Chapter 49
“Have some water. Be careful, it might be a bit hot.”
Ji-won stared blankly at the face in front of him as Kwon-ju handed him a cup with such considerate words, as if thoughtfulness was ingrained in him. Kwon-ju’s hair was disheveled, perhaps from running all the way here, with strands scattered randomly across his forehead—and it couldn’t have looked more beautiful.
He must be… really popular. Ji-won’s heart suddenly raced as if he’d stepped into a drama, leaving him momentarily bewildered.
“Uh, yeah. Thanks.”
What I just thought would be seriously creepy. Relieved that Kwon-ju couldn’t read his mind, Ji-won carefully accepted the cup. No matter how much he appreciated beauty, he never expected to have such thoughts about a male junior’s face. Maybe it was because he wasn’t feeling well. His body had been trembling continuously, which was probably the cause.
“But how did you know where I live?”
“We exchanged addresses before, remember? I looked at what you sent then… Haah.”
Seeing that Ji-won had finally regained his senses, a relieved Kwon-ju began answering calmly before sighing. Knowing the address in advance couldn’t have been more fortunate. He had asked just to know it, not planning to visit, but it was lucky he had. If he’d been even a little late, it could have been disastrous. If today hadn’t been a battle day, if he’d thought it would be too bothersome to bother a sleeping person… it was horrifying just to imagine.
“Do you have a thermometer at home?”
“No, I don’t keep things like that.”
Then what do you actually have? As someone who lived with all sorts of basic medicines and even a well-stocked emergency kit, Kwon-ju found this home completely incomprehensible. Unable to sigh directly in his face as that would be rude, Kwon-ju swallowed his exasperation and carefully reached out to touch Ji-won’s forehead.
The moment his palm touched the forehead, he felt a feverishly hot temperature. Deeply contemplating what to do first, Kwon-ju seemed unaware of how close he had come. Ji-won turned his head away from the face that was right in front of him and mumbled worriedly:
“I think I caught a cold. You’ll get it too, and midterms are right after the weekend.”
“It’s fine.”
“If you get an F, you can’t graduate.”
“……”
Ji-won had meant it half-jokingly, but to Kwon-ju, it didn’t sound like an impossibility. I should graduate… After wasting the previous week practicing for battles, this week he had at least diligently reviewed the study materials Ji-won had given him and struggled through his hastily scribbled notes, but truthfully nothing had stuck in his mind.
After studying so desperately for three years, he hadn’t expected his brain to harden in such a short time. Who would have thought that after the college entrance exam, he’d find himself cursing his seemingly defective brain again? Trying to appear unconcerned, Kwon-ju changed the subject.
“Do you have any medicine at home?”
“Do I…? Over there, in the drawer.”
Kwon-ju searched the three-drawer chest Ji-won had pointed to and discovered a collection of medicines that looked like they had never been opened. They seemed to have all types, but something felt off. The packaging looked intact, but somehow it felt like they shouldn’t be consumed… His ominous feeling was confirmed when he flipped them over and saw expiration dates that were already past.
How can medicine expire? It’s not even dairy. As someone who habitually cleaned his home, Kwon-ju found this hard to believe.
“None of these are edible…”
“Maybe because I bought them when I first started living alone.”
Ji-won answered sheepishly. While he might not be embarrassed about other things, having expired medicine piled up at home was somewhat shameful. Though not as embarrassing as almost dying from accidentally lowering the air conditioner temperature while asleep.
“I’ll go out for a bit.”
“You can just go home if you want.”
“I’m not leaving. Just give me a moment.”
As if to prove he really wouldn’t leave, Kwon-ju deliberately placed his phone on the desk before suddenly going outside.
Less than 30 minutes later, Kwon-ju returned with several plastic bags in hand. Ji-won had vaguely expected he wouldn’t come back empty-handed, but hadn’t anticipated he’d buy so much. You always exceed my expectations. Despite his pain, Ji-won’s mouth fell open in surprise.
“I didn’t know your preference, so I bought several kinds.”
“……”
Then he kept pulling out containers of porridge, appearing endlessly like a matryoshka doll, which was almost ridiculous. Who considers taste preferences for medicinal porridge? Ji-won would have gratefully eaten whatever was brought, whether vegetable or mushroom porridge, as he wasn’t particularly picky, but such luxurious treatment was a first in his life.
