Taking the Medicine
As soon as I sent the text, I heard hurried footsteps from beyond the front door, and then it swung open.
Perhaps he had just finished showering, as Siu’s hair was still damp.
Siu stuttered a little. He seemed quite flustered by my sudden visit.
"You, what the... why are you here all of a sudden? Without even a word."
I understand. No, I really shouldn't be doing this. If it were me, I would have definitely hated such behavior.
Even so, showing up on the same day—well, it wasn't even the same day.
I didn't call before arriving; I arrived and then called. It was definitely a nuisance.
It wasn't even the last train, so I’m not sure why I decided I wanted to leave for home from Siu’s place the next morning.
Was I afraid of the dark streets at night?
That wasn't it at all.
It was probably because I had a cold and just wanted to sleep as soon as possible.
"No, you see..."
I tried to explain, but Siu cut me off.
"Just come inside and talk."
"Okay..."
Thankfully, Siu didn't kick me out.
Siu really is a good guy.
I was grateful. Even though it was the kind of situation where I would have just sent someone home, he let me in.
I stepped inside.
I sat on a kitchen chair and explained my situation to Siu.
How I had caught a cold, and when I told them, they told me to come to this hospital.
And my complaint about not being given a ride back.
But it turned out the hospital and his house were very, very close.
"But why come to my place?"
"It is a bit weird, isn't it...? Sorry, I'll leave now."
As I tried to stand up, Siu stopped me.
"That's not what I meant. It's fine if you sleep over."
"Sorry for just showing up..."
"No need to be sorry, but I have work tomorrow, so I need to sleep early."
"Yeah. I'm just going to sleep and leave..."
As soon as I finished speaking, my nose started to itch. I hurriedly covered my mouth with both hands.
"Ah, ah, ah..."
Siu looked at me with an expression that asked what on earth I was doing.
"Achoo!"
Just before the sneeze came out, I covered my mouth with my sleeve.
And the moment I pulled my sleeve away—
I saw it.
I continued to cover my face with my forearm as I spoke.
I couldn't let anyone see me like this.
"...Siu."
My voice wasn't as nasal as it had been earlier.
"Can I have some tissues..."
"You've really caught a cold, haven't you."
"Yeah..."
Siu brought me tissues, and I wiped away the mess on my face.
"What did you do today...?"
"Went to work, obviously."
Siu let out a long sigh and made an expression similar to Jiyu's.
Does everyone change like that when they go to work?
"How was it...?"
"I don't know. It was chaotic."
Siu let out a hollow laugh. Then, as if remembering something.
"Oh, and I actually had to make coffee."
I didn't mean to mock him, but a laugh escaped me.
"Pfft..."
"Don't laugh... I really didn't know I'd have to make coffee. Still, I'm glad I wasn't alone and had a colleague. It was someone I'd never met before, but strangely enough, we went to the same university."
"That's a relief..."
"And it was a bit hard—"
Gurgle—
Just as the conversation was about to continue, a dainty sound came from my stomach.
Even though I can't put much food in my stomach, it certainly makes its hunger known.
Siu stopped talking and looked at me.
"...Are you hungry?"
"I didn't get to eat dinner... but you don't have to give me anything. I can just eat tomorrow morning."
I waved my hands to decline, but Siu pointed to the medicine packet on the table.
"Don't you need to take your medicine? I have emergency rations, do you want some of that?"
"Emergency rations? What is it...?"
"Fried rice."
I thought he cooked for himself every time, but Siu was human too.
When Siu opened the freezer, it was packed with instant frozen fried rice.
"I'll do the dishes..."
Siu's eyebrows furrowed for a moment before his expression softened.
"Sure."
He put the fried rice in a bowl and heated it up simply in the microwave.
Normally, he could have heated it in a frying pan.
But since I had decided to do the dishes, I didn't want to increase the amount of work I had to do.
Doing dishes at my part-time job is enough. I don't want to do it at home, too.
Ding— the microwave chimed.
Even heated in the microwave, it looked delicious enough.
Golden grains of rice steaming, with pieces of pork embedded here and there.
The egg mixed with the rice was glistening with oil, and there was even a subtle smoky scent that you'd expect from a Chinese restaurant.
Smelling it brought back memories. I think I used to buy and eat this a lot.
It's a frozen fried rice that has a small portion but an amazing taste.
The disadvantage of it being a small portion was actually a merit for me right now.
For me, a normal person's serving is too much. 0.5 of a serving was just right for me.
The fried rice was just the right amount for me.
Smelling it, I couldn't resist using my spoon anymore.
Before I knew it, only traces of food remained in the bowl.
