"Who are you?"
Two hands cupping her face brought Ye Jin to her consciousness and she snapped at the intruder. Although startled by the question, Hyun Bin quickly dismissed it as a result of her condition. Her vision might not be at its best.
"You're sick, Ye Jin. Let's go to the hospital."
"Hyun Bin-ssi?" She rose up and stared at his face, but her eyes did not settle there and it roamed around his body. Checking him up.
"Yes. It's you," she said in a weak voice. She plopped down again and studied him while raising a quizzical eyebrow.
"Haven't I told you that upstairs is off-limits? Why are you here? How did you come inside my room?"
"Don't speak. You're not feeling well. I'll take you to the hospital," he said, dismissing her inquisitions.
"No! I'm okay. I already took some medicine. I just need to go to bed. It's just a simple fever."
"No. What if it's not just a simple fever? Let's go,"
Hyun Bin's voice was firm but Ye Jin's stand to not go to the hospital was firmer. She did not move and stared at him annoyingly with her half-opened eyes.
"It's not like I'm afraid to go to the hospital. I have a friend who is a doctor and I can just call him right now if I'm seriously not okay."
Hyun Bin remembered Jeong Han and suddenly his throat tightened.
"-what I'm saying is, my condition is not that worst," she uttered calmly as if pacifying him who was obviously agitated for seeing her sick.
Hyun Bin sighed heavily and sat at the edge of her bed. Looking at how she wanted to end the argument means she was not in her usual self. He stared at her and then at the window and finally back at her face again. Then after arriving with a conclusion, he stood up and left her room. He came back after a few minutes with a small basin.
She straightened her back to a sitting position, alerted by his presence. She watched him as he squeezed the damped cloth and reached for her face. She stopped him by grabbing his hand. How could she let him tend to her?
"I'll do it."
He put her hand down gently and said, "Since you don't want to go to the hospital. Let me just look after you."
She sighed in submission. Whenever she gets a fever, she usually just take medicine. Right now, all she wanted was to take a rest and she knew she wouldn't have that if she argued with him.
He pressed the cloth on her forehead and to her face, gently brushing her skin.
"I couldn't let my landlord sick under my presence here in the house, right?" He said, almost like a whisper.
He continues pressing the cloth to her neck and to the exposed skin of her nape and shoulder. Ye Jin could feel her cheeks burn. It was the first time a man touched her, well not exactly touched her because of the cloth between her skin and his hand, but it brought shivers on her spine. His face was so close that she could smell his shaving cream. If ever she trembled under him, she hoped he would think it was caused by her fever.
He soaked the cloth back on the basin and squeezed it again. He aimed for her hand. She was wearing a short-sleeved pajama so he just needs to reach a little so that the cloth could dampen her armpit as well. She was so embarrassed. She looked at his face to see some reaction but he was expressionless. He looked like a caregiver and she was his disabled patient. Next, he pulled the duvet up and moved to her feet. He brushed the damp cloth to her vulnerable skin. The cold made her shiver.
After that, he helped her to lie down, soaked the cloth again, squeezed, and then placed it neatly on her forehead.
"What time did you take the medicine?"
Ye Jin paused and recalled, "Around 6 AM."
He looked at his watch and contemplated.
"Take a rest first, I'll cook you something. You haven't got a breakfast yet."
Ye Jin wanted to say something but he immediately left the room leaving her mouth agape. She just wanted to sleep peacefully and not bother anyone. It was really a bad idea that he knew she was sick, she thought. She gasped.
After a few minutes, Hyun Bin came back with a bowl of tomato soup. He shook her shoulder trying to wake her up. She was conscious but she wouldn't open her eyes. She wished he would just leave her alone.
He stared at her and studied her breathing and he knew she wasn't deeply asleep.
"I know you're not asleep," he said flatly.
Ye Jin shifted to her right side away from his scrutiny.
"I have no appetite," she responded.
"I know, but it doesn't mean you shouldn't eat."
