Today, Inho seemed a little under the weather. Not Haon, but Inho.
Inho said he was fine, but it didn’t look that way to Haon. His body temperature, which had clearly been normal until this morning, had suddenly risen. Even when he was sitting alone in the cafe, he looked listless.
Eventually, their plan to see a play in the evening was canceled, and they returned home early. Haon had insisted on it. Very firmly.
“Inho-ssi, look at me.”
After a simple dinner at home, Haon, sitting side-by-side with Inho on the living room sofa, suddenly called him. When Inho turned his head, Haon cupped both of his cheeks and gently pressed their foreheads together.
“Your fever seems higher than before.”
“Does it?”
When Haon asked worriedly, Inho shrugged and reciprocated by cupping Haon’s cheeks.
“Haon-ssi feels cold.”
He glanced over the thin pajama shirt Haon was wearing. It would be getting colder soon, so it seemed like time to wear winter pajamas. The temperature inside the house was being maintained at a comfortable level, but one could never be too sure. Haon had said he was sensitive to cold.
“Wear thick pajamas when you sleep tonight. You might catch a cold.”
“I’m not cold. It’s Inho-ssi’s body that’s hot.”
Haon pressed down on both of Inho’s cheeks, insisting that his own temperature was normal. The person who needed to change clothes now was Inho-ssi, not him.
“Please dress warmly. I think you’ve caught a cold.”
Inho was wearing a short-sleeved round-neck shirt. His pants were long, reaching his ankles, but the material was thin. He was dressed lightly, probably because he felt hot due to the fever.
Come to think of it, he had seemed a little sluggish yesterday as well. He didn’t have a fever then, but he skipped his daily workout and stayed in bed longer.
Could he have been feeling unwell since yesterday? Haon felt uneasy that he hadn’t noticed his condition sooner.
“Shouldn’t you go to the hospital?”
“I don’t need to go to the hospital for a cold.”
Inho chuckled and pulled Haon into an embrace, settling him on his lap. He held Haon in his arms like a doll and rubbed his chin against his neck. Perhaps because Haon was so light, he often treated him like a cherished plush toy.
“It tickles.”
Haon, who had been trying to maintain a serious expression, finally burst into laughter. He had intended to talk seriously.
Haon touched Inho’s hot arms that were wrapped around him and swallowed a sigh. It was clearly a cold, but the fact that he wasn’t coughing at all worried him even more. Could it be something else?
“Are you really not in pain? Like, feeling dizzy?”
“I’m not dizzy.”
“Then what about a headache? Are you sleeping well these days?”
Haon, showering him with questions, tried with difficulty to turn his head and face Inho. However, it wasn’t easy because Inho had buried his face in the nape of his neck.
“I’ve been sleeping more than Haon-ssi these days.”
That was true. Haon pondered a rebuttal but gave up. Aside from the elevated temperature and noticeably listless appearance, he didn’t seem to have any major problems.
He still laughed well and had regained his appetite. As he said, there were times when he woke up later than Haon.
“You’ll get better soon if you rest well. Don’t worry.”
Inho said firmly. Then, he playfully swallowed Haon’s round cheek and sucked on it forcefully. Haon, who had been trying hard to frown, couldn’t help but laugh this time as well, succumbing to Inho.
Even if he had persistently pressed for answers, he probably wouldn’t have gotten any. Inho would have kept silent until the end.
Perhaps Inho himself didn’t know the details of his condition. He hadn’t noticed that the dangerously rising water was overflowing. He, too, was someone who was used to enduring things and didn’t know how to take care of himself as much as anyone else.
And then, the overflowing water was finally discovered. It was early this morning.
Haon, who had fallen asleep in Inho’s arms as usual, tossed and turned. It was not even three hours after he had fallen asleep. He, who usually didn’t wake up easily once asleep, had somehow opened his eyes alone.
It must have been around one in the morning.
Haon stared blankly at the ceiling and yawned softly. He glanced sideways at Inho, but it was too dark to see his face clearly. He groped for Inho’s body and realized that only he was covered with the blanket.
It seemed Inho had kicked off the blanket because he felt hot due to the fever. Haon let out a soft sigh and got out of bed after touching Inho’s hot neck and face.
“Inho-ssi.”
He whispered Inho’s name softly, but only even breathing followed. These days, Inho slept more deeply than Haon. Even in the morning, Haon had to shake him awake.
He had only thought that Inho was catching up on his lack of sleep. He hadn’t known that Inho’s body was signaling danger.
“I’ll go get a thinner blanket.”
