“Ah...Seungcheol...it hurts.”

“Sorry, just a little longer, I promise...”

Seungcheol swallowed before he went quiet again. His fingers began rubbing circles on my wrist, attempting to sooth the pain he’s causing me.

“Seungcheol…” I drew in a sharp breath, biting hard on my lips.

He remained silent, and the only noise in the room came from my own choppy breathing. His grasp suddenly tightens around my forearm, forcing me to bite back a painful whimper.

“Seungch-”

“Okay, that’s it!” He exclaims, finally taking the giant ice pack off my forearm. “You feel better now?”

I inhaled a few times, feeling the warmth returning back to my sore limb. To my pleasant surprise, the pain from my arm is now gone.

“Yeah…” I muttered, raising an eyebrow in the process. “It…doesn’t hurt anymore.”

Seungcheol flashed a smile as he leans closer. “See? I told you.”

I twisted my arm around a few times, feeling slightly amused at how little pain there is despite what just happened.

 

Just ten minutes ago, I was asked to deliver some reports to Mr. Park. But since the papers were stacked a bit too high, my blocked vision prevented me from knowing exactly what was ahead. And then, when a door suddenly flew opened beside me, I crashed to the floor, along with all the papers I had.

Now, what’s funny was that Seungcheol was the one who opened, or rather, kicked the door. And once he saw me half-lying on the ground, he completely freaked out. He practically carried me to the infirmary, frantically apologizing like there’s no tomorrow.

Of course, I did try my best to calm him down, and probably told him a thousand times that I was okay. Sadly, he panicked even more when we realized the school nurse already went home, since it’s already well after school.

Thankfully, he returned to normal after finding a fresh ice pack from the refrigerator, to which he suddenly insists on “curing” my injured arm. And so, after sitting me down on the infirmary bed, he slapped the giant ice pack on my arm and held it there until my arm practically froze.

It was a painful experience, but it worked.

 

“How did you know something like this?” I asked, still moving my forearm around.

“Sports knowledge.” Seungcheol grins before tossing the ice pack to a nearby counter. “Whenever the guys would get injured during practice, this is what I do.”

I nod back, feeling rather impressed by his fairly dutiful side. But speaking of practice, he should probably get going.

“Seungcheol.” I spoke, glancing at my watch, “You should go, your practice is starting.”

However, he quickly shakes his head and leans back against the bed post. “Nope. Not today.”

My brows furrowed before I turn to him. “Why?”

“You still have to grade papers right? I’m gonna help.”

My eyes instantly grew wider while my stomach involuntarily flutters. “No it’s fine, I can still write.” 

Seungcheol simply continues to shake his head. “Nope, I got you hurt, so I’m gonna help.”

I release a quiet sigh, mostly trying to calm the nerves in my abdomen. “Seungcheol, it’s okay.” I comment. “You shouldn’t skip practice, you have a game coming.”

 “One time isn’t gonna hurt.” He shrugs, lips then forming into a smirk. “Plus I’m already really good.”

Despite the giddy feeling inside of me, I stare back at him with a blank and slightly unimpressed expression.

“Seungcheol.” I began, “Don’t be ridiculous, you need to go practice.”

“Nope, I’m not going”. He pouts while dramatically batting his eyelashes.

I sigh once again and narrow my eyes at him. “Why are you doing this?”

He chuckles before folding his arms. “What, am I not allowed to spend more time with you?”

Ah, here we go again.

I blew on my bangs, but quickly glanced down to hide the redness forming on my cheeks. It’s still hard to admit, but his words which used to make me cringe now have the power to throw me off guard. It’s crazy, now that I think about it.

“Stop joking Seungcheol.” I mutter, still looking away.

I anticipated some sort of witty response, but for the next whole minute, Seungcheol didn’t say a word. Curiosity got the best of me before I slowly glanced up, only to feel my heart plunge.

