Chapter 1 - Dentists are from hell

Jimin sat in the waiting room as if someone had chained him to a chair with invisible chains. His feet were pounded into the floor, his hands clenched in his lap. He didn't breathe very deeply, because every breath was a reminder that another moment, another moment .... and they'll call him to the office.

And he will die. For sure.

- Park Jimin? - a calm male voice rang out.

Jimin jerked his head up. Standing in front of him was someone who looked as if he'd burst out of a perfume commercial - black shirt, snow-white apron, dark eyes that could freeze the ocean.

- This way, please," the man said and was already turning on his heel, not waiting for Jimin to rise from his chair.

"Run away," said a quiet voice in his head. But the body got up. The legs moved. And before he knew it, he found himself in a modern, sterile white office.

- Sit down," the dentist instructed, indicating a chair.

- I... yy... - Jimin wanted to say something. Maybe that he had changed his mind. Maybe that it's not his tooth that hurts, but his soul.

The dentist raised his eyebrows. - Park Jimin, twenty-seven years old, molar toothache on the left side. Probable infection. You haven't been to the dentist in .... seven years?

Jimin turned red.

- Somehow... came out.

The dentist took a long look at him. - I am Dr. Jeon Jungkook. I don't bite. It's the teeth that bite. And it looks like yours wants to kill you.

Jimin snorted a nervous laugh. - You're not helping...

- I'm not the one who made you avoid the dentist like a fire for seven years.

- Because the dentist is fire," Jimin replied under his breath, but Jungkook heard it. I... smiled.

- Sit down before I light myself on fire.

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Chapter 2 - Anesthesia

When Jimin finally sat down in the chair, he felt like his body was collapsing into some bottomless abyss.

Jungkook came closer. Without a word, he put on his gloves, prepared his instruments and raised his gaze.

- Anesthesia. It will be slightly painful. - He showed the syringe. It was bigger than Jimin ever wanted to see.

- No... Can't without? - he groaned.

- One can. But then it hurts a lot more.

- Do you have any choice.... more humane?

Jungkook moved closer, stood so that Jimin could smell him - clean, citrusy, like an evening bath after a very long day.

- Trust me. You're holding up pretty well for someone who just wanted to faint.

- Fainting is my backup plan.

Jungkook's smile was barely visible, but it was there. - Open your mouth.

Jimin tightened his eyes. He felt a sting. Then a second one.

- There," Jungkook said. - Breathe.

That "breathe" sounded too soft for someone who was only supposed to be a cold professional. Jimin lifted his eyelids. Their gazes met. For a split second, something stopped.

Then Jungkook turned away and busied himself with his tools.

And Jimin thought: "This dentist has eyes like the ocean. The kind that pulls in slowly and doesn't give back."

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Chapter 3 - Heart Sounds

The anesthesia was working. Jimin couldn't feel half of his face and because of that he tried to speak, but he sounded like someone after a few too many glasses.

- Dzzie... dzzzie... How? - he tried to ask, and Jungkook raised an eyebrow.

- Don't say. Or at least don't try. It's going well. We do a decent cleaning and then root canal treatment. - Jungkook worked quickly, with precision. His hands moved as if they had known every corner of Jimin's mouth for years.

Jimin tried not to stare. But he did stare. At the eyelashes. At the forehead. At the perfectly focused expression on his face.

- Are you listening to music? - Jungkook asked suddenly, without interrupting his work.

Jimin blinked.

- Do you have headphones? Sometimes it helps to relax. Choose something. I recommend jazz, but I'm weird.

- K-pop? - Jimin chuckled, twisting his lips in a half-paralyzed smile.

Jungkook fell silent for a moment, then replied:

- BTS?

Jimin panicked. - No, no! Not that... I mean... Not that... - He waved his hands, tangling his words.

Jungkook looked at him with calmness. - That's a good thing. Because I have their entire album on the playlist.

Jimin froze.

- You... Are you listening to BTS?

- We all have some kind of weakness.

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Chapter 4 - After treatment

- Done," said Jungkook, taking off his gloves. - You didn't pass out. You didn't run away. And you know what, you weren't that scary.

Jimin sat down carefully. He felt like his body was made of cotton wool, and his head no longer belonged to him.

- Thank you... Really," he said quietly.

Jungkook only nodded, but did not move from his seat. Their gazes met again. Jungkook looked as if he wanted to say something, but held back.

- You have to come back in a week," he finally said. - To finish the treatment.

- In a week? - Jimin croaked.

- I promise you won't have to fight with the needle anymore.

Jimin smiled half-heartedly. - And with you?

Jungkook looked at him. And that smile... The one that appeared only for a second.... made Jimin's heart beat harder.

- Let's see.

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Chapter 5 - One pain too many

Jimin returned home with half his face still numb and his head full of questions.

Is it normal for a person to feel something for his dentist? That he begins to wonder what it would be like to meet him outside that cool office?

But before he could get lost in it, the phone rang. The receptionist from Jungkook's clinic was calling.

- Mr. Park, Dr. Jeon asked to be reminded to hydrate and avoid hot drinks. I... He also left a message.

- A message?

- He said that you did well. And that... is looking forward to seeing you next week. And that he won't forget the BTS playlist.

Jimin leaned his forehead against the door frame. For the first time in years, he he was waiting for a dental appointment.

Not because of a tooth. By someone treating him.