Chapter 50
“Kwon-ju…”
At the voice softly calling his name, Kwon-ju, who had been belatedly catching his breath, looked up. Then, seeing the face peeking out alone from the blanket wrapped around him, he quickly averted his gaze. It would be truly pathetic to start trembling now just because he realized he was in hyung’s apartment. What kind of… reaction would that be toward someone who was sick?
“Kwon-ju.”
“Yes?”
“Want to take a shower? Aren’t you hot?”
“Ah…”
“Your face is really red.”
Kwon-ju, who knew better than anyone that his red face wasn’t simply due to the heat, shook his head. If he stayed any longer, he felt like he might die from self-loathing. He had fed Ji-won food and medicine, and even cleaned up afterward, so there wasn’t really anything more he could do.
“No, I’ll shower when I get home.”
“Right. It’s almost 10 o’clock.”
“You should sleep, hyung. I’ll just catch my breath for a moment and then leave.”
“Alright then. The door locks automatically when you close it on your way out.”
“Okay.”
The moment Ji-won closed his eyes to sleep, Kwon-ju quietly sat down on the chair and stared at his neat-looking face. Would Ji-won sense his gaze? Even while anxious that Ji-won might notice, part of him wished Ji-won would open his eyes and look at him. If Ji-won were to ask why he was staring, Kwon-ju thought he might be able to say… that it was because he liked him.
It felt like he could spend the entire night just looking at him without wasting a moment. Now that Ji-won was lying down, his forehead, usually hidden by his hair, was fully visible. Kwon-ju had a brief urge to touch that smooth, pretty forehead, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it.
Despite saying he would just catch his breath and leave immediately, Kwon-ju ended up placing a cool, damp cloth on Ji-won’s forehead before finally taking his heavy steps toward the door. On his way home, he kept worrying, stopping, then considering going back, before scolding himself that any more would truly seem strange. Going through this whole process while walking, what should have been a 5-minute journey took him a full 20 minutes to reach home, where he still couldn’t fall asleep and ended up staying awake all night.
* * *
Naturally, time flowed even when you were sick. Ji-won had dragged his body, heavy like water-soaked cotton, to his desk to study, but it seemed he’d gotten seriously ill because even after deliberately going to bed early on Sunday evening, his condition hadn’t improved much.
So Ji-won ended up facing his first exam day since returning to school in the worst possible condition. And on a Monday, no less… He couldn’t skip the exam, and the thought of spending the entire week in this state was dizzying, but since it was due to his own stupidity, he couldn’t blame anyone else. Thinking he should be grateful just to be alive, Ji-won pulled on a thick sweatshirt and comfortable pants. Then added a cap and mask too.
Looking in the mirror with his face completely covered, he was disguised to the point that even his friends might not recognize him. It seemed a bit stifling… and maybe excessive, but he didn’t want to show this face to anyone.
“…Seriously…”
Perhaps from sleeping too long, his face was all puffy, and from the repeated rising and falling of his fever, his entire face was both red and haggard. I really shouldn’t show this to anyone. Having made up his mind, Ji-won casually slung his bag over one shoulder and opened the front door.
If Kwon-ju hadn’t come to his apartment on Friday evening, something worse might have happened. What his classmate had jokingly said about saving his life had practically become reality. That alone was more than enough to be grateful for.
“Hyung.”
…Seriously, what kind of kid is this? Kwon-ju, who had been standing with his hands in his pockets staring at the ground, raised his head at the sound and waved slightly. Unable to show a dumbfounded expression to the obviously pleased junior, Ji-won quickly composed himself and ran down impulsively. Witnessing a sick person leap down three steps at once, Kwon-ju raised both hands awkwardly with a worried expression, ready to catch him if necessary.
“You’ll fall.”
“I thought you were joking… did you really wait for me?”
“Yes. I have a morning exam too anyway.”
Having a morning exam and escorting someone from their home seemed like completely different matters. Ji-won had naturally treated Kwon-ju’s KakaoTalk message about taking him to the lecture hall as a joke, when everyone else would be using every last minute to study. So he had just replied “go to sleep ㅋㅋ” and when there was no response, he thought that was the end of it. He truly couldn’t have imagined Kwon-ju would be waiting here right on time.
“Hyung, can I… touch your cap?”
“Huh? Oh.”
Having never met someone who asked permission to touch his cap before, Ji-won nodded in a daze, and suddenly bright light poured into his eyes. Only then did Ji-won, blinking his swollen eyes, understand the meaning of the question. Did “can I touch it” mean “is it okay if I take it off”…?
