The Butterfly and the Falcon {REPOST}
title: the butterfly and the falcon
rating: light r
warnings: adult topics, deals with war
pairings: junmyeon/kyungsoo, jongin/kyungsoo, slight baekyeol
summary: Fighter Pilot AU. The one thing Kyungsoo doesn't expect when he's moved to the flight combat training center as a medic, is to have a hotshot pilot and his prodigy best friend at war over him.
A/N: Originally posted here months ago, edited and reposted for LJ. Still not happy with it, but eh. This is me motivating myself to write another one of the sequels.
Kyungsoo has only ever seen a plane once before in his life.
He remembers the day like it was yesterday, always has. He’s not entirely sure what exactly drew him to the giant metal tube with wings and engines that can apparently fly itself across oceans and to the other worlds, but when he saw it he escaped from his mothers grasp, somehow evading four rows of traffic as he scrambled desperately to the barbed-wire fence on the other side of the street. He curled his fingers around the wooden poles on either side of him and stared in awe as a group of men in their military uniforms led rows of civilian passengers down a pair of narrow staircases.
“That’s a jumbo jet,” his mother had said to him, once she finally caught up. “There used to be so many of those. We could fly to Japan, the Americas, anywhere we wanted to go, with just a passport. They’re only used for military purposes now.”
Kyungsoo didn’t know, he wasn’t alive when people had these kinds of freedoms; when the land he lived on was still known as Korea. So he just turned his attention back to the huge plane, trying to figure out how exactly it managed to stay in the sky when it was so huge.
After that moment he was always drawn to them, to their magnificence and beauty. He spent countless hours in his childhood, laying back on fields and scanning the skies, getting excited with every bird that flew overhead, only to be disappointed when he realized his mistake. He was never able to ask for any more information, because his mother always just shook her head sadly at him in response, and told him he shouldn’t be so curious. It will make him miss a world he’ll never have a chance to experience.
19 year old Kyungsoo finds that almost funny, now. He chuckles to himself as he wanders behind the small group of students making their way across the expanse of black tarmac, towards a gigantic building seemingly made only of glass. He’s lagging behind and he doesn’t want to inconvenience anyone, but he can’t help but stare as he tries to take in his surroundings. This is all so very new to him.
Zone One. He thinks he remembers something from school, his teacher telling the class that zone one is the biggest and most important zone in all of Asia, covering all of what used to be China and more than half of South Korea. It’s the center for the specialized forces, and in a world where the sole focus is the war, this kind of area is where all the government funding goes to. If Kyungsoo ever saw planes flying overhead in his childhood, Zone One is where they were heading to or from.
A sudden, loud revving noise, much like one of a car engine but times a billion in volume, has Kyungsoo stumbling forward in shock, right into the kid directly in front of him. He mumbles an apology just in time to see two sleek, black military planes shoot down the runway and into the sky effortlessly and perfectly in sync. Kyungsoo saw these planes in his guidebooks, but he never really paid any attention to how small they actually are.
After seeing that jumbo jet, he always pictured planes to be huge, bigger than even his old house. But these-these are barely any larger than the army trucks he’d grown up seeing pass by his home almost every day.
He stops completely without even realizing it, stares up at the sky as the two planes begin what he can only really describe as a dance. At first, they fly completely synchronized, taking one trip around the base, and then one leaves the path, the plane tilting from one side to the other as it flies in zigzags across the sky. He grins at this, because it’s an amusing sight to see and he just knows the pilot is having fun, is mocking his companion.
The other plane curves easily, the body rolling in one big circle as it catches up. Kyungsoo is rather taken aback, there, because somehow the plane looks so weightless, so graceful, as it twists and turns through the air, flying in circles around the other, just as teasingly, but with a sort of beauty about it that Kyungsoo compares to a butterfly.
He feels a hand curl around his wrist and he’s snapped out of his trance. He turns from the two planes still dancing in the sky and finds himself staring into a completely new face, someone he didn’t see on the shuttle bus on the way there.
“Hi, Do Kyungsoo, right?” The kid has small, droopy eyes and a bright smile. He nods slowly, entranced by the gentleness of his appearance. “I’m Baekhyun. I am your senior, but let’s skip formalities, yeah? You’re going to see a lot of me over the next few years so just call me Baekhyun or hyung.” His grin widens and Kyungsoo is treated to a view of a mouth full of perfect, straight, pearly white teeth. He looks more like an idol than a military official, that’s for sure.
“It’s nice to meet you, Baekhyun hyung.” He bows his head slightly and doesn’t fight when Baekhyun starts to tug him the rest of the way across the tarmac.
“You’re really cute. You looked like a lost puppy staring at those planes. You’re from zone two, right?”
“Yeah,” says Kyungsoo, his breath short as he struggles to keep up with Baekhyun’s pace. “But nowhere near the city, so I’m kind of new to all of this.”
“I guess that stupid brochure they hand you on the bus really wasn’t enough to get you up to speed, then.” Baekhyun laughs. “But that’s okay. That’s why you have me, I’m your roommate. I’m a medic too, I moved here last year, from the same zone as you, but I grew up in the city...” he sighs. “Anyway, you must be at least as good as I am. They only let the best of the best transfer here, don’t they?”
Kyungsoo doesn’t really think it takes all that much talent to do what he does-they like to call themselves medics, but really they’re just nurses. The only reason he managed to get a transfer to Zone One is because he was very diligent and studious during school, and he’s always just been capable of following orders well.
They reach the doors to the glass building. Kyungsoo can’t help but stop and turn to catch one last glimpse at the planes, but they’ve disappeared. He’s a little disappointed when Baekhyun gives his wrist another tug to urge him to continue on.
-
The rest of the group is too far ahead to catch up, so Baekhyun takes responsibility for him a little prematurely, giving him a tour that differs greatly from the one Kyungsoo would have experienced if he didn’t get distracted. He’s pleased though, and rather amused as Baekhyun completely ignores everything important and shows him all the best places to hide from officials when he might want to ‘have a good time’, as he puts it.
They arrive at the medical center and they both act a little more serious here, because it’s where Kyungsoo will be working and he needs a thorough understanding of where everything is.
“So basically,” Baekhyun starts as he leads Kyungsoo through a door with a picture of a smiley face obstructing the view through the tiny window. “This is my work space. I used to share it with someone but he went into active duty, which is why you’re here. There are two medics to each room, and we’re all assigned our patients, so we each have about 10, and they’re ours until they graduate. You’re just taking over his old batch, and you’ll get assigned new patients as they come in. There’s a clipboard on your desk over there,” he points to the corner, there are two tiny desks sitting opposite each other, right under the window. He can tell which one is his, because it’s completely bare except for the clipboard and an empty pencil tin. “It has a profile for each of your patients. You can go over that later on.”
He shows Kyungsoo more about where things are kept, and then they make their way back to the main building, where the group of new draftee’s are collected, browsing around the area at all the stations and machines. Kyungsoo is led over to an area with a large window overlooking the flight zone, about 40 computers lining the wall underneath. A man with light brown, wavy hair is sitting in front of the biggest one in the center, talking into a headset as he points back and forth between each plane and then the ground. Kyungsoo thinks it doesn’t take a genius to understand that he’s directing the planes to a safe landing.
He lets out a huge breath as he removes the headset. He’s surprised when he turns to see Baekhyun and Kyungsoo standing there, but he grins wide and waves at them. “Baekhyunnie!!!” He greets excitedly. “Who’s this?”
“This is Do Kyungsoo,” Baekhyun nudges Kyungsoo foreword slightly. Kyungsoo is at a loss for what to say; this man has a rather wide, blinding smile and is very, very tall. “He’s my new roommate. Kyungsoo, this is Chanyeol! He’s my…best friend!”
“Hi,” Kyungsoo bows his head slightly, a gesture he’s sure he’s going to tire of before the end of the day. Chanyeol’s face drops as he studies Kyungsoo.
