Minho was waiting for Krystal downstairs before they leave for work. He was on his phone, checking for new messages, both for his texts and emails. He was invited to join a seminar by his colleagues on the weekend and they were waiting for his confirmation. He kept re-reading the message a number of times before checking his phone’s calendar and other reminders. “So far, there’s nothing up for those dates,” he said to himself. He was already thinking of going, but of course he would have to tell his wife that he was being invited on the said dates and he would ask her if it was okay for him to go.

As soon as he heard footsteps, he stood up and got ready to go. He got the car keys and placed his phone in his pocket. He would usually head out first to get the car ready, but he noticed something odd just before he walked out the door. With that, he walked back to the living room and watched Krystal as she walked down the stairs. She was walking unusually slower this time and she was gripping too much on the railing. She would even take short pauses after a number of steps.

“Are you okay?” Minho walked to the bottom of the steps and waited for her. He was concerned with how she looked.

She looked at him and gave a weak smile before slightly nodding. “Yeah. Just feeling a bit tired, I guess.” She was able to reach the first floor while walking slowly and stood beside Minho. “Let’s go?”

“Yeah, sure.” He nodded at her and smiled. Instead of walking ahead of her, he walked behind her and kept a bit of a distance to be able to see her.

Krystal was walking slower than usual. She was feeling lightheaded and she even felt that her body was shaking, as if she has seen a ghost. She couldn’t even place her bag on her arm, since it felt heavy for her. She was trying to maintain her grip on her handbag and would pull it up when she felt like it was about to slip from her hand, but just as she walk past the living room, she finally lost her grip. Her handbag fell on the floor and she was praying not to lose her balance while her weak body was getting her bag.

He saw how she struggled to bend down to reach for the bag, so he went to get it for her. He felt her hand land on his arm while he was picking her bag up and just let her hold on to him even when he stood straight, then helped Krystal stand straight. “Are you sure you’re fine?” He placed the back of his hand on her forehead and on her neck to check her temperature and they felt warm. He looked at her eyes and they seemed like they were just half open.

She was having a hard time to breathe and she was still feeling weak, but she was planning to just sleep it off in the car and just continue her day just like her usual days at work. “I’m fine, Minho. I swear, I just need to sleep in the car.” Her voice was weak and had a hard time speaking and getting the words out of . Her body was still shaking and when she bent down to get her bag, she felt dizzier and almost lost her balance. If it wasn’t for Minho, she would be falling down.

“You almost fell on the floor and you don’t seem fine at all.” Before she could object, he already carried her up the stairs and brought her to her room.

She felt really felt like she was floating and before she could tell him that she was going to work with him, she soon found her limp body resting oh his arms as he was bring her upstairs. She closed her eyes while she was being carried, they felt too heavy for her to keep them open. “Minho, I’m alr-“

“No, I’m not allowing you to go to work today. You’re too sick!” He lifted the blanket and placed her on her bed. He was about to to pull the cover up, but she stopped him. “No, you’re staying home.”

“Alright, alright. Just let me change into my pajamas, okay?”

He nodded and watched her shift on her side to help herself sit up. He noticed that she was trying to pull herself up while pushing on the bed, so he helped her by pulling her up. She was light as a feather, he thought and even looked like one because she was so weak.

“Thank you,” she said in a low voice and held onto him while getting out of bed. Minho supported her as she walked to her closet and grabbed her pajamas, then he supported her all the way to her bathroom and closed the door for her.

Minho waited for her by the bathroom door to support her in walking back to her bed. He waited for her to finish and after five minutes, she finally opened the door.

She took a longer time to change because she was really weak. Just when she was about to step out of the bathroom, she turned around to face the toilet and threw up. Krystal felt her legs becoming like jelly that she just wanted to drop on the floor, but she felt Minho hold her waist to help her keep herself up while she continued to throw up.

He was helping her maintain her balance while pulling her hair away from her face. He just let her throw up so she could feel a bit better. As he was holding her up, Minho started thinking of what she had for last night’s dinner and yesterday’s lunch. They all ate the same food and they would eat together, he thought so it was impossible for Krystal to suffer from a food poisoning because is she had one, then he’d be having one as well.

After throwing up, she flushed the toilet and moved to the sink to brush her teeth. When she looked in the mirror, she saw how pale she was. She did look sick. Maybe it was really better for her to stay home. After brushing, she found herself being carried my Minho. “Minho, please walk slowly. My head hurts so much.” She felt his steps becoming slower, then she was finally placed under the covers. She allowed her body to relax on the bed, while her eyebrows were furrowed from her headache and the light in her room. “Can you please close the blinds before you leave? It’s too bright, it hurts my head.”

