“My sincere apologies for the delay,” Dr. Do said as he quickly slipped into the examination room. Kyungsoo then nodded gratefully at Sojin, who smiled and shook her head, and the nurse dutifully stepped out of the room while sliding the wooden door shut behind her.

Jongin, as usual, was seated in the black examination chair and he was mindlessly staring off into the distance this time. The smooth sound of Kyungsoo’s voice jolted him out of his reverie and it took the artist a moment to gather himself after letting his thoughts freely float about for ten minutes. “Oh, it’s fine,” Jongin answered as he focused his gaze on the ophthalmologist who was using his right foot to push the ivory-colored wheelie stool in front of Jongin. “Was everything okay with the patient before me?”

“Yes, nothing to worry about,” Dr. Do replied with a small smile as he scooped up the artist’s file from the side counter before sitting on the wheelie stool. “We finished on time. I actually had several time-sensitive emails to respond to before your appointment, which is why I’m late. Once again, I sincerely apologize for keeping you waiting, Jongin. Especially since I know how much you value punctuality.”

“It’s okay.” At this point, the tardiness no longer bothered the artist. By choosing to continue coming to Bright Vision Eye Clinic, it meant accepting the delays as well. At the very least, a few extra minutes of waiting wasn’t the worst inconvenience that Jongin had to deal with. He was already experiencing something much more debilitating on a daily basis.

“Now, before we get started today,” Kyungsoo patted down the wrinkles in his white lab coat before looking back at the artist, “I just wanted to ask if everything’s been alright with you since we met up last week. Were you and your brother able to sort out everything that was bothering you?”

Jongin’s eyebrows shot up, the artist unable to contain his astonishment. Even though the line between their scheduled meetings and their impromptu encounters was becoming murkier by the week, he still hadn’t expected Kyungsoo to follow up, much less at Jongin’s next eye appointment.

It was…nice knowing that the ophthalmologist cared about his well-being beyond his professional expertise.

After getting over the initial shock, Jongin sheepishly replied, “Well, uh, not really… We, uh, haven’t talked at all since our fight. And he’s been busy with work, so I haven’t seen him that much either.”

“I’m sure he’ll come around soon,” Kyungsoo said with an encouraging smile. “He probably needs a bit of time to process everything himself.”

“Yeah, that’s true. But I’ve actually been feeling a lot better this past week,” the artist admitted with a small smile. “Our talk was honestly pretty helpful—so thank you for that, really—and some close friends have also been helping me keep my mind occupied with other things.” Jongin then let out a soft sigh. “I know I need to take the initiative to talk to my brother sooner or later, especially since he isn’t really trying to reach out to me, but the distractions are…nice to indulge in right now.” He exhaled deeply once more. “I’ve needed this kind of peace in my life for a long time.”

“That’s great to hear,” the ophthalmologist replied while nodding and smiling. “There’s no need to rush into the talk with your brother before you’re ready, before either of you are ready, and it’s also good that you’re at least aware that you’ll need to speak to him eventually. And if you ever need someone to talk to again, please feel free to message me and we can meet up for another talk.”

Jongin sent him a lopsided smile. “Thanks, Kyungsoo. I appreciate it.”

The ophthalmologist grinned back. “Of course, I’m always happy to help. Now let’s get started, shall we?”

However, a loud knock suddenly sounded on the wooden door of the examination room, causing Jongin to slightly jump in his seat.

“Come in,” Dr. Do called as he swiveled his wheelie stool around ninety degrees to the left so that it would be easier for him to see who was at the entrance.

The door slid open to reveal a short, copper brown-haired male who was smiling shyly as his gaze alighted on the ophthalmologist. “Hey, Kyungsoo, I’m so sorry for bothering you, but I wanted to ask you something.”

Jongin immediately scowled when he recognized Dr. Kim Junmyeon. There was no reason for the other ophthalmologist to be here. After all, he was always too busy seeing other patients to bother with people like the artist. Even though Junmyeon obviously harbored feelings for Kyungsoo, the other ophthalmologist had never interrupted an appointment—barring that one time in Kyungsoo’s office, but the artist was going to give Junmyeon the benefit of the doubt since they had been in a different location that day. It seemed mighty bold of the other ophthalmologist to suddenly show his pink-cheeked face during Jongin’s appointment and speak in that stupidly sweet voice of his.

While the artist stewed in his annoyance, Kyungsoo kindly said to his colleague, “Don’t worry about it. We just got settled in. What do you need?”

Junmyeon’s smile brightened, which subsequently made Jongin’s scowl deepen, as he answered, “I was wondering if you’d be okay with Sunyoung and Sungyeol sitting in on your appointment right now, so they can start getting used to how the clinic is run. Seungwan was helping them earlier during her shift, but I figured it wouldn’t hurt to also have them shadow you for a bit while they’re still here.”

