Chapter 28: The Fever

“It feels a little less like I’m alone.”

I muttered a random remark and squeezed my eyes shut.

The first people who came to mind were those I’d unintentionally spent the most time with recently. When I was fine, they were right there tormenting me—but when I actually got sick, they were nowhere to be found.

…What a f*cking idiot. After everything, I’m still sitting here with expectations. Still, still waiting.

Let’s think of something else. Something chaotic. What could there be… What should I think about…

It’s about time to clean the bathroom—I should do that soon. Come to think of it, the master bedroom needs cleaning too. The date to send money is almost here. I should send my regards this time. Should I call…? Where’s my phone… Haha, just a few days ago I was glued to my phone, and now I don’t even know where it is.

Choi Taehyuk—who I saw every day when I was living at home, and who seemed to be in constant contact by call or message even after I left—and Min Seonwoo—who I had meals with every day during my part-time job—haven’t contacted me since that day they all came to my house together. Even when I occasionally called to ask them to chase the twins out of my house, come to think of it, their answers were overly brief.

I thought I’d gotten somewhat close to the twins, and even closer to those two… Actually, I thought we’d gone slightly beyond the scope of “close.” You don’t usually treat just anyone that way.

Choi Taehyuk’s attention was a bit stalker-like, but I didn’t dislike it. Min Seonwoo’s care had a dangerous edge, but it wasn’t bad. …Though it seems that was all just in my head.

I stretched out my arm to find my phone, patting around the bed. If it wasn’t nearby, I’d just give up and sleep. But fortunately or unfortunately, I felt my phone in the corner of the bed. I grabbed it and brought it to my face. The lit screen showed only the time and date, as expected.

The clean notification bar showed the Wi-Fi icon and a 90% battery reading. It’s been a while since I charged this—why is it still at 90%? The fact that the battery is this full even though it wasn’t plugged in means I haven’t had any reason to use it. Feeling even colder, I tossed the phone I’d worked so hard to find back into the corner and curled up. It’s too quiet.

“Wow, it’s so quiet I can hear the electromagnetic waves now.”

I tried to break the silence with a mutter, but it only made me feel lonelier. I want to sleep. I wish I could just fall asleep. I squeezed my eyes shut and chanted a mantra. I can sleep. I can fall asleep. I’ll have happy dreams.

After a long while, I finally drifted off.

“…Mmm… leave me alone…”

I’m freezing and starving and about to lose my mind, but some bastard keeps pulling the blanket off me.

f*ck. I don’t even have the strength to open my mouth, and you keep shoving bitter liquid in, you bastard? You think I’m going to swallow this crap when I haven’t even had a meal? Bleh, you bastard.

With my eyes still closed, I spat out the nasty liquid that had entered my mouth. My original intention was to spray it forcefully into the air—but something went wrong, and it just dribbled weakly down my chin.

Nothing ever works out. Forgetting my pain for a moment, I chuckled—and something hard dug into the back of my neck.

Ugh, no, I want to lie down. I have no strength. But my resistance was futile—my head was lifted, and something cool was placed on my forehead.

Ah, seriously! I’m cold! I tossed my head side to side, barely managing to shake off the cool object—only for something damp to be placed back on. And in my moment of carelessness, something cold tried to enter my mouth. Annoyed and unwilling, I clamped my mouth shut and turned my head away.

“Ji—… ho——… med——… take——… better——…”

What are you saying. I snickered at the choppy words that sounded like a lagging video. It sounded like something about medicine. Suddenly trying to give medicine to someone who’s sleeping… Ah. Right, I’m sick. The fact I’d forgotten because I was so cold came back to me. The moment I realized it, pain started screaming from all over my body.

My head felt like it was splitting, and my stomach was churning. I wanted to throw up, but I had no strength to move, and it was too cold to even think about getting out from under the blanket. Tears suddenly came—I felt so sorry for myself. At that moment, memories I thought I’d forgotten began to overlap. I didn’t remember opening my eyes, but I saw a familiar back. Was it a dream? But what if it is a dream? No, actually, I’d prefer it to be a dream. I reached out with my small hand and walked toward that back.

Mom, Mom, I’m sick. Mom, I’m not lying this time. Mom, actually I never lied. I was always sick, Mom. You just came a little late, so I was already better. It’s true. The school nurse said I should go home early. Mom. Mom, Mom. I’m sorry. I’m sorry I came. But why isn’t Dad coming? Why won’t Dad ever see me? Mom, Mom. My friends won’t play with me. It’s not my fault. I didn’t do anything. Mom, Mom, I love you. I love you, Mom. I’m sorry I’m Jinho.

