[HOLD] Stuck With You; L.HS

3

Our weekend passes by uneventfully. I feel bored, and we're only 10 days into the lockdown. So far, Heuna's called every day. She says she has a cold. Slight fever, stuffy nose. Also that she can't taste very well either. I thought she was fine, until I looked up the effects of COVID-19, the reason why we're locked up.

Apparently she's going to get her results today. Hopefully it's just a cold because she has asthma and that could really mess up her lungs. "I'll be fine, right?" Heuna's voice is less like herself. She sounds muffled and well, sick. She isn't cheerful. It's like clouds are blocking her sunlight. Where's the wind when you need it?

We're on a video call so I can keep her company and honestly, she looks bad. Dark circles have formed under her eyes, her hair is sticking up. It's dark in her room.

"You'll be fine, Heuna, you're strong. I'm sure it's just a cold. Remember when you had that really bad case of strep throat?" She nods but winces as she does. Immediately, I move in alarm. "Are you okay? What's wrong? I'll break guidelines to come help you-" but she cuts me off. "I'm fine Rin, really. It's just my fever. I have a headache." "Oh. Well, take some ibuprofen and rest. I'll call you tomorrow, okay?" She smiles as wide as she can and hangs up. I hope it's just a COVID scare and she's fine.

I walk out of my room, to see Heeseung lounging on the sofa watching a new movie. "What are you watching?" I ask but he just shrugs, "I'm not sure, I just clicked on new picks and this one seemed interesting." I glance at the TV and shiver at the movie. Sci-fi, not my type of thing. I still sit down on the sofa next to Heeseung, but instead of watching I scroll through social media on my phone.

Everyday has been the same. Wake up at 10 or 11 AM, brush my teeth, come out and eat breakfast, sit around, eat lunch, sit around, eat dinner, sit around, and then sleep. I've gotten quite used to it though; it's the same as my normal routine. The only difference is that I'm stuck in the house.

Heeseung hasn't seemed to adapt to it though. He's been complaining about being bored. "Ah, this movie is so boring." I hear him complain, on time with my thoughts. The room goes silent, the only thing that can be heard is the remote clicking. I guess he's picking a new movie. My phone pings from in my hand. Park Sunghoon? My co-worker from the library internship? I mean, it's been years. We should catch up with each other.
— — — — — —

Sung.hoon_Park:
Hi Rin :)

Riina.xo:
Hi! It's been a while,

how are you??

delete

— — — — — —
Way too eager
— — — — — —

Riina.xo:

Heyy :D

Sung.hoon_Park is typing...

— — — — — —
Shit I hope he didn't see me typing for so long...
— — — — — —

Sung.hoon_Park:
How are you?

Riina.xo:
I'm good, a bit bored
You?

Sung.hoon_Park:
Same here, lockdown has been
quite an experience

— — — — — —
I'm getting ready to type back a response but Heeseung nudges me from beside me. "Rin, you wanna watch 'Spider Man: Far From Home'?" I hum, thinking. I've already watched it with Heuna during her Spider Man marathon, but I forgot what happens anyways."Sure." Heeseung clicks start and before we know it, we're so immersed into the movie, I completely forget I was texting Sunghoon. So much for catching up.

Halfway through the movie, my phone starts ringing. "Who is it?" Heeseung pauses the movie and looks over to read the screen. 'Martha'. Hmm, that's odd. Heuna's roommate doesn't normally call me unless she needs Heuna for something. I smile at Heeseung and motion at the TV, "You can keep playing, I've already watched this. I'm gonna go take this call." I extricate myself from my very comfortable spot on the sofa and go into my room. If Martha's going to chew me out about something, I don't need Heeseung here to see it.

"Hello?" I say meekly into the phone and immediately Martha starts speaking. "Rina? Oh my god, Rina. It's Heuna!" She shouts. What? Heuna? What's wrong with Heuna? "What about Heuna?" I ask slowly but Martha doesn't answer. There's chatter in the background I can't make out but it sounds like at least 4 people. "Martha, are there people over? You know you can't have people over."

She snaps, "No! We don't have people over! I'm calling because- because Heuna's in the hospital!" I drop my phone. Heuna's in the hospital? I recover from the shock and pick up my phone. "Why? Why is Heuna in the hospital? She was just fine an hour ago! Sure she was sick, but she was my Heuna!" Martha's sobbing comes through the phone. If cold hearted Martha is crying, I know this can't be good. This must be serious. "Martha, why?" Martha tries to calm herself.

I hear her breathing deeply and catching her breath. Her voice is shaky as she says, "Heuna's positive for COVID-19. I heard her crying and came into the room. She was fine and then suddenly she couldn't breathe, like something suddenly got caught in her lungs. I took her to the hospital and she's on a ventilator now. It's serious, they don't know if she'll ever recover from it."

I stay silent. Just thinking. Heuna? As in the girl who was just on the phone with me? Heuna, the girl who was as bright as she could be last week. What could have possibly gone so wrong? I inhale and exhale, calmly asking, "Is it her asthma?" "Yes, they say her asthma takes a big part in her condition."

I try not to sound alarmed, even though I'm freaking out. My body has that feeling of getting caught doing something you're not supposed to by your parents and then having to explain why you were doing it. It's not a good feeling. "Is Heuna awake?" Martha sighs a heavy sigh, filled with raw emotion. "She's sleeping..." "When she wakes up, tell her I miss her...and that she has to fight for it. I know she can." "I won't have to, you can tell her when she gets out, because I know she will." This makes my lip pull upward in a half smile. Even though Heuna and her roommate weren't close, they still care for one another. I know Martha really does care about Heuna.

"Bye..." "Bye." I cut the line. As soon as the call ends, I feel the heavyweight of the world on me. What would I do if I lost my best friend? I exhale a shaky breath and then gain my strength to go back to the living room. Just the bare thought of losing Heuna has taken a toll on me. Especially because the possibility of it actually happening has become real. The more I think about it, the more real it becomes.

Heeseung must have noticed the disturbed look on my face because he pauses the movie again and asks me, "What's wrong." I try to bring out the words but it won't come out. Instead, my legs become weak and I almost fall.

Before my legs hit the floor, Heeseung grabs me. "Are you okay?" "I- Heuna, she's in the hospital." Shock registers on his face. And to my horror, tears leak out of my eyes. He puts my head to his chest and embraces me. He feels warm and...safe. We stay like this for however long we do, but one thing's for sure. We both know this isn't good.