Chapter Text
Jaehyun sighed for the tenth time in the last five minutes,pushing his black rimmed glasses up his nose. For star's sake he pities every uterus owner for having to bear the brunt of this moody organ.Obstetrics and Gynaecology had no business being so vast when it dealt with organs occupying less than 50*50 cm of space.
He had a seminar to prepare for on Monday . His professor had very strategically ruined his weekend ,why have fun at a party and have a social life, when one can just enjoy a soliloquy on how the pelvic floor muscles really need to buck up their strength game , what with how they let structures topple out like poppers.
Jaehyun let his eyes linger longingly, at the digital piano on the stand , collecting dust to keep it company.The memory of his latest composition, was quite hazy now. He barely had time to sit and unwind with his most cherished companion. Nothing compared to how he could momentarily float away with the melodies drifting in the air.
He really did try tuning in back to the topic for a solid five minutes, but quickly gave up when he realized how saturated he felt. Deciding to get some fresh air , he quickly texted Johnny informing him about his whereabouts ,knowing that his roommate will most likely return exactly when he headed out , they were quite synchronized at being uncoordinated after all. Taking a stroll around the Medical campus , wasn't the beacon of comfort that it sounded like , it was always chaotic with people bustling around and emergencies being rushed in. But Jaehyun was long used to this , he grew up in a similar environment after all. With , 'Nothing' by Bruno Major , playing in the background ,he tuned out his surroundings, when a mop of opal black hair caught his attention. The face framed by the hair was even more stunning , the sharpest features with the softest eyes , twinkling under the fluorescent light , illuminating him as he stood outside the sliding doors of the supermarket.Jaehyun decided to sit on a bench on the footpath , opposite the store, the song he was listening to setting the perfect atmosphere, for some harmless staring. There in all his iridescent glory stood Lee Taeyong , Jaehyun's batchmate , his heart's personal defibrillator and now apparently his contender.
Looking at the weary yet beautiful looking boy , standing a few feet away , he wishes he didn't have to compete with him for the Internship.He knew how hard Taeyong worked , still in the campus 4 hours after classes ended to gain more experience in Paediatrics ,the stream he wishes to pursue. Jaehyun mused at how fortunate he was , just when he gathered the courage to confess to the doe eyed boy , the mighty internship was jeopardizing yet another piece of his life. Taeyong would think he's purposely trying to distract him or worse think of it as some prank to get him down,if he did confess.
Jaehyun didn't even want the internship, for crying out loud , he just had to secure it , to keep the legacy of his family going. His family of accomplished and established doctors , all of whom had secured the prestigious Internship. He wasn't unhappy with pursuing medicine but if not for his family , he wouldn't have chosen this career.
The prestigious ' Aesculapius Internship' is given to the most academically and clinically proficient student at the end of final year . It was an opportunity to work as an apprentice of an established doctor in one's field of interest for 6 months. It was the golden ticket that guaranteed a spot in one's residency programme of choice,on completing it. Not only was it the highest paid internship ,but it also came with a scholarship for the post graduate course the selected candidate decided to enroll in, provided they clear the Entrance exams but that was a piece of cake,to those contesting for the spot.
Jaehyun , who was prancing around the sun for the 22 nd time this year ,spent the better part of those years ,learning the ropes of medicine from his own parents and relatives. All of whom nurtured his intelligence and ability to grasp complex concepts since a very young age. He wasn't a Mensa member , but he might've missed the cut by a hair's breadth. He wasn't a hard worker in the sense that , in this respect , he didn't have to be. If his classmates were learning the names of the different sutures in Surgery for the first time , he had already sutured a handful of patients at his mother's clinic. His nonchalance was rooted in prior experience, but his classmates did not understand the extent of it. The ones who liked him thought of him as gifted and the ones who didn't , assumed that his marks were illicit and that irked him. He was a very hard worker, just not in a field that has been ingrained in him since he memorised the Kreb's cycle and could recall it at any time( that shit is hard okay).
The first time Jaehyun heard the MRI machine drop some dope beats while scanning the person inside , he was 11 years old. The beats wouldn't leave his mind , until he picked up his ukelele and strummed a random tune matching the same time signature. The satisfaction that flooded him on being able to get rid of the sharp tacit beats was underwhelmingly lesser than the one that bloomed at having birthed a tune by himself. That was the day he decided that Medicine may he his destiny but his choice was Music.
