Chapter 69: Sit & Listen

After instructing the man to get comfortable in his seat, President Lee told Doctor Bell the complete truth, albeit without the violence. He told the doctor that he and a random woman were given the drug he was currently studying and ended up in bed together. He told him that he continued to think about the woman after their encounter and thought it was a side effect. He reminded Doctor Bell that he was the one who said that any lingering feelings would dissipate with time and fade completely after the drug was out of his system, but that had yet to happen, and Ian expressed his concerns about possible long term side effects. Ian was completely open in describing his urges, and even his gentler desires like wanting to kiss or hold the woman and how those thoughts had invaded his dreams.

Doctor Bell was completely silent and it seemed as if the man was frozen in place, but then the doctor's face twitched. That caused President Lee's face to take on an expression of confusion and Doctor Bell could not take it anymore. Finally, he burst out with laughter. President Lee became visibly upset and he stood up angrily.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry," Said Doctor Bell, but his laughter had not come to a complete end. Ian was fuming, but something about the man lessened his desire to maim. It was probably because he was the only chemist he could come to for practical advice. That and the fact that there was obvious tension between the man and Luna.

It felt like too long had gone by before Doctor Bell spoke again.

"President Lee, are you trying to figure out if the drug made you fall in love with someone?" Doctor Bell asked, while wiping the tears that had accumulated in his eyes.

"Yes." President Lee did not hesitate in his answer. That caused Doctor Bell to break into another fit of laughter. He had heard rumors, but had no idea the domineering man was really so inexperienced.

"President Lee, it's like this. If two people who did not like each other took the drug, they would have no reason to act upon the other. As I explained before, both parties would maintain their mental capacity with the exception that they would feel incredibly good." Doctor Bell felt like his words only added to the confusion, so he tried to explain again. "I am not sure I am explaining it correctly. Okay, so, if a serial killer took the drug, he would go on a killing spree. That would be his form of release. He would not only take pleasure in the kills, but he would also take pleasure in the feeling of feeling himself kill. No, that's not right either," Doctor Bell said, before continuing. "Okay the woman you were with, I want to assume you were very attracted to her. She was probably also attracted to you. Because the two of you had a mutual attraction to one another it was easier for you to end up in bed. Understand?" Ian understood but he still wanted more clarity.

"So, what if one party is willing and the other was not," Ian asked.

"That... could cause a bit of an issue. It could go one of two ways; the interested party could take pleasure in just talking to the person they like or… they would take the initiative. While both parties would still feel pleasure from their exchange, one would constantly be saying 'no' while the other would be unwilling to stop. It is a worst-case scenario. However, if you put two enemies in the room, they likely would not cross the line, even if they ended up in bed together, they would hate themselves in the morning. My point being the drug only works in the now. It cannot create future emotion, it can however cause a sudden and severe bout of depression, especially in an unwilling party." Doctor Bell suddenly understood why these Lee siblings were being so hush-hush about things. Could president Lee have forced himself on someone? Could that person have been his rumored long-term girlfriend Miss Lisa?

"Doctor Bell, is it possible to like someone after just seeing them once?" Doctor Bell was no longer in the mood to make fun of president Lee. He knew the answer to that question. He had experienced it.

"I know it is." With that answer, President Lee left the office. He felt worse now than before. He imagined forcing himself onto Mina. Even if he were drugged, it made him feel sick to think of himself in that light. He had promised himself that he would not listen to the audio from the video until after Mina was gone, but he felt the sudden urge to understand what happened that night. He got in his car and headed home in a hurry.

----

Back in his study, Ian nervously opened his laptop and scrolled to the timestamp of when he offered Mina a chocolate. He had not meant to memorize it, but he could not help himself. It was not the first time that he opened the footage with the intention of listening to it. In preparation to press play, Ian poured himself a glass of strong alcohol. He was about to start listening when he received a call from his sister.

Luna wanted to know if he had finished going through Mina's file. Ian told his sister that he had not fully reviewed Mina's information. She asked him to send her a copy of his list of questions, but he told her that he had not finished composing them. Luna was worried that they would ask the same question, but Ian said it was better to ask twice and see if there is any change in the answer. His sister agreed with his logic. There was a silence on the phone before Luna asked her brother an important question that had been weighing on her.

"Brother, do you plan to tell Lisa about this?" Ian was shocked. He had thought about telling Lisa in the past but more and more recently he felt as if there was no need to bring it up. Ian answered his sister with less patience than usual.

"Luna, please do not interfere in my relationship with Lisa. All things will come together with time. I do not need any additional stress right now. Let us settle the issue with Mina and the company first okay?"

"Okay," Luna said and they ended the call.

In truth, Luna was unhappy with her brother's response, after all she was once in Lisa 's shoes, having the man she loved betray her for another. She knew what it felt like to be cheated on by someone important, so naturally, she sympathized with her old friend. At the same time, she knew that her brother had not chosen to betray Lisa, unlike what happened to her, the situation was forced on Ian. In the end, Luna wanted to respect her brother's decision, as best as possible. She would not get involved. Whether or not he told Lisa would be entirely up to him.