Btw, to those who haven’t read it yet, I updated chapter 29 last night! Read it first to avoid confusion.

Jongin was sick and this boiled down to only one thing: the arduous interschool competition.

Well, not exactly one thing. There were many factors to consider, like his studies for example. Since there were only a few more months until their graduation, their teachers were beating them down with seat works, pop quizzes, projects and case studies – their pile just kept on getting higher and higher.

The stress and exhaustion brought about by this, paired with his immense training for the upcoming interschool competition (which would be his one-way ticket to the nationals), caused his immune system to give up on him and now, Jongin’s bed-ridden in Sehun’s room, suffering in a high fever.

But Jongin supposed this was his fault as well. He overworked himself. He could have focused his attention and channeled all his energy into his studies without the need for any extracurricular activities but there he was, abusing his body both in the mental and physical aspects. And now he’s dealing with the consequences.

He decided not to go to school today to avoid sudden collapses in campus and asked Baekhyun to tell their teachers what the reason for his absence was since he couldn’t do it himself. His best friend was worried as hell, of course, and promised to visit and bring him soya milk after school, something he always did whenever Jongin fell ill.

Jongin stared at the ceiling groggily, still shivering badly under the pile of blankets Seohyun wrapped around his body, teeth chattering. His temperature nearly rose to 40°c, which wasn’t normal at all, and if it exceeded that he might have to call for the help of the Oh family’s physician. He badly needed a doctor right now.

“…where is he…?”

“…right this way sir…”

The door to Sehun’s room opened gently, but Jongin barely had enough energy to look and see who the new arrival was. A cold palm laid flat above his burning forehead, the soothing feeling of it making Jongin sigh.

Speak of the devil and it would come.

“Please bring me a small towel, and also a bowl of cold water with ice cubes in it.”

“Is there anything else you need, sir?”

“Here, I wrote a prescription for the medication Jongin needs. Go to the pharmacy and make sure to buy everything on the list. Oh; and don’t forget to tell the chef to whip up some porridge for him.”

Jongin heard the distinct thud of the door closing, and once more a hand rested on his forehead, and this time on his neck too. Jongin laggardly opened his eyes, trying to distinguish the face looking down at him.

“Oh, Jongin,” Chanyeol made a sound of displeasure, his eyes softening at the younger’s pitiful condition. Jongin was shivering so much, he’s nearly delirious. He hated seeing the other like this; it felt as though he failed as a friend to remind Jongin to always keep his health in check, even more so considering he was a doctor.

As soon as he heard the reason of Jongin’s absence from Baekhyun, he immediately called for another substitute to stand in his place and left the school clinic earlier than usual. He went straight to Sehun’s house, the only thing ringing in his head was that Jongin was sick and needed his assistance. It was a good thing he acted fast; Jongin’s fever was searing hot and worse than he expected. “Hang on, kid. It’ll all get better soon.”

Jongin was too overtaken by drowsiness to respond and eventually passed out due to exhaustion. Byeol was whimpering at the foot of the bed, wagging her tail anxiously, worried for his owner’s health. Chanyeol spent the next four hours trying to bring Jongin’s fever down, giving him a sponge bath and feeding him chilled foods once in a while. After what seemed like forever, he was finally able to get the younger’s temperature to simmer down. Now Jongin looked a lot more comfortable in his sleep, snuggled under the thick blankets, shivering long gone.

Chanyeol sat on the chair beside the bed and watched intently as Jongin’s chest rose and fell with every breath. Reaching out to hold the other’s warm hand, Chanyeol enclosed it in his own, rubbing his thumb over Jongin’s knuckle. He looks so weak… Jongin had always been a hardworking boy, and what’s more; he’s incredibly dedicated to his favorite sport, to the extent that he would overwork himself just to get even more better at it.

Chanyeol stayed for a few more hours, just tending to Jongin whenever the younger’s temperature rose again.

The minute Sehun came home, the first thing he saw was Seohyun carefully holding a tray with a bowl of piping hot porridge, a few tabs of medicine and a glass of water. She was just about to make her way upstairs but halted at the sight of the young heir, and greeted him with a bow.

“Who’s that for?” Sehun asked as loosened up his collar and wrist cuffs. He really couldn’t stand these damn dress shirts.

“It’s for Jongin, sir,” Seohyun answered. “He’s been sick since this morning and he didn’t go to school today because his fever’s too high.”

Sehun seized internally. “What?”

Seohyun sighed. She really seemed concerned for Jongin’s health as well. “Sir Chanyeol came over to take care of him, and just now he told me to prepare Jongin’s dinner since it’s time for him to drink medicine.”

Sehun’s brows knitted. Without any words, he headed straight upstairs to his room, and as he opened the door, something in him deflated to find Chanyeol already there taking care of a bed-ridden Jongin.

A frown wrote itself on his face. Whenever it concerned Jongin, Chanyeol was always one step ahead.

Always.

Gently closing the door, Sehun walked further into the room, until Chanyeol finally sensed his presence. The other man stood up from where he sat and greeted his friend. “Hey, dude. I didn’t know you come home this late.”

“Not always. I just dropped by the office earlier to take care of a minor setback,” Sehun placed his bag at the nearest table and made a beeline for the bed, where Jongin slept fitfully. A damp washcloth rested on his forehead to absorb some of the heat his body was emitting, and Sehun noticed how flushed his cheeks were. He checked for Jongin’s temperature and without looking at Chanyeol, he uttered, “I can take it from here.”

