evocation | ✓

22+

      taehyung breathes a deep breath, pulling the black sunglasses over the bridge of his nose, all the way up so it presses against the skin in between his eyebrows. the mask around his face is tight, digging into his puffy cheeks and he sighs, warm breath caught in the mask so it presses against the skin of his lip uncomfortably. jeongguk is there beside him, ready to act as soon as taehyung gives him the okay, wanting to give the boy all the time he needed.

"okay," taehyung sighs, voice muffled due to the hospital mask, but jeongguk heard him anyway. it was practically empty on the side walks, a surprising change for the usual busy streets of daegu. "i'm ready." he adds, fingers relaxing into his pocket as jeongguk wraps a secure arm around his waist, letting his hand rest against the flat skin on his hip.

they enter the hospital together, jeongguks hand a heavy reminder that even if he wanted to run, he couldn't. jeongguk leads him to the front desk that adorns files, a phone and a woman typing leasurely, almost bored on the computer behind the desk. taehyung reaches the desk, leaning against the table and jeongguk removes his hand, and taehyung almost misses the reassuring pressure and warmth. he catches jeongguks hand in his before it can fall too far away.

"hello, i'm here for my four o'clock appointment with doctor song," taehyung greets after lowering the mask to hook under his chin. the woman looks up from her computer, popping the gum in her mouth—so quick it's like she's already done it a thousand times before, which she probably has—and looks up at him.

"hello. his office is on the third floor, last door to the left. please sign in." she hands him a clipboard with a sign-in sheet and a blue pen, and taehyung takes it in his hands. he twiddles the pen in his hand, trying to think of a name.

taehyung quickly scribbles it down on the paper. kim hansung.

taehyung thrusts the clipboard and pen towards jeongguk, who takes it in his hands and begins to jot immediately, as if he already had a name in mind. he probably did, a smart move that taehyung wish he thought of.

taehyung takes his hand again, lacing their fingers as he pulls him towards the hospital elevators. taehyung presses the up button, hands trembling in both his pants pocket and jeongguks hand. jeongguk squeezes his hand as he leads them into the elevator, and jeongguk doesn't move to let go this time, and taehyung is thankful.

the elevator ride is short, and they're arriving at the third floor in no time. they walk out, weaving around the mess of doctors rushing towards their offices. this is the office floor, no patients here so they're as loud as casual as they would like to be. they walk down the hall until the reach the last door on the left, like she said.

taehyung knocks, once, twice, thrice. he doesn't wait for him to respond, already opening the door with a little more strength and speed than needed, adrenaline piling in his veins quickly. he walks in with jeongguk hot on his trail, and doctor song looks up from his notebook, clicking his pen and letting it roll across the table.

"hello, i'm doctor song, the brain specialist. you must be hansung." he greets, and taehyung thinks of playing the act a little bit more, but he doesn't. his blood is already boiling. he rips the sun glasses from his eyes, tossing them on couch. he pulls his mask off too, revealing his whole face to a slowly but surely realizing doctor song.

"names kim taehyung actually, and i've got a few questions." taehyung says, plopping down in the seat across from his desk. jeongguk sits in the neighboring chair, lowering his glasses and mask with much less anger and spite than taehyung did. doctor song looks over the pair as if he's seen a ghost.

"oh my lord," he mumbles, plopping back down in his office chair as he moves to pinch between his brows.

taehyung disregards the comment so fast, jeongguks not even sure he heard him. "do you make a habit of withholding information from patients? or was i special case?" taehyung asks with so much spit that jeongguk is reaching for his hand without blinking. doctor song does a double take at the skin ship and the tone.

"taehyung," doctor song starts, but he pauses. he clicks his lips, suddenly dry as he watches the two in front of him, but mainly their hands joined in the middle. he doesn't finish his scentence, just lets his name echo around the room.

"no, i mean really. i asked you multiple times—that i do remember, no help from you—if there was anything i could do, and you said no." taehyung is yelling at this point and jeongguk lets him, lets him yell and rant because this is the first time he's been angry about it. sad? yes, he remembers the day taehyung brokenly cried in his mother's arms like yesterday. "and the only reason i find out why is because i started having dreams and went to my own doctor who didn't lie to me." taehyungs eyes are burning with anger, and jeongguks hand leaves his only to press into his shoulder.

"your parents have money, taehyung," doctor song says. taehyung freezes. "i'm sure this isn't the first time they've paid someone to get something they want, hm?" he asks and taehyung slumps back into his chair because it's true. the only reason taehyung—very openly gay kim taehyung—was allowed into an all boys school was due to his parents money.

"they paid you?" taehyung asks, and he wasn't yelling anymore. his voice was small, soft.

doctor songs eyes are on jeongguk now, though he's talking to taehyung. their eyes connect, and doctor songs hold spite, while jeongguk's hold a warning. "they've paid more people to keep this a secret than you know, taehyung."

+
seeing y'all figure out my plot kinda makes me sad. but i guess it's ok because we've reached peak climax anyway.

buckle up boys, it's about to be a hell of a ride.