A Cold (3)

"Take off your clothes."

"...What?"

She told me to strip, just like that. The basin of water and the dry towel made her intentions obvious enough — but if you asked me whether this was something you'd do for just anyone, when we weren't even real lovers, I could give you a firm no without a second's thought.

I asked again, figuring I must have misheard. And yet she...

"I said take them off."

...kept trying to get me undressed.

"Hold on... why the clothes?"

I understood it in my head, but having it actually happen in front of me was a different kind of flustered. She didn't so much as change her expression.

"You've been sweating like crazy, haven't you? I'll wipe you down, so take them off."

"I can handle that myse—"

"Hurry up."

I tried a token protest, but the steel in her voice killed whatever resistance I had left.

I turned my back and pulled my clothes off. From behind me came a sound that was almost a moan.

"...They're off."

The first time in my life I'd ever stripped down in front of a girl. I said it sheepishly, and a moment later I felt the towel sweep down my back from top to bottom.

I hadn't been able to wash all day, so I felt pretty grimy — but the situation I was in now was a different kind of uncomfortable. Through the thin towel I could feel her small, slender hands. Those hands that every student in school had wished they could hold even once were wiping down my back.

Is this even okay...?

I was still trying to figure out how things had gotten this twisted in such a short span of time when something soft and warm touched my back — and then traced across it, gliding as if it were swimming.

For a second I couldn't process what was happening. I turned my head, wondering what on earth she was doing, and found her caressing my back with a face flushed bright red, looking for all the world like she'd been put under a spell.

I stared at her for a beat. Then she snapped out of it all at once, and our eyes met.

"Uh, uh? No, I mean... you have more muscle ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠than I expected, so I got curious..."

She stammered it out in a rush, as if she needed me to know just how flustered she was. If you were going to get this embarrassed, I thought, why volunteer in the first place...

"Well... I am biologically a guy, so..."

"R-right. Look at me, getting all weird. Aha, ha."

I shook my head inwardly and reached back, making a gesture for the towel.

"W-what?"

"I'll do the front myself. Give me the towel."

"Ah, oh, yeah. That's... that's how it should be..."

Whatever had just happened must have embarrassed her plenty, because this time she handed it over without a fuss.

"Th-then I'll wait outside. Call me when you're done."

"Yeah."

The second I answered, she bolted from the room. I watched her go, then let out a long breath.

"Haa..."

I still didn't understand what any of this was. Even if she was helping, did she really need to go this far?

I sat there loosening my stiff body, and Kang Hanbyeol and Kim Naeun drifted into my mind — the two of them who'd ducked out earlier, claiming they had things to do.

What were they even thinking, sending her here alone...

Sending a girl by herself to a guy who lives alone. That didn't speak well of their judgment either. We hadn't even known each other that long. I had no idea where this kind of trust was coming from.

Not that I'd have the guts to try anything anyway.

If I did, there was no way I would have gone this long without a single friend.

Was that not the case anymore...?

More than that, though, the situation itself was a little funny. The most beautiful girl in school coming to visit me while I was sick and wiping down my body. Compared to the old me, this was a giant leap forward.

I've grown a lot... well done, me.

I was still thinking that when her voice came through the door again.

"Are you done? Can I come in?"

"Ah... just a second."

I'd been so lost in thought I hadn't done a thing yet. I quickly wiped down my front, scooped up my pajamas, and pulled them on.

"You can come in now."

I said it loud enough to carry, and only then did the door ease open. Lee Yeonhee peeked her head through the gap.

"I, um... came to clean up the things we used..."

"Thanks. I feel a lot better."

"Th-this is just paying you back from last time, so..."

Paying me back from last time? I was pretty sure she'd said something ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠like that earlier, too. When was last time? Had I ever done anything for Yeonhee that deserved this kind of repayment?

I looked at her with a face that said I had no idea what she was talking about. She caught it and let out a sigh.

"Haa... it was just yesterday. You already forgot?"

"...Yesterday?"

"What happened at the department store."

"Ah... that..."

"You asked me to help you when you were having a hard time."

Thinking about it, I had said something like that.

"So you came alone to visit a guy who lives by himself?"

"What's wrong with that?"

"What if something weird happens to you?"

I asked it seriously. She took it as a joke and gave me a sly little smile.

"You gonna try something weird?"

"That's not what I mean. I'm saying you should be more careful."

"Hmph~ ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I can take care of myself just fine without you telling me."

Well, she wasn't an idiot. She'd be fine. I'd been sticking my nose where it didn't belong.

"And besides — you could barely stand earlier and you were swaying all over the place. If we fought right now, I'd win."

That... was a fair point. I might have looked like I was holding a normal conversation, but the truth was my body still had no energy, my head was spinning, and I couldn't put any real strength into anything.

"Still, I made it thanks to you. It was pretty rough."

"If it was that bad, why didn't you go to the hospital?"

"Couldn't be bothered."

Her expression changed in an instant. She looked at me with eyes gone cold, and it felt like the room temperature had dropped a few degrees. I averted my gaze, breaking into a cold sweat, until she broke the silence herself.

"Haa... then just lie down and rest a bit. I'll go clean up."

Even so — she'd come all this way to visit me. Just lying down to rest by myself ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠felt a little...

"Don't worry about me."

...She'd noticed that too, huh.

"Alright. Then I'll take you up on that."

The moment I answered, she gathered up the basin and the towel and headed out. The door clicked shut. I lay down on the bed and blinked up at the ceiling, and with all the earlier tension drained out of me, my eyes closed on their own.

Knock, knock.

"Can I come in?"

...

...

"...?"

