The stranger removed his headphone, and looked at Sunggyu.
Sunggyu was so mesmerized by the stranger’s flawless features, he forgot the fact that he had been staring at him for quite a while. The stranger’s eyes came into contact with Sunggyu’s. He did not see that coming, and abruptly turned his head away. He felt all the blood rushed to his face as his chest pounds endlessly.
 
Why was he so nervous?

“Do you need something?”  A deep voice came out from the stranger’s mouth.

All of a sudden Sunggyu forgotten what he was doing before that.
He silently cussed himself and mentally pleaded to Sungjong for a clue.


“That cat.”

 Oh right.

-“A-Ah, u-uh. Did you happen to see a cat? An orange tabby cat? It turned over here, but it disappeared…” Sunggyu stuttered as his eyes shifted around.


There was a moment of silence.


Why isn’t he replying?
Sunggyu couldn’t help but looked at that guy. At the same time, he noticed the stranger was staring back at him.
Sunggyu felt a tug in his heart and quickly turned away again, taking in short shallow breaths to keep himself calm.

-“Y-You didn’t see it right? I should be on my way then… hah…”
When Sunggyu spun around to walk back to the school, Sungjong’s voice echoed in his ear.

“Kim Sunggyu, wait. You have stop moving. Sit down quick!”

-“No, I have to get away from this guy. I don’t know why I’m feeling like thi-” Sunggyu was mentally replying Sungjong, when suddenly he felt his head pulsing.

Blood rushed behind his ears in time with the throbbing in his head. His forehead felt like it was being squashed. He could feel his knees giving way. Now he understand what Sungjong was implying. Black dots started to hover his vision. He really needs to sit down, right now. As his hand reaches out to hold on to the tree bark, he could see the corner of his sights fading closer and closer. A voice seemed to be calling out in a distant, but it was inaudible. Sunggyu’s head was spinning really fast. Before he could bring himself to sit down, his body fell back and the world goes black.


 

-
 

-
 

-
 

-



‘Yap, yap!’

“Shh, Ppori-ah, there’s an oppa sleeping next door. Do not wake him up ok? Here, that’s a good girl.”

Someone is talking…
Who is it…?  
Ppori? What kind of name is that? Psh.

Sunggyu opened his eyes, letting them adjust to the dim light.
There was ceiling fan spinning above him, but he didn’t felt cold.

Where is this place?

Sunggyu slowly pushed himself up with his elbows. It was then he realised that he was lying on a round single bed, and seemingly someone had covered a blanket over him. He looked around. The window on his left was covered by a thick layer of grey curtain, and there was a small grey wardrobe with a mirror, on his right and opposite the bed he was laying in, was a small desk. Sunggyu thought he saw something familiar on the desk, but it was too far, he need to look at it closer. He gently placed his feet on the ground, rise from the bed, and tip-toed across the room towards the desk.

 Different kind of notepads and papers were scattered everywhere on the desk, but there was one, that caught Sunggyu’s attention. He picked up a light blue envelope, with tree drawings around as the frame. He furrowed his eyebrows and gazed at it. Didn’t he saw that somewhere before…?


“Oh, you’re awake. Are you okay?” That same deep voice broke his trains of thoughts.

Sunggyu’s body stiffened at his voice.
He quickly dropped the envelope back onto the desk and spun around to face him.

- “A-Ah, yes. Where am I rig-?” Sunggyu started to back away when he saw what that stranger was holding in his hand. It was really scary, especially with those teeth baring at him. It’ll be okay if that was a cat, but right now, it was a dog. And in Sunggyu’s eyes, every dog is a threat to him.

As the stranger moved closer to Sunggyu, he took bigger steps to the back, until his back ended up touching the wall.


“Why are you moving back? I’m not going to hurt you…” The guy looked straight at Sunggyu. There was a sort of concern in his eyes.



Sunggyu feels his pulse quickened.

Oh no.
Sunggyu shut his eyes and lowered his head, as he raised both arms to block his face.

-“S-Stop there, please! Don’t attack me with that dog!”


Another moment of silent.



Sunggyu could sense the guy coming closer and closer to him, but he couldn’t move.
That was the end for him, he thought.


Then, he felt something moist tickling his fingers.

Huh?
 