“Oh. So our request was denied, then?” Baekhyun nods, looking a little sad himself. “I’m going to be stuck with Sehun forever. My happy virus is going to be healed if I’m around his moping any longer.” Kyungsoo isn’t sure if this happy virus being healed is a good thing or not, so he decides not to comment. “Nothing against you though, Kyungsoo! It’s a pleasure to meet you. I work here in commands. I’m in charge of making sure the pilots know the air…traffic and all that. So they don’t crash into other planes. Hahaha…” He scratches the back of his neck, looking awkward. Kyungsoo just sucks on his bottom lip, shifting back and forth from each foot while Baekhyun and Chanyeol begin discussing the latest gossip about some kid named Tao who recently got transferred to the marines.
The door slams open suddenly and Kyungsoo jumps, shaking his head slightly to regain his focus. Two men make their way through the room, both looking around Kyungsoo’s age. They’re laughing, loudly, not minding that they’ve halted a conversation - that three people were staring at them as they passed through.
They’re both sweating through their t-shirts, brushing soaked bangs off their sticky foreheads as they continue their conversation obnoxiously. The taller of the two is really stunning, with thick lips and striking eyes, body lean and sculpted in all the right ways. Kyungsoo doesn’t really pay attention to the shorter until he meets his gaze, and then he feels all of the wind being knocked right out of him.
Kyungsoo’s pretty sure he’s never seen someone so handsome in his life. It’s more subtle than his taller companion, but once it hits, it hits hard. His eyes sparkle and it makes Kyungsoo feel like the smile gracing his thin, pink lips is for him, just for him.
“That’s Suho and Kai, both trainee pilots.” Baekhyun mumbles into his ear, and he jumps again, momentarily forgetting where he is and what he’s there for. “Best this place has ever seen, I’d say, with the way the higher ups treat them. Suho especially. He’s our resident prodigy.” He points to the back of the smaller one. “He’s actually one of your patients. Don’t worry, though,” Kyungsoo bites his lip nervously as Baekhyun grins at him. “Super nice guy. Kai’s got a big head on his shoulders, total hotshot, but Suho’s really easy to handle. Compared to the rest of those assholes, at least.”
“Rest of them?” Kyungsoo deadpans. He didn’t really think he had much of a reason to be nervous, but now that he knows he’s responsible for some flying prodigy and (apparently) a bunch of assholes, he’s not so sure.
Baekhyun tilts his head to the side, and then takes hold of his hand, and leads him away from Chanyeol, who barely notices, still grumbling under his breath that he was stopped mid-stream by the pilots’ interruption.
Once out of earshot, he leans closer. “Are you gay?” He asks, and Kyungsoo’s eyes widen. “O-oh. Sorry. I didn’t mean to ask that so bluntly. I mean. Well. You don’t even have to answer it, I can kinda already tell, you just give off that impression.” Kyungsoo’s a little too taken-aback to form words at this time. But he’s not entirely sure he wants to clarify that Baekhyun is right. It seems like an insult to his pride, even though it’s clearly not meant to be. “But anyway. It will just make this job a little easier on you, is all. You’re going to have a whole ton of horny, sex-neglected pilots right on your case from day one, just because you’re small and scrawny and have a cute face.”
“That’s....” wonderful. Kyungsoo sighs.
“I get it, but don’t worry; no one will really try anything with you. It’s just that some can be really forward. It sucks that the thing that’s stopping us from being in active duty is our size, but that’s what makes our job so difficult for us anyway. Just harden up. That’s what I did. Make them think they can’t push you around.”
“But I’m not a very…hard person…” Kyungsoo winces, the words leaving his mouth sound so incredibly stupid, but they’re true. He’s nowhere near firm enough to be able to fend away a bunch of muscular, horny pilots.
He sincerely hopes it’s not as bad as it sounds. He’s not as conventionally attractive as Baekhyun is, anyway.
-
He’s not given a chance to settle before he’s pushed right into the job, a large container of medicine being handed to him, a new shipment from godknowswhere which is apparently the new big thing for increasing immune systems and controlling certain dietary needs. Kyungsoo comes from the not very wealthy area of an otherwise rich zone, so he’s never really had chances to work with products like this, not even at his first hospital assignment.
He’s scared but excited. Nervous that he might mess something up. It’s his first day, after all.
Baekhyun helps him with his first two patients, two huge, muscular men in their last year of training. He’s never seen anyone quite so big before, and Baekhyun explains to him in an undertone after that their muscles come from unofficial government experimentation and nothing else. He’s pretty sure nothing will surprise him after this.
His third patient is an awkwardly tall and gangly 18 year old who is much too thin to be in this line of work, so his clipboard has some special mentions about giving him certain pills to decrease his metabolism enough to gain the right amount of weight. He has to be careful. The pills are still in experimentation and they’re not officially allowed to administer to anyone.
Sehun’s a sweet boy though, who does as he’s told and tells Kyungsoo that if he wants a friend in this place, Sehunnie is there. Kyungsoo nods and smiles because of course he wants a friend, everyone wants friends. The smile that Sehun gives him in return doesn’t really seem to meet his eyes but Kyungsoo doesn’t have much time to let it bother him.
His fourth through seventh patients are those horny, desperate creeps that Baekhyun warned him about the day before. It’s all he can do to keep his mouth shut and do his job, but he’s not sure how he’s supposed to deal with the racy comments for the next four years of his life. Or more, he reminds himself bitterly. If they’re happy enough with his work, he doesn’t really have a choice but to stick around if they decide to re sign him.
Suho’s next, and Kyungsoo feels a little awkward to admit that this is the one he’s been waiting for, also the one he’s been most nervous for. There are all sorts of special instructions for him, and Kyungsoo feels he would have known he was the favourite just by this alone, without even having to get to know of him the day before.
Don’t touch him more than you have to
Give him exactly ¼ cup of water mixed with tonic #2 after any pills
Don’t argue when he asks to reschedule appointments
Always give him the specialized meal coupons, fresh fruit and lots of carbohydrates are needed for his diet
He seems like a celebrity, with all these demands. Some cocky, all-too-confident celebrity, who doesn’t care that the world is in disarray, puts his selfish needs in front of everyone else. It’s weird, because he didn’t really give off that impression the day before. That smile was way too beautiful to be anything but legitimate.
Suho takes a seat obediently on the bed before Kyungsoo even has to ask him, and he’s treated to the standard, “hi, I’m Do Kyungsoo, I’m your new nurse” greeting, with a slight bow to show respect-always show respect. These pilots will be the elite of the elite, in the near future. Somehow, it seems like Suho is already there.
He picks up the clipboard, reads, “Kim Junmyeon, blood type AB. I have a new dose of pills for you which you’ll need to take weekly from now on, so we need to set up a regular schedule for you, okay?”
Suho’s looking at him with a tight smile and raised eyebrows. “You’re young, aren’t you?”
“I’m qualified,” Kyungsoo points out impatiently. Suho’s not the first to comment about his age.
“Mm,” he scrunches up his nose and shakes his head. Kyungsoo wonders if he ever doesn’t look handsome, because he’s sure that if he tried that look on someone, they’d be running off as fast as they could in the complete opposite direction. “I’m not sure I trust that.”
“Well, you’re going to have to,” Kyungsoo tries to keep his voice steady, but he’s shocked and he’s scared that this Suho-why is he called Suho, anyway? Isn’t it Junmyeon?-seems perfectly capable of putting him out of a job if he doesn’t perform up to par. “Because I’m-”
“Hey,” he feels gentle fingers poke into his ribcage and he gasps, stumbles slightly to the side. That’s been a weakness of his that family and friends have taken advantage of his entire life. “I was just kidding. What’s with that look? You made me feel quite terrible.”
Kyungsoo bites back a reply, and tries, really tries, to soften his gaze a little. He knows that when he’s put on the spot his expression is nothing short of terrifying to look at, he’s heard it so many times from his mother and sister.
