The Pizza Delivery Man and the Gold Palace — Chapter 6

HE'S THE ONE I RAN INTO THAT DAY...

HE WASN'T ANGRY. HE JUST WANTED TO THANK ME.

I GUESS I CAN BE OF HELP.

I DEVELOPED A CERTAIN HABIT AFTER I QUIT SWIMMING, WHICH WAS ONE OF THE ONLY THINGS I LIKED.

ON DAYS I FELT SMALL, I INTENTIONALLY WENT OUT OF MY WAY...

...TO BE KIND AND GENEROUS TO PEOPLE.

WHEN THEY RESPONDED TO MY KINDNESS WITH JOY, MY FEELINGS OF INSIGNIFICANCE BRIEFLY VANISHED.

WAS I A HYPOCRITE? PERHAPS...

AS I WAS ONLY BEING KIND FOR MY OWN SATISFACTION.

BUT I LIKED THIS HABIT.

I DIDN'T CARE IF IT WAS DISINGENUOUS...

...OR AN ACT OF SELF-COMFORT.

THIS HABIT MADE LIFE MORE BEARABLE.

BUT THAT PERSON...

HE LOOKED QUITE PALE. IS HE SICK?

I THOUGHT HE WAS CRYING BACK THEN.

WELL, IT'S NONE OF MY BUSINESS...

OH, SEO-AN. YOU'RE EARLY TODAY.

HELLO.

COME ON IN. I'M MAKING COFFEE, SO YOU'RE JUST IN TIME.

IT'S HOT, ISN'T IT? FEELS LIKE SUMMER IS JUST AROUND THE CORNER.

YEAH.

I USED NEW BEANS TODAY. I DON'T KNOW IF YOU'LL LIKE IT, BUT FEEL FREE TO HELP YOURSELF.

THANK YOU.

SO, HOW HAS YOUR WEEK BEEN?

THE SAME AS ALWAYS. I CAN'T SLEEP, AND MY FAMILY'S STILL PUTTING PRESSURE ON ME.

I'M SORRY TO HEAR THAT. HAS YOUR INSOMNIA IMPROVED, EVEN JUST A LITTLE?

IT'S BETTER THAN WHEN I COULDN'T SLEEP AT ALL.

I SEE...

ANYTHING ELSE YOU'D LIKE TO SHARE? LIKE YOUR MOOD, FOR INSTANCE.

I MET SOMEONE RECENTLY.

YOU DID?

A FEW WEEKS AGO, IT BEGAN POURING ON MY WAY HOME FROM THE HOSPITAL.

I WAS HIDING FROM THE RAIN...

WHEN SOMEONE LENT ME THEIR UMBRELLA.

I WENT BACK TO LOOK FOR HIM, BUT HE WASN'T THERE.

YET AS LUCK WOULD HAVE IT, I RAN INTO HIM AGAIN THE OTHER DAY. HE'S A DELIVERY MAN.

THE NEXT TIME I SAW HIM, I EVEN THANKED HIM AND RETURNED HIS UMBRELLA.

I SEE.

IT'S MY FIRST TIME SEEING SEO-AN SO EXCITED.

SO... AND THEN...

HOW DID THAT MAKE YOU FEEL? MEETING SOMEONE NEW.

WAS IT AS DIFFICULT AS BEFORE?

...NO.

MY HEART WASN'T RACING, NOR DID I FEEL LIKE I WAS DYING.

I THINK... I WASN'T AFRAID.

IT'S BEEN A WHILE SINCE I WANTED TO KNOW SOMEBODY.

SEO-AN...

MAY I SUGGEST THAT YOU TRY GETTING CLOSER TO HIM?

SORRY?

YOU'RE MAKING A LOT OF PROGRESS. BUT DAILY SOCIAL INTERACTIONS STILL INDUCE ANXIETY, CORRECT?

FORMING A CONNECTION WITH HEALTHY BOUNDARIES MIGHT HAVE A POSITIVE IMPACT.

SIMPLY PUT, IT MIGHT HELP WITH THE TREATMENT.

I'LL THINK ABOUT IT.

THIS PLACE AGAIN.

THEY ORDER PIZZA MORE OFTEN THAN I THOUGHT.

SEO-AN'S APARTMENT

WHY AM I SO CONCERNED?

LET'S MIND MY OWN BUSINESS.