Final

Somewhere Far and Out of Reach

A/N: Just a quick notice. This story isn't edited at all. Sorry for any mistakes. Writing this was like pulling teeth because I'm so rusty but I still think it's pretty good. That's all, enjoy!!

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“Dr. Lee,” Jong Suk turns to the nurse, “He’s back again. Room 32.”

Jong Suk rolls his eyes and forces his lungs to hold in the sigh trying to escape.

“Send Dr. Seo in,” he replies signing off on the chart in front of him.

“Dr. Seo refuses since the guy pinched his ,” she replies, “the patient refuses to see anyone but you. You should just deal with it and get it over with.”

Jong Suk tosses the pen down on the chart and pushes it towards the nurse sitting behind the counter more aggressively than he would normally allow himself to be. He takes a deep calming breath. Cool and collected; that's what he is. 

“Fine,” he tells the nurse and gently takes the file from her in an attempt to appear calmer than he is and walks towards the room. This patient has been showing up to the free clinic in his teaching hospital for months now and somehow it’s only when he has clinic hours. 

Jong Suk takes another calming breath before giving a curt knock on the door and pushing it open.

“Mr Kim, what seems to be the problem today,” Jong Suk asks flipping through the patient's file pointedly not looking at him. 

Woo Bin waits impatiently for Jong Suk to look at him. He’s been carefully staking out the clinic to see when Jong Suk would come in again because he took a few days off. It feels like it’s been forever since he’s seen the man even if it’s been about a week. 

“How many times do I have to ask you to call me, Woo Bin,” the man replies his voice deep and rich; a smirk pulling up the corner of his lips. He’s too impatient.

Jong Suk sits down on the circular wheely chair provided for the doctors, still staring intently at the file. He refuses to give in to this guy’s persistence. 

Woo Bin coughs awkwardly when he doesn’t get a reply. So it’s going to be like this. He really does have a problem. He’s had it for a while but he didn’t want to have an actual issue and not be able to see Jong Suk.

“My throat hurts. I think I may be coming down with something,” he adds quietly.

“Any other symptoms,” Jong Suk asks putting on gloves and grabbing a tongue depressor from a jar, “coughing, stuffy nose, headaches?”

“Uh, yeah. Headaches.”

Jong Suk nods and finally looks at Woo Bin, his face completely void of emotion, “Open your mouth and say ‘ah.’”

Woo Bin does as he’s asked and Jong Suk peers down his throat with a small pen light while pressing down Woo Bin’s tongue. He throws the stick out and feels for Woo Bin’s glands on the side of his throat. Woo Bin’s speechless seeing Jong Suk this close. It feels like his throat closed on him until he reminds himself that he has to breathe no matter how close Jong Suk’s face is to his.

“You have a sinus infection. I’ll prescribe you some antibiotics. You should look into taking an allergy pill daily. Spring time allergies probably irritated your sinuses,” Jong Suk informs him while scribbling away in his file. See, Jong Suk tells himself, you can deal with anything. You are cool, calm, and collected.

“Thanks, Doc, what would I do without you?”

The question sounds more sincere than Woo Bin had intended but he’s having a hard time being the sarcastic he usually is after being so close to Jong Suk. Something about his stoic face makes Woo Bin too curious to be himself. He thinks that’s part of why he’s been regularly coming to this clinic and incurring bills for basically no reason.

Jong Suk grabs the file and heads toward the door saying, “The nurse will bring you your prescription.”

Woo Bin tries not to feel too disappointed that Jong Suk never once made eye contact with him. He huffs and waits for the nurse.

///

Woo Bin’s sinus infection clears up in a few days and he tries not to be disappointed that he feels great. He can’t keep making up excuses to go to the clinic, unfortunately, he can’t afford it. Not as a struggling model. Which is why he’s ecstatic when his friend Haneul calls him and asks him if he could take him to the clinic. He’s feeling dizzy and doesn’t trust himself to drive. 

When he arrives to pick up his friend he has to stop himself from practically begging the younger man to ask for Dr. Lee and to let Woo Bin in the exam room with him on the drive to the clinic. Haneul does let Woo Bin do both things simply by asking nicely but Woo Bin knows he was prepared to beg. Haneul is just too nice sometimes, even if it works to Woo Bin’s benefit.