“Anyway,” Suho is scrutinizing him now, looking rather amused, and Kyungsoo blushes as he fumbles through the container to pull out the packaging for Suho’s new pills. “I’ll start them this evening, and stick to that weekly. I actually had some concerns.” He lets out a rather exasperated sigh. “I didn’t want to tell anyone else because they’ll freak out, but it’s really not that serious.”
“Oh?” Kyungsoo withdraws the pouch and looks over at Suho curiously.
“I twisted awkwardly while flying yesterday. And I think I might have pulled something in my shoulder, but it doesn’t hurt that much. It’s just...uncomfortable. I was wondering if you could do something about it.”
The way he’s looking at Kyungsoo makes him think he wants a massage or something like that, and the thought has Kyungsoo blushing an even deeper pink as he disappears through the privacy curtain to get some herbal patches from the supply closet.
“Here,” he hands them over and Suho accepts them with a quick thanks. “These should do, as long as you’re not lying about it only being uncomfortable.” He narrows his eyes and Suho laughs nervously.
“Okay. Well it hurts a bit. But I’m pretty sure these will do.” He waves them in the air and hops down from the bed. “Thanks, Ky-”
“We’re not done yet!” Kyungsoo says hurriedly. He rushes over to the clipboard again and tugs off the meal coupons, ripping off enough for the next week and sliding them into Suho’s waiting hand. “It says I’m supposed to give you these. Something about special diets and how you’re special or something.”
Suho laughs and Kyungsoo tries not to lose himself to the sound. “You’re funny. I like you. But eh, I guess I forgot you wouldn’t know since you’re new, but,” he pushes the coupons back into Kyungsoo’s palm. “Please get those to Sehun somehow. You’ve already had his appointment, I know. But he needs them more than I do. I really don’t like that they make him take those pills. And don’t tell him they’re supposed to be mine, okay?”
Kyungsoo’s left speechless as Suho pats his shoulder and then takes his leave. He regrets thinking those things about Suho being spoiled and cocky before, because he’s pretty sure he’s never met someone so genuinely and so unconditionally kind.
-
It’s been a rather long day and he’s still working well into the evening, taking notes in each of his patient’s files, jotting down everything he can remember from the first set of appointments. Baekhyun has long since disappeared, saying something about a party and having the evening off and that Kyungsoo is invited too if he’d like to join, but Kyungsoo turns him down politely. It’s his first day-he feels it’s not very appropriate to already be out and about like that.
There’s a knock on his door around 8, and he puts his pen down and makes his way over curiously, wondering who could be around still at this time of night, when apparently everyone had the evening to do their own thing.
He opens the door and finds himself face-to-shoulder with someone a significant amount taller than him. He steps back, mumbling an apology, and he’s horrified when he looks up and see’s that it’s Kai he bumped into, the other pilot from the day before that Baekhyun had described as having a big head.
“Hi,” the man in front of him looks nothing short of awkward, though, as he shifts from one foot to the other and gives Kyungsoo a rather desperate look. “Sorry for interrupting you. Can I come in?”
He nods and steps aside. Kai walks right over to the bed on Baekhyun’s side of the office and takes a seat on it. He’s a lot less intimidating now that Kyungsoo doesn’t have to look up to meet his gaze.
“What’s up?” He asks. He’s not entirely sure he’s supposed to talk to patients that aren’t his, but if Kai’s anything like Suho, well...
“I couldn’t go to my appointment today because I had a physical with another doctor, but I didn’t realize I’ve run out of metabolism pills and it’s too risky to miss a night with those, and... this was the only light that was on. I was scared Baekhyun would be here, I’m really relieved it’s not him,” he laughs shakily.
“Do you have your prescription information?” Kyungsoo asks, and Kai nods, handing it over. “Kim Jongin?” He’s surprised to see that Kai’s younger than him by almost exactly one year, he feels like Kai is at least a few years older. Maybe in his early 20’s, like Suho. Not 18. Not a child.
“Call me Kai, please. Everyone else does,” he smiles a charming smile and Kyungsoo shakes his head. No matter what he calls this man in his head, he has to remain professional on the job. Using a nickname is way too personal.
“Just give me a second here, I have to try and find what you need.”
“Take your time.” Kai lies back on the bed as Kyungsoo begins to shuffle through the cabinets. “You’re new, right?” He’s obviously interested in a conversation. It makes him seem rather lonely, Kyungsoo thinks. “I saw you yesterday. First when we were taking off, and then with Baekhyun and Chanyeol. You watched us fly, didn’t you?”
“Um,” Kyungsoo tugs a big, white bottle from the top shelf and it slips from his grasp as Kai finishes his question, landing with a crash on the counter below. “Y-yes.” He gathers it up quickly, checking the contents to make sure none broke open. “How many do you need?”
“My appointment is in three days.” Kai’s lips are quirked up as he watches Kyungsoo from the bed. Kyungsoo kind of feels like he’s being placed under a microscope, and he can’t decide if this feeling makes him uncomfortable or not. “So four, just in case?”
“O-okay.”
He pulls out a serving container and tips four of the coin-sized green pills into it carefully. He’s so glad he doesn’t have to take these things himself-he’s not exactly sure how these pilots manage to swallow them whole without choking.
“What did you think, anyway?” He turns back to Kai and tilts his head in confusion. “About my flying,” Kai clarifies.
“Um,” Kyungsoo places the container onto the bed next to him and backs into his office chair. Somehow, he knows exactly which plane belonged to whom the day before, just by catching these tiny glimpses into their personalities. “You’re fun to watch,” he explains slowly, trying to word it in a way that doesn’t sound too creepy. “But you’re too confident. You pulled out of a curve really messily and if Su-the other pilot didn’t have the proper instincts, I feel like it could have gotten dangerous.”
“Interesting,” he almost thinks Kai would be angry with his honesty, but he’s surprised to see a grin light up Kai’s features as he pushes himself up off the bed and to a stand. “Usually people just tell me how amazing I am.”
“If that’s what you want to hear, you should make sure I know that from the start.”
Kai chuckles at this and then reaches out his hand, which Kyungsoo shakes rather hesitantly. “You’re really interesting. I’d like to get to know you more. See you around, okay? Do Kyungsoo.” He leans close to whisper the last bit into his ear, and Kyungsoo stands, stock still, until Kai’s gone again. He releases a big shiver he wasn’t aware he was holding in.
He packs up his work and decides to head to his dorm to sleep-it’s been a really long, interesting day, full of many new faces, and he’s not sure he’ll remember all of them right away.
But there’s one, one with a gentle smile and sparkling half-moon eyes that Kyungsoo can’t really seem to get out of his mind at all, let alone forget about it.
-
Over the next few weeks, watching the pilots fly has become something of a relaxation thing for Kyungsoo. Every spare moment he has, he spends it outside the medical center, stretched out on whatever open patch of grass is in the shade as he keeps his eyes trained on the sky, watching the planes zoom overhead.
He doesn’t think he’ll ever get over the excitement of seeing them so often. Back in his village, he’d spend days in the exact same position, except only catching a glimpse of a jet every few days, maybe even weeks. Here, though-here, it’s unusual to have less than three planes in the sky at any given time.
Chanyeol and Baekhyun think he seems like a stalker, but he’s not, really. He only tries to get outside as often as possible when it’s Suho doing his training, simply because his style of flying is the most intriguing to Kyungsoo. That’s really all it is, really. Neither of his friends seem too convinced, though.
Today, it’s Suho and Kai, a special lesson, since it’s only them and the instructor. They seem to be working on testing a new move, and it’s a new side of their flying Kyungsoo has yet to see. They’ve both lost their confidence, both starting in the same spot-at the beginning. It’s a complicated trick filled with sudden drops and twists and Kyungsoo is surprised Suho, at least, manages to stay in the air through all of it. Kai’s told to give up after he almost fails to eject his wheels in time for the plane to skid along the runway during a messy, impromptu landing.
Chanyeol and Baekhyun are sitting with him, leaning slightly against each other. They make the perfect audience, gasping and clapping in excitement when Suho manages to pull off the move for the very first time. It gets the attention of Kai and the instructor, and Kai lifts his arm to wave at Kyungsoo, who returns it, but not without feeling a little confused as to why.
