"It seems that he lied to you in order to be able to stay with you."

Youngbae kept his head low as he made his way back to the dorm, again watching how his feet took steps on the familiar red and rubbery ground of the tracking field. However, this time, even that was suddenly not so interesting anymore because his thoughts kept swarming around that beehive called Jiyong.  

He had lied to him, had clearly said that there weren't any news about a free room, but why? Why would he want to stay with him even though it would be much more comfortable to move into a bigger room with a friendlier roommate who would probably welcome him with open arms because well, he was Jiyong and apparently, almost everyone at this school seemed to adore him. The more Youngbae pondered about it, the more he became unsure if pretty boy was simpy too kind or just utterly stupid. If he had been in his place, he would not have endured a single day with someone who hurt his pride so badly . But Jiyong ... Jiyong had been his roommate for almost two months now. Impressive. But why?

Youngbae wanted to believe that there was a logical reason for the blonde's persistence but he couldn't think of any kind of advantages that staying with him could possibly have: He was neither a friendly person nor did he possess anything worthy enough to be after, so Jiyong couldn't be a gold digger. Youngbae kept thinking and thinking until he felt his head getting hot from all the energy that he had to use in order to make up all kinds of speculations. It even led to a point where he started to wonder if pretty boy was in reality a psychopath who intentionally came into his life just to annoy and confuse the out of him simply out of fun. However, Youngbae soon dismissed that thought upon realizing how ridicilous and unrealistic his assumptions were becoming with every passing minute.

In the end, all that brain work didn't help him anyway: He was just as clueless as he was before and realized that the only way to receive answers would be confronting Jiyong directly. Yet he wasn't so sure if he cared enough to do that and if yes, how and when? 

Youngbae sighed heavily. This day was just like any other day: It just wasn't his.

He decided to take a quick shower and crash right into his bed afterwards, avoiding Jiyong, avoiding school, avoiding this annoying world he lived in. However, the moment he actually entered his room, he immediately sensed that something was odd. Youngbae closed the door behind him and threw his backpack on the ground before peeking at Jiyong's side of the room, arching his brow of suspicion once he noticed that his bed was empty.  Now this wouldn't have been a big deal if the bed wasn't unmade, because then, Youngbae would have assumed that his roommate was out, taking an afternoon class. But the fact the bed was unmade signified that Jiyong had to be in their room. There was another fact and it creeped the out Youngbae: Why the hell could he even tell that by just looking at his roommates bed? It made him feel uneasy. The older boy pressed his ear against the door of the bathroom, expecting to hear the noise of a running shower or the flushing of the toilet but there was absolutely nothing, not even a fart or anything that would prove that a living soul was actually in there, doing things one did in the bathroom. Youngbae frowned and decided to knock. But still:

No answer.

The older male took a step back, contemplating on what he should do. He clearly sensed that something was wrong about this situation and he somehow doubted that Jiyong was just sitting on the toilet with headphones on. Youngbae thought for a while until he tried to just open the door which was, as expected, unlocked. He slowly pushed the door open, eyes not really daring to peek inside in case Jiyong was really just sitting on the toilet with headphones on for whatever reason. However, that was not the case as Youngbae soon discovered:

Instead, Jiyong was lying in the middle of the bathroom floor, completely and motionless.

Youngbae's eyes widened and he hesitated for a few seconds before he eventually rushed over to him and kneeled down. "Yah, yah!", he called while lightly shaking Jiyong's body. When the other didn't react, he took him by his shoulders and turned him on his back, patting his face. "Yah, Jiyong!". His face was still pale, if not a bit paler than this morning and his hair and skin were damp. It was then when Youngbae actually noticed how unpleasantly foggy and humid the air in the bathroom was, it was almost suffocating him. He concluded that Jiyong must have taken a hot shower. 

Youngbae checked his roommate's breathing and pulse, relieved when everything was alright. He continued patting Jiyong's face and calling out to him for a while before the younger man finally started to murmur something, barely opening his eyes in the process. "Ugh, Youngbae-ah."

"You idiot! How can you take a hot shower when you're sick?", Youngbae scolded, helping Jiyong to stand up, hooking his arm around his shoulder while his other hand supported the younger man's waist. "Let's get out of here first."

Youngbae slowly led the two of them out of the unbearably hot bathroom, noticing how wobbly Jiyong's legs were as they were taking one step after another until they finally reached the younger boy's bed where Youngbae let him sit down first. After that, he rushed back to the bathroom in order to grab a few towels and Jiyong's clothes. One brief look in the mirror showed that his face was flushed and Youngbae blinked for a second before he decided to blame it on the hot air and the suddenness of this whole situation.

"Here, dry yourself up first.", the older male instructed, handing Jiyong the towels while looking away. "A-And get dressed.", he added. There was an awkward silence between the two until the older male couldn't stand it anymore and turned around to meet Jiyong's stare. Youngbae frowned at the look in the blonde's eyes. They weren't as sparkly as they normally were but seemed dull and lifeless - an unusual sight. "You should lie down.", he said in a calm tone and Jiyong just coughed once and nodded without protesting, a surprised expression appearing on his face when Youngbae started adjusting the blanket for him in an almost caring manner.

