By two in the afternoon, Donghae still hasn’t resurfaced and I was getting really worried.  I decided to check on him, so, I knocked on his door and came in without waiting for an answer, thinking he might still be asleep.

I saw Donghae, fully clothed, even with his shoes on, huddled on top of the bed wrapped in the comforter. When I approached, I saw that he was visibly shivering and sweating at the same time. His lips were so dry they were cracked.

Me: (~Wiping the sweat from his brow) Hae…what’s wrong?

Donghae: (~Slowly opening his eyes~) I’m sorry, Rain, I seem to be…

And he lost consciousness.

At first, I thought he fell asleep again, which isn’t a good thing either. But no matter how loud I call his name or how much I shake him, he was unresponsive. I yelled for Leeteuk.

Me: Leeteuk! Come here now! Something is wrong with Hae!! Leeteuk!!!

Leeteuk comes running in…

Leeteuk: What? (~Sees Hae~) Oh my God! What’s wrong with him?

Me: He’s  burning up with fever. Call the front desk, tell them to send a doctor immediately.

Leeteuk: Oh, we can’t! We never involve outsiders when we’re sick, especially overseas. Didn’t they brief you about that? There’s a confidentiality issue…

Me: Leeteuk, he went from being able to walk to this in six hours, he’s very sick. If we don’t call for help, we may lose him!

Leeteuk: I know that, but we’ll all get in trouble, especially him. (~Approaches Donghae and gently shakes him, there are now tears in his eyes~) Donghae, please….talk to me. What do I do?

Donghae stirs a bit, reluctantly opens his eyes and sees Leeteuk crying.

Donghae: Hyung….

Me: Look, I don’t care if I get fired for this, we’re not gonna lose him. I’ll take full responsibility.

I started to reach for the phone but Donghae touched my hand, my God, even his palms feel like they’re burning!!!

Donghae: Rain…no, please.

Me: Aissshh!!! What the hell is wrong with the two of you? You’d rather die than violate your precious contract? Is that it?!?

Donghae just squeezed my hand, or at least tried to, he really has virtually no energy left.

Me: Okay, fine, I’m not gonna notify the hotel. But let me call for help. I have a friend who is a doctor. She can help, and she’s very discreet.

Leeteuk: As long as you’re sure…

Me: (~Reaching for my mobile phone and dialling a number~) Yes. No more arguments.

Within twenty minutes, my friend, Marcy arrived at the hotel suite. It’s fortunate that she lives nearby and that she’s off duty from the hospital. Marcy is a doctor I met at the support group after my ordeal with Andy, she was also being abused by her husband.

Marcy: (~Barely paying attention to Leeteuk, she gave me a brief kiss and immediately went to Donghae~) I broke all speed records to get here…how long has he been like this?

After a thorough examination, Marcy concluded that Hae is basically suffering from exhaustion and the flu. Add to that, the heat which he isn’t used to and the dehydration, it’s no surprise that his body just gave in.

Marcy: We have to get him admitted to a hospital, he needs an IV.

Leeteuk:  (~After I explained the doctor’s orders~) But…we have a flight in four hours, and a hospital…I don’t know….

Me: Teukkie, you might have to go back on your own, I don’t think they’ll let Hae on the plane in this condition, and it’s really not safe.

Leeteuk: But they’ll be looking for him, and we can’t take him to the hospital, really. Maybe we can bring him home to his Mom?

Me: He’s not really fit to travel. But, Marcy, is it possible for me to care for him here? Leeteuk is right, we really should avoid any press about this.

Marcy: I suppose I can hook him up to an IV and give you instructions on how to care for him, God knows you’ve cared for enough people before. But I refuse to let him travel.

Me: Okay, Leeteuk, you go back tonight, you have work tomorrow. Don’t tell the office about this, Hae has a few days’ worth of vacation coming up and he has nothing urgent on his schedule. You may need to tell the other guys, though, but try not to get them worried. We’ll be home in a few days.

Marcy came back after getting supplies from her clinic, and hooked Donghae up to an IV, giving me instructions on how to care for him. She promised to return in a few hours in time to remove or replace the IV and even offered to drive Leeteuk to the airport.

I spent the next two days nursing Donghae back to health. After sending an email to the office that I let him have a few days’ worth of vacation and I’m staying over to finalize things in Manila, I sent another one to Leeteuk, reminding him  to avoid saying anything that might cause the others to worry about Hae.

Donghae behaved typically like a guy unused to being sick.

Donghae: I think I’d like to go to the mall…let’s go to the mall.

Me: You can barely stand up. Less than forty-eight hours ago, you scared the out of me when you fainted. And you still have an IV. Let’s see if Marcy removes that when she comes in later, and it might help if you’ll eat a bit more.

Donghae: So, you were scared for me?

Me: Of course! I thought you died. I never had anyone die on my watch before. I wouldn’t know what to do…I doubt if Leeteuk would agree with me that we’ll just leave you under the mattress to rot.

Donghae: (~Attempting a weak laugh~) He’ll probably say yes, but then he’ll be the first one to announce on SuKiRa where to find my body. Honestly, how would you feel if I died?

Me: I don’t even want to think about it.

Donghae: Will you miss me?

Me: Definitely. I won’t have anyone following me around at work anymore, and repeating every English word I say…

Donghae: So, you do care for me a bit?

Me: (~Trying to change the subject~) I’ll ask Marcy if we can go to the mall tomorrow if you’re feeling better. I think we can stay over a couple more days.

Donghae: (~Sensing my discomfort~) That’s great! I want to go shopping, tell the doctor I’m feeling much better, please.

Marcy agreed that Donghae can go walking around the mall the next day as long as he doesn’t overdo things. She also said it’s a great idea to stay in Manila and rest before going back to Seoul and made strict instructions about keeping reasonable working hours and eating properly.

Donghae: (~In a thickly-accented voice~) Thank you so much, doctor. Salamat po.

Marcy: And he speaks English! Filipino, too! You take good care of yourself, young man. Next time I see you, I don’t want you to look like the way you looked in the past few days.

Donghae just gave her a smile.

Me: Thanks, Marcy. I owe you one.

Marcy: Take care, my dear. Keep in touch, okay? You look a bit peaked yourself.

Me: It’s just the stress of caring for him. I’ll be fine when I get back to my routine.

Marcy: Have a bit of fun first, you both deserve it.

And she left, leaving me alone again with Hae.