His eyes are fully fixed on mine, and he wore yet another expression I cannot recognize. But most of all, why is he being so quiet?

 

 “Ahri.” He suddenly began, to which I internally flinched. “Do you think…I’m just joking all the time?”

My brain immediately seems to shut down. Even though Seungcheol’s gaze is currently riling up my heart rate, I just cannot look away from him.

Now I have no idea what’s going on.

 “Um…” I trailed off.

Seungcheol’s eyes flickered before he suddenly breaks his gaze. “Actually, nevermind.” He voiced, looking back up with a grin. “Forget what I said.”

The confusion in me only grew bigger as I notice Seungcheol quietly exhale. I shift uncomfortably in my spot, parting my lips before staring back up.

“Seungcheol-”

 

“Yo captain! Where you at?”

I almost jumped at the sudden voice. Despite my already messed up heart rate, I was still sensible enough to register that voice, which belongs to Mingyu. Indeed, I quickly turned around to see his tall figure strolling in, holding a basketball in one arm.

“Hyung, it’s time for practice.” Mingyu announced, taking a seat on a random stool.

“Oh, not going today.” Seungcheol replies as he stood up. “Ahri’s hurt, I’m gonna help her.” He points to me.

I could only sit in awkward silence while I sense Mingyu staring at me.

“Oh…” He mutters, slowly nodding to himself before shrugging. “Ok I guess I’ll help too.”

Wait, what?

I whip my head up, just so I can gawk at both of them. “Uh, you guys don’t need to.” I mutter while staring back and forth between the two.

“Well, if captain’s not going, then I won’t either.” Mingyu adds.

My gaze then shifts to Seungcheol, who simply looks at me with a cheeky grin. “I guess that can’t be helped.”

“Yeah! The more the merrier!” Mingyu throws his fist in the air.

And with that, I felt the last bit of energy slipping from my body. Seungcheol kept grinning at me while Mingyu didn’t seem like he is going to leave anytime soon. I might as well just give up for now.

 

The two of them followed behind as I made my way back to the classroom. However, right as we stepped into class, a slightly confused Jeonghan decides to show up, followed by an even more confused Wonwoo. I expected at least one of them to be responsible, but after hearing Seungcheol’s exaggerated story about me, they also decided to ditch practice and tag along. Furthermore, it didn’t take long before more people showed up, and before I knew it, the entire basketball team shows up.

Now this is just too much.

At first, I almost thought it was nice to have so many people wanting to help, but boy was I wrong. As soon as I brought out a stack of previously graded exams, these guys hunted for their own tests and proceed onto making fun of each other’s test scores. Seokmin especially wouldn’t stop teasing Soonyoung for scoring lower than Junhui on Korean literature.

“Yeah, and I’m a foreigner.” Junhui purposely emphasized the last word, to which Seokmin just laughs louder.

The floor gradually became cluttered with paper airplanes thanks to Mingyu and Wonwoo. To the side, Jisoo wouldn’t stop beaming like a proud mother since Jeonghan had finally managed to pass his English exam. Seungkwan was in his own little world, and decided to recite poetry out loud the entire time.

As it turns out, Seungcheol is the only calm one who actually tried to help with grading.

“Hey uh…sorry about this.” He sighs, putting his pen down. “This was a bad idea.”

I momentarily observe the chaos around me before facing Seungcheol, who indeed looks quite uneasy at the moment. However, what he doesn’t know is that frankly, I didn’t mind. Yes, they’re making a mess, but having the whole team here is rather…entertaining.

“It’s okay, today’s work is almost finished anyways.” I encouraged.

Seungcheol cracks a faint smile before hunching over his desk.  “You see these kids?” He mumbles, “This is what I have to deal with every day.”

I giggle to myself while a series of booing emerge amongst the crowd of boys, namely from Seungkwan and Soonyoung.

“Yah! Give us a break captain.” Seungkwan objects, “We’re basically your slaves, how are you not satisfied?”