Chanyeol looked uncertain. He wanted to take care of Jongin still, but by the looks of it, Sehun could do it all on his own. “…Okay. It’s getting late, anyway.”

“Yeah. Thanks for taking care of him.” Sehun patted Chanyeol’s back as he walked the other to the door.

“Let me know when he gets better.” Chanyeol opened the door and took one last glance at Jongin’s sleeping figure. “I’ll be heading out.”

Sehun gave a nod, and once Chanyeol was out of sight, Sehun walked back towards the bed, sitting beside the slumbering teen. There was a knock on the door and Seohyun entered with the tray she was holding earlier, placing it on the bedside table before exiting the room.

“Jongin?” Sehun gently shook the other awake. “Come on. It’s time for dinner.”

Jongin stirred uncomfortably, letting out a soft whine as if he wanted the older to go away. Sehun held his hand, shaking it a little. “You gotta eat first before taking your medicine. So get up.”

Jongin mumbled something incoherent underneath the blanket and Sehun had to strain his hearing to understand it better. “What was that?”

“I don’t wanna…”

“But you have to.”

“I’m…I’m gonna throw it all up…”

“I don’t care even if you do,” Sehun proceeded to guide Jongin to a sitting position, placing a pillow behind his back to make him a lot more comfortable. He grabbed the warm bowl of porridge and scooped a spoonful, blowing on it so as to scald Jongin. The younger's face was all scrunched up and he looked prepared to beat him up for disturbing his rest, and a little smile formed on Sehun’s face. “Sorry, but you really need to eat.”

Since Jongin had no appetite to eat, Sehun only managed to feed him a little – but it was better than not being able to put anything in his stomach at all. Soon after Jongin took his medication, Sehun laid him down on the bed once more, pulling the blanket up to his neck. And before Sehun knew it, Jongin already fell asleep.

He had to stay up later than usual, replacing the washcloth on Jongin’s forehead every now and then and trying his best to bring the other’s temperature down. Jongin’s fever kept on fluctuating throughout the night, and Sehun had half a mind to bring him to the hospital when it went over 40°c and Jongin’s shaking was uncontrollable. However, in the end, he managed to cool it down.

Sehun didn’t even know he had fallen asleep on the chair beside the bed and only realized it when he woke up to the sound of Jongin whimpering. He was thrashing about like he was dealing with a really bad nightmare. Disoriented, Sehun sat up in alarm, at the same time Jongin burst out crying, calling for his mother.

“Jongin. Jongin!” Sehun shook the younger awake. Jongin’s eyes popped open and he heaved, tears making wet trails down his cheeks. Sehun looked at him carefully and found himself pulling the sobbing teen into his arms. “It’s okay. You’re okay.”

“M-Mom – she left – she left me—”

“Calm down,” Sehun rubbed comforting circles along his back, embracing him through it until he felt the other’s tense body go lax in his hold. “It’s okay. I’m here. I won’t leave.”

Jongin buried his face on Sehun’s chest, muffling his cries. He saw his deceased mother in his dream yet again, taking her last breath in front of him, and it felt too real for it to be just a figment of his imagination. There was something in the back of his head saying that it might actually be a forgotten memory.

But how could it be when he never even met his mother before?

At last, when he had the younger assuaged, Sehun guided Jongin to lie back down onto the mattress. He didn’t know that Jongin was having nightmares about his mother. He looked so devastated earlier and his sobs were heartbreaking. Sehun couldn’t do anything but to comfort him through it since that was the only thing he could think of.

“Go back to sleep. I’ll be right here.” Sehun muttered, tucking Jongin in. But before the other did, he looked around the room, trying to find someone that clearly wasn’t even there.

“Where’s…Chan hyung…?” the eighteen-year-old weakly asked, to Sehun’s displeasure.

“Don’t look for another person when I’m the one taking care of you right now.” The older man responded, sounding a little upset. Jongin’s lips parted and he whispered a little “I’m sorry” before falling right back to sleep.

Sehun was starting to get annoyed at himself. Why was he acting like this? God forbid Jongin so much as looked Chanyeol’s way and he’d get all pissed! Sometimes even he doesn’t understand himself.

Get your together, Oh Sehun.

It was around 5 a.m. when Jongin stirred awake, feeling much better than he did hours ago. His body temperature was back to normal, and so was his energy - although he felt a little weaker since he just recovered. He roamed his eyes around and found that Sehun had fallen into slumber on the settee at the foot of the bed, his head resting near Jongin’s blanket covered feet.

Jongin’s face flushed a bit when he started to recall last night’s events, and how he cried in Sehun’s arms while the older held him through his emotional vulnerability. He felt a little embarrassed that Sehun witnessed him in such a state but was grateful nevertheless because true to his words, Sehun stayed by his side all night.

Jongin sat up and carefully crawled towards Sehun, still cocooned in bedsheets, and smiled at the image before him. This man really sacrificed his sleep, despite needing it badly, just so he could take care of him and that was probably the sweetest gesture Oh Sehun had ever done for him yet. Jongin was equal parts guilty and grateful that both men decided to sacrifice their time in order for him to recover. He suddenly remembered that time when he walked under the rain and got all sick and stuff; Chanyeol had carried him on his back and Sehun had unconsciously checked his temperature.

It's funny to see the drastic change.

He looks so tired. Jongin leaned close to him, carefully so as to not rouse him, and left a fleeting kiss on his forehead before whispering, "Thank you."

Troye Sivan’s Strawberries & Cigarettes was currently playing in the b