He sat by Inho’s head, placed a soft kiss on his cheek, and left the bedroom. He intended to go downstairs just to get a blanket and come right back up. The blanket was too thick for Inho to sleep under in his current state.
Even without turning on the lights, the automatic sensor illuminated the stairs. Haon stepped down the brightened stairs and suddenly rubbed one of his eyes. It felt itchy, as if a strand of hair had gotten between his eyelashes.
“Huh…”
He stopped walking, staring at the hand that had absentmindedly rubbed his eye. The moment he looked at his hand, Haon went blank and abruptly grabbed the stair railing. His legs almost gave way, and he nearly collapsed.
“Wh-what…”
Bright red blood was smeared on Haon’s pale fingertips. It was definitely blood. His face turning ashen, Haon checked both of his hands, his lips slightly parted.
The blood was only on one hand. The hand that had touched Inho’s face.
“I, Inho-ssi…”
Clutching the railing, he quickly went back upstairs. He nearly missed his footing several times before barely regaining his balance and rushing into the bedroom.
“Inho-ssi.”
At first, he thought he was the one bleeding. Had a nail broken without him realizing, or had he injured his finger? But Haon felt no pain at all. His body was much better than before and perfectly fine.
Was that why he had believed Inho would be just as okay? Even after seeing him feverish and unusually lethargic. Because he had directly said he was alright.
“Inho-ssi…!”
The moment he turned on the bedroom light, his legs threatened to buckle again. But he slapped his thigh to regain his senses and ran to the bed.
Red blood was all over Inho’s mouth and the white pillow he was lying on. Blood was still flowing from his nose.
“Inho-ssi! Wake up! Inho-ssi!”
Before he could grab and shake his shoulder, Inho opened his eyes first. He saw Haon, who had turned pale white, and abruptly sat up.
“Hah…”
Then, he tried to call Haon but covered his mouth and grimaced. He suppressed a wave of nausea and finally ran to the bathroom.
“Inho-ssi!”
Trying to follow Inho, Haon stumbled and fell to the floor. In the meantime, Inho went into the bathroom and clutched the toilet, retching.
Haon, who belatedly followed Inho, tried to pat his back with a trembling hand. But Inho stretched his arm back and refused.
“It’s okay.”
He mumbled in a cracked voice and waved his hand as if telling Haon to leave. Haon bit his lower lip and swallowed the surging emotions.
“I said I’m okay…”
Ignoring his hand, Haon patted his broad back. He wanted to argue about what was okay, but his throat, which had become hot, blocked the words. Even if he forced out a sound, it felt like only tears would erupt.
Inho emptied his stomach a few more times. Haon waited for his nausea to subside and quickly fetched a cup of water and a towel.
“Haon-ssi.”
Inho rinsed his mouth with the water he received and leaned against the bathroom wall. He fixed his gaze on Haon, who was wetting the towel and wiping the blood from his mouth and neck.
“Haon-ssi.”
The hand holding the towel was trembling violently. Haon was in a daze, mindlessly wiping the blood from Inho’s body.
“I’m really okay.”
“What! What… do you mean okay…”
Haon snapped at Inho for the first time. A loud voice burst out from his churning insides.
“Inho-ssi, this, this, can’t you see this?!”
He stuttered badly, shoving the blood-stained towel in front of him. He knew it wasn’t a situation to be angry about, but he couldn’t calm his mind.
To have such a severe nosebleed in his sleep. And on top of that, to vomit as soon as he woke up, yet Inho had a nonchalant expression. That made Haon even more terrified.
“It’s because I changed my suppressants.”
Inho said calmly, holding Haon’s hand, which was trembling even in his breathlessness. He examined every detail of Haon’s expression with bloodshot eyes and caressed his twitching cheek.
“I took a stronger suppressant, and it seems my body isn’t adjusting well. This sometimes happens.”
Inho smiled as if it were truly nothing serious. The more he did, the more Haon’s pupils shook.
“Why… did you take it?”
Haon swallowed his dry saliva and asked again. Why had he taken a stronger suppressant?
“Because it’s my rut period.”
Inho lowered his gaze for a moment and then looked back at Haon, confessing everything. In his usual composed voice.
“I change my medication often anyway. Side effects like this happen a lot.”
So he was saying not to worry and smiled. He was trying to brush off the current situation with that same perfect smile of his.
“It’s not serious enough to worry about. Look, the bleeding stopped quickly too.”
“Let’s go to the hospital.”
Haon said, grabbing Inho’s wrist instead of his hand. His pale face looked like he might collapse at any moment.
“Quickly, let’s go right now.”
He pulled Inho with all his might.
