"I want to know why you do it."
"Why I do what." he asked, stripping off his overcoat.
He flung it over the back of the couch without much thought as he began unbuttoning his shirt.
"Why you always save me. Every time I'm in trouble you always come...
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I followed Hongjoong down the hall to the infirmary. Even though I knew Mingi had reassured me that he was okay, the panicky feeling in my chest wouldn't go away without seeing it for myself. Knowing that he was bad enough to be relocated to the infirmary only made me feel worse. Especially after seeing first-hand how quickly they could heal. For him to be holed up there, it meant his injuries had to be somewhat extensive. Before Hongjoong could open the door, I placed my hand over his, stopping him.
He looked down at me, eyebrows pinching together in confusion as he took in my worried expression.
"Be honest with me Hongjoong. How bad is he?"
The hard set to his features softened. He turned his hand over to hold mine, squeezing lightly.
"He'll be okay. I promise you."
I searched his eyes for any sign of deceit. But the chocolate pools staring back at me were clear and honest. I released a shaky breath, nodding to let him know I was ready. He let me go, gripping the door and pushing it open. I let him enter first, still too scared for what I could potentially be walking into.
"Your Highness." A soft-spoken voice had me lifting my gaze to see a young maid standing from Yunho's bedside.
She bowed before Hongjoong, intertwining her fingers in front of her delicately as she awaited his orders.
"Any changes?"
She shook her head. "A little, my lord. He hasn't woken up, but his fever has broken. I imagine his body is fighting off the last of the poison."
Hongjoong acknowledged her report before motioning to the door.
"You're dismissed for the evening. I'll have someone else take your post for the rest of the night. Get some rest."
She bowed once more before taking her leave. I waited until she had closed the door behind her to turn back to Hongjoong.
"He was poisoned?"
Hongjoong nodded.
"With a relatively high dose of Gelsemium. Not necessarily lethal to our kind, but it's a pain in the ass to recover from."
Yunho looked sickly. His face was pale, sweat clinging to his skin in a thick sheen and plastering the ends of his chestnut-colored hair to his forehead. Someone had redressed him in a white tunic that was also beginning to stick to his chest and arms where he was sweating. Not thinking twice about it, and probably more accustomed to having to take care of mother when she fell ill that it was second nature, I took the seat the maid had been in, dipping a nearby rag into a bowl of room temperature water before wringing it out and wiping away the sweat coating his skin.
"How long will he be out?" I asked, refusing to look at Hongjoong even though I could feel his eyes on me.
"Not too long I would imagine. But it'll take him a few days to get back on his feet. He'll need to take it easy until he can completely dispel everything from his system."
