TIME AFTER TIME ; jjk

41

Chapter 41

PARK SOOHYUN

"This suit makes me look like an uptight prick."

"You look alright." I saw the mirror selfie he had sent to me.

"In the photo," he countered over the sounds of footsteps. Indistinct chatter in the distance filled the gaps. "In fact, I look like a human disaster in austere clothes."

A chuckle escaped my mouth. "Human disaster? No."

"I should've worn something less formal. These clothes stick too much to my skin—"

I paused in my seat when the world spun for a second. I had been too caffeinated when it wasn't even midday yet that it made my hands inconveniently shake.

I got home around 1 or 2 in the morning earlier, took advantage of the hours which allowed me to sleep and then woke up at 6 AM to start another work shift. I had panicked a little over an emergency surgery that was handed over to me, and while it had been a normal occurrence, it was my first time to work around stab wounds. It was baffling to me how one could do that to another, but my attending nonchalantly said that I should get used to it. Humans can be grade-A assholes, he had mentioned in passing. A CABG case followed, and my arms almost felt like they carried the entire world. I had a few patient consultations and post-operative rounds lined up for the rest of the day, and I also hated the way I was feeling resistant to paper work. With just a few hours of sleep, the words seemed to blur together.

I leaned over my desk and held my phone close to my ears, all the while refocusing on the task at hand. The computer glared back at me as I could hear Jungkook breathing, his anxiety clinging to the sounds he made. I wished I could ease him of his worries, but even if I did, he'd always been a great worrier.

"I'm nervous as hell," he said. It was too obvious to ignore. "I've just arrived—I-here on campus."

"Does the interview start in half an hour?"

"Yeah. Don't know what to do with myself now."

"We can talk for ten more minutes," I peeked at the time on my screen then got on the call again, "I can spare that much."

"I can't hold you back. You can hang up if you need to go. I just called because this is freaking me out and-"

"Hey, I'll be on the phone with you. You're not holding me back from anything," I said because even if I should be solely dealing with these papers piled up in front of me and not accepting personal calls, I could manage doing both just fine. "The consultation starts by eleven anyway."

"Okay," he breathed, just a word out that held an unbearable distress.

I grabbed another sheet from the stack and inputted the information into the online database with my free hand. "This interview's just one of those things you'll totally knock out of the park. I know how good you are."

"But I haven't done a job interview in years, and they've got a dismissal in my record to question now. If I don't get this job, I don't know what my chances are of getting accepted at other hospitals."

Coupled with the ache of my shoulders, the pain was back in my chest, completely different to the one from lack of sleep. He was slurring his words, one tripping over the other.

I stopped typing and slowly leaned back in my chair, watching the computer light blend in blindingly with the daylight flooding in through the massive glass windows. I stared and spoke in a quieter tone, "Tell them the truth. If it gets weird and uncomfortable, or they start to disrespect you, just politely refuse the offer and say you're no longer interested or something. Then leave." I paused a beat, then another, realizing how it all sounded, recalling the memory of him being upset with a terrifyingly similar situation. I shifted in my seat. "Sorry, you probably know what to do. It's just-I don't mean to be treating you like a kid."