Professor Choi emailed you back later that same day. He asked if you were having any trouble with your classes, but added that he remembered your work fondly, and was interested in hearing you out. Mina squealed in delight, but you didn’t want to expect too much. You simply agreed to the suggested time to meet up and sifted through the seven messages Dongwon had sent you.

Heejun was nothing like most guys, or at least not like the guys you knew or knew of. Jaehyun, though generally not a bad person, didn’t like it when you talked to other guys. Even if they were in your classes and you had shared assignments with them. Heejun, however, seemed to completely trust you and his friends. He’d even gone to the point of giving you Dongwon’s number. Unfortunately, that meant you were battered by messages about preventing flu and easing symptoms.

Dongwon: I recommend these restaurants for chicken soup! They use good herbs that have medicinal properties! And tell Mina that she needs to take vitamin C!

“I didn’t know he was your father.” You complained, showing your phone at Mina. She laughed, but her laughter was cut short by a few coughs. Was there really something to Dongwon’s paranoia? Your smile slipped as you observed her, but Mina was quick to handwave it.

“That’s where I get my good looks, and it’s why I’m so tall!” She joked. You raised an eyebrow, which she scoffed at. “It can’t hurt to take his advice. Can I see the chicken restaurant?”

“Dad says you can’t touch my phone!” You stuck your tongue out at her. Mina rolled her eyes and grabbed your phone, flipping through the messages. She looked up at you, tossing your phone back at you.

“You’re wrong you know. That’s my grandma, not my dad.” She broke into a smile and sat down on her bed. “Chicken soup sounds good. I like the second restaurant. Let’s order take-out!”

“You’re too lazy to cook, aren’t you?”

“I’m going to report you to grandma for bullying me if you don’t buy me chicken soup.” That was a yes, then. You grinned, sitting back down and scrolling through the menu of the second restaurant Dongwon had recommended. Just to spite him, you also ordered a side of tofu stew. Also, it was delicious.

Food took about thirty minutes to get there, but it was well worth the wait. The delivery driver was an older man, who thanked you politely for your patronage, and asked you to call again any time. Their website didn’t have a lot of reviews for the food, so you promised to leave one and carried the food back to Mina.

Maybe Dongwon was right, you thought as you watched Mina eat. Sure, she did like to watch her dramas and play on her computer, but you didn’t know her to skip studying when important tests were coming up. Yet here she was, slowly eating her soup as she stared at her screen. You sighed, and decided to try and do a little more studying yourself.

 

A few days later, Dongwon’s predictions indeed came true. Mina missed her first class on Tuesday, and on Wednesday officially called in sick. She wasn’t alone. Yuna also shambled around the dorm like a zombie, and there were at least four other girls who didn’t appear for breakfast. Dongwon’s advice was starting to sound less absurd.

And so, you found yourself wearing a facemask as you rode the bus to the internship. It was bizarre. People would look at you, in that way that people do when they’re not obviously ogling someone but feel awkward about something. You sighed in your mask, but as if on cue, your phone pinged with a message from Dongwon. He had more tea to recommend, and medicine. You decided not to text him back.

“Are you sick?” Eunseol almost pouted as you entered the office, “I really hope you’re feeling okay! My cousin said his father got sick the other day and it’s really…-”

“Intern!” Prosecutor Lee’s voice cut in. You froze, trying your best to stop yourself from hunching out of discomfort. The tall woman grabbed your wrist, pulling on it not so kindly and started to drag you off. Eunseol slunk away behind her desk. You were on your own to deal with this one, you translated.

“H-how can I help?” You asked, quickening your pace in the hope that she wouldn’t squeeze your wrist so tightly. Your hopes were in vain, and you nearly bumped into her when she came to a complete halt in front of the box-like room you’d been using as a desk space.

“First of all.” Prosecutor Lee started, turning on her heels. It made an awful screeching sound, and you tried your best not to wince physically at it. “Are you sick? Why are you wearing that ridiculous mask?”

Before you could answer, she pulled it off your face and stomped her foot on it, glaring at you. You tried to muster the strength to answer her, but the combination of anger and fear was throttling you. That just seemed to upset her even more, and she ground her heel roughly through the mask.