 Jong Suk enters and Woo Bin catches his slight eyebrow raise when he spots Woo Bin on a chair usually occupied by distraught mothers or bored family members. Jong Suk doesn’t say anything about Woo Bin’s presence though. He conducts Haneul’s exam like he would any other patient and completely ignores Woo Bin, much to Woo Bin’s disappointment. 

As they’re leaving, Woo Bin stops beside Jong Suk while he’s finishing Haneul’s paperwork and says, “It was nice seeing you again.” He lowered his voice an octave to make it sound suggestive and the nurse behind the counter blushes and averts her eyes. Woo Bin smirks when Jong Suk turns a glare on him.

“Have a good day, Mr. Kim,” Jong Suk replies. Jong Suk will not give him what he wants, he thinks, he will not let Kim Woo Bin humiliate him.

“I’m sure I will because I got to talk to you,” Woo Bin purrs a genuine smile replacing his smirk. Ha Neul calls him and Woo Bin leaves.

///

It’s a few weeks later. Woo Bin hasn’t been able to find an excuse to go the clinic and it’s kind of killing him. He wants to see that Lee Jong Suk again. He wants to see if he can get the man to drop his stoic face. Well, seemingly stoic. Woo Bin can see the slight tick in the man’s eyebrow when Woo Bin flirts shamelessly and the lip biting when Jong Suk tries not to reply to a teasing comment. Woo Bin has made it his goal in life to get Jong Suk to lose his cool. 

He looks so uptight and stressed and for some reason Woo Bin wants to be the one to force the taut muscles of Jong Suk’s shoulders to release. He wants to be the one to make Jong Suk unexpectedly cry with laughter. He will succeed even if it means doing crazy things like he’s about to just to see Jong Suk again.

///

“What did you do this time,” Jong Suk asks walking into Woo Bin’s room. He’s stopped being as professional as he should be but Jong Suk can’t really help it.

“I slammed my hand in a car door,” Woo Bin replies failing to suppress a smile before saying, “It’s the hand I use to e with. Maybe you could help me with that later, too.” Jong Suk jerks his head up from the file to look at Woo Bin in surprise and Woo Bin shamelessly winks at him. Woo Bin has never been this forward with his flirting but it was totally worth it to see the genuine surprise on Jong Suk’s normally emotionless face. 

Jong Suk doesn’t say anything, his cool mask returning to his face as he walks up to Woo Bin with gloves on. Woo Bin laughs and holds out his hand for Jong Suk to take a look at. Jong Suk feels along the hand and fingers carefully checking for pain and broken bones. He’s focused and Woo Bin stares openly at his beautiful face.

Jong Suk doesn’t move away. He just looks up at Woo Bin to look in his eyes, they’re closer than they’ve ever been before while making eye contact. Jong Suk can’t help but think Woo Bin has nice eyes but he pushes the thought from his head as quickly as it appears. Woo Bin clears his throat and looks away, unable to handle it. 

Jong Suk steps back, “Nothing seems to be broken. I think you just need to ice it and try not to use for the next few days. I can prescribe a potent pain killer if you’d like.”

“Thank you…”

Jong Suk looks up from where he’s writing a script, he’s not sure why he feels suddenly responsible for how dejected Woo Bin sounds and looks but he does. He also doesn’t know why he suddenly cares that he feels responsible. This guy has been annoying him since he first showed up at the clinic with his constant and outrageous flirting.

“If you like I can order an X-ray just to be sure,” Jong Suk says to fill the suddenly weird silence. He looks up at Woo Bin. The other man is staring at him with an incredulous look. Woo Bin has just realized something about Jong Suk and it’s that he does have a heart after all. Normally Jong Suk gives a diagnosis and leaves right away but today is different. He’s being nice and considerate and standing too close and Woo Bin thinks he might finally be getting somewhere.

“What,” Jong Suk asks and then looks away awkwardly, “you seem to not like the diagnosis. I figured maybe you thought I was wrong. We can double check if you’d like.”

Woo Bin snorts. Jong Suk’s flirting would be awkwardly related to offering to order a completely unnecessary test. Woo Bin had made sure he didn’t slam the door hard enough to really injure himself. Just enough that it probably should be looked at, you know, just in case.

