NIGHT SHIFT. not necessarily his preference, but when you’re a new nurse, you take what the hospital tells you to take. he hoped at one point there would be a day nurse opening so he wouldn’t have to wonder about his schedule. nevertheless, seokmin had such an unparalleled l o v e for his job that he would deal with working twelve-hour shifts through days and nights, deal with double- no, TRIPLE - shots of espresso in an attempt to wake him up more than his horrid sleep schedule (if you could even call it a schedule) ever would. so here he was, the morning after, standing in a coffee shop line, wearing scrubs, a name tag, and exhaustion, all three of which seokmin thought of as a blatant clue to his job. as he was l o s t in his thoughts, he felt a tap on his shoulder, looking over and realizing the line had moved up. “ sorry! ” he briskly apologized, moving up behind the person in front of him, who happened to be ordering. as he took out his wallet in preparation, he overhead that the man in front of him was some coins short, and his head shot up as he exclaimed, “ here, i’ve got it! ” not wanting to make the other wait, he quickly opened his wallet and reached in, the force BACKFIRING and causing him to drop his wallet. “fu-freak!” the nurse mumbled as he bent over, used to having to change his language around kids. he pulled out some coins and handed them to the man in front of him, getting distracted by the other’s appearance. does he know him? seokmin realized he was staring and shook his head, smiling, “ here you go, don’t worry about the extra change. ”
NORMALLY HE WOULDN’T EVEN leave the comfort of his apartment no matter how much he craved that coffee. a simple a task as walking through the city of seoul had turned into a c h a l l e n g e, a minefield he was trying to steer clear of. he had yet to grow used to the numerous glares he got — he was proven INNOCENT, but that didn’t change people’s perceptions of him. to be honest, he didn’t blame them. after four years of having been told so, kangmin had caught himself thinking he was guilty too. in a way he was, but he couldn’t allow himself to ponder on that. he was already headed down a path much too dark for anyone to follow. his hoodie was drawn up as if it would somehow help keep him hidden ( it didn’t ) and he hadn’t even really thought twice about how much won to bring — a coffee wasn’t that expensive, was it? he was of course regretting that now because if it was one thing he didn't n e e d, it was the unwanted attention he was undoubtedly harvesting with this scene. an ex-convict with no money was surely a headline that would sell. luckily for kangmin, someone seemed to come to his rescue and as he was much too embarrassed to argue it he took the money with a grateful smile that soon turned into an expression of confusion the second he saw the male's face. «thank you,» he said although it sounded more as a question as he placed the money on the counter whilst not letting his gaze leave the man. «i .. seokmin?»