Baekhyun went limp against Chanyeol's arms. Chanyeol's hands were trembling. He didn't know what to do. Should he take Baekhyun to the hospital? No. He couldn't do that. The reporters were everywhere, always looking for a scoop. They will certainly appear on the news tomorrow if Chanyeol took Baekhyun to the hospital right now. Since the news of Baekhyun's return hasn't been released yet, it will cause a big commotion if the reporters caught them on camera. 

Chanyeol put Baekhyun down to the bed and ran to his closet and grabbed a thin t-shirt. He quickly ran back to Baekhyun and started removing Baekhyun's thick turtleneck. He quickly changed Baekhyun into his t-shirt; it was important to have less clothing so that the fever doesn't get higher. Chanyeol ran to his bathroom and opened the medicine cabinet. Where the heck is the thermometer when he needed it? Chanyeol frantically went through the cabinet, searching for the thermometer but there wasn't one. Chanyeol tried to think. He reluctantly went to Suho's bedroom and knocked on the door. Suho appeared a moment later, his eyes were half- asleep. He looked at Chanyeol.

"Sorry for bothering you this late at night but do you happen to have a thermometer with you?" Chanyeol spoke calmly, trying to hide the nervousness that was going on in his head.

"Why do you need a thermometer? Are you sick?" Suho's eyes were wide open now. He seemed worried. Poor guy.

"No.. uh.. I need them for...", Chanyeol quickly tried to come up with an excuse, ".. I need them to check the water temperature in my bathtub!" Chanyeol said rapidly. Oh my God, what was he thinking? What kind of excuse is that? Chanyeol was embarrassed.

Suho gave him a puzzled look and hesitantly went to his bathroom and returned with a thermometer. Suho was used to the members' weirdness anyway so he didn't ask Chanyeol for a reason about why he would need a thermometer to check his bathtub's temperature. Chanyeol bowed his head, said "Thank you", and ran back to his room.

Baekhyun was shaking. His whole body was tense. His eyes were swollen. His hair was wet and sticky with sweat. His face was as pale as a ghost.

Chanyeol quickly opened Baekhyun's mouth and inserted the thermometer on top of his tongue. Baekhyun's eyebrows pressed together as he felt something cold in his mouth. Chanyeol pulled out the thermometer. It read 100F (37.8 C). His fever was really high. Chanyeol pulled the cover up to Baekhyun's chest. He went to his bed and tried to calm down before he planned what to do.

Chanyeol didn't want to tell the members that Baekhyun was sick. As much as Baekhyun tried to interact with them, they just couldn't accept the fact that he left without saying anything. Chanyeol knew it would be a burden on the members if he told them that Baekhyun was having a really high fever since they were hating Baekhyun at the moment. Chanyeol was sure that Baekhyun wouldn't want to trouble the members after a long day of practice anyway. He knew Baekhyun too well. The small boy always kept everything to himself and never wanted to bother anyone. Chanyeol tried to think of another solution.

"EXO's private doctor! That's right! Why haven't I thought of that?" Chanyeol stood up immediately and took out his cell phone. He dialed Dr. Lee's number.

"Hello. How may I help you?" a sleepy voice came from the other side of the phone.

"Dr. Lee? It's Chanyeol. Could you come to our house right now? A member is having a really bad fever," Chanyeol spoke in soft whispers, not wanting to wake up the other members.

"I'm not in Seoul right now. I'm in Busan, visiting my parents," Dr.Lee's voice sounded alarmed, "How high is the fever?"

"100 F", Chanyeol answered. His heart dropped. What should he do?

"It's high but it won't do any harm. Listen to me carefully," Dr.Lee is giving Chanyeol instructions, "Change him into thin clothing. There are some fever medicine downstairs in the kitchen. I gave it to D.O when he got sick and there's still some extra pills. Continuously place a wet towel over his forehead and wipe the area below his neck as much as you can. It would be helpful if you have some fans in the room to keep him cool." Chanyeol wrote down what the doctor told him to do. He said thank you and hung up.