"Leave it there."
"You have to eat it now while it's hot."
Knowing he would not let her say no, she raised herself while growling to herself and stared at the bowl of soup he was holding.
"Alright, I'll eat it now. But I want to be left alone and sleep after this, okay?"
He gazed at her pensively. Sullen.
"-I just don't want to bother you... Please."
She wanted to sound considerate and she believed he got the message across as he nodded slowly. She reached for the bowl but he has already lifted a spoon to her mouth. He gestured her to open it and she did so self-consciously. There was no use in tackling him.
* * *
BEST FOOD FOR SICK PEOPLE
Hyun Bin entered the keyword on his browser and a list of soups with different kinds appeared on his phone. He studied each one and searched the kitchen for the available ingredient. He was holding a squash when the telephone rang.
"Hello," he said after picking up the phone.
"Hello? -who is this?" A voice of a young woman was heard on the other line. A certain person came to his mind.
"Is this Ye Jin's sister? I'm Hyun Bin."
"Oh! Yes. Can I speak with her? I couldn't reach her through her phone."
"She's resting. She has a fever," he replied, trying to elicit some response to the caller. But instead of a startled voice, she paused as if recalling something.
"....ahhh.... Alright, has she eaten?"
"Wait, what does that 'ahhh, alright' supposed to mean. Aren't you worried she's sick?"
"Of course! I'm worried, that's why I'm asking if she has eaten. Tch!" She snorted.
"-What I mean is, it's normal for her to not feel well today. It's just one of those days in a year where she feels like getting sick."
Hyun Bin did not understand what the other person was saying on the other line, was it just normal to get sick? or maybe he did not just want to comprehend the idea that it was no big deal for a person to get sick. And largely because the person they were talking about was Son Ye Jin. And by the way, what were 'those days in a year'?
"Could you explain that further? What are 'those days' you are referring to?"
"You see, I'm sorry that you feel worried about my sister. But she'll be okay. It's just that July is not a good month for her."
He tilted his head unconvinced.
"Are you really her sister?"
The person on the other line scoffed and looked unbelievably on the handpiece.
* * *
Hyun Bin swept a hair loosely hanging in front Ye Jin's face and pushed it back to her ear. It was already late in the evening and he had successfully made Ye Jin ate before going to sleep. Well, he could say he had successfully "disturbed" her instead of seeing her irritated expression whenever he wakes her up. He should be in his room now taking a rest as well but he could not make himself leave her room. In the last hour, he found her dreaming, and based on the full sweat on her forehead, he knew it was not a good one. He had to wipe her sweat and press moistened cloth at her forehead until her breathing became normal. Her calm face while sleeping reminds him of the exact same face he had seen ten years ago...
He stood on the gate staring at the doorbell nervously for five minutes now and in one brave second, he pushed the button once but long. He did not know if it's the right house, if it's not then he could just go home and forget it. A middle-aged woman, who seemed like a helper, opened the gate.
"Yes? Are you looking for Ye Jin?" she asked after scrutinizing him from head to toe.
Kim Tae Pyung was surprised that she kinda got a hint that he was looking for her. It was the right house indeed.
"Uhm, yes. I just want to tell her something," he replied politely. Aside from wanting to talk about what happened last time, he wanted to tell her that he would be away tomorrow until the first-day of class. It was not like he thought he had to say this but if ever... maybe, she would look for him, he wanted her to know he did not just disappear in thin air and cut communications. There would be no signal in the place he'd stay at.
"I see. But Ye Jin is not feeling well today."
Worry was evident in his face after hearing that Ye Jin was sick. He stuttered.
"Wh-y... I- mean- is she okay? Shouldn't she be in the hospital?"
"She's okay. It's just a fever. Are you her friend? Do you want to come inside? I think I could wake her up for you."
"Ye-ah, yeah, I'm her friend. But, I think she wouldn't like it if you wake her up for me."
