Chapter Text
Chapter one
Choi Soobin was a pretty regular guy. He was smart, funny, and extremely warm-hearted. Everyone at college loved him, and as well as Soobin tried to radiate warmth to the world, he couldn’t help but feel like he was dying inside. The truth is…Soobin HATED what he was majoring in college: medicine. Everyday, he would struggle to get out of bed, drag himself to class, and complete homework that felt like personal torture. He HATED learning about Cranial nerves, the Krebs cycle, and other random medical terms that he could care less to remember. Today was just another one of those days.
Soobin sighed, staring at his computer screen, the blue light straining his eyes in the quietness of the library. He was looking at yet another diagram of the Brain, trying to distinguish the difference between the primary motor cortex and the motor association cortex. The human body CANNOT be this deep, he thought as he took a deep breath and ran his fingers through his blonde hair. He checked the time on his watch, 1 AM. Should I just do this tomorrow? He contemplated as he stared at the screen, and then at a picture of his parents he always kept by his library cubicle, a reminder of who he was doing this for. His family moved to America when he was 10 years old from Ansan, Korea. Due to not feeling at home there, they had decided to move back when he was 15. In that process, they had lost a lot of money, so their only option was to make their kids go into successful, respected professions in order to maintain some of their dignity. Looking at the framed picture beside his desk, Soobin clenched his teeth. Screw it, I’m going to be here all night if I have to, I can’t disappoint them.
-Time Skip -
A little while later, just around 3 AM, Soobin headed out of the library and shuddered as the cold, frosty air hit his face. His eyes were heavy from staring at the computer for so long, and with a small sigh, he put in his earbuds and looked through his playlist, which, ironically was named Lowkey Burnt Out, and played “Dreaming Girl” by Xdinary Heros. This was just a part of his routine, quietly he passed the dorm buildings of the college campus and went into a quiet, secluded building near his dorm. Students called this building the Healer’s fort, because everyone that came there was often weighed down by the burdens of this heavy world. Soobin came here a lot. No matter how late it was, how tired he was, he always felt at peace when he came here.
Trudging up the steps, Soobin opened the door and walked out onto the roof. He stood in the center of the roof and tilted his head up to look at the stars. They seemed so small from where he was standing, and laid out across the dark, night sky made them look like little pearls on the bottom of the ocean floor. What am I even doing here? Soobin thought to himself, but he couldn’t bring himself to go back to his dorm, for going back would mean that the next day would come quicker, and that means he’d continue living the life he didn’t want to live, chasing his parents’ dream. Sighing, Soobin was about to change his song on his Spotify playlist when his hands froze, and a soft melody began to play in his ears. “Serendipity” by Jimin.
Soobin stopped, and listened to the music, quickly scanning around, he put his phone down, and began to move his arms. He’d seen Jimin dance to this song hundreds of times, playing it on repeat when he was supposed to be studying, and Jimin had always looked so graceful. Should I try dancing to this? Soobin thought as he mimicked the moves he had seen a thousand times before. Albeit, his dancing was anything but graceful, however, Soobin didn’t care. Dancing was his true love, not medicine. He felt free when he danced, like a bird breaking out of its cage, and soon, all his worries disappeared as he gained a newfound sense of energy. As he was dancing, Soobin couldn’t help but smile, the first real one he had in months. This smile wasn’t the smile he showed off to the freshmen who needed him for guidance, or to his classmates when they needed help with homework. It was his. The smile someone can only produce when they do something they love. Suddenly, he heard a voice from behind him. “Nice rhythm, your form could use work though.” Shocked, Soobin gasped and immediately stopped dancing. He whipped around, and could only see a guy with a baseball cap, standing within the shadows of the roof. Embarrassed, Soobin grabbed his stuff and ran.