“…Did you clean out the entire porridge shop?”
“I paid for everything.”
“I’m curious how much you spent, but I think I’d better not ask…”
Because if he knew, he’d probably jump out of bed immediately to find whatever cash he had stashed somewhere. Kwon-ju, who never intended to charge an ill person for medicine or porridge, nodded in agreement.
“Put the rest in the refrigerator and heat it up when you need it.”
“Looks like I’ll be eating porridge all week.”
“You don’t need to worry about that. Since the shops were still open, I bought some side dishes too.”
What, side dishes? Thinking he must have misheard, Ji-won bolted upright. His vision spun momentarily, but that hardly mattered.
“Suddenly?”
“There was barely anything to eat in your refrigerator… Do you not like store-bought food?”
“No, I love it. That’s not the issue.”
Even my mom has never brought side dishes when visiting. Faced with Kwon-ju’s puzzled expression as if asking what the problem was, Ji-won lost his words, opening and closing his mouth repeatedly before finally giving up on explaining. This seemed beyond just the unusual economic perspective of a wealthy kid.
“Thank you, I’ll enjoy it.”
Just when I finished paying back that 600,000 gold debt, I’ve received more. Though Ji-won hadn’t asked for any of this, the kindness was so genuine that he didn’t feel like complaining about unrequested help. Looking at Kwon-ju’s profile, which seemed like it had been drawn in a picture, Ji-won shifted uncomfortably, feeling a strange tickling sensation somewhere.
“Kwon-ju… you really need to be less nice to people.”
Look who’s talking. Kwon-ju barely suppressed an ironic laugh as he turned away so Ji-won couldn’t see his face. He wondered when Ji-won would realize this behavior was exclusive to him, yet simultaneously hoped he wouldn’t notice. Because the moment Ji-won felt burdened and distanced himself, Kwon-ju would be miserable.
Taking a deep breath to compose himself, Kwon-ju turned back around. He then semi-forcibly put a spoon in Ji-won’s hand despite his lack of appetite, made him empty half a bowl of porridge, and gave him medicine before finally taking a breather.
“Leave it there, I’ll clean up.”
“No, I’ll clean it.”
You don’t look like you can even walk out of bed, how are you going to clean dishes? Not wanting to leave work piled up next to a sick person, Kwon-ju volunteered to handle it. After rinsing the empty bowl thoroughly and sorting it for recycling, he was about to come back when the dishes piled in the sink caught his eye, so he rolled up his sleeves.
“Kwon-ju, why is the water running for so long?”
“……”
“Please, can’t you let me do it myself?”
Grateful enough that Kwon-ju had come to his rescue, Ji-won desperately raised his voice, pleading when he realized Kwon-ju was now doing the dishes he hadn’t asked for, but there was no answer. Partly because his voice was hoarse and the water was loud, but surely also because Kwon-ju was pretending not to hear. Giving up, Ji-won withdrew his hand that had stretched out of the bed.
It felt strange being cared for like this, as he had always been the one doing the caring. He stared at the remaining porridge and medicine piled up for a while, then slightly pushed away the blanket feeling too hot. Just as he did, Kwon-ju, who was entering the room, spotted this and strode over, pulling the blanket back up roughly with his elegantly beautiful hands.
“Even if you’re hot, don’t take it off.”
“It’s really hot.”
“Of course it’s hot, you have a fever.”
I’m not a child. Though normally he detested wasting time on obvious conversations, somehow this didn’t annoy him at all. Successfully managing to wrap Ji-won tightly in the blanket with gentle persuasion, Kwon-ju finally sighed and sat down on the floor. All that running around had made him sweat, leaving him feeling uncomfortable all over. Under normal circumstances this would have bothered him, but right now his long-time crush groaning in front of him was five thousand times more concerning than the thought of taking a shower.
“Oh, and I could have cleaned up in the morning when I woke up, why did you…”
“It was just… too dirty… I couldn’t walk past it.”
Though meant to tell him not to feel sorry, unfortunately the meaning behind those words didn’t reach Ji-won, whose mind was half-escaping due to the fever. Was it really in such a state that he couldn’t just walk past? He thought he had at least rinsed everything with water and put it away. Kwon-ju, who had turned around, didn’t see Ji-won’s darkened face as he contemplated this seriously.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
