(Youngjae's Persepctive)

It was just his luck that Youngjae's cold would get worse. He'd been sniffly and lethargic for days, adopting an unfortunate persistent cough when he so much as thought about the bitter temperatures outside. The first day hadn't been too bad, and cold season was definitely in full swing since he wasn't the only one sniffling and clearing his throat. Yongguk had to take time off because both he and Jieun were sick, so it figured that Youngjae caught the bug from his friends.

At least Yongguk's had gotten better quick enough for him to be able to come back to work the next day. Youngjae, however, was on his third day in a row off. Coughing up gunk and blowing his nose constantly wasn't how he wanted to spend his time, but he wasn't being given much choice in the matter.

His body was so sore and exhausted from it all, his coughing having been so bad that it spurred a worried text from Daehyun. Youngjae was glad that his number was saved, and Daehyun had even sent a request the other day when Youngjae wasn't sick, as well as thanking him profusely for being so nice to him.

Youngjae didn't quite understand why he was being thanked so much. His default was to be nice. His parents raised him with manners, after all.

Did Daehyun expect Youngjae to be mean to him or something? He was bashful to the extreme, and he looked so guarded with everything he did, hiding his face or looking away. Even the bits where he wasn't hiding, he was still so reserved.

His brain already hurt enough from the congestion headache, but attempting to analyze Daehyun made it worse. Like, Daehyun clearly had the looks to coast through life comfortably. A smile from those plump lips accompanied with a charming wink? Youngjae was sure his disaster gay heart would beat right out of his chest if he witnessed that!

But no. That smooth, deep voice spoke mutedly and with hesitance. If he just had confidence, there's no way he wouldn't have the world at his beck and call with a snap of his fingers!

Youngjae didn't get it. Daehyun had dashing good looks but carried himself like he was anything but attractive? 'What sort of lifestyle do you have to lead to be like that?'

Maybe he was just shy? Or maybe something had happened to him that broke his confidence? Youngjae could relate to that, unfortunately, and his heart ached at both the recollection of that time and at wondering if something similar had happened to Daehyun.

Either that or his chest hurt because of his periodic coughing and wheezing. Or maybe it was a mix?

Whatever the case was, Youngjae couldn't deny he was crushing hard! Whether Daehyun was just shy or he was hurting somewhere on the inside, Youngjae wanted to get to know him better and at least be his friend. Thinking that could lead to the two of them potentially testing the waters of a romantic relationship made Youngjae's gay heart swoon, but it also put him in a coughing fit.

'Right... I need to knock this stupid sickness out first. It wouldn't be very friend like of me to pass on whatever crud I've got!'

After he calmed down his coughing, he was able to get out a sigh. He knew when he told his best friend Jaebeom about this newly developed crush of his at a later date, he'd never let Youngjae hear the end of it. He'd about being a disaster gay, which he wasn't wrong. Youngjae came to terms with that during his school days.

But he didn't need to be reminded of that every time he found himself crushing on someone and asking his best friend for advice!

For what felt like the millionth time today, Youngjae rolled off the couch to pour himself another glass of water. When Daehyun had texted yesterday about Youngjae's coughing, he'd informed that it was important to keep hydrated. Of course Youngjae would've preferred his favourite drink, but he just didn't have the energy to make more after he'd finished off the last of the batch he'd made on New Year's day during the first stretch of this cold.

He didn't even have the energy to sit up to play the piano, so he spent both yesterday and today lamenting the fact it was wintertime. If it were any other time of year, he could avoid the commotion of this place by escaping to the lake house his parents owned. After all, he spent the weekends of the warmer seasons doing just that to keep up the place for them.

His parents hardly stayed there anymore, but back when Youngjae was a kid, his umma took him and his older brother there on the weekends even if their appa couldn't make it. Why they still kept it around when they were too busy with work to head down that way was beyond Youngjae. But now weekends were all his, just him and some peace and quiet. Possibly some company if he didn't feel like being alone.

However, wintertime meant the utilities were cut off to save money. Which also meant Youngjae had to suffer through whatever sounds this place threw at him until spring came around. The near constant noise only added to the misery he felt from his body aching all over while he hacked up his insides and blew his nose every few minutes.

