The heavy metal door opened abruptly and the air around Amina, jolting her from where she stood in the entrance way.  She took a tiny step backwards to right herself and proceeded to bow deeply.  "Annyeonghaseyo... My name is Eun Amina.  I'm with..." Amina paused for a split second as her eyes met her greeter.  She recognized him immediately and her heart skipped a beat because she now knew the identity of her patient. Her lips parted slightly in surprise.  "I'm with...," she began again, "Seoul National University Hospital.  I'm here accompanying Dr. June Park for today's appointment." 

Seungri, on the other hand, was slow to re-act.  Laughing moments before, the smile on his face still lingered as he took in the girl standing before him.  Although she was dressed simply and looked unassuming, there was no denying her beauty.  Her nose was slightly pert on her heart-shaped face.  Her top lip was slightly fuller than her bottom lip, but both were equally pinkish red as if she had been biting on them all morning.  She had slightly arched eyebrows and thick black eyelashes that framed her expressive brown eyes.  Her hair, tied back in a low bun, only accentuated her soft cheekbones.  He couldn't see the rest of her body under the heavy coat, but he could tell she was petite - no taller than 5'2". 

After several moments of awkward silence, Amina tentatively asked, "May I come in?"

A blush crept up Seungri's neck when he realized that he'd been caught staring. He bit his lip to stop himself from further smiling like an idiot and bowed deeply several times.  "Mianhaeyo, mianhaeyo... please come in." 

Seungri's expressive apology made Amina smile shyly.  When she debuted, she had experienced similar reactions from old creepy men or gawky teenage boys, but they usually didn't stare so openly at her.  She had her mother's looks, so it was something she aware of and downplayed all her life.  She kindly diverted her eyes so he could compose himself.

Amina took that opportunity to survey her surroundings. It was very modern and masculine.  The smell of Seungri's expensive cologne lingered, but the rest of the apartment smelled clean and airy.  At that moment, Boram came out of his room to see if the visitors he was expecting had arrived or not.  Once he spotted Amina, he exchanged words of greeting and motioned for her to come further into the living area.  "I expect you're here for the care-taker position?  Where is Dr. Park?"

"Yes I am.  Dr. Park is running a couple of minutes late, but will be here soon."

"Very well then, please take a seat and I'll see if Youngbae is ready for the appointment. Seungri?" Boram inquired when he realized the maknae was still standing and staring at their guest.  "Don't you have somewhere to go?"

"Huh?... Yes," Seungri scowled, "I'm leaving."  He turned towards Amina.  "So, you're really a nurse?" he laughed. "Well, I'll be damned..."

"Um, not exactly.  More like a physician assistant..."  Amina hoped her little lie wasn't too far off the mark.  She couldn't tell what was so funny.

Seungri extended his hand and held onto hers.  He smiled and gazed into her eyes.  "Well, it was nice meeting you.  Since you're working with Youngbae hyung, I guess I'll see you around then.  Annyeong."

"Annyeong," replied Amina.  It took a few seconds longer before he finally released her hand.  The moment was so awkward; Amina couldn't help but return his smile.  The maknae was cute with a y undertone.  He had a twinkle in his eyes and Amina could see why he was such a ladies' man. He took his leave and Amina was left to herself in the living area. 

Boram moved down the hallway and soon Amina heard low masculine voices, but couldn't make out what they were saying.  After taking off her coat, Amina smoothed down her hair and grabbed her purse to put on more lip balm.  She re-checked her phone again for messages and brought out her notepad and pen.  The sound of water running and doors opening and closing in the apartment could be heard faintly.  After the fifth random doodle, Amina grabbed her scribbles, crumbled them up, and shoved it deep down her bag.  Stop fidgeting!  Why are you nervous? You can do this... don't act like an idiot.  He's just a guy.  A regular... normal... guy. Amina kept chanting the words to herself and eventually the nerves went away.  She needed to remain professional.  Her career depended upon this job.

