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Seoul’s Veterinary Hospital has earned its name for a number of reasons.
For one, it’s located in the heart of Seoul. Naturally, the most amount of foot traffic occurs along this central business district, with people coming in for walk-in appointments and other daily emergencies with their pets.
The service is considered top-notch, boasting a roster of over twenty-five well qualified veterinarians with the experience and schooling that’s unrivaled across all of South Korea. Demands are handled swiftly and there’s rarely a patron who leaves unsatisfied.
They’re also known for their heavenly treats for an arrangement of different pets, all located at the front desk during check-in.
But it’s not only the service that earns the hospital its compliments.
Dr.Sung, or as some may categorize and know him as Sung Hanbin, was the leading veterinarian for a number of years. For the four years that he’s been moved to this particular location, the influx of people coming into the hospital has almost multiplied tenfold.
Myung Jaehyun knows this best as one of the leading front desk workers for the location. He’s seen thousands of people come in through that revolving door, demanding their dog, cat, or sometimes even bird, to be seen by Dr.Sung. It’s an everyday ritual, one that he’s grown so accustomed to he’s built an entire conversation deck of flashcards he trains the new employees with in order to handle them.
Rationally, he knows it’s because of the doctor’s good looks.
It’s not exactly something the hospital keeps hidden. On their main website, Sung Hanbin’s portrait is the first image that pops up with a perfectly articulated piece, written by the hospital’s journalism and publicity department, of his heroic surgery performed last month to a fostered kitten which gave the poor thing a chance of life. He’s smiling in the photo, holding the kitten up to the camera. Though, Jaehyun’s sure no one’s really looking at that cat.
He’s had people come in, even going to the extent of faking, in order for their pets to be seen by Dr.Sung. Usually, Jaehyun has a pretty keen eye for catching the acting so he’s able to swat them away before they cause a scene.
Jaehyun thinks he understands, well at least, to somewhat of an amount.
Hanbin, which he calls him that because he’s an esteemed co-worker, is quite good-looking. Jaehyun isn’t one to usually fawn over good looks, but it’s something even he himself can recognize. It’s talked about amongst the staff that his looks rival the superintending chief, Dr.Kim in looks, who Jaehyun only recently learned was a model as his side-gig. So that says something.
But even to Jaehyun himself, Hanbin is—attractive. He’s tall in stature, taller than most of the staff here, with a well taken care of build. He frequents the gym, sporting a regular duffel bag before and sometimes after his shifts, and he eats relatively clean. Perhaps that’s how he maintains his figure.
His hair is always well-kept, a natural brown that perfectly accentuates his features. He has strong eyebrows, a tall nose bridge—relatively rare in Koreans—and a smile that comes with whisker-like dimples across his cheeks. When he wears lower-cut scrubs and shirts, he reveals a tattoo on his collarbone, and with shorter sleeves, another one on his bicep.
To put it plainly, he’s somewhat of a work crush to Jaehyun.
Don’t get him wrong, he doesn’t want anything to do with Dr.Sung. They barely talk at work and when they do, Hanbin’s quite kind. But it’s kind of just like that—eye candy. Jaehyun likes to think of it as something nice to look at while he’s clocked in, a motivation to show up to work. Nothing more than that.
So when it’s a Tuesday morning and Jaehyun spots a man stumbling into the clinic asking for Dr.Sung, he assumes the same. Just one of the many fans Hanbin has.
The man is gorgeous and Jaehyun almost stops typing on his computer as his jaw slackens a little bit. He’s out of breath, panting, holding a small husky in his arms. Despite its size, the age of the puppy looks around two years old shown through the developed fur coat around its body. Definitely too old to be carried around like so.
There, on the husky’s right ear, is a pink bow clipped into its tuft of fur by the ear.
“Could you describe any symptoms?” Jaehyun murmurs, quickly pulling up a digital form and ready to enter the information the man gives.
“I think her tummy hurts?” He responds, cupping the dog’s head into his shoulder and giving her small pets, “She woke up whimpering and she won’t let me put any pressure on her stomach.”
Jaehyun hums, typing in quick bullet points, “Have you fed her anything differently in the past 24 hours? Anything out of the ordinary that she wouldn’t usually eat or consume?”
