A Cold (2)
After seeing Juyeong off, I came back to the classroom to find Naeun waiting for me.
"Did you see Juyeong off okay?"
"Yeah."
"I hope he gets home safe."
"He's not a kid. He'll manage just fine."
Unlike her usual bubbly self, she always looked after people when they were sick or seemed to have something on their mind. That was probably why the two of us had become best friends.
"I wanna go home too~"
Though some people didn't seem that way at all.
"You really never change, Hanbyeol..."
"Oh, that has a nice ring to it!"
"......"
"......"
Our friend was sick, and this guy looked completely at ease. We stared at him like he was hopeless.
"What?"
"Haa... never mind."
I sighed, at a complete loss for words, and he just tilted his head like he had no idea what any of this was about.
I took notes for Juyeong's share as well as my own, and before I knew it class was over and it was lunchtime.
"Ahh, I'm starving. Anyone wanna hit the school store?"
"I'm in! Yeonhee?"
"I'll come too."
We hurried over before the school store got packed, each grabbed some bread and a drink, then came back to the classroom and gathered in one spot.
"I wondwer if Juyeong'sh shleeping wight now?"
Hanbyeol mumbled through a mouthful of food, and Naeun frowned as she scolded him.
"Ugh, swallow what's in your mouth before you talk."
"Should I send him a text?"
"That's a good idea. Yeonhee, you wanna send one?"
"Okay."
"Wait!"
I was about to send a text when Hanbyeol suddenly stopped me, snatched my phone, and started taking a selfie. I frowned, wondering what on earth he was doing.
"...What are you doing?"
"Okay, done. Now send this picture to Juyeong."
I checked the phone he handed back. Filling the entire screen was a photo of Hanbyeol making a ridiculous face.
Blech.
I had a feeling sending this might get me blocked, but I was curious how he'd react, so I hit send before I could stop myself.
Not long after, the little 1 next to the photo vanished. He'd seen it.
And a moment later...
A reply came back like he had no idea what he was looking at.
His answer was so funny I sent a reply, and after we'd joked around for a bit I got curious whether he'd eaten lunch. I took a picture of the bread and drinks on my desk, sent it over, and asked.
Good. At least he was going to eat something.
But just egg porridge? That doesn't look very nutritious...
I was turning that over in my head when a text came from Juyeong first this time.
"Pfft."
I couldn't help laughing at that.
"What's so funny?"
"What's he saying?"
The moment I laughed, Naeun and Hanbyeol jumped on it like they'd been waiting.
"He said looking at your picture made him nauseous, Hanbyeol."
Naeun burst out laughing beside me. Hanbyeol looked indignant, told us to wait a second, and hurriedly pulled out his phone. Then he shoved his face at the camera and started snapping pictures like a maniac.
"I don't get how he can be so childish..."
"Tell me about it..."
We teased him from a distance as he sent photo after photo. Then Naeun suddenly said something out of nowhere.
"Anyway, are you going to visit Juyeong after school today?"
"Huh? What? Why would I?"
"Why? You're his girlfriend, at least on paper. It'd be weirder if you didn't go."
"Well... that's true, but it's fake..."
"You're always dragging him around with every excuse you can think of, and now this is where you draw the line?"
I couldn't argue. It was true. If I pushed back here, I'd just be a terrible person.
"Ugh... uuggh..."
I didn't know what to say and just made noises, so Naeun spoke up again.
"Your sick boyfriend is all alone and lonely at home, and his girlfriend doesn't even check on him~ Poor Juyeong~"
"Fine, fine, I'll go, okay...?"
I answered reluctantly, and Hanbyeol, done taking pictures, came over.
"Oh, what? You're doing a get-well visit at Juyeong's today? Then I should also... mmph—"
"We've got stuff after school, actually. But Yeonhee, we've got a favor to ask."
"Huh? By myself...?"
"Yep! Once we're done, his place is too far from ours anyway, so we probably can't make it. So we're counting on you~"
Naeun, still covering Hanbyeol's mouth, shot me a wink.
Just like that, I was going on a get-well visit alone. I was trying to think of an excuse for going when yesterday at the department store suddenly came back to me.
Right. That's it!
She clearly said that at the department store yesterday, so this is just me returning the favor!
There's nothing weird about this at all!
I was nodding to myself when I noticed Naeun doing something on my phone beside me, so I glanced over.
"......! Stop!"
I frantically stopped her and snatched the phone, but I accidentally hit send. I fumbled for a moment, quickly sent a hello, and turned the phone off.
"Kim Naeun..."
I glared at her, and she just grinned.
"Heh... hehe?"
I ignored Naeun for the rest of the school day.
After the last KakaoTalk with Yeonhee.
I was curious about how that last conversation had ended, but I just tucked it away in a corner of my mind.
Guess it wasn't anything important.
Beep. Beep.
I was thinking that over when the timer I'd set earlier went off. I dumped the water from the pot, filled it with fresh water, and put it back on the stove.
Once the water started boiling, I had to stir it slowly so nothing would stick to the bottom, and the heat from the flame made my already burning body feel even hotter.
A little dizzy...
Part of me wanted to crank the heat up high, finish this fast, eat, and rest.
Well... can't be helped. Safety first...
If I passed out with the gas on, it'd be a disaster, so I turned the flame as low as it would go and let it simmer slowly. Once the rice started to soften and break apart, I deployed the eggs I'd beaten ahead of time. A little more simmering, and a simple egg porridge was done.
Turned out pretty decent.
The method is extremely simple, but a surprising number of people can't even manage this much. Just look at Neotube these days — people take perfectly good ingredients, turn them into grotesque messes, and call it "amateur cooking."