I knocked and asked if I could come in, but a long moment passed with no answer at all. I eased the door open just in case, and sure enough, there was Juyeong, lying on the bed, breathing softly in his sleep.

"What, he fell asleep in that short time?"

He must have drifted off while I was out cleaning up. I approached quietly, sat down in the chair by the bed, and looked at him. His bangs had grown long enough that I couldn't really see his eyes, but the steady rhythm of his breathing and the rise and fall of his chest made it obvious he was out cold.

"Was he that exhausted..."

I sat there looking down at him, and what had happened a little while ago came back to me unbidden. The way I'd put my hand on his back without thinking and started caressing it.

He looked so skinny I figured he'd just be skin and bones, but he had more muscle than I expected...

Because he's a guy, I guess. Thinking about it again made my face heat up.

Ugh... why did you do that, Lee Yeonhee, you idiot...

We'd started as fake lovers, but lately we'd been sticking together more than we needed to. Honestly, I was the one dragging him around. But still — that's how inseparable we'd been. Nobody around us even doubted that we were real.

I don't know either. I'll figure it out when the time comes.

The thought made it feel like I was the only one doing any of the worrying, and Juyeong, sleeping without a care in the world, looked infuriating. So infuriating that I lifted a finger and poked his cheek.

Poke.

"Mm..."

Han Juyeong mumbled in his sleep at the assault.

...It's so squishy.

I kept poking his cheek, carefully, so he wouldn't wake up.

...This is fun.

And then I snapped out of it.

Hah...! Get a grip...!

I'd pretty much done everything I'd come to do. I packed my things and stood up to head home.

Even if I'm leaving, I should at least leave a note...

I pulled a notebook from my bag, tore out a page, wrote something on it, and left it on the desk.

This should be enough, right?

Then I closed the door carefully behind me and left.

By the time I woke up, the sun had gone down and it was dark outside.

"...I fell asleep."

For all my talk, the moment I actually lay down I must have passed right out.

"That aside... did she leave?"

I sat up and looked around. Something on the desk caught my eye, so I went over. A single sheet of paper with writing on it.

...I put her through all that trouble for nothing.

I should at least send her a message later to say thanks. With that decided, I took a moment to check how my body actually felt.

My throat's more or less okay, and the headache's better than this morning.

It wasn't a condition that would fully heal in a single day, so there was still a faint cold lingering — but I could feel I'd improved a lot.

This should be fine for going to school tomorrow.

I was still taking stock of myself when I felt my throat going dry.

...I'm thirsty.

Probably from sleeping so long. I was really thirsty. I looked around for something to drink, and a familiar white bag caught my eye.

That bag is definitely...

The one Yeonhee had brought when she came to visit.

She said there were sports drinks inside.

I remembered her handing it over, saying she'd bought sports drinks for hydration. I pulled one out and took a sip.

"...It's lukewarm."

A lot of time had passed since she'd bought it, so it had gone lukewarm — but it was still enough to take the edge off. I gulped it down until the thirst was gone, and before I knew it I'd emptied half the bottle.

Hah... I'm alive...

Once I'd quenched my thirst, I collected myself and ran through what I still needed to do. Yeonhee had done the dishes. Yeonhee had wiped off my sweat. Thinking about it, there wasn't much left. The only thing I actually had to do was eat dinner, which I still hadn't had.

Eating and sleeping all day... I'm living like a king.

King or not, it was still dinnertime, so I decided to eat.

But... I've been eating nothing but porridge, so I'm getting sick of it.

A whole day of porridge had me wanting something else.

Maybe I should order delivery for a change.

I was thinking that and placing the order when, right on cue, a message came in.

How did she always know to message me only when I was looking at my phone? I glanced around as if there might actually be a surveillance camera somewhere.

...There's no way that's a thing.

Maybe Hanbyeol was right and my head really was messed up.

I stopped looking around and got my fingers moving.

Yeah...

I really was wondering how I'd fall asleep later, but that wasn't the important thing right now.

Are you my mom...?

The idle back-and-forth didn't last long before we ran out of things to say. She seemed to be in the same boat. She sent one last sticker and went quiet.

"A cat again..."

I was staring blankly at the sticker when a regular text came in, not a chat message.

The delivery I'd ordered earlier must have arrived. I walked out slowly, opened the door, and found a small bag sitting beside it.

What I'd ordered was nothing special — a boxed lunch. You might think, you ordered delivery just for a lunch box? But going to the supermarket by myself every day, shopping and cooking on top of that, was a real pain. Even a simple boxed lunch like this started to look pretty appealing after a whole day of nothing but porridge.

I moved to the living room and opened it.

"Looks good."

Stir-fried kimchi, bulgogi, a rolled omelet, and a few seasoned vegetable sides. It felt like I hadn't seen meat in ages.

The cafeteria serves meat too, but...

I barely ate cafeteria food in the first place. I mostly just hit the school store, so it really had been a while since I'd had meat. I savored each side dish one by one, the compartments emptying out one after another, and before long I'd eaten everything.

"Delivery food or not, it actually tastes pretty good."

I sorted the trash for recycling, and since I had nothing else to do, I headed back to my room. The moment I stepped inside I threw myself onto the bed like I was diving.

Then I picked up my phone, watched some videos, and when I got sick of that I played a few games, and before I knew it it was time to sleep. Normally I'd be going to bed around now — but of course I wasn't sleepy at all.

There's no way I'd be sleepy after sleeping that much this morning...

What was I supposed to do? The thought didn't last long. I just decided to keep staring at my phone until I got sleepy.

And as time passed, the hour I finally fell asleep was right after four in the morning.