"You are so stupid, you know that?", the older male muttered meanwhile. "What on earth made you think that a hot shower could be of any help? It was so humid and hot in there, of course you would pass out. I almost did, too, thanks to you."

"Sorry.", the younger male said with hoarse voice, "I just thought that it would help since they say that going to the sauna is good for your body and all, so I assumed that taking a hot shower would have the same effect but I guess I was wrong." He smiled, slightly embarrassed.

"It's good when you want to lose weight, stupid, not when you have a cold. You obviously mixed something up here.", Youngbae said, shaking his head. He instinctively pushed Jiyong's blonde bangs to the side and put his palm on his forehead. "Besides, you are already having a fever. Why make it worse by increasing your body temperature even more? That makes no sense at all.", the older pointed out, his judging gaze meeting the blonde's. The way Jiyong was looking at him in that moment irritated Youngbae. Those brown orbs were staring at him so unbelievingly, as if they couldn't tell if what they were seeing was reality or a just a hallucination.

"What?"

"Ah ... nothing.", Jiyong quickly said, shifting his gaze away from the older male and Youngbae could swear that his face had gotten somewhat red. It was then when he realized that his hand was still on the blonde's forehead and so he quickly retracted it, coughing and feeling flustered for some reason. "Uh, wait there. I am going to get an ice pack." With that, the older male excused himself, approaching the small fridge in their room in which he hoped to find an ice pack that the school nurse had given him for his ankle. To his luck, it was actually there and Youngbae wrapped it up in a towel before he went back to Jiyong, carefully placing it on the younger man's forehead, causing the blonde to sigh at the cooling sensation.

"Jesus, that feels so good.", he groaned.

"I cannot believe that a person who looks after an ill woman doesn't know how to cure a fever."

Jiyong chuckled lightly, closing his eyes. "You are right. I guess I am really an idiot, thinking that I could look after my mother when I cannot even take care of myself.", he smiled without opening his eyes. "Kwon Jiyong, you are a big idiot."

'Yes, you are' is what Youngbae wanted to respond. He wanted to tell him that he was so damn stupid for almost suffocating himself in the bathroom, for smiling despite being in pain, for not arguing back when being called an idiot, for staying in this damn room with him for no apparent reason, annoying him with his kindness and chirpy voice, that constant, overly polite 'Youngbae-ah' that he addressed him with while Youngbae had barely ever called him 'Jiyong'. He wanted to yell, to tell him that he was stupid for not following his own advice, for always trying to save the world on his own, just like Youngbae always tried, for looking so girly sometimes, so androgynous to the point that Youngbae found himself staring at him unconsciously, like he did now, in this ing moment he had his eyes closed, smiling like the fool he was. 

In his mind, Youngbae had always referred to his roomate by calling him 'pretty boy', mocking his fine and rather unmanly features. But looking at Jiyong's face now, he knew that it wasn't only because he wanted to make fun of him. It was because Jiyong was a pretty boy, because he actually was ... kind of beautiful. From his body to his flawless skin, from his little nose to his pink mouth that uttered all those moral lectures which were a pain in the arse - all of it was beautiful.

"Yah, have you eaten?", Youngbae asked, interrupting his own thoughts because he didn't know where they would lead his mind to if he continued analysing Jiyong's facial features. He watched the younger's eyes flutter open.

"I didn't really have any appetite to be honest.", the younger boy explained, smiling sheepishly. 

"Well, no wonder you fainted. You need to eat something.", Youngbae murmured, scratching the back of his neck as he pondered about what to get. "Do you like cabbage soup?"

"Cabbage soup?", Jiyong repeated, scrunching up his nose in disgust. "Not so much actually. It smells a bit like diarrhea.", he giggled.

The fact that they both shared the same thoughts when it came to cabbage soup actually made Youngbae smile, something that he felt like he hadn't done for quite some time. It seemed like Jiyong had noticed, too. Hence he stared at him with big eyes that suddenly didn't seem that dull and lifeless anymore. "Woah. You are smiling."

Youngbae arched his brow. "Yeah, so what?"

"Nothing, it's just ...", Jiyong said, biting his lip, "I have never seen you smile before. And now that I have, I want to see it more often. Smiling really suits you, Youngbae-ah.", the blonde remarked, smiling himself.

"I think that fever of yours is doing something to your brain cells.", Youngbae retorted, "You stay here and wait, I'll see what I can get for us to eat."

"Aye-aye sir.", Jiyong answered giggling and playfully saluting to the older boy who quickly grabbed his wallet and made his out of the room. Once outside, he pressed his back against the door and a hand on his heaving chest.

Was he supposed to feel this flustered and hot all of a sudden? Moreover, was his heart supposed to beat this fast?

"What the hell is happening to me?"

__

A/N: Hi guys, part 4 is out! :)

I am sorry that the chapter are becoming shorter and shorter :S I will be honest with you, I am writing this story without an actual plan, that means, I do have a rough plan but I don't know exactly how to end this story properly. My brain is an unorganized place and I apologize for that. I just hope that the message I want to deliver through this story is slowly starting to come across! And I hope that I am not boring you people too much >.<

I know I have said that this would be a three-shot but it seems like I will need at least two chapters more to finish this whole thing which I really want to do because I wasn't planning on making this a big project.

Thank you all for reading and supporting this story :)