Jong Suk can feel heat flood his cheeks, he looks to the side of Woo Bin and asks, “Well, would you like an X-ray?”

“Are you going to be doing the X-ray,” Woo Bin replies. He’s trying for sultry but it comes out more sulky than anything else.

“Ah, no. The radiologist would be doing it.”

“I’ll just ice it.”

Jong Suk presses his lips together and turns back to the file to scribble a note in it before standing and leaving the room. Woo Bin curses under his breath. Maybe he isn’t getting as far as he thought he was.

///

Jong Suk would rather be doing anything right now than grocery shopping on his day off but his refrigerator is laughably empty. But it needs to be done and he can’t seem to force himself to go after working long hours in the clinic. 

A soft “Jong Suk-ssi” said from behind him makes Jong Suk whip around to be staring straight at Woo Bin.

“Mr. Kim, what are you doing here?”

Woo Bin laughs and holds up his grocery basket, “Shopping. The same as you I assume.”

Jong suk nods and turns back to the cucumbers he was contemplating. Woo Bin steps up beside him and looks at the two cucumbers Jong Suk is holding.

“You should just buy both,” he says, “and then you can cook me whatever you’re making.”

Jong Suk doesn’t have to look at the other man’s face to know he’s grinning and thinking his pick up lines are clever. He’s sick of this. If he wanted to date he would go out on all the blind dates his mother keeps trying to set him up on but his cold personality coupled with the long hours he works and how dedicated to his job he is doesn’t make for good relationships.

“Look,” Jong Suk says putting both cucumbers in a bag and putting them in his cart before looking up at Woo Bin, “You’re infatuated with me but you don’t me and I can 100% guarantee you won’t like me, so please stop trying.”

“How about you stop denying your attraction to me and give it a try?”

Jong Suk turns and starts pushing his cart away but Woo Bin jogs a bit to get directly in front of the cart effectively stopping Jong Suk by putting his hand on it. Jong Suk glares at him but his cart is too heavy to pull out of Woo Bin’s grasp.

“Just one date,” Woo Bin pleads, “Just give me a shot.”

“I don’t even know you,” Jong Suk counters.

“That’s what dates are for.”

Jong Suk looks at Woo Bin finally letting himself see how attractive the other man is. He’s been forcing his mind to ignore that thought but directly presented with an option he can’t help but look. It wouldn’t be awful, he thinks.

“Fine, but if we do the date and I say I don’t want to continue, you have to stop coming to the clinic and hitting on me.”

“That’s fair,” Woo Bin says, “Does that mean yes? And I mean a real date. We can’t just hang out for 5 minutes and then you give up. It has to be a full course fancy dinner.”

Jong Suk nods and Woo Bin resists the urge to fist pump, “Awesome. Here’s my number. Text me when you have some availability. I can wait.”

Woo Bin leaves before he tries to press Jong Suk for a commitment right there. He knows doing that won’t get him any points. Now that Jong Suk’s agreed he’ll be on his best behavior.

///

Woo Bin is freaking out. He’s not sure why he said fancy dinner. It’s not like he can afford one and after asking Jong Suk out he can’t expect Jong Suk to pay. It wouldn’t be fair to him and honestly Woo Bin should at least be able to pay.

He’d describe himself as a struggling model but really he doesn’t try all that hard. He works enough jobs to get by but should probably adopt a work ethic closer to Jong Suk’s if he’s honest and that’s exactly what he does. He’s not sure why he’s so committed to making a good impression on Jong Suk and succeeding in his date but he goes on more go sees in the next week that the entire month. 

In the end, it lands him a couple of low paying photoshoots and a runway model gig. But Jong Suk still hasn’t called him. Woo Bin would worry but he’s too busy for that the next week doing the shoots. His bank account has more money than probably ever and when it comes time for the runway show he’s more ready than he’s ever been to really get his modelling career off the ground. So afterwards when he’s approached by Ace Models, Woo Bin almost completely forgets about Jong Suk. Almost.

///

Jong Suk stares at the small piece of paper with Woo Bin’s number on it. He’s held the receipt it was scribbled on so much that the ink has faded where it once said whatever Woo Bin had bought before he wrote his number on it. He’s been putting off calling the other man for two weeks but he can’t hold back anymore. He has the next three days off because he covered for Dr. Seo last week. It’s now or never Jong Suk thinks.

