The Odd Doctor Out | A Drama | S. 1

39 🩺 Be confident

Stepping through the door, Hongjoong couldn't help but look around.

'Cozy place,' he said softly as he took his shoes off.

Seonghwa dumped his bag down next to the door and wandered over to the kitchen where he turned on a lamp, illuminating the dark apartment.

'The lightbulbs need changing but I haven't gotten around to it,' he said awkwardly as Hongjoong raised an eyebrow.

Hongjoong looked to his right and saw a switch on the wall. He reached out and flipped it, and sure enough, nothing happened. 'How long haven't they worked for?' he asked, amused.

'About six months.'

Hongjoong laughed. 'I see.'

Glancing around, he noticed that just about every available surface and bookshelf were filled with textbooks and references. There were minimal decorations, bar a few photos of himself with people who looked to be his friends and family, but other than that and a little ceramic frog that just about scared the shit out of Hongjoong thinking it was a spider, the place was mainly filled with books.

'I'll um, I'll get you some clothes and towels...' Seonghwa walked through to another area which seemed to be an extension of the living room, where there was a bed and more bookshelves. He returned not long after with a small stack.

'Thanks...'

'Um.. Yeah, bathroom is just through the bedroom... Sorry, the layout is a bit weird... It used to be a studio, but then they put the sliding doors in to kind of separate it into dining and bedroom...'

Hongjoong smiled. 'Seonghwa, it's fine. You have a lovely home.'

The boy smiled shyly. 'Th-thank you...'

Hongjoong took that as his cue, and poked his nose around to try and find the bathroom.

Ten minutes later, he emerged, wearing Seonghwa's shirt which was far too big for him, and a pair of boxers and joggers, both of which needed to be pulled tight to keep on.

He hung up his towels and when he walked out, he saw that Seonghwa had made food. It was arranged on a small coffee table with cushions as seats, and the moment Hongjoong ducked into sight, Seonghwa looked up.

'I, um... I don't really know what you like, so like, feel free to-'

'Seonghwa.'

'Yeah...?'

'Stop stressing.' He giggled at the look of panic that crossed the boy's face. It was adorable... Hongjoong slowly made his way over towards him. 'You have like, so many books...'

Suddenly distracted by the chase of topic, Seonghwa looked around, nodding as Hongjoong sat down cross legged at the table, ruffling his damp hair.

'Yeah...'

'I guess you really wanted to become a doctor then, huh?' He picked up his chopsticks and picked at a dumpling on the plate.

'Mmm, maybe not at first... I mean... I knew I wanted to work with children, and I knew I didn't want to be a teacher.'

Hongjoong snorted.

'And then I took an aptitude test at school like, way before I should have been even thinking about uni, and it said I would suit medicine.'

Hongjoong listened intently, smiling at the fact that suddenly, Seonghwa had stopped finally stumbling over his words.

'So I did Biomed as my entry pathway, studied and here I am, I guess...'