Snapping out of the rabbit hole of his history , he had descended into. He realised that his favorite song had long ended and the boy ahead was glaring at him . Wait ! Why was he glaring at him?Jaehyun had zoned out while staring at Taeyong and now the other boy had caught his gaze . Jaehyun has heard enough times from his friends that he has a stone face , like the emoji they say, they all have him saved as such even , so annoying ! Anyways , he probably looked like he was glaring at the black haired boy who was now returning the favour. Jaehyun felt a jolt of tingles shoot through his spine once he finally let himself soak in the other boy's stare. Wrapping his fluffy woolen sweater tightly around him , he decided to approach the other. Hoping that the softness of the night and the gentle tunes in the background will facilitate their conversation. He walked towards the still glaring boy.
Taeyong shifted from one foot to another , as adorable as the boy looked , he could be quite intimidating when he intended to. With his eyebrows pinched together, he took in the light flush and laidback persona of the boy in front of him. It was unfair how his strongest competition was this dude who barely looked like he wanted to be in med school , while he was clocking out at 8 pm on a Saturday ,after extra classes. He knew he was being unfair and judgemental towards the handsome boy, but he couldn't help feeling whiney considering how exhausted he was, while the other looks like he just stepped out of the set of a k-drama.
"Hey T-test" , smiled Jaehyun .
Ever since they worked on a Biostatistics project together , Jaehyun thought it was a very tactful way to treasure the times, by assigning Taeyong a nickname that reminded them of the time spent together.Taeyong ,of course didn't know that was the intention behind the name and assumed that Jaehyun was rubbing alcohol on the sore fact that Taeyong's least percentage was in Biostatistics ,he absolutely disliked that subject. Glare hardening , he bit out a , "Hey JE ", back at the brown haired boy. Taeyong came up with the nickname for Jaehyun after experiencing firsthand the kind of headache and irritability that the boy managed to induce in him , by his mere presence. Of course he had to name him after Japanese Encephalitis.
"Just finished your shift?" ,asked Jaehyun ."Yes I just did , why were you staring at me earlier ? , Taeyong queried. 'You're hard to look away from' , Jaehyun wanted to say ,instead he goes with " Just assessing the state you'll be in for tomorrow's exam." Jaehyun knew the boy would be on the top of his game regardless of how exhausted he must be , he just had to taunt him . That was the only way Taeyong would let Jaehyun get to him and oh how desperately he wanted to be remembered by the hardworking boy.
Watching Taeyong's pale face , flush red in anger , he braced himself for a snarky comeback. The black haired boy , did not want to give the other boy the satisfaction of getting a rise out of him . So he used all the willpower his drained brain could muster and let out a deep sigh. He looked straight into the boy's eyes , finding something more than amusement glinting behind them , which deeply unsettled him , however he just chalked it off as the ridiculous effect the other boy has on him. " I can't handle your headache now, JE. Leave me alone." he said , followed by another sigh.
Jaehyun felt sorry but he didn't know how to make decent conversation with the boy next to him , the autonomic stimulation did not help at all , his heart and brain were working at an unnatural speed. He didn't want to leave the boy to wait alone and decided to accompany him until his ride for the day decided to drop by, albeit discreetly as his company was clearly unwelcome.
Raising his hands in an attempt at peace and not wanting to irritate the other boy further, he bid the other boy a " See you later ," that was not returned back. He stepped into the convenience store and pretended to browse the aisles until he watched Taeyong board the bus. Not needing anything from the store he dropped his act and left the place.
Taking a roundabout route to walk back to the dorm , he let his mind wander , from his pending seminar to the internship, to his course ,his future career and Taeyong , the beautiful, hard-working fae like human. The fabric of his life so far was intricately woven by one too many hands , his being the least contributing and he intended to change that. He will make something out of music for him , he will pursue and confess to Taeyong some day. But for now , he had to steer clear of the other boy's path and focus on his studies himself. He is a hopeful person and he will make his dream come true , even when it feels like it is light years away.