He quickly types the number into his phone and hits call. Waiting as the phone rings is agonizing. Sweat drips down the center of his back, his mind focuses on it and he almost hangs up before the phone clicks over.

“Hello, this is Kim Woo Bin.” Woo Bin’s voice is the epitome of professional as he answers and Jong Suk wonders what he does for a living for his automatic answer to be something like that. 

“Ah, Mr. Kim, I mean, Uh, Woo Bin-ssi,” Jong Suk stumbles. He really should have thought out what he was going to say but he chides himself.

“Jong Suk! I can’t believe you’re actually calling. Holy . Uh, hang on, I can’t really talk where I am,” Woo Bin says. His voice is noticeably more excited than before and Jong Suk can’t believe that it’s just because he called him. He hears shuffling on the other end of the line and then a soft thud, probably a door closing, and more rustling before Woo Bin sighs.

“Alright,” Woo Bin says, “What’s up?”

“Uh, you said to call when I have some free time,” Jong Suk says all awkward pauses and jumbling words without being able to hide behind the stance of being professional with Woo Bin. 

“Well I didn’t mean to only call when you had free time,” Woo Bin laughs, “I meant to call me when you knew what days you have off.”

“I am,” Jong Suk says and sighs, “I have the next three days off.”

Woo Bin nods but the gesture is mostly for himself as he thinks about what his schedule is like. All the bookings he made are finished and he literally just finished the photoshoot. It should be okay to plan something.

“How about tomorrow night then,” Woo Bin asks.

“Okay.”

“Okay? That’s all.”

“Yea.”

Woo Bin nods again. He was hoping for more excitement from the other but it can’t be helped. He’ll make do with the fact that Jong Suk is giving him a chance. They make plans for Woo Bin to pick Jong Suk up at 7 the following night and hang up.

///

Jong Suk is pretty much a nervous wreck. He can’t decide on an outfit since he doesn’t know exactly where Woo Bin is taking him. He can’t stop pacing around his apartment and he’s pretty sure he won’t be able to eat because he’s never felt this nauseous before. 

Medically, Jong Suk knows there’s nothing wrong with him. He also knows he has no reason to be this keyed up about a date. He’s starting to wonder if he likes Woo Bin more than he realizes but he pushes that thought quickly from his mind. He takes a deep calming breath counting as he breathes in and out until he feels better. He settles on a dark blue slacks with a brown belt, a light blue button up dress shirt and a dark blue vest. He figures it’s fancy enough for wherever Woo Bin would be taking him. 

He forces himself to sit on his couch and read over a medical journal while waiting for Woo Bin. He refuses to let himself watch the clock slowly tick by even if he couldn’t tell you anything about the article he’s reading as his eyes flit mindlessly over the words.

Jong Suk jumps as his doorbell rings simultaneously too soon and not soon enough. He takes another deep breath as he stands and straightens his vest. He goes to meet Woo Bin outside his apartment.

///

Woo Bin is half an hour early to Jong Suk’s apartment. He glares at the clock on his dash as he parks outside the building. He knew he was going to be early but he couldn’t just sit around his place any more. He turns up the music in his car and starts to sing along, badly, to kill time. 

6:45 slowly creeps up on the dashboard clock and 15 minutes of waiting seems to be enough. Woo Bin doesn’t care if it’s weird or rude to be early. He has to do something.

He gets out and rings the buzzer for Jong Suk’s apartment. There’s no reply though and Woo Bin gets even more nervous waiting on the stoop. When Jong Suk finally flings the door open, Woo Bin’s breath catches in his throat. The outfit Jong Suk picked shows off the young man’s slender frame in a delicious way that has heat pooling in Woo Bin’s stomach along with the butterflies already occupying it. 

Jong Suk gives a nervous smile, “Ready, then?”

Woo Bin nods and his lips. He doesn’t say anything opting to just head back to the car so he doesn’t make a fool of himself just yet. Jong Suk follows and is surprised when Woo Bin opens his door for him and motions for Jong Suk to get in. Jong Suk usually finds it weird but it works for Woo Bin. Jong Suk gets in and Woo Bin races around to the driver’s side. 

