C-16
"Han!" I wave at Jisung when I spot him entering the school gate.
"Noona, good morning," he greets me lethargically.
"Are you okay? You look pale." I peer at his face as we walk side by side to class.
"Haha, I'm fine. I just didn't get to eat breakfast." He smiles a little.
"That's not good. Do you want to stop by the cafeteria?" I ask but he shakes his head. "Are you sure?"
He nods so I don't push it anymore. I watch him until he reaches his desk and then I go to mine.
As always, Minho's taking a nap. I sit down and stare at him because the teacher is not around yet. His eyebrows twitch because the sun rays hit his face and I can't help giggling at his expression. I cover my lips when he starts mumbling nonsense and use my other hand to block his eyes from the light.
Minho has such long lashes and his nose is tall and straight. When he isn't glaring, his eyes are actually so nice to look at because it's brown and quite shiny. I'm so jealous!
I only wake him up a minute before the teacher arrives so he can rest more because he looks so sleepy.
"Did you not sleep last night?"
"Barely. The guys and I took care of... some things. The teacher's here." He pats my shoulder as if telling me to not ask any further.
What could those things be?
The whole morning class passed by like a blur and now it's lunch time!
I'm about to walk out of the room with Minho when I see that Jisung is still laying his head on his desk.
"Minho, can you wait? I'm just going to check on Han."
"Sure."
With that, I go to Jisung's desk and sit in front of him.
"Hey, Jisung?" I lift his head to see him sweating furiously and flinch when I check his temperature. "You're burning!"
I immediately made him stand up and put his arm on my shoulder.
"Let's go to the infirmary, okay? Just hang in there."
"Hmm, Y/n?" he calls weakly.
Oh god, what should I do? He's so heavy!
I almost reach the door with Jisung when he trips, taking me with him.
"Ah!"
"What's wrong?" Minho appears in front of me.
"Can you help me carry Han to the infirmary? He's sick!"
"Okay."
He immediately took Jisung from me and carried him on his back. We ran to the infirmary and luckily, we managed to get there in time before the school nurse went out for her lunch.
I'm walking back and forth as we watch the nurse tuck Jisung in bed after checking his temperature and making him drink some water. Minho is leaning nonchalantly by the door whilst I become a nervous wreck.
"Will you stop doing that?" he tells me.
"What?"
"You're making me dizzy and you're making a noise, you might even wake your neighbour up."
"Right, I'm sorry!" I stop pacing and begin fiddling with my fingers instead.
"Tsk. Calm down." He cups my face. "Inhale."
"Why?"
"Just do what I say! Inhale deeply, and then exhale." I follow his instructions. "Now, relax... He won't die from a fever so don't be too nervous."
"I feel bad because I saw him not looking good this morning but I just shrugged it off. I should've pushed it even when he said that he's fine..."
He flicks my forehead. "That's not your fault, dummy. Just stay with him if that'll make you feel better."
"What about you?"
"I'll meet the guys today."
"Alright, take care." I wave at him. "It's too bad we won't have lunch together."
"I'll still eat," he assures me and pats my head before going his way.
After calming myself, I face the nurse and ask about Jisung. "Is he okay?"
"He's all fine, honey. He's just dehydrated so he shouldn't drink coffee for a while and he should rest because he caught a mild fever." She hands me a packet with two pills inside. "One for later and one for tomorrow, but only after a meal."
"I got it. Thank you, ma'am!"
"No problem. You two can go home after I hand these excuse letters to your adviser. I'll be going now."
I bow to her and turn my attention to Jisung. He looks pale and has a slight frown on his forehead. He must've gotten sick when he took care of his mother.
I sit beside him and take out my phone to call Yuta.
[ "Hello?" ]
"Oppa? Can you pick me up?"
[ "Aren't you at school? Is something wrong? Are you okay?!" ]
"I'm at the infirmary right now, but I'm okay! Jisung is sick so I'm taking care of him."
[ "What?! I'm on my way there. I'll message you when I arrive." ]
"Drive safely!"
I smile as I hang up. I knew I could count on him!
Just then, Jisung stirs. I watch him as he slowly opens his eyes.
"Y/n?"
"Han! How do you feel?"
He groans. "Horrible."
I help him sit up and give him my lunch. "Can you eat on your own? You need to eat before taking the medicine."
"Isn't that your lunch?" he asks me instead of answering my question.
"Don't mind me, you're the sick one here. I'll just eat at home later."
"Okay..." his voice trails off.
He tries to take a bite but the chopsticks almost fall between his fingers.
"Let me help you." I sigh and take the utensils. "Open?"
His cheeks turn really pink and I almost feel the heat. Poor boy! He must be really sick.
"Aah..." He slowly opens his mouth and eats the food.
"You should know how to ask for help when you need it. You could've called me back then so I can help take care of your mum. Where are your friends anyway?"
"I'm sorry... It slipped my mind. She's all fine now so that's good." He smiles weakly. "I told Felix and Seungmin to go without me because they're making my head pound."
"Why are you saying sorry?"
"For being a burden, I guess..." He looks down.
"You're silly!" I shake my head. "The only thing you need to be sorry for is when you told me that you're fine earlier. Look at what happened!"
He laughs at my reaction. "Okay, I'm sorry. What should I do so you'll forgive me?"
"Maybe finish this?" I point at the food.
"Okay!"
My cousin messaged me just as Jisung finished drinking his medicine.
"Hello, Yuta-hyung."
"Hey, neighbour. What are you doing worrying my little couz like that, huh?" He shakes his head jokingly.
"Sorry for the bother. Is practise over?"
"Don't worry about it. I already finished the dance lessons for this week so I'm free."
"Do you still need to practise when you're already so good?"
"This is why our family likes you." He chuckles as he helps Jisung into the car.
Yuta drops us home, but he still needs to go back to their company so left soon after.
"I think I'll be fine here. Thank you for the help, Y/n." Jisung smiles at me as we walk to their front door.
"No problem. I'm only one call away when you need help. You know I'm just always next door, right?" I wave at him with a smile.