But Beautiful

part 28

“Good morning,” Soojung greeted Jungkook when he entered the facility. He smiled, bowing at her before she gestured for him to follow. “I’ll take you to check in with Dr. Yoo. He’s been a bit crabby this morning, but probably because something happened yesterday that caused him to fire Dr. Lim. I was shocked, they’ve worked together for ages.”

Jungkook felt a bit uneasy, taking a deep breath before replying, “yeah, I might have had something to do with that.”

“What? What happened?”

“Dr. Lim took Taehyung’s personal belongings and sent him to solitary because he thought the things he wrote in his journal were wrong. Then he put in a call to my university to tell them I was having an inappropriate relationship with a patient. He was trying to get me away from Taehyung because he’s so jealous that I’ve made progress with him that he’s trying to ruin my future,” the resident explained, shoulders sagging as the topic made him feel drained already and it was only eight in the morning.

“Wow,” the woman replied, shaking her head. “I knew he could be childish but that’s a whole new level of low. Did Dr. Yoo call the university to explain the situation?”

“He said he’d take care of it.”

“I’m sure he has, then,” Soojung assured him, stopping outside of his door. “Have a good day! I’ll probably run into you later,” she continued, waving at him. The gleam off of her acrylic nails and the sound of them clicking together as her fingers wiggled her goodbye caused him to laugh a little. Honestly, how does she work with those? He mused to himself.

“Dr. Yoo,” Jungkook began when he stepped into his office, “good morning.”

“Morning,” the older man grumbled before gulping down coffee from his thermos. “I’ll sign you in. You can do morning rounds and start the first group with physio. I have three others, two residents and one physician, coming to assist. I want you to lead by example, especially with one of the residents, who is on their first year. You’re a good doctor, Jungkook, whether or not you have a license.”

Jungkook’s cheeks colored with the compliment, a blush spreading over them as he bowed. “Thank you, sir. Your praise is such an honor.”

“I wouldn’t say it if I didn’t mean it,” his mentor replied, waving a hand.

“Speaking of residency, though,” Jungkook started, voice uneasy, “have you had a chance to contact-”

“Juwon was bluffing,” the doctor interjected. “He didn’t make any calls. I called to ask about any complaints or calls in from him and they denied receiving any. I did, however, give my assessment of your work here and told them how impressed I am with you.”

“Ah, thank you,” Jungkook answered, bowing again. “I worried about it all night.”

“No need to worry,” the man started, waving him off. “Now get going and make sure the patients get ready for treatment.”

“Yes, sir,” Jungkook said, turning to walk towards the treatment area. He slowed in front of the social room, glancing in with a smile as he saw Taehyung sitting in the corner, a smudge of paint on his cheek as he concentrated on marking the canvas with broad strokes of his paintbrush. Jungkook watched for a moment, the painter not looking up once before he continued on his way, getting the room ready for the first group of patients for the day.

           _____________________

It was after lunch when Jungkook saw Taehyung again, the man having been seated in the treatment area waiting for him to arrive. He stared at the ground, feet dangling off the side of the bench as he picked at his sweatshirt. He had his notebook right beside him, tucked half under his thigh.