“Where are we going,” Jong Suk asks. Silence would be too hard on his nerves. Woo Bin puts the car into drive and they head off.

“You’ll see. You don’t have any food allergies do you?”

“Uh, no.”

“Good.”

The rest of the ride to the restaurant is silent and when they pull up in front of an up and coming Italian restaurant Jong Suk tries not to gasp. He’s heard it’s very expensive but the atmosphere and food are both amazing.

“Woo Bin, we don’t have to go to some place this fancy.”

Woo Bin doesn’t reply, instead he gets out of the car and opens Jong Suk’s door again before handing his keys to the valet. 

“Come on, our reservation is at 7:30 but I think they might be able to seat us a little early.”

Jong Suk wants to say something but can’t seem to find words as Woo Bin places a hand at the base of his back and guides him gently into the restaurant. Jong Suk has a surprisingly hard time protesting with the feel of Woo Bin’s fingers pressing through his clothes into his back.

“I hope you like this place,” Woo Bin says, “It was highly recommended by one of the makeup artists at my last show.”

Jong Suk nods. He can’t believe Woo Bin’s slight touch is affecting him this much. He takes a deep breath trying to calm his rapidly beating heart, not that it really helps but he figures the more oxygen in his body right now the better.

Woo Bin drops his hand as they enter the restaurant and walks up to the hostess. Jong Suk thinks his back feel cold without Woo Bin’s touch. He misses it, he realizes, and tries not to let that show on his face.

“I have a reservation at 7:30. I know I’m early but perhaps we could be seated early,” he tells her. The woman check the computer in front of her before smiling.

“That’s no problem Mr. Kim. Right this way.”

Woo Bin waits for Jong Suk to step up beside him and places his hand back on his back. Jong Suk doesn’t think it’s possible for muscles to tense up and relax at the same time but he’s pretty sure that’s what just happened. 

The hostess brings them to a mostly secluded table. They can see a few other tables but their voices don’t carry to them and it feels like they’re the only two people in the world. Woo Bin pulls out Jong Suk’s chair for him. Jong Suk sits quickly making the flame of the candles on the table flicker. Woo Bin pushes the chair in and smiles as he takes his own seat. 

“You’re quite the gentlemen, it seems,” Jong Suk says just for something to say. They both pick up their menus and start look at it. Woo Bin huffs out a laugh. 

“Not usually. But I really want to impress you. Is it working,” Woo Bin asks peering over the menu at Jong Suk and Jong Suk has a hard time breathing suddenly. He was perfectly fine alone with Woo Bin in the clinic. But suddenly he can’t seem to find any of that calm, cool, and collected he’d had before.

“Yes,” Jong Suk finally says staring intently at the menu not that he’s reading any of it. After around a minute Jong Suk deems it safe to take a peek at Woo Bin. When he looks up though Woo Bin is staring directly at him, an unreadable expression on his face.

For his part, Woo Bin can’t believe Jong Suk is seated across from him. He’s totally smitten with the blush that’s been covering Jong Suk’s cheeks since he put his hand on the other man’s back. Woo Bin finds himself saying mushy things just to see if he can’t make Jong Suk blush harder. But he’s just as taken aback with Jong Suk’s answers. 

“I’m glad. Have you decided what you want,” Woo Bin responds.

“Um,” Jong Suk glances down at the menu and knows it’s hopeless. He’ll just get the alfredo and call it a day, “Yea. I think.”

“Good. Let’s order then so we can talk more.”

Woo Bin flags down the waiter and they order. Woo Bin pulls out all the stops, asking for wines that would compliment their meals and buying a bottle of both since tomato sauce and alfredo sauce have completely different flavor palettes for wine. Jong Suk looks at the prices for the wine and his eyes nearly bulge out of his head. He makes good money as a doctor but this is just ridiculous. When the waiter finally leaves, Jong Suk can’t help himself.

“Woo Bin, what exactly do you do for a living?”

“I’m a model.”

“A successful model,” Jong Suk questions. Woo Bin shrugs.

“What does that mean?”

“It means,” Woo Bin sighs, “I was struggling mostly because of laziness until I asked you out and you agreed. I kicked my into gear and now I might be signing with Ace Models.” 

