They met in the most dramatic sense possible. Even Grey’s Anatomy wouldn’t hold a candle to how Jinki first met Lee Taemin.

As far as first impressions go, Jinki hoped he would never have to mix with such a brazen man ever again. But the moment they came in contact, Taemin became tagged to him - as his patient. 

Working as a psychiatrist in a military hospital comes with certain occupational hazards, yet nothing prepared Jinki for having his safety compromised.

It was part-and-parcel of his job attending to recruits with appeals to be excused from in-camp training. Afterall, they are young and impressionable, and being away from home makes it terribly hard for them to adjust to military life.

Doctor Lee would usually listen to their concerns, and probe for manifesting symptoms of their maladjustment, “Are you sleeping well? How is your appetite? How long have you been struggling with this? Is there someone who can help you cope better?” 

If there are no physical symptoms such as loss of appetite and sleep, Doctor Lee usually gives a pat on their back, essentially telling them to “man up”, and sends them out to face the real world again. After all, what could he do? A psychiatrist prescribes medicine, and the practice of medicine is precise. If the patient’s problem is not well-defined, they best be going for counselling or psychotherapy to waste someone else’s time.

Not every man can afford the luxury of time. Especially so for Lee Jinki who was merely serving a bond. The military service paid for his medical degree, hence he was simply paying back with an equal measure, amounting to approximately 6 years of his life.

If someone thought paying for a man’s education and salary exacted selfless devotion, boy would they be wrong.

“Doctor… You can’t send me back there…” A young recruit of 18 years pleaded with Doctor Lee, while being ushered out of the door. 

Jinki quirked a brow, two hands fastened over the kid’s shoulders yet trying to pass it off as a friendly gesture by loosening his tense muscles with a tiny squeeze.

If Jinki had been a stage actor, he could have heard himself saying “There there…” in a patronising tone.

The poor kid was not having any of it, and all he wanted at that point in time was to delay his exit from the doctor’s room. Knowing that he did not have any bargaining power, he was desperate for a tool. Standard stationery seemed viable then, especially when it lay in plain sight at the registration counter next to him. 

Before Lee Jinki could even blink, the 18 year old recruit brandished a pair of scissors and demanded that Doctor Lee listened to him.

“Pl-please I j-just… I n-need that… that ex-exemption…” The boy did a big gulp as though to swallow his nervousness, now starting to be vaguely aware of the public scene he was causing. Did he not think this one through? How was he going to get through this unharmed?

“Interesting… I haven’t tried that one before…” A deep male voice cut through the tense air, and the sound of his tittering drew everyone’s attention away from the recruit momentarily.

“What—“ The recruit was blindsided by the appearance of a random stranger, who was similarly dressed in military attire. “Who are you??” 

“I don’t mean to draw the spotlight away from you. Sorry it turned out that way.” The uniformed male shrugged noncommittally. The embroidered tag on his uniform read “LEE TAEMIN”, but that didn’t serve to give the gaping nurses and servicemen in the medical centre any inkling of who he was.

“Now, would you like to put that thing down, and reconsider your options independently, or would you rather have someone else lay them down for you?” Even without taking a step forward, Lee Taemin spoke as though he were in a commanding position.

Realising that he was unprepared to deal with this mess, the recruit dropped his head in shame and promptly let go of the scissors.

Two provost officers immediately flanked his sides to him away from the medical centre. 

Taemin spied through the door crack leading to Doctor Lee’s office that the doctor was just putting the telephone handset back in place, indicating that he had alerted the Provost to arrest the recruit. He stepped through the doorway with a ticked off expression. “You—!”

Doctor Lee looked up in alarm at Taemin’s sudden entrance. This was a day full of surprises, more than he could handle.

“You didn’t have to do that.’ Taemin had his nose turned up disapprovingly, as he pointed towards the phone.

“He was causing trouble? A public threat? As you saw—?” Jinki waved his hand descriptively in portrayal of the scale of events, effectively inviting Taemin to dispute what he took for a fact. His deadpan mannerisms were rather dismissive of anything else Taemin had to say. Jinki was used to calculating his dealings with patients or even counterparts at work like quotients — If something doesn’t add up, please find your way out.

Taemin could take a hint, and moved towards the door having steadily met Jinki’s unwavering stare for a few moments.

“That boy was never gonna hurt anyone.” Taemin exited with a cold breeze streaming in after him. 

“Silly boy had the scissors facing himself the whole time.”

Taemin’s voice rang in Jinki’s head long after he left. 

He could still remember Taemin’s icy scowl long after he left.