During breakfast, Taeyeon tried to start a conversation. “Did you finish your work?” she asked before shoving rice to .

“Neh. By the way, thanks,” Leeteuk answered while doing his usual habit of picking on his food.

Taeyeon swallowed the food inside before asking, “Thanks? For what?”

“Dinner,” Leeteuk answered as he recalled how Taeyeon sent him a packed meal for dinner while he worked overtime.

Taeyeon sat back and scratched her head with her free hand, “Ah. It was nothing. Besides, those were just my leftovers.”

Upon hearing this, Leeteuk choked with food in his mouth. “MWOH?!”

Taeyeon quickly stood up from her seat to fetch Leeteuk a glass of water. “Here,” she whispered as she placed the glass of water in front of Leeteuk. “I was just kidding! A joke, just a joke!” Taeyeon laughed nervously as she watched Leeteuk drink the water. Secretly, she was laughing at how gullible this man was.

After breakfast, Leeteuk immediately stood up from the dining table and said, “Yah, I’ll be in my room. I’ll just rest for a while but for the meantime, you can do anything you want since the house does not need cleaning, anyway.”

“Arasseoyo,” Taeyeon said as she watched Leeteuk walk to his room but she think she saw Leeteuk lose balance for a second there. “Jungsoo-ssi!” she called.

Leeteuk stopped in his tracks and asked, “Yes?”

“Dizzy?” Taeyeon walked towards Leeteuk.

“Just a little,” Leeteuk said before completely entering his room.

Taeyeon shook her head and thought, “He doesn’t seem to be feeling well. Hm. Three nights of working overtime did not do him any good.” Then she scolded herself, “Aish! I should’ve slept at my room last night! Now even his neck hurts!” She stomped to the sink to wash the used dishes.

A few hours later..

“TAEYEON-SSI!”

Taeyeon’s me-time was interrupted by Leeteuk’s voice calling her.

She got up from bed and unconsciously fixed her hair while walking towards Leeteuk’s room. After a knock, she peeked, letting her upper body in. “Yep? You called me?” she asked.

“Take a bath and dress up,” Leeteuk, who was lying in bed, said.

Was it just her or was Leeteuk’s voice hoarser then normal?

“Eh? Waeyo?” Taeyeon tilted her head to the side in confusion.

“Lunch out every weekends, remember?” Leeteuk reminded her.

Was it just her or Leeteuk looked unusually paler and weaker today?

“Ah,” Taeyeon nodded and continued “I figured you’re tired today so I just ordered for lunch. They’ll deliver it here.”

“Jinjja?”

Taeyeon nodded casually.

“Arasseo,” Leeteuk said as he simultaneously raised a hand to massage his temples.

Taeyeon stepped inside the room and closed the door behind her. She has this gut feeling that Leeteuk was not just tired. “Not getting better? Still dizzy?”

Leeteuk said, “Oh. Just a bit. Maybe because I slept kinda late for the last three nights.”

“You know what I think?” Taeyeon put a hand on her chin—her usual gesture. “I think you will fall into sickness,” she admitted.

“Worried?” Leeteuk managed to joke.

“Of course! If you’re sick, how can you work? If you can’t work, how will you earn money? If you can’t earn money, who will pay me?” Taeyeon then laughed, even patting her tummy. Zero poise.

“Get out!” Leeteuk yelled, “Naga!”

Moments later..

Knock knock.

Taeyeon knocked at Leeteuk’s room and called, “Jungsoo-ssi, lunch’s here!”

There was no reply so Taeyeon decided to check on him.

Taeyeon’s eyebrows met as she took in the sight of a sleeping pale Leeteuk. She stood beside the bed and shook Leeteuk. “Jungsoo-ssi, lunch is here,” she repeated.

Leeteuk ‘s eyes slowly opened. He rubbed his eyes as he asked Taeyeon, “What did you say?”

“Yah. I think you’re really going to be sick,” Taeyeon clicked her tongue. “Lunch is here, by the way.”

Leeteuk clicked his tongue, “My body feels a little weightless but heavy. Weird.” He slowly pushed himself up to a sitting position, “Can I eat lunch on bed?”

“Sure thing,” Taeyeon went outside and left the door open. She came back after a few seconds with noodles on a tray. “Lunch is served,” the girl sang as she placed the tray on top of the bedside table.

“Komawo,” Leeteuk sat up properly after fluffing a pillow behind his back.

Taeyeon watched his weak and slow movements. As Leeteuk reached for the bowl of noodles, Taeyeon asked him, “Can you eat it by yourself? You really don’t look good, you know.”

“I’m not sick. I’m not useless. I’m just tired,” Leeteuk rolled his eyes before taking his first bite.

“Well,” Taeyeon sighed and said, “I’m not so sure about that.” With that, she went out of the room.

Leeteuk almost spat out the noodles inside his mouth when he saw Taeyeon come back with a chair on one arm and the bowl of noodles on the other. His eyes followed as the girl placed the chair beside his bed and said, “I’m eating here, to be sure.”

It was the guy’s turn to sigh as he placed the unfinished bowl of noodles back on the bedside table.