Chanyeol went to the kitchen and searched for the fever medicine that Dr.Lee had mentioned. There was a pack of green pills lying deep inside the cabinet. It labeled "For D.O". This must be the medicine that Dr.Lee had talked about. Chanyeol poured water into a cup and went back to his bedroom as quietly as he could. 

He went to Baekhyun's bed and slowly pulled him up. He softly whispered to Baekhyun's ears that he needed to drink some medicine. Baekhyun reluctantly opened his mouth as Chanyeol slipped in the pills and gave Baekhyun some water. Baekhyun coughed as he swallowed the pills. Chanyeol immediately put down the cup and massaged Baekhyun's back. Baekhyun still had his eyes closed as he leaned back on Chanyeol's arms. The string of blood at the bottom of his lips had dried up. Chanyeol wiped it away. It was painful for Chanyeol to see Baekhyun like this.

Chanyeol went to the bathroom and poured water into a bucket. He took out a clean white towel and headed toward Baekhyun's bed again. He leaned down, soaked the towel in the bucket and wrung it out. He swept back Baekhyun's hair and put the towel over his forehead. Baekhyun's face scrunched up, startled by the coldness of the towel against his forehead. 

For 4 hours, Chanyeol continued to sit on Baekhyun's bed, wringing the towel and placing it on his forehead continuously. Chanyeol's back and shoulders were hurting. His eyes kept wanting to close. But he forced himself to stay awake. He couldn't possibly go to sleep if his precious Baekhyun was sick. 

Baekhyun opened his eyes. He looked at Chanyeol. All of a sudden, he started crying. He grabbed Chanyeol's hand and pressed it against his face. He mumbled how much he had missed Chanyeol over and over. Then he closed his eyes and went back to sleep. Baekhyun was probably hallucinating from his high fever. But still, it broke Chanyeol's heart. The words that came out of Baekhyun's mouth were so sincere. Even when he was hallucinating, he still remembered Chanyeol.

Chanyeol reached for the thermometer. He placed it on Baekhyun's tongue. The fever had reduced dramatically. Baekhyun's temperature was returning back to normal. Chanyeol took the towel off Baekhyun's head, grabbed the bucket, and went to put it back in the bathroom. He returned to Baekhyun's bed.

Baekhyun looked so much better. He was no longer sweating. His face had returned to its natural color. His eyes were less swollen.

Chanyeol couldn't go to sleep. Not until he is sure that Baek is okay. He looked at Baekhyun.

"Water... ", Baekhyun let out a small voice.

That's right. Baekhyun must be really thirsty since he had been dehydrated. Chanyeol went to the kitchen to get water for Baekhyun. When he turned around, he nearly jumped.

Kyungsoo was standing right at the kitchen's door. He looked at Chanyeol questionably. He had just woke up.

"Hi D.O," Chanyeol smiled awkwardly.

" What are you doing? It's 2:00 in the morning right now," Kyungsoo looked at the cup of water then back to Chanyeol.

"I went to get some water," Chanyeol raised up the cup.

" You haven't slept the last 4 hours. What were you doing?" Kyungsoo doesn't seem to believe him.

"Uh, I have been sleeping the whole time. I just got up to get some water," Chanyeol felt intimidated. He can't possibly tell D.O the real reason, the boy would freak out. He will probably start thinking that Chanyeol wanted to go back to Baekhyun, which was the last thing he wanted to do. 

"Okay, I trust you," Kyungsoo went to pour himself a cup of water and walked back to Chanyeol. He continued, "I'm just worried about you. I'm worried that you haven't had enough sleep," D.O said meekly. Chanyeol's heart softened.

"Yeah I know. Thank you," Chanyeol looked at him affectionately. Kyungsoo can be really sweet sometimes. It's rare for him to speak what he feels.

"Okay. Well, I'm going back to sleep. Do you need me to do anything?" Kyungsoo asked Chanyeol.

Chanyeol shook his head no but then he remembered Baekhyun. Has Baekhyun eaten anything at all? He is sick right now so he must be hungry. "Actually, I want to eat some soup right now, can you make me a hot bowl of soup?" Chanyeol requested D.O

"But I don't cook that well," D.O looked at him and his ears were starting to turn red.