Youngjae normally worked until mid-afternoon, so he wasn't usually here for the morning and lunch hours, and the sound of his piano time mostly drowned out the afternoon noises. But being sick meant he was here, which meant he was hearing everyone stomping around and yelling at each other. Going about their lives making as much of a ruckus as possible like they weren't sharing walls with other tenants.

The couple from 202 was going off at each other, the man accusing the lady of sleeping around behind his back and her saying she hadn't slept with a man other than him in 25 years but she was tempted since he was, and this is a direct quote, a little . They went back and forth like this for a while, one of them going so far as to throw something.

103 decided today was the best day to rearrange their apartment. The scraping sounds from moving furniture around was grating and didn't help the pangs of headache in Youngjae's brain. Constantly shoving what sounded to be the same piece of furniture back and forth as if they couldn't decide where they wanted it, and Youngjae inwardly hoped they'd invest in some of those pads to put on the feet of chairs and couches and tables.

At around noon, there had been a wild amount of clattering and a pained yelp from 204, otherwise known as Daehyun's apartment. Youngjae sent a message to ask if he was alright, and he assured that he was okay, not to worry about him, focus on getting better. Youngjae received no further explanation during their continued conversation, and he accepted that he'd probably never know. He wished him well regardless because whatever had happened sounded painful!

Youngjae hacked some grossness from his throat into a tissue after finishing off his water and decided he should probably figure something out for food. He knew he should eat, but he didn't have the energy to make anything. 'Maybe I can order something and have it delivered? Something cheap for certain-'

His train of thought was interrupted by knocking on the door. He heaved himself from where he'd been leaning against the counter to answer it, running over in his brain who could possibly be at his door at three in the afternoon. 'Zelo has classes... Yongguk would still be at work... Jaebeom would've just gotten to work... Jongup is usually busy until evening with whatever it is he does... Hyunsik hasn't messaged me back once since he's left... Maybe someone's got the wrong apartment?'

The last person he expected to see was Jung Daehyun, but there he stood in his winter gear and also a mask that covered his nose and mouth. One arm held a duffel bag, while the other had a bag from one of the stores in town as well as the thermos Youngjae had let him use the other day.

Youngjae cleared his throat to agitate the icky layer that coated it so he'd be able to speak without his voice cracking. Doing that made it so he had to cough, so he quickly hid his face under his shirt so he could that. “Daehyun? What are you doing here?”

“It sounds worse up close,” Daehyun commented quietly, voice muffled from behind the mask. When Youngjae raised a brow at him, he stiffened up slightly. “Right! Um, I thought to...” He shuffled in place for a brief moment, darting his eyes from side to side before psyching himself up with a little nod. “Firstly, I'm returning this. I washed it, and uh... made some tea. For you.”

He extended the thermos Youngjae's way, who accepted it gratefully. “I haven't felt like making tea, so this is great,” he sighed happily after taking a quick sip. It was made from one of those baggies that Youngjae's family didn't use, but he didn't really care. Tea was tea, and he was far more elated at the fact that Daehyun had gone out of his way to make him tea.

“I figured,” he said before immediately backtracking, “I mean, I figured you hadn't made any, not that it would be great. It tasted fine to me, but that doesn't necessarily mean it's good? I don't really make tea, so I wouldn't exactly know- I'm sorry, I'm rambling...”

“It tastes fine, Daehyun.” Youngjae offered him a smile. “So, thank you.”

Daehyun's eyes lit up, a beautiful glint that Youngjae needed to see more of, before it was blinked away. “Um, that's not all...” he trailed, voice a bit shaky as he slipped the store bag from the crook of his elbow and held that out. Inside was some vapor rub, and he clarified why he'd brought that when Youngjae confusedly furrowed his brows. “If... If you rub this on your chest,” and he patted his chest as he explained, “then it will open up your bronchial tubes and help you breath better.”

Breathing better and getting rid of this crud was top priority currently. Youngjae slipped the bag into the crook of his elbow and held his hand over his chest. “This man is a lifesaver, I swear... Be still my heart...”

“What?”