The man suddenly looks offended, drawing back as though thoroughly scandalized as he continues to bounce the husky in his arms, “No,” His brows narrow, which are also quite soft and fit his face perfectly, “She eats very clean and I’m very particular about what I feed her.”
Now typically, Jaehyun wouldn’t have the patience to deal with such a person. But if one couldn’t tell, he has a rather weak spot for handsome faces. So he relents, softening his voice as he reassures the strangers, “I’m sure you do, I promise we’ll take care of her.”
“Can you please,” The man cranes his head to the back corridor which connects to the rest of the hospital, “Just ask for Dr.Sung?”
Ignoring the request, another tactic Jaehyun developed to help with deterring some of these Hanbin fanatics, he redirects the man to the check-in process.
“I’ll need your puppy’s name.”
The man obviously notices the redirection, but he answers with a sigh, “Sansan. She’s two and a half years old."
“Mhm,” Jaehyun’s quick to fill out the information, “And your name?”
“Zhang Hao.”
A foreigner. It’s not something uncommon around the areas of Seoul, especially considering its a tourist heavy city. But he usually doesn’t run into many foreign fans of Hanbin, especially considering his expertise is more on the niche side. Jaehyun feels a somewhat surge of pride, their most handsome bachelor of Seoul’s Veterinary Hospital has hit overseas.
“Mr.Zhang, I assure you,” It’s a practiced spiel he’s given a thousand times, “All of our veterinarians are fully qualified to look over Sansan.”
“No, no,” Hao shakes his head, adamant as he soothes the dog after a quiet yip, “Sansan is a very sweet girl but she’s extremely moody when she’s in pain. She won’t be nice to them.”
Jaehyun shoots a look towards the other man working the front desk, Sohee. They both have a knowing gaze, Sohee nodding as he disappears down the corridor.
It’s a system they’ve developed. Usually, when people come in and demand for Dr.Sung, the best way to quell them is with other handsome faces. They typically fetch the superintendent chief, Dr.Kim, who works on a flexible schedule on the floor. He has more time and definitely—Jaehyun lets out a low whistle when the doors swing back open—a handsome face.
Kim Jiwoong, or better known as Dr.Kim, is comparable with Hanbin in height. His bone structure is pronounced all across his face, high cheekbones and a sharp v-line jaw. His eyes are always relaxed with a hint of coldness to him, earning him a cringe-worthy title of Ice Prince that ended up trending on the hospital’s social media for a couple of months.
He comes bearing a dog treat in his hand, posture leisurely and his other hand tucked in his pocket.
“Sansan, is it?” Jiwoong coos, bringing the treat closer to the puppy, “I’m Dr.Kim and I—”
It doesn’t even last a second. A low growl comes from the dog’s voice at the sight of him, cowering deeper into Hao’s arm. When Jiwoong tries to take a cautionary step forwards, the dog suddenly begins to snarl, baring her teeth as though he were a towering enemy.
Hao pulls her back, a soft reprimanding “No.” leaving his lips.
He turns towards the three of them, eyeing Sohee, then Jiwoong, and finally Jaehyun last. He’s a bit intimidating like this, sharp gaze and the puppy sitting on his hip for a better grasp. Still, irrevocably, beautiful.
“See?” He shrugs his shoulders, “Please just ask for Dr.Sung. She’s a sweetheart to him.”
Jaehyun finally relents, sighing as his shoulders droop, “I can ask.”
Hao instantly brightens, the puppy almost following his mood in tandem, “Thanks!”
Nervously, Jaehyun begins his work. There’s a hospital-wide chat function that’s connected with all the staff in order for easy contact and prevent work-life and personal-life from blending, no personal phone numbers. Jaehyun doesn’t use it often, especially not with Hanbin, and he fidgets as he opens the doctor’s chat and begins his message.
To begin with, his anxiety isn’t exactly—unwarranted. Sung Hanbin is a sweet, loving, and terribly caring doctor. But he’s also extremely particular about his schedules. If something isn’t explicitly placed in his schedule, or he was told beforehand he’d be handling walk-in’s, the likelihood of an approval from the man is low. He even had a hand-made design he brought from home that he hangs on the office to his door that reads, ‘If you need me, check Scheduley’. He references the scheduling app that depicts all veterinarian schedules of the day.
