Ficorpio
Chapter 1
After I Accidentally Kissed the Billionaire CEO, He Gained My Telepathy
I kept my expression cold, but inside, I was thinking:
[Those lips are gorgeous. They must be incredible to kiss. [He’s always dressed in a suit, looking so untouchable. I wonder what he looks like with his clothes off. [I want to see.]
Every one of those thoughts was heard by the billionaire CEO, who had suddenly acquired my telepathy.
The sorrow on his face gave way to stunned disbelief.
Without a word, he began buttoning his dress shirt.
As the youngest and most renowned mental health clinician in the Southvale region, I was the only person who knew I could read minds.
At the gala, the room glittered with designer clothes and polished smiles. I alone could see that the female assistant trailing behind a corporate president was all smiles on the outside while screaming internally:
[God, I can’t do this soul-killing job for one more day. [“Another glass of champagne for me” this, “another glass of champagne for me” that— [Drink, drink, drink. Go ahead and drink, you great-aunt’s uncle. [Life is dull, and work is murdering humanity. [Dear God, girls help girls! Can someone please let me go home?]
Her boss’s inner monologue wasn’t much quieter.
He wore a perfectly polite smile as he spoke with a business partner, but his private irritation was practically spilling over:
[Is this man’s brain full of termites? It is, isn’t it? [If he didn’t have such a powerful father, who would waste time talking to an idiot like him? [Why is my life so hard? In my last life, was I condemned to climb some impossible mountain road? [I can’t keep talking to him. Can the world please mute every idiot?]
Too loud.
The thoughts of these high-profile guests were far livelier than anything they showed on the surface.
I raised a hand to rub my temple, then lifted my glass and prepared to leave.
When I turned, I saw a tall, lean man making his way across the ballroom, surrounded by a crowd of people.
I knew him.
I knew him very well.
Sebastian Sterling—the corporate heir apparent of Sterling Group.
He had risen to a position of power at a remarkably young age, and everyone in our circle knew him for his ruthless methods.
Unless something unexpected happened, he would become the next head of the Sterling Family’s empire.
Of course, there was another reason I knew him so well.
He was my client.
No one would have guessed that Sebastian Sterling, always so cool and aloof in public, suffered from a rare condition.
Chapter 2
Sitting across from me in my consultation room, he lowered his eyes and described it like this:
“Rainy days…”
He leaned back in his chair, his tone almost casual.
“Whenever it rains, the urge to do a certain thing becomes especially intense. It’s difficult to control.”
“Dr. Hale.” A faint smile touched his lips.
Perhaps I was imagining it, but his voice had dropped into something low and suggestive, each word seeming to brush against my skin.
“You’re a man too. Surely you understand what that feels like?”
My pen stilled.
A moment later, I put on a polished professional smile.
“Could you be more specific? What kind of urge is it? And what symptoms do you experience when it happens?”
My client didn’t answer.
Sebastian pressed his thin lips into a tight line. Then he lifted his gaze and gave me a cool, unreadable look.
…What was that supposed to mean?
This wouldn’t do.
If he had come to see a therapist, he needed to trust me.
I raised an eyebrow and smiled. “Mr. Sterling, I’m a trained mental health clinician. I’m qualified to assess and treat a wide range of concerns affecting both psychological and physical well-being. In other words, you can feel completely comfortable telling me—”
“I want to kiss someone.”
“…What?”
My hand froze again. The pen dragged a long streak of black ink across my clinical notes.
It wasn’t because he had interrupted me.
It was what he had said.
I had encountered more than my share of unusual cases, but even I was genuinely stunned.
An uncontrollable urge to kiss someone whenever it rained?
What kind of condition was that?
A quiet laugh reached me.
Whether Sebastian truly thought I hadn’t heard him or was deliberately trying to unsettle me, I couldn’t tell.
He leaned forward, bringing himself closer across the desk. A trace of teasing surfaced in his dark eyes before he spoke again, his voice calm and faintly amused.
“I said that when it rains, I desperately want someone to kiss me.”
I’d always been something of a loner. Socializing had never been my strong suit.
When I spotted Sebastian Sterling at the gala, I should have pretended not to see him and walked away.
But I didn’t.
During every one of our sessions at the clinic, his mind had been as still as a lifeless pool. Whatever he said aloud seemed to be exactly what he was thinking. There had never been the slightest contradiction between the two.
Suddenly, I found myself curious.
What was he thinking now?
A fellow clinician passing nearby noticed me and called out from a distance.
“Dr. Hale.”
I acknowledged them with a nod.
Chapter 3
When I looked up again, I realized the greeting must have caught Sebastian’s attention. He had stopped where he was and now stood watching me.
His eyes curved slightly, his expression hovering somewhere between amusement and a smile.
The instant our gazes met, my telepathy stirred.
His unspoken thoughts slipped into my mind.
Dr. Hale is here too.
What a coincidence.
Should I go over and say hello?
Oh. That suit is a good color on him today.
It really suits his complexion.
Compared to everyone else’s noisy, rambling inner monologues full of complaints, his thoughts were almost painfully dull.
I lowered my eyes with a faint smile. I really had too much time on my hands.
I had barely stepped out of the Grand Ballroom and pressed the elevator’s down button when someone caught hold of my wrist.
Sebastian Sterling had remarkably beautiful hands.
His fingers were long, his knuckles even and distinct beneath cool, porcelain-pale skin. Delicate-looking hands, at first glance.
But his grip was far stronger than I expected.
I instinctively tried to pull free, but couldn’t. After drawing a slow breath, I looked up at him calmly.
“What is it?”
“Sorry.”
He said the word without a trace of apology on his face, and his hand never loosened around my wrist.
“Dr. Hale,” he said slowly, “why do you leave the moment you see me?”
His gaze held mine.
“Are you avoiding me?”
Voices drifted from around the corner, growing louder by the second.
Someone was coming.
I glanced down at Sebastian Sterling’s hand wrapped around my wrist and frowned. I was a respected psychologist. If anyone saw me tangled up with one of my own clients like this, the rumors could ruin my professional reputation.
Fortunately, the elevator arrived just then.
The doors slid open.
Sebastian looked at me and gave a low chuckle. Still holding my wrist, he pulled me inside and pressed the button to close the doors.
“Mr. Sterling.” I watched the floor numbers steadily descend on the display, my voice cold. “You can let go of me now.”
Sebastian froze, then released me.
Even after he let go, his fingertips rubbed together lightly, as though reluctant to lose the lingering sensation.
The gesture didn’t seem deliberate.
From a clinical perspective, it was entirely unconscious.
A client developing an emotional attachment to his therapist was never a good thing. Certainly not for me.
I stepped back, putting some distance between us.
Sebastian slowly closed the gap again until he stood at my side.
“Dr. Hale.” He smiled. “You don’t look well.”
“Don’t I?” Keeping my expression cool and detached, I took another step back.
My shoulders nearly struck the elevator’s cold rear wall.
Sebastian raised an eyebrow and studied me with open interest, but this time, he didn’t move any closer.