“Wow, I didn’t know you were friends with Kai.” Baekhyun looks surprised as he nudges Kyungsoo in the ribs. “When’d you even talk to him?”
Kyungsoo looks over in annoyance, because Suho’s still flying and he doesn’t want to miss a single second of it. “A few weeks ago.” He says shortly. “He ran out of a prescription and I was the only one around. It’s not like we’re friends. Just...” A familiar face? He wonders. Kai always makes a point to stop and say hi whenever he can, and it not only confuses Kyungsoo, but makes him feel a little bit uncomfortable, as well. He’s not entirely sure how he’s supposed to act around someone like Kai, so it probably makes him seem a little socially awkward. At best.
“Man. You know. I had him as a patient once, but I had to request he transfers to one of the older medics.” Baekhyun makes a face, obviously the memory isn’t such a good one for him. “He’s not very... cooperative, so I had to pass him off to someone more experienced than me. He took it way personally. He takes everything personally.”
Kyungsoo shrugs. Kai seems nice enough, to him, at least. A skewed sense of what personal space is, but nice.
“Even Suho’s flying skills,” Chanyeol sniggers into the water bottle he’s taking slow sips from. Baekhyun makes a noise of distaste but his lips curve up ever so slightly.
“Yeah. Especially Suho’s flying skills.”
This perks Kyungsoo’s interest, suddenly. He tears his gaze away from the sky and leans closer to their conversation, much too curious for his own good. “What do you mean?”
“What do you mean, what do we mean?” Baekhyun asks with a laugh. “Isn’t it obvious? Kai’s intense jealousy that he’ll never be as good as Suho at flying?”
“Aren’t they good friends?” Kyungsoo ponders out loud. He sees them more often than not, together, walking through the hallways of the center, discussing flying tactics and movies and pretty much everything under the sun.
“Well yeah. Because Suho’s a super nice guy, remember? He’ll put up with anything. Pretty sure if he was a dog he’d let you ride him all over the place.”
Kyungsoo’s not sure he can imagine either Kai or Suho being so submissive that they’d put up with a friendship filled with such negative feelings. But it’s not like he’s been around for a long time-it’s not like he knows either of them really at all.
“So it’s like a one-sided rivalry...” It’s a little sad, really. He turns to look at Kai, who has his eyes trained on Suho’s plane, his lips pressed together, frown lines creasing up his forehead. Well, now that he thinks about it, it does seem a little obvious...
-
Kyungsoo really likes the scheduled appointment days. Sure, they’re super busy-nonstop work from early morning to late evening, and with all the reschedules and late shows, he’s barely even graced with any time to breathe, let alone time to rest.
But they’re the one day of the week that he’s guaranteed a chance to talk face to face with Suho, who, while he’s a complete pleasure to watch in the air, always has something fun and interesting to talk about which has Kyungsoo liking their one on one time almost as much as he likes watching him fly.
He’s never tried to reschedule an appointment, he always shows up, right on time, with a bright smile, and he shakes Kyungsoo’s hands like they’re old friends, jumping right into a story of something fun that happened to him that week. Kyungsoo always just listens. He loves listening. Suho talks much like he flies, a beautiful, steady voice, speaking the words confidently with natural ease. He’s a leader, Kyungsoo observes, a born leader who is capable of taking the world into his grasp and running it well. It seems like being part of the specialized forces is just a stepping stone for him.
“Thank you,” Suho says to him one day, part way through their fourth appointment together. Kyungsoo shivers, because he’s been leaning perhaps a little too close to remove the blood pressure monitor and so he can feel Suho’s breath tickling the skin at his collar as he speaks.
“For what?” He backs away slightly, makes a note on the clipboard.
“For everything.”
Kyungsoo’s a little confused. He can’t exactly recall what he’s done, what Suho has to be thanking him for. He blinks and reaches to flatten invisible wrinkles on his medic’s uniform, not so sure what to do with his free hand now. It feels awkward just hanging at his side.
“What’s with that face?”
The question startles him a little bit and he might be blushing as he averts his gaze. “What do you mean?” He asks, voice shaking slightly.
“You have an interesting expression on your face a lot of the time. Your eyes open really wide. It’s cute.”
Okay, he’s definitely blushing now. Suho’s pulling his sleeve back down to cover the spot on his upper arm where a red mark was forming from the sphygmomanometer. “That’s... something I have been trying to work on my whole life, but I...”
“It’s your face, Kyungsoo.” Kyungsoo has mixed feelings about Suho’s incessant need to poke him. He lets out a rather unmanly squeak as a sharp finger presses into his abdomen and he stumbles back even further, well out of reaching distance. Suho’s entire body is shaking as if he’s trying to suppress his
laughter. “No one should ask you to change your face. It’s fine the way it is. Like I said, it’s cute.”
Kyungsoo can’t really form any words at this point, he’s too busy trying to pretend to do his job as an excuse to hide his blush and the fact that he’ll sound like a prepubescent boy if he tries to speak. He can’t really help but notice that Baekhyun and his patient have gone incredibly silent on their side of the room, probably trying to listen to their conversation through the curtains.
“Anyway.” Suho slides off the bed and takes two big steps towards Kyungsoo, who chokes on air when he feels himself being pulled into a quick, tight hug. “Thank you. Again. For everything. Giving Sehun the meal coupons.”
Oh. Oh. He shakes his head quickly to show it’s not a big deal at all. “He’s gaining weight...”
“I can tell. Slowly but surely.” Suho says. His smile is always so charming that it never fails to render Kyungsoo speechless for a few moments. “So thank you. And, um. Thank you.” He releases his grip on Kyungsoo’s arm, which Kyungsoo didn’t even notice until then, and takes a step back. “For coming to watch me fly every day. I mean. Us. The pilots. Thank you.”
Kyungsoo half wants to clarify that it really is just Suho that he goes for, but he can’t form the words and it’s probably better that he doesn’t. Suho gives his shoulder one last squeeze before he makes his exit.
Kyungsoo takes his time calling in the next patient, because he really needs some time to breathe. Catch up with his thoughts. Try to get over the tingling feeling on his skin that Suho’s touch left behind.
-
When the war first started, many assumed it was the end of the world. It's not like Kyungsoo blames anyone for that kind of thinking; things like aliens and other dimensions were nothing but myths once upon a time. But he thinks, if he had been alive at the time, that he'd have been level headed and realized that the world has been through so much worse, like ice ages, nuclear warfare, global warming, and they've always emerged strong. All this one takes is alliance, all the continents of the world joining hands to create an unbeatable force. 20 years later, and they still haven't crumbled.
Sometimes Kyungsoo wishes that it will all end, that the world could go back to the way that it was before so that he can begin to dream about things like becoming a chef, traveling the world and maybe even starting a family, but his mother once told him that it's better to ignore the what ifs and instead focus on making the life he has no choice but to live a fulfilling one. Fall in love, she told him. Find someone that you know you'll want to hold on to right until the end of the world and beyond. Be happy, because happiness is the one thing left to strive for.
At the time, Kyungsoo didn't really take her words to heart. He thought that he's never really had a hard time finding happiness-it didn't need to be with another person; he found it in simple things like when they had enough money to purchase more ration coupons or when he saw elderly couples holding hands. It took him until he moved to the base to find out that true happiness is much deeper and much more complex than that.
He's never felt anything like he does in those moments where Baekhyun and Chanyeol go out of their way to invite him along with their crazy schemes, when Kai stops by to say hello just because, or when Sehun’s smile brightens just that little bit because he’s put on another two pounds for the week. But nothing, nothing at all, can even come close to the short moments he spends with Suho, every smile, every touch, every beautiful utter of Kyungsoo’s own name stored away in his memory for good because he knows they're the happiest times of his life. And that's when it hits him, so hard that it leaves him a little winded as the realization dawns on him late one restless night, that this might be what his mother was talking about.