Seungcheol scoffs and leans back into his chair. “Oh, you’re my slave? Then go buy me a drink.”

“I would, except…” Seungkwan trails off as he directs his gaze out the window. “It looks like it’s about to rain.”

The others quickly gather around the windows as I glance outside. Indeed, all I see are gray clouds, which certainly isn’t a good sign.

 

“Uh…guys…”

Wonwoo’s sudden voice diminished into a low murmur before everyone turns to him. “Isn’t that coach?” Wonwoo mutters, pointing out the window. “Is he…looking for us?”

Seungcheol immediately dash towards the windows while the others pressed themselves against the glass panes. Curious, I saunter over and peek down, only to see a disgruntled middle-aged man standing out in the middle of the basketball court.

The room instantly fell silent, and I immediately sense a massive wave of panic rising in the air.

“Guys…we need to run.” Seungcheol voiced, cursing inaudibly. “Now.”

His words are almost too effective. Everyone raced back to their places, frantically packing up their belongings. I wasn’t sure how to respond at this point, but judging from everyone’s deranged reactions, their basketball coach must be one hell of a scary guy.

“Oh my God, where do we go?” Seokmin squeals, helplessly clutching onto his backpack.

“Anywhere but here, just make sure coach doesn’t see you.” Seungcheol replies while zipping up his bag. “Or else we’re all dead.”

“Oh man, I kind of regret ditching now.” Jisoo adds, to which Jeonghan quickly snorts in reply. “Well too late for that.”

I could only stand in place while watching this semi-chaos before me. From a distance, I notice Seungcheol grabbing both my bag and his before running over.

“Let’s get out of here.” He says, pulling me towards him.

I almost trip on my own feet. “Wait why? I still have to-”

“Our coach will find you.” He professed, voice dropping to a low murmur. “And he’ll ask…no, he’ll interrogate you.”

I felt a nasty chill run down my back, only to be completely startled by a booming rumble from outside. The distinct sound of thunder resonates through the windows, to which everyone in the room immediately froze.

“Aw crap, it’s raining.” Seungkwan announced. “Now we really have to run.”

Without a second warning, Seungcheol drags me out the door. And alongside the rest of the team members, we sprinted down the hallway. Soonyoung quickly devised a plan for our escape, which is to split up and take different exits.

“Okay, Jeonghan, Seokmin, me and Jisoo will take the back exit.” Soonyoung points, “There’s another way out through the gym, and one other exit through the soccer field. Good luck!” He shouts before taking off.

Since I was already way out of the loop, all I can do at the moment is follow where ever Seungcheol is about to lead me. But if there is one thing that’s clear to me, it is that whenever I’m with Seungcheol, something crazy is guaranteed to go down. Like right now.

“Let’s cut through the soccer field.” Seungcheol turns to me, his fingers still tugging my hand.

“Uh…okay.” I mutter, just in time before we started running again. Oddly enough, no one else wanted to come with us, which leaves just me and Seungcheol running by ourselves.

Right as we reached the building exit, Seungcheol shoves the door opened, and we were instantly attacked by a huge blast of cold wind and plenty of water droplets. I quickly held up my palm, shielding my face while inwardly groaning to myself.

Out of all the times to rain, it just has to be now. Not to mention that it is absolutely freezing.

“Here, wear this.”

I glimpse down, where the first thing I see is Seungcheol holding his jacket in front of me. It took me a second to process the situation, but when I did, my eyes grew with pure shock.

He cannot be serious right now.

 “Seungcheol, what are you doing? You need to wear it, you’re going to get sick!” I ramble, pushing his arm back towards him.

However, he seems to completely ignore the look on my face, and proceeds to throw his jacket across my back.

“It’s fine.” He beams. “Let’s go!”

Before I could utter another syllable, he pulls me forward and continues across the soccer field. Once again, I had no time to sort out my emotions while struggling to keep up with him.

