The Odd Doctor Out | A Drama | S. 2

207 🩺 Dilema

Sitting on his bed, Yeosang toyed with the little USB in his hands, running his fingers over the cold sleek steel. In the quiet, he pulled his knees to his chest as he rested his head back against the bed head and closed his eyes.

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'Kang Saem.'

Yeosang turned around to see Dr. Kim standing at the door to his office.

'May I see you for a moment?'

Yeosang glanced between Mingi, San and Wooyoung. No, he thought, but seeing the look on Wooyoung's face that was just praying for him to say yes, Yeosang sighed.

'I'll catch up with you guys,' he said softly, before walking back down to Dr. Kim's office, walking inside as he was gestured.

'It's actually just Yeosang,' he said softly, listening to the door click shut behind them. He watched Dr. Kim walk over and lean against a bookshelf, looking at him with scrutinous intent.

'So I take it that means you made your decision.'

Yeosang glanced down at his feet. He respected this person so much, and it felt embarrassing to admit it to him that he had in fact, made his decision.

'Your university called.'

Yeosang frowned, looking up. 'Why? Actually, no, who did they call?'

'The university facilitator got the call, but I already told him that I'd speak up for your circumstances, so they transferred it to me.'

Yeosang could barely believe what he was hearing. 'W-why would you do that? You're already so busy, why are you going the extra mile for me? I'm not even going to graduate.'

'Because I see something inside of you that a lot of other students lack.' He looked at him for a long moment with those intelligent, character filled eyes. 'Fire. You have a purpose, a goal, and a drive. It is very obvious to those around you, yet I wonder whether you yourself recognise that.'

Yeosang didn't know what to say to that. And so he ignored it. 'What did the uni want to know?'

'Why their top student suddenly submitted withdrawal from program papers four weeks before they were set to graduate.'

Yeosang felt his chest tighten. 'You can't possibly expect me to believe that. I'm one of hundreds of students. There's no way they would flag that.'

'Oh, but they did. As apparently your application read, due to personal reasons, you had decided to drop, and I gave them confirmation of the extenuating circumstances.'

'So why are you telling me this? To make me feel bad? To guilt me into regretting it? It's too late.'

Yeosang watched as Kim Sa Bu shook his head. He crossed his arms, taking his time as he considered him. 'No, it is most certainly your choice, I am not guilt tripping you. But I did ask that your university not process the papers for a period of time.'

Something exploded inside of Yeosang. It was a mixture of thousands of different emotions, but the ones that stood out seemed to be that of shock, anger and hope. The sheer hope of a second chance was stifling, and it made him feel sick with guilt.

'I'm not going back.'

'That may be so. but alas, they agreed to hold off, under the agreement that should you decide to return, I will take full responsibility as your preceptor and complete your training hours.'

Yeosang's jaw dropped. His whirlwind of emotions inside him were starting to get out of control, and he felt his eyes starting to prickle, glazing over. 'W-Why are you doing this...?'

Dr. Kim just smiled, a smile that was almost nauseatingly genuine. 'Because I don't believe you want to leave. Not for a second. I think you feel guilty and responsible for what happened to your brother, and I think you are using this as an excuse to avoid certain truths about why you wanted to start this journey in the first place, because it is the easier option.'

Yeosang felt a tear slip down his cheek, but he was fucked if was going to be seen wiping it away. 'So what if I use it as an excuse?! It was my fault, what happened to Wooyoung - just to clear that up - and easier option or not, it is the option I am going with!'

Overflowing with new information and new emotions, Yeosang ground his teeth, almost angry with the fact that Dr. Kim seemed unbothered by his state.

'They gave you three months,' he said, pushing off of the book case. 'No notice required, just show up when you're ready.'

'I will not be showing up,' Yeosang almost spat.

And Dr. Kim just nodded. 'We'll see.'

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Hearing the front door open, Hongjoong and Wooyoung's happy voices spilling into their quiet home, Yeosang opened his eyes, two plump tears spilling from his eyes. Wiping them away and sniffing, he tucked the USB under his pillow, before taking a few deep, steadying breaths.

Walking out into the living room with a brave smile, he gave his brother a big hug.

'You're back already~. Let's have lunch~.'

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A/N: How y'all doin'? I'm dead from night shifts & feel like I've been hit by a semi. Plz tell me ur having a better day than me, lol