he's mean?
What if he uses me?
But...Nia seems to trust him. And I trust Nia.

"Yeah." she whispered, but loud enough for him to here.

He smiled to himself.

"So you won't mind if I ask some questions, right?"

Aera stared at him.
What kind of questions?
Will he hurt me if I don't answer?

Jin noticed her hesitation.
Usually, the patients would be uncomfortable remembering their pasts.
And he understood the fact that Aera feared him taking advantage of her situation.
All he needed was her trust.

So he flashed the sweetest smile he could muster. A very assuring one as well.

Something about his persona, his aura, had Aera calmed down.
Maybe it was his friendliness, his sweet comforting smiles or the way his eyes gleamed with emotions such as honesty, the will to make people around him happy and his trustworthiness.

So, she nodded.

Jin smiled and put his hand on her head gently to caress her.
"Don't worry, you can count on me."
And Aera smiled.

"Alright let's start."

-

"Where's she?"

"Sir, she's at the psychologists'."

"And the men?"

"S-sir, t-they are- I-I didn't send them."

"What! I swear if she opens her damn mouth- I. Want. Her. Dead. You understand?!"

"Y-yes sir."

"One week. I'm giving you one weak."

"Of course sir. We'll kill her soon."

-

"Okay, so...can you start from the very beginning?"

But Aera...she was...lost deep in her own thoughts.

Thoughts about her past.
Thoughts about how she used to be with her parents.
How happy and content she was before her mother's death.
When her mother was alive.
That day...which had changed her life.
The moments in the bus she was enjoying with her parents, smiling, totally unaware of what was about to come.

Tears had started rolling down her cheeks.

How she had been abused while with that awful person.

She then reminisced her school days.
Where she had been ill-treated.
Where she had met Nia.
Where she had met him.

Him.

Memories she had shared with him started flooding her mind.

How different he was than the others.
How he took care of her, of everything related to her.
How he loved her, and how his every action reflected the emotion.

Jin, by now had started shaking her by the shoulders gently, to make her snap out of it.

"Aera!" he called her a little louder this time, bringing her back to reality.

Her eyes wide and cheeks stained with dry tears, she stared at Jin, breathlessly.

"You're alright. You're safe, okay?" he softly said.

Aera nodded slightly, still shaking.

"Here, have some. And breathe deeply." he passed her a glass of water.

After drinking, she tried to get control of her breathing, but still, couldn't get it out of her mind.

"Okay. Now, I want you to tell me about...Yeojung." he said.

As soon as she heard the name, his features started appearing in her head.

It was like her wounds, had been cut open again.
It hurt her that much.

Fresh tears made their way down her cheeks and onto her shirt.

Silent sobs left her lips, which soon turned loud.

"Yeojung." she whimpered, chanting the name repeatedly.

She felt someone taking her onto his arms.

Jin.

"Let it all out Aera." he softly whispered.

And she did.

After she had calmed down a little, she spoke, more like whispered,
"I was 8. We were on a...vacation, my parents and me. In a...bus, and then, the accident. It took my...Mom away."

Sobs left her lips.

"My dad, he was in a coma and...I was taken in by my...uncle."

Her expressions changed, she was fear-stricken.

"He...hit me. He treated me like a-a ragdoll. And he tortured me for a year and a half until...my Dad came back. When he found out, they...fought, and Dad took me away from Daegu, to Seoul."

She sniffed.

"The school, the students...they bullied me, for being...quiet. The picked at me, and laughed at me. Then I met Nia. She helped me. She became my friend. She...was more than a sister to me, and still is." she said.

Jin nodded slowly.

They hadn't noticed yet, but Aera was still in his hold, and she felt warm.

"Then?"

"Then...he came into my life."

--

"Being with you, I feel warm,
It's like magic, the fact,that its towards you I'm drawn..."

°°

---