Woo Bin shrugs like it’s no big deal but Jong Suk is completely in awe. Jong Suk has had to work hard at being a doctor. It doesn’t come naturally to him but he can do it because he studied and still studies to be the best at his job. How Woo Bin can just decide he’s going to be a model and work for it and have it happen completely amazes Jong Suk.

The conversation falls onto safer and less awe inspiring topics after they. The discuss favorite musicians and movies. Both are surprised by just how much they have in common. As the night winds down and they finish their food, Jong Suk wonders why he was preventing this from happening. He’s not sure but he’s glad it didn’t deter Woo Bin. Jong Suk falls silent with his thoughts. 

“What are you thinking about,” Woo Bin asks effectively snapping Jong Suk out of his mind.

“Oh, um, nothing really.”

Woo Bin raises one perfectly arched eyebrow and Jong Suk kind of wants to swoon but that’s not in his nature at all. Instead he takes the last sip of his wine looking to the side. 

“Come on. We were doing so good talking. Please?”

Jong Suk coughs but figures it’s better to let his thoughts be known, “I was just thinking I’m glad my personality didn’t stop you from trying.”

Woo Bin beams at Jong Suk and Jong Suk returns it with a small shy smile. 

“Me too.”

Woo Bin  pays the check and they walk out to the car all the while having nice conversation. Woo Bin’s never been on a date that just worked so well. Even if it was a little awkward in the beginning. He and Jong Suk clicked in a way he hasn’t with anyone before. He can see himself at Jong Suk’s side for a long time and that’s both terrifying and exhilarating. 

The ride to Jong Suk’s apartment feels quicker than the ride to the restaurant probably because every second was filled, the hesitation completely gone from both men as they ride. This has been such a long time coming.

When they get there Woo Bin gets out of the car and Jong Suk patiently waits for him to run around the front and open his door like he’s been doing all night. Woo Bin walks Jong Suk to the door of his apartment with his hand on Jong Suk’s back again. Jong Suk smiles, happy to feel Woo Bin’s warmth on his back again.

They stop and turn towards each other Woo Bin’s bright smile meeting Jong Suk’s slightly shy one. Woo Bin shuffles toward Jong Suk and Jong Suk leans into Woo Bin until their noses are almost touching.

“Can I kiss you,” Woo Bin whispers. Jong Suk nods brushing their noses together. Woo Bin captures Jong Suk’s lips in a searing kiss. He’s been thinking about this moment for weeks and it’s even better than he imagined. Jong Suk’s lips are soft and plush against his own. Jong Suk along Woo Bin’s lip and deepens the kiss much to Woo Bin’s surprise and delight.

They make out on the porch for a solid five minutes, only pulling apart because one of Jong Suk’s neighbor’s subtly coughs to get their attention so she can get into the apartment building. They pull apart and laugh awkwardly until the woman is inside.

“So,” Woo Bin says.

“So...Call me, okay?”

Woo Bin nods. He doesn’t think there’s a force on Earth that could keep him away from Jong Suk after that kiss.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________

A/N: I hope you enjoyed it!! As always, questions, comments, concerns, fangirling??

 
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Comments

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Bojaemimo
#1
Very cute! I loved it!
Arxynth
320 streak #2
Chapter 1: Oh my god. Authornim, This is too perfect! So much love. So much sweetness. Cuteness overload. I love it! Every word of it. It would be a whole lot better if there is a sequel for it, eh? ^^
aisysam94
#3
Chapter 1: Kyaaaa...I ships them... \^3^/
heungsoonshipper
#4
Chapter 1: CUTENESS OVERLOADS
trinitivox44 #5
Chapter 1: WAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH IM DEAD IM DEAD SO DEAD
Tirahan
#6
Chapter 1: oh godddddd!!! you should do more fics abt this ship!!
yesungmyprecious #7
Chapter 1: Ahhhhh!!!!!!Author-nim I am head over heels in love with it!!!!!
Leeminhooppa90
#8
Chapter 1: Uhhhhh thsi is so good to read all feels for jongbin they are adorable ❤️
Rya_leki
#9
Chapter 1: So beautiful... they are really good together ... somehow when reading stories about them, greed always come, jongsuk still have two days off, sequel please...
KimHyunJoongWooBin
#10
Chapter 1: Ahhh this was so good!