Chapter 135: Are you a Model?
The next morning, Ian made a call to the doctor who performed Mina's psychiatric evaluation. The woman told him that she did not think therapy or counseling would work for Mina. She believed that the woman required aggressive treatment. The recommended treatment would include medication for the symptoms in addition to several hours of therapy per week. She told President Lee that anxiety caused by the loss of a loved one is especially hard to treat, being that living is a constant reminder of death. She asked President Lee to bring Mina back to her office for a secondary exam, this one, to try and narrow out if Mina was suffering from a form of death anxiety, PTSD, or both. Before they ended their conversation, she warned the man that some people did not respond to treatment at all, and he should keep his expectations low. She kept to herself that she believed that Mina was a pathological liar. The girl wrote about being educated at Wayvair University, but there was no record of her having ever attended any university at all. In her true opinion, Mina was a lost cause.
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Ian felt a heaviness in his heart as he waited for Mina to come down for breakfast. Based on what the doctor had said, there was no hope for Mina to ever move past whatever was holding her back. He obviously could not travel in time to prevent her sister from dying. He was helpless. Ian's sister arrived in the dining room first and he quickly recapped his earlier conversation to her. Luna did not look surprised.
"Do you have a copy of the MSE?" she asked. "Since I am aware of things the psychiatrist is not, I would like to take a look at it myself," Luna continued. Ian nodded.
"Don't tell Mina about this for now," he said. "I don't want her to become discouraged." Luna agreed. When Mina finally made it to breakfast, she looked haggard.
"Sorry for being late. I couldn't sleep last night," she said, and it was the truth. For the entire night she tossed and turned. She had terrible nightmares involving her family.
"I've made an appointment for you to see a doctor today," President Lee said. "Do you think you feel well enough to go?" Mina nodded slowly. Breakfast was quiet as both the siblings watched the girl absentmindedly pick at her food.
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After breakfast, Ian showed his sister Mina's MSE, and with a quick glance the woman handed it back to him.
"It's not accurate," she said matter-of-factly. Ian looked at Luna.
"How can you tell?"
"She didn't answer many of these questions seriously. If she truly wanted to take her own life, she would have killed herself already. We have done nothing to prevent her from doing so." Ian was at a loss. Once again, he was confronted by the fact that treatment for Mina may be impossible.
"So, what do we do?" He asked.
"If the doctor you chose is any good, she will figure it out on her own," Luna said. She left her brother's study feeling like she had just put her foot in her mouth. She knew she had acted against her own plan, but she did not want to see Mina medicated for a condition she did not believe the girl had. She knew firsthand that Mina's increased anxiety was likely due to her lack of certainty. She believed that Mina needed redirection, not medication.
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Mina sat in the psychiatrist's office and waited for a long time before President Lee came to pick her up. She had begun to panic and by the time he had arrived, there was already a thin layer of sweat on her forehead. President Lee took notice of the girl's expression and opted not to press her about how her meeting went. He could, and would, find out on his own.
"Do you want to visit the Lee building?" He asked, and Mina shrugged.
"It doesn't matter to me," she said. Mina's tone was devoid of any emotion.
In the car, President Lee attempted to make small talk with the girl several times, but Mina kept giving him curt responses. He was unaware of what transpired between her and the therapist, but he had the impression that it was not a good exchange. When they arrived at his company's building, Mina was the first to alight from the vehicle. She made her way to the V.I.P elevator and waited for President Lee. She ignored him as if he were invisible. Her silent treatment continued, even when she sat in his office.
Not wanting to force Mina to stay by his side, Ian made arrangements for one of his guards to accompany her on a tour of the building. When the man arrived to fetch her, Mina was lazily flipping through a finance magazine. She sighed deeply at the sight of the guard and spoke her first words in hours.
"Shall we?" Mina asked.
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Mina was walking around in the lobby when she noticed a comfortable looking waiting area. She took a seat and enjoyed the feeling of freedom. Although she knew that if she took one step outside of the building, the guard assigned to her was likely to drag her back to President Lee. So far, the man had kept his distance and had not stopped her from doing anything.
There was a café in the Lobby and using the card president Lee had given her, Mina purchased herself something to snack on as she waited. The sight of men and women in business suits and dresses made her heart itch. That was supposed to be her future. She was supposed to be working hard to climb the socioeconomic ladder, but instead she was being held hostage by someone whose family dominated the top spot on the structure of success.
Mina gazed at each man and woman longingly before someone in a suit approached.
"Are you a model?" the man asked, and Mina burst out in laughter.
"Does that line work for you?" she asked.
"Most of the time. Yes," the man admitted. Mina chuckled.