Therefore, when he presses send with the information on Zhang Hao and his puppy Sansan, Jaehyun can’t help but feel a sense of queasiness for how he’s going to break the news of the turn down to the man in front of him. Hao just looks so hopeful, his puppy sharing the same optimistic glimmer in her beady eyes.
The ping comes in rather quickly, Jaehyun checking their software with surprise.
There, on his computer, is the first ever anomaly Jaehyun has encountered since working here.
(Doctor) Sung Hanbin
I approve.
I’ll come by the front desk to pick her up.
“Uhm—Uh,” Jaehyun looks between the computer at Hao’s shining face, “Dr—Dr.Sung approved your appointment,” It comes out so stuttered from his surprise, Jaehyun trying to regain his composure, “He’ll be coming in a couple of minutes so—”
Hao’s faster on the pick up, face lighting up as a beaming smile spreads across his entire face, “He is?” He interrupts, suddenly ushering Sansan towards Jaehyun who now suddenly has a rather calm dog in his lap, “I have somewhere to be, but please let Dr.Sung know my thanks!”
Lunatic. Jaehyun is sure the man is a lunatic, long legs sprinting to the door, a briefcase shoulder bag bouncing off his hip as he throws the door open and disappears down the street.
Jaehyun can’t help but shake his head, even as one of the most beautiful fans of Dr.Sung Jaehyun has run into, Hao looks to be just trying to get Hanbin’s attention. Even throwing his dog at him like it’s an animal daycare.
“It’s my first time that a dog hasn’t liked me.” Jiwoong droops from the side, his hand coming forward with the treat to which every fur stands upright on Sansan’s spine while she springs into action in Jaehyun’s lap.
Jaehyun chuckles, “It was bound to happen someday.”
He brings a hand forward to stroke at her coat, but now she’s hissing at Jaehyun too, sharp canines on display. It’s to Jaehyun’s realization that she’s only okay being in his lap, not him touching nor petting her. He looks at Jiwoong who looks to be holding back a laugh. It’s barely concealed, him suddenly snorting as he looks the other way.
Jaehyun’s mouth gapes open—he’s been reduced to nothing but a dog mat to Sansan.
Careful to not nudge the dog from her curled position on his lap, Jaehyun finishes up clacking on his keyboard to get Sansan registered into the system. The second anomaly comes, an error popping up with a small font describing it as an override signal.
Whipping his head towards Jiwoong in confusion, Jaehyun’s face contorts. He’s really making a lot of mistakes this morning.
“This doesn’t usually happen.” He laughs nervously, trying to submit the request for Sansan again, only for the system to reject his input another time.
His shoulders sag and he regards Jiwoong, “Do you think you could head back and ask Dr.Sung?”
As if on cue, the main entrance flings back open, a couple rushing in holding on to a cat carrier. The cat is anxious, hissing and meowing all throughout the main lobby, all before choking and dry heaving all within its own space.
Dr.Kim just pats Jaehyun on the back, “Jaehyun, fighting!” He cheers, stepping away to help the couple.
Jaehyun sighs, glancing at Sansan curled on his lap. He’ll make a mental note to ask Dr.Sung later.
૮◞‸◟˶𑁬
Jiwoong has worked at this hospital for too many years to count.
Honestly, he’s starting to think he’s getting too old for it even though he’s only a couple months over thirty-five. He considers retirement for the tenth year in a row as he throws his rubber gloves into the trash, meandering down the corridor to his office.
He spots the other from a fluffy tail and two pointy ears. Her snout is pointed to the air, sniffing at everything in her vicinity, and when she spots Jiwoong staring she immediately ducks into a shoulder.
“Hanbin-ah!” Jiwoong calls towards the other, Hanbin whipping around at the noise.
Sansan sits perched in his arms, her white and gray fur groomed to every detail, her pink bow adjusted to sit attunely right underneath her ear. Her face droops impossibly closer to Hanbin, nuzzling into his clothes as the doctor sheepishly cuddles her closer to his body.
“Jiwoong-hyung.” Hanbin acknowledges, bowing his body consequently dropping Sansan a bit further. She doesn’t stir, comfortable within his arms.
“She’s much more docile with you.” Jiwoong notes, pointing to the puppy as her ears perk up. She seems to know he was referring to her.