-
part two
rating: light r
warnings: adult topics, deals with war
pairings: junmyeon/kyungsoo, jongin/kyungsoo, slight baekyeol
summary: Fighter Pilot AU. The one thing Kyungsoo doesn't expect when he's moved to the flight combat training center as a medic, is to have a hotshot pilot and his prodigy best friend at war over him.
A/N: Originally posted here months ago, edited and reposted for LJ. Still not happy with it, but eh. This is me motivating myself to write another one of the sequels.
Kyungsoo has only ever seen a plane once before in his life.
He remembers the day like it was yesterday, always has. He’s not entirely sure what exactly drew him to the giant metal tube with wings and engines that can apparently fly itself across oceans and to the other worlds, but when he saw it he escaped from his mothers grasp, somehow evading four rows of traffic as he scrambled desperately to the barbed-wire fence on the other side of the street. He curled his fingers around the wooden poles on either side of him and stared in awe as a group of men in their military uniforms led rows of civilian passengers down a pair of narrow staircases.
“That’s a jumbo jet,” his mother had said to him, once she finally caught up. “There used to be so many of those. We could fly to Japan, the Americas, anywhere we wanted to go, with just a passport. They’re only used for military purposes now.”
Kyungsoo didn’t know, he wasn’t alive when people had these kinds of freedoms; when the land he lived on was still known as Korea. So he just turned his attention back to the huge plane, trying to figure out how exactly it managed to stay in the sky when it was so huge.
After that moment he was always drawn to them, to their magnificence and beauty. He spent countless hours in his childhood, laying back on fields and scanning the skies, getting excited with every bird that flew overhead, only to be disappointed when he realized his mistake. He was never able to ask for any more information, because his mother always just shook her head sadly at him in response, and told him he shouldn’t be so curious. It will make him miss a world he’ll never have a chance to experience.
19 year old Kyungsoo finds that almost funny, now. He chuckles to himself as he wanders behind the small group of students making their way across the expanse of black tarmac, towards a gigantic building seemingly made only of glass. He’s lagging behind and he doesn’t want to inconvenience anyone, but he can’t help but stare as he tries to take in his surroundings. This is all so very new to him.
Zone One. He thinks he remembers something from school, his teacher telling the class that zone one is the biggest and most important zone in all of Asia, covering all of what used to be China and more than half of South Korea. It’s the center for the specialized forces, and in a world where the sole focus is the war, this kind of area is where all the government funding goes to. If Kyungsoo ever saw planes flying overhead in his childhood, Zone One is where they were heading to or from.
A sudden, loud revving noise, much like one of a car engine but times a billion in volume, has Kyungsoo stumbling forward in shock, right into the kid directly in front of him. He mumbles an apology just in time to see two sleek, black military planes shoot down the runway and into the sky effortlessly and perfectly in sync. Kyungsoo saw these planes in his guidebooks, but he never really paid any attention to how small they actually are.
After seeing that jumbo jet, he always pictured planes to be huge, bigger than even his old house. But these-these are barely any larger than the army trucks he’d grown up seeing pass by his home almost every day.
He stops completely without even realizing it, stares up at the sky as the two planes begin what he can only really describe as a dance. At first, they fly completely synchronized, taking one trip around the base, and then one leaves the path, the plane tilting from one side to the other as it flies in zigzags across the sky. He grins at this, because it’s an amusing sight to see and he just knows the pilot is having fun, is mocking his companion.
The other plane curves easily, the body rolling in one big circle as it catches up. Kyungsoo is rather taken aback, there, because somehow the plane looks so weightless, so graceful, as it twists and turns through the air, flying in circles around the other, just as teasingly, but with a sort of beauty about it that Kyungsoo compares to a butterfly.
He feels a hand curl around his wrist and he’s snapped out of his trance. He turns from the two planes still dancing in the sky and finds himself staring into a completely new face, someone he didn’t see on the shuttle bus on the way there.
“Hi, Do Kyungsoo, right?” The kid has small, droopy eyes and a bright smile. He nods slowly, entranced by the gentleness of his appearance. “I’m Baekhyun. I am your senior, but let’s skip formalities, yeah? You’re going to see a lot of me over the next few years so just call me Baekhyun or hyung.” His grin widens and Kyungsoo is treated to a view of a mouth full of perfect, straight, pearly white teeth. He looks more like an idol than a military official, that’s for sure.
“It’s nice to meet you, Baekhyun hyung.” He bows his head slightly and doesn’t fight when Baekhyun starts to tug him the rest of the way across the tarmac.
“You’re really cute. You looked like a lost puppy staring at those planes. You’re from zone two, right?”
“Yeah,” says Kyungsoo, his breath short as he struggles to keep up with Baekhyun’s pace. “But nowhere near the city, so I’m kind of new to all of this.”
“I guess that stupid brochure they hand you on the bus really wasn’t enough to get you up to speed, then.” Baekhyun laughs. “But that’s okay. That’s why you have me, I’m your roommate. I’m a medic too, I moved here last year, from the same zone as you, but I grew up in the city...” he sighs. “Anyway, you must be at least as good as I am. They only let the best of the best transfer here, don’t they?”
Kyungsoo doesn’t really think it takes all that much talent to do what he does-they like to call themselves medics, but really they’re just nurses. The only reason he managed to get a transfer to Zone One is because he was very diligent and studious during school, and he’s always just been capable of following orders well.
They reach the doors to the glass building. Kyungsoo can’t help but stop and turn to catch one last glimpse at the planes, but they’ve disappeared. He’s a little disappointed when Baekhyun gives his wrist another tug to urge him to continue on.
-
The rest of the group is too far ahead to catch up, so Baekhyun takes responsibility for him a little prematurely, giving him a tour that differs greatly from the one Kyungsoo would have experienced if he didn’t get distracted. He’s pleased though, and rather amused as Baekhyun completely ignores everything important and shows him all the best places to hide from officials when he might want to ‘have a good time’, as he puts it.
They arrive at the medical center and they both act a little more serious here, because it’s where Kyungsoo will be working and he needs a thorough understanding of where everything is.
“So basically,” Baekhyun starts as he leads Kyungsoo through a door with a picture of a smiley face obstructing the view through the tiny window. “This is my work space. I used to share it with someone but he went into active duty, which is why you’re here. There are two medics to each room, and we’re all assigned our patients, so we each have about 10, and they’re ours until they graduate. You’re just taking over his old batch, and you’ll get assigned new patients as they come in. There’s a clipboard on your desk over there,” he points to the corner, there are two tiny desks sitting opposite each other, right under the window. He can tell which one is his, because it’s completely bare except for the clipboard and an empty pencil tin. “It has a profile for each of your patients. You can go over that later on.”
He shows Kyungsoo more about where things are kept, and then they make their way back to the main building, where the group of new draftee’s are collected, browsing around the area at all the stations and machines. Kyungsoo is led over to an area with a large window overlooking the flight zone, about 40 computers lining the wall underneath. A man with light brown, wavy hair is sitting in front of the biggest one in the center, talking into a headset as he points back and forth between each plane and then the ground. Kyungsoo thinks it doesn’t take a genius to understand that he’s directing the planes to a safe landing.
He lets out a huge breath as he removes the headset. He’s surprised when he turns to see Baekhyun and Kyungsoo standing there, but he grins wide and waves at them. “Baekhyunnie!!!” He greets excitedly. “Who’s this?”
“This is Do Kyungsoo,” Baekhyun nudges Kyungsoo foreword slightly. Kyungsoo is at a loss for what to say; this man has a rather wide, blinding smile and is very, very tall. “He’s my new roommate. Kyungsoo, this is Chanyeol! He’s my…best friend!”
“Hi,” Kyungsoo bows his head slightly, a gesture he’s sure he’s going to tire of before the end of the day. Chanyeol’s face drops as he studies Kyungsoo.