Moments later, Boram walked into the living room and Amina stood up upon seeing him.  "Please follow me."

They walked down the dark hallway and passed several doors before turning right.  Upon reaching their destination, Boram quietly knocked and motioned for Amina to follow him.  Bright sunlight flooded the hallway as the door opened wider.  "Youngbae-shi... this is Eun Amina, from Seoul National University Hospital.  She will be assisting Dr. Park during your recovery."

"Annyeonghaseyo..." Amina replied and bowed deeply.  Because she was busy greeting, she missed the silent exchange between Boram and Youngbae.   Boram wriggled his eyebrows and waved his index finger in warning.  "Behave!" he mouthed, and Youngbae crinkled his own eyebrows in disbelief and grinned at his manager's odd behavior.  Really? he thought to himself.  What was so...?

And then he knew as soon as he could see her face clearly.  She was definitely not the ajumma that he expected.  Youngbae schooled his features and politely returned the bow as best as he could while sitting upright in bed. Boss appeared from the walk-in closet and made his way towards Amina, sniffing her ankles and drawing her attention to him.  To Boss's delight, Amina kneeled down to his level to greet him.  When Boss started to jump up and attempted to her face, Youngbae chimed "Yah!  Get down! Mianhae... he's usually more behaved than that." Like an embarrassed parent, Youngbae smiled apologetically. 

His eye smile caused her heart to flutter slightly.  "It's ok... I don't mind," Amina said and looked quickly back at Boss.  She couldn't seem to face him fully just yet.  While she was good at controlling her emotions and features, her eyes were another matter - they were too expressive.  Just like the old saying, her eyes were the windows to her soul.  She could never hide what she was truly feeling inside, even if her actions showed otherwise.  She needed to get it under control before he believed she was a crazy fan inside his room.

Work.  That's what she needed to do in order to block out the nervousness she was feeling just then.  She refocused and lifted her eyes to meet his.  She her lips and started.  "Dr. Park is slightly behind scheduled this morning and has asked that I proceed with the exam until she gets here.  Is that alright with you?"

"Sure, that's fine with me."

At that moment, Boram excused himself to take Boss out for his daily stroll and left Amina and Youngbae alone in the room.  She sat her equipment and bag near the head of the bed, near the bright window, and pulled out her tablet.  There was no where to sit, so she stood awkwardly in the middle of the bedroom while she waited for her tablet to power up. She glanced briefly around the room through the corner of her eyes.  She could see it was bright and clean, but was a bit cluttered due to the CDs, collection figurines, and baseball caps he amassed throughout the years.  His bed was pushed up against the wall towards her left, and was surrounded by a Laura Ashley-type of wallpaper.  It contrasted oddly against the other items in the room but the overall affect was homey, comfortable, and simple. 

Amina could see Youngbae sitting in the middle of his bed, in a black t-shirt and loose grey sweatpants.  His hair, frizzy from having the cornrows unbraided, was pulled away from his face into a short ponytail at the crown of his head.  His looks had changed drastically from earlier this year, to a throw-back version of his earlier Big Bang days. He looked thuggish, but sweet - a contrast she couldn't help but notice.

He looked at her expectantly.

'I'm going to start by asking you some standard questions, ok?"

"Ok.  Do you want to sit down?  Here, I'll move over..."  Youngbae shifted in the bed slightly and the gap in his sleeveless black t-shirt expanded slightly, revealing toned and tan abs and the bandages that held his left arm against his torso. 

Amina felt herself blush slightly.  "Thank you." She sat gingerly near the middle of the bed and did her best to appear nonchalant when her hip rested against his left knee. She began reading down her list of questions and marked down the answers as he relayed them to her.  The more questions she asked, the calmer she became. 

"Do you smoke?"

"No."

"Do you drink?  If so, how many times would you say so in a week?"

"No, I don't drink."

Her head snapped up and she looked at him in the eye.  "Ever?"

"Maybe once or twice a year socially, but I rarely drink ever."