Hanbin only smiles, petting at her smooth coat, “Well of course,” She almost purrs like a cat, her tongue lolling out her mouth as an expression of content swarms her doggy features, “I’m her dad after all.”
Too stunned to answer, Jiwoong stands frozen in the hallway as Hanbin briskly turns back around, walking towards his own office. Sansan’s now asleep, a short snore escaping her nose as the door closes with a thud behind him.
“Oh—oh…” Jiwoong mutters to no one in particular, grabbing his phone and immediately dialing the first in his contacts.
At the first ring they pick up, Jiwoong firing off into his phone before the other can speak.
“Seobin-ah,” Jiwoong whispers into the phone, briskly walking towards his own office, recalling all of the events from the morning in quick succession, “I think Hanbin has a lover.”
He concludes it, out of breath as his seat creaks by his desk. There’s a laugh from the other side of the phone, Seobin’s voice high and light-hearted, “Jiwoong, why do you sound so surprised?”
“I mean, I guess I never really considered it,” Jiwoong explains, “Hanbin’s always had this huge fanclub and he’s never really established anything. He always responds with that smile and super politely to all the gifts,” He talks even more animatedly, knowing the sound-proofing of his office will protect him in case Hanbin eavesdrops, “You know what I’m talking about, you’ve seen it!”
“Well with a face like that and a body like his, is it that surprising?” Seobin teases, an immediate huff leaving Jiwoong’s mouth.
“Better than mine?”
Seobin laughs, “Never. But I’m biased since I did decide to marry you.”
“Hey!” Jiwoong retorts, only more laughter coming from the other side of the phone.
“Did you ever get a chance to see who it was?”
Jiwoong shakes his head despite knowing Seobin can’t see him through the phone, “I saw his face, quite pretty, didn’t catch a name though.”
“His?” Seobin emphasizes, scandalized, “Hanbin’s gay?”
This time it’s Jiwoong’s turn to tease, leaning back in his seat as he fills out a plethora of forms in the meantime, “I thought you knew this,” He fills out a quick piece of paperwork for ‘family pets for employees’ in Hanbin’s name, “You can’t tell by just looking at him?”
“Ya,” Seobin’s voice echoes, “It’s rude to assume.”
“Right, right,” Jiwoong pauses, “You really couldn’t tell?”
Seobin lets out a huff, “I could, okay?” Jiwoong can imagine the man crossing his arms in annoyance, “But I was being respectful.”
“Okay Mr.Respectful,” Jiwoong shoots back, “But I can’t help but wonder. Is it a boyfriend? When did they meet when he’s at the clinic everyday? I can’t even fathom the idea of Hanbin dating outside of work,” Jiwoong shakes his head, “I can’t believe I’ve never noticed.”
“Okay, okay,” Seobin soothes, “If you’re so curious, which you always are,” There’s a noise from Jiwoong that Seobin interrupts, “Why don’t you invite him over with his lover to ours for dinner? You can ask him all the questions you want.”
“That feels like an interrogation,” Jiwoong walks over to his cabinets, filing away the forms he’s filled with nimble fingers, “And wouldn’t it be weird for me to do so considering he wasn’t the one to bring up his lover? Would they even want to hang out with an old married couple?”
“Hey, we’re not that old,” Seobin hisses, “And if you want to know so badly, just ask him on your lunch break.”
“Oh.” Jiwoong stares down at his hands at the revelation, realization striking him at the sudden thought.
In retrospect, now that Jiwoong thinks about it, he’s never really asked Hanbin about what he does after clocking out. It’s not like he doesn’t want to, but conversations never really lead towards that direction. On top of that, Jiwoong’s begun to realize he talks about Seobin more to Hanbin than Hanbin has the time to respond.
“You’re so dense sometimes,” Seobin sighs, “Your lunch break is in 15, just call me afterwards with what you've found out!”
“And you called me too curious!” Jiwoong accuses, shuffling to his chair and taking off his white coat, carefully placing his glasses atop the table, “But I’ll call you.”
“Thanks,” Seobin breathes, “Love you.”
Jiwoong smiles, “Love you too.”
Huffing, Jiwoong grabs the packed lunch his husband had made him before he left for work today as he marches towards the break room. He has a minor questionnaire to do.
