8.

Chapter 8

The silence lingered between them, thick and suffocating. Sunoo felt it settle into his bones, curling around his ribs like something alive. He knew Riki was waiting—watching—giving him space to react, to stumble, to reveal something he hadn’t meant to.

He refused to take the bait.

Instead, Sunoo reached for his notebook, flipping it open with measured precision. The pages felt too thin beneath his fingertips, the ink of his last session’s notes barely dry. His own handwriting stared back at him, neat and controlled, as if writing things down could make them any less chaotic.

Riki leaned back in his chair, the cuffs around his wrists clicking softly against the table. “You’re avoiding the question.”

Sunoo didn’t look up. “I’m here to evaluate you, not play mind games.”

Riki hummed. “But you enjoy them.”

Sunoo’s fingers tightened around his pen. “You’re deflecting.”

“You asked the wrong question,” Riki murmured, repeating himself from earlier, his voice softer now. “Ask the right one.”

Sunoo exhaled slowly, finally looking up. Riki’s gaze was steady—too steady. Like he wasn’t just looking at Sunoo but through him, past the surface and into the cracks beneath.

Sunoo swallowed the irritation rising in his throat. “Fine. Why do you want to be here?”

Riki smiled like he’d won something.

“I never said I wanted to be here,” he said. “I said I belong here.”

Sunoo frowned. “That’s not an answer.”

“It’s the only one you’re getting,” Riki said, tilting his head slightly. “Unless you want to ask the real question.”

Something about the way he said it made Sunoo’s stomach twist. He hated this—hated how easily Riki flipped their dynamic, how he made Sunoo feel like the one being examined.

Sunoo clenched his jaw. “And what’s the real question?”

Riki smiled, slow and deliberate. “Why do you want me to be here?”

The words sent a sharp jolt through Sunoo’s chest. His grip on the pen tightened, his pulse quickening despite himself.

Riki’s smirk widened. “See? Now we’re getting somewhere.”

Sunoo forced his face into neutrality, ignoring the way his skin felt too tight. “This isn’t about me.”

Riki raised an eyebrow. “Isn’t it?”

Sunoo hated the way his body reacted—the way the hairs on his arms rose, the way his breath felt too shallow. He was used to difficult patients, to manipulation tactics, to people trying to get under his skin. But this was different.

Because Riki wasn’t trying to unsettle him.

He already had.

And he knew it.

Sunoo exhaled sharply, forcing himself to push forward. “Let’s go back to your transfers. Someone is keeping you here. Who?”

Riki didn’t respond immediately. Instead, he tapped his fingers against the table, a slow, thoughtful rhythm.

Then he shrugged. “Maybe no one.”

Sunoo gave him a flat look. “We both know that’s not true.”

Riki smirked. “And maybe it’s not about who is keeping me here.” He leaned forward slightly, voice dropping just enough to make Sunoo’s breath hitch. “Maybe it’s about why.”

Sunoo’s fingers twitched against his notebook. “Why?”

Riki’s gaze darkened, something unreadable flickering behind his eyes. “Maybe I know something they don’t want getting out.”

Sunoo studied him carefully, looking for any shift, any break in composure. But Riki was an enigma—too smooth, too controlled.

But not emotionless.

There was something lurking beneath his exterior. Something sharp.

Sunoo’s voice was quieter when he spoke again. “Then why talk to me?”

Riki’s lips quirked up. “Because you listen.”

The words shouldn’t have meant anything. But they did.

Sunoo swallowed, feeling something tighten in his chest.

Before he could respond, a sharp knock echoed through the room.

Dr. Choi stepped inside without waiting for permission, her gaze flicking between them with quiet scrutiny.

Sunoo forced himself to lean back, forcing the tension in his shoulders to ease. “Dr. Choi.”

She nodded at him before turning her attention to Riki. “Time’s up.”

Riki exhaled dramatically. “And here I thought we were making progress.”

Sunoo didn’t reply. He couldn’t.

Because for the first time since returning to Blackthorn, he wasn’t sure if he was the one making progress.

Or if Riki was.

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Idk what to say here