It's all for the content, I'm sure. No way anyone actually cooks like that.
I blew on a steaming spoonful of egg porridge and took a bite.
...Not bad.
Sitting there eating, I started to feel a little bored.
This is boring... isn't there something fun to do.
I opened my phone and checked KakaoTalk first. Aside from Kang Hanbyeol's chat, which had a mountain of red notification numbers piled up, there was nothing.
If I look at those pictures now, I'll definitely throw up...
I closed KakaoTalk and opened Neotube, scrolling to see if there was anything interesting. After scrolling for a while, I found a cooking channel I used to watch a lot.
I used to watch this a lot when I first got here.
I got lost in the video, drifting through old memories, and by the time I came back to myself the bottom of the bowl was already showing. I left the bowl and spoon in the sink, figuring I'd do the dishes later.
Next up...
Should I change clothes first.
I needed to change. I'd collapsed onto the bed the moment I got home, so I was still in my school uniform. Moving was already hard with this sluggish body, and the uniform had a lot of layers to take off.
First the blazer, then the vest. Just getting my arms out of the clothes, and I was already out of breath by the time the vest was off.
...I just want to rip it off.
I swallowed the surge of frustration, undid my tie, and took off the dress shirt. Last was the short-sleeve undershirt underneath. I pulled that off, then finally the pants, put on my pajamas, and at last I was done changing.
My body feels so much lighter now.
If taking off a school uniform makes your body feel this light, then uniforms really are shackles.
I filled a glass of water in the kitchen, grabbed some cold medicine, and went into my room. I swallowed the pills, set the glass on the desk, and threw myself onto the bed.
Thud.
I flopped onto the bed and played a mobile game for a bit.
Slowly...
my eyes...
closed...
Zzz...
Zzz...
Ding-dong.
Ding-dong.
"Ugh...?"
I'd been sleeping soundly when the doorbell yanked me out of dreamland. I glanced at the window. The rain had stopped at some point, and the sun was setting.
"Who the hell..."
Half-asleep, I walked to the door and opened it. Standing there was the girl I'd seen in the classroom this morning.
"Ah, hey?"
......Is this a dream?
I stood there for a few seconds trying to process the situation, and she spoke up a beat late.
"Um... can I come in?"
"Ah... yeah, come in."
So it wasn't a dream.
She came inside, I closed the door, and when I turned around she was looking at me.
"So... I came to check on you..."
A get-well visit......?
Looking closer, Yeonhee was holding a white bag in her hand.
"Uh... thanks?"
But... by herself?
I twitched an eyebrow, puzzled, and she spoke up again.
"Naeun and Hanbyeol said they had stuff and couldn't come."
"......How did you know?"
"Know what?"
"What I was thinking."
"If you plaster 'I'm curious' all over your face, who wouldn't know."
......Was I that obvious?
I actually felt my face with my hands to check, and she laughed at the sight of me.
"Pfft."
"......"
My face got hot. I couldn't tell if it was the fever or the embarrassment.
"Anyway, how are you feeling?"
"I'm okay, more or less."
"Really?"
I answered while glancing away, and her piercing stare made the truth come out on its own.
"Honestly, not great."
"You look it."
Better than at lunch, but I was still pretty dizzy, and I still seemed to have a fever.
"Then is there anything I can help with?"
"Not really."
"Don't be like that. I came all this way, so let me help."
If I kept refusing, she was going to stand there like this forever, so I asked for something at random.
"There's leftover porridge from lunch in the kitchen. Could you heat it up for me?"
"Ah, the egg porridge, right? Okay."
"Wait, I'll show you where it is."
I said that and took a step to go show her, when—
Stagger.
A sudden wave of dizziness made me miss my footing.
"...Huh?"
A dumb sound slipped out of my mouth as my body listed to the side. But right before I fell, Yeonhee rushed over and caught me, so I didn't go down.
"I'll get it ready and bring it. You go rest in your room."
"But..."
"If you collapse again, that'll be even more of a hassle, so just go."
"...Okay."
If I did it twice, it wouldn't just be a hassle — it'd be a real problem, so I did as she said.
"Take this with you."
I straightened up and stepped out of Yeonhee's arms, and she held out the bag in her other hand.
"I figured you'd have sweated a lot, so I got you some sports drinks for hydration, and cooling patches in case you have a fever. Use them if you get hot."
It felt like she knew me better than I knew myself, but they were things I actually needed, so I was grateful.
"Thanks. I'll pay you back later."
"Don't worry about it. Think of it as paying you back from last time."
Last time? When was last time...?
I wasn't sure.
"If you say so... okay."
I accepted it quickly, took the bag, and went to rest in my room. A few minutes later, there was a knock from outside.
Knock knock.
"Come in."
The door opened, and Yeonhee walked in slowly carrying a tray, then pulled the chair from my desk over and sat down next to me.
"...What are you doing?"
I asked, completely lost, and she picked up the bowl and held a spoon out in front of me.
"Here. Say ahh~"
"No... I can eat on my own..."
"Your arms hurt. How long are we going to do this. Come on, say ahh~"
"......"
I wasn't going to win if I kept this up, so I opened my mouth with a sulky look and let her feed me.
"That's it. Good boy."
She smiled sweetly, right in front of my face.
I took each spoonful she offered, and the bowl gradually emptied. Once it was empty, she set it on the tray and suddenly stood up.
"Where are you going?"
"Gonna grab something real quick."
What else is there?
I was thinking that when the door opened again, and Yeonhee was holding a small basin of water and a towel. She walked slowly over to my side, and then...
......What did she just say?