Sunrise [Yungi FF]

2. A Not So Typical Call

Jongho knew Yunho wasn't okay, even though the tall man kept claiming he was. Jongho noticed how Yunho eyed the row of mirrors uneasily before turning around to lean against the sink, and Jongho knew Yunho did that to avoid looking at his own reflection.

"You know it's not true," said Jongho, staying close to the door to give his friend the much needed personal space. "Whatever you heard on the phone. It's not true. And it doesn't matter."

"But I'm worse than a chatbot..." Yunho muttered, too quietly for Jongho to hear.

Jongho stood in silence for a while as Yunho stared at the dirty tiles on the floor to hide his watery eyes.

"Their opinions don't matter," Jongho continued, approaching the distraught man. "Don't let people define who you are. You know yourself better than anyone else, so stop caring so much about what other people say. It's only going to hurt you." He said the same thing hundreds of times before in a similar situation, but it never seemed to stick with Yunho.

Yunho let those words provide temporary comfort. He understood everything Jongho wanted to say; the problem was he couldn't make his heart listen. Pictures of the outside world - the work, the headsets, the people - floated into his mind involuntarily.

To Jongho's surprise, Yunho straightened up, turned around, and faced one of the mirrors. "Do I really know who I am though?" he asked quietly, examining the person that looked strikingly similar to him.

He saw the pale face and dry lips that matched his slightly wavy but fading orange hair, and a pair of dark eyes stared back, as deep and as inscrutable as two bottomless wells. It was only a few seconds later that Yunho tore his gaze away as if burned by the sight of himself.

"What I think of myself is very different from what other people think of me," said Yunho, gripping the edge of the sink when he felt his body heat up in humiliation.

Jongho suppressed the urge to sigh. It was tiring to keep repeating the same things, but he knew Yunho needed the reminder and he was the only person who could give them. "That's because they don't know you. You're an amazing person. Don't let anyone else convince you otherwise."

Yunho nodded with his lips pressed together.

This time, Jongho let out a sigh. Neither of them ever said anything, but it was obvious that Jongho's consolation could only help to a certain extent.

"That's why I'm telling you to just find another job. I don't want you to keep getting hurt. It's hard to watch and not be able to do anything, you know?" Jongho's attempt to keep the conversation light-hearted failed when he revealed his honest thoughts.

One thing Yunho hated more than his tendency to overthink other people's opinions was burdening his friend with his own problems, so he ended the conversation in the most unsuspecting way he could think of.

"It's fine. I'm just being silly again, like always. Thanks for the talk. We should go back to work."

Jongho raised his eyebrows, not buying Yunho's act at all. It didn't matter though, because the tall man was already striding past him to the exit.

Back at his desk, Yunho took a deep breath and put on his headset.

"Only two more hours to go!" Yunho turned to his right at the voice and saw his colleague smiling at him, so he smiled back.

Feeling better, Yunho pressed the button to start receiving calls, but his mouth went dry when the call connected. Fortunately, his brain was wired to greet the customer on autopilot.