C-16
"Han!" I call Jisung when I spot him entering the school gate.
"Noona, good morning," he greets me.
"Are you okay? You look pale," I told him as we walk side by side to class.
"Haha, I'm fine. I just didn't get to eat breakfast." He smiles at me but I'm not convinced.
"That's not good. Do you want to stop by the cafeteria for a while?" I ask and he shakes his head. "Are you sure?"
He nods so I didn't push it until we reached our classroom.
I went to my seat and saw Minho sleeping on his desk, as always. 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 couldn't help giggling at his expression. I cover my lips with my palm when he starts mumbling nonsense and use my other hand to block his eyes from the light.
I only decided to wake him up a few minutes before the teacher arrives so he could rest more because he looks so sleepy.
"Did you not sleep last night?" I ask him.
"Barely. The guys and I took care of... some things," he says. "The teacher's here." He diverts the topic and pats my shoulder as if asking 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 was about to walk out of the room with Minho when I saw Jisung is still laying his head on his desk.
"Minho, can you wait here for a moment? I'm just going to check on Han."
"Sure."
With that, I went towards his desk and sit in front of him.
"Hey."
I hear him groan which made me worry.
"Jisung?" I lift his head to see him sweating furiously and flinch when I check his temperature. "You're burning!"
I immediately make 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 says weakly.
Oh god, what should I do? He's so heavy!
I almost reached the door with Jisung when he tripped, taking me with him.
"Ah!"
Minho suddenly appears in front of me when he heard my shout.
"What's wrong?" he asks.
"Can you help me carry Han to the clinic? He's sick!"
"Okay."
He immediately took Jisung from me and carried him on his back. We run to the clinic and luckily, we managed to get there in time before the school nurse go out for her lunch.
I was 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 on the doorframe as he watch me 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." He glares.
"Right, I'm sorry!" I stop pacing and begin fiddling with my fingers instead.
"Tsk! Calm down." He holds my hands and makes me look at him. "Inhale."
"Why?"
"Just do what I say! Inhale," he instructs. "Okay, exhale." I did what he says. "Now, relax... He won't die from fever so don't be too nervous, it won't help him get well."
"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. "Make him drink one of these later while the other one is for tomorrow, only after eating though."
"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 went to sit beside him and take out my phone to call my brother-he picks up after the third ring.
[ "Hello?" ]
"Oppa, are you free today?"
[ "Yes, the vocal lesson just ended." ]
"Can you pick me up?"
[ "Sure, wait- aren't you at school? Is something wrong? Are you okay?!" ]
"Yes, I'm at the infirmary right now. Jisung is sick so I'm taking care of him."
[ "What?! I'm on my way there. I'll message you when I arrive." ]
I hang up with a smile. Just then, Jisung stirs. I watch him as he slowly opens his eyes.
"Y/n?"
"Han! How do you feel?"
"Horrible." I help him sit up.
"You should eat." I give him my lunch. "Can you eat on your own?"
"Isn't that your lunch? What will you eat?" 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 tried to take a bite but the chopsticks almost fell from his hand.
"Let me help you." I sigh as I feed him. "Open your mouth!"
His cheeks turn pinkish. 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 you take care of your mum. Where are your friends anyway?"
"I'm sorry... I was busy taking care of mum all day because dad got stuck at work so it slipped my mind. She's all fine now." He smiles weakly. "Well, 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 profusely. "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.
"Alrighty."
I received a message after Jisung finished drinking his medicine. It's from my brother telling me that he's already here. I told him to come to the infirmary so he can help me support Jisung walk.
"Hello, Taeil-hyung."
My brother smiles warmly as he help Jisung stand up.
"Hey there. Can you walk already?"
"Yes, I'm sorry for bothering you. Is the practice over?"
"No, it's fine. I already finished my vocal lessons for this week so I'm free."
"Do you still need practice when you're already so good?"
"This is why our family likes you." My brother chuckles.
We all went to the car and my brother drives us home. We stopped in front of Jisung's house and I walked him to the gate.
"I think I'll be fine here. Thank you for the help, Y/n." He smiles at me.
"No problem. I'm only one call away when you need help. You know I'm always just next door, right?" I wave at him and walk towards our house.