Chapter Text
Han Sooyoung was at first considering just printing out a fully fake thing for Dokja and calling it a day, but he seemed weirdly intense about his request. So with a heavy heart she went to the second hand friend of a doctor. Lee Seolhwa will anyway be the one to tell Yoo Joonghyuk the diagnosis is fake when he inevitably comes asking around. She might as well get on the joke before it comes down.
“Hey. I got you cake.” Han Sooyoung comes in offering first, although it's not the main bribe she came prepared with. Just something to open the negotiations.
“Really? Alright, I'll make us tea,” Lee Seolhwa answers with a smile, easily stepping back to invite Han Sooyoung deeper into the house.
The interior is mostly beige and shades of brown, and if it wasn't for flower pots scattered around, the whole composition would be painfully mild and inoffensive like a sales listing rather than a living space. But then, Han Sooyoung had heard that her own house looks like Pollock's painting so each to their own…
It takes all her patience to not start talking before the tea is on the table.
“I can't make promises, but I can at least hear what you think I could help with,” Lee Seolhwa ends up asking first, all poised and peaceful like it's her normal.
“Alright, so. We were thinking you could help us get a believable looking thing, just, you know, to fool a guy for a bit. Something that says that getting trans hormone replacement is a medical necessity,” she explains, playing with her spoon to not keep looking in the eyes of this woman. Because going this far for a prank suddenly feels like a bit much.
“Hmmm… let me guess, it's for Yoo Joonghyuk?” Lee Seolhwa nails with startling accuracy. She's kind of scary smart sometimes. No wonder Kim Dokja claimed her as a friend soon after starting to date Yoo Joonghyuk.
“Yeah.” As soon as she confirms there's a grin that the doctor lady suppresses almost instantly, but the glint of excitement in her eyes remains. “If you want—”
“I can do you one better. There's a psychiatrist I know I can explain this to. She could sign off on it to push it a bit further,” she raises the bet before Han Sooyoung can make her offer.
Now it's really clear why Lee Seolhwa would hang out with Kim Dokja.
“I'm mostly here because the rat-in-chef wanted a plausible deniability when Yoo Joonghyuk gets this. But I think that dumbass would love to see what you'd come up with,” Han Sooyoung decides that if the scheme has an ally then she has no reason to not share who is in command of this conspiracy.
“I see. Excuse me while I check when I can get it set up,” she leaves the room for a short moment and Han Sooyoung makes a decision to actually put the gift she prepared on the table in the meantime. Call it gratitude for going the extra mile for her idiot.
Not too long after Lee Seolhwa comes back with phone in hand, looking rather pleased with herself.
“I should call with the tragic news. To prime them for the main hit.”
“Don't mind me, I'll just sit here and listen.” Han Sooyoung just sits there more comfortably, as pronounced, waiting to witness the show. It's a rare gift to see a whole drama unfolding with so little effort, so of course fireworks deserve to be admired.
Lee Seolhwa lifts her phone immediately, although it takes a few moments before it connects, and the only regret Han Sooyoung might have is that the call isn't on speakers so she can fully witness it.
“Yoo Joonghyuk-ssi? I have urgent bad news. Your recent tests have shown something that might turn out to be life-changing and I will need you on Tuesday in my office to confirm it. Please take care of yourself.”
So professional that Han Sooyoung could imagine an average guy starting to panic with worry. But she's seen enough of Yoo Joonghyuk to know that he's not the type.
“It would be a good idea if you invited your partner to accompany you,” she adds the blow that would have a lesser man on verge of tears. Ruthless.
Han Sooyoung has to admit she’s impressed, definitely too much to make herself voice that maybe it is taking things a bit too far; but then, Lee Seolhwa knows Yoo Joonghyuk. Probably better than Han Sooyoung knows him, with the whole glaring jealousy over his boyfriend’s time getting in the way.
The first reaction when Kim Dokja hears about Yoo Joonghyuk having a medical issue he feels the worry racing through his body. Lee Seolhwa wasn't the pranking type and for her to call… It took him a few minutes to recall that he asked Han Sooyoung for a favor. He has no idea how this madwoman pulled off the whole phone call in the process, but as it stands he unfortunately owes her a large favor.
Poor Joonghyuk is pacing the apartment in stress, but she definitely will feel much better after hearing what it's about too.
“Wouldn't you want to work off the stress? The gym isn't far…” he adds a bit about the gym quickly because the offer slipped out before he thought about what he's saying. Of course when she's stressed like this she isn't going to want more personal distraction.
Yoo Joonghyuk glares at him, before actually considering the options and instead just grabs on Dokja's arm and drags him down to the sofa.
“It will be alright,” Dokja promises as he puts his arms around his big string girlfriend. He's not ruining the surprise, just in case it's actually not about that. He just allows Joonghyuk to slump over him, accepting his fate as a stress ball to be squeezed.
He kind of deserves it for not making sure everything will be put together smoothly, leaving it to the madness nesting in Han Sooyoung's head.
Since Joonghyuk is nuzzling into him harder he kisses her forehead, fondly ruffling her hair.
“You're not going to work tomorrow,” Joonghyuk demands insistently, her nails digging into soft skin on Dokja's side. Somehow he didn't even notice when her hands made it under his shirt, but he’s not planning to protest.
“I can call it in… I'm going to get fired anyway,” Dokja shrugs lightly, accepting his fate. He basically put himself in this situation. The shitty temp job is not worth much anyway. Definitely worth much less than spending time with Joonghyuk-ie when she needs attention.
They cuddle until Yoo Joonghyuk decides it's time to make dinner.
“You know, we could just order something in,” Dokja offers, suddenly feeling like he shouldn't make Joonghyuk cook.She deserves to relax a bit and not rush to do more.
“Overpay for a shitty excuse of a meal?” Yoo Joonghyuk scrunches her nose on top of trademark glare.
“Sorry,” Kim Dokja smiles as he apologizes, all taken in by his adorable partner. Of course she is right, there’s no way some random restaurant could ever stand a chance to rival her.
She doesn't just cook well, she cooks with honest love. It's really as they say, a woman who cooks is the blessing of the house.
“I know it's impossible to find food as good as yours anywhere else,” he assures as her eyes linger on him, narrowed in suspicion.
While watching her tenderize meat Kim Dokja wonders if Yoo Joonghyuk might pick a different name when they're working on her body. She didn't seem dissatisfied with current name, but then, if Kim Dokja wasn't snooping where he shouldn't, he wouldn't find out she's not happy with her current body either.
Hopefully it will be possible to coax some honesty out of her during the transition process.
Joonghyuk is fully absorbed in preparing the meal, her nimble fingers working deftly as she slices vegetables and seasons the meat. Kim Dokja watches her with fascination, his heart fluttering with affection for the strong, capable woman before him. Yoo Joonghyuk is the true earner of the house, and Dokja is not even able to handle all the house chores up to standard.
Really, he is not even sure how he managed to get this lucky for her to find him worth her attention.
Dokja helps her set up the table, regretting that he can't do more. He would literally do anything possible to make Joonghyuk happy.
She cocks an eyebrow at him, a smirk playing at the corner of her lips. “Like what you see?” she teases playfully.
Kim Dokja chuckles, not even trying to hide he was checking her out. “Always,” he admits shamelessly. Yes, anything for her, even if it means forcing her into things she would never admit to wanting.