'Maybe, she'll get more sick if she saw me,' he thought.
"Hmmm. Did you fight?"
The question startled him and at the same time disturbed him. The woman looked at him interrogatively as if pondering something.
"You did fight," she concluded.
He just nodded. The woman sighed sympathetically and gazed at him with doe-like eyes.
"Ye Jin may look like a stubborn kid and she acted so rough sometimes, but you know, it's only on the surface. She was once a sweet girl...." she bit her lip.
"-It touched me that someone went up here to console her, and looking at your worried face, I believe that she has found a real friend in you."
He knew what she means. Ye Jin, in spite of her image, was a sweet and warm girl. If he could help to bring the old Ye Jin back, he would do everything. After exhaling a big gulp of air, he courageously stepped closer to the woman and begged.
"Can I just see a glimpse of her?"
" -I'll act like a ghost and try not to wake her up."
"Are you just going to stare at me the whole night?"
Hyun Bin blinked hard, startled to hear Ye Jin's snappy but weak voice. His mind must have been wandering long enough that he did not notice her waking up. He stretched his back from the chair he pulled beside Ye Jin's bed, trying not to meet her gaze.
"Could I sleep on the sofa?" He asked, pointing at the sofa on the wall beside the door.
Ye Jin looked at her with narrowed eyes as if asking what in the world was he talking about.
"-you were sleep talking and calling me a while ago. How am I supposed to know that you need me if I sleep downstairs," he reasoned hastily. Her forehead furrowed as she frowns. Obviously, 'the sleep talking' was a lie.
"-Just think I'm not here," he stated before Ye Jin could say anything then he stood up and lay down on the sofa.
'Why is he not allowing me to talk?' She said pantomiming to herself.
She sighed, "Alright, I'll just think you're a ghost."
* * *
Hyun Bin woke up from the rays of light seeping through his eyes and sat up automatically knowing it was already morning. He was surprised to see Ye Jin's bed empty. He checked on the comfort room and she was not there so he hurriedly headed downstairs. He went to the dining room and saw food prepared on the table.
"Oh, you're up! Good, I'm already done cooking," Ye Jin said brightly.
She was wearing an apron and holding a pan. He immediately went to her side, near the sink, and placed the back of his hand in her forehead to feel it, an intimate gesture that startled her.
"I'm no longer sick. I told you it's not serious," she said while she took a step back to keep her forehead away from his touch although he had already felt her temperature.
He took the pan from her hand and gazed at her disapprovingly. After that, he pushed her gently from the back out of the kitchen to the dining table. He pulled a chair and made her seat.
"You just got sick so you shouldn't be moving around," he said sternly.
"-I'll do everything later after you eat," he continued.
Ye Jin could not quite make out why he was behaving so different. He was even calling her informally nowadays.
"Can you just take a seat?" Ye Jin said and gestured to the chair in front of her. He looked troubled for nothing and it worried her. He obeyed and sat down, never leaving his gaze to her.
Ye Jin twitched from his deep gaze, he looked like he was going to give her a lecture.
"I just want to thank you for taking care of me yesterday so I thought of preparing a breakfast," she carefully threaded her words, hoping to ease his displeasure.
He glanced at the food on the table and heaved. She might have risen early for her to prepare the foods. He slept in her room to look after her but he ended up not noticing her leave, he scolded himself harshly.
"I wanted to make a tomato salad and squash dumplings, but guess who used them yesterday," she teased, easing up the atmosphere.
He glanced at her and she gave him her signature crescent eye smile.
"But the tomato and squash soup was really delicious," she complimented and gave him a thumbs-up.
"Tch!"
Then a smile formed on his lips.
* * *
"Yah! Son Ye Jin!" Han Ye Seul dropped her cosmetic bag on the toilet sink when she ran to Ye Jin in the female's comfort room. She stared disappointedly at Ye Jin through the mirror.
Ye Jin stared back at Ye Seul, puzzled.