"It doesn't matter. I want to taste your cooking," Chanyeol smiles brightly at D.O, who shyly smiling back and went to prepare the soup.  Chanyeol wanted to bang his head against the wall. He felt like a total jerk for lying to D.O

After 15 minutes, D.O finished and poured the soup into a bowl. He took his time decorating to make the dish even more appetizing. He brought the soup to Chanyeol, who is sitting at the table, with pride on his face. He wanted to show his love to Chanyeol through the soup that he made. Chanyeol had never felt so guilty. He picked up a spoon and tasted it. The soup was delicious. It was the best thing Chanyeol had ever tasted in his entire life. It was even better than his mom's soup. 

"It's great D.O," Chanyeol looked at him appreciatively. Kyungsoo smile stretched from ear to ear. He must be really happy.

"Since it's so good, I'm going to eat it in my bedroom," Chanyeol stood up and carried the bowl to his bedroom. Kyungsoo stopped him.

"Why? I want to see you finishing it. I took my time to make it delicious just for you," Kyungsoo looked puzzled. Chanyeol bit his tongue.

"The soup is really good. But it's late. You know I'm a horribly slow eater and if you wait for me to finish this delicious bowl of soup, it'll be 6:00 in the morning. I don't want you to miss your sleep schedule because of me. You have an interview tomorrow with SBS so hurry up and go to sleep, " Chanyeol lamely came up with an excuse, "besides, I wouldn't be able to finish my soup quickly if your beautiful face is right next to mine," Chanyeol winked. Kyungsoo's cheeks turned into a beet red color. He punched Chanyeol's playfully on the arms and went to his room. 

As soon as he heard Kyungsoo's closed his bedroom's door, Chanyeol quickly ran to his own bedroom. God, he felt horrible for lying to D.O like that. The boy had put so much love and pride into making this soup for Chanyeol.

Baekhyun squirmed. Chanyeol walked over and put the bowl of soup against the small table next to Baekhyun's bed. He gently pulled Baekhyun up and let him drink some water. Baekhyun swallowed quickly.

Chanyeol slowly leaned Baekhyun's against the chair that Chanyeol had brought next to the bed. He lightly patted Baekhyun's back to wake him up. Baekhyun finally managed to open his eyes.

"Chanyeol...?" Baekhyun voice sounded better. It was no longer hoarse and raspy.

"Eat this soup to help calm down your fever," Chanyeol lifted a spoonful of soup to Baekhyun's lips. After a moment, Baekhyun opened his mouth and let the soup slide down his stomach.

"It's really good," Baekhyun looked at Chanyeol, his eyes shined with affection and relief.

"Yeah, just keep eating so you'll get better," Chanyeol continued to feed him. 

Baekhyun ate as he let his tears fall. Chanyeol didn't know why but his heart hurt at the sight of Baekhyun's tears. The pain in his heart travels down toward his spine and his legs, making him shiver. Goosebumps popped up everywhere. 

Baekhyun continued to eat without saying anything. His tears wouldn't stop. It kept flowing unconsciously.

The bowl was empty. Chanyeol stood up and started to walk to the kitchen. But Baekhyun grabbed his hand.

"I'm sorry," Baekhyun said, his voice was so small that Chanyeol couldn't even tell if that was what he said. 

"You're sick so I'm not going to argue with you right now. Just get some sleep for tomorrow. Just so you know, because I'm doing this doesn't mean that I will forgive you," Chanyeol said coldly.

Baekhyun nodded and went to his bed. He closed his eyes and went to sleep immediately.

After washing the dishes, Chanyeol returned to his room. He checked to see how Baekhyun was doing. Seeing that Baekhyun was doing fine, Chanyeol went to his bed. His whole back and shoulders were sore. He looked at the clock, 3:30 am. He had 3 hours to sleep. Chanyeol yawned and lied down on his bed. He turned to look at Baekhyun one last time before closing his eyes.