“Shinhye! Where are you?”

 

 

“Shinhye ah! Anata wa doko ni imasu ka (Where are you)?”

 

 

Seunghyun furrowed his eyebrows as though to register what Minsoo had said. “Yah, what the hell does that mean?”

 

 

Minsoo let out an exasperated sigh as she narrowed her eyes into slits. “I just repeated what you said except I said it in Japanese.”

 

 

“Japanese? Babo, she wouldn’t understand you!” It was Minsoo’s turn to twitch. How could someone who lived in Japanfor 5 ing years not learn the country’s native language?! God, would somebody have mercy on Seunghyun and donate him a non-defective brain!

 

 

“How could she not---oh just forget it! Let’s just focus on finding for Shinhye. Got any ideas where she would most likely go to?”

 

 

Seunghyun rubbed the base of his chin as he got into a thinking pose. All of a sudden, a light bulb lighted. “Hell yeah, I do!”

 

 

“Where?” She asked, amazement written all over her face.

 

 

“The rooftop!” Seunghyun said almost intelligent-like.

 

 

“Well, what are we waiting for? Ikuzo (Let’s go)!”  Seunghyun gave another dumfounded look, causing Minsoo to glare daggers at him. “Let’s go, flag pole!”

 

 

Seunghyun ignored the remark as they sped off. They ran like athletes even though their legs weren’t built for such inhuman speed. They went where their feet took them until they reached the top-most floor.

 

 

Minsoo, who was first to reach the doorknob, rampaged through the door, and both her and Seunghyun were met by a strong, unwelcoming breeze of zephyr and a vast of merciless, sardonic droplets of rain.

 

 

Fear immediately dawned over both of them. Shinhye was nowhere in sight. Not a single inconspicuous object lay around the floor except for the rain. Minsoo dropped her knees on the cold, hard floor, not caring if the rain soaked her designer clothes as she sighed in defeat. Damn it, where else could she possibly go and on this kind of weather?

 

 

When they were about to loose hope, all of a sudden Seunghyun caught sight of a mass of fiery chestnut hair that lay freely.

 

 

Happiness filled their hearts but it was drained right away. They couldn’t bear to see what their eyes had gazed upon. There on the damp, solid concrete laid the lifeless body that belonged to none other than Shinhye.

 

 

“Shinhye! Omo…Seunghyun…we’re too late.” sobbed Minsoo as she clasped a hand on to prevent her from breaking down.

 

 

Seunghyun immediately engulfed Minsoo in a tight hug, surprising both of them.

 

 

“Wae?! Waeyo, dongsaeng?!” Seunghyun roared in sheer agony as he held Minsoo tighter, his hot tears mixing with the cold rain.

 

 

They held onto each other’s soaked body as they sobbed together, letting out the great amount of grief they felt. Nothing could compare to the pain that scratched their hearts.

 

 

In between their mourning, a cough suddenly erupted from no where. They ceased what they were doing as their eyes wandered around the area. The sound returned yet again, and this time they found the source. Their souls soared into the heavens. Shinhye was alive! She wasn’t dead after all.

 

 

“Shinhye! You’re alive! Aigoo, you don’t know ho---omo, what’s wrong?” Minsoo placed her hand on the said girl’s forehead as she gasped widely. She was burning hot! No wonder she was unconscious a while ago. Minsoo started to panic when Shinhye began to convulse mercilessly. “S-Seunghyun ah, we have to get her out of here now! She’s going to get worse if we stay here longer.” Seunghyun didn’t argue at all as he did what he was told to do so. He removed his jacket and placed it around Shinhye’s petite body. He then hoisted Shinhye securely on his back as Minsoo followed behind them.

 

____________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

 

Upon reaching her room, Seunghyun hurriedly placed Shinhye on her bed while Minsoo rummaged through her room, searching for the first aid kit.

 

 

“Damn it…where the hell is the thermometer?!” Minsoo cursed out loudly as she continued to rake through the kit. All of a sudden, something blocked her vision and pocked her on the cheek.

 

 

“Here you go.” Seunghyun said calmly, handing her the object.

 

 

“Where did you get this?”

 

 

“I always carry a thermometer inside my pocket. You’ll never know when you need it.” Now that caused Minsoo’s eyebrow to go out of her forehead as she continued to stare at him strangely.

 

“Who carries a thermometer inside their pocket? What are you, a boy scout?” Seunghyun frowned deeply, a vein starting to form on his forehead. He prepared to retort like the smart he is but postponed it.

 

 

“You know what, it doesn’t matter. What matters now is Shinhye’s recovery. Let’s just try to get along, okay?” Minsoo ignored him and left him with no reply. Instead, she continued her ministrations and placed the thermometer gently inside Shinhye’s mouth.

 

 

“Tch. Women!” Seunghyun muttered in an annoyed manner as he headed off to the kitchen.

 

____________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

 

Days had already passed and Shinhye still hasn’t recovered from her fever. Even though how much Minsoo had repeatedly given Shinhye a sponge bath and her medicine, her temperature remained the same. And top all of that, she was still unconscious. Minsoo didn’t know what to do anymore. She tried almost everything to get rid of her blasted fever but none of them worked. She gave a long yawn as she replaced the dry towel on her forehead with a newly refreshed one.

 

 

“Minsoo ah, you need to rest.” The said girl averted her tired eyes towards Seunghyun as she smiled weakly.

 

 

“A-n-i-y-o!” she replied in a sing-a-long voice.

 

 

“Bull! Look at yourself Minsoo, you look like ! Go get some rest, and I’ll take care of her for the meanwhile.”

 

 

Minsoo stood on her unsteady legs as she drunkenly made her way to where Seunghyun stood. “Yah, I am not tired. I can t—” a yawn blocked her retort, causing a chuckle to erupt from Seunghyun’s larynx.

 

 

“Not tired, huh? Look, we can take turns. We can switch once you’ve had your beauty sleep.” Minsoo didn’t contradict anymore. She was too tired to. Instead, she nodded slowly as she gave one last yawn and plopped herself on the couch across Shinhye’s bed.

 

 

Seunghyun sighed deeply and took a seat beside Shinhye’s bed. He took out his iPod and was about to play his chosen song when a soft voice emerged across him.

 

 

“Hey, can I ask you a question?” Minsoo asked, eyes fluttering shut.

 

 

“Sure. What do you want to ask me?” Seunghyun said as he set aside his iPod and focused his attention to the tired girl.

 

 

There was a long pause before Minsoo continued to speak.

 

 

“What exactly is going on between Shinhye and Jiyong ssi? I mean, do they have some history together? Why’s Shinhye so mad at him? What happened?” Minsoo managed to fight through her drowsiness as she inquired in a firm voice.

 

 

Seunghyun didn’t know how to say it. Bringing back those memories was also painful to him. He felt so much pain seeing his best friend experience such brutal punishment. But nonetheless, he cleared his throat and began to speak. “W-Well, uhhh…they were actually…” he stammered as he glanced back at Minsoo, who had a serious expression on her face, eyes locked with his. “They were in a---” He was cut short when a loud, obnoxious noise came from Minsoo’s wide, open mouth. “---forget it…aish. One minute, she asked a serious question then the next minute she falls asleep! Aish…women and their habits!” Seunghyun scoffed as he gazed back to Shinhye. He caressed her cheek softly as he began to whisper soothingly to her. “Get well soon, dongsaeng.” He then gave her a brotherly kiss on her forehead and went back to his original position. He took out his iPod, letting time passed by as he awaited her recovery.