The Odd Doctor Out | A Drama | S. 2

340 🩺 A Safe Space

Hearing a knock at the door, Mingi paused his Netflix show and glanced up towards the hallway. The knocking repeated, and he realised San must have forgotten his keys.

Getting out of bed and making his way to the door, as he undid the locks, he readied himself for the cold to come inside. 'San-ah, I thought you would be getting home far late-'

The door swung open to reveal Yunho, dressed only in a black cotton shirt and pyjama pants, looking exceptionally upset...

'-er... Yun-ah... Are you okay?' He reached out and took a hold of his arm, gently pulling him inside. Feeling how cold his skin was, he felt awful for not having moved faster to answer the door.

'... Mhm... I'm alright...'

'Could have fooled me... Yun-ah... What happened?'

He watched as those dark eyes glanced down almost shamefully. '... I snapped at my parents...'

The pain in his words was incredible, and Mingi suddenly felt awful for him. 'Do you want to come in?' he asked softly.

And as Yunho glanced up at him with that pleading look in his eyes, he melted. 'Come on~' he whispered.

Taking his wrist in his, he led him down the hall into his tiny room and crawled back into his bed, pulling Yunho in after him. He reached over his laptop to pluck a hoodie from the end of his bed and returned, giving it to the cold boy.

'Oh... It's okay-'

'Yunho, put it on. We don't have heating, and it's cold.'

Nibbling on his lip, Yunho did as told, pulling it over his head and feeding his arms through the sleeves. He lingered a little as he did so, and Mingi wondered whether he could smell his scent embedded in the fabric...

Sitting quietly, he didn't know what to say. As much as he himself had faught with his own father over the years since his mother had passed away, he was very aware that Yunho's family dynamic was very different, and it made it hard for him to know what was right and wrong to say...

'Min-ah... I was offered a job at the embryology clinic...'

His eyes widened. Quickly turning to stare at him, his lips pulled into an uncontrollable smile. 'Yun, that's amazing! Oh my gosh I'm so happy for you!' he gasped, putting his hands on his arm and squeezing.

Yunho's lips pulled into a small, but powerful smile, and his eyes sparkled. 'Thank you...' he whispered, glancing down at his hands touching his arm.

'What's the position for?'

He blinked slowly, nibbling on his lip... 'It's only a lab assistant... Nothing special...'

'Are you kidding me? Yunho it's not only a lab assistant position. Yun, that's massive. You must have left a really big impression on a lot of people~.'

The emotional boy looked up at him with an intense hope in his eyes, before he glanced down again, seeming incredibly sad all of a sudden.

And Mingi instantly felt guilty. 'I- I'm sorry... Is that... not... good...?'

Clearing his throat a little, Yunho shook his head. 'No, it is... I just... I just wish my parents would be as happy for me, as you are...'

Mingi's heart ached. Slipping his hands down his forearm, he took his hands tenderly in his own and squeezed them comfortingly.

And it seemed to melt through Yunho's last defences, leaving him sad and raw, yet happy, beside him.