The next day, Sungjae met Dohwan for their project. Sungjae was quite pleased that their project was nearing an end, as he and Dohwan had spent a good deal of time and effort on it and were more or less ready to submit it.

“Thanks for helping me carry so much of the load for this project, Sungjae-ah,” said Dohwan gratefully. “Life’s been a nightmare since rehearsals have started.”

“Must be tough on you,” said Sungjae. “I can’t imagine how many lines Cinderella must have.”

“Yeah, tell me about it,” laughed Dohwan. “Thankfully, working with Sooyoung makes it easier. She remembers her lines quite easily and I usually can recall my lines once I hear her preceding line.”

“That’s nice,” said Sungjae, as he got up.

Dohwan got up together with him, barely took a step away from the table, before stumbling. Sungjae caught him in time and helped him back onto his seat.

“Kwenchana, Dohwan-ah?” asked Sungjae worriedly.

“I’m fine. I just felt a bout of dizziness, that's all,” reassured Dohwan.

Unconvinced, Sungjae raised his hand to touch Dohwan’s forehead. Sure enough, Dohwan’s forehead felt much warmer than it should.

“Aish~ You’re running a fever, Dohwan-ah. Have you been getting enough rest?” asked Sungjae.

“I’ve been sleeping about 3-4 hours every day,” replied Dohwan sheepishly.

“3-4 hours a day!” exclaimed Sungjae. “No wonder you’re running a fever! For heaven’s sake, take the rest of the day off! Go back to your room and rest.”

“But I still need to meet Sooyoung to rehearse our lines tonight,” protested Dohwan.

“You can’t possibly go in this state,” reasoned Sungjae. “Go back and rest and make sure you recover quickly so that you can rehearse with Sooyoung again as soon as possible. Forcing yourself to rehearse now is only going to worsen your condition!”

Dohwan finally relented and allowed Sungjae to help him back to his dorm room. As Dohwan removed the things in his pockets and laid down to rest, Sungjae took out a bottle of water from his bag and walked over to Dohwan. As he walked past Dohwan’s table, Dohwan’s phone beeped and the screen lit up. Though the notification partially blocked the phone’s wallpaper, it was clear what Dohwan’s phone wallpaper was. Sungjae pretended not to notice and walked straight to Dohwan with the bottle of water.

“Dohwan-ah, I’ll leave this with you. I have some fever medicine in my room. I’ll go bring it over for you. You rest well today,” said Sungjae.

“I need to rehearse with Soo-” began Dohwan.

“I’ll tell her you can’t rehearse with her today,” said Sungjae firmly. “There’s no sense in trying to rehearse with her today in your condition, so stop being stubborn. Rest well, get well soon, then you’ll be able to catch up on your rehearsals.”

Dohwan tried to protest again but eventually saw the sense in Sungjae’s words. Sungjae went back to his room to get the fever medicine for Dohwan. As he went back to Dohwan’s room, he fished his phone out and texted Sooyoung.

SJ: Dohwan is running a fever. He won’t be able to rehearse with you tonight.

SY: Oh dear! Okay thanks for telling me. I’ll go over and see him later.

SJ: OK.

SY: Can you rehearse with me in place of Dohwan later after I visit him?

SJ: Mwoh?! How can I do that? I don't know any of his lines!

SY: You can just read from the script. I’ll pass you a copy of his script later.

SJ: Arasso. See you later then.

After Sungjae dropped off the fever medicine for Dohwan, he went back to his room to clear some work before meeting Sooyoung later that evening. However, as he sat at his desk, all he could think of was the picture that was set as Dohwan’s wallpaper.

Sooyoung must be really happy to smile like that with Dohwan’s arm around her. Maybe I should about it later when I see her. If she’s really going to date him, then I’d better be the first one to know.

A notification from his phone shook him out of his thoughts. He picked it up and saw a message from Youngmin.

YM: Hey wanna rehearse our stepbrother lines together later?

SJ: Nah, I can’t. I gotta help Sooyoung rehearse. Dohwan’s sick.

YM: Heol, jinjja? This must be your first time meeting her this week. I’ve hardly seen you meet her at all this past week.

SJ: She’s been really bogged down, so it’s no surprise.

YM: Arasso. Shall we meet tomorrow to go through the lines then? We need to make sure we’re ready for this Saturday’s rehearsal with everyone else.

SJ: Yeah, tomorrow sounds good. You’ll come over to my room.

YM: Sure.

That evening, Sungjae headed over to Sooyoung’s room and knocked. Sooyoung opened it and let him in. Sungjae couldn't help but notice her expression as she opened the door.

“Yah, Park Sooyoung. Why do you look so down? Am I that depressing to look at?” teased Sungjae.

“I’m worried about Dohwan. Hope he gets well soon,” said Sooyoung.

“Aigoo, stop worrying. He’s a grown man, I’m sure he knows how to take care of himself,” replied Sungjae.

“I think I should go over and see how he’s doing tomorrow,” said Sooyoung.

“Yah, Park Sooyoung! You never seem to be this concerned when I’m sick,” protested Sungjae.