@✽ jaehyun l. "hopefully, i'll be the first and last on your list to literally fall— it's pretty embarrassing and painful on this end," yeji mentions with her smile turning quite bashful, a hand sheepishly scratching on her cheek before continuing jokingly, "but it'd be such a hassle if every girl you met fell this way, that's a lot of trips to the clinic or pharmacy." regardless of the level of importance, surely he had somewhere to go to, yet, despite her doubting his words, she chooses not to voice it out. although they've only just met, yeji has a feeling if she says anything more, it'll lead to an endless cycle of quarrels. nodding to his instruction, her grip around him is firm as she pulls herself up with his assistance, avoiding placing any pressure on her injured foot. after successfully getting back up, she looks up at him with a wide excited grin, "look, i didn't manage to drag you down with me!"
@✽ yeji h. beaming in relief that his joke hasn't been poor in reception, hyunjae reminds himself of the reality of the situation at hand. the girl is injured, and him smiling so widely, wouldn't be of good reception to anyone watching them on the street, and perhaps even, the one person whom he was actually trying to help. "i'm very relieved you found it funny— and besides, now i can actually have a list going? since you're the first— to fall, literally." he says in relief, before adding a chuckle in to the latter part of his statement. "also, nope. you're not holding me up at all. i literally had no plans today." hyunjae tells her, shaking his head. "okay, we're gonna try to stand up on the count of 3, okay?.." he tells her, gently draping her arm around his shoulder, whilst putting his own arm around her petite waist. "3, 2, 1.."
@✽ jaehyun l. yeji is unsure what she’s exactly apologising for, but she definitely knows she feels guilty for taking up his time. yet before she could explain, he reassures her not to causing her bottom lip to unconsciously jut out for a brief moment. even if he wouldn’t let her apologise, she still feels bad; surely he had other matters to attend to, but she was hindering him from going. though yeji unintentionally sends him a blank, unamused expression at first, it quickly transitions into an outburst of hearty laughter with her mood immediately shifting. "i'm sure they do, i have no doubt about that." she reassures him in between her little chortles, eyes forming into crescents when his remark rings in her mind for the second time. "no, no, don't be sorry! it made laugh," yeji waves her hand to dismiss his apology, flashing a teasing smile as she proceeds, "you can add me to that /very long/ list of girls who've fallen for you, but i guess, in my case it's very literal." with no other choice, she flashes him an apologetic smile while reluctantly nodding to his question, "i must be holding you up, i'm so sorry— but also thank you, if you weren't here, i would have been slowly crawling my way to the door."
@✽ yeji h. he gives her a soft smile, letting go of her hand after their gentle handshake. "sorry for what? for falling?" hyunjae asks her in confusion, his eyebrows raising slightly in question. he doesn't give her a chance to explain herself or clarify, answering his own inquiry. "don't be." hyunjae tells her, looking right back at her with some sudden, unnerving confidence. his lips then give a sheepish smile, one that's coy, but also goofy at the same time. "girls fall for me all the time. i'm quite used to it, it's the best form of flattery—" he cuts himself off, biting his lip, to prevent himself from stifling out into laughter—laughing at his ridiculous, failure of an attempt to be funny. "i'm sorry yeji." hyunjae apologizes, looking away in embarassment. straightening out his facial expression to that of one more neutral and calm, he looks back to her. "may i help you up? you can put your arm around me and lean on me. i'll help you to the clinic, which by the way, if there's any place to fall, 4 feet from the clinic door is pretty decent. pretty ideal."
@✽ jaehyun l. with her failed attempt to run away from her embarrassment—which has probably made her injury worse—all she could do was reluctantly accept his help, feeling awful at the thought of how much she's being an inconvenience to this kind stranger. based on the warmth she feels off her face, yeji consciously chooses to ignore the redness of her cheeks [and the tiny voice in her head telling her to run away] while looking up to finally meet his eyes with an awkward smile. "i'm yeji," she introduces herself rather timidly, shaking his hand, "it's nice to meet you, hyunjae...i'm really sorry you had to see that, by the way."
