15. Admiration      When at last Jongin arrived inside, the garden was a gray blur behind the rain-washed window of the front face. Colors seemed to vanish into a void gray, the earth turning to mud. A loud thunder snap accompanied the hollowing wind. The boughs of the trees swayed in the strengthening gust. On the far hill, a jagged bolt of white hot lightening splits the chilly sky.    The water droplets from him were falling down onto the carpet of the entrance room, staining the pattern, taking on a darker shade of red. He wanted to strip out of the soaking wet suit and don comfortable, warm clothes. His fingertips were numb, shaking and he could hardly undo a button of his shirt. The water penetrated the fibers with absurd ease and every drop of the icy rain soaked through the instant of it's impact.    His body heat didn't so much as drain away, his muscles began to ache and grind like the cogs in an old machine. His lips tingled with blue with gently chattering teeth, as Kyungsoo walked out of a room with a towel in his hands for Jongin. Immediately, he wrapped the thin cloth tightly around his torso.     "Why did you lie to me about your strong immune system?" Kyungsoo said, rubbing his hands over the towel. Jongin leaned toward the hands. He would have done everything that promised him warmth. His body craved warmth and screamed for help.   The cold never bothered him - but then, he was never foolish enough to walk outside without a jacket, dressed only in the cotton shirt. He had underestimated the tricky weather utterly, but saving the Middle Linebacker had been his priority. Jongin was convinced that a cold would have been dire for the concussion.    "I didn't lie at all, but I have been feeling dizzy since I arrived here in Busan. It must be due to the adjustment of a different town that is bugging me and my immune system." He explained, while watching Kyungsoo, who was busily rubbing small circles on his back with the towel in order to warm him, entirely focused on the task as if his life depended on it.   They were mere centimeters apart, Jongin could reach out for Kyungsoo and hit him, demolish him, like he planned to, but he couldn't. His conscious could not bear the image of hurting him, anymore.    "I'm going to give you some dry clothes that will keep you warm. You can't wear soaked gear. While you change, I'm going to prepare something for us to eat, which should boost your health. Do you agree on that?" The short male offered and took a step back to adjust the towel he wrapped around his shoulders.    "Sure, but would you mind opening the buttons for me? My fingers are too numb for motor abilities."    Silence.      Kyungsoo's face was one of awkwardness, not even hurrying to save Jongin, to fill the void with an answer. An involuntary 'oh' escaped his heart-shaped lips, his body tensed. "This isn't a part of ual harassment?" He concluded.     "No, it isn't." Jongin answered in an instant, as he continued shivering.     "The almighty Quarterback, who can make an accurate pass over thirty yards to his fellow player, shows significant problems in opening a button? To what do I owe the honor of this task?" Kyungsoo teased, before he made a step toward the Quarterback.    His fingertips were dancing across the drenched shirt, their shoulders were brushing. Kyungsoo's hands darted over to his shoulders in a gesture of comfort that gives, not takes, tracing the sternum. The soft caress stopped as soon as his fingers came across a button.    "Can't you just help me without teasing me?" Jongin asked, his voice, however, accompanied by a pleading undertone. Jongin lead a unit, yet he bore an innocent, helpless expression. Kyungsoo made him do things he has never done before, made him experience emotions that he read about.    "Sorry, I just wanted to savor this moment. No one will believe me about this, especially not your friends," He whispered and began to open the buttons, revealing piecewise the toned torso of the Quarterback, his well defined six pack, Kyungsoo