escape call | minsung

xxii

the drive to his clinic seemed a lot longer to minho than usual, his eyes flitting away from the road to check his phone that lay silent in the passenger seat. his skin itched with nerves and he gnawed at his lips, completely on edge from that morning.

of course, maybe it was all in minho's head. maybe jisung was fine and he was overthinking.

but still.

as he pulled his car into the reserved parking outside of his clinic, he paused for a few moments, the silence of the car after it was turned off deafening. he got out, grabbing his bags and phone and scanning his keycard to enter the clinic.

felix was already waiting for him at the receptionist's desk, filing through a stack of papers. "minho hyung!" he exclaimed with his usually peppy tone, a bright smile making its way onto his face as he laid eyes on him.

minho tried to smile back, ruffling his coworkers hair as he put his phone onto the desk and snuck a glance at the papers in felix's hand. "good morning, lix. i'll change and be right back." he said, grabbing his scrubs from his bag and walking towards the staff room.

as soon as he came back, felix sent him another beaming smile. "we're quite free today, hyung!" he said, tilting his laptop to show him the excel sheet of the day that had no pre-booked appointments for that day. "so we would only be dealing with walk-ins if anything at all."

with a nod and an appreciative smile, minho typed a little smiley face into one of the cells in the excel sheets, glad that he wouldn't be too busy on a day where his mind wouldn't stop running haywire.

felix was a great distraction too, keeping most of the conversation that morning until near-noon. he spoke about having moved in recently with his boyfriend, changbin, and how it was both fun and challenging to enter another chapter in their lives.

the topic of conversation did make minho a bit on edge, slightly uncomfortable with the subject of romance and boyfriends. he didn't say anything to felix though, not wanting the excited gleam in his eyes to disappear (and also because he himself was not sure why he was feeling this way). so he just chipped in with an occasional "that's sweet" or a "he's that kind of guy?" where necessary.

felix was a great guy. they had met and become close in university, taking the same course and, as soon as they graduated, decided to open up a clinic together. to minho, felix was like a little brother — or even like a son at times. he preferred to take care of him and look out for him, while felix took charge of being the more energetic and socially active of the pair.

it was like they were two puzzle pieces fitting together, making it easier for them to get through the harsh reality of work life. in a way he was similar to jisung despite the two having never met.

after their lunchbreak, however, felix seemed to notice something was up.

"hyung, you've been zoning out so much at lunch. you usually don't talk as much as me, but today feels different." he said, his sunshine smile disappearing as a concerned look overtook his features. "is there something on your mind? or am i talking too much?"

minho's eyes widened, not expecting felix to pick up on anything different about his mood. "no! no, you're good. i like to hear you talk, actually." he sent him a smile, but it was weak and pulled his cheek muscles tightly.

felix gave him a look and minho caved.

"fine. there has been something—"

as soon as he started speaking, he was cut off by the ringing of the front bell of the clinic. felix rushed to the desk to open the door and a woman immediately stumbled in, holding a bundle of blankets.

her face was panic-stricken and minho stood up instantly to bring her inside. "please help me! my dog just fell unconscious and isn't waking up!!"

"you came to the right place." minho said, in a soothing voice, and gestured for her to follow him into the examination room, filing away any thoughts about his conversation with felix to the back of his mind for now.

hello. sorry for the late update, i got sick like 3 times in a row, died, and got resurrected again. my immune system has a personal vendetta against me :( but the fic is almost done ! hopefully i'll be able to update regularly after this chapter !

also lollapalooza jisung (my emo han hyperfixation is back) and kcon lino have been living in my mind rent free DksdjJSDKskdjo

stream social path and fly high !!

edit: the puppy is fine!