“There is something I need to know Dongwoo-ah.” 


His gaze flickered as he stares into Dongwoo’s eyes.
Sunggyu could sense Dongwoo shifting his weight and he was not looking straight at him.

I’m sure he knows something that I don’t.  

“Do you know this guy…Woohyun? Is he from around here?”

Silence filled the room after the words slipped off his mouth.
Both of them remained still for a few seconds before a burst of laughter broke the quietness.
Dongwoo’s laughter resonated the room and tears formed on the corner of his eyes.
Sunggyu stood there squinting at him with his arms folded.

“Ya, are you done? Seriously….”

“Kyahahaha! I’m sorry.” Dongwoo wiped the tears away with the back of his palm.

 “So that’s the question? Haha, I was expecting something more serious than this.
Come here, let’s sit down and I’ll tell you all about him. Everything you want to know kekeke.”

Dongwoo interlock his arm in Sunggyu’s and dragged him towards the nearest bench.

“So you want to know about this guy? Woohyun? What do you want to know?”
Dongwoo asked as he settled himself down opposite Sunggyu, his body slightly leaning forward with his hands clasped under him.

“Eung. Like what kind of person he is… And who is he actually?”
For a moment Sunggyu felt the discomfiture of being too straightforward,
he dipped his head a little lower and looked at Dongwoo’s hands instead.
 
Again before he spoke, Dongwoo looked around the cafeteria to see if anyone was around them eavesdropping.
Then he turned his head back to Sunggyu with a serious look.

“Well, this guy, Nam Woohyun is a famous vet around this street.
He is famous because apparently people say he is quite good-looking. Quite.
He has a lot of female customers in his clinic, you know?”

The images of Woohyun’s face poured into Sunggyu’s mind. How is that only ‘quite’ handsome?
To Sunggyu, Woohyun is so good-looking that he can’t even be compared to male actors on TV drama.
If only Dongwoo have met him in person, he wouldn’t say such things hah.
Sunggyu snorted while shaking away those random thoughts, and continue to focus on Dongwoo’s words.

“I have never seen him before, but, there are rumours that he always gives off a weird mysterious vibe.
This Woohyun guy is usually seen alone, or with an animal like a stray cat or dog.
Even though he has a lot of female customers…I heard that he always rejected them when they ask him out.
Also...”

Dongwoo inched closer towards Sunggyu’s face.

“I heard that he is living alone, in his own clinic.”

Sunggyu leaned back with a soft gasp.
That moment, he recalled to the time where he woke up on the bed in a clinic environment.
So that was the place where Woohyun had been sleeping and staying most of his life? His own clinic?

At that sudden realisation, he felt his heart gave a little squeeze.

Hah, I guess I was too stupid to not notice it. 
Sunggyu muttered under his breath.

Dongwoo tilted his head,
“Huh? Did you say something?”

“A-Ah nothing. I just remembered I have something I need to do. I’m going off now,
I’ll come back again next time! See you soon Dongwoo-ah! Take care alright!”

Sunggyu lifted himself off the bench and hurriedly retreated out of the cafeteria without looking back after saying his farewells.
In just a split second Dongwoo was left alone, staring at the swinging door of the cafeteria. 

Shaking his head, he pushed himself off the bench and smiled while walking back to his kitchen.


“Ahh this Sunggyu, can’t even hide his feelings keke…”



-

-

-

-

-


The last time he came here, the street lights were all brightly lit and the pathway was empty.
However this time, Sunggyu noticed many of the shops are still open and people, even though it was just a few, were walking around him. 
Sounds of car engine revving on the road can be heard over the sound of his footsteps on the pavements.
The sky was painted in mild orange, and the sun was still hanging on. Looking up at the sky, he wonder if Woohyun would still be in his clinic working.
With both hands in his pockets, Sunggyu retraced the steps which he took on that night with Woohyun. 
He remembered the distance being shorter when he was with Woohyun.
After walking and turning a few corners, he stopped in front of a familiar sign board.


‘Bow Woo animal clinic’


He took out his phone to check the time.

5.30pm.

Letting out a soft sigh, Sunggyu placed his phone back into his pocket. 
Unknowingly, he was back outside the same place, where he just learned from Dongwoo, was supposed to be Woohyun’s workplace, and home.
As he was about to take a step towards the door, the sudden rustling of leaves behind caught his attention.
Just for that one second, he thought he had heard foot-steps near the bushes behind him.
Is there somebody behind me?
Trying to not over react, Sunggyu casually turns his head to the side to peek at the bush,
then shrugged off and continue walking towards the door.
His heart was thumping fast, he sensed that something bad would happen if he dwells outside any longer. 
He forced his legs to move faster, but just as he was about to reach the door.


It swung open.


“Ah!”



Sunggyu staggered backwards while a woman exited from the clinic, sobbing. She was hugging onto a young puppy and in her hand was a colourful collar and a leash.