Eunhae had said she wasn't hungry.
But once given the food, she started eating with her face half-buried in the bowl.
Siu watched her back for a moment, then covered his mouth with his hand.
She looked just like a puppy sitting in front of a food bowl, and he couldn't help but let out a chuckle.
To avoid being caught, Siu naturally returned to his computer and sat down.
Normally, he would have forced himself to get some sleep, but he was still awake because Eunhae was in his house.
After finishing the fried rice and doing the dishes, Eunhae suddenly walked behind Siu.
"Can I have some water...?"
Siu turned his head. Eunhae was holding the medicine packet in her hand.
"You're not drinking tap water, are you...?"
"Of course not. There's bottled water over there."
Siu pointed to where the water was, then shifted his gaze back to the computer monitor.
Behind his back, there was the sound of a packet crinkling once, and then the sound of her drinking water, and drinking, and drinking, and drinking, and drinking...
'...What is this?'
Siu felt something was strange. He had no choice but to look because he heard the sound of her drinking water repeatedly.
Siu turned his head to look at Eunhae's back.
A video was playing on the monitor, but his attention was drawn more to Eunhae.
Eunhae suddenly stood up as if she had finished taking her medicine, and walked back to where the water was.
Then she brought another bottle of water and sat back down.
Siu quickly turned his head. It wasn't that he shouldn't look, but his neck turned reflexively.
Behind his back, the sound of her drinking water repeatedly started again.
Why are the pills so big?
I begged them to give me powdered medicine, but they didn't listen to my request, saying that powdered medicine isn't as effective.
There were three pills in the medicine packet.
I took out only the smallest one.
I opened a 500ml bottle of water and held a mouthful of water in my mouth.
A small, pink pill the size of a pinky fingernail. I have to take this one first so my throat can gradually get used to swallowing the larger pills.
Because big things don't go down well from the start.
First attempt. Maybe because I held too much water, I just ended up drinking a lot of water. The small pill the size of a pinky fingernail was still stuck to my tongue.
I held water in my mouth again. I could feel the small pill floating in the water filling my mouth.
Second attempt. I took a short breath, and gulped the water down in one go.
Failed again.
Third attempt. I held water in my mouth again and gulped.
Failed again.
I kept failing after that.
Since I kept drinking only water, I was already full. More than when I ate the fried rice earlier.
At this rate, I felt like I was going to dissolve the medicine and drink it.
Once again, I held water in my mouth, carefully. Slowly. As much as possible.
This time, I tried to swallow too much at once, and it felt like an incredibly thick marble was going down my throat.
My esophagus expanded and it hurt a little, but there was no pill left in my mouth anymore.
"Whew..."
Now the second pill. It was a bit bigger than before. About the size of a ring fingernail.
My esophagus, which had expanded earlier, was aching a little. I was afraid to swallow water.
But I have to eat it. I held water in my mouth again and put the pill in.
Gulped again.
I could feel the pill scratching the wall of my esophagus as it went down.
It felt like it got stuck in the middle, so I hurriedly drank more water.
The foreign feeling in my throat disappeared.
I was about to hold water in my mouth again to take the last pill, but.
'Huh...'
One bottle was already gone.
I brought another bottle of water so Siu wouldn't notice. Siu hadn't taken his eyes off the monitor.
The last pill was huge. A familiar shape. This is Tylenol.
This one is a formidable opponent. I didn't have the courage to swallow it as it was.
What if it gets stuck in my throat?
I needed a little more courage than before. I tried two more times, but it was still in my mouth.
The medicine started to dissolve and a bitter taste began to spread in my mouth, and in the end, I had no choice but to choose.
I broke the pill in half with my teeth. I swallowed the divided medicine in two parts.
Even that required numerous attempts.
Since I kept drinking water, it wasn't much different from dissolving and drinking it, but in the end, I did take all the medicine.
After a little while, there was an empty medicine packet and two empty water bottles on the table.
To think I have to do this three times a day, every day.
If I drink water like this, it seemed like I could easily meet my recommended daily water intake.
"What are you doing?"
Siu's voice came from behind me. My whole body flinched without me realizing it.
I hadn't done anything wrong, so why was I so startled?
He wouldn't get mad at me for drinking two bottles of water, would he? Surely not.
I slowly turned my head.
"Hey, I took the medicine..."
Siu's gaze was on the empty water bottles.
"Was it hard to take the medicine?"
"No... I'm just not very good at taking it..."
"What does it look like?"
I took out the medicine packet I had taken from the paper bag and showed it to him.
Seeing the three pills inside the transparent packet.
Siu looked down at me with pity.