[CONTENTID1]Phoenix[/CONTENTID1]

[CONTENTID2]Chapter Ten[/CONTENTID2]

[CONTENTID3]

Ever since her accident had happened, Seri’s companions were fretting over her health. Baekhyun constantly reminded her to eat and drink sufficiently and to rest. The latter was easy since her weakened state prevented her from moving around anyway. She was in the process of regaining her strength and fighting the cold she had developed.

Tonight, Baekhyun once more proved how observant he was while they were in the living room together. She yawned and of course, he noticed. His features hardened, lips forming a thin line. She knew what the look in his eyes meant.

“It’s getting late, Seri. You’re sick and y—”

“I know, I know, captain,” she replied. The tables had turned—usually, it was her job to remind him to rest. “But I’d rather sleep in a bed tonight. My back hurts from lying on the sofa.”

“If that’s what you prefer. It’s colder in the bedroom, though.”

“I’ll be fine,” she insisted.

Baekhyun had no objections to her wish since he had missed sleeping next to her. She exuded warmth and gave him a feeling of security, her proximity erasing his nightmares. He frowned when she slid to the edge of the sofa, about to get up. Each of her motions seemed sluggish and somewhat shaky, so he chose to interfere. Without further ado, he picked her up, carrying her in his arms as if she weighed nothing.

“Baekhyun! I can walk myself,” she protested. “I went to the bathroom earlier too! You don’t need to carry me.”

“I don’t mind doing it,” was his short and simple response. The determination and smugness he displayed stole her breath. She fell silent and gawked at him while he brought her to the bedroom—his bedroom.

“You’re babying me too much. I’m not some weak damsel.”

“I know that, angel.”

“Then why are you doing this?”

“Because I want to.”

“Baekhyun.”

“Yes?”

She put her head on his shoulder and refused to acknowledge his cocky grin. Seri couldn’t believe that this was the same guy who had gently kissed her forehead… Baekhyun was the personification of a roller coaster… “Does he treat all women like this?” she wondered. He barely heard her mumbled words.

“No. And that’s why you should count yourself lucky. You’re special.” He winked, and to her mortification, her face heated up.

“Special?”

“Special.”

She puffed up her cheeks. “Baekhyun, what kind of answer is that? What does special mean?”

“It means you’re my favorite angel.”

A part of her was fed up with his evasive answers while another part found his playfulness endearing. “I can’t tell if you’re messing with me or if you’re trying to be a charmer.”

Hearing this, he couldn’t keep up his poker face and his mask cracked, revealing a naughty smirk. “A charmer? You think I’m charming? You’re easy to impress, angel.”

“Not true! Stop making fun of me, Byun.”

He chuckled as he entered the bedroom, holding her securely and making her feel like she was floating—as if she was a real angel. “I’ll bring you an extra blanket,” he said before setting her down on the bed. She felt a little colder when he left her and found herself missing his embrace. In the meantime, he opened the wardrobe where he kept a spare blanket and Seri watched him in silence, wondering what was going on in his head.

When he turned around, he caught her stare and cocked his head. “You’re supposed to sleep, not look at me,” he chided her. The humor was gone from his voice, replaced by sternness. “Come on, Seri, don’t push yourself. I can see you’re not feeling well, you can’t fool me.”

She smiled sheepishly, lay down, and pulled the cover over her body up to her chin. It felt good to give in to the exhaustion that clung to her. He joined her, sliding under the cover next to her. Then, he spread the spare blanket over them so that she wouldn’t be cold tonight.

“Sleep well, angel. If your fever returns, please wake me up.”

“Okay, Baekhyun. Goodnight and sleep well too,” she whispered.

A few days passed, and Seri’s health improved steadily. The snow continued falling, covering their little house and the garden in a white blanket. It was Tuesday—not that it mattered since every day was the same to them, but Seri liked to keep track of things. She crossed out each passing day in a little journal she carried with her. It was filled with notes and memories of their daily lives.

Earlier in the day, Baekhyun and Sehun had left the house to head to the store since they were running out of food supplies, however, Seri and Chanyeol stayed at home together. Due to the zombie’s odd behavior and their frequent appearances near the house, they had agreed it wasn’t smart to leave her alone.

