➥ veterinarian!seokmin x exhausted uni student!reader
genre: veterinarian au, student au, uni au, angst, squint for fluff (sorry mochi I'll make up in part 2), a kitten who is the catalyst, warning: slightly ooc seokmin
svt bias swap with the lovely @occeye
Your eyes had been chasing the kitten for a few days now. It was sick, you were sure about that, but time management was not a skill you had acquired even after entering university. Therefore being a good citizen and helping a sickly animal was a task yet to be ticked off of your current concerns list. Once again you settled for checking its location from far away before rushing to class.
Today after class. I’ll definitely get it treated. Definitely.
And now you’re standing in the pouring rain, a shivering kitten swaddled in your arms, waiting for your best friend to open the back door of the veterinary clinic he is an intern at. This is most likely going to come back to bite you in the ass.
Your eyes peek from behind the towel over your head, the vigorous rubbing makes you regret not having borrowed an umbrella from one of your classmates.
“Stop rubbing so hard I already have hair fall problems.” You mumble, gripping your best friend’s wrist as he glares down playfully at you, cupping the towel over your ears and rubbing some more to prove his point on how bad of an idea it was to get wet in such bone chilling rain.
“Seokmin, stop,” your hands swat at him with a whine, a laugh from him reducing the tension in the previously quiet room, “I’m going to be fine, my immunity is a lot better. A little rain is nothing to me.”
“You said that every time you forgot to bring your umbrella to school. And you say that every time before you get sick. It's a jinx at this point.” His back faces you as he walks away, tone mocking but light hearted. It annoys you how he knows you so well. But he’s right. It is a jinx.
“Why didn’t you call me if you knew there was a sick cat on campus?” You look up at him, confused about his question before you realise that you had indeed forgotten to even mention a sick kitten on your campus. But deep down you knew why.
“I was busy with classes, I was barely sleeping and eating on time. You know how it gets…” you trail off, eyes focused on pulling a thread out of the towel, hands half enveloped by the large hoodie Seokmin lent you. It smells like him but mixed with the nauseating smell of medicinal alcohol. You aren’t sure whether you like it.
“You could’ve told me, I would’ve come to your campus to get it,” his tone sharpens, accusations lying between the syllables and your grip tightens on the towel in your lap, “that was irresponsible of you.”
Your glare towards him is defensive, hurt filling your eyes because he makes it sound like it’d be your fault if anything happens to the kitten. It isn’t like you’re the only responsible adult on campus. There are thousands of people who see the kitten everyday, some even leave water and cat food for it. Why are you getting blamed when you went so far for the kitten, why does he have to accuse you of being irresponsible when you are the only one who cares enough to bring the sick kitten to the vet in the pouring rain. It's unfair that you tried so hard but still got portrayed as the villain.
The door squeaks open, the sounds from outside burst the bubble you made around yourself with your thoughts. The previously muffled voices of the employees and the various animals and birds in the main room snap you out of your internal rant. Your eyes avoid meeting Seokmin as you stand up, walking towards the doctor. She carries the meowing kitten into the room in her arms and places the skinny fur ball onto the metal table. Seokmin moves to stand beside his employer, conversing with her. You offer the kitten the back of your hand, letting it test the water. It licks you a little before moving closer, recognising you quickly and brushes up against your stomach before circling the table while sniffing everything, peeking down to see if it can jump off.
“You did good by bringing her here. She’s suffering through quite a few ailments, probably due to staying in a dirty environment and getting fed stuff she shouldn’t be eating.” The vet offers her hand to the kitten, smiling down at it as it rubs its head against her hand. “I’d like to monitor her for a few more weeks while she’s being treated. Seokmin told me you found her on your campus so I’m going to pay for her treatment from my pocket, but can I insist you contact the agency who works with us for her future treatments?” Your eyes flit between Seokmin and her, your cheeks flushing. Embarrassment floods your veins at the fact that Seokmin already informed her of your broke student status. You quickly nod so that the conversation can advance.
“Um, can I still pay for today’s visit? It was a super last minute call for help and it's also late. Let me pay for keeping you overtime.” Your hands twist, eyes flickering between the doctor’s stethoscope on the table and the kitten chewing on the cord as if its life depends on it.
“Don’t worry about it darling, just get home and get some rest. I’ll see you soon hopefully.” Your shoulders sag and a weight lifts off your body, a real smile gracing your lips for the first time tonight as you nod and bid her goodnight, eyes looking around everywhere but at Seokmin when she leaves.
“I’m sorry,” your hand is pulled on, eyes finally catching Seokmin’s. His face is shrouded in guilt, “I shouldn’t have accused you like that, I know you’re trying your best. I was wrong, you’re the most responsible person I know.”
A pang in your chest, your hand tightens around Seokmin and the frown on your forehead lifts, giving way to a much more neutral expression. You knew why you didn’t call him. He could’ve come to get the cat. He knows the security guard well. He wouldn’t be able to meet you, but he could’ve gotten the cat to get it treated. But he wouldn’t see you. You wouldn’t meet him. What a selfish person you’ve become.
The kitten claws at your sleeves, meowing loudly as it nibbles on your sleeve, stealing your attention but your mind is still preoccupied by your train of thought to focus on anything it does. In your periphery, you notice him move across the room, kitten in his hands as he chatters away happily to it. You’re frozen in place until the both of them come back to the table, frozen until he pushes you down onto the metal stool and takes a seat across from you. Frozen until the kitten meows loudly and scratches at your exposed hand, breaking you out of your thoughts. Your eyes meet the sight of Seokmin laughing at the kitten, rubbing your hand while he playfully scolds the cat.
“I was being selfish. I didn’t call you because I knew I couldn’t see you. I wanted to see you. I miss you more than I thought.” His hand tugs your attention again, a frown, deep set, looking out of place on his usually cheerful face.
“You should’ve told me, I would make time to see you in a blink, you’re my best friend!”
You pull away with a jerk and fist your hands on the table, unable to look up at him as the next words leave your mouth.
“I’m in love with you. I have been for a while. I mean who wouldn’t?” you chuckle in bitter amusement, remembering the times people around you had fallen for Seokmin and asked you to set them up.
“You’re so beautiful, both inside and out. You’re good at socializing, but still make time to study well. You’ve always been so supportive, I can’t imagine myself functioning normally without you around. But I love you so much, it hurts to keep it inside everytime I see you smile, or laugh, or send me happy messages when one of your patients makes a full recovery. You send all these happy memories to me and it feels like they’re mine too,” your nails digging into your palm at the silence from the other party, but you can’t stop your confession turned word vomit even if you want to now. “I love you so much but I don’t know how much longer I can keep pretending I’m okay with just being your best friend…”
You finally gather the courage to look up, breath hitching in your chest at the shock on Seokmin’s face. Your hands tremble underneath the sleeves, time seeming frozen as everything blurs around you, heart thumping so loudly, everything else becomes muffled. The clock in the room seems to tick louder and louder, cold sweat trails down your back at a shiver inducing pace.
And just like that, with a stretch and a loud meow of boredom, the kitten jumps onto the floor, the bin nearby clanging to the floor when it runs past it, a gasp of realisation leaving your mouth as you stand up quickly.
“I–I’m so sorry,” you gulp in large quantities of air, mouth drying as you struggle to stand still. “I don’t know, I have to go, I’m sorry.” Your voice is shaking, or perhaps its your body that is trembling, you couldn’t tell at this point, Seokmin’s yells of your name falling on deaf ears as you run out of the room, tears mixing with the now gentler rain.
The walk back home is painful with your clothes weighing you down like a reminder of what just happened.
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