"Why did you not tell us that you and Hyun Bin-ssi are dating?"
Ye Jin's forehead furrowed into a frown. Where the hell did she get that from?
"Aigoo! You made me look pathetic. If I only knew you were dating, I wouldn't barge into your house last time," she said while applying face powder to her face.
"Huh?"
"You see. If I knew he's taken, I wouldn't have shown interest. To be another woman is out of my vocabulary," she continued, now applying red lipstick.
Ye Jin nodded bewilderedly. Although, the only question on her mind right now was how did she know exactly about it. Did Miss Oh break the news to everyone?
Ye Jin felt like her fever will come back anytime. She knew she would be stuck in this situation until Hyun Bin finally leaves the school and her life. As per her calculation, he still has to stay in Daegu for two weeks.
"-I'm too beautiful for that," Ye Jin heard Ye Seul say at last. And all she could do was nod again.
They went out in the comfort room together, Ye Seul being so uncommonly talkative to her. They passed by the men's comfort room when she heard a familiar voice and the conversation sounded not good. She stopped and listened, her ears on the door. Ye Seul, puzzled, also listened. Who knows, they might have to stop a student's fight inside.
* * *
Gong Yoo would not accept that Hyun Bin was getting ahead of him this time. Since university, he had developed a kind of rivalry towards him. They both have successful careers, known in their crafts, him being a master engineer and Hyun Bin a reputable psychologist, but he was the social butterfly and he gets more people around him- more specifically, women. Now, his recent girlfriend broke up with him and his buddies were teasing him that Hyun Bin got himself a girlfriend while he pokes around in the corner. He could not just accept that. There was something suspicious about Hyun Bin and that woman's interaction that made him think they were not really in a relationship. He was sure of it and he was determined to prove his hunch right.
Friend 1: So you think, Hyun Bin just brought a woman in the party and told everyone that she is his girlfriend?
Friend 2: Where on earth did he get someone like her, I wanna go hire one too. :p
Gong Yoo: Hey dude! I'm serious here. There's no way he could get a girlfriend. You know him.
Friend 3: Okay, dude. How much?
Friend 1: Whoah! I smell money.
Gong Yoo: 200k won.
Friend 2: It's like treating us just in a club.
Gong Yoo: Alright, 500k won.
Friend 3: So what's the plan?
Plan. He had a plan of course. And the moment Hyun Bin turns down the invitation, that was it, he gets his pride back and his money doubled. Telling his secretary that he had to visit a friend for business matters, he went to Daegu.
"Come on, Bin! I know you're not really together. Judging on the way her co-teachers reacted when I said she is your girlfriend, I am absolutely right," Gong Yoo said.
"You just went here for that?" Hyun Bin asked astounded by the triviality of the occasion on why he was here.
"Well, I went here to invite you and your girlfriend to the trip... but if you're not really together, you can just say no," he said a matter-of-factly. He smirked as he was expecting Hyun Bin would turn down the offer and that would confirm it.
Hyun Bin gazed at him unbelievably. Actually, he did not harbor any hard feelings towards Gong Yoo. It was just his unusual attention to him, Gong Yoo being childish, that made him stay away from him. He could always take his teasing but he was being ridiculous now more than ever. He guessed, he would just tell him the truth.
"Alright, we are not-"
"NOT going to take down your offer. Hyun Bin and I will go on the trip."
Son Ye Jin strutted her way beside Hyun Bin and had already slipped her hand to his arm before he could recover from his surprise from the moment Ye Jin walked in from the door of the men's comfort room. It was not just a place where he could expect to see her. Gong Yoo was shocked too.
"Ho-w could you just walk in here? This is a men's comfort room," Gong Yoo complained. He almost had Hyun Bin spill the truth.
Ye Jin looked around self-consciously but replied hastily, "We talk here.... sometimes."
She knew that was not a great answer and bit her lip after saying that.
