«Dr. Kim, Don't Fear Me» [K.n.j & K.s.j]

1 ⸸

"Sir... That's because it's an elevator. It'll never open that way unless you push this button. See?" The younger man felt stupid for getting fooled by an elevator. He thanked the older guy for helping him out, then quickly entered the mechanical elevator.

"I see. I'm sorry, it's my first day here." The man and Namjoon had a short conversation inside the elevator. The light within the elevator was also flickering, but Namjoon was so engaged with the conversation he was having with the man, he barely even paid attention to the warnings the elevator was giving him.

"You seem pretty nicely dressed for your first day on the job." The man's compliment made Namjoon feel less nervous and more confident.

"Thanks. I just hope I don't mess this opportunity up." Namjoon bolted up when the elevator suddenly stopped and made a screeching noise.

"Don't be scared, this is such an old building that it makes noise everywhere. And if this is just your first day here, then you'll have to get used to this every time you take this crappy elevator. Don't worry, I have a feeling you're going to do great on your first day here." The man stepped out along with Namjoon since he was on the right floor.

"Hey, thanks for that small talk back there. I'll try to do my best today." He smiled.

"You got this... Umm, what's your name?"

"I'm Kim Namjoon. What's yours?" The man's eyes lit up.

"Oh! You're the new guy the boss was talking about. You'll do great here, Namjoon. I'm Lee Bohwa. But you can call me Hwang, if you'd like to. Follow me, I'll help you get to my boss." In no time, Namjoon and Bohwa became friends.

They parted ways once they got to Namjoon's destination. Bohwa left to assist a patient, and Namjoon sat down as his boss interviewed him.

"I won't let you down, sir. Thank you." Namjoon and the middle-aged man exchanged a handshake along with a pleasing smile, then he left to his office.

He wasn't going to lie, the man seemed nice on the outside, but he still felt a little bit unsure about him. Maybe it was just Namjoon's mind, or the amount of horror movies he binge watches at night, but he was sure the man seemed a little bit eager.

There was just something about that stranger to Namjoon that seemed off. It could be his overconfidence, making him seem to forward and fake.

Or the way his smile was almost too forced, judging by the way his bulging eyes were staring right into his soul, from how widened they were. As a new worker, Namjoon felt
as though Bohwa was trying to make him feel right at home, but he also found his kindness a little bit strange.

"I'm telling you, Yoongi, he's weird. I know I shouldn't judge anyone before getting to know them, but this entire building gives me the chills." Namjoon spoke quietly while walking around the hospital.

"Come on, Joon. You studied so hard to get to where you are now, you got this man. Don't stress out about things too much, try avoiding your surroundings. Remember: you chose this job to help cure people, not judge them or the place they were in. Right?" Yoongi was right. Namjoon thanked him for his support and hung up once he was introduced to a nurse.

She gave him his own office and he adjusted himself on the comfy chair to check his papers.

Patient Jung Hoseok: DOB // February 18, 1994. Gender: M. Room 10.

Patient Soo Chunji: DOB // June 12, 1987. Gender: F. Room 22.

Patient Choi Yena: DOB // October 4, 2006. Gender: F. Room 9.

Namjoon gently organized the papers in his folders and placed them in his drawers.

He then retreated outside of his office again and offered a gentle smile to each patient.

The first one he greeted was his youngest patient, Choi Yena. She was a shy little girl, who greeted him back with fear. She suffers from panic attacks and anxiety, so it took her mother all the strength and patients she had in her to bring her daughter to seek medical attention before her anxiety and sickness got worse.

"Hi, are you her mother?" She nodded.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Dr. Kim." He smiled.

"Nice to meet you, Dr. Kim. This is my daughter, Yena. She's been suffering with this sickness for days now and we don't know what it is." Namjoon nodded, listening carefully.

"And, may I ask, what are the symptoms she's been having?"

"Shakiness in her body, chills, she has a very low body temperature, and her entire body has bruises that won't fade away. She's been getting them ever since we took a trip to Alaska last month." Her mother worried, staring at her anxious daughter, who was frowning right back at her.

"Also, she's been having trouble walking. I attempted to put different shoes on her, but she kept on insisting that her feet were sore and achy." With that being said, the mother watched as Namjoon assisted her daughter with care, hoping to find a solution to her health concerns.

Namjoon took her blood pressure and checked her pulse. Her heart rate came out a little bit high, but it was mainly because the poor girl was so nervous.

"Can you take your shoes and socks off, sweetie?" Namjoon kindly asked.

The girl nodded.

His eyes widened with the horrific scenery that unfolded, the second the young girl slipped her socks off, revealing silver-bluish bruises. Her toes were numb to the touch and had lost all circulation whatsoever, becoming completely black.

~~~

"Ma'am, your daughter has a very severe case of frostbite. It started off as hypothermia, but now it seems to have escalated to gangrene on three of her toes, both sides of her feet."

The mother was shocked.

"Oh my God... She must have gotten that on the day we went skiing and she forgot to wear socks with her boots. Is there anything you can do, Doctor?" The mother hopelessly started to cry as well as her daughter.

"I'm so sorry, but the only thing that could save your daughter's life is to amputate both of her feet, or else the gangrene will keep spreading and it could potentially kill her." With that being said, the mother and daughter made the heartbreaking choice to amputate both of the frostbitten feet.

Namjoon left them feeling devastated, but I guess that's what he prepared for in the end, so he had to move on and hope for the best for the poor little girl.

~~~

He moved on to his next patient, still feeling a heaviness within his chest after giving his previous patient such heartbreaking news. But as a doctor, Namjoon was prepared for doing this more than once.

The man cleared his throat before knocking on a door, entering the room and announcing the patient's name.

"Jung Hoseok?"