“Where are we going?” I heave, wiping damp strands of hair out of my face.

“My house.” He shouts back.

I almost stumble to the ground for the second time. Did he just say what I think he said?

“What? Why?”

“It’s closer.”

I’m definitely not in the best condition to judge whether this is a legitimate excuse or not. But then again, it’s not like I have a choice. Right now, all I wish for is to escape this rain.

After about another minute of frantic sprinting, we finally stopped before a pair of metal gates. Seungcheol quickly fiddles with a nearby intercom, and the gates slid apart, revealing a rather well-decorated front yard and a two-story house. There wasn’t much time to admire the scenery as Seungcheol placed a hand behind my back, guiding me pass the gates and towards the front door.

“We’re here.” He grins, digging out his keys.

As soon as the door opened, we rush inside immediately, shutting the door behind us.

“Ah thank god…” He sighs.

I felt the warmth of my body heat finally returning, but my breathing on the other hand is still far from recovery. Even with all the shivers, I have never felt so thankful than I do now. We’re safe, at last.

“I’ll get some towels.” Seungcheol kicks off his shoes before stepping away.

I glance up, where my eyes quickly began wandering the space around me. It's a little dark, but I could slowly make out the furniture and spaciousness of the room. I almost didn’t notice how quiet the house is at the moment. Judging from the lack of lighting and noise, no one else seems to be home right now.

Seungcheol reappears with two white towels in hand, tossing one at me while drying his hair with the other. It is during this time when I finally got the chance to properly look at him. And to say the least, he looks like he had just taken a shower with his clothes on. And that just makes me feel horribly guilty.

“Seungcheol, you should really change. You’re going to get sick.” I spoke, hoping my words would be more convincing this time.

“I will.” He replies, “But what about you? You should change as well.”

My lips hung apart while my brain attempts find a proper response. At the same time, a puzzled look appears on my face. How am I supposed to change?

“Oh, you can borrow my clothes.” He adds.

I almost flinch at his voice, not sure whether it’s because he might have just read my mind, or because of what he just said.

“Uh…it’s fine, I’ll just-”

“Come on, you wouldn’t want to get sick, right?” He smiles, stepping closer.

As frustrating as it is, the look on Seungcheol’s face is once again starting to make things difficult. I didn’t know what else to expect, other than to feel him holding my hand again.

“Let’s get you something to wear.” He mused, pulling me towards the carpet stairs. We reached the second floor, and he leads me straight into the first room on the left side. Right away, I notice the many basketball posters hung to the walls, which is enough to confirm that I am now in Seungcheol’s room.

He quickly disappears into his walk-in closet, leaving me with some time to observe the room around me. I wasn’t sure what to look at first, but one thing I do realize is that his room is…surprisingly clean.

“Here, for you.” Seungcheol walks out, handing me a gray-looking sweater. “Bathroom’s right behind you.” He points.

“Ah, thanks.” I blurted, taking the sweater from his hands. “But you really need to change first, you’re still soaked.”

Seungcheol chuckles before turning me around, pushing me towards the bathroom door. “Okay, okay, I will, don’t worry.”

This time, I felt obliged to intervene. I stop and turned back around, looking straight into his eyes.

“No, you’re changing first.” I state, not realizing how we are to each other. But that doesn’t matters. He needs to listen.

Seungcheol’s pupils seemingly dilates before his lips parted. I tried my best to focus on his eyes, but didn’t last long when I noticed the color of his face. He cheeks look rather… red.

“Ahri…it’s fine.” He mumbles, looking completely dazed.

I shake my head and frown at him. “No it’s not, you change first.”

Seungcheol inhales, his eyes becoming narrow as his breathing seems to slow down.

“It’s okay…I’m fine…you…first…”

With every word, his voice became softer and softer, and his face is somehow becoming closer. I know this can’t be an imagination, since I can now feel his heat radiating from his skin.