“Oh. So our request was denied, then?” Baekhyun nods, looking a little sad himself. “I’m going to be stuck with Sehun forever. My happy virus is going to be healed if I’m around his moping any longer.” Kyungsoo isn’t sure if this happy virus being healed is a good thing or not, so he decides not to comment. “Nothing against you though, Kyungsoo! It’s a pleasure to meet you. I work here in commands. I’m in charge of making sure the pilots know the air…traffic and all that. So they don’t crash into other planes. Hahaha…” He scratches the back of his neck, looking awkward. Kyungsoo just sucks on his bottom lip, shifting back and forth from each foot while Baekhyun and Chanyeol begin discussing the latest gossip about some kid named Tao who recently got transferred to the marines.
The door slams open suddenly and Kyungsoo jumps, shaking his head slightly to regain his focus. Two men make their way through the room, both looking around Kyungsoo’s age. They’re laughing, loudly, not minding that they’ve halted a conversation - that three people were staring at them as they passed through.
They’re both sweating through their t-shirts, brushing soaked bangs off their sticky foreheads as they continue their conversation obnoxiously. The taller of the two is really stunning, with thick lips and striking eyes, body lean and sculpted in all the right ways. Kyungsoo doesn’t really pay attention to the shorter until he meets his gaze, and then he feels all of the wind being knocked right out of him.
Kyungsoo’s pretty sure he’s never seen someone so handsome in his life. It’s more subtle than his taller companion, but once it hits, it hits hard. His eyes sparkle and it makes Kyungsoo feel like the smile gracing his thin, pink lips is for him, just for him.
“That’s Suho and Kai, both trainee pilots.” Baekhyun mumbles into his ear, and he jumps again, momentarily forgetting where he is and what he’s there for. “Best this place has ever seen, I’d say, with the way the higher ups treat them. Suho especially. He’s our resident prodigy.” He points to the back of the smaller one. “He’s actually one of your patients. Don’t worry, though,” Kyungsoo bites his lip nervously as Baekhyun grins at him. “Super nice guy. Kai’s got a big head on his shoulders, total hotshot, but Suho’s really easy to handle. Compared to the rest of those assholes, at least.”
“Rest of them?” Kyungsoo deadpans. He didn’t really think he had much of a reason to be nervous, but now that he knows he’s responsible for some flying prodigy and (apparently) a bunch of assholes, he’s not so sure.
Baekhyun tilts his head to the side, and then takes hold of his hand, and leads him away from Chanyeol, who barely notices, still grumbling under his breath that he was stopped mid-stream by the pilots’ interruption.
Once out of earshot, he leans closer. “Are you gay?” He asks, and Kyungsoo’s eyes widen. “O-oh. Sorry. I didn’t mean to ask that so bluntly. I mean. Well. You don’t even have to answer it, I can kinda already tell, you just give off that impression.” Kyungsoo’s a little too taken-aback to form words at this time. But he’s not entirely sure he wants to clarify that Baekhyun is right. It seems like an insult to his pride, even though it’s clearly not meant to be. “But anyway. It will just make this job a little easier on you, is all. You’re going to have a whole ton of horny, sex-neglected pilots right on your case from day one, just because you’re small and scrawny and have a cute face.”
“That’s....” wonderful. Kyungsoo sighs.
“I get it, but don’t worry; no one will really try anything with you. It’s just that some can be really forward. It sucks that the thing that’s stopping us from being in active duty is our size, but that’s what makes our job so difficult for us anyway. Just harden up. That’s what I did. Make them think they can’t push you around.”
“But I’m not a very…hard person…” Kyungsoo winces, the words leaving his mouth sound so incredibly stupid, but they’re true. He’s nowhere near firm enough to be able to fend away a bunch of muscular, horny pilots.
He sincerely hopes it’s not as bad as it sounds. He’s not as conventionally attractive as Baekhyun is, anyway.
-
He’s not given a chance to settle before he’s pushed right into the job, a large container of medicine being handed to him, a new shipment from godknowswhere which is apparently the new big thing for increasing immune systems and controlling certain dietary needs. Kyungsoo comes from the not very wealthy area of an otherwise rich zone, so he’s never really had chances to work with products like this, not even at his first hospital assignment.
He’s scared but excited. Nervous that he might mess something up. It’s his first day, after all.
Baekhyun helps him with his first two patients, two huge, muscular men in their last year of training. He’s never seen anyone quite so big before, and Baekhyun explains to him in an undertone after that their muscles come from unofficial government experimentation and nothing else. He’s pretty sure nothing will surprise him after this.
His third patient is an awkwardly tall and gangly 18 year old who is much too thin to be in this line of work, so his clipboard has some special mentions about giving him certain pills to decrease his metabolism enough to gain the right amount of weight. He has to be careful. The pills are still in experimentation and they’re not officially allowed to administer to anyone.
Sehun’s a sweet boy though, who does as he’s told and tells Kyungsoo that if he wants a friend in this place, Sehunnie is there. Kyungsoo nods and smiles because of course he wants a friend, everyone wants friends. The smile that Sehun gives him in return doesn’t really seem to meet his eyes but Kyungsoo doesn’t have much time to let it bother him.
His fourth through seventh patients are those horny, desperate creeps that Baekhyun warned him about the day before. It’s all he can do to keep his mouth shut and do his job, but he’s not sure how he’s supposed to deal with the racy comments for the next four years of his life. Or more, he reminds himself bitterly. If they’re happy enough with his work, he doesn’t really have a choice but to stick around if they decide to re sign him.
Suho’s next, and Kyungsoo feels a little awkward to admit that this is the one he’s been waiting for, also the one he’s been most nervous for. There are all sorts of special instructions for him, and Kyungsoo feels he would have known he was the favourite just by this alone, without even having to get to know of him the day before.
Don’t touch him more than you have to
Give him exactly ¼ cup of water mixed with tonic #2 after any pills
Don’t argue when he asks to reschedule appointments
Always give him the specialized meal coupons, fresh fruit and lots of carbohydrates are needed for his diet
He seems like a celebrity, with all these demands. Some cocky, all-too-confident celebrity, who doesn’t care that the world is in disarray, puts his selfish needs in front of everyone else. It’s weird, because he didn’t really give off that impression the day before. That smile was way too beautiful to be anything but legitimate.
Suho takes a seat obediently on the bed before Kyungsoo even has to ask him, and he’s treated to the standard, “hi, I’m Do Kyungsoo, I’m your new nurse” greeting, with a slight bow to show respect-always show respect. These pilots will be the elite of the elite, in the near future. Somehow, it seems like Suho is already there.
He picks up the clipboard, reads, “Kim Junmyeon, blood type AB. I have a new dose of pills for you which you’ll need to take weekly from now on, so we need to set up a regular schedule for you, okay?”
Suho’s looking at him with a tight smile and raised eyebrows. “You’re young, aren’t you?”
“I’m qualified,” Kyungsoo points out impatiently. Suho’s not the first to comment about his age.
“Mm,” he scrunches up his nose and shakes his head. Kyungsoo wonders if he ever doesn’t look handsome, because he’s sure that if he tried that look on someone, they’d be running off as fast as they could in the complete opposite direction. “I’m not sure I trust that.”
“Well, you’re going to have to,” Kyungsoo tries to keep his voice steady, but he’s shocked and he’s scared that this Suho-why is he called Suho, anyway? Isn’t it Junmyeon?-seems perfectly capable of putting him out of a job if he doesn’t perform up to par. “Because I’m-”
“Hey,” he feels gentle fingers poke into his ribcage and he gasps, stumbles slightly to the side. That’s been a weakness of his that family and friends have taken advantage of his entire life. “I was just kidding. What’s with that look? You made me feel quite terrible.”
Kyungsoo bites back a reply, and tries, really tries, to soften his gaze a little. He knows that when he’s put on the spot his expression is nothing short of terrifying to look at, he’s heard it so many times from his mother and sister.
