The Odd Doctor Out | A Drama | S. 2

202 🩺 A Shoulder To Lean On

Carefully slipping into the barstool beside Yunho, one of the first things Mingi noticed was the concerned, worried glance that the bartender shot him. Without Yunho having even spoken, he immediately started serving up a drink that looked and smelled suspiciously like poison. Sliding it across the bench, Yunho took it without even looking up, only nodding thanks.

Looking between Yunho and the bartender, Mingi wondered what kind of understanding the two had.

'Can I get you anything?'

Mingi glanced at him, taken aback for a moment by just how concerned he looked and sounded. 'Probably...'

Just then, Yunho took it upon himself to suddenly swig back the entirety of his drink in one go, slamming the glass back down on the counter once he was finished.

Jumping at the sudden abrasive movement and sound, Mingi noticed the bartender flinch also.

'Preferably something strong.'

Mingi gave the guy a kind, appreciative smile, watching for a moment as he refilled Yunho's glass, and then set to work on some particularly dangerous looking concoction.

In just a few moments, he was served with a white russian which smelled suspiciously strong of vodka, so much so that it burned his eyes and his nose when he came too close.

Cringing, Mingi glanced at Yunho for a moment, stalling drinking the poison before him. However when he saw him literally shaking with anger, Mingi sighed.

Tearing his eyes from Yunho's tensed back and suppressing his intense urge to knead out that excruciating looking tension, Mingi pivoted back to the front. 

Picking up his particularly deathly smelling drink, he took a deep breath, pinching his nose and counting to three before downing the lot like some disgusting concoction dished up by a nurse. It stung his mouth and his throat and his nose and made him cringe as the strong taste of vodka and coffee liqueur burned every surface it touched, making his eyes water.

Good.

Gently placing the glass back on the marble bench, he took a few deep breaths, mainly to try and lessen the damage done by the taste. But without only a few moments passing, his stomach already felt tipsy and tighter, making him wonder what on earth the percentage alcohol content had been precisely...

'Mingi you didn't need to come here.'

Distracted, he looked over at him. Still staring down through the golden liquid to the crystal adorned bottom of the glass, he twirled the syrup back and forth, watching the light reflecting onto the bench.

He looked so tense and upset and angry and broken, that it hurt for Mingi to just look at him... 'I couldn't let you leave by yourself.'

Seeing the way his jaw tensed, Mingi suddenly froze, worried that his voice had only made things worse. Maybe he should have just kept his mouth shut?

But after the initial long moment passed, Mingi watched with trained eyes, surprised as he saw the muscles in Yunho's back relax a little. It had only been a slight change, but to Mingi, it was much more than that. It was enough to tell him that when Yunho gritted his teeth and forced out 'I don't want you here,' it had likely been a lie...

'I don't believe that.'

Yunho's swirling stopped, his whole body unmoving. His eyes slowly closed, and once they were shut, Mingi could have easily mistaken him for a statue.

He was exhausted. Pained and irate and tired. It showed in every aspect of his body, and it was all Mingi could do not to reach out and comfort him...