𝚜𝚘𝚛𝚛𝚢 | 𝖼.𝗌 𝗑 𝗃.𝗐

t̸w̸o̸

and wooyoung did just that. at 1pm the next day he could be found at the cafe with a book in his hand. he always sat near the back where he hoped he was less visible to everyone. the people who worked at the cafe knew him well and were always kind to him, especially seonghwa, the tall boy around his age whose parents owned the cafe.

as he turned the pages, he noticed his hands shaking like always. being out in public always gave him anxiety but he was afraid of what he would do if he stayed at home. he tried to steady his hand for long enough to drink some of his coffee. he hoped no one would be able to see just how much he was shaking - especially seonghwa. he was likely to come over and ask if he was okay and he hated answering that question, because he wasn't okay.

as he took a long sip, taking advantage of his hands being still for a second, his phone lit up on the table and wooyoung saw yunho's name on the screen.

yunho📚
hey woo, are you at the normal place? I need to talk to you

wooyoung immediately panicked. his initial thought what that he had lost his job. he was just not good for business anymore and yunho was very sorry but he just can't do it. but wooyoung shook away his worries and replied.

you
yeah I am, when?

he typed the words as his hands shook even more than before. he loved working in that bookstore, but he loved yunho more and if it was what he wanted...

yunho📚
omw!

the bookstore wasn't far from the cafe and so wooyoung placed the bookmark between the pages of the book and waited to hear his fate from yunho.

-----

yunho walked through the door of the cafe with a bright smile on his face. wooyoung swore this boy never stopped smiling. even if he was coming to deliver bad news. he scanned around the room for wooyoung, who was too shy to raise his hand to show his location. finally yunho found him and headed over to the table with an even brighter smile.

"hey woo! thanks for meeting me" he greeted him.

"uh, no problem, yunho" wooyoung tried to sound convincing.

"I'm sorry for interrupting you, but I just wanted to talk to you about something. and I wanted to do it out of work..."

"go for it" wooyoung said in a low voice.

yunho took a deep breath. "so you know... I worry about you...right?"

wooyoung nodded, eyes downcast.

"I saw an ad at the food store the other day... for a therapist"

wooyoung looked up to the elder with fear in his eyes. "no, yunho" he spoke. he didn't know if this was better or worse than being fired.

"woo, listen. you're such a great person and you don't even realise. I can't stand to watch you go through this much longer"

"yunho-"

"-you think you deserve this but you don't" he interrupted. "what happened was a mistake"

"please don't talk about it" wooyoung averted his eyes so yunho couldn't see the tears that were forming in them.

"I think you need to talk about it, woo. so someone can tell you that you don't need to live your life like this"

wooyoung wiped away a stray tear that had escaped from his eye and yunho continued, softening his voice slightly.

"look, his name is dr. choi, I don't think he's that much older than us - that's what caught my eye. maybe you'll feel more comfortable opening up to him"

wooyoung nodded slightly. there was no part of him that felt like he could re-live everything to a complete stranger but the sadness in yunho's eyes was evident. it was clear that seeing wooyoung struggle for so long was taking its toll on the tall boy.

"look, just go once" yunho suggested, "you don't have to pay the first time. just go and see what this dr choi is like"

wooyoung sighed: he didn't have it in him to tell yunho no.

"w-where is it?" he squeaked.

"he uses a room at the doctors' office. but don't let that put you off"

"I hate the doctors' office" wooyoung frowned.

"I know, woo. but you're not seeing a doctor... well, you are, but not like that"

wooyoung was not convinced but he gave his friend a small smile.

"I love you, woo. I just want you to live your life" yunho reached out and laid his hand on top of wooyoung's.

"here's the number" he continued as he slipped wooyoung a small card with his other hand. he then paused before he looked him in the eye and said, "please, wooyoung"

-----

yunho left shortly after to get back to work. he told wooyoung that whatever day he could get an appointment he should take it and yunho would give him the day off.

wooyoung lifted the card from the table and stared at it for a while, trying to muster up the strength to call the number. he tried to convince himself - maybe it would be nice to talk to someone else around his age that wasn't yunho. but he couldn't deny that his heart was pounding at the thought of talking to this 'dr. choi'.

he steadily took his phone out from his pocket and shakily tapped the numbers into his phone. as the call tone sounded he felt the butterflies increase in his stomach and half hoped the doctor wouldn't pick up. but he did.

"hello, this is dr. choi, can I help?"

despite his anxiety, wooyoung couldn't help but admit that dr. choi had a pleasant voice; almost serene.

"h-hi, um... I need to book an appointment with you" wooyoung said quietly.

"of course! what is your name and when is a good time for you?" the voice came from the other end of the phone.

"um... it's wooyoung. and any time" wooyoung replied.

"I actually have a slot tomorrow" dr. choi offered.

tomorrow? his heart beated faster at the word. how could he face his demons so soon? but he didn't have the heart to decline.

"okay, yeah... sure" came his reply.

"great! you don't need anything in particular but if you have something that makes you feel more at ease, feel free to bring it along" dr. choi spoke. his voice was so inviting and made wooyoung feel just a little bit more comfortable about the whole thing.

"I have this plushie..." wooyoung replied feeling a little embarrassed. at 23 he was definitely too old for plushies. he instantly regretted his words.

"nice! I have one too" came dr. choi's voice, and wooyoung smiled slightly at those words. "okay, well wooyoung, I will see you tomorrow"

maybe this wasn't going to be so bad after all.