“Anyway,” Suho is scrutinizing him now, looking rather amused, and Kyungsoo blushes as he fumbles through the container to pull out the packaging for Suho’s new pills. “I’ll start them this evening, and stick to that weekly. I actually had some concerns.” He lets out a rather exasperated sigh. “I didn’t want to tell anyone else because they’ll freak out, but it’s really not that serious.”
“Oh?” Kyungsoo withdraws the pouch and looks over at Suho curiously.
“I twisted awkwardly while flying yesterday. And I think I might have pulled something in my shoulder, but it doesn’t hurt that much. It’s just...uncomfortable. I was wondering if you could do something about it.”
The way he’s looking at Kyungsoo makes him think he wants a massage or something like that, and the thought has Kyungsoo blushing an even deeper pink as he disappears through the privacy curtain to get some herbal patches from the supply closet.
“Here,” he hands them over and Suho accepts them with a quick thanks. “These should do, as long as you’re not lying about it only being uncomfortable.” He narrows his eyes and Suho laughs nervously.
“Okay. Well it hurts a bit. But I’m pretty sure these will do.” He waves them in the air and hops down from the bed. “Thanks, Ky-”
“We’re not done yet!” Kyungsoo says hurriedly. He rushes over to the clipboard again and tugs off the meal coupons, ripping off enough for the next week and sliding them into Suho’s waiting hand. “It says I’m supposed to give you these. Something about special diets and how you’re special or something.”
Suho laughs and Kyungsoo tries not to lose himself to the sound. “You’re funny. I like you. But eh, I guess I forgot you wouldn’t know since you’re new, but,” he pushes the coupons back into Kyungsoo’s palm. “Please get those to Sehun somehow. You’ve already had his appointment, I know. But he needs them more than I do. I really don’t like that they make him take those pills. And don’t tell him they’re supposed to be mine, okay?”
Kyungsoo’s left speechless as Suho pats his shoulder and then takes his leave. He regrets thinking those things about Suho being spoiled and cocky before, because he’s pretty sure he’s never met someone so genuinely and so unconditionally kind.
-
It’s been a rather long day and he’s still working well into the evening, taking notes in each of his patient’s files, jotting down everything he can remember from the first set of appointments. Baekhyun has long since disappeared, saying something about a party and having the evening off and that Kyungsoo is invited too if he’d like to join, but Kyungsoo turns him down politely. It’s his first day-he feels it’s not very appropriate to already be out and about like that.
There’s a knock on his door around 8, and he puts his pen down and makes his way over curiously, wondering who could be around still at this time of night, when apparently everyone had the evening to do their own thing.
He opens the door and finds himself face-to-shoulder with someone a significant amount taller than him. He steps back, mumbling an apology, and he’s horrified when he looks up and see’s that it’s Kai he bumped into, the other pilot from the day before that Baekhyun had described as having a big head.
“Hi,” the man in front of him looks nothing short of awkward, though, as he shifts from one foot to the other and gives Kyungsoo a rather desperate look. “Sorry for interrupting you. Can I come in?”
He nods and steps aside. Kai walks right over to the bed on Baekhyun’s side of the office and takes a seat on it. He’s a lot less intimidating now that Kyungsoo doesn’t have to look up to meet his gaze.
“What’s up?” He asks. He’s not entirely sure he’s supposed to talk to patients that aren’t his, but if Kai’s anything like Suho, well...
“I couldn’t go to my appointment today because I had a physical with another doctor, but I didn’t realize I’ve run out of metabolism pills and it’s too risky to miss a night with those, and... this was the only light that was on. I was scared Baekhyun would be here, I’m really relieved it’s not him,” he laughs shakily.
“Do you have your prescription information?” Kyungsoo asks, and Kai nods, handing it over. “Kim Jongin?” He’s surprised to see that Kai’s younger than him by almost exactly one year, he feels like Kai is at least a few years older. Maybe in his early 20’s, like Suho. Not 18. Not a child.
“Call me Kai, please. Everyone else does,” he smiles a charming smile and Kyungsoo shakes his head. No matter what he calls this man in his head, he has to remain professional on the job. Using a nickname is way too personal.
“Just give me a second here, I have to try and find what you need.”
“Take your time.” Kai lies back on the bed as Kyungsoo begins to shuffle through the cabinets. “You’re new, right?” He’s obviously interested in a conversation. It makes him seem rather lonely, Kyungsoo thinks. “I saw you yesterday. First when we were taking off, and then with Baekhyun and Chanyeol. You watched us fly, didn’t you?”
“Um,” Kyungsoo tugs a big, white bottle from the top shelf and it slips from his grasp as Kai finishes his question, landing with a crash on the counter below. “Y-yes.” He gathers it up quickly, checking the contents to make sure none broke open. “How many do you need?”
“My appointment is in three days.” Kai’s lips are quirked up as he watches Kyungsoo from the bed. Kyungsoo kind of feels like he’s being placed under a microscope, and he can’t decide if this feeling makes him uncomfortable or not. “So four, just in case?”
“O-okay.”
He pulls out a serving container and tips four of the coin-sized green pills into it carefully. He’s so glad he doesn’t have to take these things himself-he’s not exactly sure how these pilots manage to swallow them whole without choking.
“What did you think, anyway?” He turns back to Kai and tilts his head in confusion. “About my flying,” Kai clarifies.
“Um,” Kyungsoo places the container onto the bed next to him and backs into his office chair. Somehow, he knows exactly which plane belonged to whom the day before, just by catching these tiny glimpses into their personalities. “You’re fun to watch,” he explains slowly, trying to word it in a way that doesn’t sound too creepy. “But you’re too confident. You pulled out of a curve really messily and if Su-the other pilot didn’t have the proper instincts, I feel like it could have gotten dangerous.”
“Interesting,” he almost thinks Kai would be angry with his honesty, but he’s surprised to see a grin light up Kai’s features as he pushes himself up off the bed and to a stand. “Usually people just tell me how amazing I am.”
“If that’s what you want to hear, you should make sure I know that from the start.”
Kai chuckles at this and then reaches out his hand, which Kyungsoo shakes rather hesitantly. “You’re really interesting. I’d like to get to know you more. See you around, okay? Do Kyungsoo.” He leans close to whisper the last bit into his ear, and Kyungsoo stands, stock still, until Kai’s gone again. He releases a big shiver he wasn’t aware he was holding in.
He packs up his work and decides to head to his dorm to sleep-it’s been a really long, interesting day, full of many new faces, and he’s not sure he’ll remember all of them right away.
But there’s one, one with a gentle smile and sparkling half-moon eyes that Kyungsoo can’t really seem to get out of his mind at all, let alone forget about it.
-
Over the next few weeks, watching the pilots fly has become something of a relaxation thing for Kyungsoo. Every spare moment he has, he spends it outside the medical center, stretched out on whatever open patch of grass is in the shade as he keeps his eyes trained on the sky, watching the planes zoom overhead.
He doesn’t think he’ll ever get over the excitement of seeing them so often. Back in his village, he’d spend days in the exact same position, except only catching a glimpse of a jet every few days, maybe even weeks. Here, though-here, it’s unusual to have less than three planes in the sky at any given time.
Chanyeol and Baekhyun think he seems like a stalker, but he’s not, really. He only tries to get outside as often as possible when it’s Suho doing his training, simply because his style of flying is the most intriguing to Kyungsoo. That’s really all it is, really. Neither of his friends seem too convinced, though.
Today, it’s Suho and Kai, a special lesson, since it’s only them and the instructor. They seem to be working on testing a new move, and it’s a new side of their flying Kyungsoo has yet to see. They’ve both lost their confidence, both starting in the same spot-at the beginning. It’s a complicated trick filled with sudden drops and twists and Kyungsoo is surprised Suho, at least, manages to stay in the air through all of it. Kai’s told to give up after he almost fails to eject his wheels in time for the plane to skid along the runway during a messy, impromptu landing.
Chanyeol and Baekhyun are sitting with him, leaning slightly against each other. They make the perfect audience, gasping and clapping in excitement when Suho manages to pull off the move for the very first time. It gets the attention of Kai and the instructor, and Kai lifts his arm to wave at Kyungsoo, who returns it, but not without feeling a little confused as to why.
