I find myself waking up from a deep, peaceful slumber in a somewhat unfamiliar bed. The bedsheet feels strange against my fingertip, as well as the duvet. Though drowsy, I still can make sense of the unfamiliarity on my skin. Slowly opening my eyes, the unfamiliar yet familiar sight greets my eyes. I furrow my eyebrows as I try to remember what actually happened. I look around, and only then the realisation hits me.

I am in Hanbin’s room.

And I was asleep the whole time in his bed.

I immediately jolt up at the thought.

Out of the blue, my face feels hot. I was asleep the whole time in Hanbin’s bed. How am I going to face him now that there is some sort of embarrassing incident between us? I slowly turn my head to the side, and I really hope he is nowhere on this bed, though it is his to begin with. I could not help but to exhale rather loudly once I realised that he is not there at all. However, the relief only lasts for a while as another question pops in my mind.

Where is he?

As if he can actually hear my thought, the sliding door is opened from the outside, and Hanbin walks through the curtain. His eyes fall on me then, and without a word, he walks closer and once he stands before me, he puts his hand on my head. I look up and stare at him questioningly. He offers me a soft smile. He still looks sick and pale, and his hair is a mess. However, his eyes never lose their spark.

“Did you sleep well?” he asks, his hand remains on my head.

I manage to do a small nod. “I’m sorry for falling asleep.”

He ignores my apology completely. “I’m glad you slept well,” he ruffles my hair playfully before he continues. “Anyway, the porridge you made earlier… please tell me you made a lot.”

At that, I chuckle.

It turns out that I was asleep for a good two hours. Hanbin made it clear that during the time I was sleeping, he stayed at least one meter away from me. “I was being respectful” was what he said, and though I know he was just stating a harmless fact, blood still rushed to my face anyway. He said he was at the balcony almost all the time, and my jaw literally dropped when he told me that – he was just wearing thin clothes if I remember correctly. He laughed easily seeing my reaction. “I’m fine, Hayi,” he reassured, to which I only rolled my eyes.

“Hanbin,” I call out. He looks up from his bowl of porridge, raises his eyebrow, before he continues eating. “You should dress more warmly,” I remind him. “Like seriously.”

“I do dress warmly,” he responds.

“More warmly,” I say, giving an emphasis on the word ‘more’. “Maybe then you won’t be under the weather. Bundle up. Put more layers. So, you can stay warm.”

“Hayi,” he props his chin on his fist, staring at me. “Do you care about me?” he asks. “Wait, let me rephrase that – why do you care about me?”

I scoff in disbelief. “What makes you think that I care about you?”

He gives me a look, clearly judging my question. I fearlessly return the look as well, and before we both know it, it becomes a staring competition between the two of us. I lean against the chair and cross my arms on my chest. He smirks and shakes his head, before he breaks off the eye contact. He returns his focus to the food, and while he chews, I finally notice that his face has finally gained colours, unlike being all pale like how it was hours ago. Seeing that, I sigh in relief. Perhaps he has slightly gotten better.

“How are you feeling?” I ask.

He remains silent for a while as he ponders the answer to my question. “Should I be honest?”

Seeing that I roll my eyes, he laughs before he proceeds to answer my question. “Honestly, I feel a whole lot better now that I’m eating the porridge that you made.”

Thinking that he is actually teasing me, I shoot him a glare. However, his face remains serious and unfazed that it leaves me confused. “Wait, hold on. Do you really mean that?”

He only chuckles before he continues eating.

That night, after making sure that Hanbin is properly tucked in, I stay in bed and recall what had happened throughout the day. It was quite an eventful day, though I stayed home t