@✽ yeji h. "whoa-" he tries to catch her to try and soften her landing for the second time, but he doesn't react in time; the girl having moved away so fast. jaehyun gives her a stern look. "i think it's quite necessary.." he politely urges, before softening his demeanor. noticing how jumpy and avoidant the girl was acting, jaehyun wonders if he's being too disruptive, or if the stranger is weary of people she doesn't know. "please, can i help you? you've definitely twisted or sprained your ankle, seeing that you can't even put weight on it properly." he then holds out a hand for her to take and shake, or perhaps in this situation, the reverse order. "my name's jaehyun, but you can call me hyunjae."
@✽ jaehyun l. there were so many things that went wrong with yeji's day, small insignificant inconveniences which she didn't mind until they started to accumulate. much to her delight, her trip to the clinic was relatively short after collecting her mother's prescribed medicine, leaving her with only a few more errands to go. wanting to complete all her tasks, yeji hurriedly walks to her electric scooter only to lose her footing and falls immediately to the ground with a shriek, noticing far too late that she had been treading on slippery patches.
on days like these where nothing worked out, yeji believed it would take one final minor inconvenience to make her cry and this was it. she laughs at her stupidity for not being careful and out of embarrassment, while shedding a few tears as she winces in pain at how badly she twisted her ankle. though she tries to regain her composure once she notices a stranger rush to her, "y-yes! i'm perfectly fine," yeji exclaims, refusing to meet his eyes, horrified at the thought that someone had seen her little accident. "oh no, no. that's not necessary, thank you." she insists while attempting to stand back up out of panic, wanting to flee the scene only to land back on the ground, grimacing in pain.
@✽ yeji h. bowing out, jaehyun leaves the town's clinic, the refill prescription for his nightly sleeping pills obtained. placing the slip into his wallet so he wouldn't lose it, jaehyun is about to go to his car that's parked on the street. he takes a few steps, only a mere few feet away, when he hears someone yelp behind him. instantly, jaehyun turns around. a girl has fallen onto the snowy ground, grimacing in pain and on her side. he runs over, hurrying to see if she needs assistance. jaehyun nearly losing his balance in the process, not seeing the sheet of ice that had been under the snow. he skids to a stop, thankfully. it was no wonder that the girl had fallen.
"are you okay?" jaehyun asks. he first crouches and gathers her fallen bag that lies on the ground, bringing closer to her. he then carefully studies the girl's feet and legs, seeing if he could see any obvious signs of injury. "any pain anywhere? is it okay if i just roll up your pant legs, just to see if your ankles are okay?"
@✽ changwook j. "Of course, not many would make time to actually get themselves checked out," she shared as she continued to check his vitals and then shrugged slightly. "I don't know. I'm a doctor so I can check myself anytime I want and plus my nearest loved ones are like a hour or so drive away. So I have never really done that for anyone.... yet." After keying in what she have reportedly seen, she then moved on to get a sterilized tray with a couple of alcohol wipes, a syringe with a thin needle and a test tube. "I will be taking your blood and then in a couple of days, you will get your report back either by email or via phone by my nurse. You should certainly cut down on caffeine in the evenings. And do exercise regularly. It will help.. maybe you can do it with your wife, taking strolls or whatnots." With that said, she tied a rubber band around his bicep and then patted the space between the bicep and the flexor to make the vein pop. "Have you have any thought of conceiving?"
@✽ shiah y. Donghun sighed and stood, taking his daughter with in in his arms. The little girl snuggled against her daddy's chest and gripped onto his shirt in her tiny fists. He walked behind the nurse. He shivered. He hoped they could help him get better, and quick. He went into the room and sat his daughter in the chair on the side. He hoped up on the check up bed, sitting on the tissue paper that was there. He covered his mouth as he coughed. "Ugh, I haven't gotten sick in two years," he groaned.
@✽ nara k. The phrase, “despite their illnesses,” put a chill down his spine. He hoped that this check-up would be uneventful without any newfound illnesses. After all, the moment he got married, his body no longer belonged just to himself, but to his wife as well, and the family that the two of them hoped to grow and foster. “Rarity?” Changwook repeated with a mumble, “It should be the bare minimum for the people you love, right?” He gave the doctor his arm, letting her take his vitals as the two engaged in conversation about his health background. Changwook couldn’t help but chuckle nervously with the discussion, having to confess to his doctor, “Well, I do drink caffeine in the evenings on occasion - it helps when I’m grading papers and I guess I haven’t been exercising as regularly as I used to - though, I’ve been good not to drink heavily when I’m out with friends lately.” He looked down at his chest as she brought up his heart, “Huh, maybe I should be cutting down on caffeine if that’s the case, then.”
