Date with Fear

Soojin calls the man who passed by her. It is unethical to make communication with a client outside the clinic but she wants to ask him about his accident.

The man sees her but turns his face away to ignore her presence. Mr. Lee walks fast into the street going to the parking area.

"Mr. Lee!!!" The woman strides fast to catch up but the man's steps are larger compared to her. She begins to jog and when she catches Lee Yejoon at the corner block in front of a television shop, Soojin immediately grabs his hand.

The calm sense of nothingness surges in like a wave of water from the sea. She feels her nerves savor the comfort of not forcing herself to stop seeing memories or thoughts of the person she's holding. The calming nature makes her feel at ease.

"What do you want, Ms. Han???" The tall man yells, yanking the hand that stops him from running away.

"C-Can you tell me about your accident? I sense… there might be something wrong with you... that's why you lost your memory." The therapist inquires, catching her breath as she continues to clutch the man's hand.

The electronic shop displays suddenly change from playing a melodic love song to the flash news of a person who has suspected to drown at the seaside just outside the city. Soojin didn't mind the loud noise the television made and the worried look at the man's face.

"There's nothing wrong with me!!!" Mr. Lee yells, his eyes fiercely stare at the woman who followed him to ask about his state.

"Then, I suggest you be careful. I don't want to think it's a bad sign that you can't recall your memories." Soojin explains. Head injuries can cause hemorrhage to the brain with some cases undetected and amnesia can be one of the effects.

"Why would I be careful?" The man continues to shout at the woman. He tries to grab the therapist's hand holding his other hand to free himself from the tight grip.

"You might be dying." The female psychologist confesses to making her client realize the danger he is in.

!!!POLICE REPORT SAYS THE BODY RECOVERED AT THE SEASIDE BELONGS TO MR. LEE YEJOON, TWENTY SIX YEARS OLD, WORKING AS A NURSE AT SEOUL HOSPITAL!!!

Soojin turns her head at the fifty-inch television displayed in front of the shop.

!!! THE POLICE ARE INVESTIGATING THE DEATH OF MR. LEE. SUICIDE WAS TAKEN OUT AS ONE OF THE REASONS DUE TO THE LACERATION FOUND IN HIS HEAD!!!

The news raises Soojin's hair from her neck to her legs, giving her goosebumps and making her face pale. She turned her face at the man in front of him and scanned every part that made him alive.

Soojin can feel the blood coursing through the man's veins in his hand and the warmth it gives against her palm. The man standing in front of her does not have pale skin or has any injuries like the one they found at the seaside. The client knows her schedule of appointments and contact number. The mysterious man knows the victim.

"Who are you???" Soojin mumbles with her eyes wide in shock

Is he a ghost, Soojin asks herself.

"Who are you?" Soojin mutters while glaring wide-eyed over the man in front of him. Unknowingly, she grips Mr. Lee's hand tighter from shock and horror.

The news from the television would appear to be true if she's not holding the hand of the man named Mr. Lee Yejoon. She doesn't believe him to be a ghost yet the evidence that the man is dead is as clear as the high-definition television at the store.

"Let me go!!!" Yejoon shouts with his baritone voice at the therapist, stunned by the news from the television. He needs to get out of this place immediately before somebody else could recognize his face.

Lee Yejoon tuggers his arm hard to make the woman drop his hand, but the firm clutch him extensively, he can sense his hand begin to feel cold and look pale.

"A-Are y-you a… a… g-ghost???" The therapist stutters, questioning the man whose face continues to flash on the screen. Her face lost all colors and her light makeup remains which will render her face ghostly if removed from her face.

Passers-by begin to stare at them while they hold each other's hand, some women even blush their cheeks thinking they are displaying their affection in public. The woman continues to glare without blinking her wide dark brown eyes and Yejoon can only think of one way to wake the woman from shock.

He steps ahead until they are a foot apart. Wanting to easily reach the woman's face with his free hand. He lifts his arm and lets his hand touch the smooth cheek of the woman's face. Caressing with his thumb, he gently pinches the therapist's skin and squeezes it tightly between his fingers.

"Yahhhhhhhhh!!!" Soojin exclaims when she feels the pain of her skin being squeezed and pulled away from her cheek.

Her scream did not make the man falter from his action, she dropped the man's palm and let both of her hands try to pull the fingers that are harshly ripping off her right cheek.

The woman let go of Yejoon's hand, yet the man proceeded to squeeze the soft flesh between his fingers. Something is charming about how the woman squeals in pain and it made him arch his lips into a grin of pleasure.

"Stop it!!! It hurts!!!" Soojin exclaims, tugging the man's hand to let go of her face.

Yejoon realizes he's pinching the therapist's cheek too long, he quickly let it go and whirled his body around to run away from the woman.

"Mr. Lee!!!" Soojin took a few steps forward to follow her client but he was already too far ahead. She touches her cheek where Lee Yejoon squeezes her face tightly and purses her lips feeling the pain of his pinch.

He couldn't be a ghost, Soojin whispers to herself.

As a psychologist, they learn to be skeptical when the subject is about paranormal. There is no convincing evidence to support that entities exist beyond the extent of death. Ghost, poltergeist, spirits, and apparition are all hallucinations of our mind that we use to cope with the loss of someone or memories that haunt us.