Hanbin’s already there when Jiwoong arrives at the break room. He doesn’t seem to notice his entrance, too engrossed on a phone call that leaves a ditzy grin on his face. He speaks so quietly Jiwoong can’t pick up a singular word, but Hanbin still smiles so easily that Jiwoong can only imagine it being the man from the front desk earlier.
When he hangs up, the man in question jumps a bit at Jiwoong’s presence. But he calms down when Jiwoong doesn’t berate him, only settling into the seat across from him.
“A call from home?” Jiwoong inquires, keeping his wording vague as Hanbin cracks open his lunch box.
The doctor nods, “Checking up on Sansan.”
To that, Jiwoong hums, taking a chopstick full of food to his mouth. He’s careful this time not to spend too much of his time talking about Seobin—something he hasn’t realized he’s been doing too much of till now—chewing slowly to prevent him from choking up too many questions at once.
“The one from this morning?” Jiwoong tests carefully.
It looks to be the right question, Hanbin’s face immediately glowing at the question as he beams. His eyes crinkle when he smiles, as though recalling a fond memory, nodding his head shyly.
Jiwoong’s never seen the other like this and he can’t help but feel as though he’s discovering an entirely new side to his co-worker. It fills him with a surge of accomplishment and he’s brimming with a newfound energy to continue the conversation. He’s been trained by Seobin to actually gossip instead of the plain-faced answers he’d always give his husband when asked about any drama.
He takes a small sip of water, “What was his name again?”
“Zhang Hao.” Hanbin replies quickly, bashfully taking a bite of his own food at how instantaneous his response was.
Jiwoong remembers when he was like that, so excited to talk about Seobin to anyone who would listen. Honestly, he doesn’t think he’s grown out of it, even now.
He gives Hanbin a small nudge in the right direction, knowing that when he was around Hanbin’s age and dating Seobin, one question was enough to get him talking for ages. He can only assume the same from the other, considering how Hanbin’s practically buzzing in his seat as though he’s been waiting for this exact moment.
“How’d you two meet?”
Hanbin lets out a long sigh, gazing out the side window as he picks at his food, “We met in university, both still in our undergraduate studies,” He takes a swig from his water, “He’s from Fujian, China so it was a lot of adapting he had to do and we were assigned to be partners in a basic physics course.”
“Were you the one who courted him?” Jiwoong winces as the words leave his mouth. Sometimes, he really thinks his age-gap shows with all his co-workers from his language alone. He can’t imagine anyone near Hanbin’s age using the phrase ‘courting’ anymore and he hopes the other just brushes right over it.
Hanbin laughs as though sharing an inside joke with himself, “Well of course,” He looks towards Jiwoong, “Jiwoong-hyung, you know what he told me?”
Endeared by the younger, and the fact Hanbin hadn’t called him an old hag yet, Jiwoong easily entertains, “What did he say?”
“Hao told me that he never chases. He only sits and waits for others to approach him,” Hanbin’s eyes suddenly narrow, “So I went after him because I couldn’t let anyone else approach him.”
Tapping a finger to his chin, Jiwoong can’t help but want to tease the other further, “He is quite a beauty,” He watches as Hanbin’s face drops and his body stiffens, Jiwoong immediately drawing back, “I’m a married man,” He flashes the ring on his finger that he keeps on during his breaks, “Direct your jealousy elsewhere Hanbin-ah.”
Hanbin blinks, his face blooming into a soft pink that makes Jiwoong internally coo. Seriously, Hanbin was too easy to tease, Jiwoong keeping the topic in the back of his mind if he ever wants some entertainment while on shift.
“Sorry,” Hanbin murmurs, “It’s just that Hao was really popular back in college.”
It’s Jiwoong’s turn to laugh, now hitting the table with his mirth, “I’m not surprised,” He then regards Hanbin with a point of his chopsticks, “But aren’t you also a catch? The entire hospital seems to believe so.”
At the praise, Hanbin flushes an even darker red, refusing to look Jiwoong in the eye, “But nothing really compares to him.”
Ah. Jiwoong leans back, lazily stretching his arms and legs. Young love.
“So what does Hao do? He seemed in a rush this morning.”
It’s back, that dazed expression Hanbin seems to always get when Hao is mentioned, eyes sparkly and an unconscious smile spreading across his face.
