The Odd Doctor Out | A Drama | S. 2

279 🩺 Love & Bravery

'Wooyoung-ah, hun, can we have a chat for a minute?'

Hearing Hongjoong's voice call from down the hall, Wooyoung blood ran cold as he walked out of the kitchen nervously and glanced down the hallway. From there, he could see Hongjoong on his office chair, poking his head around his bedroom door, and the serious look on his face did absolutely nothing for Wooyoung's sudden panic.

'D-did I do something wrong?' he asked nervously, picking at his sleeves anxiously as he walked down the hall... He tried desperately to think back to anything else shady he had done that would warrant a serious conversation, but for the life of him, he couldn't think of anything...

'Aww I'm sorry, hun. I didn't mean to scare you. You did nothing wrong. I just wanna chat.'

Wooyoung could suddenly breathe. Walking easier, he joined him in his room climbing up onto his bed and crossing his legs while his Hyung followed.

'I just wanted to see how you felt about me going back to work part time,' he said, giving him a small smile.

And Wooyoung relaxed entirely. 'You can go back whenever you want, Hyung,' he replied, returning his smile. 'I know Sangie is nervous about me being by myself, but it's okay. I'm quite capable of looking after myself. I have Sannie too if something happens.'

His Hyung smiled, reaching out and ruffling his hair. 'You sure?'

Wooyoung nodded, giving him a wide smile. 'I know you miss work. Go. I'll be fine. It was scary for a while, but I'm all better now.'

He watched on as Hongjoong nodded, searching him for signs of him being selfless and saying it was okay when it actually wasn't. But Wooyoung was telling the truth, and he knew it...

'Actually, Hyung I... I kinda wanted to talk to you about something...'

Hongjoong's eyes opened a little wider in surprise. 'Oh? About what?'

Wooyoung glanced down, feeling his heart fill with a slight gloom. 'You know Sangie came to work the other morning... I asked him if something happened on his shift, but he just denied everything. He slept at my desk. There's nothing wrong with it, but it's just not normal...'

Hongjoong nodded, reaching over and grabbing his pillow to put in his lap so that he would stop picking at his fingernails.

And Wooyoung hugged the pillow to his chest, tucking his chin into the top and breathing in his Hyung's homely scent deeply embedded within it. 'D-did he talk to you about it...?' he asked softly, hoping that the answer would be yes...

'No, he didn't... I had no idea.'

Wooyoung bit into his cheek, feeling even worse. 'I think he feels guilty...'

'Guilty? For what?'

'For working... Or maybe for not working... I don't know. I just know he feels guilty. I can't explain it.' His frustration was overwhelming, not being able to word things together, but as his irritation grew, Hongjoong put a hand out over his.

'He's probably stressing about what he's going to do after he graduates,' Hongjoong said lightly, rubbing his thumb over the back of his hand.

Wooyoung huffed. 'Because he has to choose something, right?'

Hongjoong nodded. 'He's having a little bit of an internal war I think, between wanting to pursue pediatric intensive and trauma care, and psychiatry.'

Wooyoung felt a wave of raw guilt wash over him. '... B-because of me...' Swallowing back the lump in his throat and holding onto the tears of guilty frustration, he nodded. 'I know it's my fault tha-'