@✽ donghun l. [ TT i'm so bad i think i've said this every reply i've sent TT </3 ]
Shiah sighed a breath of relief as the man agreed to the check-up. It would have been a waste to have come all the way here in his condition for nothing. “That’s good to hear,” Shiah said with a smile as she waved at his daughter to come in as well. “Come on into the room, I’ll have your vitals checked out.”
@✽ changwook j. She exhaustingly bowed her head in greeting and gestured to the chair for him to take a seat before shifting her gaze to her computer screen. "That's good. it is always great to hear patients doing well despite their illnesses. Just a check up to give your spouse some peace of mind. That's a rarity in today's society, you know?", she chuckled softly and then took the strap to measure the blood pressure and then her other hand outstretched, waiting to take the man's bicep to put on the strap thingy. "wake up with backaches? i guess that must have come with the age. Have you been exercising lately or having drinks with caffeine in the evenings? well considering your age, you should look out for kidney stones, prostrate illnesses. Are you the type to drink heavily?" she looked over at the man, still waiting for that arm just so she could check that blood pressure of his. "not only that, we should keep mind of your heart too. comes with old age as well."
@✽ seoham p. the nurse entered upon receiving the signal from the call button and looked at the patient, simply smiling and nodding to say that she took the cue in stride before helping the man up from the examination bed. "Don't sound too happy, yeah? It could either go two ways; bad or good. Also don't go around breaking bones again. Otherwise i'm going to refer you out to this new hospital in town!" she yelled out while watching him being escorted out and then slumped into her ergonomic chair with a huge sigh. "Silly boy. Forever breaking every part of him." With a small chuckle emitting from her lips, she returned to type the synopsis and then typed a few more reports to close off for the day.
Donghun nodded, too sick to argue, or pull his usual 'I'm an independent man, I don't need anyone' schtick he'd usually pull if he was feeling better. That's just how he was. He was hard and tough and didn't want anyone's help or pity. He took care of himself. And others, too. It's been like that since he was a kid. It's even more so the case now that he lives with only his daughter. "I don't wanna make her sick, either," he groaned.
@✽ nara k. Changwook took a glance at her badge that labeled her as, "Dr. Kwon," alongside a photo id of her looking more energetic than she seemed to be today. He could relate to her lack of energy and proceeded to address her respectfully, "That's great to hear, Dr. Kwon. I'm doing pretty good myself." He gave a light chuckle as he stretched his shoulders. "There isn't much that I'm concerned about, just doing a check-up to give the wife some peace of mind," He answered to her questions, "If anything, I guess I wake up with backaches if I don't sleep properly. Is there anything I should be extra aware of during this check-up?"
@✽ donghun l. [(hides face) pls forgive me, i'm on my knees TT a hh,, i need to start doing replies in order of length istg]
Shiah shook her head and waved at the patient. "It's okay if you don't have insurance," She explained, "We just need that information to know who to bill. Don't worry about the cost, we can waive it if you can't afford it." She took the clipboard from him and double-checked it for important information. "Please, let's get these sniffles checked out - I don't want your little girl to get sick, either," She pleaded with a smile.
@✽ nara k. The lad opened his mouth briefly to speak, but he wouldn’t dare interrupt Dr. Kwon, not when she was being stern with him and threatened a visit to the hospital if he didn’t take care of his injury. “Y-yes, ma’am…” Seoham blinks at the sound of the call button, nodding as he spoke. “Well, I’m lucky that I have two roommates to keep me alive and away from any accide—” The nurse, one he was familiar with, arrived and he turned to face her, lightly sticking out his arm as a random signal before getting off the medical bed to follow her to get his brace fitted. Right as he reached the door, he swiftly turned (careful with his arm of course), speaking loudly. “Thanks, Doc!” he tried his best to sound happy even if his arm was rather numbed from the pain it felt. He followed Nurse Jiae to the other room, having a nice fitted brace and taking his prescription before he finally left the clinic, thanking the staff at the door.
@✽ changwook j. Still brooding over the previous patient's case and pondering on whether to refer this person out to the hospital or to take it in and treat as an outpatient case. Regardless, she looked up from the screen and smiled at the new patient, noting how she probably had never seen him come by before, cue the unfamiliarity and she sat up straight to greet the other.
