Only You, Jaeyun | JAKEHOON

Chapter 6

— A Little Too Warm

It started with a yawn.

Jake had barely walked into class when he yawned so hard his eyes teared up. His shoulders sagged under his backpack, and his hair was still damp at the ends, like he’d rushed his morning routine.

“Did you pull an all-nighter or get hit by a truck?” Jay asked, mouth full of tangerine slices.

Jake blinked slowly. “I think… both?”

Heeseung tilted his head. “You good?”

“Just tired,” Jake mumbled, dropping into his seat and laying his head down. “And my throat feels funny.”

That earned him a full stop. Jay paused mid-chew. Heeseung set his pen down.

Sunghoon looked up.

“Like… funny how?” Jay asked.

Jake shrugged into his arms. “Just… like a frog tried to crawl out and changed its mind.”

Jay winced. “That’s disgusting.”

Heeseung frowned. “Didn’t you look kind of flushed yesterday too?”

“It’s probably nothing,” Jake said, voice muffled by his sleeve. “This happens sometimes. My immune system’s weird.”

That got Sunghoon’s full attention. “Weird how?”

Jake peeked up. “Like… I get tired easily. Or I catch things fast. It’s nothing dangerous, it’s just… yeah. I get sick more than most people.”

There was a pause. Then Heeseung groaned. “We let him run around yesterday like it was field day.”

Jake smiled faintly. “It’s okay. I had fun.”

Jay huffed. “You should’ve said something.”

“I didn’t want to be dramatic—”

“Too late,” Jay and Heeseung said at the same time.

Sunghoon didn’t speak. He just stared for another second before grabbing the side of Jake’s desk and pulling it a little closer to his own.

Jake blinked. “Huh?”

Sunghoon reached into his bag and handed over a warm water bottle. It wasn’t even school-issued. It was stainless steel. Personal.

“Drink,” he said, eyes on Jake’s flushed cheeks.

Jake stared at it. “Is this yours?”

“Obviously.”

“Are you… giving it to me?”

Sunghoon’s eyebrow twitched. “Are you planning to die of dehydration instead?”

Jake laughed, soft and surprised, before unscrewing the cap and taking a sip. It was warm, just slightly sweetened barley tea.

“Thank you,” he said gently.

“Stop saying that,” Sunghoon muttered.

Jay leaned toward Heeseung, whispering dramatically, “He doesn’t even let us touch his stuff.”

“I once sneezed near his pen and he wiped it down with bleach,” Heeseung whispered back.

Jake set the bottle down and tried to focus on the blackboard, but Sunghoon kept glancing sideways at him like he was waiting for Jake to collapse mid-math.