The Odd Doctor Out | A Drama | S. 2

234 🩺 The Truth Always Prevails

Standing at the nurses station waiting for his preceptor to emerge from somewhere in the hospital walls, Mingi fiddled with a stapler sitting in front of him. Having been left on his own for three quarters of an hour, he had absolutely nothing to do, and with an unusually empty obstetric review center, he had been left alone with his own thoughts while other staff took the time to clean and restock supplies.

Naturally, his thoughts tended to swing to one topic in particular...

One person, in particular...

Laughter rang in his ears from the night on the oval; him and Yunho paying around stupidly with the stray soccer ball until they had exhausted themselves, before collapsing onto the damp ground and sipping their luke warm coffees. It made his heart flutter thinking about it, and with that, came guilt.

Yunho probably thought that he had moved on... He should have moved on... But inside his heart, he was parading around with a secret that felt almost nuclear in weight...

Idly brushing the cut on his forehead that had now healed to a soft white line, Mingi couldn't help flash back to the almost-kiss... It had, for an extremely short moment, given him hope...

But that hope was futile, and it was only proving to make him suffer. Mingi's heart was already heavy and burdened, and the more he held onto the memories, the more he hurt...

'Are you the guard to stop people from coming into the center?'

Mingi turned around, his heart thudding in his chest...

'Yunho... what are you doing here?'

Wandering up to him, Yunho put his hands in his pockets, coming to lean against the bench beside him. 'My preceptor told me to get a patient file from Li Sonsaeng.'

Mingi's eyes widened a little, caught off guard . 'Li Sonsaeng?'

'Mmm. Why? Do you know him?'

He nodded. 'He's my preceptor today...'

Yunho glanced at him in surprise. 'Really?'

'Yeah... He disappeared almost an hour ago though. I have no idea where he went.'

He watched as Yunho laughed, rolling his eyes. 'He does that. He's awful with students - always leaving them behind. He probably went to have lunch.'

Mingi frowned. 'How do you know so much?'

He shrugged. 'I grew up in this hospital. You tend to learn a bit about the people who have worked here almost as long as the building has been standing.'

'Ahh...' Deliberately glancing down, Mingi felt bad that his heart was acting up, just from talking to him... If anything, over the past weeks, his feeling had gotten worse, not better...

'Ooh, here he is.'

Mingi glanced at Yunho to see where he was looking, and then turned to see Dr. Li walking up towards them.

'Oh Mingi! I'm so sorry! I totally forgo- Yunho?' His eyes widened as he saw Yunho standing beside him. 'What brings you to my end of the hospital?'

Mingi glanced over his shoulder at Yunho. 'Patient file for Han Lu?'

'Oh! I wondered when they'd send for that...' Shuffling around a tray on the desk, he sorted through the folder until he pulled out a small stack of paper. 'She'll be admitted to the ward tomorrow morning for an IOL and a cooks.'

Yunho nodded. Glancing at Mingi, he gave him a small smile, before he clearly went to head back downstairs.

But before he could, he was interrupted...

'Oh! Yunho! I almost forgot! My wife told me that your date went well! I told you you'd like her. Didn't I?'

Mingi's heart stopped.

Jarred, he didn't dare to move; not breathing, not thinking, not doing anything. His chest filled with a heavy thick tar of emotion that made him feel sick, and through it, he could barely even register Yunho tensing beside him...

'I heard you even have another date planned!' He tsked his tongue impressed. 'I always knew you'd grow up into a charmer.'

Mingi's lips fell apart, his chest feeling heavier and heavier...

Mingi, I told you that you should have moved on! a hurt little voice snapped inside his head. He will never feel the way you feel about him, it urged, and Mingi's heart shattered.

Sniffing a little as he braved his first breath, Mingi nodded to nothing and no one in particular, before deliberately glancing up at the clock. 'Shit, look at the time... I almost forgot...'

And with that, he gave his preceptor a small nod without looking him in the eyes, and avoided Yunho altogether, hurrying away down the hall, as far away as he could possibly get.

-

Yunho felt his heart stop.

The instant he'd heard those words fall from his Sunbae's lips, he had stared at Mingi's reaction, and felt his heart shatter.

'I heard you even have another date planned!' Mingi stayed unmoving, eyes focused down on the floor. He looked so incredibly uncomfortable, and Yunho wanted to just reach over and touch his arm; telling him it wasn't like that...

But he couldn't bring himself to do it, and his heart ached seeing the tension and pain on that face... Emotions that he never wanted to see on Mingi. He wanted to see him smile, like that night on the oval...

'I always knew you'd grow up into a charmer.'

It got worse. Swallowing, Mingi seemed to retreat so far away from him, without even moving, and suddenly the distance between them felt as vast as a sea.

Why do I feel so guilty? Yunho thought.

'Shit, look at the time... I almost forgot...'

Yunho stared hopelessly as Mingi suddenly nodded only half heartedly at Li Saem before turning and leaving. He didn't even spare a single glance for him though, and it made Yunho feel sickly guilty.

'Wow, I wonder what that was about,' his Sunbae said, glancing off down after him.

But it barely registered in Yunho's mind. His Sunbae was saying something, but suddenly, Yunho could barely breathe.

And then, without even thinking, and with zero plan whatsoever, Yunho dumped the patient file on the desk.

'Call reception to take it down,' he murmured, before taking off down the hall after him.

~~~