"Hello there. I'm good, kinda. How about you?", she responded in kind before noticing on the screen that he was here for his yearly check-up. Knowing that he might have done that elsewhere in a different clinic or even have to travel out to the city for that, she wondered what brought him to this little clinic instead. "Well, here for a yearly check-up huh? Let me have your stats first before we move on to blood test and urine test. It'll be speedy. So any concerns do you have for the year? Like maybe wrinkles or something?"
@✽ joohyun b. Looking at the son and the mother, she can't help but to think of how many more single parents out there putting their best forward to ensure they had a roof over their heads, food on the table and clothes on their backs. "I guess when he grow up, he will know how to strike such good business deals with the glib tongue of his and people skills." Nara chuckled lightly at the way the boy just mocked her right back and she could keep it up if only not for the next patient waiting to see her. "Yes, do that and you too stay healthy. Won't want you to have the stomach bug too." She saluted at the son and hummed in response. "Alrighty, I can't wait to see if you keep it up! And have a good day, you two!" The doctor nodded at them reassuringly that they would be fine and jaehyun would recover before a nurse accompanied them out to retrieve their prescription and to bring in the next one to see her.
@✽ seoham p. "it might not be that painful for you /now/ but it could be in near future. You can never know with hairline cracks. they are not there for decorations, Seoham. I'm going to have the nurse fit you for a brace and i swear if i see it off when you are supposed to have it on, i will send you to the hospital myself," she forewarns, moving to press a call button for a nurse to assist her. "Now that's my good patient. And- not only that, find someone to live with too. Can't certainly trust you to live all by myself. If only the roommate slot isn't taken up, i would have taken you in as my roommate instead. Ah, Nurse Jiae. Please give him an arm brace fitting here and then send him out to get his prescription once you're done. Thanks." Nara did the notion where she was saying she would be watching him like a hawk before returning to her desk to key in the synopsis of the session and then the prescription. The nurse then shifted her attention to Seoham, gesturing him to the door before taking the lead to get to another room to do a fitting.
Donghun took the form from the nurse and went to fill it. "Thanks," he said softly. He sighed. Geeze this was gonna be hard. He filled out as much as he could. "I...I don't have insurance," he told the nurse when she came back to him, "Maybe this was a mistake, maybe I should just go h-h-" He sneezed, turning his head in time so his daughter wouldn't get sneezed on. "Home..." he finished his sentence, "Maybe I can just get some cold medicine..." He tried to stand to leave, but then sat down again as he was starting to feel dizzy. "Maybe I should sit here a while until I can get my bearrings."
@✽ wooseok j. A whole twelve hour shift went by and drained Shiah of her energy. She barely had the energy to put her hoodie on top of her scrubs, her big baggy sweats over her pants. She yawned with her sleepy eyes as she waved goodbye to everybody, exiting the clinic looking like a swaddled baby in her extra cozy outfit. She took a moment to look up at the sky, watching as the sun began to set, a little disappointed as the sun wasn't even up when she came into work this morning.
Distracted by the sky, Shiah didn't notice as she was approached by a man in uniform, her shoulders jumping as he introduced himself. Her eyes widened in shock for a moment, but she quickly composed herself with a smile, patting her chest. "Hi officer," She greeted, nodding her head, "Yes, I'm headed home alone, I suppose..." Her words drifted at the end as she covered of an incoming yawn, her eyes watering as she held it back in front of the stranger. "Is there anything I should be careful of this evening?" She asked, questioning why a young police officer like himself would approach her.
@✽ nara k. Lucky for Changwook, he was able to book an appointment at the clinic for his yearly check-up. Even though he hadn't notice anything aside from general aging, he figured it was important to get checked up regularly - it was covered by the school anyway. When he got to the clinic, it was oddly quiet - he glanced at the clinic hours and realized it was just about to close, so he made sure to hurry through his paperwork as he awaited to be checked in.
As usual, the visit began with getting his vitals taken by a pretty little nurse - a former student of his, actually. He made small talk with the familiar young lady, catching up on her whereabouts after graduating high school and Changwook telling her to get home safely after her shift today, following her as she brought her to the doctor's office.