“Yes, of course,” Kyungsoo nodded, “that’s a great idea.” He then looked over at Jongin, who was glaring daggers at Junmyeon, and Kyungsoo’s smile faltered at the aura of darkness being emitted from the artist. It was a stark contrast from Jongin’s relatively genial behavior just minutes before and the ophthalmologist realized that he needed to quickly douse the growing fire that was dangerously burning within Jongin.

But before Kyungsoo could say anything, Junmyeon happily clapped his hands and cheered, “Great, I’m so glad you agree, Kyungsoo!” A soft laugh escaped from the other ophthalmologist’s lips, which didn’t go unnoticed by Jongin and he wanted to scoff loudly at how embarrassing it was for a grown man to be acting this way, before Junmyeon bashfully added, “You’re so good at answering questions and giving advice, so I think Sunyoung and Sungyeol can learn a lot from you.”

Kyungsoo chuckled as well. “You’re giving me too much credit, Junmyeon. But I do need to ask my patient if he’s alright with them being here with us.” The ophthalmologist faced Jongin, who had his arms crossed defiantly and was pointedly staring at the shiny tips of his black leather Oxford dress shoes, before softly asking, “Are you okay with our new junior doctor and our new nurse sitting in on your appointment, Mr. Kim?” Kyungsoo’s voice then lowered a notch more as he added, “You have the right to say no if you want, Jongin. I know your case is quite sensitive and I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable with them here.”

Well, the ophthalmologist’s assumption was right on the money.

Jongin didn’t want them here.

He wasn’t here to be a demonstration dummy. He wasn’t here to be poked and prodded at by people who didn’t understand the struggles he had experienced for months. He wasn’t here to listen to these young rookies bombard Kyungsoo with inane questions, and pretentiously prattle on about ophthalmology and optometry in hopes of showing off to their superior.

And he most certainly didn’t want to aid Kim Junmyeon in his brainless, excessive attempt to flatter Kyungsoo. In fact, it was just as appalling as witnessing Baekhyun the coffee shop owner flirt to high heaven with Kyungsoo on multiple occasions. Maybe even more so, if Junmyeon continued on this painfully extreme trajectory.

No, Jongin wanted nothing to do with the other ophthalmologist’s silly crush on his coworker. He had no desire to play wingman, even as a passive party, regardless of how it most likely wasn’t Junmyeon’s intent. If it weren’t the other ophthalmologist’s idea, perhaps he wouldn’t be so averse to the sit-in. But because it was, Jongin wanted to stay far, far away.

The artist opened his mouth, ready to decline, when another interruption came.

“Um, Dr. Kim, can we come in yet?” a high-pitched female voice asked. A young female doctor and a tall male nurse then curiously peered around and over the other ophthalmologist’s shoulder, respectively, to look into the examination room.

Junmyeon turned to quietly answer, “Please hold on, Sunyoung. We’re getting the patient’s approval first.”

“Oh, yes, of course, Dr. Kim! That’s very important! We’ll wait,” she replied, vigorously nodding while pulling herself and the tall nurse away from the entrance.

At that, Jongin’s rage cooled considerably.

Those bright-eyed newcomers meant no malice. They never had. It wasn’t fair to penalize the newest employees of Bright Vision Eye Clinic for something they had absolutely no control over. They weren’t the ones who had slighted Jongin when he first came to the clinic. They weren’t the ones acting like coquettish maidens at a ball.

Sunyoung and Sungyeol were here for the grand opportunity to learn under the tutelage of Kyungsoo. They genuinely wanted to gain knowledge from a reputable industry senior in order to better themselves when they began treating their own patients at the clinic. There were no ulterior motives for their presence here, at least not by their volition.

Jongin recognized that he had absolutely no right to allow his bitter feelings towards Kim Junmyeon to affect Sunyoung and Sungyeol’s budding careers. That would just be petty.

And Jongin refused to let himself fall to that level.

At last, the artist grunted, “They can stay,” while trying not to let his tone sound too reluctant.

“So it’s a yes?” Junmyeon excitedly asked, looking to Kyungsoo for confirmation.

Kyungsoo glanced at Jongin, who gave the ophthalmologist the slightest of nods to indicate his consent, before nodding to his colleague. “Go ahead and send them in.”

Junmyeon’s eyes lit up, and he instantly turned around to motion for Sunyoung and Sungyeol to step into the examination room. They both bowed politely in greeting and grinned widely as they introduced themselves to both Kyungsoo and Jongin.

“I’m glad we finally get to meet, Dr. Park, Nurse Lee,” Kyungsoo said as he stood up while smoothly switching the artist’s file to his left hand so that he could use his dominant right hand to shake theirs. “I look forward to working with you both from now on.”

“The pleasure is ours, Dr. Do!” Sunyoung replied, bursting with excitement.