Youngjae froze briefly, realizing he'd said that out loud. But at least it had been mumbled and hard to understand with the quiet tone and scratchy voice cracks, so he could at least clean it up a bit. He cleared his throat so his voice would no longer be scratchy in all the wrong places. “You're a lifesaver for doing this, thank you.”

“You're welcome,” he beamed, and once more, his eyes flashed something akin to happiness. Youngjae momentarily cursed his sickness because there was a smile in those eyes, and if he wasn't sick, Daehyun wouldn't be wearing a mask which would mean Youngjae could fully appreciate the smile he was sure was hidden behind it. “Oh, but that's... um, I still have something else for you...”

“There's more?”

“I, um... made some chicken soup for you, too. It will help your immune system fight the virus,” he said as he adjusted the duffel bag so he could hand that over, too.

Youngjae hadn't expected the bag to be so heavy! He had to pretend like he wasn't a weak little baby as he accepted it. He gently set it by his feet because his wimpy strength couldn't hold the bag as effortlessly as Daehyun had. “The virus? Should I schedule for a doctor's appointment then?”

Daehyun leaned his head to the side and hummed a bit, eyes narrowing slightly before he shook his head. “Unless your symptoms get worse, then no...”

“Worse? Like what?”

“Worse as in like... coughing up blood alongside the mucus or it's physically painful to breath. If that happens, then yeah, you should go see a doctor? But otherwise they'll um... they'll just tell you to go home and get plenty of fluids and rest. Acute bronchitis is mainly a viral infection, so antibiotics don't exactly help it, they just treat the symptoms...” he rambled.

Youngjae raised his brows. He thankfully wasn't coughing up blood, and it wasn't actually painful for him to breath. The pain only came from coughing so much. “You know a lot about this.”

“Oh, um, well, I'm in medical school, so...” Daehyun cleared his throat and scratched the back of his head. “Anyways, I uh, I need to get to work. I just... wanted to drop this stuff by to you first. I would've brought it sooner, but I um... dropped the first attempt and made a huge mess- Not important! Um, take care of yourself?”

“So that's the noise I heard earlier,” Youngjae realized. That clambering and shouting from Daehyun's apartment had been from him dropping chicken soup. “Are you sure you're okay? It sounded like it really hurt.”

“Um yeah, I'm fine... I-I was just startled...” he assured with a dismissive wave of his hand. “Eat you some soup, drink you some fluids, get you some rest. I'll check in on you tomorrow before work- I mean, uh... I can if you want me to? Check in before work? At around two? Or two thirty? If you'd like?”

Youngjae's chuckle unfortunately led to another behind the shirt coughing fit. After clearing that down with some tea, he nodded with a light smile. “That'd be great! Thank you so much for all of this. I need to think of something I can do to pay you back.”

“What? Oh, no no, you don't have to do that!” Daehyun denied and held up his hands. “You took care of me so well the other day, and... and I just wanted to pay that back somehow. Just... just focus on getting better, and that'll be enough for me.” His eyes flashed another smile.

“I'll do my best to!” 'Right, I'll do my best to get better so I can pay him back not sick! He can't just do something nice for me like this and expect me to not repay him!'

While Youngjae settled back into his apartment, he put some thought into how he could go about doing just that.

--

Despite the bland taste of the chicken soup he'd been given, Youngjae still deemed it enjoyable. Foods eaten while sick were notorious for not having flavours, probably because a lot of sicknesses blocked out the ability to really taste what's being eaten.

The serving was large enough that Youngjae could probably eat off of it for the rest of the week. He considered that a plus because it meant he didn't have to either make food or order delivery for a while. The vapor rub had enabled him to get decent sleep last night, and he'd even felt human enough to make a batch of tea after he'd called in for another sick day.

'Make the batch last longer this time, Youngjae!' He scolded himself, but deep down he knew that wasn't going to happen. He may have a bit of a tea drinking problem...

As promised, Daehyun showed up between two and two thirty. Unfortunately, he wore another mask, but Youngjae had expected that. “Oh, you're looking a bit better,” he commented as he was motioned into the apartment.

“I feel it,” Youngjae sighed hoarsely, able to mask the cough he wanted to do behind a clear of his throat. He flopped down into the couch corner and pulled his bowl of soup from the table. “I was actually feeling good enough to make a batch of tea when I woke up. Want some? You can fix yourself a cup if you'd like. I just put it in the fridge not that long ago.”

