The Odd Doctor Out | A Drama | S. 1

124 🩺 And The Truth Is Out

San and Yunho sat in their usual seats at the bar, Yunho swirling his drink around in a glass, and San idly stirring his pink and blue cloudy martini. It was a particularly quiet night, and there wasn't much movement surrounding them. The bar was relatively empty.

Yunho glanced at San, noticing the way he dipped his pinky into his fancy glass and licked the devil's taste from his fingertip. He noticed the way he sat, and the way he held himself... He noticed a lot... Now...

'San, are you gay?'

San didn't really react. His attention was on the surprise at his drink's taste. He looked up calmly. 'Isn't it obvious? Couldn't you tell?'

Yunho felt his heart pound in his chest. 'I, uh- not until recently...'

San laughed, in shock. 'Wait- you really didn't know? I was literally just at Wooyoung's and we kissed. Surely you knew...'

Yunho shook his head slowly.

'I really didn't tell you? I never even mentioned guys...?'

He continued shaking his head.

He didn't, right? Or am I just such a shitty friend, caught up in my own crap that I never listened?

Something in Yunho's disposition must have screamed seriousness, because suddenly, San's calm outlook evaporated. 'Oh...' San suddenly squirmed a little in his seat. 'Sorry... I thought you knew... Is- Is it going to be a problem...?'

Yunho watched San's whole body filled with nervousness, and he suddenly looked devastated. Yunho hated seeing how so quickly, his comfortable friend had gone from being happy and chill, enjoying his drink with his childhood friend, to oh shit oh shit oh shit, am I about to loose my best friend?

Yunho looked down at his own glass as he swirled the lemon bitter. Did this change anything? San was still San, right?

Of course he's still San, Jesus Christ, Yunho, stop scaring him.

'We're fine, calm down,' he said finally, and he almost died the moment he saw San's entire body relax, the tension flowing from every single inch of his skin and evaporating into thin air. Yunho ignored the tinge he felt somewhere inside him - pushed it back as hard as he possibly could. San shouldn't be sad. He should be happy. He deserves not to worry.

'If you didn't know, when did you start to notice...?'

Yunho rubbed his neck awkwardly as he thought. The image popped into his head of the night he'd first met San's other school friends. He'd been shocked with how gentle and soft he was around them... Especially Mingi...

'I guess it was when I saw you with your high school friends...'

San frowned. 'What do you mean?'

Yunho shrugged. 'You act differently around them...'

'Oh? How so? Wait- how do I act with you then?'

He hated to say it, but it slipped out. 'More like one of the boys...'

San heaved. Deliberately. 'Oh god, I do not.'

Yunho didn't know why, but he laughed, and as he did, he felt a tiny little bit of his tension fade.

'So how do I act with Hwa and Min?'

And just like that, the tension returned... 'I don't know... you're more... delicate... Less... Abrasive?'

San frowned. 'Lol abrasive? I don't know what abrasive is supposed to mean, but I suppose I can see what you mean about delicate. Especially with Min, right?'

Yunho squeezed his eyes shut for a moment... Mingi... 'Yeah...'

'He's such a sweet baby. I can't help but be soft with him.'

And suddenly, without any prior thought, it was like the words slipped from his mouth of their own volition. 'Is-... i- is... is Mingi... too...?'

He wasn't 100% sure, but the moment he saw San's expression and the look of concern and sudden caution that crossed his face, he was fairly bloody sure he already knew the answer.

'Yun, I think you should talk to him about that... I really shouldn't say anything...'

Yunho nodded. He'd basically said enough.

'It's not that he's got anything to hide,' San quickly added. 'I just think that maybe it's a conversation better to be had between you two...'

Yunho nodded again. Downing his drink, he put the glass down on the bench with a plonk, wishing it had been scotch instead. He could feel San's eyes burning into the side of his head. He could feel the caution and worry in his expression, and he didn't even need to see it with his own eyes.

'Yun-ah...' San's soft voice shook Yunho, and instantly pulled him from his daze.

'You know it doesn't change anything, right? It doesn't matter who we like... Right Yun?'

The pain in his voice was evident, and Yunho suddenly felt guilty as fuck for feeling uncomfortable. It wasn't like he had anything against it. He didn't know why it made him feel so uneasy. But that wasn't San's fault, and so he forced himself to look up and smile. He wanted to reach out and tap him on the shoulder to comfort him, but when he suddenly stopped himself, he realised he had a problem and he needed to sort it out asap.

'Give me a few days. Nothing changed, but I think I need time to process...' Yunho cringed at his own words, and felt like crying the moment he saw the panic enter San's eyes.

It was then that he instinctively reached out and put his hand on his shoulder. As though he was expecting the boogieman to jump out, Yunho tensed for a moment. But as soon as he realised that no boogieman would appear, he relaxed. See?! Stop overacting. San is still San.

But San's gaze was still filled with terror and devastation, and it hurt like hell.

'Don't give me that look, San. It's not like we're not going to be friends now that I know. Like you said, this changes nothing. Okay?'

San nodded, and the tiny smile he gave him was worth a million times more than anything else in the world. 'Okay... Good...'

They looked at each other for a few moments, no one saying anything, Yunho's hand still on his shoulder.

Until San suddenly laughed. 'God. I think I just had a heart attack. Let's change the subject or I will die. How's uni?'

And Yunho took the topic change with both hands.

'Good, uni is good.'

~~~