"You mean-"
"I'm with them too," Han Ye Seul blurted on the doorway and she ran beside her companions, pinning Hyun Bin in the middle. Well, that was not a smart statement too since they are with two mature men. Hyun Bin coughed from embarrassment.
"We-e just talked," Ye Jin reasoned out trying to sound innocent.
"Omo. Are you thinking weirdly?" Ye Seul accused, widening her eyes to Gong Yoo.
"-you're really a pervert!" she continued, confirming her thoughts about what happened an hour ago.
"Excuse me, Miss. I would like to see Hyun Bin, the psychologist having research here. Where can I get hold of him?"
Ye Seul looked at the tall man who has just spoken.
"Hyun Bin? He's in the faculty room. There," and she pointed ahead. The man thanked her and she was about to go in the opposite direction when she noticed him looking at her back. He let out a small restrained laugh and when he found her looking back at him peculiarly, he pointed at her back.
"Your zip is open."
Ye Seul gave him a look of disdain after recognizing him. A pervert, she mouthed.
"Wait. Why am I the weird guy here? You two are the ones who went inside here," Gong Yoo argued at the two women gazing at him as if they caught him watching porn.
Ye Jin composed herself and squeezed Hyun Bin's arms boldly for Gong Yoo to see.
"Going back, we are accepting your offer. We'll join the trip," she said earning her a glance from Hyun Bin.
"-and the offer coming from someone who looked really established. Then I guess we just need to show up and everything's provided, am I right?"
"Oh yes! Everything's free.... from the food to the accommodation!"
"Oh, wait. Where's the trip? Personally, I don't like to stay in a hotel or inns. Could it be that you have a vacation house or a private property? You look rich," Ye Jin put the compliment to subtly tease him and manipulate his thoughts. She playfully shook a speck of non-existing dirt on his coat.
"Oh-h, ye-ah, of course!" He replied with an air of arrogance but her stutter made it obvious that he was not prepared by that remark.
Ye Jin smirked.
Gong Yoo's family were living in the States so actually he only owned an expensive bachelor house in Gangnam. A certain place crossed his mind. But he would need a lot of coaxing to be able to set the trip there.
Gong Yoo gasped at the audacity of the moment, as he had never been embroiled in this situation before.
* * *
"Oh! Too bad, Ye Jin has just left already," the woman said to him.
"Wh-ere did she went?" Tae Pyung asked bewildered. He went back the next morning to finally say goodbye to Ye Jin before he goes but it seemed like she was also going away somewhere else.
"She went to visit her aunt. I don't exactly know when she will come back, maybe before classes starts."
Tae Pyung thanked the woman and sighed sadly as soon as he turned his back from the house. With a heavy heart, he threaded his way to the study room first before taking a bus. He took a small envelope with a letter inside, addressed to the companion he had in the study room.
Dear study buddy,
I wrote you this letter because I think I could no longer come back here to study again. I believe I did not do well in the exams in spite of the review notes that you lent me for some ridiculous reasons. Because of that, I lost and I am happy to grant you your wish. Let's meet up on the first Saturday of the second semester in the Miracle bridge at 9 AM. I also want to introduce you to my special friend, if she accepts. Haha. You said you'll top your class, I think my friend will definitely top our class too.
PS. Please consider that I am just a student so I hope your wish isn't expensive. Haha.
P.T.K. / Kim Tae Pyung
It was a hot Thursday morning. Tae Pyung sat on the shed and waited gloomily. A bus came to his view and he stood up. He went inside and looked around for an available seat. Since it was school vacation and it was a day scheduled for a bus ride to the remote province of her grandmother, the bus was full in the front already. He walked further ahead and he was caught in surprise when he recognized one person sitting. Was fate playing on them? He guessed so for the vacant seats left were beside her and the seat adjacent to her. Nervous and perplexed, he chose the seat on the other side. His face was transfixed to the front but he couldn't help but look at her in the corner of his eyes.
"It's fate. Son Ye Jin," he uttered to himself.