“Oh, um, no thank you,” he declined, glancing around as if he were lost.

Youngjae shrugged. “Suit yourself.” After a quick coughing fit into a tissue, he continued, “Feel free to make yourself comfortable.”

It took a few moments of him darting his eyes all over the place, but he settled onto the opposite side of the couch with a quiet “Okay...” He made himself as small as possible, awkwardly scratching at his cheek after sparing a quick glance over.

Daehyun didn't seem like the type to start a conversation. So while Youngjae took a few spoonfuls of soup in, he ran over in his head how to approach the conversation. Amicable personality? Shared interests? Showing an interest in personal pursuits?

He'd been a bit too into figuring that out because it was Daehyun who ended up breaking the silence, albeit his voice was muffled due to the mask. “How long have you played the piano?” he wondered. He fiddled with his fingers in his lap and looked over in Youngjae's general direction, but not directly at him.

'Boy, I wish he would, though...'

Youngjae stared at the soup in his hands and mentally counted the years. He got stuck a few times and decided upon the answer of, “As long as I can remember.” After another spoonful, he tacked on, “Since I was a kid, at least.” After switching his soup for tea and sipping at it, he asked, “Do you play?”

“I... used to play in school,” he answered hesitantly. “It's been a few years, though.”

“Really? Why'd you stop?” Youngjae washed down the hoarseness of his throat with a few more sips from his drink.

Daehyun scratched at his cheek again, eyes glancing away while he was thinking of something to respond. After a drawn out hum, he nodded to himself. “I just... fell out of it. I-I miss it sometimes, but um... it's just been nice to hear it again.”

“If you'd like, you can play mine,” Youngjae offered, secretly hoping Daehyun would take him up on it right now.

“Oh, no, I can't- My skills are really rusty, um... I'm fine just listening to you,” he declined rapidly.

Youngjae pouted to himself. It'd be really nice to hear his playing, but he wouldn't force Daehyun to. Maybe one day he could get him to, but today was not that day. “If you say so, but if you ever decide you want to, the offer stands.” Youngjae coughed, barely grabbing a tissue in time to cover his mouth.

“Maybe one day...” he responded, but so low that he was probably talking more to himself than to Youngjae. It wasn't a refusal, though, so Youngjae would take it!

With the lull in conversation, Youngjae switched his tea for soup and had a few more spoonfuls before mentioning, “So you said something about being in medical school yesterday?”

“Unfortunately,” he grumbled.

“You don't like it?”

“Oh, uh it's...” Daehyun sighed, and his brows furrowed in what Youngjae guessed was frustration. Or maybe it was something more akin to confusion? Either way, it took him a bit to respond, words slow and careful, “My parents said I should do something... productive with my time, so I uh... I ended up in medical school...”

Youngjae raised a brow as Daehyun settled his gaze on Youngjae's cup of tea. “If it's not something you want to do, then why do it?” Rather than respond to the question, all of Daehyun's fingers scratched at his cheeks. After another spoonful of soup, Youngjae offered, “My parents wanted me to be a lawyer like them, but just because they wanted it for me doesn't mean I wanted it for me.”

Daehyun scratched as his cheeks a bit more before he caught himself and ran his fingers through his hair instead. As he leaned back further into the couch and held himself, Daehyun piped up weakly, “It's already been three years, though... It seems like it'd be such a waste to stop now...”

Humming to himself a bit, Youngjae alternated his soup for tea once more. “Here's how I see it. It's either three years wasted, or a lifetime wasted. Which would you prefer?” he wondered hoarsely, sipping at his tea to prevent the scratchiness in his throat from causing another coughing fit. Daehyun remained silent, eyelids dropping shut and eyebrows twitching as thought. Surveying his actions, Youngjae said a bit more, “If it's not something that makes you happy, then it's not worth your time.”

At that, he hummed, and ever so slightly nodded. “I'll... give it some thought.”

--

A/N:

Gosh, I need to catch up on my word count. I'm certain at this point that I won't be finishing this story before November ends, but I'm still going to try to hit at least 50k in it before then.