“I-I’m sorry.” Sunggyu forced a reserved smile at that woman, who eventually returned him a polite grin.
Sunggyu quickly gave a short bow when the woman shuffled past him. He noticed the dog in her arms was growling softly,
and its attention was on the bush that was behind him. The doubts that he had about someone hiding behind the bush was now clear.
Sunggyu pushed his legs to move and quickly reached for the door handle, closing it behind him.

The room was lit but empty, and there wasn’t anyone at the reception.
Sunggyu took a deep breath and sat down on one of the waiting chairs.
What was all that about outside? Am I being followed?

Sungjong ah, can you tell me what’s going on?

Mentally passing the message to his guide,
he got annoyed when silence continue to fill his mind and the room.

Ya lemon boy Sungjong!  

Still no voices came through.

Aish, that brat is not doing his job properly.

Leaning back onto the chair Sunggyu cupped his face with his hands.
His mind felt so muddled and questions started popping out all at once. Should he tell anyone about this?
What if people think that he was crazy and he ends up at the hospital once again? 
All the thoughts were racing through his mind, but that one voice seem to calm everything down.

“What are you doing here, Sunggyu-ssi?”


That voice. That familiar voice.

As Sunggyu peeked through from his hands, he felt his heart skipped a beat.
That face he had been longing to see since yesterday they separated at the pathway.
His eyes made contact with Woohyun’s soften gaze.

“Sunggyu-ssi?”

 “A-Ah, yes. I’m here to change my bandage, if you’re free to help me….”
He scratched the back of his head as his voice faded off.

Scanning the empty room again, Sunggyu could feel his palms sweating under the fist
he just clenched into when he tensely asked Woohyun for help.
Wiping his sweaty palms on the side of his Bermuda shorts, he slowly stood up and tread towards Woohyun,
who was gesturing him to come over, into that same office that was beside the bedroom he woke up in.

“Take a seat first, and close the door too.”
Woohyun calmly spoke as entered the room and started rummaging through his drawers in search for the first-aid kit.

“Eung…”

Sunggyu closed the door behind him and settled himself on the couch,
when he suddenly remembered that time when Woohyun suddenly yanked his arm to make him sit down, so he could clean his wound.
A gentle flush of pink arise from his cheeks as his mind went back to the day before. Flustered, he quickly shook his head again to break the images.

Aish seriously, I need to stop thinking of things like that when I’m alone with him.

Sunggyu closed his eyes for a few seconds and let out a sigh.
Just when a heavy scent of flowers loomed towards him, he reopened them.
The couch sank in as Woohyun sat down beside Sunggyu.  
He could hear his heartbeat through his eardrums since the only sound that could be heard in the room was the ticking of the clock.

“Give me your arm.”
 Woohyun offered his hand to Sunggyu, who in return extended his arms to him.



Tick, Tock, Tick, Tock

.

.

Another silence.




Tick, Tock, Tick, Tock

.
 

.
 

This is getting a little awkward…maybe I should start a topic.
Sunggyu leaned slightly forward and cleared his throat again.


“Hmm…. So yesterday, you mentio-”

“Why do you look so pale earlier? And you’re perspiring so much.”

“Huh..?”

Sunggyu’s sentence was cut off by his abrupt question.  He hasn’t notice that his forehead was drenched with droplets of sweat.
Raising his other free arm, he managed to dry off his face with the sleeve of his shirt before apologising.

“Did you saw a ghost or something?”
Woohyun spoke with a serious tone.

Recalling the suspicious situation with the bush outside the clinic earlier sent shivers down Sunggyu’s spine.
If only it was a ghost hah.
Sunggyu knows that whatever outside was definitely not a spirit since he has already met with a few,
and they don’t give him such a bad feeling like that.   


Should I tell him? Will he think I’m crazy?


He took a glance at Woohyun who was still focused on fixing his bandage.
The calm energy he was giving off convinced Sunggyu that he might be someone that could be trusted.


Alright, here goes nothing.


“So when I was outside near the bush…”

Sunggyu paused to check Woohyun’s expression.

“Go on.”  His gaze moved from Sunggyu’s injury to his face. “I’m listening.”


“U-uh, so when I was near-“



Woof! Woof!

Huh there’s a dog barking? From outside?



“Did you hear that?”

Woohyun tilted his head slightly, “Hear what?”


Aish this won’t do, he might think I’m crazy.

“Erm… do you still have any more appointments today, Woohyun-ssi?”
His voice faintly shook as he slowly withdrew his arm from Woohyun’s grasp.

“No… what’s wrong?”


At that point Sunggyu knew that something wasn’t right.
He ignored Woohyun’s worried look and stood up from the sofa abruptly,
taking a few long stride towards the closed office door.




He took a deep breath,



and with his unsteady hand,
he slowly turned the knob.




.

.

.


A/N
Hello, really thank you to all those who're still reading my current series!
And thank you for the comments too (even tho it's just a few) bcos they really motivates me~
 I'll try to add new chapters within a week or two, so please look forward to it!! 




.