“Blinds, okay.” He hurriedly closed the blinds to block the light that came from the outside, then closed her curtains to help her sleep. “I’ll be back soon, okay.” He ran out her door and went to his room. He quickly dialled his assistant’s number to give her a call. After three rings, she finally picked up. “Sunmi, I don’t think I can make it to work today. Please inform my patients that I’ll be out. There’s an emergency.” He listened to her question before saying, “I’m not sure until when, but I’ll probably be out until the weekend. Yes, thank you. Bye.” He hurriedly changed into his loungewear and ran back to his wife’s room.”

Krystal was waiting for sleep to get to her, then she heard her bedroom door open. She slowly opened her eyes to see who it was and she was surprised to see him out of his polo and slacks. “What time will leave for work today,” she asked him weakly.

He went to her medicine cabinet to get a thermometer, then gently lifted her arm and stuck it in place before bringing her arm down gently. He felt her forehead and it got hotter than it was earlier. “Didn’t I tell you that I’ll be back soon.” After a minute, the thermometer had an alarming beeping sound. He checked her temperature and it was too high. “You’re burning up, you need to rest. What do you want to eat?”

She waved her hand at him in a weak manner. “I don’t have the appetite. You need to leave now, you’ll be late. I’ll be fine by myself, I’ll just sleep.”

Minho sat on the edge of the bed and pulled the covers higher. “I’m not going to work, you don’t have to worry about it. Just get a lot of rest, okay? You’ve overworked yourself.” As he thought about it, if it wasn’t the food, it was definitely because of something else.

Krystal lost sleep the past few days and even the week before that, she wasn’t able to have lots of rest because it was toxic in the hospital. She volunteered to help her grandparents in their business because her aunts were out of town. They could still look after the bakery, but she felt like it was too much work for them because her grandmother was busy with her restaurant, while her grandfather was busy with his supermarket. No one would be in charge of the bakery, so she told them that it was fine for her. She would drive at night to the province after getting changed and eating dinner and would arrive late at night. She would monitor the sales for the entire day, then prepare in the early hours of morning to instruct the delivery mean and the bakers on what to to do, then count the sale for that morning before driving back to Seoul. She would arrive just in time for brunch before they leave fore for work, then after a quick shower, she was good to go. Her body finally gave up with all the working and after not getting the proper amount of meals and sleep.

He felt sorry for his wife, especially now that she reached this state. He knew instantly that the culprit was over fatigue and not food poisoning. After seeing her nod weakly at him, he waited until she was sleeping soundly before he went to his room. He dialled her clinic and her assistant picked up. “Miyeon, it’s Dr. Choi. Yeah, the other Dr. Choi,” he said before making himself chuckle. “I called to inform you that your boss won’t be able to make it to work today. Her temperature’s too high and she’s too sick. Please inform her patients. Okay, thank you. Bye.” After making the call, he went to get his duvet, a pillow, and a blanket from the closet before going back to Krystal’s room. He laid the duvet on the floor and folded it in half, then placed the pillow on top, while the blanket remained folded near his feet. He would be spending the night in her room until she gets better.

She was finally able to sleep soundly, but after a couple of hours, it was about four in the afternoon and Krystal woke up. “Minho,” she called out, but there was no sign of him around the place. To her surprise, he stood from the floor and asked her what’s wrong. “I’m sweaty.” She woke up to her own sweat as she was already soaked in it, which was a good thing. The air conditioning was off, the fan was off, and her duvet covered her from her neck down. It was all to bring her temperature back to normal and to avoid getting chills.

Upon hearing this, he ran to get a small towel before lifting her duvet. He wiped her arms, her legs, then her neck. He asked her to shift to her side so she could wipe her back. He then opened her closet and grabbed her a new set of sleepwear so she wouldn’t feel uncomfortable. “Here. I’ll be back in five minutes.”

Krystal wiped the remaining sweat on other parts of her body before she changed into new clothes. After that, she laid back down, with her head still feeling heavy. She saw Minho come in with a basin with ice cold water in it and a face towel. When her arm came in contact with the cold towel, she winced in pain. “It feels like a needle,” she said with her voice cracking.

After each time that he’d wipe her with the wet towel, he’d wipe her dry with a new towel to remove the painful feeling. He wiped her arms, legs, and face, before telling her to go back to sleep. “Just tell me when you need anything,” he said to her before going back to his spot on the floor. With her current situation, he has made a decision on whether or not he would still go to the seminar. He got his phone beside his pillow and replied to the email. He apologized because he won’t be able to go because of an emergency. He could actually ask for someone to look after her so he could go to work today and attend the seminar, but he won’t. Minho didn’t see a problem with taking care of his wife and he gladly would.

Author's note: it was supposed to be a triple update, but I had to finish my lab reports for Friday :( here's 1/2 of the double update (which was supposed to be 2/3 of the triple update hahaha). I apologize again! Tell me what you guys think below :)