“Wow, I didn’t know you were friends with Kai.” Baekhyun looks surprised as he nudges Kyungsoo in the ribs. “When’d you even talk to him?”
Kyungsoo looks over in annoyance, because Suho’s still flying and he doesn’t want to miss a single second of it. “A few weeks ago.” He says shortly. “He ran out of a prescription and I was the only one around. It’s not like we’re friends. Just...” A familiar face? He wonders. Kai always makes a point to stop and say hi whenever he can, and it not only confuses Kyungsoo, but makes him feel a little bit uncomfortable, as well. He’s not entirely sure how he’s supposed to act around someone like Kai, so it probably makes him seem a little socially awkward. At best.
“Man. You know. I had him as a patient once, but I had to request he transfers to one of the older medics.” Baekhyun makes a face, obviously the memory isn’t such a good one for him. “He’s not very... cooperative, so I had to pass him off to someone more experienced than me. He took it way personally. He takes everything personally.”
Kyungsoo shrugs. Kai seems nice enough, to him, at least. A skewed sense of what personal space is, but nice.
“Even Suho’s flying skills,” Chanyeol sniggers into the water bottle he’s taking slow sips from. Baekhyun makes a noise of distaste but his lips curve up ever so slightly.
“Yeah. Especially Suho’s flying skills.”
This perks Kyungsoo’s interest, suddenly. He tears his gaze away from the sky and leans closer to their conversation, much too curious for his own good. “What do you mean?”
“What do you mean, what do we mean?” Baekhyun asks with a laugh. “Isn’t it obvious? Kai’s intense jealousy that he’ll never be as good as Suho at flying?”
“Aren’t they good friends?” Kyungsoo ponders out loud. He sees them more often than not, together, walking through the hallways of the center, discussing flying tactics and movies and pretty much everything under the sun.
“Well yeah. Because Suho’s a super nice guy, remember? He’ll put up with anything. Pretty sure if he was a dog he’d let you ride him all over the place.”
Kyungsoo’s not sure he can imagine either Kai or Suho being so submissive that they’d put up with a friendship filled with such negative feelings. But it’s not like he’s been around for a long time-it’s not like he knows either of them really at all.
“So it’s like a one-sided rivalry...” It’s a little sad, really. He turns to look at Kai, who has his eyes trained on Suho’s plane, his lips pressed together, frown lines creasing up his forehead. Well, now that he thinks about it, it does seem a little obvious...
-
Kyungsoo really likes the scheduled appointment days. Sure, they’re super busy-nonstop work from early morning to late evening, and with all the reschedules and late shows, he’s barely even graced with any time to breathe, let alone time to rest.
But they’re the one day of the week that he’s guaranteed a chance to talk face to face with Suho, who, while he’s a complete pleasure to watch in the air, always has something fun and interesting to talk about which has Kyungsoo liking their one on one time almost as much as he likes watching him fly.
He’s never tried to reschedule an appointment, he always shows up, right on time, with a bright smile, and he shakes Kyungsoo’s hands like they’re old friends, jumping right into a story of something fun that happened to him that week. Kyungsoo always just listens. He loves listening. Suho talks much like he flies, a beautiful, steady voice, speaking the words confidently with natural ease. He’s a leader, Kyungsoo observes, a born leader who is capable of taking the world into his grasp and running it well. It seems like being part of the specialized forces is just a stepping stone for him.
“Thank you,” Suho says to him one day, part way through their fourth appointment together. Kyungsoo shivers, because he’s been leaning perhaps a little too close to remove the blood pressure monitor and so he can feel Suho’s breath tickling the skin at his collar as he speaks.
“For what?” He backs away slightly, makes a note on the clipboard.
“For everything.”
Kyungsoo’s a little confused. He can’t exactly recall what he’s done, what Suho has to be thanking him for. He blinks and reaches to flatten invisible wrinkles on his medic’s uniform, not so sure what to do with his free hand now. It feels awkward just hanging at his side.
“What’s with that face?”
The question startles him a little bit and he might be blushing as he averts his gaze. “What do you mean?” He asks, voice shaking slightly.
“You have an interesting expression on your face a lot of the time. Your eyes open really wide. It’s cute.”
Okay, he’s definitely blushing now. Suho’s pulling his sleeve back down to cover the spot on his upper arm where a red mark was forming from the sphygmomanometer. “That’s... something I have been trying to work on my whole life, but I...”
“It’s your face, Kyungsoo.” Kyungsoo has mixed feelings about Suho’s incessant need to poke him. He lets out a rather unmanly squeak as a sharp finger presses into his abdomen and he stumbles back even further, well out of reaching distance. Suho’s entire body is shaking as if he’s trying to suppress his
laughter. “No one should ask you to change your face. It’s fine the way it is. Like I said, it’s cute.”
Kyungsoo can’t really form any words at this point, he’s too busy trying to pretend to do his job as an excuse to hide his blush and the fact that he’ll sound like a prepubescent boy if he tries to speak. He can’t really help but notice that Baekhyun and his patient have gone incredibly silent on their side of the room, probably trying to listen to their conversation through the curtains.
“Anyway.” Suho slides off the bed and takes two big steps towards Kyungsoo, who chokes on air when he feels himself being pulled into a quick, tight hug. “Thank you. Again. For everything. Giving Sehun the meal coupons.”
Oh. Oh. He shakes his head quickly to show it’s not a big deal at all. “He’s gaining weight...”
“I can tell. Slowly but surely.” Suho says. His smile is always so charming that it never fails to render Kyungsoo speechless for a few moments. “So thank you. And, um. Thank you.” He releases his grip on Kyungsoo’s arm, which Kyungsoo didn’t even notice until then, and takes a step back. “For coming to watch me fly every day. I mean. Us. The pilots. Thank you.”
Kyungsoo half wants to clarify that it really is just Suho that he goes for, but he can’t form the words and it’s probably better that he doesn’t. Suho gives his shoulder one last squeeze before he makes his exit.
Kyungsoo takes his time calling in the next patient, because he really needs some time to breathe. Catch up with his thoughts. Try to get over the tingling feeling on his skin that Suho’s touch left behind.
-
When the war first started, many assumed it was the end of the world. It's not like Kyungsoo blames anyone for that kind of thinking; things like aliens and other dimensions were nothing but myths once upon a time. But he thinks, if he had been alive at the time, that he'd have been level headed and realized that the world has been through so much worse, like ice ages, nuclear warfare, global warming, and they've always emerged strong. All this one takes is alliance, all the continents of the world joining hands to create an unbeatable force. 20 years later, and they still haven't crumbled.
Sometimes Kyungsoo wishes that it will all end, that the world could go back to the way that it was before so that he can begin to dream about things like becoming a chef, traveling the world and maybe even starting a family, but his mother once told him that it's better to ignore the what ifs and instead focus on making the life he has no choice but to live a fulfilling one. Fall in love, she told him. Find someone that you know you'll want to hold on to right until the end of the world and beyond. Be happy, because happiness is the one thing left to strive for.
At the time, Kyungsoo didn't really take her words to heart. He thought that he's never really had a hard time finding happiness-it didn't need to be with another person; he found it in simple things like when they had enough money to purchase more ration coupons or when he saw elderly couples holding hands. It took him until he moved to the base to find out that true happiness is much deeper and much more complex than that.
He's never felt anything like he does in those moments where Baekhyun and Chanyeol go out of their way to invite him along with their crazy schemes, when Kai stops by to say hello just because, or when Sehun’s smile brightens just that little bit because he’s put on another two pounds for the week. But nothing, nothing at all, can even come close to the short moments he spends with Suho, every smile, every touch, every beautiful utter of Kyungsoo’s own name stored away in his memory for good because he knows they're the happiest times of his life. And that's when it hits him, so hard that it leaves him a little winded as the realization dawns on him late one restless night, that this might be what his mother was talking about.
-
part two