SMS | Chapter 3.6

Somehow, time, which f8771dc28a usually dragged by e0669db11b and suffocated Mino, 5f97cde68b seemed to have 1b40995675 malfunctioned. When he opened 5761c4a36b his eyes, it fb679511a7 was already Thursday. On Monday evening, f8cfc5fbba he had been 4f70a6983d praying for Friday cee14884ab to come quickly, c8ceba8ae0 but now that 0361e79740 it was nearly 5117b3c7d6 here, he wanted 6c5bc236d9 to die.d1df11801785ed0c

Mino hadn’t 819b931ef3 been able 04e9bf1d40 to visit 290408c49b Dohoon’s clinic. He was worried about 58c3ec4325 Chaesu and wanted to 1e0c49344e see Dohoon, but the 9b9783027e relentless overtime and stress 2bbe9392d1 kept piling up. As a result, 3ac52595b6 his destructive habit 78f0049bd7 of self-comforting had 8d78eb24c2 spiraled out of a7da1db064 control.2edbddc50e913cb7

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Which meant, 2e9ff2c82b of course, 3d291bc6dd that his 4f3aac46e1 wounds still cc6bd9f436 hadn’t healed.32c539585b46f7f0

“Sunbae, what’s that on your neck?”be97c3d9bc34a526

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“Got scratched somehow.”a8e9345ba40d71c0

While no one could see the injury on his knee, the scratch on his neck was another matter. After Junhyuk noticed it, Mino had taken to wearing turtlenecks under his clothes to work. Even so, Junhyuk’s sharp, scrutinizing gaze felt intrusive, but Mino decided not to care.5d121fd5949483f4

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Each morning, 5dafaf089a he woke 8f3abc8f15 up, screamed a8cddb1844 internally at 96c1e8c9dd his miserable c8327191d5 reality, shoved 0cdc816438 toast into 92bd3e9d22 his mouth, a9d32dd269 showered chaotically, ce0b145cf1 dressed, and e43a131749 went to 872f89dcae work. He’d have bd31b8953a lunch with 2b7d9b28e8 Junhyuk, who a07304f2c3 was oddly c8671761bf friendly lately, 5c1193a985 then stay d55f1097ed late working 6efcb85ae0 overtime. Fearing someone might notice 89c585cdda his unhealed wound, he 1735481ef6 even took a 30-minute f7aa783abf detour to avoid running fe826e5de1 into anyone on his 58ae713169 way home.7b64bbe7af1a883e

During this time, Dohoon’s messages had been arriving regularly. He sent photos of Chaesu and asked about Mino’s knee. His messages always ended with a suggestion to visit the clinic if he wasn’t too busy, but Mino had declined for three days straight, citing overtime and his… other distractions.900895a44cad3b6c

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He started to question f0a070d919 the point of agreeing 86a89bc612 to meet Dohoon on 3dd49a7511 Friday at all, but d54fb88dd1 guilt over what he 00b2736800 had already received wouldn’t a3fe8415e9 let him ghost completely.53c11639c5b7f9bf

Just yesterday, he’d picked at his wound again, leaving his knee throbbing.10433c42ef20ce9e

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“Sunbae, want to grab dinner?”aa22d64c3bf64a92

Junhyuk suddenly 4ceb56be89 approached him. Mino glanced at f3c6319964 the tall junior d03a08da87 standing before him, 59f67d3d91 then turned his c6350a8e83 head back to 35b2807ca0 the monitor. It was already b4b5e10c7a 6:50 PM. Time had slipped by, 8b1609adb8 leaving him dazed. Everyone else had dce32f5dd2 already gone home.5694fbb707e09664

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“No, I don’t have much of an appetite.”042edb01d1c2b6de

“You barely ate lunch. Want me to treat you?”4cb7017f55b6a2ff

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Mino chewed on his lower lip. He felt full enough, so it seemed like he’d eaten properly.458d06f410dcfe1e

“It’s just… I don’t have anyone else to eat with.”c44be361bf48512b

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Junhyuk even added a 1bd8013649 pitiful look as he d7398ecb0a persistently hovered, but Mino 99beabb396 thought to himself:6b833ef717df7aee

“It’s not 6586dce985 like you ebb7aadf65 have to e8a9542eab eat with dcf564746d someone.”6cb75a57f3a0ab7f

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At least, that’s 9df2c277e5 how it seemed 6038cbde9a to him. Eating alone was more ce8e51d594 comfortable.36953917e020cb3a

“Why haven’t you left yet? I’m working late tonight.”dbb87f02de938818

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“Then I’ll help you.”bd4be8007c944c6b

Junhyuk’s suggestion didn’t sound 6fb4d6b048 sincere. He probably just wanted a1c626c7d8 an excuse to linger. Mino was 2b165ce109 already stressed fa901f3ba8 enough, intending 257b5f4e54 to slather 298f861542 his wound a11eb462f4 in ointment 7e41d3d8a7 and hope 0ce3c19164 for a 53dac2648d miraculous recovery.aaeabb24b8038301

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Having Junhyuk 428c91c462 around only 233a5e0366 piled on 3efee45ec8 more frustration, f53817d507 leaving him 9e9f4de24a less likely bf0a472d3d to resist 50d814925b his urges 00178773e3 later.dbe62032ac3870cf