“Jin—… ho… wake up… Jinho…!”

How long had I walked? Suddenly, a voice came from the sky. The same voice I’d heard earlier. Who is it? The moment I asked, my body shook and the headache got worse. Stop shaking me, my head is ringing, you stupid asshole. You’re making it worse. No… No. Actually, I just hurt. Sorry. Sorry I blamed you. But who are you?

I was mumbling whatever came to mind when, like before, my mouth was pried open and something cold entered, followed by liquid flowing into my mouth. What is this? It’s so bitter. I think I’m going to throw up. Give me water. I’m thirsty. I’m hungry. No, I think I’m going to throw up. I don’t know. I don’t know anything anymore. It hurts. I’m cold. It hurts.

“Wh—… at… the—… hell… hey!”

“…Ea—… t it… it’s okay.”

“You think this looks okay?!”

I must have fallen asleep at some point. It felt like I’d been sleeping for a long time. But I’m still so dizzy that I think I’m hearing things. Why is even the auditory hallucination the twins? And so vividly. It sounds like a conversation where they’re taking care of me while I’m sick…

“Are you awake? Jinho, are you awake?”

Huh…? Judging by the voice, it sounds like one of the twins. But the tone is so different from what I’m used to—so gentle. Flustered, I forced my eyes open.

…Oh my god. It’s the twins. One of them, exactly as I’d last seen them three days ago. I managed to ask the twin who met my eyes, in a very hoarse voice:

“When did you come?”

The moment I finished speaking, the twin’s expression changed dramatically—it was quite a sight. Judging by that reaction, it’s probably Ho. The older brother Hu doesn’t smile that much unless he’s putting on a show. This guy was too busy expressing his delight to bother answering my question, so I called him by the name I guessed to urge him on.

“Ho hyung.”

Oh, since he didn’t say anything, I guess I was right. But my goal was completely unfulfilled—this bastard was too happy to answer. Fortunately, I wasn’t the only one frustrated—Hu, who was perched on the bed looking down at me, answered instead.

“Came in the morning. Your fever was so high we woke you up in between to give you medicine. Don’t you remember?”

“Uh—, not at all.”

As if they’d expected that answer, both just nodded.

It felt like I’d just slept deeply. Once I’d roughly finished the conversation, I closed my eyes, drained of energy. Ho was kneeling on the floor at eye level with me, and Hu was stroking my head while looking down at me. I don’t know what time it is, but judging by the dimness, it’s at least past 6 PM… Have they been here from then until now?

“Jinho, if you’re feeling a bit better, let’s have some porridge.”

“Yeah. It was unavoidable earlier, but taking medicine on an empty stomach isn’t good.”

I definitely feel much lighter than this morning. The dizziness is fading, and I haven’t felt cold at all since I woke up. I’ve been healthy since I was a kid, so I’m used to recovering quickly—but this is a new record. Completely better in half a day. I stopped my thoughts to say thank you and opened my eyes.

But before I could even say thanks, the back of my neck was supported. Huh? What? Too flustered to resist, I was guided by the supporting hand to sit up—and a spoon was brought to my lips.

Something warm touched the roof of my mouth. Figuring I’d deal with it first, I swallowed—it was rice gruel. Not something from a specialty shop—bare-bones gruel, with no seasoning, I couldn’t even tell if it was salted. Smiling, I cautiously opened my mouth toward Ho, who was scooping the next spoonful.

“Um… it’s a bit bland…”

I didn’t want to complain to someone who’d even cooked to take care of me—but that gruel was like poison to me, who usually prefers spicy or tangy food. I’d eat it with kimchi, but Ho only had the porridge bowl on his knee and the spoon in his hand.

Hu had somehow settled in behind me, leaning against the headboard and holding me with my back against his chest. Avoiding the spoon pushed toward me again, I clearly said it was bland—and from behind, Hu giggled and said you shouldn’t eat spicy food when you’re sick.

I know that, but isn’t this too much? I think a little kimchi would be fine. I was developing a reasonable suspicion that these two just didn’t know where the kimchi was, so they hadn’t brought any—when I blocked the spoon being pushed toward me again. Because, actually, even though I’d mentioned food first, there was something more important I needed to address before that.

“So why the hell am I naked?!”

The fact that I’m naked is far more important.