I wake up with a heavy head, and I take a few seconds to look at the ceiling. Memories start to flood my mind, and Sehun’s face appears amidst the flashback. I close my eyes back, and sigh. It’s already very bright outside, signaled by the seeping sunshine through the curtains. Yumi is folding the laundry beside me, her bedding is folded nicely on the side. “Nana, are you okay?”

          I slowly nod. Last night after meeting Sehun, I speedwalked to the house, washing up, and went to bed all in a flash. I heard Yumi going in, also male voices outside, probably Jinho and Sehun, but I forced myself to sleep.

          I cough, and my throat feels extremely uncomfortable. Yumi shoots me a worried look, and hands me a glass of water she prepared beforehand. “You aren’t feeling well, are you?”

          “A bit. I’ll be fine.” I try to breathe normally, and as I drink I notice that she’s fully dressed and has a bag packed. “Where are you—oh. Oh.” I close my eyes, and get reminded of something. It’s her grandfather’s death anniversary and she’s acquired permission to go home until tomorrow night.

          “Yeah… I’m going to leave in a bit.”

          “Right. Is Jinho going with you?”

          Yumi presses her lips, and avoids my eyes. “I told him not to, but he insisted…”

          “He should, you shouldn’t go alone.” I say. I realize there would be only me and Sehun left for two days, but with or without Jinho, I don’t have the intention to talk to him soon. “Who’s going to take you to the station?”

          Yumi hesitantly smiles. “Um… Sehun is going to take us there. But before that… He has been waiting for you outside since an hour ago.”

          I feel wide awake. “What?”

          “He wants to talk to you.”

          I look at her with my mouth slightly open for a few seconds, then throw my body back to the mattress. “Then he should talk to us all.”

          “Well, he did to us… Last night.” Yumi says.

          I look at her, focused. “What did he say?”

          “I know we had some negative thoughts about his disappearance yesterday, but it wasn’t the case. I think it’s better to hear it directly from him. You should go wash up.”

          I idly go to the bathroom, and curiosity starts to fill my head. What did he do yesterday, actually?

          On my way back to the bedroom, I see Sehun outside through the window, sitting on the porch’s floor with his back facing my direction. His shoulders look weary, and I silently heave a breath.

          I slowly walk to the door after wearing my sweater, and peek outside again. He’s still there, of course. I push down the handle and Sehun turns his head to see me. I say nothing, and he stands up. He glances at the bandage on my hand and visibly swallows.

          “Um… Can we talk?”

          I nod, and we head to the wooden chairs next to the entrance. I take turns seeing the yard and the floor, but not at Sehun.

          “I don’t know how to start this… But most importantly, I want to apologize.”

          Yeah, of course… He was gone without a word all day long. “Where did you go?”

          “It’s a long story.”

          I look at him, and he catches my eyes but immediately looks down.

          “On the way to the shop, I met a young man with his mother. She’s very ill, and the local clinic couldn’t help her. She needed to go to the hospital quickly, so I… I took them there. On the way, we were lost at some point so it consumed more time. During all of that, my phone died and I couldn’t find a charger that matched.”

          Sehun speaks with a deep, delicate tone, and I got suspicious with the ending. “What happened after that?”

          “She’s being treated now. Her son couldn’t stop crying yesterday.”

          My chest feels tight, and I blink twice.

          “I was the only one with him, and it took me awhile to calm him. Luckily someone from their neighborhood were in the hospital and they handled it from there. I was able to go back, but the car ran out of gas in the middle of nowhere and I had to push it all the way to the nearest village.”

          My lips are shut tight. Only listening to it already makes me feel exhausted.

          “And that’s why I came back so late… After the sky went dark.”

          I see the red pickup parked in front of Uncle Yong’s house, and I remember glaring at it so hard last night when I walked past.

          “Nana, I’m sorry.”

          If what he said is true, I can’t imagine how physically and emotionally drained he was yesterday. I stay silent on my seat, thinking of what to say.

          “Then—” I was going to say something, but my throat acts up again. I cough, and Sehun gives me a concerned look. “Well.” I shrug. “But it was the truth, right?”

          Sehun looks at me right in the eyes. “I have no reason to lie.” he says. His eyes go down to my hand, and his lips parts. “Your hand—”

          The door is open, and Yumi appears with her bag. From afar, I see Jinho coming towards the house. “I’m going to the train station now.”

          “Oh, okay.” Sehun slowly stands up. “I’m going to take them to the town, Uncle Yong lends us his pickup.”

          I get up from my seat. “I’m coming with you guys.”

          “Aren’t you unwell?” Yumi and Sehun says in unison. I shake my head, and try to appear fine. “I don’t want to stay at home.”

