“_________..._________...”

You turned your head away in annoyance, wanting to go back to sleep.

The person continued shaking your shoulder, calling your name.

You opened your eyes which seemed to weigh a ton as you forced them open with difficulty.

Kiseop fell back into his chair with a relieved sigh. “You’re awake.”

You blinked. “What happened again?” You whispered breathlessly, your voice airy.

“You’re sick.” Kiseop got up slowly and reached for a cold, wet towel and placed it on your forehead. “You got a pretty bad fever there, and I managed to cool it down quite a bit. Thank goodness you’re awake now.”

You meekly nodded your thanks. “I’m cold.” You complained, wrapping your blankets tightly around your thin body.

“Is the towel too cold?”

“Probably.”

He smiled briefly at you before taking the towel off your forehead and placing it back into the bowl of water next to your bed. “Better now?”

“Yeah.” You nodded gratefully.

Nana watched from the outside of the room, her eyes glossing over with a thin layer of tears. “I can’t be jealous of my friend...” she whimpered before turning around and walking away.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You continued to burn up with your fever the next day, Kiseop still next to you every minute.

“Will you be able to fight?” Kiseop looked at you with concern. “It’s coming up really soon. The stadium is going to be finished today.”

You nodded. “I think I’ll be fine.”

He sighed. “You sure?”

“Yeah.” You leaned back against your pillows and gazed up at the ceiling. “I want to do it.”

Kiseop said nothing.

You closed your eyes. “You can go to school. I want to sleep.”

He nodded. “Araso. See you in the afternoon then, I guess.”

“Bye.” You mumbled as you heard the door close behind him. Putting your hand up to your forehead, you realized it was burning hotter, much hotter than it was a few seconds ago.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kiseop came back right after school as he had promised, smiling when he saw you sleeping peacefully under the thick blankets. Dropping his bag on the floor, he walked over to you and put his hand on your forehead.

It was so hot, it felt warmer than the sun’s rays on the hottest days of summer.

Kiseop furrowed his eyebrows.

Didn’t I already heal her enough yesterday? Shouldn’t the fever be going down?

Unless...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The head trainer thoughtfully rested his chin on his hands.

“Well?” Kiseop asked worriedly.

“I’d say it’s very likely.”

Kiseop looked down at his lap, tracing his finger absentmindedly over a large crease in his uniform pants. “It hasn’t come at a good time, has it?”

He shook his head. “Well, you could see it as a miracle, really. We thought...We thought her full potential had already been revealed, hadn’t we?”

Kiseop nodded.

“And now...”

“She is just getting to the highest peak of her powers.”

He shook his head again. “Causing her to burn up with a dangerously high fever.”

Kiseop looked up hopefully at him. “Do you think we could postpone the fight?”

“Probably not.” The head trainer sighed, running a hand nervously through his graying hair. “Ancient rules forbid it.”

Kiseop said nothing and looked back down, observing his palms in his lap.

I don’t want to lose her...

If she loses....

Or even dies...

I’ll lose her.

Forever.