I don't remember coming to bed, but I do remember your small and gentle hands touching my forehead, my cheeks, and my neck. Those were yours, right? I want to see you. But I can't open my eyes. I'm too tired, too exhausted. But I want to see you. I want to see you beside me, taking care of me. I tried opening them just to get a glimpse of you, but immediately closed when I heard a voice.

An empty and cold voice, a voice that's not yours.

The voice is near, so this person must be close to me. I could feel my heart break. A lump on my throat starts to form, to hold myself from crying. I'm sick, but where are you?

Why aren't you here? You're at work again, right? You're too busy to see me, right? Why? Why is it always like this?

"His fever hasn't gone down."

It won't unless you're here. I won't let it go down unless I see you. Call her, do something to get her to come here. Do something--

"It hasn't? Should I take him to the hospital? I'm worried..."

Ri In?

"He'll be fine after he takes the medicine. He's a grown man, Ri In, not some child. Seriously, I can't believe you missed the most important interview you'll ever get so you could take care of him."

"Yeonhee, I can't leave him like this. I'd rather miss the interview than letting him suffer under the fever alone."

"Ugh, fine, whatever. You better not regret this in the future. I'm calling your manager."

"Thanks, unnie."

I forcefully open my eyes as I hear you approaching. I look to the side to see you wetting a towel and draining the excess water. You immediately stop when you looked at me. 

"You're awake," you smile comfortingly before I felt the towel patting my face slowly. 

I felt like crying. You were here. My chest was swelling with happiness. 

"Junsu?" You say as I tried sitting up. I wanted to touch you. I wanted to see if you were really here. "Slowly, pabo," you scold lightly as I struggled.

"You came," I breathed, raising my hand to touch your cheek. "Ri In. Ri In...My Ri In."

"Your Ri In," you chuckled lightly and took my hand into yours. "What's wrong?"

I dropped my head onto your shoulder and laughed softly. "I thought...you wouldn't come."

"Now why is that--" you stop and held your sentence. You stopped because you knew, right? 

I pulled you closer when your hands grazed my neck to touch my hair. Ri In ah, you're warm. It's funny because I can actually tell through this fever. 

"Junsu ah, you're really an idiot," your voice shook and I closed my eyes tightly. What were you going to say next? If it will hurt me, don't say it. "I'll always come, you stupid duck . No matter what. If you call for me, I'll come. If you want to see me, I'll come. Did you always think I wouldn't because I put work over you? Is this why you let yourself get sick?"

You're shaking. You're about to cry. I hated it when you cried. It hurt seeing you cry. So I let myself go and gathered you in my arms, despite the fever that was hazing my senses. 

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, sorry..." I say over and over again.

"Ri In, your manager says he...god Junsu, you're fine after all! And what happened to Ri In?"

"What is it?" You murmured as you pulled away from me, the warmth disappearing immediately.

He wants you to be at the interview, that's what Yeonhee wanted to say. I sank back asI looked at her friend sadly. She sighed and rolled her eyes.

"Nothing. I'll just tell him you...caught the fever too."

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Collaboration with a classmate, since we were partnered up to write a freestyle writing practice, and well, this is the result, lol.