“Ahri…” He whispers, lips drawing closer to mine. “I’m fine.”

And with that, his forehead suddenly collides onto my shoulder.

 

My body went rigid in an instant, and the only thing I can now hear are Seungcheol’s deep and heavy breaths.

Holy crap, what just happened?

 “…Seungcheol?” I mutter, eyes wide and limbs totally frozen. Seungcheol didn’t say another word. I had no idea how long I stood there before finally snapping back to real life. I moved my hand towards his face, only to instantly flinch away when I felt how hot his skin is. He is burning.

“Oh my…Seungcheol, you’re burning up!” I yelp, feeling the sheer panic rising in my system. My heartbeats began running wild, and I quickly held onto Seungcheol’s shoulders to keep him from falling over.

It’s official. The one thing I’ve been fearing this whole time is now a reality. He has a fever.

“Ah…am I?” He slurs, still breathing heavily against my neck.

A long sigh escapes my lips. “Yes, and you really need to lie down.”

I scan the perimeter of the room, taking note of his bed that is against the wall. Fortunately, with my shoulder as support, Seungcheol managed to trudge over to his bed. When he sat down however, I realize he has yet to change out of his wet clothes. Now this time, I’m determined to have him listen.

“Here, wear first.” I unfold the gray sweater that is still in my hands. “And take off your shirt.”

I would be shocked at the things I’m saying, but during times like this, you got to do what you got to do. A look of surprise flashed across Seungcheol face, but is quickly replaced by a mischievous expression that I’m all too familiar with.

“But what if I don’t want to?” He croons, lips curving to one side. “Are you gonna strip me?”

“Yah! Choi Seungcheol!” I shout back, but not before scoffing at him first. I felt so tempted to just throw the sweater at his face, considering how lame he’s acting when he’s already sick.

“Okay, okay just kidding, I’ll change.” He chuckles, dropping his head for a moment. “But…there is one condition.”

Oh great. Now what?

“What is it?” I sigh, folding my arms.

Seungcheol pursed his lips, eyes wandering to the side. “The rain’s not gonna stop, and it’s already late, so maybe…” He trails off. “You should just stay over.”

 

The moment his words reached my ears, I felt all the heat from my body rushing to my face. My poor heart which had finally calmed a moment ago began racing again.

“Uh…that…”

The sentences in my head suddenly convert into a series of incoherent gibberish. But at the same time, I can see the point to Seungcheol’s words. Going home at this time isn’t the wisest choice. Chances are, I’ll just get sick as well if I tried.

“And don’t worry, we got plenty of free rooms.” He adds.

I gradually glance up to meet his eyes, although still not sure how to respond.

“You can use any of them.” He grins, raising both eyebrows in amusement. “Unless…” He pauses again, leaning forward while his grin shifts into a smirk. “If…you would rather use my bed, then we can sleep togeth-”

“Yah!” I burst, immediately throwing the sweater at him. “Stop it.”

Seungcheol’s laughter fills the room while I felt this dire need to just face palm.

“Alright, alright, I’ll stop.” He puffs out a breath. “But would you stay here for tonight? It’s just...a lot safer this way.”

I exhale, knowing there isn’t much of a choice. Now that I’m already here, I might as well stay until the weather clears up. Plus, Seungcheol’s got a fever, and he might need some help. But speaking of fever, he still hasn’t changed out of his clothes yet.

I quietly clear my throat a few times before meeting his gaze. “If I do, then will you finally change and go to sleep?”

 “Of course.” He smiles, nodding cheerfully at me.

By now, it’s fair to say that I’ve just been defeated by his excessiveness. “Then…fine, I’ll stay here tonight.”

Seungcheol smiles with all his teeth, making a silly face that is just too much for me to handle. “Promise?” He beams.

This time, a soft chuckle escapes my lips. “I promise.”

 

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A/N: I apologize for any spelling/grammar errors! I will proof read this again when I have time OTL Thank you for reading!