“Are you reading again?” Chanyeol chuckled. He crossed the living room and handed her a cup of hot tea before sitting on the sofa next to her.

“Yeah. It’s weird, I used to find books boring and the only ones I would read were necessary for my studies, but now things have changed. Reading novels is a good way to escape reality for a little while. We can’t watch series or movies anymore, so this is all that’s left,” she explained, wearing a serene smile. She put a paper bookmark on the page she had been reading and closed the book, putting it on her lap. “I’m glad I found interesting novels in this house. The former owners must have liked to read.”

“I wonder what kind of people they were,” Chanyeol answered. “I discovered an old record player in the basement, but it doesn’t work without electricity. It’s a shame… the records stacked behind it are great. I miss listening to music.”

“We’ll just have to start our own band,” Seri laughed, imagining how that would go. Most likely, it would be a catastrophe. She couldn’t sing for the life of it—her singing voice resembled a dying duck.

“Do you play an instrument, Chanyeol?”

He smiled widely. “Yes! I learned how to play the guitar. Got my first acoustic guitar in high school.”

“Hey, that’s great! I hope we can get ahold of a guitar somehow. I would love to hear some music for a change,” she sighed and leaned her head against the sofa. “Do you sing too?”

“Sometimes,” he admitted awkwardly, scratching his neck. “Music is just a hobby though, don’t expect too much.”    

“I wish I could play too… but the only instruments I can use are surgical.”

He cringed and paled, eliciting a giggle from her. Chanyeol was easily spooked by anything to do with her job. She wondered if he was scared of needles too.

“Hey, Chanyeol? I’m curious about the other members of your special unit.” She held her cup of tea in her hands, warming up her fingers. “It’s obvious you’re close friends and I want to meet them one day.”

“I hope we find them,” Chanyeol said. Melancholy swam in his gaze—an unusual look on the soldier’s face. “It would bring back a semblance of normalcy.”

“You’ve known them for a while?”

“I’ve known Baekhyun and Kyungsoo the longest. We had a similar schedule while we were in the military academy,” he recounted.

“It must have been a stressful time.”

“Sometimes it was… but we also had a lot of fun when the supervisors weren’t around,” Chanyeol grinned. “Let me tell you something about your future boyfriend!”

“Who the hell are you talking about?” She raised a brow, her eyes challenging him to say it out loud.

“You know, that person who insists on calling you angel,” he winked. “Remember when I told you about his habit to break into showers?”

“Yes… I’m glad he’s grown out of that…” She deadpanned and earned a hearty laugh from the soldier.

“Well, that’s not the only silly thing he did. Whenever we practiced and he got fed up and wanted to leave, he removed his pants.”

Seri’s expression was priceless. Chanyeol couldn’t stop laughing, hitting his thigh and doubling over.

“Are you kidding? What?!”

“It’s all true! Ask Sehun!”

“I thought Baekhyun was… uh… the serious kind of soldier? How the hell did he get promoted to captain?”

“His achievements and performance were always great, especially during missions. But when we were among ourselves or off duty, he would do the silliest things.”

“I see,” she smiled. “So he’s the goofiest member of the team?”

“Definitely, but he matured over the years.”

“Considering he broke into showers, that’s probably a good thing…” she cringed. “I would throw a soap bar at him if he ever did it to me.”

Chanyeol snickered. “That’s what Minseok did. Baekhyun didn’t bother him again after that.”

“He was asking for it,” she shrugged and gave a laugh that ended in a cough. “Sorry, my throat is sore… but the tea is helping.”

“You’re tough. To think you had a fever only two days ago… You’re recovering well, Seri. Soon you’ll be as good as new.”

“I hope so! Then Baekhyun doesn’t have a reason to baby me anymore.” She shook her head. “He’s overdoing it. Yesterday he insisted on carrying me.”

“Just… leave him be. He wants to make sure you’re fine. It’s his way of coping with your accident,” Chanyeol explained. His eyes briefly darted to her before settling on the crackling flames in the fireplace. “He’s my best friend, and I can tell you’re important to him. What happened scared him although he doesn’t openly speak