          In a few minutes, four of us are already on the way in the red pickup. I’m on the front seat with Yumi, while Sehun drives and Jinho in the back. I think I made a mistake by going—I gradually feel worse, and my head is spinning. I grit my teeth, and try to show nothing.

          When we arrive, the train is ready and Yumi hugs me goodbye. “I’ll be back tomorrow.”

          I attempt to smile, and try not to touch her closely because she might realize my temperature’s getting higher now. Jinho and Yumi disappears from our sight, and we’re going back to the village.

          As we walk to the parking lot, my body feels more and more sore, and I cough more often. Sehun seems to notice my expression, and peeks at me a few times. “Are you okay?”

          “Let’s just go back.” I say shortly.

          “Hey, you haven’t had breakfast, right? Let’s get something to eat first.” Sehun starts driving while looking around the streets, and he finds the eatery we visited after we got off the train that time. I have no appetite, and look at the wall of menu with no interest.

          “You have to eat. Did you even eat dinner yesterday?” Sehun asks. Right… I didn’t. I made it worse for myself. I finally order something, but when our meals come my stomach feels sick instead.

          While we are eating, an old man with short grey hair is approaching our table slowly and scans Sehun. “Aren’t you the man from yesterday?”

          Sehun gets up, and bows to him. “Hello. How is Chulsoo doing?”

          “He’s still crying, of course, his mother is his only family…”

          They continue to talk, and the man ends the conversation with a thank you and praise for Sehun. I’m watching silently, and the man finally leaves. “Who was that?”

          “He’s… the neighbor from yesterday.” Sehun says. Well then, what he said must be true. I felt mean for doubting him.

          I can’t finish my food, and Sehun keeps looking at me. “This won’t do. Let’s see a doctor.”

          I see myself in the store’s mirror, and I look terrible. Sehun takes me to a small clinic, and registers for me. The nurse notices him, and furrows her brows. “Why do you keep bringing sick people, young man?”

          Sehun bitterly laughs. Oh, another witness. I’m brought to the examination room, and a middle-aged female doctor welcomes me with a smile. She inspects me for awhile, and concludes I’m down with the flu, as expected.

          “I’m going to give you a shot, let’s roll up your sleeve.” the doctor says. My eyes widen, and I shake my head.

          “No. Doctor, can you just give me some meds I can drink?”

          “Well, I’ll give them to you too, but this shot is necessary as well—are you afraid of injections?” she notices my panicked expression.

          Spot on. My breath starts to race as the doctor pulls out some needles, and I feel dizzy. “Doctor—”

          “Maybe you need some support? Are you coming with someone? Patient Shin Nana’s guardian?” she calls. This room and the waiting room is only separated by a partition, and Sehun comes inside. I can’t even utter words, and put a hand on my forehead.

          “Oh, aren’t you the one from yesterday?” the doctor exclaims. “Who is this now? Your girlfriend? Patient’s boyfriend, can you do something? I need to give her a shot.”

          “He’s not my—” I screech, seeing the doctor has the injection ready. Sehun looks confused, and pulls a chair beside me.

          “What’s wrong?"

          I fidget on my seat, biting the insides of my lips. "Injection..." I mumble.

          "Are you afraid?”

          I look away. Sehun looks around the room, and suddenly takes off his denim jacket. He gives me one of the sleeves. “Hold onto this strongly, you won’t feel a thing.”

          I slowly take the sleeve, but Sehun doesn’t let go of it for support so I’m kind of also holding his hand. I grip onto the sleeve tightly while closing my eyes and I feel some part of his rough hand on my skin.

          I can feel the needle pricking my skin but it’s done in a second. “See, it’s nothing.” the doctor chuckles. “You might feel a little sleepy after this, you can rest in the bed next to this room until you feel better.”

          I move to the said room, and Sehun enters later with a glass of water. I’m lying there weakly while he silently sits beside the bed.

          “Your hand is blazing. You must be burning inside.” he comments. I breathe out, and even I can feel the warm air on my philtrum.

          Sehun suddenly laughs slowly, and I furrow my brows.

          “A few days ago while preparing for the festival, you literally climbed all the trees at the village hall to measure for the decorations but you’re scared of needles?”

          I turn my head to see him but have no energy to glare. He gives me a mischievous smile, and leans back on the chair.

          “But seeing you like this, I feel more sorry.” Sehun says. “Now, just rest comfortably. I’ll wait here.”

          I look at his sitting figure. He’s been the last person I saw before falling asleep for two times already, hasn’t he?

          My eyelids get heavier, and the room starts to fade.