"I'll see you next time," He waved at the nurse and entered the doctor's office, sitting atop the paper-covered seat. "Hello, doctor, how are you today?" He greeted.
@✽ naeun s. Shiah stretched her arms as she was finally allowed to catch her breath. The clinic rush was over and began a lull period where she could relax a little. She looked over at the clock and stifled her breath - oof, it was already past two. The day had been going by faster than she'd thought. Her stomach began to growl as she hadn't had anything to eat since this morning. Lucky for her, she heard the call of her favorite co-worker asking her to eat lunch with her that she already purchased. Getting on her feet right away, Shiah cheered, "You always know how to make a girl happy!" She wrapped her arms around the other's arm and pushed her towards the exit, "Let's eat outside, it's too suffocating to eat inside."
@✽ donghun l. It was a small clinic in a small town. There were slow days, and then there were days like today. There was almost nothing to do. A few nurses left for the day as there was nothing to be done, but Shiah knew that days like this were just the calm before the storm and stayed behind to fill in for the front desk with their receptionist.
As she sat with the receptionist, chatting away about nothing, she heard the sound of a truck parking in front of the clinic before seeing a stranger walk in with a little girl in his arms. "Hello," Shiah greeted, then smiled at the little girl and waved, "I'll let a doctor know, could you fill out some information while you wait?" She grabbed a clipboard and a form and gave it to the man in the waiting room, "Please fill out your insurance information as well and we'll be right with you." She disappeared into the back to notify a doctor before grabbing her equipment to take his vitals, with a room prepped, she went back to the waiting room to call out to the sick man, "Hi, sir, are you done with filling out the form, yet? We're ready to see you," then looked at the little girl, adding to her words, "She can come in, too."
[adfgjkh sorry for the late reply i've been buried in replies TT]
@✽ nara k. "oh you're flattering me, doctor. it's quite tough really to raise this kid alone you know. but I guess, he's just my sole strength to keep up with my life and move on forward. pft. sure thing he's such a smart kid. sometimes he even makes a deal with strangers and ask them to buy things. and without me knowing too. aish. " joohyun laugh at her own remarks and nodding her head, taking a note on whatever the doctor has said. "sure thing, I'll let you know and will bring him here if it's get worsen. " jaehyun makes a face when the pretty doctor sticks out her tongue and returning the same favor. "imma keep my promise bc I want the treat !"
@✽ nara k. She was taking too long. /Way/ too long… she was a doctor, why was she taking her sweet time with the diagnosis for his wrist?! The waiting and suspense was eating him up alive, and her words finally brought a sigh of relief out of him. “I swear, it’s not /that/ painful, Dr. Kwon. It does hurt when you move it of course… the hospital? Surgery?” Though he’s had surgeries for injuries in the past, it was never fun for him, physically or financially. He let out a groan at the thought of taking in some antibiotics. Seoham also dreaded taking pills for anything, because he would almost always forget and the pain or injury would worsen. He’d have to set some alarms for his medicine this time. “Yes, ma’am. Just give me the prescription and stuff, I’ll… I’ll take it on time.” his head dropped low as he sighed, definitely not excited to take a round of medicines for the next few weeks. His head lifted to look at her, flashing her a sheepish expression. “I’ll try. I’m going to have to inspect and replace all the old stuff at my house… Are we good, Doc?”
@✽ seoham p. as much as she hated seeing him on an almost daily basis, she did enjoyed his reactions and most especially his facial movements. it was hilarious to watch and making her day a little more bearable aside from having to deal with some grumpy, nasty patients. her fingers pressed here and there, trying to feel the swell out before setting it down on his lap. "well, well." her lips puckered in thought and her gaze still focusing on his left hand, prolonging out the suspense as she tried to think of how to tell him the news in a way that he would not get some random cardiac arrest. "not too painful huh? are you sure because if i ever find out you're hiding the actual pain from me, i'm so going to drag you to the hospital for better, accurate diagnosis. X-ray, surgery and all. from what i have concluded, it is a severe sprain and i will issue you some antibiotics and pain relievers for that. And if the pain still persists after finishing the course of medicine, come back again." Her gaze dropped to the damn Rolex and nodded in response. "Yeah, all for this watch. And replace every single broken furniture of yours in the house. Can't have you coming back again because of a broken piece of wood or steel."