As he slowly looked up, he realised that the guy was holding the little dog right in front of his arms,
and it was Sunggyu’s fingers.

Sunggyu’s body was still tensed, but he did giggled a little, when the dog moved on to his face.
He pat and the dog, trying to push its head back at the same time.

-“Alright, alright I get it, please stop her…”

That man pulled back the hand he’d used to hold the dog, and lightly placed it on the ground instead.

“Don’t run, or it’ll bite your legs off.” He smirked at Sunggyu.

Sunggyu just nodded briefly, eyes not leaving the dog.


“Ppori, sit down and keep an eye on this oppa, okay? I’ll be back.”
With that said, the man pat the dog and left the room.


Sunggyu studied the white dog, who is about the height of his ankle. It was watching him, with a pair of twinkling black orbs. Its pinkish tongue sticking out, as though… smiling at Sunggyu. If Sunggyu didn’t recalled it wrongly, the dog was a Chihuahua. Sunggyu noticed that the dog didn’t try to eat him earlier, so he was somewhat confident that it would not the second time.

Slowly bending his knees, Sunggyu sank down next to Ppori. In an instant, the dog stood up and approached him, its tail constantly wagging. Sunggyu jerked back a little, but managed to force himself to extend his hands towards Ppori. It was worth the try. The little dog sat down right beside his knees as he its smooth coat. This was the first time in so many years, that Sunggyu managed to touch a dog like that again. He didn’t had a good experience when he was young…but it was different now. It actually feels, quite relaxing.

“Ppori-ah, come here!”  That man called out from the room beside.

The dog immediately left its spot and ran out through the string curtains.
Sunggyu got up on his feet, and followed after Ppori.

After pushing away the string curtains attached to the archway, Sunggyu found himself in a small office. The dog has been locked back up in a cage on his right, beside an office table. Sunggyu observed as Ppori snuggled up in its comfortable bed.


“Come over here.”

Sunggyu got startled at that voice.

That guy was now sitting on a small couch in front of him, next to an opaque glass door, and there was a first aid kit beside him.  Sunggyu cleared his throat and stepped forward to the couch. He still had no idea where this place is. Just as he was about to ask, he felt a yank and landed onto the springy couch.

“Sit, and stay still.” That serious voice made Sunggyu lowered his head.

His mind went blank for a moment. He could still feel the warmth around his wrists.
Sunggyu watched in silence as the man took out a bottle of liquid, some cotton wools and some bandages from the first aid kit. Dabbing the liquid onto the cotton wool, he reached towards Sunggyu’s arm.

Ack.

A sharp pained pulsated his arm.
Sunggyu had no idea that he had injured himself. He tried to move away, but the man gripped onto his arm tightly, as he cleans the wound above Sunggyu’s right elbow... Sunggyu had no choice but to stay still and withstand the aching.


“….”


-“….”


-“Uh… Can I know where I am right now?” Sunggyu’s voice broke the awkward silence.

The man’s gazes were concentrated on the wound
“This is my office. You’re in my animal clinic.”

-“Oh, so you’re a vet? Ah… no wonder that dog earlier…” Sunggyu nodded and snorted to himself.

He must have looked like an idiot just now. How embarrassing.

“Hm. Even though I’ve always wanted to be a doctor when I was younger…”



An awkward silence.



“Do you ever, have a dream?” The question came out of the blue and took Sunggyu by surprise.

-“Y-yes, I do have one actually. I’ve always wanted to be a singer… but you know, it’s too late for me to be one now.”


“... Why didn’t you went for an audition earlier?”

-“Because I couldn’t…”   Sunggyu sighed.

“… Why so?”

-“Actually… I had an accident… and was in a coma, for 6 years. There’s no point going for auditions now. I wouldn’t make it far...”

The guy briefly stopped his actions, and continued again, as he spoke.

“You know… actually I was going to be a doctor. But during my school attachment at a hospital few years back, I’ve met another patients who reminded me of my dead parents… and I kept freaking out whenever I face human patients… So it didn’t work out well, and I became an animal doctor instead.”

-“O-Oh…” Was all Sunggyu could answer.

His mind was visualising the man in a long white coat and a stethoscope over his broad neck. Sitting cross-legged on the leather portable chair behind the big wooden office table, and slightly facing to the side. His hands playing with a ball pen as he genuinely smile to Sunggyu when he enters the door.
Sunggyu wouldn’t mind being injured just to see this doctor…


Ha…
Wait.


