The Dentist Burnt A Hole In My Heart (And My Pocket Too)

Zhang Yixing finds himself in a 'toothy' situation.

Genres: Comedy (A failed attempt)

Word Count: 3524

Zhang Yixing didn’t exactly have the best job in the world. He wrote columns for the supplement of a leading tabloid. And most of his work involved making lists- from lists of must-have things on one’s wardrobe to making the most of one’s time while taking care of their bowel movements.

His editor seemed extra irritable today; perhaps it had something to do with the declining sales. She wanted an eye-catching article from him, something that would draw in the readers, and if he managed to do that, she would give him the front-page coverage that she promised. It was the only thing that had kept him going. He wanted to be a real journalist, who conveyed genuine news, headlines to the public.

Sighing loudly, as soon as his nagging editor left, his hands automatically moved over to his keyboard, in an attempt to find something from the World Wide Web. He did find some suggestions, most of them were uninteresting. He was certain he had no interest in making a list of the most popular Disney princesses. And that was when co-worker came to his aid. Baekhyun, his co-worker, who wrote a fashion column clutched on to his jaw dramatically, groaning loud enough for the entire office to hear. Yixing peered curiously through his cabin to see what was wrong with the loud, pink-haired chatter-box who occupied the next cabin.

“Goodness gracious, this would be the death of me,” Baekhyun exclaimed dramatically, fanning himself with his other hand that wasn’t pressed on his throbbing jaw.

“What’s wrong?” Yixing asked, eyebrows furrowing as Baekhyun continued to groan in pain.

“What is wrong?” he gasped, as if offended by the dimpled male’s question. “I’ll tell you what is wrong, Zhang Yixing. My molar’s being a !” he cried, loudly, “It’s worse than a woman going into labor.”

“I don’t think you’re in any place to make such a comparison.” Yixing looked over worriedly as he cried more, “I could get you a cold-drink can, if that helps.”

“Oh, please do, Zhang Yixing, I’d be eternally grateful. And I’m certain these are worse than labor pains, my friend bought a labor pain simulating device on e-bay, last week. I obviously tried it out from curiosity.”

Yixing nodded, it wasn’t anything new, and he would have been surprised if Baekhyun hadn’t tried something of that sort. But, when he got up to get Baekhyun a cold can of fizzy drink, his mind was suddenly enlightened. Tooth-ache was a fairly common thing and it was most certainly expensive. He could perhaps write about dentists burning holes in one’s pockets. It would certainly be something relatable and the readers would definitely give it a read.

“Here,” he tossed the can as he sat down on his chair, “you should pay the dentist a visit soon.”

Baekhyun groaned more, mumbling something about how it was going to cost him a third of his monthly income, but Yixing was barely listening. He needed a research subject, he needed to visit a dentist and that was when he stumbled upon an oddly familiar name- Hu Jiaying, Dr. Hu Jiaying. Now, he couldn’t really jump into conclusions, with the immense populace of China and the permutations of people sharing the same name, it could have been some other person, for all he knew. So, he did what he had to do, he clicked on her social media profile to take a good look at her picture. What were the odds that it was the same Hu Jiaying, his crush from middle-school? Besides, why would she come all the way to Seoul and practice dentistry?

It had been years since he last saw; he was a lousy pre-teen kid that wet his bed, with cheeks chubby enough to pass off as a dumpling. But, that never stopped him; he’d glance over at Jiaying’s seat like a forlorn, love-sick puppy. He had been awfully young, but at that time, he was certain it was true love. He knew he’d marry her when he grew older, and perhaps more attractive. Unfortunately, things hadn’t worked out in his favor when his family re-located and he lost track of Jiaying completely. Until now, that is. He found himself staring at a picture of a pretty, young lady, smiling brightly into the camera with dimples that mirrored his own. He scrolled down further to read her info, and perhaps the address of her clinic. Grinning slyly, he jotted down the address; for once he didn’t hate his job.

“Baekhyun,” he nudged the male with the aching jaw, “I’m heading out for some work. If the editor asks, tell her it’s something related to my new piece.”

It hadn’t taken him long to find her clinic, there was a huge signboard with her name and qualifications. He walked in, after taking a deep breath and in hopes that she’d recognize him. He shuffled around awkwardly, thinking of what to do next.

“Do you have an appointment?” The voice startled him; he turned around abruptly, mouth slightly agape to find an unimpressed old lady, the receptionist, staring at him.

“Uhmm…no,” he fumbled. The receptionist mumbled something under her breath, he couldn’t quite catch it. She passed on a form towards him.

“Fill this and wait here. I’ll see if Dr. Hu is free.”

He simply nodded in return, eyes scanning all of the certificates that hung on the walls. Jiaying wasn’t someone who stood out from the crowd, she wasn’t one of the popular girls, neither was she someone that isolated herself. She had her own clique of friends, who always seemed to have lengthy discussions on boy bands. He had found himself eavesdropping many a times, whenever Jiaying fawned over one of the members, flipping through the pages of a magazine that had been cleverly hidden inside her textbook. And he’d smile like an idiot, as his day would be made. He chuckled softly as he recollected those memories from school.

“Ermm…Mr.?” The receptionist came back, breaking him off his reverie, “Dr. Hu will see you now.”

Yixing got up enthusiastically from the couch in the waiting area to walk into Jiaying’s room, his heart seemed to have picked up more pace in circulating blood. Fidgeting with the strap of his sling bag, that loosely hung around his toned frame, he pushed the door open. He took slow, careful steps; the dentist seemed rather immersed in filling up some paper work.

“Take a seat, sir,” she said, glancing up from the papers to meet his eyes, except she froze momentarily. Yixing grinned in excitement to know that Jiaying had recognized him. However, the next minute all of his hopes were crushed, when she turned back to her files.

He took a seat on the chair slowly, frowning as she failed to look at him. He wanted to tell her, but couldn’t think of a proper way to do so. He didn’t want her to think of him as some creep, who tracked her down. And it wasn’t like they were really good friends in school, his stupid boy class-mates believed girls were gross, and any boy who spoke to a girl was made fun of. He did wish to speak to Jiaying, but he didn’t want to be ‘disowned’ by his fellow boy class-mates either. So, he had resorted to watching her from afar.

He was about to tell her when the grumpy receptionist walked in.

“Here’s his file, Dr. Hu.” She handed over the file to the dentist, shooting disapproving glances in his direction. He wondered what he had ever done to her; she seemed to look at him like he ruined her life.

“Don’t mind her.” He turned to see Jiaying smiling at him, as she opened his file. “She just needs a man in her life,” she chuckled.

“And you?” he asked instinctively.

“That information is classified, Mr.….” she flipped open the file, her eyes widening slightly, “Zhang.”

Yixing grinned widely again, she seemed rather confused to see his file. He was certain his name must have rung a bell. He looked at her expectantly, thinking that any minute, any minute she’d recognize him. Sure, he had lost of all his cheek fat, and looked quite different. But, she knew his name now, and she could put two and two together.

“You’re Chinese?” she asked amusedly. “Wow, it’s nice to see someone from my native area.”

Yixing fought the urge to groan in dejection, Jiaying seemed to have no clue. He wondered how insignificant he had been in school.

“Yes, I went to school in Changsha,” he replied, hoping that at least now the girl would know.

“Wonderful,” was all she said, while retrieving a pair of examination gloves. “So, what’s your complaint?”

“Complaint?” She had completely brushed off that to