“He’s a teacher,” Hanbin juts his finger towards a direction in the window, “Just down the street. Music teacher to be exact, he teaches violin.”
Nodding his head, Jiwoong’s struck with a memory of last summer when Hanbin had disappeared for a total of two weeks on vacation.
“So that’s why your PTO is always requested during the summer. Teachers and their summer breaks.” Jiwoong marvels.
Hanbin nods enthusiastically, “Hao loves to travel when he can.”
There’s another rush Jiwoong gets. He’s finally got Hanbin on a roll, spilling out random facts about his lover without a need for prompt. Mentally, Jiwoong pats himself on the back, maybe he does have a knack for gossiping than he thought. He needs to give his husband some thanks, he’s trained Jiwoong quite well.
“Where was it that you and your boyfriend went again,” Jiwoong tries to recall that form he had approved from the other, squinting as if it could jog his memory, “Thailand, was it?”
“It was,” Hanbin confirms, his voice suddenly stammering at his next words, “But it’s not boyfriend,” He pauses momentarily, eyes quickly glancing at his own waistband, “It’s husband.”
If Jiwoong had a nickel for every time Hanbin’s rendered him stunned today, he would have two—which is two too many. He’s shocked, jaw dropping open when he notes what Hanbin was looking at. On his bottom scrubs at the waistband is a small carabiner tied to them. On it are his keys, the ones that have jingled every time he’s walked, but only now does Jiwoong notice the other item.
It’s a silver ring, simple in nature, looping right behind the key.
“Ah,” Jiwoong breathes, suddenly more giddy to the suggestion Seobin had brought up in his earlier phone call, “Hanbin-ah?”
“Hm?” The man’s head whisks up.
Seobin’s proposition to dinner had at first, sounded utterly ridiculous. Jiwoong had originally thought that it’d be rather ridiculous for them, an old married couple, to invite a freshly new dating couple to their home for dinner. It’d be awkward, perhaps too much pressure on his younger co-worker. But the fact that Hanbin’s not just dating, but married, to the mystery man Zhang Hao from this morning changes things.
“Would you and Hao like to come to ours for dinner?” Jiwoong flashes a smile, “Seobin would love for you two to come over.”
Hanbin sinks into his seat, “We would love to.”
When Jiwoong’s lunch break ends, the first thing he does is scurry back to his office to dial back home. Seobin’s going to have a field day with all this new information.
੯‧̀͡⬮
Jaehyun thinks this must be his worst workday in history.
He trudges to the front desk, still faintly remembering the scolding he had gotten from Hanbin earlier in the morning when the doctor had scooped Sansan from his lap. The earful was scalding hot, a rather harsh tone filled with authority as Hanbin reminded him to not dismiss any patients in the future, even if it’s a ridiculous request to Hanbin. The hospital had a policy and Jaehyun was to follow it. Especially considering the dog that was brought in, Sansan, had to be hospitalized to stay overnight.
Really, if all these fans knew of the Dr.Sung who ran the hospital like a military, he seriously doubts they would all be falling over themselves for him.
What would he know?
He sighs as he begins to finish filing the rest of the leftover paperwork for check-ins of the day only to hear the door swinging right open. It’s two hours before they close and the hospital has a strict policy of no more walk-in’s during this time in order to wrap up scheduled patients, Jaehyun ready to direct the individual to the emergency vet just further down the block.
But he sees Zhang Hao, the same Zhang Hao from this morning, walking in with a bounce in his step, he’s left speechless.
Quickly dipping into the earshot of his deskmate Sohee, Jaehyun whispers to the other, “He’s here again.”
Sohee visibly pales, “The fan?”
Jaehyun nods, “The persistent fan.”
Jaehyun’s too sure that he’s already notified the man with the phone number left on file that Sansan could be picked up bright and early the next morning. So he stares, miffed, as Hao prances up to the front desk.
“Is Dr.Sung here?” Hao peers over the counter, “I wanted to treat him to dinner as a thank you for taking care of Sansan.”
Truly, if dedication was a person, it’d be the Zhang Hao that’s standing opposite to where Jaehyun’s seated. He almost wants to break it easy to the poor man, hoping he doesn’t have a handsome man crying in the lobby, that Hanbin wasn’t interested. But he gets stricken with the thought of Hanbin giving him another scolding about policy, so he just straightens up his posture and flashes Hao a customer-service worthy smile.
