The Odd Doctor Out | A Drama | S. 1

165 🩺 Escape

Yeosang couldn't take it any more.

Wooyoung had been crying all morning, all afternoon, and now at quarter to seven when the sun had gone down, Wooyoung was still sitting outside his door crying.

Pulling on his coat, Yeosang walked over and put his hand on the door handle and lock, pausing for a moment. He could hear Wooyoung crying, still begging him to open the door, even if it was less intense as before, but the sound ripped right to Yeosang's core.

Taking a deep breath, Yeosang unlocked the door and opened it almost simultaneously, striding out.

He tried not to look at his brother's eyes widening at the sudden movement, and he tried not to notice as Wooyoung tried his best to get to his feet to chase after him.

Striding into the living room, Yeosang saw Hongjoong in the kitchen washing up a plate, who turned as he noticed the movement and new commotion.

Pulling his shoes on, Yeosang grabbed his phone and wallet next to the door as Hongjoong walked up, turning on the outside light for him.

'I'm going. I can't listen to him crying any more.' Yeosang said quietly, taking the keys from the hook.

'Okay.. Where are you going?'

'I have no idea. Anywhere else.'

Just then, Wooyoung must have managed to get up by himself, as he started limping into the living room, teary cheeks and a pale face just making Yeosang feel even worse.

'Hyung-ah, pleaseeee!'

'Drive safely,' Hongjoong said softly, patting him on the shoulder.

And Yeosang nodded, before leaving without even looking back.

~~~

Yeosang didn't know how long he'd been driving around for. Seeming to go around and around in circles, it wasn't until Yeosang had been driving for almost half an hour that he realised he'd somehow ended up out of the front of Jongho's apartment block.

Sitting in the car, Yeosang let his head rest down on the steering wheel for a long moment, feeling emotions well up inside him. Breathing through it, he let himself try to relax and not get worked up thinking about things he couldn't change.

Closing his eyes, he almost jumped through the roof as a knock at his window disturbed him.

And he didn't know what to do when he saw that the person who had knocked, had been Jongho.

'Uhh, hi? Are you going to come up? I assume you're here to visit?' Jongho's muffled voice floated through the glass of the window as he peered inside, a confused expression on his face.

Numbly, Yeosang put the car in park and got out, leaving his phone and everything else other than his keys behind.

Walking around, he glanced down at Jongho, rugged up in a thick jacket holding a small plastic bag, clearly not dressed to be going anywhere other than the corner store.

'Sang... Are you okay? You look... distraught...'

Glancing at Jongho's kind face, Yeosang shook his head. Shoving his hands in his pockets, he pursed his lips together.

'Come up. It's cold outside, come on.' Swapping the plastic bag to his other hand, he put his hand on the small of Yeosang's back to lead him into the building. Waiting for the elevator, he shrugged off his jacket and slung it over Yeosang's shoulders.

Numb to everything around him, Yeosang felt like the world was almost buzzing around him. He barely noticed Jongho's coat over his shoulders, and he barely noticed the time morph from the moment he was outside in the cold, to the moment he was following Jongho into his home.