two worlds: jaeyong

41

the next day was the start of a new series of challenges and to prepare everyone, taeyong had arranged for all the people staying at the base to meet him in the dining hall for a small update lecture.

"since last night, we have had a confirmed case of the m3 virus, both in a patient and in a doctor," taeyong announces to everyone in the room. "starting from today, the chasa military base is the testing and treatment facility set up by the who. we have a shortage of medical professionals but the us military base will be sending us some nurses and lab workers to help with this situation. i also am ordering a base-wide testing ordeal to happen today and so we will be calling by units. if your unit has been called, report to the dining hall and be ready to have your blood drawn."

he clears his throat before continuing.

"the who has not declared this as a virus outbreak or as an epidemic, so it is at a relatively small scale but i still want everyone wear a mask when possible and free masks are provided. daily temperature checks should also be done and so thermometers and covers will be given to each barrack as well."

taeyong can see the panic in the others and so he backpedals.

"please, don't panic. as long as everyone follows the procedures, then we will be fine and prevent the spread of the virus any further."

once everyone disperses, taeyong is setting up the testing station when he feels a tap on the shoulder.

"oh mark, did you need something?"

"is donghyuck alright," the soldier asks with a concerned look. "i heard he went into quarantine, did he test positive?"

"donghyuck is in quarantine but he doesn't have any serious symptoms. he just had a cough and a fever but another thing is he came into close contact with the patient so we want to keep him in longer just in case."

"then, could i visit him? i promise that i will follow whatever guidelines, just please, i want to see him at least once."

taeyong usually wouldn't let anyone enter into the quarantine ward if they aren't a medical professional but something about mark made him say yes.

"fine, meet me at here after lunch then we can go."

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"keep the mask on, do not take the gown off, and do not say anything to keep his mood down, donghyuck is already in a not so good emotional state already," taeyong instructs the young soldier, who just nods to what the older has to say. "ok, then go in."

mark opens the door to the quarantine area where donghyuck is and through the clear curtains, he can see the young male sleeping soundly in his bed with the iv wires connected all over him. next to him lay the still unconscious patient they have still yet been able to identify.

he opens the curtain and carefully sits in the chair next to the resident's bed, taking his gloves hand over donghyuck's own warm one.

"mark?"

donghyuck opens his eyes slowly and he squints as they get adjusted to the bright light.

"why are you here? taeyong hyung almost doesn't allow anyone here," the younger is still confused at why the first person he sees is mark's, not that he's complaining though.

"he said i'm a special case so i could come see you," the soldier winks and he manages to get a small smile out of the other. "how are you feeling, better?"

"my cough is better but my fever isn't going down. besides that, nothing."

nodding, mark squeezes the small hand in his and looks into donghyuck's bright eyes, still so full of energy even when he's in this situation.

"i look terrible right," donghyuck blushes at the hard stare the soldier gives him.

"no, i'm just amazed at how cute and bright you still look, you really are a full sun," and mark smiles when he can see donghyuck's cheeks turn even redder. "but donghyuck, can i ask you something serious for a second?"

"yes mark, you have to put the oil first when frying an egg," the resident jokes before pulling a serious face. "but all jokes aside, go ahead."

"haechan, since coming to chasa, all i ever saw was the burning sun, sandy mountains, and a lot of fighting. it's what i had to see as a soldier and so caring about anything but my career wasn't in my thoughts. but then you came, and the moment you came here, all i could think about was how everything became brighter, everything was sunny because the sun had come to me."

he moves his hand up to the younger's cheeks and pokes them a little bit, making him giggle a little bit before going back to grasp his hands.

"you are the best thing that's ever happened to me and that's why i want to tell you now, i like you and it's becoming love now. and i want to know if you feel the same way or not."

donghyuck can feel his heart race and that causes the heart monitor to show the heart rate going up.

"donghyuck, are you ok, your heart rate is going up-"

"because i like you too, mark lee. you made me feel at peace coming to a strange place and helped me get over my trauma. during the times when i was down and at a low, you were the person to help me get out of that and go back to normal."

"is donghyuck ok, his heart rate went up fast," sicheng looks through the window but when he turns to taeyong, he sees him crying. "are you crying?!"

"yes, because my child finally has his first boyfriend and i am so proud of him," the doctor wipes his eyes. "now, what are we gonna do with you and yuta?"

"well, won't you look at that, the new box of vaccines came here," the nurse runs away, making taeyong laugh hard at the reaction.

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"how are you feeling," johnny approaches his friend, who just sits outside looking into the distance.

"tired, with all the vaccines we're giving and drawing blood, it's a lot of work," doyoung answers in a monotone voice. "how's it going for you?"

"besides having to yell at some of my soldiers to wear their masks, nothing," the american laughs a bit. "taeil will be fine right?"

"well, he's not showing any major symptoms so he should be ok," the anesthesiologist sighs.

"then shouldn't he be fine? isn't it going to be like the flu, the younger you are, the better your immune system is so the better the recovery rate?"

"that's the irony about this," doyoung laughs in a depressed way. "usually, it would be like that but for the m type virus, the immune system is going to fight against the virus even harder and so the situation can get more complicated from here."

"and what does that mean? is there a cure for m3?"

"no, and so for all we know, we have to prepare for the worst-case scenarios." 

"and why are you so calm about this, isn't this your boyfriend we're talking about," johnny is amazed at how little emotion doyoung is showing. if this was ten, he would be by the other's side 24/7 and crying in his extra time. 

"because a virus is a battle for the doctors, we don't know what the outcome is until the shots have been fired. and right now, we're only loading our weapons."