The Sigma Asset 🏳️‍🌈 (bxb)║AMBYS WINNER 2022

13: The Medical

"Mr Park?" The receptionist directed me along a narrow corridor. "Doctor Molina will see you now."

This was gonna be awful. I could just leave. This wasn't urgent. I could do this when I got back to Korea.

Just get it over with, Zeph.

Doctor Molina was a tall thin guy, not much older than Will. His attempt to look professional with a pin-striped shirt up top was admirable, but he totally fucked it up by wearing hiking shorts and tough walking shoes down below. It all made sense when I saw the office walls, where framed photos of mountain landscapes vied for attention with his medical certificates. There was even a photo perched on the edge of his desk of him hiking somewhere remote and beautiful. The dude seemed unashamedly rugged.

"Please, make yourself comfortable...Jun-su?" Doctor Molina had a quiet and calm voice, like what I expected relaxation audio recordings to sound like. He squinted at my medical notes while I sat on the chair, all sweaty palms and beating heart. The sudden urge to take a piss appeared out of nowhere. "How can I help you today?"

How was I supposed to even broach the subject? In Sigma the doctor from Central would just silently do his medic shit while we sat there chatting among ourselves.

"Um. My friends call me Zephyr, or just Zeph." I croaked, like my dried-out tongue would choke me at any moment.

"No problem, Zeph. Cool name. I'll add that to your notes." Doctor Molina scribbled onto the paper. "You new to Santa Elena?"

"Yeah, I came from María."

"Great city. You must be missing the pace of life."

"Not really. I mean, I love María, but Santa Elena is perfect for me at the moment."

"I was the same," he replied, looking a little wistful. "I worked in María for years, but I moved here for a more...tranquil life." He looked up at a photo on his wall of an aerial view of a lake. "How can I help?"

Courage, Zeph.

"Um. I need an S.T.I. test."

"No problem at all, Zeph. We can do that for you right away," he said with that quiet-calm voice.

"Thank you," I sighed, so incredibly relieved that I almost laughed into his face. The anticipation of having a fucking test was so much more terrifying than the reality.

"Before we do the tests, Zeph, is it OK for me to ask you some questions about your sex life?"

I should have guessed that it couldn't possibly be this easy. "Um..."

Doctor Molina edged his chair closer to mine, but his quietly confident smile remained. "Zeph, I know that it's a little embarrassing. But I'm used to doing tests like this, and I don't judge any of my patients." He was so kind, I almost felt guilty for being such a fucking baby about this.

I took a breath. "Sure."

Doctor Molina patted my shoulder. "When did you last have sex?"

"Saturday, March twenty-second."

"OK, so today's April first, so we're..." Doctor Molina muttered away to himself. "That's great, Zeph. And, did you have unprotected sex?"

"No."

"Are you worried that the condom was damaged or otherwise compromised during sex?"

"No. It was fine."

"Did you have unprotected sex on a previous occasion?"

"No. I've...never had unprotected sex."