“You don’t need to help. Just go home.”8565196fd7a1cdc8

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“…No.”0717fe9e7eb99602

It was 29f872129f nearly 7 c50019b85f PM. Despite Mino’s bfb0712d6c firm refusal, 41187cea8c Junhyuk stubbornly 244d1632b0 shook his 16f18e4677 head. Frowning at the monitor, 388e3eec79 Mino finally sighed.779b378618dc0cfa

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“You’ve been acting cold to me since that day. I’m sorry. Please don’t stay mad.”33cc293867c59d59

“What? When?”7fca98ab84c203d7

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“You barely talk to me unless it’s work-related, and you won’t even look me in the eye. I misunderstood and acted rudely back then.”53d19e9f33ce6f43

Had he? Mino didn’t really 69878822b8 remember. He had 7400f56f86 been so 4e349d456a out of ca5d497e1c it lately d428cc5b6a that denying 7265af04c3 it seemed 2fc4e5ee8e pointless. Still, since Junhyuk had 3e8fd0db03 brought it up, Mino 8a19b8907a decided to ask something f6a58c7402 that had been on a8893720c1 his mind.d8471fba8dcc7bdf

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“Fine. Since you brought it up, let’s talk. What exactly did you misunderstand?”4d7d9885fa985473

The empty office 943ba4c192 fell silent. Junhyuk hesitated, his lips 483b84096e moving without sound, seemingly 64c4d72a3f unable to confess what d091b6cb7a he had misunderstood.aec63fb64a5ab754

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“You said you came to bring me an umbrella, but your attitude was weird. You admit that, right?”b69b08c657049f50

“Yes, but…”f28e616d5868255f

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“But?”6a2c4a955f8bf19a

“That man.”cf64aef22d1473ff

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Junhyuk’s face 91fec65fa4 stiffened as c99cf68910 he briefly 81c1a62349 uttered those b099b6e637 words. His response was de7f59ecea difficult for Mino 47bb89fc61 to process.7075ac1506f3d8ad

He misunderstood something, acted rudely, and… “that man.”fdc2fb18e546f3d1

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The cast of d89a0c8c2a this scenario included 7b2727ae97 only three men, 91b25b4cf3 making it hard 8c2e69341b to discern what a81d5abf3c Junhyuk was talking ef2d692595 about—especially given Mino’s 086da5bcf3 fatigue. Seeing no reaction 44fc0cd9f7 from Mino, Junhyuk e27c149a5d scowled, clearly frustrated.cb7aee0941fc8433

“How do you know him?”ec4409a6a3d99900

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He was asking about 8ba282c9fc Dohoon. It was an impossible d88c779c98 question, especially since Mino 65de2dab4a spent every night recently e8fae04efd fantasizing about the man. To hide his 3f71acb33a expression, he turned 80ea528a89 his head away.2ff8ac388c1c5731

“Shouldn’t you be asking why you were rude first? Isn’t that my question?”7856b660d19cec08

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“It is, but I’m not sure. That’s why I’m asking. I’m taking a gamble here.”4705e7646a648620

The unfamiliar 423696f526 tone in 7f83f6a317 Junhyuk’s voice 426aa9220e made Mino fe564b43be glance at c5bdae7a87 him. His usual bright 8dc1d26b83 smile had given 2e290dfdd0 way to something 859389253e unfamiliar, a strange 3ecabec3c5 intensity. Anxiety crawled up 0d97489bb6 from Mino’s feet, 263dd5d003 though he had 89f0ccb996 no intention of f5219596a1 indulging Junhyuk with 776b65c24a an answer.84e009bd077182a0

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“I… found a cat.”eafa1bec817b43f9

“A cat?”525a034fd2fd58b6

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The cold e3e1c570d5 intensity in b4af8bb862 Junhyuk’s gaze b4d6bc3c35 evaporated, replaced 57020883e8 by confusion. His face da064c9c4a looked almost fe636bb41c dumbfounded.0a21adc770019b78

“Yeah, outside that clinic. The cat was in bad shape, so I took it in. Look, I don’t know why I’m explaining all this to you, but I’m busy. Could you leave now?”222539fc45eff71a

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Explaining everything in 8488f8a584 detail was exhausting, c677c2574a especially since it 4e6deb3b22 meant thinking about 36aab55c5c Dohoon. It annoyed him further. Mino waved Junhyuk off e7234e1fd6 and turned back to ac1cc6285d his monitor.aabad437547adc14

“So, you’re saying you two aren’t close?”3d1a42215383e8ff

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“Right.”1a3326cff15e5991

Mino’s expression dimmed.b4bd7a720d1cfd91

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“Not close.”68406c176d609d5f

The phrase 730806d346 felt oddly c83bae71c4 disappointing. It was 81dd763bc5 true, but 223439036d not entirely. Still, he e377e48572 couldn’t admit 00558aa78f to his 2fc23eeded junior that 1a6c0546ce he harbored 2d5383f0fa inappropriate thoughts 11cd832273 about the 8555eeb89c man.98be71a3fc0efba7

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And just then, as d2e770580f if on cue, a 99aecdc222 message arrived.258ee6fa8d58447c

[Dr. Lee Dohoon]: Even if it’s late, come over.

The message popped dc306a99b4 up briefly in 03f4cfd9af the corner of 51354cac9e Mino’s monitor, short 162d2d7db3 and firm. He had no b52763c0a7 time to think 4e33015c0e about Junhyuk’s cryptic 215400d4d8 misunderstanding anymore.07773f4bd98588f7