Amina nodded.  Having worked with Dr. Park for the past couple of years, Amina found out many half-truths from idols stars and political figures.  Superstars were known to lie from time to time in magazines and newspapers, but they usually fessed up when it came to medical situations.  It pleased her inside to know that Youngbae kept true to his word.

"Great.  Now I just need to take your blood pressure."  She grabbed the small portable machine from her equipment bag and found a power outlet near the lamp table.  Unfortunately, the machine's cord wasn't long enough and barely made it back towards the bed.  "Aigoo... “She worried her bottom lip while she figured out what to do.  "Do you have any other power outlets?  How about on the other side of your bed - against the wall?"

"That's the closest outlet that I have in this room, aside from the one next to the door or closet."

"I should have brought the other machine with the longer cord," she apologetically said, "I need to have you move a little closer then so this machine can reach."

Youngbae shifted towards the edge of the bed.  "Do you want me to just get out of bed and move closer?"

"No, I really need you to keep your right leg elevated to keep the blood circulating.  I'll move up."  Amina trapped the machine between her thighs while she moved closer to him, near the head of the bed.  She twisted sideways towards his right arm that lay near the wall and her s accidentally brushed up against his chest.  He inhaled sharply.

"Miahnae." Amina gritted out and ducked her head, utterly embarrassed.  She resisted the urge to jump away from him and continued with her examination.  She quickly wrapped the pressure cuff on his right arm.  His skin was warm; the firm muscles underneath her fingers flexed involuntarily when she touched him. The veins on his arm and hand were prominent due to the numerous exercising sessions that Youngbae was known for.  Amina could see a tiny portion of the large cross tattoo that was engraved along the side of his right torso. Her fingers itched to explore the markings, but she restrained and returned to the task at hand.  She tightened the cuff on his upper right arm and got lost in his scent. He smelled like minty toothpaste and ....warm clean linen sheets? She couldn't quite put her finger on it.

She reached back to push the start button and blushed deeply as she came face to face with his broad chest.  She looked up slightly and could see the stubble on his chin and lower broad jaw because he hadn't shaved and his lips appeared supple and soft. Amina was thankful the buzzing sound from the blood pressure machine drowned out the sounds of her beating heart.  It was beating so fast and so loud, she was sure the neighborhood could hear it. 

He hadn't been this close to a girl in a long time. His experiences had always been work related, on stage, or for a music video. This, however, was real. Or about as real as he'd ever gotten with the opposite . He wished he had his sunshades on because he wanted to take his time looking at her. But from what he could see, he was intrigued. She didn't look Korean, yet she spoke the language eloquently. Her mannerisms were impeccable, her posture rim rod straight. He felt a little nervous around her, which was odd considering they were in his territory - his own room. But she gave off an aura of grace and sophistication that was beyond her age, something different than the girls he befriended throughout the years.

Amina was still pressed up against his left side, waiting for the blood pressure machine to finish.  Heat radiated from Amina's thin blouse onto him and his body welcomed her warmth. She wasn't willowy or model skinny, but lean with ample curves in the right places. From his angle on the bed, Youngbae couldn't help but notice her lacy bra cups peeping through the gap of her button down shirt. Her s, high and full, created the gap every time she breathed in or out. He felt himself breathing in sync with her and mentally kicked himself, forcing his eyes to look straight ahead.

He felt intoxicated by her presence. She smelled peachy and citrusy, but not overly done. Her hairstyle was too severe for his tastes. He imagined how it would look like if she let it down, how it would feel if he ran his fingers through it, how it would feel if she slid it across his chest, down his torso...

"Mmm... pretty good," Amina replied.

"Huh?"

"Your blood pressure... the results are pretty good. Your heartbeat looks fine too, a little bit fast but it's probably due to the medication you're taking." Amina reached around him to remove the pressure cuff and scooted off the bed to return the equipment back to her bag. There was a shuffle and voices coming from the main dorm entrance, "That must be Dr. Park."

Youngbae was glad for the commotion because he needed a moment to clear his thoughts.