Yuju woke up with a flu. A severe one.

 

She carefully stood up, coughing while keeping her balance steady. It must've been the payback of the few months of having little to no sleep and the several lunch breaks she missed on purpose to catch up on work.

 

Yuju is a hardworking woman. She grew up having to be independent as her father passed away from an accident and her mother being the only survivor, but costing her her arms and leg. She had to be strong—for her mom, and for her brother. She has to go to work for them. But now, her body feels extremely weak. How can she possibly work at this condition?

 

She slowly went to her table and grabbed her phone to send an e-mail to her boss, just so she can take a day or two off. As soon as she sent the e-mail, she went back to bed.

 

Her temperature hasn't been decreasing for the last four hours, and if her fever still isn't cured after two hours, she'll have to take another tablet of medicine. Another costly tablet.

 

Yuju sighs. She was about to go back to sleep when she heard the neighbor's door open and close. She was certain it's the crying person's apartment door, but it's the first time she heard that door open and close even when she didn't leave a new sticky note.

 

She closed her eyes and sighed again, brushing every single thought into the back of her mind and wandering off to sleep.

 

The whole day was tough for Yuju. She couldn't do anything but sleep, eat, and take medicine. She can't even keep herself up for long periods of time as she feels like collapsing when she tried. It was definitely tough for someone like her—a person who has been used to doing everything on her own and right on track. She couldn't ask for her mother's help, and this was the time when she felt like she was really alone.

 

She fell asleep again, and when she woke up, it's already morning. She's feeling a whole lot better now, and although she's not fully recovered, she still forced herself to wake up and go to work. She can't risk going on another day without going to work—it's not like she'll lose money, but she has to work extra hard so she can have extra money, to pay bills and to pay Soobin's tuition fee.

 

She heard her phone ringing. Looking at the registered number, she answered the call.

 

“Hello? SinB?”

 

“I heard from the guard that you were sick. Sorry, I wasn't able to check on you yesterday, but I hope you're fine now.” SinB said from the phone.

 

“You didn't have to,” Yuju laughed. “And yes, I'm fine now. See you later.”

 

“Don't you need some more rest?”

 

“Don't you want to see me?” Yuju asked.

 

SinB grunted. “Fine. Take care.” She hung up the call before Yuju can even utter a word.

 

Yuju laughed. She's starting to feel like SinB's acknowledging their friendship, and it actually feels good to have a friend, a nearby friend. Sure, Yerin is her best friend, but they're both grown-ups now. They can't depend on each other to be their company.

 

Yuju sighed, now realizing what SinB was saying the other day. Like SinB, she admits that she's also scared… of being left alone.

 

Yuju took a bath as quickly as she could, and packed her things that she would need for work. She quickly went out of her house and brisk walked to her office. She woke up quite later than usual today, because her body feels like it needs more contact with the bed. However, it's not what she plans to do.

 

As soon as she reached the office, she was surprised to see SinB sitting at her designated work station. SinB saw her approaching, so the younger immediately stood up and went to her. Yuju walked towards her desk, which was near to where SinB was.

 

She was surprised when SinB hugged her.

 

“Don't mind me, I just need warmth. The aircon of this office is set in such a low temperature,” SinB whispered. Yuju chuckled at her excuse. The temperature really was lower than room temperature, but it's the usual.

 

Yuju wrapped her arms around the younger and they stayed in that position for a minute, before they broke the hug. She sat on her chair, and SinB bid her good bye since Yuju needed to log in and work now.

 

Contrary to what Yuju expected, SinB didn't leave her side. The younger would share stories while she worked, sitting on one of the empty chairs beside her desk.

 

“You must've been a silly and naughty child,” Yuju chuckled.

 

“Excuse me, no! I was so kind and my mom would always praise me,” SinB put on a smug look on her face, causing Yuju to snicker.

 

“If you say so,” Yuju said. Noticeable, SinB's smug look was replaced with a different one—a sad and reminiscent one. “Why? Did I say something wrong?” Yuju worriedly said as she saw SinB's expression.

 

SinB shook her head quickly. “No, no. I just remembered something.”

 

Yuju shrugged. She didn't want to peek into someone else's personal life.

 

Well, actually, she did. Especially now that five minutes has passed, and SinB still hasn't spoken a word since then. She's growing worried every second. She tried to peek through SinB's eyes, but the latter seems to avoid her gaze. Did she do something wrong?

 

“SinB,” Yuju spoke, firm but kind.

 

SinB let out an exhausted sigh. “Sorry, were you telling me something?”

 

Yuju looked at her worriedly. “Are you sure you're okay? What if you caught a flu because you hugged me?”

 

SinB smirked, hiding all her thoughts at the back of her head. “You liked that hug anyway,” She said.

 

Yuju frowned. “Are we joking here, Ms. Hwang?”

 

SinB chuckled. “No, but really, I'm okay.” Yuju continued to stare at her, refusing to look away. “Fine, but let's talk later. My shift is starting.” SinB said and looked away, standing up to go back to her own desk. Yuju sighed and went back to work.

 

What happened to her?