“Dr.Sung is a very busy man,” Jaehyun tries to explain, “He may not be available until his shift is over, which is in,” He glances at the clock in the back corner for extra measure, “Two hours.”
Typically, in any other scenario, the long wait-time is enough to drive the fans away. They usually turn away, mumbling about how they’d come the next day, and be on their merry way. It’s what Jaehyun expects, what he bets Sohee’s also expecting.
Much to both of their dismay, Hao simply makes a noise of understanding, “Then I’ll just wait here!” He chirps before making his way to the waiting area and seating himself directly across from the hallway towards the rest of the hospital.
Jaehyun’s jaw drops, Sohee’s whispering coming into his ear, “Get a load of this guy.”
Everything in his mouth dries, Jaehyun’s mouth snapping shut when he realizes he’s just staring at the patron.
“Enough,” Jaehyun hisses at his deskmate, “He’s right there, he can probably hear you.”
Sohee nods, going back to focusing on his computer.
Two hours drag by, Jaehyun spending too much time trying to appear busy while Hao sits in the waiting area. He glances towards the man over a thousand times in the 120 minutes he has to sit through, occasionally tapping on Sohee’s shoulder as they exchange hushed words about the poor man and the disappointment he’s about to face.
To his horror, it’s already close to 9pm and the entire clinic is beginning to close down. He can hear it distinctively in the background, Hao still waiting patiently as he fiddles with different things on his phone.
It’s sympathy, a buttload of it, that Jaehyun feels. There’s only so many times they have such interesting and good-looking people come into the clinic. He doesn’t want this rare appearance to be driven away by Hanbin.
What could he do about it?
When the hospital’s door swings open, the last two employees, Dr.Kim and Dr.Sung, exiting as they chatter amongst themselves, Jaehyun shoots into an upright position. The two doctors' conversation stills as they note Hao’s appearance in the waiting area, Jiwoong glancing over at Hanbin and Jaehyun feels himself begin to sweat.
He’s going to get another mouthful over this man. No—all the blood drains from his face when he sees Hanbin begin to move—he’s going to lose his entire job over this gorgeous man.
“Dr.Sung,” Jaehyun rushes to get out, “I told him that you’d be off—”
“Jjang Hao!”
Hanbin’s voice is loud and it rings all across the waiting room. Jaehyun watches, frozen, as Hao springs up from where he’s seated, immediately throwing his arms up and offering a wide smile. Jaehyun thinks he’s going to get his blood pressure re-evaluated when he watches Hanbin stride towards the other, enveloping him into a tight hug right in the middle of the lobby.
Oh God, did they know each other all along?
His wide eyes go towards Sohee, the other looking equally, if not more, surprised with his mouth wide open and a sharp intake of breath. At least Jaehyun was better at hiding it.
“Hanbin-ah!” Hao giggles when Hanbin wraps his arms around the man’s waist, the two conjoined as Hanbin totters around in a circle with Hao in his embrace, “You’re making a scene!”
If Jaehyun was in a comic, he’s sure the artist would’ve drawn his eyes popping out his sockets. He watches as Hanbin, the esteemed Sung Hanbin who was always this unattainable figure, draws down to plant a messy kiss right over Hao’s lips that the man laughs into.
Now a hand slaps over Jaehyun’s mouth, has he offended at least three generations of Hanbin’s family with his internal monologue? He wasn’t even a man of faith, but Jaehyun’s already counting down the days where he’s sent to the underworld.
“Haven’t seen him like this before, have you?” Comes Jiwoong’s ghostly voice, whispered right by Jaehyun’s ear.
He practically jumps out of his skin at the noise, shaking his head.
“And that override you saw this morning?” Jiwoong adds, “It’s because of Hanbin.”
Jiwoong doesn’t acknowledge him any further, throwing his coat over his shoulders as he walks towards the exit, “Come on you lovebirds,” He regards Hanbin and Hao the two now joined by their hands, “Seobin’s here and he wants to hear everything from your husband.”
And to that, Jaehyun adds heart failure screening to his yearly doctor visits.
After all, he practically falls flat to the floor.
Husband?