Himchan could feel it already when his alarm rang in the morning. His head was aching and his throat felt like sandpaper when he swallowed. It was no surprise, he had gotten rained on several times the last week and he knew it was just a matter of time until he caught a cold. But this was worse than he had imagined. Usually Himchan would use even a blocked nose as an excuse and exaggerate so much that he could have a lazy day. He was a guy after all, this is what they did and it had always worked on his mother.

Now Himchan was a University student , his mother was not there and his roommate Youngjae would probably not be so easy on him, the other was very diligent when it came to their class attendance. Youngjae was already up and in the shower, he always got up earlier and always scolded Himchan when he asked for 5 more minutes to sleep. A cold shiver ran down Himchan's back when the bathroom door opened. Youngjae was already dressed and rubbing his damp hair with a towel.

“Good morning,” Youngjae smiled. “Morning,” Himchan croaked, speaking hurt his throat and even Youngjae looked suspicious for a moment. “You don't sound good,” Youngjae remarked. He walked to Himchan's bed and sat down, placing his palm on the other's forehead. “You're warm.” Himchan already knew that he had a fever, not only his head but his whole body was aching now and he kept having hot and cold chills. He definitely wouldn't attend classes today and by the looks of it, Youngjae wouldn't be protesting either. “You should stay in bed,” Youngjae said, as if he had read Himchan's mind and wanted to confirm his thoughts. Himchan didn't say anything, he didn't feel like talking, it hurt too much. But he didn't need to because Youngjae was up already, heading to the kitchen.

He came back with a bowl filled with cold water and a small towel. Youngjae soaked the towel and placed it on Himchan's forehead gently. Then he left again to bring his patient everything he would need which was a glass and a bottle of water, medicine, a digital fever thermometer and a banana. “You should try to eat something later. I have to attend my class or I'll be in trouble but please text me whenever you need anything. I'll make sure to check on you as much as I can,” Youngjae said. On his face was a look of worry, it was clear that he didn't like leaving Himchan by himself like that and it both, angered and touched Himchan at once. He was not a baby anymore, although he usually liked to pretend to be a little baby when he was ill so other people would do things for him. Youngjae's worries were genuine though, it made Himchan's heart thump like crazy.

As soon as Youngjae was out of the door, Himchan went back to sleep and he slept until a gentle hand on his cheek woke him up again. It was light outside, Himchan needed a few seconds to gather his thoughts and realize where he was. A look at his clock told Himchan that it was just noon and that Youngjae probably skipped lunch to check on him. Youngjae soaked the towel and put it back on Himchan's forehead, he felt thankful for the soothing coldness on his skin.

“I made some soup for you. You need to eat something Himchan, “Youngjae said. Himchan had already noticed the steaming bowl on his bedside table and he sat up, ignoring the spinning of his head as he tried to make himself as comfortable as possible on his pillow. Youngjae fed him little spoons full of hot broth, the soup warmed Himchan's insides as if it was a magic elixir. Himchan felt better after eating and Youngjae could even convince him to drink the medicine he had prepared for him. For the rest of the day, Youngjae skipped his classes to take care of his sick room mate. Himchan slept almost the whole day but when it was dark outside again, he felt a little less as if a truck had run over him. Swallowing was still difficult and his whole throat felt swollen but at least the fever seemed to be gone for now.

Youngjae served him porridge with vegetables and chicken, Himchan accepted it thankfully and even though it took him a while to finish the bowl, he was happy that Youngjae took such good care of him. He had thought that the other wouldn't take his illness quite serious after all the times Himchan had acted as if he would die for a little runny nose, this side on Youngjae surprised him in a good way. Maybe he could push it a little further, Youngjae was cute when he acted all caring and nice.

Himchan didn't know what greater spirits he had summoned but he had really managed to coax Youngjae into watching a film and cuddling under his blanket. The next day Youngjae would probably pretend as if this had never happened but until then, Himchan wanted to enjoy the warmth coming from Youngjae's chest and arms and fall asleep in it.