The Odd Doctor Out | A Drama | S. 2

349 🩺 Break down

Settling into a café chair opposite his student, Yunho peeled the paper lid off of his coffee and felt as though he could just about inhale the caffeine into his lungs, he was that tired.

With only a couple hours sleep to his name (although good sleep at that), he was exhausted after a long, gruelling shift, and was not particularly in the mood for teaching.

However his mother had insisted.

And here he was.

'Wow... You look wrecked,' Jongho said, staring him up and down. 'You know you didn't have to do this?'

Yunho groaned, taking a particularly large sip of his coffee and burning his tongue in the process. 'Well aware, but thanks. You must be almost hitting exams too?'

The younger nodded, seeming incredibly stressed. In fact, the more Yunho looked at him, the more he seemed to notice how tired, he looked...

'Uh... This might be a stupid question, but... Are you alright?'

Jongho took a deep, husky breath and raked his fingers through his hair. 'I'll live.'

Just then, his phone dinged, and Yunho saw how fast his eyes travelled to his screen. But as they landed upon the notification, clearly, it had not been what he was hoping for.

Yunho decided to take a shot in the dark. 'I didn't know you had a girlfriend. Are you waiting for a text? You can go and call or whatever if you wan-'

'Boyfriend, and I don't really think he wants to hear from me right now.'

Yunho's eyes widened a little in surprise. 'Oh- I see... Are you... two... fighting?'

Grating his teeth together, Jongho shook his head, staring down at his textbook but not seeming to see it. 'No not really. I fucked up.'

He frowned, not following.

'I did something I shouldn't have, and I don't know why I let it happen, but I did, and now I think I've fucked any chance I had at being with him.'

Hearing the sheer pain in his voice, Yunho cleared his throat, putting down his coffee. 'I'm sure you can work it ou-'

'Yunho I cheated on him.'

He froze.

He had always been a very by the book person. And cheating, was very far from the book he was reading, at the very least. He'd never understood what would drive a person to do such a thing...

But looking at Jongho in front of him, it seemed he too didn't know how it had happened, either...

Jongho was just staring at his textbook-... Staring. Not blinking, not moving.

Just staring...

And then he blinked, and tears spilled down his cheeks.

Breaking down right in front of him, his tears came in waves, and as he tried desperately to wipe them away, his breath began to hiccup, and his shoulders shook...

'I-I'm sorry, he stuttered, suddenly standing up and just dragging his things into his bag, sending papers and books and pens into one big mess.

'I need to go,' he choked.

And with that, the younger stepped away and left him alone, walking out of the café.

With no idea what had just happened, Yunho stared at the empty seat opposite him. Left with only his bag and his coffee, he felt like he'd just witnessed something of great caliber.

It really began to engrain one thing in his mind that he'd never really understood fully, until now...

Feelings...

They hurt.

~~~