But Beautiful

part 32

"Mom, can we talk?" Jungkook started, laying his keys down on the table before sitting, watching the woman rush around the kitchen to prepare tea.

"Uh oh. Last time you asked that you were telling me you fell for one of your patients," she laughed, turning the kettle on before moving to the table. "You look serious. Don't tell me something happened?" she asked, hesitant.

"Nothing bad," Jungkook said, looking at the woman with a sheepish smile. "But I am in a relationship with Taehyung," he continued, watching his mother's eyes widen. "I really like him so much, and I can't-"

"You're darn right you can't!" she cut him off, shock apparent on her face. "You can't be with a patient, Jungkook. You've come too far to make this sort of mistake. You're too smart to have done something so stupid!" she ranted, her hands thrown around. "Your father worked so hard so you wouldn't be crushed under the weight of student loans, you owe it to him and yourself not to let your years of hard work get thrown away over some patient! What if Dr. Yoo finds out? Or the medical board? Have you thought about any of this?"

Jungkook listened to her speech, remaining quiet until her breathing calmed and she fell silent. Taking a breath, he nodded, saying, "I get your concern, mom. But I don't think falling for someone is wrong, and it's not that I've fallen for a patient, but a human being."

"One that you wouldn't have met unless you were his doctor!"

"I get it," he replied, voice raising a little so it was heard over her. "But I have thought about everything and more. The medical board, my mentor, my license, my practice, my future, I have thought about it all!" he ended up shouting, unable to remain calm under the judgmental stare he received from his mother. "Do you think I would take something so lightly? That I wouldn't consider the options, the potential consequences, the threat of not getting licensed, of not being able to practice? Do you really think I'd throw away my future without having any sort of serious soul searching? Do you have that little faith in the man you raised?" he continued, hands balled into fists as his voice became quieter, adding, "and don't you even try to guilt trip me with dad. I know he worked hard for me to go to school. I know he wanted me to follow my dreams. I know he's the reason I'm where I am. I appreciate him, and you, so much for where I am today. But I won't let you tell me I owe it to him to ignore my heart. I don't owe that to anyone."

The woman stared at him, mouth opening and closing as she gawked. The kettle began to whistle, the only thing that broke her daze as she went to the kitchen to turn it off. "I don't even know what to say to you right now," she eventually spoke, shaking her head as she leaned against the counter. "If you think what you're doing right now isn't going to drastically change your future in a negative way, you're crazy. Assume for a minute that you're getting licensed and opening an office. What if a sweet, sensitive, lovely patient shows up and only trusts you to provide them care? Would you drop this man for the new patient? What's stopping you from falling for another, and then another, or more? You're so emotional, so empathetic that it makes you weak. A weak heart will never help you. It'll only blur the lines of objectivity, prevent you from keeping a professional relationship, make you too soft and cause a domino effect of unethical practice that will get your license revoked and end your medical career. You need to be a strong man, with strong morals, to see your patients as just patients. You can't be so weak-hearted."

Jungkook looked at her, the woman avoiding his eyes as she busied herself getting a cup of tea together. "I'm not weak. Having a good heart doesn't make you weak. The reason I chose physiatry over orthopedics is because I find my softness a strength, not a weakness. I want to treat the whole patient, not just an injury. You don't get to question my ability to remain objective or professional because all I want to do is provide the best care a patient can get. I don't understand how you can't know all of this, how you can't trust me with my own life."