“Hun, don’t come over. You need to rest whenever you can,” Sumin told him over the phone. Sehun has been very busy the past 3 weeks; EXO had fan meets, training for their new concert, 3 day concerts, his own photoshoot and filming for CF. Currently they have promo at music shows and several appearances at variety shows. They've not spent time together and he is trying to squeeze some time for her. Although she missed him, she knows his schedule is extremely tight. 

She heard his deep sigh. “I miss you.” She closed her eyes and let his words comfort her.

“I miss you too. Very much,” she spoke softly. She wants to see him but her priority is his health. He has a slight cough and from some of the recent fan pictures that she saw on the net, Sehun looked exhausted. Rather than seeing him, she had hoped she could do something to make him feel better.

She grimaced when she heard a muffled cough from the other end of the line. “One more week and I will have a few days free,” he promised.

A couple of days later, Sumin was studying at the library alone. Its her free period before her last class which will be a few hours later.  Her concentration was broken when her phone which was on silent, suddenly vibrated. A quick glance showed that the call was from an unknown number. Her brows furrowed in confusion. Closing her book, she picked up her phone and walked out of the library to answer.

“Yoboseyo."

“Yoboseyo. Sumin, this is Junmyeon-oppa,” the voice on the other end quickly introduced himself.

Sumin was startled. None of Sehun’s friends ever call so it immediately raise her concern. "Yes, oppa. Is everything ok? Where’s Sehun?” Sumin asked anxiously.

“Sehun is unwell. He has a fever,” he replied. He heard a soft but worried ooh.

“Sumin-ah, we need a big favour from you. We wouldn’t approach you if we have other alternatives,” Junmyeon continued.

Trying to temper down the worry that was building up, Sumin asked, “Yes oppa.  What is it?” Sumin's heart clenched tightly.

“I’m not sure if you know that we have a schedule this afternoon. But Sehun developed a fever this morning and has not been able to get up,” Junmyeon paused as he heard Sumin’s gasp. He didn't mean to worry her but he is desperate. “The agency is short of staff right now because of multiple groups’ activities. And Sehun’s parents are on vacation with my parents. We wondered if you could come and take care of him. He is too weak to be left alone.”

Sumin arrived at the apartment in a taxi and was picked up by Jongin at the lobby. 

“Thanks for coming Sumin. The doctor has seen Sehun this morning and he had some medication. His fever is still high, so we need someone to keep an eye on him,” he explained. 

Sumin nodded distractedly. She had immediately packed her stuff after the call and grab a taxi. In the taxi, she messaged Yerim and her professor about the personal emergency. Since then. her mind has been preoccupied with concern for Sehun.

EXO members turned to her as she walked into the apartment. Some were at the sofa, a couple were by the dining table. They were all dressed.  She gave them a small smile and inclined her head in response to their greetings. Junmyeon approached, his face visibly relieved that Sumin had arrived. They are running late for the schedule.

“You are here. Thank you," he gushed. "Sehun is sleeping now. He had taken his medication and should take it again at 7. Could you make him something? We didn’t have time to cook. Oh.. I’m not sure we have much stuff to cook, tho.” It just dawned on him that their fridge is pretty empty since they've been too busy to stock up.

"Not to worry," Kyung Soo interrupted. He had been seated at the living room listening to Junmyeon. He stood and approached Sumin and Junmyeun, who had turned towards him when he spoke up. Our fridge downstairs has a lot of stuff. You can take whatever you want. For him and your meal,” he offered and wrote the apartment number and passcode on a piece of paper.

Sumin nodded politely.  She bit her lips as she is impatient to see Sehun. 

Noticing the anxiety on Sumin's face, Suho brought her to Sehun’s room. “Make yourself comfortable please. We’ll be back around half past 8. And thank you so much.”

Sumin shook her head. “Thank you oppa for letting me care for him,” she whispered.

When Sumin stepped into the bedroom, she found it quite dark since the curtains were drawn. She walked towards the bed. Her breath caught in as she looked at her boyfriend’s face. It was pale with a greyish tint and his eyes were slightly sunken. His breathing seems laboured. She sat down quietly on the bed and gingerly touched his face. It’s burning. There were beads of sweat on his forehead, with a couple trickling down the side of his face. She glanced at the side table and saw a small basin with towel. Picking it up, she went to the bathroom to wash the towel and put fresh cool water in the basin. When she placed the cool towel on his face, Sehun flinched and grunted. Murmuring soothingly, she gently wiped his face and neck. 