What?!
 
Sunggyu shook his head and quickly snapped himself out of his own fictional thoughts.
He couldn’t believe what he was imagining in his head.


“Ok, you’re done. Just don’t move your right arm too much.”

-“Eung…”

As Sunggyu clumsily got up from the couch, he felt something vibrating in his back pocket.
Oh yes. He totally forgot about Myungsoo! He must be so anxious about his disappearance.

Sunggyu hurriedly slipped his right hand into his back pocket and grabbed the phone out.

There was 10 missed calls.
And the phone screen showed the caller id:  ‘L’.

As he answered the call, his little brother’s worried voice came through.

-“Myungsoo-ah! Sorry, I was unconscious earlier, so I couldn’t pick up your calls… Don’t worry, I’m fine. Someone helped me.”
He peeked at the guy who was still clearing the used cotton wools on the couch.

-“I’m not very sure… Alright, I’ll meet you back at the school then. See you.”

After Sunggyu hung up the call, he felt a familiar warmth touched his right hand. And within a split second, it was gone, and so was the phone in his hand.

Sunggyu turned behind him, and realised it was that man, again, who took away the phone from his hands. He started meddling with the buttons on Sunggyu’s phone.

And suddenly.



                                   ~♫ 



A ringtone resonated the room.
And it stopped almost immediately.


“That’s my number. If your arm starts hurting again tomorrow, call me. I just told you not to move your arms too much but you-”


“…never mind, I’ll walk you back to the elementary school.”


He returned the phone to Sunggyu and exited through the door beside the couch.

Sunggyu was surprised by the sudden approach. He could feel heat travelling up his face.
What’s wrong with me?


-
 

-
 

-
 

-

On the way back to the elementary school, Sunggyu suddenly recalled back to the conversation in the office earlier.
That man’s words; when he mentioned about his ‘dead parents’. Sunggyu felt bad for disregarding that important fact earlier.
His mind was too distracted by his own foolish thoughts. Sunggyu understands the pain, and knew how hard it was for someone to lose their parent…
Especially someone who is much younger at that time.

-“I’m sorry for bothering you so much today… Me, fainting, and now you have to walk me back to where I came from.
It’s okay if you want to go home and have a rest, you know. Uh.. I can try to find my way around. This area isn’t that big right? Hah...”
Sunggyu scratched his ears as he talk.

“No. It’s alright... It’s better if you reach to your destination safely. My house… is just nearby, so it’s okay…”


-“Do you live by yourself?”

“Hm. Since the age of 17. It took me some time to get that place...”

Oh. So he had been living alone all these while?
Sunggyu was surprised after hearing that, and at the same time his heart sank a little.
He must be really lonely…

-“I see… Uh, anyway, did you really not see the tabby cat earlier?”

The man shook his head.
“I’ve seen that cat before, but not today, not anymore. That cat is already dead. It was my first animal patient.
It fell from that oak tree we met... I’d tried my best…” His lips pursed into a straight line.


Sunggyu nodded his head in silence.
So... did he saw something he shouldn't again?


Time really seems to fly when Sunggyu is with him.
After a few minutes of words, they finally arrived back at the elementary school.

-“So, this is it then… Thank you very much for everything you’ve done for me today.” Sunggyu bowed.
He could sense the man staring at him again.

“You’re welcome, see you around.”
The man’s lips curled up a little, as he turned and left.

The screeching sound of tires against fiction could be heard from a distant. Myungsoo must be reaching soon.
A hollow empty feeling took over him... Sunggyu placed his hands into his pockets, and let out a sigh as he watched the man walked away.

Just as the mini-cooped turned into the gates, Sunggyu suddenly remembered the one thing he had yet to ask.


-“Wait!"



-"What’s your name?”



The man stopped.






“Nam Woo Hyun.




Hope you like the roses...” 







A/N
Sorry for the super late update!
The last few weeks had been really busy for me TAT
and my internet isn't working well too~
Hope you enjoyed this new chapter.
I really thank you all who had been following this fanfic!
I'll try to update new chapters sooner ok!! ^3^

For those who haven't read my Myungyeol fic,
please do so, and give me some comments ^^
thank you!! ^3^