“Well?” She demanded.

“My friend said I should wear one because my roommate is…-”

“So you’re not sick! Good. Then don’t wear masks! It completely ruins our appearance! What would it look like to you if people wore masks in the office? It’d make me look like I’m forcing you to work even when you’re sick. Am I doing that, Intern?” Her tone was threatening. In spite of every gut instinct screaming at you that this woman seemed exactly like the type of person who would do something like that, you tried to calm your rapidly beating heart.

“No ma’am. You’re not doing that.” You answered, doing your utmost best not to grit your teeth or sound like you were going to cry.

“Good. Then you’ll throw away the mask and never wear one inside again.” Prosecutor Lee smiled, though it looked more like she was baring her teeth. You nodded, awkwardly crouching down to pick up your ruined mask from the floor. It didn’t help at all that the woman barely lifted her heel to let you snatch the broken cloth from the floor.

“Is there anything else I can do for you?” You asked, forcing yourself to stay polite.

“We have a big case coming up, so I need you to work really hard. We need as much of the backlog cleared for this one. In other words, keeping doing what you do and don’t disturb me. I’m very, very busy.” With that said, she turned and barged away, her heels clacking on the tiled floor. The office felt deafeningly quiet now. You decided to slip into your frail excuse of an office and just get to work. At least there you could have a mental breakdown in private.

 

It felt cold in the café. You weren’t sure why you’d come there to begin with, aside from the obvious reason, who was currently working and making other women squeal with glee. Really, there was no reason for you to have come to the café, and yet there you were, sitting quietly in a corner. Occasionally, Jihun would eye you from the other side of the room, but he didn’t approach you.

“Sorry to make you wait.” Inseong beamed at you as he dropped in the chair across from you, declining slightly in it so you were on eye level. “I’m sure you’re about to tell me you weren’t waiting, but you were. I heard about your internship, and I have a couple of questions I’d like to ask you. How is Mina, by the way?”

“Mina is… She has the flu. What do you mean questions?” You started, but Inseong ignored your distrustful tone.

“I feel bad for her, she sounded poorly when I talked to her the other day. How are you holding up? Are you keeping up with Dongwon’s advice? I reckon he’ll want to check up on you. Sometimes even fully grown men want to play doctor. Relax! I was joking.” Inseong chattered, grinning and sitting up straight. “You look tired. How many hours do you typically put in at the internship?”

“Roughly six hours every time I’m there, which is three or four days a week.” You answered cautiously, suddenly remembering the phone call Heejun and Dongwon had. “But I really don’t think…-”

“So between eighteen and twenty four hours a week. I see. What kind of papers do you usually get to handle there? In terms of… Confidentiality.” Inseong continued, pushing a glass of tea across the table. “Dongwon says you need your vitamin C, so you have to drink this.”

“I don’t… Know? I mean… I handle whatever papers they give me, but…-”

“Of course, of course… And they let you work on your own with these papers?” Inseong continued, dismissing whatever questions you were starting on. “And your boss, does she treat you well?”

“I usually work on my own, yes. And she’s… I think she’s very stressed right now.” Somehow, it felt like a bad idea to disclose just how horrible your boss could be. Of course, you didn’t like her, but the glint in Inseong’s eyes was sending off a very clear warning sign. “Why is that something you need to know?”

“Oh, I just care about Heejun’s girlfriend. She’s all yours Dongwon.” Inseong half sang, rising from the chair. At his second sentence, you looked around and noticed Dongwon sliding into the now empty seat across from you. Unlike Inseong, there wasn’t a hint of humour on his face. He set his elbows on the table and leaned on it, eyeing you cautiously.

“Hey…” You said, awkwardly, wondering if it’d be obvious if you looked around for Heejun. Dongwon narrowed his eyes.

“As I suspected… Heejun had better quarantine you quickly. Don’t go home. Don’t even move. I’ll get him.” Was all he said before getting up and leaving you, dumbfounded. Then you felt the first cough pressing in the back of your throat. Surely, that was just there because of Dongwon’s paranoia. Surely.