Sehun was in a hot and fitful sleep. He had thrashed around in his sleep trying to find a comfortable position but his body aches and fever made him unable to rest peacefully. He threw off his blanket as it was getting too hot, but then he started feeling chills and needed to cover himself. His eyes were heavy from the medicine and he could not even open his eyes. He was in one of those short moments of bearable position when a sudden touch of coldness on his temple shocked him. He flinched and grunted and struggled to open his eyes to see what had disrupted him. That coolness however continued to spread across his face and neck, and the shocked dissipated as his body cooled down together with the wonderful comforting sounds. He stopped struggling to open his eyes and instead let himself drift into a cooler and more comfortable sleep.

After wiping his face, Sumin wipes down his body and arms. She noted his shirt was sweaty and so was the bedsheet. She contemplated changing him but decided to do it with the help of the other members. Seeing that Sehun has fallen into a more deep and restful sleep, she walked out of the room to cook his porridge. As expected, there was barely anything in the fridge except for a couple of banchan, drinks and snacks. Fortunately, the other apartment had a fridge filled with fresh ingredients. Picking up ingredients for Sehun’s porridge, she decided to get some ingredients to make simple dinner for the guys. 

After cooking and sponging Sehun again, there was still time before Sehun was supposed to take his medication. Only then did Sumin finally gave his room a proper look. She noted the simple furnishing and was impressed that the room was not too messy. There were a few clothes strewn around the room and his table needed some dusting. Other than that, the room was presentable. As her eyes strayed around the room, she observed that there was no picture of them. Sumin could not deny that it sort of disappointed her a little bit, just a tiny bit. Maybe there are other people that do come to his room, and to be safe, like her, he doesn't display their photos. She quietly tidied up his room, picking up his clothes and wiping the furniture. 

While wiping his study table, she picked up a photo frame with a picture of Vivi, Sehun’s adorable dog. He had talked a lot about Vivi, which according to him was the love of his life before she came into his life. “Now I have two loves in my life,” he had told her cheesily. When she had teasingly pouted that she had to share his love, he proclaimed that he is a big hearted guy who is capable of having two great loves.

As she gently wiped the frame, she accidently pressed a side button and the picture in the frame changed from Vivi to a picture of them. It was one of her own favourite pictures taken when he confessed his love. They had taken a selfie with their smiling face squished together with the field of wild flowers in the background . He was adorable, his face smiling with his eyes formed into crescent shape and lips grinning widely. Their happiness shone through. It was a beautiful day for them, she smiled as she remembered it.

Sumin pressed the button again so that Vivi photo comes back but instead another new photo appeared. She realised the frame held several photos.  As she scrolled through the photos to Vivi's, her lips curled into a smile. There were photos of his family, Vivi, EXO members, herself and them together. It was apparent to Sumin that she belongs to people that he loves. Her heart burst with happiness.

Keeping an eye on his sleep, Sumin his hair gently and softly murmurs whenever he got fretful.  She stared lovingly at Sehun. He is unwell because he is exhausted. The longer they've dated, her respect for the Idols increased. She has come to know that beyond the glitz of being a celebrity, the fame, designer togs and luxurious lifestyle that they are mostly associated with, their life is actually a lot of hard work with very little personal life. From the sideline, she saw how hard the training for comebacks, concert or performances can be. Often he comes back exhausted and the next day, go through it again. And then they have to juggle their tight schedules, grappling with overseas trips in different time zones and then the promotions. Even when they are tired, the moment they are in public, they have to maintain their persona. Even when they are upset or tired, they can't show it.

Sehun has been fortunate that EXO members are close knit and actually enjoy being with each other. Of course, they do sometimes rub each other the wrong way especially since they have different personality and stress and exhaustion do get to them. But from what she observed through their interactions and whenever Sehun mentioned s, there is strong foundation of love and bond among them built over the tough years they had gone through together. In fact, she could see that the members doted on him.

As she re