Junsu stepped out of his room, still yawning with half-lidded eyes. He walked down the stairs and found his brothers were already sitting on the couch with serious faces. Junsu creased his forehead as he looked at the watch on his wrist. What were they discussing on 6.30-ish  in the morning, and moreover, leaving him out of it?

“What are you discussing so early?” he made his presence known by his high-pitched voice. The other two looked at him with different expressions. Jaejoong gave him blank stare, as if his mind was elsewhere. While Yoochun, on the other hand, smiled mischievously—which made Junsu immediately sat beside Yoochun, facing the eldest.

“What is it? What is it?” the dolphin asked in sudden excitement. Jaejoong sighed as Yoochun revealed, “Our hyung is going to chase a girl.”

“Really? Finally!” Junsu squeaked. “Haejin-ssi still doesn’t know this, does she?” he innocently asked.

Jaejoong’s eyes widened in shock. He was even more shocked when he saw Yoochun casually nodded, replying to Junsu. “You knew? You both knew??” Jaejoong pointed the two sitting in front of him.

“It’s not that hard to notice, hyung,” the youngest giggled, followed by Yoochun. Jaejoong palmed his face.

Suddenly Junsu was reminded of something. “Ah! I almost forgot! You better be prepared, hyung. Haejin-ssi is going to pick us up for breakfast this morning.”

“How do you know?” Jaejoong raised his eyebrows.

“Jaeyeon—” the sound of bell cut him off. The three of them fell silent and stared at each other. On the next second, Jaejoong suddenly went panic. He repeatedly mumbled ‘what should I do, what should I do’, which left his two brothers left in complete amusement.

The bell rang for the second time, calling back their senses. Junsu smacked Jaejoong on his arm as an encouragement before leaving to get the door. The latter already stopped panicking, but he was still nervous as hell. He couldn’t control his heartbeat ever since he admitted to himself that he liked her. Understanding his hyung’s first time after a quite while genuinely liking a girl, Yoochun put his arm around Jaejoong’s shoulder.

“Relax, hyung. It’s not like you’re confessing,” Yoochun calmed him. After Jaejoong could steady his breathing, they walked to the door.

“Morning, Haejin-ssi!” Yoochun greeted her first. She nodded as she replied the greeting. She shifted her gaze to his side.

“Morning, Jaejoong-ssi,” she smiled. Strangely, he felt the nervous feeling slowly faded.

He smiled, “Morning.” Then the four of them headed to the main house, with Yoochun and Junsu tried their best not to grin.

♦♦♦

And so for the first time, the billion-dollar heartthrob got to learn what it was like to chase after someone. He learned how to smile first, not being smiled at. He learned how to approach first, not to walk away. He learned how to look for, not to push away. He learned how to notice someone’s likes and dislikes, not the other way round. And he was amazed when he found out how natural it felt to hear her voice, or to smell her scent. Even her presence was slowly becoming a natural need for him.

He was looking at his ceiling one night, thinking. I never understand how people can tell when they’ve found the one. I wonder… Is this it?

A smile unconsciously crept up his flawless face as he fell into a deep, peaceful sleep.

♦♦♦

Ten days went barely unnoticed for Jaejoong, as he grew more and more interest in her. Now, he would get up early and wait for the bell, expecting to see a girl with long dark-brown hair. He would come and talk to her, or tag along if she didn’t mind. Well, she never did, though. Just like today when she was about to leave the main house, he met her at the door. He just got back from a morning walk with his cat.

“Haejin-ssi, where are you going?” he said when their gaze met.

“I’m going for morning round on the staffs and logistics. You went for morning walk?” she asked, although it sounded more like confirming. He nodded nonetheless.

Suddenly, the cat in his arms jerked off. “AH!” Jaejoong exclaimed in shock. Haejin also jolted when that grey cat abruptly made its way out of its owner hands. Both of them immediately dashed out, intending to catch it. It turned out the cat was innocently running after a butterfly, having its own happy time.

“Jiji-yah!” Jaejoong yelled, but had no intention to come after it. Next to him, Haejin laughed at how the cat and the owner somehow looked similar.

She was about to excuse herself when she turned her head and saw a line of opened skin on his arm, exposing a bit of his flesh.

“Jaejoong-ssi, you’re hurt! It’s bleeding,” she gasped. Jaejoong looked at his injured arm, just noticing it.

“Aish, that punk,” he hissed. Haejin took his other arm and pulled him along. “Haejin-ssi, where are we going? Aren’t you supposed to—”

“We need to sterilize the wound quickly, otherwise it’s going to be infected,” she cut him off while taking him to the left compartment of the main house. She stopped in front of a glass door and swiped her ID card. He looked at the letters on the front wall: Medical Unit.

Once they entered, Haejin made him sit on the mattress. Jaejoong looked around the room which was fully equipped, almost making him think he was in the hospital already. She washed her hands and put on medical gloves. Heading to the cabinet, she took a syringe and filled the tube with liquid.

“I’m going to inject local anesthetic. Give me your arm, please,” she said as she pointed a stand in front of him, telling him to put his arm on it. He did as she told.

She injected slightly on few spots. “You’ll need a few stitches, but very few, so no worries,” she said after briefly observing the wound. Haejin went back to the cabinet and prepared surgical needle, thread, needle holder, disinfectant, and antibacterial liquid.

Jaejoong was sitting silently, finding himself gazing at her figure in total awe. He knew she was a doctor—a brilliant one—but he never thought seeing her actually doing it would feel like this. Her movements was quick and precise, yet she looked as calm as ever. As if those movements were reflexes or habits. Even when she was suturing his skin, he couldn’t care less about the wound. His eyes were fixed on her, as she thoroughly closed the incision, applied the antibiotic ointment, and finally covered the perfectly done stitches with a bandage. She carefully placed the bandage and pressed it lightly on the sides.

All of a sudden, out of the blue, Jaejoong felt déjà vu. He blinked twice, as it felt too real, as if it really did happen. But he chose to shrug it off, since well, déjà vu was supposed to feel real, wasn’t it?

“There,” she said with a smile as she looked up. Her smile faded as soon as she met his black orbs which were already on hers. She didn’t startle, and he didn’t move. They stayed like that for what he felt like 10 seconds.

She broke it first by blinking and smiling. “It’s only three stitches. You have to keep it away from water. I’ve put on a waterproof bandage, but still, just be careful when you shower. I’ll keep checking on it, and don’t worry, I’ll make sure it won’t leave any scar,” she explained as she put the used tools together. There it was, that déjà vu feeling again.

Jaejoong nodded, but his eyes never left hers. Even after she broke their gaze, he kept looking at her, as if trying to convey his feelings through them. Realizing he wouldn’t move his eyes, Haejin stopped tidying things up. Instead of avoiding, she looked back.

“Is there anything you want to say, Jaejoong-ssi?” she asked.

His lips parted, but they were quickly closed again. His feelings nearly slipped off his tongue if but he held it. He didn’t want to scare her away. Not yet. After having internal battle in his mind for 3 seconds, he said, “Thank you.”

Haejin blinked. “You’re very welcome, it’s my job. Is that all?” she asked again, sensing he was holding back.

Jaejoong hesitated, but managed to reply, “Yes, that is all.”

She paused before saying, “Okay.” She then continued where she left off, and left the Medical Unit along with Jaejoong.

“I should get going, then. Remember, keep it away from water, okay?” Haejin reminded him as she pointed his arm.

She bowed after Jaejoong nodded, and left. He let out a long exhale as soon as she was out of sight. He slowly massaged his temple while muttering, “Behave yourself, Kim Jaejoong…”

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