“You’re really swollen. Has your fever gone down much?”
“I don’t have a fever anymore, but I look terrible. Give me my cap back.”
Although there was nothing left to hide after showing his pale face on Friday, for some reason Ji-won wanted to avoid the gaze that was closely examining his eyes—the only part not covered by the mask. Uncharacteristically looking elsewhere, Ji-won took back his cap and pulled it down firmly.
“Let’s get going quickly if we’re going. So I can get there early.”
“Ah, wait a moment. Please drink this.”
As if suddenly remembering something, Kwon-ju pulled a thermos from the backpack he was wearing.
“What is this?”
“Barley tea.”
Surely he didn’t make it himself? Too afraid to ask, Ji-won just stared at Kwon-ju’s sharp jawline, until Kwon-ju seemed to understand why he was staring. He went “Ah,” and then with a kindly smile, offered it again.
“I didn’t put anything weird in it.”
“No. No.”
How could he suspect something brought so thoughtfully? Unable to express his current feelings, Ji-won awkwardly shuffled his feet before finally giving up, thanking Kwon-ju, and accepting the thermos. Kwon-ju definitely had a talent for making people flustered in various ways.
“It’s delicious.”
How can it be so sweetly delicious? As Ji-won was taking small sips and marveling repeatedly, for some reason the bag slung over his shoulder slid down as if someone had pulled it. Before he could even say “Huh,” the bag was gone.
“…”
Kwon-ju, now holding Ji-won’s bag in his left hand, was the first to look away. He obviously wasn’t stealing it, but had taken it to carry for him. He walked ahead with long strides, as if expecting Ji-won to say something, and Ji-won felt he might lose sight of him if he wasn’t careful.
Rather than disliking this excessive escort when he wasn’t deathly ill, Ji-won found it funny and cute. This person slightly taller than himself (and he was already above average height) had diligently made barley tea at home, neatly packed it in a thermos, and now seemed proud to be carrying his bag as if it was such a wonderful thing to do.
Instead of complaining about why he was being so burdensome, Ji-won chose to subject Kwon-ju to a hell of compliments, and despite his heavy body, arrived at school in an incredibly cheerful mood. Just coming as two people instead of alone could make the walk to school this pleasant. Though he had questioned why Kwon-ju waited for him, he was truly grateful for the consideration.
So with eyes forcibly kept open despite wanting to close, and a brain rigidly forced to function, Ji-won did his best to write his answers. Though he struggled for quite a while with things he was sure he had seen before but couldn’t properly remember, fortunately there were no blank spaces left.
After finishing the first day of exams, which went reasonably well considering his terrible condition, Ji-won was heading home when people kept approaching him from all directions. On the way to the main gate, he felt like he’d been asked what was wrong at least five times. As Ji-won pulled his mask up even higher, he realized something. Thinking about it, covering his face wasn’t the problem. It was the person standing beside him, attracting everyone’s attention. Given that rumors had already spread about them always being together, it would be stupid not to recognize him.
Just as he thought he’d met everyone he needed to, another familiar face walked toward them from the opposite direction.
“Ah, again.”
“Hey… why do you look like such a mess?”
Suhyeon, whom he hadn’t seen in a long time, was shocked as she hurriedly examined his face, half-hidden behind the mask. Kwon-ju, who was walking right beside him forcibly carrying his bag with textbooks, explained.
“There was an accident.”
“What? An accident?”
That makes it sound like something really serious happened. Ji-won hastily shook his head and clarified.
“I just fell asleep with the air conditioner on.”
“In April?”
“You know I can’t handle heat well.”
That’s true. Recalling how Ji-won had crawled around campus half-dead during summer, Suhyeon didn’t press further. Instead, she turned her attention to the handsome junior standing stiffly like a mannequin beside him.
“Your name is Jang Kwon… ju, right? Are you taking care of your senior? That’s so nice. Here, have one.”
As she extended her clenched fist as if to give him something, Kwon-ju politely held out both palms since Ji-won was watching, and candies tumbled down onto them. It was clearly not just one, despite what she’d said.
“Freshmen should eat plenty of everything.”
The orientation meeting once, and now this made twice… This was only their second meeting, right? If not for the part where she double-checked his name, he might have thought they were already acquainted. Unable to adapt to this overwhelming friendliness, Kwon-ju stood there blankly, unable to manage his expression, when Ji-won smoothly picked one candy from the pile on Kwon-ju’s palms.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
