two worlds: jaeyong

14

mark and johnny went out of the dining hall, talking and laughing from their conversation. the younger then saw a familiar figure in the field, sitting in the tall grass.

"hyung, you can go ahead, i have something to do," mark runs to the figure.

donghyuck closes his eyes against that cool breeze. after the stressful week, this was a good distraction from all the chaos.

"mind if i join?" he hears a voice from behind him. turning around and seeing the soldier, he smiles.

"not at all," and mark sits down next to him. "wait... aren't you supposed to be locked up somewhere?"

"first of all, it's solitary confinement. and two, no because we got released early. turns out doyoung hyung is a very good speaker."

"that's good," donghyuck smiles at the thought.

"how's the medicube? after everything, you guys are the ones who i think are the most affected?" mark asked with a concerned look.

"the president is in a good and stable condition so we're just waiting for him to wake up."

"good," and the air is quiet again.

"donghyuck, i saw your reaction to when the explosion happened at the training field."

the resident flinches at what the older says and slowly faces him. mark grabs his hands lightly and squeezes them to provide comfort and continues talking.

"it's something related to trauma right? it reminded me of one of my friends when they saw a light bulb explode."

donghyuck nodded and gulped before talking. it took his hyungs a lot of convincing to tell them about his past.

"i have a trauma with anything explosive. it happened when i was 16 but what happened was a gas stove had been left on in our apartment so it exploded. i was fine because since we lived on the 2nd floor, i could jump out without much injury, just a few minor cuts and bruises. but my parents were in bad condition. my mom ended up being paralyzed on both her legs, so she has to be in a wheelchair while my dad only has scars on his back."

he looks at the older, who has an apologetic look on his face.

"but don't worry, they're back to their lives and because of that, it gave me the push i needed to go fully in committing into this."

up until now, mark had never realized how mature the younger is, despite him being the youngest. he was away from home in an unknown place for a long period of time, has close to no access back home, and is trying to come over his trauma from the environment.

the younger blushes at how intently the soldier was staring at him, making mark snap out of his daydream.

"so you said you said that you're a resident, how many years left?" the older asks the question to try to relieve the awkward tension.

"well, i'm in my 2nd year but the time i spend here can actually count towards one year of a residency completed so by the time i return, i'll be in my 3rd year. so then, only 2 left."

"i have to be honest, i have so much respect for doctors," mark states. "they have to go through so many years of studying before being able to go into the profession all in."

"yeah, but i'm sure it's the same in the military right?" donghyuck asks. "you have to build yourself from the bottom to up."

"yeah, you start off as any regular soldier and despite the strenuous training, if it means a lot to you, then it all becomes a bit more bearable. in fact, it took me 4 years to get to where i am now."