“Again, thank you for doing this, Kyungsoo! Sunyoung and Sungyeol will be learning from the very best in the industry!” Junmyeon then turned to the younger two and added, “Dr. Do graduated as the top student of our class! Valedictorian with full honors and every reputable hospital in the country wanted him on their payroll.”

“Wow, that’s amazing,” Sunyoung breathed out while Sungyeol’s eyes widened considerably. “We’re extremely honored to be working with you, Dr. Do!” the junior doctor said, deeply bowing again.

“Please teach us everything you know!” Sungyeol added as he followed suit.

Kyungsoo laughed while waving his free right hand in front of him in mild objection. “Thank you, but I’m really not as great as Dr. Kim is making me out to be. He’s just as capable as I am. Actually,” the ophthalmologist began tapping the right side of his chin as he looked at Junmyeon with a thoughtful expression, “he surpassed me long ago. He’s the head of surgery at our clinic for a reason. I just do paperwork most of the time.”

“No, Kyungsoo, don’t sell yourself short,” Junmyeon immediately protested. “The only reason I’m the head of surgery here is because you let me take that position. I’m not great at managing logistical and analytical work, and you took on the burden of doing all of it so that I wouldn’t have to, even though you thrive in the operating room. You’re not only the best ophthalmologist I know, but you’re also the kindest and most caring one in the entire field. Seriously, you’re the best of the best! Our clinic wouldn’t be half as successful as it is without you at the helm. We have such a strong foundation here because of you and your brilliant mind.”

Watching this blatant display of brown-nosing from Junmyeon almost made the artist regret agreeing to allow Sunyoung and Sungyeol to sit in, but Jongin did his best to rein in his irritation. There was no point in punishing those two because of how much he disliked the other ophthalmologist. Although it wasn’t easy to sit and listen to Junmyeon blither on and on about how kindhearted and amazing Kyungsoo was, the artist knew that he had to tolerate it for just a bit longer. Soon, the other ophthalmologist would be gone and everything would be back to normal.

Sensing that Jongin was fidgeting more and more in his seat, Kyungsoo decided to wrap things up as he said to his colleague, “We’re a good team, Junmyeon. That’s why we’ve been so successful over the years.” He faced Sunyoung and Sungyeol, who were looking at him with eager eyes, before continuing, “And our team is much stronger now with you two on board.”

“We’ll do our best, Dr. Do!” Sunyoung promised with a sharp salute.

“We won’t let you down!” Sungyeol added.

Kyungsoo chuckled again, saying, “You two will do just fine,” while gesturing for the enthusiastic newcomers to move to the left side of the examination room for their sit-in. He looked at Junmyeon again, whose smile was as wide as the moon, and asked, “By the way, when is your next appointment, Junmyeon?”

The other ophthalmologist hastily checked his wristwatch for the time and then let out a loud yelp. “Oh no, I’ve got five minutes to get ready for my next patient. Hopefully Eunji already has everything prepared. Thanks for the reminder, Kyungsoo!”

“Not a problem, Junmyeon,” he replied, smiling in amusement while inwardly sighing with relief.

“Alright, have fun and don’t hesitate to ask Kyungsoo any questions you might have about anything,” Junmyeon said to Sunyoung and Sungyeol. “There’s no need to feel uncomfortable about asking for help around here and, like I said, Dr. Do is the best man around. I’ll see you both tomorrow for surgical training.”

“Yes, sir!” the two gleefully chorused.

“See you later, Kyungsoo!” Junmyeon beamed brightly—specifically at Kyungsoo, the artist noticed in exasperation—before stepping out of the examination room and sliding the wooden door shut.

Once the other ophthalmologist was finally gone, Jongin let out an audible sigh of relief and his body slumped into the black examination chair. At last, some peace and quiet.

Kyungsoo sat back down on his wheelie stool before looking over at his patient and murmuring to Jongin, softly enough so that Sunyoung and Sungyeol wouldn’t be able to hear, “I promise to make this as painless and unobtrusive as possible. If, for whatever reason, you start feeling uncomfortable during the examination, please let me know and I’ll remedy it immediately.”

“Thanks,” the artist nodded, “I will.”

Now that Kim Junmyeon was no longer in the room, Jongin allowed his body to relax and he tried to ignore Sunyoung and Sungyeol’s curious gazes. The bitterness in his mouth dissipated bit by bit while his heart rate considerably slowed down.

All he needed to do was successfully bear the two newcomers’ scrutiny for the next twenty minutes. That was simple enough. He just had to stay calm, keep his mouth shut, and follow Kyungsoo’s instructions.

Sunyoung and Sungyeol weren’t here to judge him. It was nothing personal.

Besides, Kyungsoo would protect him. So there really was no reason to worry. No reason at all.

♈♈♈