"Why can't you act like a normal sick person?!"

“I’ve been in love with you since we were kids, Choi Sooyoung. Would you marry me?”

Sooyoung, who was currently writing some papers, looked up to see the only person who had got enough nerve to even say that embarassing words to his bestfriend, none other than Byun Baekhyun.

She casted a look to his unblinking eyes.  She turned her head to her left side, where her another bestfriend was sitting at, locking her gaze. “Has he finally lost it?” Chanyeol laughed. “Most likely.”

She continued writing her papers. “Get your together Baekhyun, we weren’t even friends when we were kids.”

“Aw man, I forgot about that.” He smacked himself in the face. “Yah yah! But I’m serious! We are closer than ever to graduating, and I’m still single as hell. If after graduate I’m still solo, I’ll just marry you.”

Sooyoung looked up again and Baekhyun was suddenly scared of her eyes. She sighed, leaning her back to the back of the chair, looking around at the spacey cafe, noticing only a few people had visited. She cooed at him again.

“Do you want to give up on your Kim Taeyeon just like that? And why would I even marry you?” She casted him a dirty look, as if marrying Baekhyun was the stupidest idea ever that she wanted to cringe so hard. “Ouch.”

He mimicked her and leaned his back on the chair. He asked again, “Okay but let’s say I succeed on getting her. So it’s just you and Chanyeol. Would you marry him?”

She smacked him on the head with her paper. “What were you thinking? Right. You weren’t.” He groaned, caressing the crown of his head, muttering some incoherable words to himself before finally glowering at her again. “HA!” Baekhyun screeched. His finger pointing at her. “You didn’t deny it! Would you? Would you?!”

Sooyoung had to look at Chanyeol once. “Well he’s acceptable.”

“I knew it!” Baekhyun exclaimed, “you’re playing favorites.”

“I’m not.”

“Then why?” He demanded dramatically. “You’ve been playing favorite, Sooyoung. I know you’ll always choose him over me at everything.”

She had totally abandoned her papers now. “Yah. Quit it already. If you’re that bored. Here.” She threw her papers in front of him skillfully. “Write my papers.” Baekhyun held his hands up as if getting caught by cops. “Leave me out of this.”

Sooyoung let out a sigh. Feeling no longer motivated to do homeworks, she tidied the once-messy table, putting her papers back inside her backpack. “It’s still one and a half hour til our shift starts. Do you want to wait here?” She looked at Chanyeol, then to Baekhyun.

“No I’m a bit hungry. Let’s eat some street food.” Baekhyun looked at the two in front of him expectantly. Sooyoung smiled at the mention of food. “Sounds like an idea.” Sooyoung got up from her seat, followed by Baekhyun and Chanyeol.

Before leaving, she approached Seohyun first, the other staff working as a cashier like her, telling her something as the other two waited outside. She bid a goodbye to Seohyun then joined them.

The three then began walking to an area known of delicious street food, not far from the cafe where they worked part-time. They walked side to side, Sooyoung in the middle, ever so slowly to inspect the area to find a stall they wanted to try. Her stomach grew even hungrier now that the heavenly smells of food were everywhere, filling their nostrils.

“Let’s stop there.” Sooyoung caught Baekhyun and Chanyeol’s arms, practically dragging them to what appear to be a stall selling Japchae Hotteok. “Ahjumma three japchae hotteok!” Sooyoung called out and they decided to take a seat while waiting for their food to be prepared.

“Here.”

“How much?”

“That’d be 4500 won.”

Baekhyun looked at Sooyoung, who looked at Chanyeol, and Chanyeol couldn’t look anywhere other than to his wallet. “Why is it always me...” He mumbled to himself, but handed the seller his money anyway.

The three continued the journey, walking while eating their hotteok, their eyes were lurking for another food stall. Right when the hotteoks were finished, their eyes caught sight of a stall selling Mandu at the same time. So they headed to the stall straight.

Mandus were best eaten during the cold season and this time they were waiting for it while sitting there since it can’t be eaten while walking.

“Ahjumma these are so heavenly,” Sooyoung said while chewing the food. The seller nodded proudly at herself. “Of course! I’ve been making these since I was a kid!” She took one last mandu with her chopstick and brought it to .

“Another portion please!” And the seller gave her one more portion happily. Sooyoung received it just as happily. And as she had to share it to the the guy on her left and right involuntarily since they just took her mandu without permission.

“Okay we have 45 minutes. Let’s find ice cream.”

“What? in this weather?” Baekhyun asked. Though it didn’t snow today, but it was still cold.

“When is it the right time for ice cream?”

“Anytime,” Chanyeol answered confidently, since he had been through this once when he and Sooyoung went food hunting. Sooyoung nodded approvingly. “If you think otherwise, we can’t be friends Baekhyun, I’m sorry,” she said sadly then grabbed Chanyeol’s arm and acted like they were really going to leave him.

“Yah yah yah!” He ran after them. “Wait. I want ice cream too!”

***

It was after her second class that Sooyoung passed out on her way to her third class that Wednesday. It was sudden that anyone had not managed to catch her, so she fell to the cold floor.

Her friends approached her lying form. “Yah yah yah, Sooyoung? You okay?” Jessica received no response as she already had out. She touched her arm and almost jumped on how hot her skin was.

“She’s burning. Get her to infirmary.”

At Sunny’s command, one guy—whose name was Luhan—crouched down, volunteering to carry her to the infirmary. He placed one arm under her knee and another under her nape. “Where is the infirmary again?” The chinese guy asked as he lifted her.

“You guys can go to next class first, we’ll take care of her first,” she said to the others as they watched her being lifted.

Fortunately, the infirmary was in the same building. The building had its own infirmary since the school clinic was far and there had been always at least one student that passed out there every month due to restlessness. The major they were studying was known as the most busy and full and the professors that taught there were known to be cruel as they often gave them heavy assignments that due tomorrow. So an infirmary was built.

The two headed straight to the said place. Arriving, Luhan set her on one of the bed. “She’s light for a tall woman.” Jessica raised an eyebrow. “Yea she’s pretty skinny.”

“Now what should we do?"

"We call her family of course. I don’t think she will need to wake up soon and continue her classes. She’ll rest better at home. Shees does she even aware of her own illness.”

“Okay.”

“Wait I think I’ll just call one of the two. I think I have their number.”

“One of the two?” He shot her a questioning look. “Her neighbors.” She waited for an answer until finally there was a voice from the other end of the phone.

“Yes?”

“Chanyeol? Can you pick Sooyoung up here in the infirmary?”

“What happened?”

“She passed out on her way to our third class.”

“I’ll get there. Thanks for taking care of her. Is there a nurse?”

"Yes."

“Let the nurse take care of her. You can go to your class. I’m—”

“No no. It’s okay I’ll wait until you come. The next class is a bit boring anyways.”

She heard him chuckle on the othe