“Wait. Aren’t you going to eat this all?” Taeyeon asked Leeteuk when he got up from bed.

Leeteuk answered with irritation in his voice, “I will. I’m just gonna get something outside, arasseo?”

Taeyeon shrugged, “Whatever.”

Just then, Taeyeon heard a loud thump from outside. She almost jumped out of her seat as she hastily put her noodles beside Leeteuk’s. She ran outside and felt weak as she saw Leeteuk lying on the floor, unconscious.

“Park Jungsoo-ssi!” Taeyeon bent down and pulled Leeteuk up. She placed Leeteuk’s right arm around her shoulders and wrapped her right arm around the unconscious man’s waist. Taeyeon grunted at the heaviness of the man in her arms but adrenaline rush allowed her to bring Leeteuk back to his bed. Inside her chest was a racing worried heart yet she did not have the time to notice it.

Taeyeon was practically running around the house as she placed their unfinished lunches on the sink. She ran back to Leeteuk’s room and now, she was sure that Leeteuk is sick. The sweat, short breaths and pale lips confirmed it all. She reached out to feel Leeteuk’s forehead—blazing hot—and blamed herself for not being smart enough to check his temperature earlier. “Babo, Taeyeon. Babo,” she muttered to herself.

“I knew it,” Taeyeon shook her head as she waited for the stainless basin in her hand be filled halfway with tap water. After reaching the desired level, she set it aside to get some ice from the freezer to drop on the basin.

With the basin of cold water in her hands, she went back to Leeteuk’s room. She put the basin down on the floor beside the sick guy’s bed and raided Leeteuk’s closet for a small towel she can use.

After finding one, she knelt down beside Leeteuk’s bed and started wiping him with the towel she submerged on the water on the basin. She started with his face—his forehead, his temples, the side of his face, his cheeks, his chin then to his neck. The girl stared at the Leeteuk for a second and she can help but admit to herself that despite his paleness in the moment, Leeteuk still managed to look so peaceful. Calm. Like a sleeping sculpture—attractive.

Taeyeon stopped and held her chest for a while. “Whew,” she huffed, trying to normalize the pace of her breathing. She swallowed hard before she continued with the wiping.

Taeyeon moved to wiping the back of his neck by propping his head up with her hand then after that, his arms, his palms. She pulled up her sleeve and fanned herself for a little while. Leeteuk's the sick one here, not her so she does not really get why she was feeling hot and nervous all of a sudden.

The girl who was sweating as well sat on the floor contemplating whether the wiping act is finished or not. Taeyeon shook her head, “No, no, no. I won’t pull his shirt up. Major embarrassment will follow if he wakes up.” The panicking girl stood up and started pacing back and forth.

It was Leeteuk’s sudden faint whimper that told Taeyeon: She really needs to do it.

“Okay,” Taeyeon’s voice shook. She knelt back down and held on the bottom of Leeteuk’s shirt. This is it. With trembling hands, Taeyeon slowly pulled Leeteuk’s shirt up until it had completely left his body.

The girl closed her eyes for a second and whispered a prayer under her breath, “Please don’t wake up now..” She swallowed hard and opened her eyes, darting it directly to the basin and towel on the floor.

What Taeyeon did not notice was that she was blushing and sweating. She turned to the lying figure on the bed. “Oh gosh,” she touched her chest once more before she started wiping his chest—the fairly perfect skin felt like a bright light to Taeyeon’s eyes. It hurts to look and it's crazy.

The towel went down to the washboard abs, perfectly chiseled ones and for a second there, Taeyeon wanted to stop. It was just Leeteuk’s shivers and occasional winces that kept her going. As soon as she was finished, she raided the guy’s closet for a set of new clothes—a button up that would help a lot.

He’s sick. Gravely sick that he wasn’t even awakened by all that Taeyeon did.

“Get well soon,” she whispered as she laid a hand on Leeteuk’s forehead—the temperature relatively went down but still not normal. Taeyeon pulled the blanket up to Leeteuk’s chin.

“Mianhaeyo, Kangin oppa..” she muttered as she rested her head on the bed while she sat on the floor. “I guess I can’t go on a date with you,” a tear fell from the corner of Taeyeon’s eye as she closed her eyes, unaware that she was slowly falling asleep, tired from worrying over her sick boss.

That’s what you get when you’re workaholic! >:D Poor Leeteuk. Poorer Taeyeon. Please stay tuned for the next chapter, readers! Leave comments, neh? ;)

COMMENT REPLIES

@christinyweenie. kekeke~ thank you for your support and your patience, christine! :)

@dsvsvf. yessss, TaeTeuk FTW! thank you for the compliment and oh, what do you mean by 'low?' hihihi! :D i can't really grasp what you're trying to say or maybe im just 'slow.' LOL :D i will wait for your answer, okay? ^^

@shanaa12. okay! just remind me regularly, hehehe~ /wink

@ParkEunIn. here it is now! :D yah, chingu, thank you for regularly expressing your enthusiasm after my updates! leave a comment and feedback on what's been happenning in the story, too, okay? :3

@lisandyyn. hahaha, and even though the rules are stupid, im glad i included them in the story :P are you? /evil laugh